From Trenches to Culture

The Experiences that Created Middle-Earth

2011-08-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

J. R. R. Tolkien is one of the most popular authors of modern times, and arguably the most popular author of fiction in the twentieth century. The question is, what lead to this? What were the factors that combined to form the basis of his epic? And finally, what was the meaning behind his tale?

In his book, *Christian Encounters: J. R. R. Tolkien*, author and pastor Mark Horne attempts to grapple with these questions. Up front, I have to preface this by saying that I greatly enjoyed one facet of the book that *may* cause some Tolkien fans to dismiss it. Mainly, the fact that Horne was actually willing to write about the negative aspects of Tolkien. As well, he was willing to write about the areas of Tolkien's political beliefs that most authors treat as quaint and narrow-minded. While not necessarily agreeing with these beliefs of Tolkien's, he still treats them respectfully, and makes an effort to fairly explain why Tolkien believed what he did believe.

Tolkien's childhood was filled with tragedy. He spent his first few years as a child in a relatively prosperous houselhold in South Africa. The crucial factor to consider is that it was "relatively" prosperous. When Tolkien and his brothers accompanied his mother to England, their father stayed behind to finish up some business matters before joining them. Unfortunately, the elder Tolkien fell sick, and later died in South Africa. After this point, the family was dependant upon the extended relations for help.

The sad part was that this help dried up when Tolkien's mother converted from the Anglican to the Roman Catholic Church. The family was denied any further financial assistance. Indeed, they were scorned, and when Tolkien's mother died a few years later, he viewed her as having been a martyr. She had worked herself to death, in his view, and likely in reality, in order to provide the children with a genuine Catholic education and upbringing. This view of Tolkien's about his mother's sacrifice would impact him later on.

This impact came with the situation of his wife to be, Edith. He insisted that she convert to the Catholic Church, and she agreed, but she also suffered for this choice. Though her family did not disown her, she still had a difficult time of it. She had no friends in the Church, and she had no friends in Tolkien's academic life. She was the faithful fiance, and later wife, of J. R. R. Tolkien, and didn't have as much of a social life as she should have had. This lead to some sadness on her part, and Tolkien certainly noticed it. Many folks have theorized, based on letters and statements by Tolkien, that the Beren and Luthien story was based upon her life, and sacrifice in marrying into Tolkien's Church. *That* was the source of Tolkien's inscription of Beren and Luthien on his and Edith's tombstone.

The other most significant aspect of Tolkien's early life was the advents of the two World Wars and the political changes wrought by them. while insisting that many of the ideas in the Middle-Earth Legendarium were from his imagination, he also admitted that they were influenced by his war experiences in the first World War, or the "Great War", as Tolkien always called it til his dying day. Moreover, his views on monarchy and government in general, the use of machines without morality to twist violate nature and commit evil, were influenced by rapid, and in Tolkien's view, inhumane, industrialization, as well as warfare.

The above is just a few of the insights that Horne gives his readers. While it is clear that he admires Tolkien, he is also able to criticize him, and to point to Tolkien's blame in the rift with C. S. Lewis. This really impressed me as i really humanized Tolkien and took away the cloak of hero-worship. This gave me the honest view of the man whom I truly admire, and am looking forward to seeing, in Heaven someday. Great book.

Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review to the best of my ability. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this. (less)

Unusually Serious Topics for the Suspense Romance Genre: Reviewing Shadows on the Sand

2011-07-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a story can catch you by surprise in it's quality. A book from a genre not known for it's serious tone can really catch your attention. This is the best way to describe my surprise upon reading Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper.

The story starts with a young restaurant owner, Carrie Carter (whose sister co-owns the restaurant), teasing one of her waitresses, Andi, about her boyfriend fighting with one of Andi's co-workers named Jase. As more customers hear about the boyfriend, more dislike him, and we in the audience are meant not to like him either.

It turns out that Jase is found murdered, with his body dumped in a lake, and Andi is suddenly terrified. No matter what Carrie does, the teen will not tell her what is wrong. Carrie and her friend, Greg, a former police detective whom she is dating, must race against time to discover Andi and Jase's secrets, as well as deal with their own.

This seems like a traditional set-up for a suspense romance, so I probably have plenty of rolled-eyes at this quick synopsis. In many ways, that would be a correct and expected reaction. I found myself becoming quite aggrieved at the over-used staples of the genre.

What made a difference is that the plot was actually believable. The author did not shy away from tough subjects, or gruesome details. That is not to say, of course, that Roper went overboard in any graphic ways, but just to say that she did not pull her punches either, as it were.

Besides the typical murder plot for a suspense romance, the book dealt with important real-world themes and problems. Adultery, cults, runaways, dysfunctional families, the need to forgive others, and the difference between cults and the truth of the Bible.

Instead of covering the reader's eyes, the author put on full display the depravity and wickedness of mankind, and how people can hurt themselves and others to such a brutal extent. She also, however, showed the amazing love of God, and what people who are in His image (Image-Bearers as author Randy Alcorn puts it) can do with His help.

This is much-needed in the realm of Christian fiction. Too many Christians do not know how to respond when people say that "religion is responsible" for "x" bad thing in the world. They don't know how to argue that just as the truth is different from a lie, so belief in Christ is different from a cult, radical Islam, Catholic pedophiles, pastors who rape their counselees, and other horrors.

I don't want to give readers the false hopes that Gayle Roper gives a guide to combating these slanders and misperceptions. She does not. She does however, mention the evils of these false teachers, and present a vivid case for how they must be battled in the field of ideas so that we may, if God wills it, win souls for Christ.

The other issue is one of forgiveness. At first it seemed like the typical Christian book of how the character is bad for not forgiving, but then the novel went in a unique direction. I won't spoil it, but it did raise some interesting points, and ones that I have thought on.

All in all, a good mystery, and one of the few suspense romance for me to be above-average happy with.

Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

A Thought-Provoking, but Ultimately Mediocre, Suspense Novel: Reviewing The Justice Game

2011-07-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a book has so much promise, but it just falls flat. That is the best description that I could give to The Justice Game by Randy Singer. The book starts from the point of view of an investigative news reporter and mother-to-be, Rachel Crawford. In a shocking development, we are only giving a short time to get to know her when she is gunned down by a vile sex-trafficker/sex slaver, whose crimes she'd just minutes ago exposed on television.

