Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread: Taking Aim at Everyone

Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread: Taking Aim at Everyone is a book I almost didn't review.  It is a series of essays by Carl Trueman, a British professor at an American Reformed Seminary.  I almost didn't review it not because I didn't enjoy it but it's difficult to explain what it is about.  The subtitle Taking Aim at Everyone sums it up about as well as I am able.  The essays "take aim" at emergents, celebrity pastors, those who get their feelings hurt easily and so on and so on.  The first third of the book was amusing but after essay 12 or 13 or so the negativity started to feel just that. Negative.  I think he has some great things to say, and while I disagreed with very little in any of the essays I think it may have been better enjoyed slower where all the criticism didn't add up to such a bad taste.  I enjoy Dr Trueman's essays singly on the Reformation 21web-site and in the future I think I'll just enjoy them there one at a time.  The Francis Schaeffer book is a slow go, hopefully have it done this week. 

Francis Shaeffer

Just started the complete works of Francis Schaeffer that has been sitting on my bookshelf for a decade or so.  I'll review the books one at a time until something shiny comes along and I get distracted.  The God Who is There should be up first in a few days.

Alistair Begg's Preaching for God's Glory

Just finished reading Alistair Begg's Preaching for God's Glory.  First admission, I don't preach.  I'm not really even crazy about any public speaking.  I am an elder, so I listen to my pastor preach and I am called to critique said preaching as necessary.  With that admission out of the way, I enjoyed the book/pamphlet very much.  The book begins with a reiteration of the concerns that preaching in the 21rst century evangelical church is more style than substance.  It then goes on for 50 pages or so of very winning text to lay out how that substance can be regained bu listening to what God has to say in His word rather than saying what the culture wants to hear.  The book is very short, very practical and I believe would be a profitable read for any teacher of God's word.

Robert W. Godfrey's John Calvin:Pilgrim and Pastor

Just finished reading Robert W. Godfrey's John Calvin:Pilgrim and Pastor.  This book was written for JC's 500th birthday.  It is unabashedly pro-Calvin, but so am I so I enjoyed it a lot.  It is an interesting amalgam of a biography and an introduction to his thought.  For example, it tells briefly about what is known of his early years and his journey that led him to Geneva, but that information is generally brief and fairly superficial.  If you are a big biography fan there will probably better choices with more details of his life.  Where this book really shines is when it combines those biographical details with his writings on various theological issues.  Unlike dry details of his life long quotes from his copious writings really made me feel like I got to know the man better.  Especially helpful to me were his thoughts on the sacraments of baptism and communion.  My denomination has struggled recently on communion for children, and his writing really clarified why pedocommunion is different from baptism.  I would recommend this book to anyone with any interest in John Calvin.  It is a short and profitable introduction to a great man who has influenced the modern world in so many ways.  Even if you disagree with his views on predestination, hearing his arguments first hand will make you appreciate a really amazing mind.

starting off

I have been trying to figure out where to keep track of what I have read for some time now.  As I was reading reviews on Amazon I ran across a site called Booksneeze that gives advance copies to people who agree to blog about these books with a review.  So that got me thinking about blogging as a way to keep track of my reading.  My hope is to write a short review of most of the books I read.  My reading taste is about half and half theology and science fiction.  So if either of those are of any interest to you, keep reading.  I am almost finished with a biography of John Calvin so I hope to have that up in the next week.