JRF's #36 - Inventing the Enemy by Umberto Eco

This book is a collection of essays about anything and everything by University of Milan professor and author Umberto Eco.

Here's a brief synopsis of each:

Inventing the Enemy -  A historical account of humanity's proclivity to look for someone to stereotype, vilify, and hate.

Absolute and Relative - A somewhat muddled discussion of the relationship between absolute and relative truth.

The Beauty of the Flame - Beautifully chronicles the various uses, philosophies, and symbolic utilizations of fire and light throughout history.

Treasure Hunting - Catalougs some of the more interesting and fantastical relics that have filled the treasuries of Roman Catholic churches over the years.

Fermented Delights -  Catalougs the writings and musings of the late Italian historian Piero Camporesi, who had a fascination with historical forms of fermentation, be that of beer, cheese, or decomposing bodies.

No Embryos in Paradise -  An examination of Thomas Aquinas' views on the humanity and soul of the unborn (spoiler alert: Aquinas was wrong).

Hugo, Helas!: The Poetics of Excess - Eco celebrates Victor Hugo's trademark penchant for dramatic excess.

Censorship and Silence - Examines the irony that censorship of something make it more popular and the oversaturation in the media of that same thing dulls its influence and allure.

Imaginary Astronomies - Investigates the attempts throughout history to map the universe as well as the earth and shows how even erroneous theories became stepping stones in our understanding of the world and the heavens.  Interesting side story about how some Nazi's belief that the surface of the world was actually concave with us on the inside of the sphere may have contributed to so many botched V8 rocket launches.

Living by Proverbs -  This essay is made up entirely of folk wisdom and "things my daddy used to say", showing that if we literally lived by proverbial wisdom we would cease to function.

I Am Edmond Dantes! - Explores the use and misuse of the literary device of anagnorisis, which surprises the readers and/or the characters of a story with the revelation of a secret identity.

Ulysses: That's All We Needed... -  A collection of fascist era reviews of James Joyce's Ulysses.

Why the Island Is Never Found - Discusses the search of islands real and imagined, the invention and importance of longitude, and the reason that some islands are never discovered.

Thoughts on WikiLeaks -  commentary on the significance of the WikiLeaks scandal and what it means to live in a world where not only is the technology for an Orwellian like Big Brother government available, but the technology exists to steal Big Brother's secrets.

I enjoyed all of the essays, understood most of them and appreciated the opportunity to have my mind stretched in subjects I wouldn't normally encounter.

JRF's #35 - Deny Yourself by Steve Gallagher

I was given this short book(let?) at last years' Desiring God Conference, Finish the Mission. It is a collection of 20 short biographical excerpts ranging from the early church to the 20th Century that highlight extraordinary examples of Christian missionary faithfulness, even faithfulness unto death.  We have been reading a chapter every saturday morning as a family.  It has been convicting and steeling to be reminded of the faithfulness of those who truly understood the value of the Gospel for themselves and for the lost, and literally loved those trapped in darkness to death.

When missionary to China, Jack Vinson was asked by his executioner, "I am going to kill you.  Aren't you afraid?"  Vinson simply replied, "Kill me, if you wish.  I will go straight to God."  Inspired by Vinson's sacrifice Presbyterian minister wrote a poem entitled "Afraid? Of What?" that went on to become the theme of all missionaries in China during that period.

Afraid?  Of What?

To feel the Spirit's glad release?  To pass from pain to perfect peace, 

 The strife and strain of life to cease? Afraid - of that?

Afraid? Of What?

Afraid to see the Savior's face, To hear His welcome, and to trace

The glory gleam from wounds of grace?  Afraid - of that?

Afraid? Of What? 

A flash, a crash, a pierced heart; Darkness, light, O Heaven's art!

A wound of His a counterpart! Afraid - of that?

Afraid? Of What?

To do by death what life could not - Baptize with blood a stony plot, 

Till souls shall blossom from the spot? Afraid - of that?