The narrative cuts to the two main protagonists. One is Jason Noble, who works for a firm that tries fake cases based on real ones, in order to predict results for investors to use, accordingly. He is so good at his job of helping prosecute "fake" trials, that he is fired and given assistance to start his own firm. He is hiding secrets from his past that could destroy him if ever leaked. The other protagonist is Kelly Starling, and idealistic young Christian on the liberal side with her own share of secrets. She also just happens to be a former employee of the same company that Jason used to work for.

The two of them are drawn into the case against the gun manufacturer of the firearm that Jamison (the sex trafficker and murderer) used to mow down Rachel Crawford. Noble represents the manufacturer, and Starling represents the victim's family. Naturally, some very bad folks find out what secrets Jason and Kelly are separately hiding, and blackmail them.

The story was interesting, and had the makings of one of the best mystery/suspense stories that I have ever read. Unfortunately, it just fell completely flat. For one thing, it seemed that Singer, in his laudable effort to honor real-life victims whose story this book was patterned after (he tried the case for victims in a way very like that of Kelly against irresponsible gun manufacturers), put in the plot elements as a second thought. It seemed that the trial and arguments of the two sides were what he was really interested in, and it shows by the weakness of the narrative.

The other part was that he perhaps went too far in his efforts to put forth his own viewpoints about not having weapons manufacturers sell to bad people. Then again, maybe he was just trying to not be accused of favoring the "conservative" side of the argument. I don't know. What I do know is that the arguments of Kelly Starling came across as the ones that I, as the reader, was intended to agree with.

Despite all of this, Singer can not succeed in making his reader prefer Kelly as he seemingly wants us to. Kelly is a straight-up jerk. She constantly trashes those she doesn't agree with as stupid, less-sophisticated, and less moral, than herself and her family. It is clear that she prefers the company of unbelievers that are liberal, and disdains Christians who are conservative. Another unlikable thing about her is that she is a Christian who arguably cares more about the lesser (in human terms, and in terms of human punishment) of her sins. Whereas the other one, a horrific moral crime, she is sorry for, but not as torn up over.

Finally, two aspects of the ending annoyed me greatly. The first is that the bad guys are not all defeated. It frustrates me to no end that, when all is said and done, one obvious villain, confirmed as such in a bad guy's point of view, got away scott-free. I know that it may be more "realistic", but when I read fiction, I don't want realism. I want a fun story, with a satisfying conclusion. I am hoping that Singer has a future book whereby the bad guy finally gets their comeuppance.

The other annoying aspect at the end is that we are only given a point of view narrative of Jason in the Epilogue, but not of Kelly. We hear of what happened to Kelly, to be sure, but it's in passing. I may not find her likable myself, but after investing a whole book in her integral part of the plot, having her dropped made me feel quite cheated. I wanted to read her thoughts on the climax of the narrative.

This is a lot that is wrong with this book. I would have rated most other novels as not worth the time for this long list of faults. Not so with The Justice Game. I would argue that the fact that I still actually truly ENJOYED the novel is a testament to Singer's writing skills. He is masterful at character creation, and communicated the points of view of various characters. He also knows quite a bit about how to set up the story, and keep it moving, even when it does fall nearly apart at times.

All in all, not Singer's best work. Not as good as The Cross-Examination of Oliver Finney, which I've read, or the several books of his I've heard rave reviews about. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable book, and one that makes me eager to read more of his works.

Recommended.

The Heart God Molded to Bless Us All, Regardless of Race: Reviewing Christian Encounters: George Washington Carver

2011-07-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

Race relations in America have always been hard and difficult. Great strides have been made during the past half century, despite the actions of various race hustlers like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the NAACP leadership. To be sure, things are not perfect. Can they improve still? Perhaps. Can such areas as racial relations reach perfect harmony? Probably not, in our fallen, sinful world. But we are in a far better position, one that is the envy of human history, when it comes to the ability of different races and cultures within our country to get along.

What is the reason for this success? Was the path towards racial equality under the law through peaceful, quiet acts of kindness to others? Or was it through hard-charging activism? This is the perennial debate of the civil rights movement in America. Folks have this notion that the debate originates with Martin Luther King, Jr., on one side, and Malcolm X on the other. It doesn't. The debate presaged these two men by many, many years.

The progenitors of the debate are Frederick Douglass and the then-newly founded National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons, or NAACP, on the more assertive side, and Booker T. Washington with his successor, George Washington Carver, on the other side.

While actions like lawsuits, and violent protests were the methods of the more assertive folks, a quiet heart of faith in God and service to others, was the method, and firm belief, belief of Washington, Carver, and their supporters. I want to be understood on one thing, I am not condemning the lawsuits and other marches of the civil rights movement. Quite the opposite, in fact. I am praising them, and praising the man responsible for them: George Washington Carver.

Here we get to the subject of the book being reviewed herein. George Washington Carver had an interesting life, to be sure. He was purchased by a white landowner in Missouri. After young George and his mother were kidnapped by slave traders, their owners hired a man to rescue the two of them. George was rescued, but the mother was never heard from again. George and his brother, who had escaped the kidnapping, were raised by the white family, not as slaves or servants, but as their own foster children.

His parents were truly kind and loving people, and helped to instill in George's heart a trust and willingness to look for the best in every situation. One would argue that this was the early moving of God's Holy Spirit on the young child's heart. Eventually, he met a caring woman who preached the Gospel to him. This woman was greatly used by God, not just in young Carver's life, but also in the history of our country.

This is because as George grew, and pursued more and more educational opportunities, and business opportunities, he always remembered what he had been taught. God has a plan for all of us, white or black, and if we did our best to fulfill them, he would bless us. Even if not in this life, in the next one. Indeed, even if we must wait for our reward until the next life, God could and would use us to bless others in this one through our behavior, and proper worship and obedience of Him.

This is the secret and the legacy that George Washington Carver left us all. He was very much in the vein of Booker T. Washington, and agreed with his outlook on how to help gain equality for black Americans. Their personal dynamic was often one of professional conflict between a very powerful personality as the principal of Tuskegee Institute in the person of Washington, and an equally powerful personality, though more softly-spoken, in Tuskegee's most gifted teacher, George Washington Carver.

Despite the sometimes conflict between the two men, they respected and loved each other. So much so that upon hearing of Booker T. Washington's death in 1915, Carver became despondent and horribly depressed. His class loads were temporarily taken over, and Carver only supervised study hall for a while.

However, Carver also was used by God, tended by Him, I believe. He now emerged from Washington's shadow, and became the conduit for the passive and active groups of the civil rights movements to come together. The reason that peaceful marches won out over violent marches in the '60's was due to Carver's lasting influence. The reason that the race riots that erupted across the United States following the end of World War I came to an end as soon as they did, and were rejected by so many whites and blacks, was due to Carver's example.

