Left Befuddled

Left Behind or Left Befuddled
By Gordon Isaac
This book is one of the more pleasant I have read regarding the phenomena of millenialism. It is short, concise and to the point for one. He also deals with why it matters, which is something often missing from other books trying to convince the premillennalist of his error.
“Left Behind or Left Befuddled” takes on pre-millennial dispensationalism head on, by taking on the book series most responsible for promulgating this irresponsible position, “The Left Behind Series.” And though he quotes from this series in many places, he does not limit his critique to the book series itself, but in critiquing the pre-millenialism, he brings this critique to bear on the books themselves. The concentration on the left behind series, though, helps to keep the critique short, and down to earth.
I found several points in this book to be quite interesting. For instance, I had never realized the organic relationship of dispensationalism to Campbellite and other nondenominational movements stemming from Darby’s exile from an established church. That premillenial dispensationalism was also a reaction to Secularism and Darwinism which had undercut the authority of the Bible in society was also something that would not have dawned on me. Not only do I find these points interesting, but also helpful for my understanding of those who hold these views.
His treatment of Luther on Revelation was interesting, though I would have liked to see a bit more discussion on how Luther could appeal to Revelation while at the same time labeling it antilegomena.
Finally, the real treasure of the book is his treatment of “why this matters.’ Interestingly enough Isaac Gordon goes on to show how the millenial mindset has all sorts of awful consequences, personal, social, and national in scope. He shows how this sort of interpretation of the bible, comes at a hig price in regard to the interpretation of the rest of scripture, in actuality robbing a person of proper hermeneutical skills to interpret scripture in any way that will let the gospel free them from fear. He shows how the codes and language used in these circles close them off from meaningful evangelism to the rest of society, and worse, paint the church as being dangerous for society. And on the national scope he shows how dangerous elements of the Israeli underworld have used this movement to support violence in the Middle East, duping Christians from their money, even while turning their assaults on Palestinian Christians, and trying to disrupt peace talks. In fact, such is the vision that it will not allow for peace. I had always thought that premillenialism was an assault on the gospel, the forgiveness of sins that Jesus Christ won for the world with his death and resurrection. Dr. Gordon shows that in fact it is.

No Room Left for Theories of Evolution

What Darwin Got Wrong, I enjoyed this book. I did not find it too hard to read, or written in to technical a manner, even though both author’s are very well educated with a good basis in the science. Basically the authors seeing that Skinner’s theories in behavioral psychology were undermined by his adherence to Darwinian explanations of evolution, specifically his ideas concerning Natural Selection. Upon examination of this it is shown that Natural Selection is tautological at best, and really offers no explanation as to how anything evolved. The authors throw this notion in with ideas about Santa Clause, the Tooth fairy, “the Selfish Gene” and God. Well I might object to them about their thoughts on God, but I found their reasoning concerning Natural Selection to be quite sound. Make no mistake, these men are not Christians or even theists, they are committed atheists. But they see a problem with the theory of evolution as it is normally presented and they are going to attack it, because in the end it is just a bad argument. In the end they go so far as to say there isn’t any theory of evolution. Well there are theories, it’s a matter of how valid those theories are, and the traditional theories have fallen on hard times, they just don’t hold water. In fact what Fodo andMassimo Piattelli-Palmarini show in this book is the same sort of thing expounded by James Shapiro in “Evolution: a View from the TwentyFirst Century” and Koonin in “The Logic of Chance”. It is really nothing new, Karl Popper tried to express the same sentiments quite a long time ago, and was severely lashed for it. But now it is coming to light that he was correct, and more and more scientists are coming to realize that the theory of evolution is untenable. The new trend is to try treat it as an historical phenomenon without much saying why or how it happened, just that it did. Infact, many of their peers originally reading the manuscript told them that no one was that kind of Evolutionist anymore, that is one who buys into Darwin and Natural Selection. Of course, that is just plain false, it may be that there are few wet biologists who think along these lines once they have their PHD, but one does not have to look far to find Darwinism being taught as fact. Fodor found his foil with Coyne, and Dawkins. And of course the stuff is still taught in schools, and one has to regurgitate the nonsense to pass college entrance exams and standardized testing. So the authors have done the world a favor in bringing their argumentation to publication. I found it to be a very insightful read.

Death of Kings

Death of Kings This is the sixth book of Bernard Cornwell’s series “Saxon Tales”. The tale of blood, gore, and intrigue maintains it’s intensity. Indeed the first three pages embroil you in battle, and the fights continue. Uhtred’s position and influence among the Saxons increases in this volume, as King Alfred dies, and Edward takes the throne, but his main goal of recapturing his birthright Bebbanburg is not yet attained when the book closes. Personally, as I read these tales, aside from Uhtred’s escapades, it is his interactions with the priests that holds my interest. In this volume Bernard introduces yet another one, Cuthbert. Cuthbert, proves to be as interesting a character as any of Bernard’s other beloved priests, even if he does, perhaps even because of his fondness for fawns. I look forward to the end of these tales, only because I’d like to draw up a monograph on pastoral theology using the characters of these stories, and it’s depiction of Christianity. In anycase, those who have been following the story thus far, will no doubt once again enjoy the ease in which Bernard weaves the story of Uhtred, a thread through the canvass of war and blood shed marking this tumultuous period, as if he himself was sitting at the roots of yggdrasil eavesdropping on the Norns in all their beauty. They will not be disappointed, and though one could pick up and begin reading her with this book, those that do, will be satisfying themselves with past volumes of this great story while waiting for the next installment.