Mark's #48 - The Mighty Weakness of John Knox by Douglas Bond (2011)

As Martin Luther pounded the nail through his Ninety five Thesis on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, three-year-old John Knox toddled around his home 800 miles away in Haddington, Scotland.  Luther's spark turned into a raging inferno that would light much of Christendom ablaze with The Reformation.  By the age of twenty nine, this fire would reach into the heart of the priest John Knox and convert him to true faith in Jesus Christ. Though slight of stature, and often of ill health, Knox saw the glory of God's sovereignty and omnipotence, and found strength and confidence in these things rather than his own frail abilities and personal confidences.  John Knox was a man that understood theology and lived like it.

His life would be one of constant danger and fighting for the cause of truth in Jesus Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, by the authority of the Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone.  He wielded a broadsword in the defense of a besieged castle, whilst he also wielded the sword of God (the Bible) to proclaim to those inside the castle the gospel of grace.  After the fall of the castle, he spent the next 19 months as a galley slave for the French Navy.  Upon his release he preached before kings and queens in England, as well as Scottish peasants.   He boldly denounced the church idolatry, political church and state whims of leadership.  He narrowly escaped capture and certain death as he fled for Geneva to study under John Calvin and pastor an english speaking church.   After Mary Tudor's death, Knox returned to Scotland where he reengaged a battle for the hearts and souls of his people against the sins, abuses, and idols of the church and the state.

This book recounts all of these struggles as well as the passion and theology of John Knox.  Knox saw the doctrine of God's predestination as an essential truth for the rescue and the hope of lost sinners.  As such, many throughout history have tried to ignore or vilify Knox in order to write him off... yet the truth he expounded remains true today and forevermore - God is absolutely sovereign over salvation, and that's a very good thing.   I was personally encouraged and edified by spending this time learning about the life, faith, and God of John Knox.

JRF's #30 - Lord Radstock and the Russian Awakening by David Fountain

 

Granville Augustus William Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock, known to history as Lord Radstock, is one of the many unsung heroes of the modern missionary movement.  He was godfather to the Cambridge Seven.  He was a dear friend of George Muller.  He was the father of Russian Protestantism.  He was both admired and caricatured by the Russian elite, including the Czar, Tolstoy and Boborykin.  And he was one of those rare men of wealth who leveraged his earthly treasure and high position for an eternal purpose.

I have wanted to learn more about Lord Radstock when he was mentioned briefly in John Pollock's Cambridge Seven which I read last year.

David Fountain's short book gives a good sketch of Radstock's life.   Unfortunately it is just that, a sketch.  Fountain's greatest success in this book was to wet my appetite for more information on this amazing man's life and legacy.  I look forward to learning more from the life and ministry of this faithful disciple.

(by the way if any of you readers are a person of considerable wealth, I am looking for a Radstock type to support our missionary work in South East Asia...let me know :)

JRF's #52 - William Carey by S. Pearce Carey

Once every few years I read a book that makes a profound imprint on my life, perhaps even changing it.  This is such a book.

I love missionary biographies but more often than not books of that genre are weak in one or more of these categories:  Theological depth and accuracy, writing quality, or biographical honesty.

This book has none of those weaknesses.  In fact, out of all the books I read this year, this book was near the top in all of those areas.

William Carey is known as the man who was used by God to shake the Protestant world out of its apathetic and hyper-calvinist stance towards the 'heathen' unreached of the world and became known as the 'father of modern missions'.   In this 400+ page book S. Pearce Carey, William's great-grandson, skillfully recounts the journey of this humble shoemaker to India and eventually the most well known and perhaps most effective missionary since the apostle Paul.  His achievements are too many to list here but suffice it to say that his is the sort of story that you could only believe if you knew and loved the God that Carey joyfully gave up everything to serve.

Many times during reading this I cried like a baby with joy at the power of God at work in and around this man.  Other times I wept at the loss this man suffered.  Still other times I found myself shaking with excitement at what our God has, is, and will continue to do with those who lay their lives at His feet for the sake of His glory and the good of those who have yet to hear His name.