Even when he didn't speak on the issue of civil rights, Carver's personality and powerful personal testimony was such that he made a difference. While there was nothing wrong with Booker T. Washington, he was seen as a powerful presence, and isolated with wealthy white contributors. Carver, meanwhile, was sickly most of his long life, and had a small stature, soft, almost feminine or childlike voice, and was loving and kind in his demeanor.

This combination was due to his physical ailments, and his great faith in Christ. God had, I believe it is clear, prepared Carver for this moment. This moment when he could benefit others by showing a way to win over the respect of those who hate you through love. It is true that there have always been radical groups such as the Black Panthers and the like, but the reason that most of those who historically have fought for civil rights were a fusion of assertive folks like the NAACP, and passive folks like Washington and his intellectual persuasion, was George Washington Carver and his testimony for Christ.

Some of these conclusions are mine, working from the book, Christian Encounters: George Washington Carver by John Perry. Perry ably writes of the power of Carver's life. While reading this book, I felt shame at how I respond to others wrongly at times, when he did not.

The only issue with Perry's writing is how he still so obviously takes up for what he thinks is the "right" interpretations and actions historically. This was still better than in his book on Lee for The Generals series, in that it didn't depart from the point of the book. I also must say that I would have liked to know if he kept in touch with the Carvers or not. It would have added depth to the presentation of his life story.

All of that said, I was convicted and blessed by this book. I want to look to and trust the God of nature Who loved, inspired, and molded young George Washington Carver through the Word, the study of botany, and the love of his brothers and sisters in the Lord. I want to make a difference in the lives of others, as he did so well. With His help, I shall.

Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Is God Our Deepest Treasure? Reviewing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2011-07-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

Is God your highest Treasure? Is He mine? That is the subject, I believe, of C. S. Lewis' classic novel, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

As the story opens, the Pevensie children are seperated, as Peter is preparing for his pre-college tests, Susan is visiting America with their parents, and Edmund and Lucy are staying with their horrid Aunt and Uncle and lousy cousin Eustace Scrubb.

Edmund and Lucy are in an upstairs room discussing the Narnian features they can see on a picture on the wall. Unfortunately, their cousin, who had heard them speak of Narnia before, and thought it all dumb fakery, overheard them. He came in and began to mock them, when the picture came to life, with the boat moving and great sprays of water splashing the three children. In the panic over the picture's behavior, all three were pulled into Narnia, and so the adventures begin.

Most people who remember the books remember it for three main plot points. Eustace's stint as a dragon, after which Aslan un-dragoned him; Reepicheep sailing to the End of the World and Aslan's country; and Aslan's revelation of being Jesus Christ in our world. All three of these events are important, but they are interconnected with the other events of the book to form the above theme that I have identified.

There were arguments, and great uncertainty among the characters, and treasure galore. The problem is that the treasure caused those Narnian lords who found it to either be trapped, or else killed. Caspian nearly makes fatal, selfish mistakes, and horribly sins against Aslan (God), in his love of these worldly, or even other-worldly treasures, over Aslan Himself.

The truest sense of peace, and of joy comes to all of the characters when they embrace the greatest Treasure of all, Which is Aslan Himself. This corresponds to real-life, as the greatest treasure here is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Himself. The devil and our sin natures try to tempt us to either seek false treasures, or else be happy with just God's gifts, while leaving Him out of our joy. This is sin, and also dreadful for us.

In his seminal book, Desiring God, Pastor John Piper explains a concept he calls "Christian Hedonism". This is to love and ravish God absolutely, enjoying Him fully, and taking utter pleasure in Him, above all else. I must be honest that I do not like this term, for changing definitions always bothers me. I also think that C. S. Lewis' view of joy is better and less problematic rhetorically than Piper's terminology.

All of that said, Piper is absolutely on the mark, just as Lewis was on the mark. God is our truest and finest Treasure. All of the good things about Heaven, and good gifts He gives us on this side of eternity for that matter, are worthless next to Him. He is God, and the Greatest Good ever. He desires His Own Glory above all else, and desires our good by sharing it with us.

The sad fact is that so many are afraid of God this way. They see His holiness and righteousness, but do not realize that this is part of His Glory He desires to share with us. Eternity will be a wondrous time of love with God and feasting in the very look, smell, sight, and feel of Him. We can start that time here an now. That is the true image of God. Yes, He is righteous, and He will judge, but He also sent His only Son, God Himself as Man, to die for us, and our sins. He rose again, and forever earned redemption for those who trust in Him. He opens His arms for us.

This is what Lewis was trying to tell us, I believe, though I could be wrong. I hate it when folks say authors definitely thought things they may or may not have thought. With that caveat in mind, that is what I think Lewis was trying to tell us with Aslan in this book, as the real Treasure, versus the fake treasure. Aslan satisfies the characters completely and absolutely as only He can. In the same way, only God, through His Son Jesus Christ, can satisfy us completely and absolutely.

Now, to the objection that the false treasures may not lead to some of the horrid, enchanted fates that the characters experienced or nearly experienced, well, that is not the point. The point is that when we pursue the wrong treasures, we either reject Christ and wind up continuing on the road toward man's current destination of Hell, or to little reward and great suffering in this world for those who do know Him as Lord and Savior, and are thus destined for Heaven.

The idea that Lewis wanted to communicate to his readers is clear. Embrace the false treasures, or even the good treasures without the Ultimate Treasure of Christ, and we suffer. Embrace the True, All-Satisfying, Treasure that is Christ, and we are destined to be happy. Not necessarily in this life, but in the next life, when we see everything from the perspective of eternity.

I will be honest herein. I find myself often wondering about this stuff. I believe it, but wonder about God's will for my life. I know it to be true, however, and I know that if I trust Him, not only will I be happy in the next life, but in this life, as well. Suffering with Christ will bring me, or any of us, greater joy than wealth without Him. I will embrace Christ for true Nourishment and Treasure. Please join me.

Some might say that this particular book is not very exciting, and they would be correct. The book is not a swash-buckling adventure. It is not a story of heroes slaying the evil monster. It is a story of heroes who grow, and only do so by making mistakes, and finding that there is only one way to completely grow and succeed in their mission. Trusting Aslan. Indeed, if one wants a tale of high adventure, then look elsewhere. This story is a tale of personal journeys, and spiritual growth in the Lord.