Introduction to Pannenberg

"The Apostles' Creed" by W. Pannenberg In this book, one is given an overview of Wolfhart Pannenbergs overall thought process, his thinking concerning theology and its task as well as his approach to the task of Apologetics. It is a great and superb book, that is considerably lighter in style than “Jesus – God and Man”, but no less weighty in substance. I highly recommend the book. Article by article Wolfhart goes through the Creed explaining its history in the church, and philosophical problems and answers regarding each proposition. He admonishes the pastors and theologians to teach this creed, to make it make sense for the lay person. It is their job as teachers of the church. And here he is quite right. I found the first few chapters of this book to be incredibly insightful, as he discusses the decline in belief in God in the west through the propositions of Fichte, Feuerbach and Freud. And how ultimately, this atheism is unsustainable. Equally intriguing is his assault on the idea of Faith as being a personal decision, a “leap of Faith” that puts its trust in no facts whatsoever. This thought is probably more dangerous to Christianity today than any single other heresy. A Faith that has no foundation is no faith at all, and invites one to treat all religions the same, basically as fictions meant to make you feel better about yourself. He argues quite effectively that the logical line to the Christian faith, is first belief in God and then in Jesus, that the two are interrelated and are not easily separated is an intriguing one. In doing apologetics I like to start and end with the historical resurrection, something that W.P. does extremely well defending, and argue that this validates Christ’s claims not only to be God, but also about God. This does work, but at other times I have found some resistant to such argumentation, and W.P. has made me at least reexamine some of my underlying thoughts on all that. It may be a longer row to hoe to go his way, but perhaps needed, at least in some cases. The only real objection I have to this book, is that W.P. makes no sense whatsoever when speaking about the Virgin Birth. He is all over the map on that one, denying it, and yet trying to affirm it at the same time. I am not quite sure what his ultimate hang up is with that. In this he concedes way to readily to liberal scholarship and presuppositions. His whole argumentation seems to stand and fall though with Markan Priority, which is something I myself have never been fully convinced of. Call me traditional, or Lutheran, but Matthew was first, and Markan Priority is a Calvinist Camel with its nose in the tent.

Humilitas

Humilitas, John Dickson Leadership books are a dime a dozen. But this one is exceptional. Perhaps because it isn’t first and foremost about leadership, it is a book that attempts to define humility, chart its history in western Civilization, and give pointers as to how one might develop it in one’s own life. In the end, you end up realizing, humility is the secret to great leadership. It just is. At first, you have to wonder what kind of pompous jerk would take it upon himself to tell others about humility. It is a paradox that John Dickson deals with well, though. The fear is that the book will be a sermon on humility. It isn’t. At least it doesn’t come off preachy, and the best sermons never do, so maybe it is… I think the book is better towards the middle and going into the end. As a pastor, I found his insights into Jesus Christ to be eye opening. That biographical sketch is necessary, because as Dickson shows, Jesus was the culture changer that made the West recognize humility as a virtue. What western Culture was like before Jesus is completely different than what it has become since his appearance, and he is responsible for the greatest of these changes in one way or another. That Humility seems to be diminishing today, is something to ponder. It is perhaps the greatest indicator of the wane of Christianity in recent years. Should western culture want to regain it’s former glory, though, then it will have to regain appreciation for humility. I suppose it is something we all struggle with.

Easy Money

Easy Money, by Jens Lapidus I was hesitant to pick up this novel, but then found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Jens Lapidus, a criminal defense Lawyer in Stockholm, offers insight into the underworld. One wonders how much of this he has culled from his professional relations with this underworld, and how much of it is pure fiction. I was hesitant, as I thought this was a book that would in adequately try to supply nourishment to a craving created by Stieg Larson. An Hispanic Criminal was cliche, turns out believable though, even in Stockholm, but most of all, because the letter they use for an O in "Easy Money" does not appear in the Swedish Language, that is a Danish Letter. I am glad I picked up the book any way, free was good incentive. Jens tells the story of a young man, JWs, trying to live beyond his means while attending college, a middle class kid trying to party with aristocracy. It is JW's, story more than anything. Added to his struggle is the loss of his sister some years before. JW wants to know what has happened to his sister, does some investigating on his own. The other characters, more or less, serve to compliment JW's Story. They are interesting in themselves, you have Jorge, a refugee from Chile, and Mrado, Rado, and Nenan who form the nucleus of the Serbian mob in Stockholm, all trying to earn a buck and avoid the police while doing so. As other reviewers said, there are no good guys in this novel. Interesting, is the social commentary in the book. The Serbians all fought in the wars that tore up the former Yugoslavia in the mid 90s. Mrado, hates the U.S. for its intervention, almost as much as he hates Muslims. Not only do you get the perspective of criminals, and those who are more than likely also guilty of war crimes, you get a perspective of those wars not available in too many other places. You also see how militias, turn into mafias. (I was awarded the Nato Medal for my services in that war, I feel no guilt for it. I think the problem of Islam is one the west is going to have to deal with, but I don't think the mass murder of civilians is the way to go about it. I also had to laugh a bit, when Jens mentions that Gambling is a Lutheran sin, by which he means something Lutherans consider sinful. I suppose there is some historical warrant for such a statement. But it did seem a bit odd to this Lutheran pastor who likes a game of black Jack or Poker now and then. Slot machines though, you can't play those, they are evil.) The writing style, is clipped. I didn't enjoy it at first. I wouldn't say it grew on me. But I got used to it. Jens I think used that clipped style more at the beginning than he did at the end. But it does persist through out.

