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Book Review: Counterfeit Gospels by Trevin Wax

Paperback:  240 pages Publisher:  Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (March 24, 2011) ISBN-10:  080242337X For generations the church has attempted to overcome false gospels. Those "lost" sections of scripture that attempted to distort and change the words of Jesus. However the modern church is in a crisis, not of changed words of Jesus but a change perceptions of the meaning of the Gospel. In an attempt to make the gospel more easy to understand, more palatable, less controversial, and all and all less dangerous it has created a counterfeit gospel. This gospel is even more dangerous because it hasn't changed the Bible itself necessarily but rather exchange the dictates and the standards by which we should be held to. In Counterfeit Gospels Trevin Wax describes the threefold crisis in the church: A lack of confidence in the Gospel A lack of clarity in the Gospel  A lack of Gospel community The book describes th

FTC Disclaimer

Since the FTC has so kindly taken to regulate bloggers I have to state that, yes I get free books and sometimes products to review. These books/products are given to me to evaluate and decide if I like them or not and then write an honest review about them that I display on this blog. I do no receive monetary compensation for these reviews and all my reviews state my honest opinion of the products/books. I am in no way swayed by any type of bribery or cajoling. My opinions are my own and will be negative or positive depending on the book or product.

In the spirit of giving... and Coffee #OperationRedCup

There is an amazing story floating out there right now about a Raleigh NC mom of two, named Sunny Myers , who after having a "really bad parenting in the trenches day" (her words not mine) decided to post a picture of her Starbucks card on Instagram to encourage people to buy coffee for one another. This has gone viral (of course, Coffee + Giving = Viral Content ) The cool part about this is that everyone can get involved, if you want to participate all you need to do is show the card at the register have them scan it. If there is any money on the card you get to get free coffee MAKE SURE YOU TAKE A PIC  and post it #OperationRedCup and if there isn't well then you need to reload it (cheapskate) I recommend putting   At lest $10.00 on it, why not, imagine what that could mean to some other mom (or dad) of two or in my case four... I could use a coffee break, I am writing two papers on the evidences for and against "Quantum Mechanics and its ef

Review True Reason: Christian Responses to the Challenge of Atheism

True Reason: Christian Responses to the Challenge of Atheism (Kindle Edition) Print Length:  278 pages Publisher:  Patheos Press (March 9, 2012) Sold by:  Amazon Digital Services, Inc. Language:  English ASIN:  B007J71S62 I have read many of the books on both sides of the debate myself, from God Delusion, God is not Great, Portable Atheist, and many others, by Harris, Dennett, Dawkins and Hitchens, as well as the "oldies" by Darwin, Russell, and others. Being well versed on the New Atheist perspective and also a university level educator. I can say that this book holds reason and rational thinking to the light. It is not personal digs or venting half-cocked ideologies like those who are claiming to be the "brights" or the reasonable ones of the New Atheist Leadership. True Reason is simply straightforward easy to read and logically laid out. This book very clearly and without the sarcastic belittling (that many New Atheists write with) hel

Review: The IVP Concise Atlas of Bible History

The IVP Concise Atlas of Bible History Paperback:  192 pages Publisher:  IVP Academic (September 27, 2013) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0830829288 This book is a wonderful full color, very well laid out easy to read yet highly informative structure. This concise version of the classic IVP Atlas of Bible History packs a punch with: Great photos and Images One hundred maps  A variety of panoramic reconstructions  Multiple site plans Clear chronological charts And much more This volume contains the latest findings of historians and archaeologists. From the origin of the Bible & Creation all the way through to the beginning of the New Testament Church and spread of early Christianity around AD 337. The Concise edition benefits from a four-color design with highlight images, maps and charts is a must to any student of biblical geography, history or anyone just interested in knowing more than what the maps at the back of your Bibles s

Open the eyes of the Watchmaker

There are many scientific camps that are beginning to open their minds to consider the philosophical and scientific worldview espoused by the Intelligent Design movement. As discussed in Dr. Fazale Rana's book The Cell’s Design, the best way to use biochemical information to make the case for intelligent design rests on analogical reasoning in the tradition of Watchmaker analogy. While men like Richard Dawkins have tried to discredit this analogy by declaring the watchmaker to be blind, his perspectives can't overcome the obvious glaring truths that the systems found in nature beg for a designer.  The similarities between man-made information systems and those found in the cell, expressed in the form of an analogy, logically and reasonably leads to the conclusion that biochemical design is intelligent design. Based on this line of reasoning, life does indeed appear to be the work of a Creator. The Cell, in its highly complex form shows what many secular Origin of Lif

Review: Virtuous Minds

VIRTUOUS MINDS [Paperback] Philip E. Dow  (Author) Publisher:  IVP Academic (2013) ISBN-10:   0830827145 ISBN-13:    978-0830827145 This book brings up key issues facing the modern church and Christians alike. For quite some time the, "God did it, and that enough for me" answer was sufficient and the idea of a "God of the Gaps" seemed to be a valid response to the tough questions. However we live in a modern era of having to put aside not only rage, anger, brawling, and slander, but also intellectual laziness, arrogance, ignorance and cowardice. When taking God at His word, it doesn't mean that we simply stop seeking out truth or that we don't attempt to search out for completeness in our knowledge of who He is and how He operates in our world. "Intellectual character is the force of accumulated thinking habits that shape and color every decision we make." Being Virtuous in our mind has always had a connotati

Review: Abusing Scripture: The Consequences of Misreading the Bible By, Manfred Brauch IVP Academic

Abusing Scripture:  The Consequences of Misreading the Bible [Paperback] Manfred Brauch   (Author) Publisher:  IVP Academic (March 17, 2009) ISBN-10:  0830825797 ISBN-13:  978-0830825790 This is one of the best books on the topic of Biblical Misrepresentation I have read. Braunch has a definite way of putting into clear context sections of scripture that have for years been pulled out of context and form fitted to someones doctrinal idea of a "truth". Many times preachers will unknowingly pull a sentence or two out as a sermon illustration or as a topic starter thinking there is no harm in this, but what happens when we begin adding to The Word ends up belittling the truth of scripture. Its not our job to make scripture fit our sermon or our notes, but rather our duty to make sure our sermons and notes fit the truth of Scripture. After Reading this book I have to agree with the very appropriate and concise review given by George P. Wood t he Director of

God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain (Paperback) IVP

God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain  Chad Meister (Editor), James K. Dew Jr. (Editor) Publisher:  IVP Books (January 15, 2013) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0830837841 ISBN-13:  978-0830837847 This book is a very good resource for an individual looking into this topic either for the first time or are relatively new to the argument. I am impressed with the large number of essays covering a vast number of topics, its great to see so many different individuals contributed to this book thereby attempting to reduce bias. While the majority of the contributors are Evangelical Christians, the number of scholars and theologians compiled in one volume are generally not available outside of a costly text book. I am always hesitant to promote any one book, but rather I recommend gathering a number of books on the same topic, so as to be able to get a wide range perspectives, however this book does a good job of making those perspectives available. I am als
Feeding America One family at a time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvG6qg8j54A&feature=share&list=UUsroi4rRBMwrs9CIpJP4jiw&index=2