That is, in the end, the success of the book, and the greatest testament to Lewis' writing abilities. What is not very adventurous is a thrilling read. Why? Because Lewis communicated timeless truths in an interesting fashion. We can be grateful for God and how he used Lewis to help highlight these truths that are in His Word. A wonderful road sign pointing us to the Bible and what it says about the All-Satisfying God we serve.

This is the message of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and it is a wonderful message indeed. Highly Recommended.

Courage to Face Our Fears: Reviewing The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2011-07-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been afraid? I mean, deathly, horribly, afraid? Not of the dark, or being hurt in sports or rock-climbing, or some other concrete fear, but of something more ephemeral? The answer is that, yes, we all have. It may have been fear of giving a speech, or singing in front of an audience, or of being laughed at by a girl that you wish to impress (or a boy that you wish to impress for the ladies). For Christians, it is somewhat deeper of a fear, and this is the real message of C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

In the book, the four Pevensies, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, are called into Narnia by Susan's magic horn she received from Father Christmas in the first book. A young boy, heir to the throne of his Telmarine ancestors who conquered Narnia several hundred years after the children returned to England, wanted to take the throne from his murderous uncle, Miraz, and reopen Narnia to the talking beasts and other creatures of Aslan that originally dwelt there.

He and the Narnians are, of course, outclassed militarily by the humans on Miraz's side, and their more sophisticated (at least to the Narnians), though crude and of less quality, weapons. It is at this point that King Caspian blows Susan's horn, and the four children are pulled into Narnia.

The book is a darker and less fanciful tale than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The children do not have nearly such a fine time as they did on their first trip to Narnia, not until the very end at least. Whereas the earlier visit was a time of great personal blessing as well as responsibility, this was a time of hard work, with very little reward. At least this seems to be the case.

Although Aslan still does the main work of saving the day, the children and the "old Narnians", lead by Caspian, are in the very brutal situation of having to kill an opposing army that is not all bad and villainous like the White Witch's army was in the original book. This was made clear enough by the fact that a large minority of the adult Telmarines chose to stay under Caspian's rule in Narnia, and even among the majority who left, there were some who were noble.

Indeed, one could argue that this similarity to real-world warfare makes the book the "darkest" of the Narnian Chronicles, save for perhaps the final installment. Of seemingly lesser degree, but greater importance, is the struggle for faith in Aslan with which the children and Trumpkin the Dwarf must contend.

At first none but Lucy can see Aslan, but He is there, and scolds Lucy for giving into the others, and then badmouthing them behind their backs. Instead, she must face up to their doubts in her and anger at her. She must follow Aslan, and hopefully they will, as well. All of this puts Peter, Susan, and Trumpkin against her. Edmund is a bit cold towards her, but this is just his nerves, as he really does support her.

At the end, there is a short celebration, and then the children are sent home, with Peter and Susan told they will never return to Narnia. This seems like a pretty pathetic reward for their hard work and service. In the grand scheme of things, it is not, for Aslan (as God) knows what is best for them all, and has more great things in store for them. Indeed, though Susan will later deny Aslan and Narnia, she is likely still saved by the faith the four children found in Christ, Aslan's Person and Name in our world.

You see, in the cosmology of the books, Aslan gave the children the greatest gift of all by drawing them to Himself, and bringing them to a faith in Him in both worlds. The instrument He used was Lucy, as she showed incredible faith and ability, God-given, to conquer her fears. Her fears of laughter, mocking, or rejection by her siblings. Afterwards, Lucy and Susan spread the message of Aslan to others, and they followed Him, and were in bliss in His glorious Presence. But it was Lucy's faith that made this possible in the first place.

Though, as far as we know, Jesus is not a giant Lion in another world, the point about sharing the Gospel with those who so desperately need it, still stands. This can extend to other areas as well. Are we afraid to talk to others, for fear of them hurting us? Do we doubt or question God's work and role in our lives, instead of asking Him what He is trying to accomplish, and how we can serve Him? In these areas, and so many more, we hurt ourselves, others, and most importantly of all, our relationship with God, by letting our fears govern us. In this, we sin.

This book, in it's content, and it's messages, is far more serious, and difficult, than the first Narnia book, but it is well-worth it to read for enjoyment, for edification, and for seeing in vivid form, the necessity of leaning on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even when others mock Him as not there, and even when we can not feel His Presence, He is there. He is the God Who created you and me. Trust Him and lean on Him today.

Highly Recommended.

The Novel that Disney's Beauty in the Beast Is Partially Based On: Reviewing Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

2011-07-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

I realized when reading this novel that Disney's story folks are not quite as original as I thought they were. They are imaginative, to be sure, and Disney's *Beauty and the Beast* remains one of my favorite films of all time. Yet as is true of most things, so is it true of that movie, that it is really inspired by and taken from other works.

Some things are different, such as "Beauty" being a nickname, and her being a tomboyish ugly duckling who hatches into a beautiful swan before the end of the story. Other areas of difference are that the household items do not talk, at least not understandably, and the servants that *do* talk, are invisible, and not meant to be understood by Beauty. In fact, her increasing ability to understand them as the story progresses, is a major plot point.

The main premise is well-known, but herein is reworked. Beauty lives with her father, sisters, and brother-in-law at his house and smithy. The brother-in-law, is a blacksmith, and a good one at that. He grew up in that part of the countryside where they now live after his father-in-law suffers financial ruin. He warns the family not to go near the forest, for it is evil and enchanted.

Unfortunately, not all of the family listens, and on returning from a business trip, Beauty's father wanders into the woods and gets lost. He comes upon a castle, and angers the Beast who anonymously cared for him there. His life is spared provided that he, or one of his daughters, comes to live with the Beast forever.

Once the poor old man arrives home and tells his tale, Beauty volunteers to go. Upon arriving at the castle, she is settled in and meets the Beast. He thinks her beautiful, but she is disbelieving. "Beauty" is only a nickname she assumed when she was young and adorable. Now she is a plain, barely pretty, if that, adult. At least, that is how she views herself.

Robin McKinley was a masterful writer, and it shows in this fanciful tale. The mindset of the overly studious Beauty is one that just drinks in the scenery and makes sometimes foolish, sometimes intelligent, but nearly *always* witty, observations and assessments of whatever situation she finds herself in.

Beyond just a talent for prose, McKinley designed an actual system for how the old tale of *Beauty and the Beast* could work. Why was the Beast connected to Beauty? Why would he die without her? Why? While keeping the original tale's emphasis on love, and the broken heart of the Beast, McKinley suggested something enchanted about Beauty that connected her to the Beast in an almost psychic link that governs the life of the sadly cursed creature. Remember the importance of Beauty understanding the invisible servants that I mentioned earlier?