The Logic of Chance, The Nature and Origin of Biological Evolution

The Logic of Chance, The Nature and Origin of Biological Evolution By Eugene V. Koonin Everything you think you know about Evolution is wrong. That’s the basic message of the book, which in fact still argues for evolution. Koonin set out to write a book of popular science explaining the current state of affairs in evolution, and the new theories being proposed. He admits himself, though, that the book fails to be popular. It is readable enough, but in some sections the reading gets a bit heavy and involved. A nice corrective to this, aside from Dictionaries and other internet resources, is that each chapter ends with a synopsis that is generally very readable, and overall the book is quite enjoyable. I do imagine that he will perhaps upset many with the honesty with which he approaches the subject, and perhaps some of his bluntness. He is a committed materialist, and even more committed to belief in evolution, but he is honest In showing that currently science just does not have all the answers and perhaps never will, as to how evolution has occurred. He is certain though, that it has not happened the way most everyone has been taught and conceives of it as happening. Scrapping the “Modern Synthesis” which most of us were taught in high school and even intro courses to biology in college, he argues for a “post modern synthesis”. In the first two chapters of this book, and the intro, he argues that Darwinian Evolution and all that it relied on needs to be relegated to the “venerable museum halls where it belongs, so that we can explore the paradigm shift that has happened with the “post modern view of life.” Indeed, the so-called “Tree of Life,” pan-adaptationism” etc, are all shown to be wrong throughout the rest of the book. Even the concept that evolution is a process from simple to more complex life forms is thrown on the scrap heap of discarded scientific theories. For instance on page 399, and 261 he writes “There is no consistent trend toward increasing complexity in evolution, the notion of evolutionary progress is unwarranted.” One begins to ask then, what is even left of the idea of evolution? Indeed, he spends a whole chapter talking about the streamlining of plants and insects, an “evolution” from complex to simple, what he calls on pg. 177 “reductive evolution.” To his credit, he doesn’t try to shy away from the problem of the origin of life. He maintains that problems here “cannot be overstated.” He does not like the idea of “irreducible complexity” and sees intelligent design “malicious nonsense” pg 498, and would rather like to use the term purported or apparent irreducibility of complex structures” but is at pains to find solutions to these problems, saying “All things considered, my assessment of the current state of the art in the study of the origins of replication and translation is rather somber. Notwithstanding relevant theoretical models and suggestive experimental results, we currently do not have a credible solution to these problems, and do not even see with any clarity a path to such a solution.” (Pg. 377) After a long discussion of possible alternatives he hangs his hat on a theory known as MWO or Many worlds in one, maintaining that this “not only permits but guarantees that, somewhere in the infinite multiverse (moreover, in every single infinite universe), such a complex system would emerge; moreover, there is an infinite number of these systems. “ Yet I keep wondering to myself, if there is an infinite chance that something will happen, there is an equally infinite chance that nothing will happen, and you are back at ground zero wondering why there is something rather than nothing. Perhaps it is better for science to contemplate what is rather than why there is an is. And that strikes me as another peculiarity of this book. On pg. 250 You have the curious opening to his synopsis stating “The emergence and evolution of complexity at the levels of the genotype and the phenotype, and the relationship between the two, is a central (if not the central) problem in biology….” One wonders why this complexity has to be a problem, and not just a fact? It’s only a problem because it doesn’t fit with preconceived notions with which Koonin is approaching the information. In the end, one can see why even Atheist Philosophers like Thomas Nagel, remain unconvinced by the propositions of Evolutionary theory. Yet Nagel shares a disposition with Koonin, that is comfortable maintaining his atheism, and waiting for an alternative explanation, to why there is something. And that is more or less what this book is about. Koonin readily admits “given that so much of evolutionary biology is about the unique history of a single instantiation of like know to us and that so much of this history depends on chance and contingency, a concise metanarrative seems to be impossible in principle.” (pg. 422) A point he reiterates elsewhere, such as on pg.418. This book is not about replacing the metanarratives of Darwin and the Modern Synthesis, but rather it “is primarily about concepts, ideas, and models rather than methods.” (pg 410) Yet one wonders then if evolution as a theory isn’t dying a death of a thousand qualifications, indeed if it hasn’t already. When Koonin is done, you begin to think “Evolution” is no longer even a workable theory, but a concept in want of a theory, a theory its proponents are desperately trying to find.

Tediously Frustrating Moral Mongering in the Name of Christ

The Beginning and End of Wisdom, Preaching Christ form the First and Last chapters of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job. By Douglass Sean O’Donnel
I’m actually sorry to be reviewing this book. I picked it up, because I share the Author’s affinity for Wisdom Literature. Ecclesiastes is my favorite book of the Bible. I love it’s earthiness, it’s common sense take on life, and its ability to free one up. I find it flies in the face of what most people think scripture teaches. It’s a book that says enjoy life. Actually, it is a book I use to lift depression when it sets on. So I’m always curious as to what others make of that short book. The title intrigued me, and I ordered it. I wanted to see how someone else preached Christ from Ecclesiastes.
What I found in the book was far from what I consider to be preaching Christ. I am at theological odds with the author. When I hear preaching Christ, I think “Christ and him Crucified,” I think of death and resurrection, I think of the forgiveness of sins, baptism, and gospel, you know, good news. All of those things Christ came to do. Sure Christ preached law, he lived, died, and rose with forgiveness. The author seems to think that preaching Christ is regurgitating the Sermon on the Mount and finding precedent for it in wisdom literature. More or less, something like, well there is law in this bit, and look Christ says the same thing, or something like it here. This is preaching Christ as if Christ were a new Moses, a new law giver, nothing but moral mongering, for which I have little time for. Somehow, even watching football was demonized.
I was but traumatized when I learned that the first six chapters of this book, which mentioned Christ precious little, were actually sermons he had delivered. I felt sorry for the poor souls that had to suffer them.
For a second I thought he might get it when he opened up a section on “A New Work Force” on pg. 74, but then was let down when I saw he passed up a great opportunity to talk about our vocations and how we serve God in all that we do, and instead turned it in to a lecture about doing more for the church etc. He could stand to read Dr. Vieth’s book “The Spirituality of the Cross” to get a better grip on vocation and how it is we really do serve God. In short, I found the book tediously frustrating.

