leswag97's reviews
228 reviews

D. Moody Smith's short commentary on the Epistles of John is insightful and a helpful companion to both teachers and preachers alike. Smith draws from the best that Johannine scholarship has to offer and makes it easily accessible in this work (he doesn't even include any footnotes, so as to not take the focus away from the text itself). Most helpful is Smith's discussion about background, historical context, and setting, especially revolving around the First Epistle. Understanding what is happening "behind the scenes" gives modern readers much more of an ability to grasp what the author of these Epistles is saying and what significance it may still have for us today.

I voraciously tore through Jemar Tisby’s “The Color of Compromise,” underlining, note-taking, and writing down my own thoughts in the margins. Like the Letter of James in the New Testament, this book at times feels like a punch in the gut or a rude awakening, albeit necessary. It is necessary to wake up, and it is necessary at times to have the wind taken out of you, so that you may be filled up with something new, and that a new understanding of the past, present, and future may appear before your eyes.

In Tisby’s historical survey of the American Church’s complicity in racism, he highlights monumental moments in America’s history where the Church has failed in its call and commission to love God and to love one’s neighbor, and has instead joined herself to prejudice, white supremacy, power, and wealth.

While many American Christians know of and have studied at least in part the horrors of slavery in America, as well as the Civil War, Jim Crow laws, and the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century, few of us who are white or who are in positions of privilege or power (and are therefore not as touched by the lasting effects of centuries of bigotry and racism) have dwelt on our bloody pasts, lamenting what has taken place and asking for forgiveness (from both God and our brothers and sisters we have oppressed, or at least, allowed to suffer). The importance of taking a look at the past is that it informs the present situation, illuminates the struggles, contexts, and backgrounds of one’s neighbors, and it provides guidance and wisdom for the future. My prayer is that whoever reads “The Color of Compromise”—including myself—would utilize it as a tool and a map: a tool for building up, rather than breaking down, each other, as well as a tool for breaking down, rather than building up, the dividing wall of hostility (Eph. 2:14); and a map to lead us into a bright and beautiful future, where we have learned from past mistakes, and can build on new foundations of love and justice.

For many white American Christians, a book such as this might not be at the top of the list; perhaps, because one might view reliving the past is painful; also perhaps, because one may see these as historical problems of the past, and as being no longer problematic for today; or perhaps, because one may not see the issue of racial justice and equality as being orthodox or Gospel-centered. Even in the midst of these initial objections, I encourage you to pick this book up and to dive into its pages, and to see what it may teach you, how it may convict you, and where it might lead you.

A page turner, to say the least. This book was astounding, profound, and heartbreaking. The themes of William Golding’s dark tale are sobering, but they are made all the more powerful in light of his host of characters: a rugged, scared, and foolish crowd of young boys.

The dialogue between these boys helped in carrying the narrative forward, and in a manner that was interesting and captivating, for it was not the boring chatter of adults, but the ignorant, funny, and petty discourse between children. The characters were developed nicely and believably. Although the story in and of itself is fictitious, and therefore could lend itself to being far-fetched, when reading “Lord of the Flies,” familiar phrases such as “the survival of the fittest,” and “boys will be boys” become all too true and all too ominous.

The story excellently portrays the faults within humanity—even “civilized” British boys—and how greed, desire for power, hatred, fear, and a will to survive all can serve to create within each man or woman, boy or girl, monstrous tendencies and bestial appetites. Golding’s work is not to be overlooked.

"Just Mercy" was a fantastic account of the amazing work done by Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative. It is a must read for any person committed to the work of anti-racism and justice. Told from the perspective of Stevenson, a black lawyer who, after graduating from Harvard School of Law, began practicing law in Alabama, specifically for those on death row, those wrongfully convicted of crimes, and juveniles tried as adults and sentenced to capital punishment or life in prison without parole. The work detailed in this book is heartbreaking, beautiful, and so important. The journey that Stevenson takes you on not only exposes the criminal justice (or injustice) system for what it is, but also advocates for life, restorative and rehabilitative justice, and mercy for those that need it the most.