The only part that I did not like was how rushed the ending was. It seemed like a huge buildup, and a wonderful act of world-building on McKillip's part, lead to nothing. Yes, we can see that Beauty and her family are happy, and will live good lives, but that is it. We see the beginning and then it is cut short with barely a couple of pages of description. I felt kind of cheated at that. I wanted to see the family meet the Beast. Read of the celebrations, and learn more of the ins and outs of how everyone came together. It was all so rushed, seemingly, and that detracted slightly from the book.

That was, however, the only thing that detracted from the book. All in all, a great read, and now one of my favorite books. I used to love the Disney film version, but the old folk tale best. Now, I love the Disney version, the old folk tale and *this* novel best of them all. That is how good it was. Please read it.

Highly Recommended.

Faith Meets Survivor Meets Matlock: Reviewing The Cross-Examination of Oliver Finney

2011-06-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

The title I chose for this review is interesting, I'll admit, and is the most accurate description that I can think of for the book. This book is a really neat mix of fiction, apologetics, and descriptions of the art of intelligence work.

The main character, Judge Oliver Finney is dying from terminal lung cancer. He has less than a year to live. He decides to enter the running for a reality show called Faith on Trial. The show brings together a diverse group chosen to represent the world's major religions and worldviews. Judge Finney represents Christianity, and there is also a representative for Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and an atheist biologist, Dr. Victoria Kline.

On the island, Finney gets wind of a potential plot to kill one or more of the finalists in spectacular fashion, all for ratings. He starts to communicate to the outside world via codes embedded in WestLaw searches that correspond to a book he wrote under a pseudonym, The Cross-Examination of Jesus Christ. In reality, Randy Singer wrote that book at the same time as this one, and it is fun for readers to follow along, but it is not necessary. I did not, and I still grasped the meanings and clues well enough.

The first chapters will have readers thinking that they have the clues to figure out what is really going on, if only they can catch the name of the elusive billionnaire funder of the show. I will not say everything except that it is not that easy, in the end. All that I will say is that the twists and turns are there, leading to an ending I had hoped against, but partly suspected.

Some folks will say that this style of writing, especially in the reveal, was like Agatha Christie's notorious style of not revealing all of the information, thus thwarting the reader from even being able to hazard a proper guess as to the conclusion. Singer is definitely not that type of author. The clues are definitely there, and they may seem insignificant, but they are not. If the reader pays close attention, the reveal will make sense. I could not figure it out ahead of time, but it can be done, if proper thought and attention is given to the "clues".

The book had only one major flaw. The intense focus on cryptanalysis. The focus is quite methodical, and quite difficult to follow. I actually didn't mind it that much, because I enjoy this type of detail. But if, with my preference, I still found it somewhat tiresome, then I presume that a general audience will find it quite so.

That said, the good of the novel far outweighs this minor bit of bad. The detailed information on Christianity, and on the false religions of the world that we, as believers, must deal with in order to reach out to the lost, was very in-depth. Yet it was in-depth without being boring. Randy Singer constructed a scenario that enabled him to communicate this useful information to the readers, without being tedious. Perhaps someone who needs Christ will see the Truth and accept Him as Savior.

I also must say that I loved reading a book that was actually realistic in it's depiction of the legal system. None of the melodramatic fakery on television. The few court scenes in the novel really depict the actual ins and outs of the real-life courtroom. It was nice to see a court scene that was actually believable.

The other great part of the book, was the characterization. The two other main protagonists assisting Finney, Nikki Moreno and Wellington Fairnsworth were great fun to read. They really fleshed out the story, by adding depth to Finney's person. The three characters are not just players in the story, they are a family of sorts. The end where Nikki learns of how Finney has always viewed her as a daughter, was truly touching, as was seeing the testimony of Finney.

You see, Finney is not perfect, but he tried his best, and that made a difference to other characters. Nikki is not miraculously saved at the end, but she is on a path to redemption. It is all so human and real. In that way, it reaches out to the soul of the believer as well as to that of the unbeliever. I learned an important lesson of exhibiting a better public testimony for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but not beating myself up over every weakness. Sometimes I fail, so I try my best. Other times, I do not have the best of abilities in certain areas, so I glorify God in those areas in which He has given me talent. Whatever happens, I never give up, because serving God and winning souls to Him takes time, and happens in His good pleasure, not mine.

These are the lessons I learned from the characters. Please read this book. It is a masterful work of suspense, mystery, and apologetics. You will be glad you took my advice. God bless all.

Highly Recommended.

Is the West Losing It's Soul? Reviewing The Book That Made Your World

2011-06-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

"Is the sun setting on the West?" So asks author Vishal Mangalwadi in his new call to action, entitled The Book That Changed Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization. This book is one of the philosophically heaviest books that I've ever encountered. It covers the foundations of what is called "Western Civilization" (though in a mark of how far we have fallen as a society, that term seems to be going out of style with some of the liberal precincts that consider themselves more "sophisticated").

The author tells the story of how, as a young man and new believer in the Lord in India, he went and examined the impact of the Bible on the history of his country, and of the world in general. What he found was stunning.

In a word, the difference between those countries influenced by the Bible and those not influenced by it, are quite stark. The Christian West was centuries behind other civilizations at one point in the past, yet while these other societies stagnated, and even fell backward into repression, mysticism, illiteracy, and a contempt for spiritual and scholarly growth, the West went forward. Why was this? What was the main difference?

The answer, Dr. Mangalwadi discovers, is the Bible and the Christian faith. In a surprising cultural honesty, he points out how his peoples' ancestors had so many gifts and advantages, and yet did nothing with them. The universities, aid societies, even the written languages, law, and other lasting contributions to Indian society, he found, had come from missionaries, intent on helping Indians both spiritually and physically, as Jesus commanded, and still commands in His Word.

Dr. Mangalwadi worked backwards to discover what motivated these caring and compassionate people, and what were the secrets of their earthly and material successes that spawned their ability to raise up the lot of themselves and others in life. In his research, he came to discover the amazing impact of the Scriptures.

The author is not naive, he does not claim all good came from the Bible, but that it is the filter that the West drew philosophical, moral, and spiritual strength from, as it grew and thrived. He wonders, as we all should, what will become of the West if we continue down this nihilistic path we are on. We believe not in the destructive faiths that plague so much of the world, and that is good, but not much more so in our case. We believe in nothing! We have no overriding cultural, moral, or philosophical belief or narrative. The Western soul is searching for Truth, and finding it believes that there is no truth. This obvious lie is too much, and is hurting the very conscience of our peoples. The West is lost. We are lost, and we need to seek the Truth once again, before it is too late, and the sun does set upon us.