“Secular Philosophy and the Religious Temperament"

“Secular Philosophy and the Religious Temperament"
By Thomas Nagel
I devoured this book in less than a week, I enjoy reading Nagel that much. This book is a collection of essays dealing with religion, politics and humanity, often the subjects over lap, as in perhaps the most interesting essay of this book “Public Education and Intelligent Design” an essay for which previously I was only able to read an abstract.
Nagel in this essay and in the others dealing with religion proves himself to be quite an open minded atheist. Indeed, posting a few quotes from this essay and others to may face book page made atheist friends of mine quite uneasy. I had to laugh as he was accused of being a “new age Philosopher” and “guilty of religious thinking”, read: “guilty of questioning scientific dogma, guilty of thinking." Here’s an atheist willing to take on Dawkins for shoddy scholarship. Here is an atheist willing to say evolution, especially evolutionary reductionism, meaning the doctrine that all of life, even the origin of it, can be explained by evolutionary processes just doesn’t make sense. He as a professor of constitutional law is also willing to argue that Intelligent Design can and probably should be taught in school if for nothing else to expose students to differing ways of thinking, though he thinks biology teachers might not be up for the task. Read into that what you want, I suppose.
Nagel himself, is one who seems to wish that evolution was true, but admits that so far it is less than convincing. He hesitates to endorse Intelligent Design, and holds to his atheism maintaining that there may be other alternatives. However, he blames the “fear of religion, something he himself admits as an influence in his own life, for leading many scientifically minded atheists to cling to a defensive, world flattening reductionism hobbling their own imagination and creativity that might lead to further scientific discoveries.
This isn’t a science text book, nevertheless he applies an open mind, all the more open because he is willing to face his fear after acknowledging it, to the subjects of evolution and intelligent design. He also argues that evolution has worked itself into a bind when it comes to DNA in that “The problem that originally prompted the argument from design, namely, the overwhelming improbability of such a thing (DNA) coming into existence by chance, simply through the purposeless laws of physics, remains just as real for this case. Yet this time we cannot replace chance with natural selection.” He also hints that the overwhelming acceptance of evolution originally, as an alternative to design theory, may have been more due to the desirability of the results, the elimination of a need for God, than to any great evidence in its favor.
His essays on Politics concentrate more in the realm of international law than anything else. I am sympathetic to his thoughts here as well. Acknowledging a responsibility to fellow man and the spread of human rights to those born in other societies, especially those to whom we are connected in trade, he yet believes that “the global scope of justice will expand only through developments that first increase the injustice of the world by introducing effective but illegitimate institutions to which the standards of justice apply, standards by which we may hope they will eventually be transformed.” He bases this argument on the way in which sovereign states in the west have risen and reformed themselves, and points to organizations such as the World Trade Organization and its clout to get countries to conform to standards of human rights in order to foster trade. He points to Turkey’s massive reforms to join the U.N. Yet he sees that there is a need for countries to protect their sovereignty also, and though he seems to detest the Bush administration, understands and agrees with them for not having signed the Kyoto protocols.
In the process of all this he offers some intriguing critiques of the political philosophy of Rawls both where domestic and foreign policies are concerned. Nagel it seems is less willing to play what if games, and rather tackle the questions of what is, and what should be.

Incredible Christology with Eye Opening Eschatological Insights

Jesus – God and Man
By Wolfhart Pannenberg
This is the first book I have read by Pannenberg, I will be reading more because of it. It was thoroughly fascinating. It is not an easy read, but a worthwhile read for anyone interested in Christology, or Christian thought at all. It is a classic of Twentieth Century theology and I fail to see how it cannot be a major contributor to theological thought hence forth. If you are a student of theology, it is simply a must read.

The essential main thrust of the book is a “theology from below”. Wolfhart Pannenberg starts and ends his discussion on the historical person of Jesus Christ. Investigating the claim of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and finding that do be solid, meaning he makes a good case for the historical veracity of that event, he begins to plot out what that means in relation to Jesus claims about himself, and how that translates to meaning for our lives. He does this in an absolutely stupendous manner, and with great scholarly acumen. In other words, he starts with Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and works from there to establish his divinity. He then goes into great detail parsing out what that means for theology and especially eschatology.
One thing that is fascinating through it all, is Pannenberg does this all the while buying into Higher Criticism. He assumes the gospels are written late, the Q hypothesis is a given, and yet he comes to conclusions regarding the central claims of Christianity far different than those of say Bart Ehrman. In this manner he defies classification as a liberal or a conservative. He does not get into justifying any claims of Higher Criticism though, but even working with the claims of higher criticism, comes out with a theology as conservative as that of Athanasius or Augustine.
Throughout the manuscript, Pannenberg takes you on a joy ride through the history of Christology, showing what different theologians have thought at different times and why they were right or wrong. All the while establishing not only the divinity of Christ, but also the inner workings of the Trinity. All this though has great importance for Eschatology, and reading this has opened my eyes to aspects of biblical eschatology that I had never considered, and strengthened my resolve that Pre-millennialism is a satanic lie, a pseudo Gospel that has no place in the church.
I will be re reading this book, and highly recommend it to others. I don’t agree with everything in the book, but I think twice about disagreeing.

