JRF's #38 - The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

When knights of the realm take breaks from writing detective mysteries, they write genre defining adventure stories - stories like the Lost World.

The Lost World introduces one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's lesser known protagonists, Professor Challenger.  Challenger is an eccentric academic who claims to have evidence that deep in the South American Rainforest exists a land isolated from time, a land where dinosaurs and other unknown beasts still roam.  To defend his honor and prove his claim he assembles a team of hunters, skeptics and colleagues.  What follows is a classic adventure of the first order.

Now if any of that sounds cliche or familiar (including the title) it is simply because Sir A.C.D. has influenced, inspired, and been borrowed from by many generations of writers since, not least of which is Michael Crichton who admits as much in the forward to this edition.

This book is a classic for a reason.  Highly enjoyable epic in the vein of L. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs and John Buchan.

JRF's # 37 - Knowing God by J.I. Packer

I listened to this classic in the car this year.  Although I still struggle with the medium of audiobooks (see here and here), and as such find it hard to write a substantive review as I have retained far less of the book than if I had read it with highlighter in hand, it was easy to see why this book is such a classic.  Packer unpacks (see what I did there) deep, breathtaking Truth about God in an accessible and engaging way, and in a way that doesn't just leave the reader (or hearer) feeling more knowledgable about God, but actually points the heart and mind to worship God.

I will be returning to this book often, next time in writing.

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?

JRF's #34 - Reformation:Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow by Carl R. Trueman

I was expecting Carl Trueman's book to be polemic and blunt, as his blog often is.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found that this book was not only filled with important and passionately defended truth, but also with grace and gentle concern for the people of God. 

Reformation is Trueman's call to the church to resdiscover and never move beyond the Gospel centered message and methodology of the Reformers.  He narrows in on three great Reformation emphasis' that he asserts the modern church needs to recommit to:

1) the church's emphasis upond Jesus Christ and Him crucified,

2) the emphasis upon Scripture as the basis and norm for the proclamation of Christ,

3) the church's accent on assurance of salvation as the normative experience for all Christian believers

Trueman not only shows how each of those emphasis' was discovered and fleshed out in the Reformation era church, but also delineates a clear practical path for the church of today to recommit herself to those same powerful Biblical truths.

There is a lot packed into this small book.  I am thankful for the clarity and conviction with which prof. Trueman brings his call to God's people.  This would be an excellent book to read together on a church leadership team/elder board.

JRF's #33 - The Nudge in My Side: Stories from Indonesia and the Philippines by Bob McCroskey

A friend gave me this book, knowing that we are interested in missions in Indonesia.  Overall its a good book, filled with short stories of God's work in Indonesia and the Philippines.  It was exciting to read about how the Lord has called former Muslims, Animist canibals, and nominal Christians to faithfully proclaim His Good News and plant churches in this "closed" country, often with little to no resources.  It was also informative to read about how vital the pastor's training schools were in these stories.  Reading this has definitely got my wheels spinning about future ministry models. I would probably hesitate to recommend this book to many others however, due to it being a publication of the Church of the Nazarene.  As such, there are many references to unfamiliar traditions, squirelly doctrines, and Finney-esque methods ("holiness" preaching, alabaster offerings?, words from the Lord, accepting Jesus into my heart...etc) that would probably be confusing to some readers.  Also there seems to be no acknowledgement in the stories that there are any other churches, missionaries, or believers in these areas other than those in the Nazarene church, which I know is not the case.