The book does have it's errors, to be sure. The author only had so much space in a normal book, even a philosophical one such as this. Because of this, there were oversimplifications, and those irked me, because some of the power of the narrative was lost. This book was, for me, a reminder of what I had known and learned, but not remembered. I am able to interpret the book through those past readings and sift out any problems. For someone who might not have read the same works, this may be a problem that leaves them unprepared for vigorous philosophical challenges to their beliefs.

The other part that was an annoyance not at Dr. Mangalwadi, but at his publisher, Thomas Nelson, was that he could have used a better editor. There are some areas where the text seems grammatical nonsense, but that is due to an Indian who knows English as a non-native language trying to write in it. He does an overall great job, but the errors really should have been caught. The author is a truly brilliant man, and deserves better than potentially looking somewhat silly due to grammatical errors that are understandable in the end.

These two minor concerns aside, this book was a brilliant probing of the philosophical and moral history of the Western mind, and why we must turn from our current path back to the one that made the West what it was. The Christian faith is the answer for our cultural and civilizational woes. The question is, Will we turn back?

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I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

The Beginning of a Saga: Reviewing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

2011-06-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Chronicles of Narnia is perhaps the best-loved series of all time. It is loved by not just children, but men and women of all ages. I have grown up since I was eleven years old with these beloved stories, and they, along with CS Lewis' other writings that I discovered as an adult, have had an immeasurable impact on my life.

Indeed, I feel almost shy about writing a review of any of these books, but I will try to do so. We will start with the first review about the first book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I am going to be reviewing these in publishing order, not chronological order.

Most everyone knows the base story. Probably many know it better than their own country's history. Many children are sent into the English countryside to escape the air raids over London by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Among these are four siblings, the Pevensies. They are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. They are extremely fortunate to end up in the house of a wealthy Professor.

Once at the house, first Lucy, then Edmund, and eventually all four of the children, wind up in the enchanted land of Narnia. Really, (as shall be revealed in later books) it is a completely other dimension/universe from our own. The country of Narnia in this other world is ruled by a tyrant, the White Witch Jadis, who is determined to kill the children to thwart a prophecy that states that when four humans, two boys and two girls, sit on the thrones in the castle of Cair Paravel, it will mean the end of her tyranny and her life.

Along the way, many adventures are had, and many lessons are learned. Edmund betrays them, and is repentant later on. He is redeemed from his stain of betrayal by Aslan the Lion, Who leads the children and the Narnians to triumph over the Witch and her forces.

The novel is not just an example of superb storytelling, but also of wit, description, and wonderful use of the English language. The subtle jokes and historical references are enjoyable, and lead to the audience actually thinking about what they are reading. The descriptions and elegant use of language is absolutely captivating. The audience is transported directly into the story, and can almost see and smell what the characters do, and eat the foods along with them. What I mean by the masterful use of the English language is how Lewis was not overly "high-minded" in his words and descriptions. He was elegant without seeming snooty. This is not always easy to do, and Lewis did it quite well.

All of these ideas are well-known about the book, but there is even more to glean from the work. To be sure, the most important element in the story is the symbolic truth of Christ, and His atoning death on the Cross for our sins via the story of Aslan giving His life in place of Edmund the traitor. Lewis once stated how culture in the West has become too comfortable and familiar with the Scriptures, and thus they have lost much of their impact on us. When we are moved by the story of Aslan dying for Edmund (and rising in the end), or even of any sacrificial character in other stories (whether they rise like Gandalf, or stay dead), it is really the truth of the Scriptures touching our hearts.

There are many other areas that I could examine, but I will focus on one more that I think reviewers do not focus on enough. This area deals with heroism and the modern definition and view (a very Christian view), that would have been familiar to Lewis given his studies of literature and various periods of history, including the so-called "Dark Ages".

I do not know for certain what Lewis thought beyond what he has said, and I heartily disdain putting words in an author's mouth. I have always hated that people say what an author thinks, especially if they don't know what the author thinks, or if their statements of the author's intents actually contradicts the author's beliefs.

The above disclaimer is to serve as a notice that I can not guarantee what I am venturing is correct about CS Lewis' intentions. But I will try to gauge his idea of a hero, because it is important for us to consider how even in this area, the Bible impacted our culture and Lewis' story. In the history of the West and of America in particular, there is a falsehood that many erroneously believe. This is that the culture we all embrace comes from the Greco-Roman heritage of the West. This is pure bunk. To be sure, the love of learning and the importance of the Law were gleaned from the Greco-Roman history, but the moral and philosophical underpinnings that have made the West more vibrant, and more ready to use knowledge to better ourselves and others, than any other civilization in history are the result of the Christian Faith.

What this has to do with the idea of heroism is that the gods and heroes in Greek mythology were vile and cruel creatures. They were murderous and petty, and took obscene delight in hurting and torturing people. The idea of the hero as the strongest one who exerts his will on others is the Greco-Roman idea of the hero. The idea was changed and altered as Christianity became the dominant force in the West.

Really, the early concept embraced by the Church is identical, except that the obvious change had started in the morality of the hero. The hero was called on to do good in honor of God. This was due to the Church taking the knightly orders under it's control, in order to put an end to indiscriminate killings for "glory" that many of the supposed "heroes" pursued.

Eventually, a Reformation and Enlightenment came and went, and the "hero" changed. Now the hero was expected to act as the Lord Jesus Christ acted. Sacrifice for the sake of others is what marks a true hero. This is what is special about Aslan the Lion, and even Edmund as well. Aslan sacrifices his life for Edmund, and via the prophecy, all of Narnia itself. Edmund sacrifices himself to save his fellow Narnians and his family when he destroys the Witch's wand, leaving himself open to attack.

This sacrificial hero is important to our history, and it is one we are fast losing. Lewis has helped us to revive this great ideal and this great Truth. Indeed, many other concepts and Truths are buried in this book, as in they are in the rest of the Narnia books. For helping to teach, and ingrain them in the minds of many men and women for nearly sixty years, we owe a massive debt to Lewis.

This book inaugurates a series that has many "hidden" nuggets of wisdom and moral ideals that we would all do well to notice and embrace. It is also a frollicking good story. Please pick up this book and the others, you will NOT regret it.

Highly Recommended.