A Brief Intro to Philosophy by one of the Best in the Field Today

“What Does it all Mean?” by Thomas Nagel is an excellent introduction to the task of philosophy for Junior high students to college students. I know one very respected Professor who uses it to introduce Western Philosophy to Foreign Students from the East.
It has been about a decade since I was first introduced to the writings of Thomas Nagel via a review of his book “The Last Word” in the back of First Things. He stands in the tradition of analytical philosophy, and shows himself to be an erudite thinker in everything he writes. He is at best an agnostic, tending towards atheism, and though he deals thoughtful critique of religious thought, he is fair and not malignant in his treatment of religion. This is perhaps why I like him so much. Here is a professor of Law and Philosophy, who though not believing in God, has the cojones to write that there is no reason not to teach intelligent design in even public schools, as evolution doesn’t answer the most basic questions regarding the beginnings of life, and it is not overstepping the separation of church and state to teach such an alternative and plausible explanation for life’s beginnings.
Yet, he can make a religious, and especially a Christian thinker think through their cliché answers as to what is right and wrong, and the necessity of God to uphold morality, or for the meaning of life. He shows in a very lucid manner the shortfall’s of much of what passes for a Christian answer to these ultimate questions, though freely admitting the flaws in the opposite answers.
This book takes you through Nine chapters and an introduction all introducing another facet of western philosophical problems. “How Do We Know Anything?” “Other Minds” “The Mind-Body Problem” “The meaningof Words” “Free Will” “Right and Wrong” “Justice” “Death” and “The Meaning of Life.” It is written simply, with little to no reference to past Philosophers or their thoughts, but merely outlining the thoughts that occupy the minds of those we call Philosophers, and sometimes Theologians. As such the text does not get bogged down in philosophical shop talk, and terminology.
I think it would be an excellent book for the inquisitive teenager, but it would probably be helpful for the parent or teacher to read through the book first. Though I like the hard questions he asks of religious thinkers, there are answers to his objections that are not explored. Indeed I think that is one of the greater weaknesses of this book, is that he seems to think the only religious answers are those that are often parroted by fundamentalists who themselves rarely understand anything of the Biblical message. His last chapter on “The Meaning of Life” might be wonderfully pared with the book of Ecclesiastes which affirms that life is indeed absurd, and wonderfully so.

Animals in Heaven, Pets in Paradise

Animals in heaven, Pets in Paradise
by Peter M. Kurowski
This book answers the tough questions parents and pastors often face when a child’s pet dies, and does so in a positive, gospel centered, scripture centered answer that not only comforts a child, or adult, concerning their lost pet, but also teaches them the importance and necessity of Christ’s death on the cross for the salvation of sinners and the redemption of the cosmos. In answering what many might think is a trivial question, Peter drives home the gospel, the forgiveness of sins and explores all its ramifications according to scripture.
Not two weeks ago, I myself had to interrupt a conversation to correct a well meaning adult telling a child that animals don’t have souls so they won’t be in heaven. It stunned me right away. I had heard people say such things before. I think I have parroted them before. But it struck me that this is a very Gnostic way of thinking. Aside from the fact that we have no idea what animals do and don’t have. Souls are not necessary for entrance into heaven. This whole idea stems from the tendency for Christians today to talk of our souls going to heaven, and tacitly if not expressly denying the resurrection of the flesh confessed in both the Nicene and the Apostles Creed. We deduce that it is only our souls that go to heaven, and not our bodies that have been laid in the ground, so animals which we presume to not have souls, don’t go to heaven, or so we think. Yet Scripture tends to pain an entirely different picture and if we were better at preaching the bodily resurrection, as indeed Jesus is the prototype who was raised in the flesh pointing out to his disciples that ghosts do not have flesh and bone, we might not be so quick to dismiss animals in heaven. On the flip side, if we took the time to study scripture and comfort children with the teaching that animals are in heaven, and our pets will more than likely, more than likely be there too, after all humans are the sinners not the animals, even if they have been infected with sin, we might end up doing a better job of teaching the true gospel message that is a resurrection of the flesh, and safe guarding that all important teaching.
Peter does a fine job of mining scripture and bringing out all that scripture has to say concerning animals in heaven and pets in Paradise. It is a must read for any parent before they have to answer the fateful question of, “what happened to Fluffy?” Pastors do well to read it too, as they more often than not are called on to answer that question for parents who are equally distraught.

A Necessary Book! Close Communion Conversations

Close Communion Conversations, by Dr. Peter M. Kurowski, is a much needed book. Here. Dr. Kurowski attacks the difficulties surrounding the necessity of Close Communion. He does much service to pastors and congregations alike, showing the dangers of both being too regimented in a practice of closed communion, and just how it is that the gospel is at stake with open communion. He deals with the thoughts that every self respecting undershepherd of Christ’s sheep struggle with Sunday after Sunday as they contemplate administering the sacrament in a responsible way too both members and non members. Where do we draw the line, and why? Am I really preaching the gospel if I then turn these people away from the forgiveness of sins in the Lord’s Supper? But how can I commune them if they aren’t Lutheran? Am I really preaching the gospel to them if I let them commune with misconceptions as to what it is and what they are receiving? What kind of hot water will I get in with my own members who might think I’m just being weak in the knees if I commune this visitor, who obviously isn’t Lutheran, but is coming up anyway?
Close communion is a sticky wicket for pastors. Yet, as Dr. Kurowski points out, “Closed” communion is not an option, and open communion is a recipe for disaster. Close communion puts a lot of responsibility on the pastor, who necessarily must take each case on its own terms. In the course of 26 chapters, he struggles and informs and bleeds with pastors relating his own experiences to the predicaments that faithfulness to the Bible and Lutheran Confessions brings about. He handles the scriptures with thoughtfulness and compassion. In the end, he shows that close communion, as it is practiced officially by the LCMS is really the only way to go, and that grace must abound even for the pastor who will mess up.
The anecdotal nature of the manuscript is both problematic and a necessary blessing. At first I found that aspect of the book to be mildly annoying. We all have stories. And I was hoping for more concreteness in the form of a theological abstract review of the practice, what the Bible says and does not say, what the confessions say and don’t. Yet he covers those things, and in the end I was thankful for the anecdotal nature of the book. The anecdotes show the consternation. It is also true that this is where the rubber meets the road in pastoral ministry, and the subject is not handled well in the abstract but in the concrete only reflection on an anecdotal experience can bring.
Of Course, also problematic to the anecdotal nature of the book is that it becomes somewhat an invitation to criticize another man’s decisions. You do it even if you are in agreement! I suppose that is the courage of Dr. Kurowski’s writing, I’m sure he knew there would be plenty reading who would say “I would not have done that” or “He is a bit liberal there.” And he doesn’t shy away from that. I did have some disagreements in this area. For instance just because they use the same language as us, does not mean that they mean the same thing by it. Episcopalians and Anglicans may emphasize the Real Presence, that in itself is more or less a crap shoot from congregation to congregation, but then it can be that from one LCMS congregation to another too. But then among those who tell me they believe in the Real Presence, short conversations with them reveal that they don’t believe his body and blood are present at all. R.C. Sproul has a communion statement that stresses the Real Presence, but goes out of its way to avoid talking about the Body and Blood of Jesus at all, much less being present in Holy Communion. This has been a long standing reformed trick.
On the other hand, extremely useful was his commentary that perhaps the bar for communion fellowship need not be as strict as that for Altar Fellowship. I think this is something more than a few pastors have struggled with, as they realize that their own members through misunderstanding of what has been taught, or through influence of the culture around them have carried their own misconceptions about Holy Communion, but have communed and been corrected. That there is a sense in which Holy Communion creates and establishes theological unity, even as it is the result of it. That most visitors who come to Holy Communion aren’t gate crashing teachers of another gospel, even if they are the victims of false teachers. Do we do these victims any service by banishing them from the Altar until they have enough training to actually preach? Even whilst our own members are struggling with maybe even greater difficulty because at home they have a steady diet of Max Lucado and Rick Warren, or conversations with Baptist friends and in-laws. Could it be that these are nothing more than bruised reeds, that could safely commune crying “I believe, help my unbelief!”?
The beauty of this book is it asks the questions, invites conversation and will be a greatly useful tool for pastors trying to bring a congregation back from open communion practices, while also serving as a platform for congregations that may have become to legalistic in their practice of close communion, perhaps crossing over to closed communion, to discuss their own predicaments, which is just as big a problem in our current climate.