William Carey has risen to the foremost of my hero pantheon.  He is my hero not because he in himself was great, but because he knew the God who is Great, and he tenaciously clung to his great God through the painful adventure of bringing the Good News of Christ to the lost that they both loved so dearly.

If we Christians loved men as merchants love money, no fierceness of peoples would keep us from their midst." - from Carey's pamphlet An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen

The last days of William Carey were his best.  His sun went down in all the splendour of a glowing faith and a burning self-sacrifice.  Not in the poverty of Hackleton and Moulton, not in the hardships of Calcutta and the Sundarbans, not in the fevers of the Dinajpur swamps, not in the sorrow of all - the sixteen years' persecution by English brethren after Fuller's death - had the father of modern missions been so tried as in the years 1830-1833.  Blow succeeded blow, but only that the fine gold of his trust, his humility, and his love might be seen to be the purer." - Dr. George Smith

The map of the world hung in Carey's work-room: but it only hung on his wall, because it already hung in his heart." - F.W. Boreham

A wretched, poor and helpless worm, 

on Thy kind arms I fall

- the only words Carey requested to be put on his tombstone

JRF's #44: Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller by Burke Davis

 

Every night during Boot Camp, after everyone is snuggled into their racks, Marine Corps Recruits end their long day by uniformly saying, "Good Night Chesty, where ever you are!"  Lewis "Chesty" Puller embodies the esprit de corps of the USMC.  Any Marine worth his salt wants to be like Chesty Puller.

"They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can't get away from us now!" - Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC When the Marines were cut off behind enemy lines and the Army had written the 1st Marine Division off as being lost because they were surrounded by 22 enemy divisions. The Marines made it out inflicting the highest casualty ratio on an enemy in history and destroying 7 entire enemy divisions in the process. An enemy division is 16500+ men while a Marine division is 12500 men.

As a Chaplain working with the Marines, reading this biography was insightful and inspirational.  Obviously, from a military standpoint, there is much to admire about Lt. General Puller.  Dropping out of Military College to enlist during the First World War, Puller fought his way through the conflicts in Haiti, Nicaragua, China, World War II and the Korean War to become the most decorated Marine in history.  In addition he fought his way through the ranks to retire as a three star general.  If he had not been forced to retire early (for not keeping his mouth shut about the incompetency of the Air Force during the Korean War) he undoubtedly would have earned a fourth star.

"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!" -Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC

His wartime achievements are noteworthy, however it was the intangible things that made him great.  He was a man of uncompromising character and faithfulness - remaining loyal to his wife (and her to him) through all those long years of fighting.  He had the ability to inspire men to joyfully follow him into the valley of the shadow of death, many of them never to return.  He knew that direct, firm, commanding authority did not have to be and should not be in conflict with compassionate, selfless leadership.  He sowed the seeds of honor, courage, and commitment into his character daily so that when the feces hit the oscilating ventilator he could respond wisely without hesitation.

When an Army captain asked him for the direction of the line of retreat, Col Puller called his Tank Commander, gave them the Army position, and ordered: "If they start to pull back from that line, even one foot, I want you to open fire on them." Turning to the captain, he replied "Does that answer your question? We're here to fight." At Koto-ri in Korea - Chesty Puller at Koto-ri in Korea

I'm sure there was some bias to this book, as it rarely had anything negative to say about Puller.  But if only half of it was true, Chesty would still be the fiercest warrior and combat officer our country has ever produced.  As long as the Marine Corps keeps Chesty as their measuring stick, the USMC will remain America's elite fighting force.

Oorah!

"No officer's life is worth more than that of any man in his ranks.  He may have more effect on the fighting, but if he does his duty, so far as I can see, he must be up front to see what is actually going on with his troops.  They'd find a replacement for me soon enough if I got hit.  I've never seen a Marine outfit fall apart for lack of any one man.  I don't want you to go up under the guns just for show.  It's only the idiots and the green kids who think they're bullet-proof.  But if you don't show some courage, your officers won't show it either, and the kids will hang back.  It's that kind of an outfit that always has trouble."