A Fantastical Quest for Faith: Reviewing The Dragons of Chiril, by Donita K. Paul

2011-06-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

The Dragons of Chiril is the first book in the second Dragon series by Donita K. Paul. It takes place before the popular The Dragonkeeper Chronicles. This was an exciting read for me, because it was the book previous to Dragons of the Valley, which I greatly enjoyed. It was fun, to be sure, getting to read the background of that novel.

The story begins with a young woman named Tipper. She is managing her household in the absence of her father, Verrin Schope, who disappeared many years before. She must deal with many problems, including her mother, Lady Peg's, apparent insanity. At least, she thinks her mother is insane. Her mother is eccentric and naive, to be sure, but Lady Peg is neither stupid or insane, as Tipper soon finds out.

Tipper is certain that her mother has cracked under stress when Lady Peg insists that she talks to Verrin Schope at times. Then, after Tipper has a young artist paint a portrait in the vein of the vanished artist's style, her mother points out how it isn't her husband's, but the young man's work. Tipper is puzzled over how her mother figured it out, until her father appears to her.

Tipper learns that Verrin Schope disappeared due to a strange series of happenings involving a wizard and his librarian on another continent. Verrin and the strangers are preaching a strange faith (to her) about a Deity named Wulder. Wulder is much more caring and loving, and more authentic-feeling, than Chiril's (Tipper's country's) god, Boscamon, who is a trickster in whom most people do not believe.

With the help of Wulder, Tipper, Verrin, wizard Fenworth, the librarian Libbretowit, the young artist Bealomondore, Dragon keeper Prince Jayrus, and the grand parrot (and Tipper's advisor and caretaker) Sir. Beccaroon; launch onto a quest to save her father and the world. Tipper, in her father's absence, needed to sell much of her father's artwork, including three statues (whose significance she did not know of) her father made by mistake from special stones. Now, the three statues must be found and reunited, or else both Verrin and the world itself will be destroyed.

The theology of Wulder (who is unapologetically based on the God of the Bible) is not as systematic and ironed out in this novel as it was in Dragons of the Valley, but I still found myself better understanding and appreciating the philosophy here. Quite simply, the two books build upon each other, and understanding the background of the characters, places, events, and philosophy helped me to better understand the overall picture.

I can't really say much critical, except that the book seemed to rush a bit without proper explanation, and I found myself kind of clueless as to where two important events came from in the last hundred pages or so. It all seemed to come out of left-field, and that was annoying, to say the least. I prefer a methodical build up, instead of having plot points suddenly thrown into the mix. I think that most of the plot points made sense and are less inexplicable if one has read the previous series which takes place later in the timeline. This series is sort of a prequel of sorts, though on a different continent than the events of the other series. That said, I doubt that I am the only one who read this series first, and a bit more exposition might have helped somewhat.

That said, the novel was incredibly well-written. The characters were compelling, except for Prince Jayrus, but he was better fleshed out in the second book, as was Bealomondore. In fact, the character arcs in the two books are compelling, and show a wonderful development of faith on the parts of the various characters.

The greatest plus to the book is how well Paul explored the Christianity-based religion of the fictional world's Wulder. Many authors seem to try to push an overtly Christian fictional setting and faith. To say that they are unsuccessful, would be an understatement. They fail miserably.

The fact that Paul succeeded where most authors fail, is an incredible achievement for her, which only makes the book all the more enjoyable and invigorating a read. I can't praise it enough. If you want to find a great fantasy modern (other than The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, which are two of the other very few works to be great truly Christian fantasy) novel that expounds a Christian worldview, please read this book and *Dragons of the Valley*.

Wonderful characters and settings, a detailed and well-written Christian worldview, and a plain fun story, *The Dragons of Chiril* has all of it. Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

The Fight Against the Darkness Continues, Review of *The Wheel of Time: Lord of Chaos"

2011-06-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

Things continue to get bleaker for our heroes in Lord of Chaos: Book Six of The Wheel of Time saga. In the book, Rand al-Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles with political intrigues that try to undercut his authority. He also deals with the growing madness from the Dark One's taint on saidin, the male half of the True Source that gives a channeler his or her power. This madness manifests in primarily three areas: hearing his previous self's (Lewis Therin Telamon's) voice in his head, a near manic depression over any female harmed, and a dangerous (as Rand learns in the book) cockiness that could prove deadly.

Meanwhile, Matrim Cauthon deals with the manipulations of his childhood friends among the Aes Sedai, and Perrin Aybarra contends with the knowledge that he must quickly reach Rand, or his friend could be lost forever.

This book was simultaneously the strongest and the weakest of the books in the series so far. The character development and more personal angles that I had wanted I got in spades. I think that maybe it was a case of getting what I want and regretting it. The ta'veren's allies also had strong storylines, with Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene having their own discoveries/breakthroughs, and journeys. Even some of the secondary characters, like my one of my favorites, Loial, had proper focus for the first time in books.

Also introduced was Rand's new school for male channelers, called the "Black Tower" to differentiate it from the White Tower of Aes Sedai. These male channelers, called Asha'man by Rand, are introduced, and will play a vital role in future events.

Yet for all of this improvement, the story felt like so much filler. A huge "door stopper" sized book for a couple of (admittedly quite important) plot points that could have been condensed to a shorter book, or put in with a future volume. It just was both interesting, and tedious. Never a good combination.

The one major caution that I must give is that this book was extremely, graphically violent in a way that previous books have not been. That alone has made the book drop in how I rate it. It is a suitable read, but the intense violence is just too much, and really brushes up near the intolerable.

All in all, the book was a fun read, but sadly little more, and a sad volume in the series of so much promise so far. Recommended to get through the series, or if you are bored. Otherwise, don't bother with it.

Randy Alcorn Masterfully Depicts the Truth of the Spiritual War Going On Around Us, and FOR Us

2011-06-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

The Bible describes spiritual warfare in Ephesians chapter six, among other places. What if it were possible to roll back the screen of the supposedly tangible, and actually see the battles that take place between angels and demons? What if we could see more clearly than ever the actual truth of the spiritual world that we claim to believe in, but so often act as if we do not?

These interesting questions are explored by Randy Alcorn in his book, Edge of Eternity. The earlier-reviewed book, The Chasm is a later-written adaptation and expansion of part of Edge's narrative. In the story, a wealthy businessman, Nick Seagrave, is trapped in a storm on the way to a hunting trip and stay at his cabin in the woods. He finds himself in a strange land where he is attacked by some animals and protected by others.

He proceeds to follow the road to the City of Light, called Charis. Along the way, numerous evil forces try to corrupt him and turn him to the path of evil. Well, actually, they do turn him to the path of evil, but he is rescued by the working of the King and the King's mighty army.

