Allen Raynor Weblog:
Recommended Reading Winter/Spring 2019 (Pt. 2)
(June 11, 2019)
Cell phones
have changed our lives. One could argue
for better or for worse, but there is little doubt they have changed us, and
the world in which we live. Tony Reinke has written a fantastic book called 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. I found this book among the most fascinating
reads of late. He argues we have become
addicted to distraction; that we devalue, perhaps even ignore flesh and blood
in a way previously unknown; that we crave immediate approval through social
media; that literacy to a large degree is being lost as people skim and
speed-read in a way never done before; that we are losing a sense of true
meaning; that we are lonelier now than ever before; that much of the clear
sense of right and wrong we once knew is being lost; that we are more harsh to
one another; we are more comfortable than we have ever been before in secret
vises, and much more. Before reading
this book, I assumed I had a good grasp of the problem, but Reinke really made
me think about many things. Put this
book on your “must read” list.
Some books
just make you say “Wow,” and that is the case with author Melvin Tinker’s book That Hideous Strength: How the West was
Lost: The Cancer of Cultural Marxism in the Church, the World and the Gospel of
Change. Tinker explores how the
worldview behind the attempt to build the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 is the
same one that influenced Karl Marx and his socialistic descendants. In recent decades we have seen a drastic
change in western culture in how truth is viewed. The secular worldview, sexually promiscuous,
pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, anti-family mindset of today undermines the very
idea of “truth” itself before any thoughts or ideas are shared! Tinker writes this book in the backdrop of C.
S. Lewis’ classic work That Hideous
Strength where Lewis saw with remarkable precision and clarity where the
thinking of even 70 years ago would take mankind. Melvin Tinker’s book is pointed and
eye-opening!
Concerning
the subject of church history I really enjoyed, and learned a lot from A Brief History of Sunday: From the New
Testament to the New Creation by Justo L. Gonzalez. The book traces the development of Sunday
(The Lord’s Day) as the day of Christian worship moving from the Jewish Sabbath
on the 7th day of the week.
Many think this was simple, with only a few lingering issues, but it was
not so cut and dry. There are several
intriguing historical truths of which I was unaware until I read this
book. Gonzalez takes one through the
middle ages, through The Reformation, and shows how the reformers felt about
The Lord’s Day. Gonzalez then moves on to the Puritans, and then up to the more
modern issues concerning the day of worship.
The Five
“Solas” or “Sole authorities” coming out of the Protestant Reformation were the
sole authority of Scripture alone; Faith alone; Grace alone; Christ alone; and
by God’s Glory alone. Jason K. Allen is
the editor of a great new book that came out earlier this year called Sola: How the Five Solas are Still Reforming
the Church. A handful of authors
write each chapter and give a great overview of each of the 5 solas. It is a great introductions for those new to
the subject and a great reminder for those who hold these near and dear.
David Martyn
Lloyd-Jones was perhaps the most amazing Bible expositor of the 20th
century. He preached with passion and
precision to spellbound audiences. I was
blessed and inspired, while reading Steven J. Lawson’s book The Passionate Preaching of Martyn
Lloyd-Jones. This book is somewhat
biographical but focuses mainly on the different aspects of his stellar
preaching.
J. I. Packer
has done a lot of research on English Puritanism and his writings celebrates
these towering figures we know as “the Puritans.” I enjoyed reading Packer’s book Puritan Portraits: Selected Classic
Pastors and Pastoral Classics. A
handful of key Puritans are covered with a bit of biography and a summary of
their major works. This book is a great
introduction for someone wanting to know more about the English Puritans.
On the subject
of prayer I was blessed by re-reading Alone
with God: Rediscovering the Power and Passion of Prayer as I prepared to
teach through the book on Wednesday Evenings.
John MacArthur gives many wonderful quotes from famous preachers and
writers of the past concerning prayer, offers deep and heart-rendering
insights, and gives wonderful explanations to the phrases found in the Lord’s
Prayer/Model Prayer. Another related
book which both helped and challenged me was The Essential Guide to Fasting: What it is, How to do it, and Why it
Matters by Elmer Towns. Fasting may
not get the notoriety that prayer gets but it is vitally important, biblical,
and useful to our spiritual development.
Towns gives great insight into this oft neglected spiritual discipline.
Christians
believe a lot of lies that they think are either Scriptural, or nearly
Scriptural. However, many of the views
held are nothing more than “urban legends.”
In his great book 9 Common Lies
Christians Believe: And Why God’s Truth is Infinitely Better, author Shane
Pruitt dispels some of the most common of these lies. These include such misconceptions and “one
liners” as “God won’t give me more than I can handle,” “God gained another
angel,” “God just wants me to be happy,” “I could never forgive that person,”
“Just follow your heart,” “God does not really care,” “Believe in yourself,”
etc. This book will help you separate
fact from fiction in your own life and help you help others shine the light of
Scripture by dispelling falsehoods and “old wives tales” about the Bible.
Believers
are well aware that the normalization of homosexuality, and even same-sex
marriage, has come in like a flood and radically changed the culture right
before our very eyes! We have heard so
much rhetoric and many have suspected that much of what they were hearing was
not true but they did not have the knowledge, in many cases, to really say for
certain this rhetoric was not accurate. One of the most popular practices of our day
by the political left is to revise history, which is easily done with the help
of the internet. What is the actual truth concerning the historical view of homosexuality? Authors S. Donald Fortson III and Rollin G.
Grams have compiled an enormously helpful resource in their book Unchanging Witness: The Consistent Christian
Teaching on Homosexuality in Scripture and Tradition. The research for this 402 page book is
extensive and thorough. They trace and
extensively quote ancient writers, philosophers, Jewish Rabbis, consult early
church confessions, the Protestant Reformers, up to modern writers and
theologians to show how the church, and society in general has always stood
opposed to homosexual practice. The authors also examines many Scriptures that
speak about homosexuality and show what they mean, and what they have been
understood to mean historically. They
also spend significant time quoting and commenting on revisionist writers who
have tried very hard to re-interpret the Bible to fit their lifestyle or simply
accommodate the culture. This is, by
far, the most thorough treatment of the subject of homosexuality I have read to
date. I highly recommend all believers
read this book.
Abortion has
been a hotly contested issue for a long time and figures to be for a long time
to come, even though polls are showing a decline in the number of
supporters. Lives are at stake! Believers must be educated on the issues in
order to be able to argue the case for life.
John Ensor and Scott Klusendorf have done a great service by writing
their book Stand for Life: A Student’s
Guide for Making the Case and Saving Lives.
The book is heartfelt, challenging, and educational as it explores the
abortion issue and offers suggestions as to how to get involved in this battle
for life. Another great book I read
recently on this topic is Randy Alcorn’s book Why Pro-Life? Caring for the
Unborn and their Mothers. It can be
read quickly, but offers a great challenge.
In Christ,
Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor
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