Lutero Y La Mision

It may seem strange to give this review in English, but I do so for a couple reasons. 1. though I read Spanish fairly well, I'm not practiced enough to write in it. 2. The subject matter of this book is of great importance to many who speak and read only English.
I wish this book, "Lutero Y La Mision" or one like it were in English. It is actually quite a phenomenal book of great interest to the Lutheran world in which English is edging out German as the Lingua Franca. In fact if I didn't know any better, I'd say the publishing of this book in Spanish is a calvnist plot to keep the myths of Luther concerning mission persistent in the English Speaking world. I would think CPH would have the book translated into English to boost sales, but then it might run heady competition against "Luther and WorldMission" by Ingemar Oberg, as this particular book is much cheaper and shorter.
In any case "Lutero Y La Mision" dispels many of the myths concerning Luther and Missions that are still prevalent among even Lutheran Missiologists. Rooy does a wonderful job showing how far from popular opinion Luther had much to say about missions, even in those writings that have attained "confessional" status such as Luther's Small Catechism. However, Luther's concept of Mission work is radically different from the ideas that circulate today concerning mission, and yet are far superior to those common to missiologists of the 19th and 20th centuries that seem to only think of missions as pertaining to foreign "missionfields" done by highly specialized men, or these days, women. Rooy shows how for Luther, missions was a natural out growth of the Gospel, and is the church's constant and on going duty, for no place can every be considered not a mission field. Wherever the Gospel is being proclaimed and the sacraments administered, there missions are happening, no matter the language, for the mission of the church is to evangelize all cultures including our own.
The only draw back to this book that really nags me, is that Rooy betrays his Calvinist roots as he tackles the question of "Why Do Missions" and places at the top of the list, "For the Glory of God" while for the "love of man" comes much later. Sure "The Glory of God" was just as important to Luther as it was for Calvin, Perhaps even more so. Which is why it doesn't occupy the same place in Lutheran Theology as it does in Calvinist Theology. Luther, to the Glory of God, was much more concerned with the things God is concerned with, like the salvation of man, than giving God a bunch of empty praise.

A great Legacy

This book is a Festschrift in honor of Dr. Rod Rosenbladt who is known for his many years of tireless service in breaking students of their pietism and teaching them the glories of Lutheran Orthodoxy at Christ College, now known as Concordia University Irvine. The man is also known for legendary one liners that have the cast of Whitehorse Inn licking wounds for weeks as he exposes the weakness not only of American Arminianism, but also the Reformed position. There is only one Lutheran on that show, because two would over power them.
But it's a Festschrift you say, we like the man but why should we buy another Festschrift? I admit I have a few of these on my shelves, and most of them are disappointing except for an essay or two. This one breaks the mold, there may have been one or two essays I did not find interesting. Of course the other members of the Whitehorse Inn and, even R.C. Sproul contribute riveting essays, most are the essays of students who have studied under Dr. Rosenbladt's tutelage. It shows an impressive legacy he leaves behind as he plans to retire from teaching.
For those interested in apologetics, this book may well be indispensable. But the essays cover the gamit of theological interest today, from historical theology, to pastoral uses of apologetics, Luther's treatment of Islam, etc. there is much here showing that Dr. Rosenbladt has succeeded in handing down the faith once and for all delivered to the saints, to yet another generation of scholars.

