This sensationalistic impulse naturally leads a documentary to want to prove that the traditional view is mistaken (after all, the traditional view is rather boring and unexciting).  Thus, we are not surprised when we quickly realize that this documentary will not even be trying to present a balanced perspective. It is decidedly geared to disprove the Bible.... Continue Reading

Matthew Henry’s six-volume Commentary on the Whole Bible has long been an evangelical favorite for its combination of thoroughness, specific detail, and price: It’s never been hugely expensive, and its Kindle edition now sells for 99 cents. Those who relish it—I’m one—will profit from Allan Harman’s readable new biography, Matthew Henry: His Life and Influence (Christian Focus, 2012). Henry... Continue Reading

A third reason (and the reason I picked up the book to read in the first place) has to do with his treatment of Roman Catholicism vis-a-vis the canon. Kruger is always quick to point out strengths and truth in opposing viewpoints while pointing out the extremes. In his treatment of Roman Catholicism on the... Continue Reading

While there is a great deal to commend in What Is The Meaning of Sex?, let me point to just three of its most notable strengths: This book is biblical. No matter his topic, Burk never strays from a biblical text and as he looks at those texts he consistently applies careful, nuanced exegesis. This book is timely. While the... Continue Reading

Milton admits that the primary work of pastors, like himself, is the gospel ministry of Word, Sacrament, and Prayer.  Fulfilling the role of shepherds, pastors are to be on watch to announce with clarity the enemies of truth who are storming the walls of our soul.  So pastors, who are being faithful, must stand in... Continue Reading

My ultimate freedom is not in my choice of books. I long for that ultimate freedom that I will have in eternity, when I will be free from sin. I won’t have to worry about separating the truth from the lie, because I will only being living in 100% pure truth. I will no longer... Continue Reading

This is really a fantastic resource for those who minister to, and want to understand, the present generation of 18-30 year olds. As a College Chaplain, I found the work full of practical insights that will contribute to how I relate to, communicate with, and preach the gospel to my students.   David P. Setran... Continue Reading

For Worthen, though, the problem is not that the evangelical straw man doesn’t have a brain; it has too many.  The evangelicals of the American Century want to have it all: faith AND reason, status AND separateness, the Great Commission AND Great Low Prices.    Molly Worthen’s Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American... Continue Reading

There are doubtless those who live by the law and don’t quite get grace, but is that the world most of the readers of this book inhabit?   Maybe it is, but maybe it has just become the accepted norm to repeat that there are lots of people out there drowning in legalism endorsed by... Continue Reading

Taking a cue from Gibson’s success with “The Passion,” film marketing campaigns now go after pastors’ endorsements through special advance screenings to secure endorsements from big-name religious leaders. As more people are sitting in front of the TV on a Sunday morning rather than in church, “filmmakers are the new high priests of our culture,”... Continue Reading