While the main story of "Just Mercy" covers Bryan Stevenson's work with a wrongfully convicted black man named Walter McMillian, who was placed on death row for a murder he did not commit, the book veers in many different directions, encompassing the entirety of the work that the Equal Justice Initiative does. The statistics and realities shared by Stevenson in these pages are appalling and hard to read, but they are necessary for showing simply how unjust our justice system can be; one can see from Stevenson's first-hand retellings how the "system of criminal justice ... continues to treat people better if they are rich and guilty than if they are poor and innocent" (313). Decrying mandatory sentence requirements, racial profiling and racial disparities within the criminal justice system, the age of mass incarceration, and the death penalty, Stevenson ultimately shows that the "The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned” (18), and that all of us are far more than simply the worst thing we have ever done.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and I also encourage anyone thinking about reading this book to also watch the movie based on the book, also titled "Just Mercy," which was released at the end of 2019. Also, check out all the amazing work that Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative are currently doing at their website: eji.org.

I read this volume of collected essays on the Epistle to the Hebrews for a graduate course I took on Hebrews. A few essays in particular stand out to me as exceptional from this collection: "Here We Have No Lasting City" by Richard Hays; "God Has Spoken: Hebrews' Theology of the Scriptures" by Kenneth Schenck; "Exemplars of Faith in Hebrews 11: Abel" by R. Walter L. Moberly; "Rahab Outside the Camp" by Carl Mosser; and "Prophets and Martyrs as Exemplars of Faith" by Loveday Alexander.

There were a number of essays that did not pique my interest, while others that did so in moderation. This is a good resource for anyone interested in the Epistle to the Hebrews and its impact on important topics of Christian theology. It also introduces a number of authors from a variety of theological backgrounds and traditions that some who are new to the world of biblical criticism and theological studies perhaps would not have learned about otherwise; I found this to be true in my case--many of these authors were unknown to me, and I enjoyed a number of them.

Gareth Cockerill's commentary on Hebrews for the NICNT is superb. He does an excellent job at introducing his own take on the numerous difficult questions concerning this Epistle--namely, who wrote it, to whom was it addressed, when was it written, etc. Cockerill's comments on each section and each verses are insightful and astoundingly thorough. I also appreciated his willingness to interact with--both in agreement and in disagreement--many other articles, books, and monographs on the subject from a variety of different authors. Cockerill, rather than simply regurgitating everyone else's insights, comes through with his own unique style, interpretation, and assessment of Hebrews. I would highly recommend this to anyone taking a class on the Epistle to the Hebrews or who is exegeting a passage from Hebrews for a class discussion, church gathering, or the like.

I read this book for a Grad course on the Epistle to the Hebrews, and would recommend it to anyone taking a deep dive into Hebrews. This book compiles the different views of four leading biblical scholars on the topic of the "warning passages" in Hebrews. These passages scattered throughout the Epistle have been the topic of heated debate for centuries, as both Arminians and Calvinists come to these texts with seemingly different perspectives. It is important to recognize that whatever tradition you bring to this text can and most likely will color your interpretation of them. It is best to recognize that these preconceived notions are present, and to try to approach the biblical text with an honest and open mind.

After each view is presented, each other "camp" is able to give a detailed response to the view, pointing out areas of agreement or disagreement. I appreciated this back-and-forth dialogue between the authors, because it allowed for each view to have a right to speak. Ultimately, I found myself more aligned with the Wesleyan Arminian View espoused by Gareth L. Cockerill. Cockerill's view is not too different from Grant R. Osborne's Classical Arminian View, since they are both Arminian, but I found Cockerill much more persuasive in his argument. Randall C. Gleason's Moderate Reformed View is fascinating, as he does not view these passages as speaking about apostasy and about eternal judgment, but about a relinquishing of divine blessings in light of the imminent danger of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70; while Gleason brings up some important points to consider, his overall argument depends too much on the location of Hebrews' audience being in Palestine. Buist M. Fanning (representing a Classical Reformed View) is persuasive, but draws some conclusions specifically about the eternal security of believers that are not conclusive from the Epistle to the Hebrews; it seems to me that the rhetorical strength of the warning passages dissolves if eternal security is in view.