Perilous Writing

Wilbur Smith is known for his action pact adventure novels, most of which take place in Africa. I’ve been a fan for a long time. He doesn’t break genre in this book, "Those in Peril". It lives up to his ability to pack a page with adventure, and is very entertaining on many levels.
Set in contemporary Arabia and North Africa, Somalia, with side trips to Texas, Paris, Colorado, and Capetown, the story unfolds as a rich girl is kidnapped, raped, and held for ransom only to be rescued by her oil baroness mother’s security team, who later find they need to return and finish the job in order to insure their own security. With the help of a Natural Gas ship turned Trojan horse they infiltrate and do away with the Somali Pirate problem. It makes for a good fantasy. Lots of guns, bombs, blood and fighting.
What is troubling and perhaps even perilous about this book, is that it feeds the politically correct monster or perhaps “the beast.” Cross, the main protagonist, ex-military officer from south Africa turned security provider, all but breaks character on page 194 to deliver the same none thinking, historically in accurate but politically correct speech concerning Islam as being essentially a religion of peace. His theory goes that Islam is no different than Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism, all of which supposedly have had their own violent histories. For proof he trots out the same tired ponies of the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. Really he only betrays his own ignorance concerning world religions, and history. Not to mention he merely insults Islam by not taking its own founding documents and culture seriously. For I nice anecdote to this sort of sloppy non-scholarship one should read Rodney Stark’s, “The Case for the Crusades,” coupled with a reading of the Koran. Reading the Koran might itself be more of a detriment to this view than anything.
Christendom has, to be sure, experienced explosions of violence. Yet one might recall that the conversion of the Roman Empire came about amidst Christians turning the other cheek as they were persecuted for believing in a God that so love the world that he gave his only son to die for the sins of the world, and taught his followers to so love the world themselves. Love sometimes does require one to go to war to defend weak and innocent; something that Wilbur Smith’s book does a great job of illustrating amidst the glaring weakness of political correctness, and thus war is not antithetical to Christianity. But this is a far cry from the origins and teachings of Islam as found in the Koran and experienced in history. Mecca, the home of Islam itself did not even experience a peaceful conversion but was first conquered by Mohammed’s men and forced to convert by the sword! This was repeated in ever widening circles for the history of the religion, though it has more or less stagnated in the west after the taking of Constantinople. Especially after having been repelled from the gates of Vienna twice, and turned back by the last crusading order from the Isle of Malta. Of course, the glaring contradiction concerning the history of Islam, and Crosse’s take on religion is also brought out in the same book when a plucky retired American Navy Admiral reads a letter from his great Grandfather who fought the Barbary Pirates, and explains that “their book” demands them to make war on all infidels. (pg. 291)
I’m afraid it is time for the west to wake up and come to terms with just who “the beast” really is as our crusading forefathers once did, rather than to keep making the mistake Cross and his team did the first time, and leaving the job only half done. It is much more serious than even Fox News would like you to think.

Martin Luther, Selections from His Writings

Martin Luther, Selections from His Writings
Edited by John Dillenberger
I’ve owned this book for quite some time, and find myself returning to it often if nothing else for its accessibility. I have many different versions of Many of Luther’s works, including several in German and Latin, and in Electronic format the “American Edition” put out by Fortress and CPH. But this volume is just more convenient when I’m being lazy. I do think that for the English Speaking Lutheran Laity, there isn’t anything better that I have seen. It’s a good little volume that introduces a person to the more essential writings of Luther. Those writings that have been most influential, these include “”The Pagan Servitude of the Church” “Secular Authority: To what Extent It Should be Obeyed” “The Freedom of a Christian (absolutely essential reading for Lutherans) and “Two Kinds of Righteousness”
I would include here “The Bondage of the Will” except that it is truncated by a man who does not understand Luther, same for “A Commentary on St. Paul’s epistle To the Galatians.’ Concerning thse two volumes it is better to pick up the more complete versions, even if translated by reformed translators, and read them in total, rather than allow them to be butchered by men who don’t share Luther’s theology, but actually reject it.
That is the weakness of this volume. The editor is reformed and lets his biases show. Perhaps he is just ignorant and not malicious when he doesn’t see that the “Heidleberg Disputation” presents “Luther’s Theology of the Cross” that was the heart of the his reformation activities forming it from beginning to end. But it does illustrate the problem, and makes one very suspicious, and rightfully so, of what he left out in his truncation of the Bondage of the Will. One who does not understand “The Heidleberg Disputation” will not begin to understand “The Bondage of the Will”, which Calvinists like only because they refuse to understand it, or take it with the seriousness it deserves.
I suspect that if a Lutheran had selected the writings for a book like this there would be some overlap, but perhaps there would be a little more concerning the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps they would even include the Small Catechism. Furthermore, probably needed in an accessible form for laity is Luther’s Treatise “On Whether Soldiers too can be Saved.” But it is to the shame of Lutheran Publishers that they haven’t put a reader like this together, at least not one that I have seen, which is as remotely accessible as this one.

The Trinity, An Essential for Faith in Our Time

The Trinity, An Essential for Faith in Our Time
Edited by Andew Stirling
This book is good in that it addresses and takes seriously a problem for contemporary Christianity, lack of understanding concerning the Trinity and its implications for the gospel and church life.
Unfortunately, the essays are at best of varying quality. The exegetical essays are woeful, especially that dealing with the Trinity in the Old Testament, which fails to take into account many passages the church has historically seen as teaching the Trinity. The historical essays are a bit more enlightening, and the systematic treatments are better. The one more interesting observation I have been able to take away from this book, is that those churches that retained the historic liturgy have historically done a better job of holding on to the teaching of the Trinity, where as Pentecostal and charismatic churches haven’t. Though, one might wonder how true this is. It tends to be liberal churches that hold a semblance of liturgy baptizing in the name of the “Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier” which this book also points out is quite acceptable to the concept of God shared with Jews and Muslims.
Andrew Stirling, along with Shepherd, shine in comparison to the other essays of this book, pointing out the challenge of the church today, and that when we don’t teach, and rather hide behind the myth that it is a totally incomprehensible mystery and therefore unteachable, that our people will opt for forms of Unitarianism. He shows that a correct understanding of the Trinity is needed for a correct proclamation of the Gospel.
Indeed, today assaulting the church are all sorts of heresies concerning the Trinity from within and out. We exclude Mormon’s, Unitarians, and Muslims as not being Christian because of their teachings concerning the Trinity. Yet so often those of churches recognized as “orthodox” because of their official teaching concerning the Trinity, are really no better off. Watch an evangelical debate a Mormon concerning the Trinity and see if either of them aren’t in error? Perhaps this is why so many of the evangelistic approaches I see here in Utah amount to trying to out Mormon the Mormons with talk of morality, even the approach to the trinity takes on legalistic overtones concerning it with no more than the first commandment, rather than showing it’s historical necessity for the gospel. Indeed, sometimes I wonder if they know the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins at all! And it makes sense, where the Trinity isn’t taught neither is the Gospel, and where there is no Gospel there is not a correct teaching of the Trinity, no matter how orthodox the official teaching.
In the end, it is worth it for the essays of Stirling, and shepherd, to a lesser extent also Humphrey. The rest is rather tedious, and at times seems to be even at odds with the central theme of the book, though it has worth in illustrating with concrete examples the problem. Were I investigating the doctrine of the Trinity, I’d read this book along with “The First Seven Ecumenical Councils” By Leo Donald Davis, and “On the Incarnation” by Athanasius.

"Luther's theology of the Cross"

Luther’s Theology of the Cross
Walther Von Loewenich
This is one of the few books available in English dealing directly with "Luther's Theology of the Cross" which for the past century now has been turning the wisdom of Luther Scholarship past on its head. But this is a good thing for the conservative or confessional movements. It is the rediscovery of Luther's theology of the Cross, and it's unique approach to scripture that is laying waste to the false dichotomies not well researched by the liberal giants of the nineteenth century, men like Ritschle and Von Harnack, that cast long shadows in the Twentieth and indeed, so far, also the Twenty First. The Theology of the Cross has far reaching consequences for Luther Scholarship, and so this book is rather indispensable to a Lutheran's Library.
I was led to it by way of Forde's "On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther's Heidelberg Disputation, 1518 (Theology)" which is rather like a Cliff Notes to this book. One cannot recommend Forde's book enough either, and it is perhaps a bit more accessible to the lay man, who would do well to read it before attempting "Luther's Theology of the Cross." Forde does make a few apt criticisms in his book though. One Loewenich is a bit hard going. He doesn't start out that way, but he gets bogged down in talking about faith, a topic that Forde avoids, or tries to step around anyway. Talking about faith, Forde correctly assesses, leads to navel gazing, despair, etc. It is an attempt to talk about the gospel rather than proclaiming it. Perhaps it has to be touched on from time to time, but its reality is as transcendent as the God who is its author. It defies adequate description. And descriptions of it, often have the habit of turning gospel into law, and inspiring one to mimick faith rather than rest in the forgiveness of Christ. Talking about faith that is, tends to inspire a fake it till you make it mentality. Faith doesn't work that way. It is a gift that is given and is as sure as your baptism.
That all said the first part of "Luther's Theology of the Cross" is hard to put down, and gives excellent scholarly reviews of some of Luther's most seminal works such as "The Heidleberg Disputation", in which Lowenich shows Dillenberger's assessment (Martin Luther : Selections From His Writings) of it as "not attacking the heart of the Roman Church" to be woefully inadequate. On the contrary, the theological developments shown here will be the heart of Luther's theology till his dying day, and attack the very heart of not only the Roman Church, but also that of the Reformed churches, which is probably why Dillenberger fails to understand their importance.
He goes on to give a great overview of Luther's "Bondage of the Will". This is the book that the Reformed scholars like Dillenberger love to misquote and misinterpret in order to make Luther a Calvinist. Loewenich shows this to be really an impossibility for anyone who takes this work seriously, especially if they take into account anything else Luther wrote in his career. Here you see that the Bondage of the Will is really "The Heidleberg Disputation" put into a theological treatise, spelled out. Anyone who wants to understand the Bondage ought to read this essay on it a few times. He follows up with Luther's lectures on Isaiah showing continuity in Luther's thought. This part of the book alone makes it worth the read.
The third part of the book translates the theory to the practicalities of a Christian's life, and the implications the theology of the Cross have for the Christian and how he lives in the world while not be of it. In short this section dismantles the false piety that is touted in most Christian bookstores, which has the effect of leaving people high and dry.
It is this type of Scholarship, that has made people rethink the false dichotomies of the Young Luther and the old Luther. Or the cliché that Luther had nothing to say about missions, which Rooy further destroys in "Lutero y la Misión" while tapping into this type of Luther research, though he still tries to hold onto the myth that there is essentially no difference between Luther and Calvin. In short this work gives a workable framework for understanding Luther and his reformation activities, showing them to be consistent throughout, and dismantling the slanderous myths that have grown up concerning Luther, and still persist today in the writings of men like N.T. Wright, his book "justification" for instance.

The Lions of Kandahar

The Lions of Kandahar, The Story of a Fight Against all Odds,
By Major Rusty Bradley and Kevin Maurer.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book. The story comes alive in a way that a 3D movie could only wish to replicate. It is written well enough that you find yourself ducking RPGs as you read.
Basically, the story is about an Army Special Forces unit bailing out a Canadian Mechanized unit during a joint operation, by taking a critical hill and gaining the high ground. It is an 11 day debacle that reads through in a matter of hours.
Along the way you get an inside look at what our men are up against in Afghanistan, and how a Special Forces unit operates. You also get a picture of the local population of Afghanistan and begin to see that contrary to much liberal down play in the media, there are many people who are happy we are there doing what we are doing.
At the end of the book, there is a sober assessment of who is really to blame for this war, and the carnage it has left in its wake. In the end it is not the American Soldier who is to blame for civilian casualties. Al Qaeda and the Taliban initiated this war. They are the ones who use civilians as shields, that our military so desperately tries to avoid harming. They are the ones who would continue to harass the local population if left to their own devices.
I feel for the Afghan people, and so does this Special Forces unit. You can hear their concern in the story line. You can see the suffering the Taliban inflicted on this population long before NATO arrived on the scene. The book dismantles the notion that Afghanistan and her people would be better off without out intervention, or that we have no business being there. It also dismantles the notion that the war is unwinnable.
Major Bradley and Kevin Maurer do us all a favor in writing this book, and telling the story. In doing so he inspires respect for our troops, and the American can do spirit they have. We can.