This work by Ron Sider is an incredible resource, not only for the historic peace churches and Christians committed to nonviolence, but for all Christians, the majority of whom would consider themselves Just War adherents. Sider presents a detailed and insightful look into successful nonviolent movements in the 20th century especially, all of which stand in stark contrast to the bloodbaths of the two World Wars and many other violent revolutions, genocides, etc. Not only does he draw attention to the popular nonviolent movements of Gandhi in India and King in the U.S., but he also focuses on lesser known successful nonviolent movements and revolutions, even in some places where it would be deemed unlikely that nonviolent action could hold any true power, such as in the Soviet Union, Egypt, Liberia, Philippines, and Nicaragua.

Perhaps most helpful is Sider's final section of the book in which he details and lays out what would be required to truly test the far-reaching potential of nonviolent action. While much effort, time, and money has been poured into military campaigns and violent power, the amount of effort, time, and money that has been poured into international and domestic peacemaking pales in comparison. If Christians, and countries and nations worldwide, truly desire world peace, justice, and equity among all peoples, we must be committed to peacemaking whatever the cost. Even within the Just War Tradition, the hope is that war would be the last resort, only after other negotiations and peace-making agreements have been tried and tested. That being said, it is important to make peace-making, seeking of justice by nonviolent means, and even nonviolent revolutions a top priority. This is especially the case, because of the fact that we live in an age of nuclear warfare, which could and would have ramifications that would be deadly not only to combatants, but to non-combatants as well.

Reading this book in the midst of state-wide, national, and even global protests against racism and white supremacy casts it in a totally different light, as well. At the end of May, 2020, I had the opportunity to join in a peaceful protest against racism and in support of Black lives, in Tulsa, OK. On that Saturday, as I was joined by hundreds of other peaceful protesters, we were able to travel throughout the city on foot, even blocking one of the main highways in the city, stopping traffic for well over half an hour. Ultimately, this led to a timely meeting with the mayor of the city, in hopes of having our demands heard and met. On that day, I witnessed firsthand the tip of the iceberg of nonviolent and peaceful protesting, which can and will and has led to powerful change in cities and nations worldwide.

"The Pearl" is a tragedy and a parable. In this novella, John Steinbeck tells the story of Kino, Juana, and Coyotito: a father, a mother, and a beloved child; they are Steinbeck's Mexican Holy Family: impoverished, forgotten, and marginalized. Steinbeck's short parable explores the complexity of family life, the pervasiveness of greed in the human heart, and the empty promises made by wealth, fame, and the American Dream. As always, Steinbeck seems to be on the side of the poor and the forgotten; he shows the plight of the poor man in Mexico, dreaming of giving his son a proper education, so that one day he could be the savior of their impoverished village. Time and time again, Steinbeck stresses the differences between the village of brush houses where the Holy Family lives and the city of plaster and stone where we find the greedy doctor, the corrupt pearl buyers, and the revered Catholic priest.

According to Steinbeck, the story and its title are meant to recall the parable told by Jesus in the Gospels of the pearl of great price. In Jesus' parable, the man who finds the pearl sells everything he has to purchase the pearl, which is representative of the Kingdom of God. For Steinbeck, however, the Pearl of the World that Kino finds diving in the Gulf of Mexico proves to be not the Kingdom of God, but a cursed and evil token, which brings greed, evil, disunity, and even death to his life and the life of his family.

As always, Steinbeck's characters are believable, complex, and tragically human. When readers of "The Pearl" look at Kino, Juana, and Coyotito, they see themselves. Steinbeck has a beautiful way of drawing his readers into the narrative, in an attempt to expose their own flaws, vulnerabilities, vices, hopes, and dreams; the archetypal and generalized nature of the story also helps in accomplishing this task. Unlike some of his longer and more epic narratives, "The Pearl" is fast-paced, action-packed, and dripping with suspense and emotion.