When he gets near the city, he finds the way blocked by a fearsome, infinite chasm. He despairs of there ever being a way to cross it. What hope is there in any path? Won't he just die in this strange world no matter what he does? Then something interesting happens.

Nick takes part in a brutal execution of an innocent, who turns out to be the King, and is redeemed when the King rises from the dead. The King even helps him and several other of his murderers reach the other side of the chasm. Now placed on his journey with a group of fellow "Chasm-crossers", Nick and his friends must navigate the strange world in which they find themselves, with the help of the "Guidebook".

To identify which book was the "inspiration" for this story would be difficult. I'd say that it is bits of The Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyan, Lewis's The Pilgrim's Regress and The Great Divorce, and a smattering of some of Tolkien's poetry that has facets of journeys to otherworldy realms, as well as tiny bits of, and references to, others. All of these influences are rolled together and used to create a gripping tale that has truly convicted me of the enormous sins in my life.

I see so many of the person that I am, and the sins that I commit, in the fictional person of Nick Seagrave. These include both the supposedly "minor" ones (a nice fiction, there are no truly minor sins), and the supposedly huge ones, all committed by Nick Seagrave. He was a US Marine in Vietnam, and I was a Soldier in Iraq. I won't go further into the comparisons as to what sins or failings, but they are there.

I think to myself how awful I am. I think of how my relationship to my King, Father, Savior, Lord, and God, is not what it ought to be. I am going to endeavor anew to make it what it ought to be. With His help, I will succeed.

Yes, there are some drawbacks in the narrative. The shoutouts which were really neat at first to other theologians and to Lewis and Tolkien, get mighty tiresome eventually. I found myself rolling my eyes at them. I also felt that I was reading Alcorn's attempt to mimic the cosmic descriptions of song by the angels to God at the end of Perelandra, and not a good mimicry either. I also would have liked to have seen Nick's further life as he attempted to ask his family for forgiveness and witness to then. I feel like the story was left hanging.

Nevertheless, the not-so-good parts were even quite good, and who knows, maybe there will someday be a sequel. Perhaps the most significant thing I can say about the novel was that it truly convicted me with this view into a fictional representation of the truth of the spiritual battles going on around us. Please, read this book. Think on what it says. If you don't know Christ, come to Him as Savior. If you're pathetically ungrateful and away from Him, like I am, then turn back to Him as well. Please.

Highly Recommended.

Four Great Military Films to Enjoy this Summer

2011-06-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have seen both Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day in the US. Meanwhile, our close ally Canada has Armed Forces Day this weekend. I have honored my own brothers and sisters in arms already and will do so with my Canadian family in arms on my other blog. Today, I had a different idea. I will summarize my four favorite military films. I highly recommend these to anyone looking for good military cinema.

So, to begin, in no particular order:

Band of Brothers

This miniseries is an in-depth, and fairly realistic, look at a group of men who trained together and then fought in WWII. There is much violence, but the film quality is superb and historically accurate. A great film, and great honor to the Airborne (even if it was the 101st :P). HOOAH!!!

We Were Soldiers

Based on the bestselling book by retired Lieutenant-General Hal Moore, the film tells the story of the exploits of the Americans in the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry, lead by then-Lieutenant-Colonel Moore, in the early days of America's involvement in Vietnam. His unit of just 450 men survived and repelled a vastly greater force of Viet Cong. Though events were changed and dramatized from history, the still mostly-true story of this tiny group of warriors is an inspiration to all who have worn the uniform, and also to all who have ever felt great pride in their country.

Also important is how the treatment of the book and movie on two topics. A dark era in our history that so many folks refuse to acknowledge, and the truth of how folks return from war. People have this idea, starting to get corrected in recent years, that folks come home and are just fine. That is so far off-base. The scars war stay with you, for all of your time in this world.

The movie also casts light on how horribly these heroes were treated. Let us resolve to NEVER treat our Servicemembers like this again.

Behind Enemy Lines

During the 1990's peace-keeping efforts in the Balkans/Serbia/Eastern Europe, US military faced boredom broken by life-and-death situations. Some grew disillusioned. The movie tells the story of one young warrior who grew jaded, and thought the mission a joke. That is, until he got shot down and was desperately trying to evade capture until he could be rescued, as well as saving evidence of war crimes.

Sergeant York

A touch campy in some places, but still quite fun to watch, the dramatized biopic is the story of the most-highly decorated American soldier in WWI. Alvin York was a rowdy drunkard who was redeemed by Christ's blood, and dedicated himself to serving God. Yet when America entered WWI, he couldn't avoid the draft forever.

Then he had to wrestle with the fact that he felt pacifism was most in line with Scripture. Could he serve, and even kill, and yet stay right with God? The movie tells us the answers he reached, and shares his testimony. Gary Cooper is marvelous as the title role.

Movies, like all stories, inspire us, and move us to either greatness or banality. They can detail our past, present, or dreams of the future; our hopes and ideals. This is not at all comprehensive, as there are so many other films. Patton, Sands of Iwo Jima, and many others. These are a few of my favorites, and I hope you give them a try. You won't regret it.

Any comments appreciated as always. God bless all. HOOAH!!!

Great 1920's Fiction: Review of Lillies of Moonlight

2011-06-03T00:51:00.000-07:00

"Flappers are fun". So says author Alison Pittman, in the afterword to her new novel Lilies of Moonlight, and if one enjoys history, they will love the references, as I did. Fun for certain. :) The novel, which takes place in the mid-1920's, concerns a young woman named Lily Margolis. She has run from her hometown in Miresburgh, PA, to see the country, and seek out a more friendly climate. She is on the run from her cruel mother, and wants to find love somehow, someway.

The problem is that she looks for love in all the wrong places. She becomes every bit the "flapper" of iconic lore in American history, but not for any ideals of equality. She just wants to escape, and the best way, to her way of thinking, is to use her God-given beauty to get men to give her free things. She lies, cheats, steals, gets drunk, seduces men, and so forth. All for a free lunch.

One night, she gets drunk at a party she crashes after a move to Florida, and ends up in the lawn of a wealthy local family. Upon being discovered by the housekeeper, Eugenie, she meets said family. This being the horribly-scarred Cullen Burnside, injured in the Great War, and his mother, Betty Ruth, who is slowly sliding further into dementia.

Cullen's and Betty Ruth's lives are filled with sadness, regret, and belief that life is a shallow existence. Lilly provides light and vibrancy that shows them that life is fun and worthwhile. Meanwhile, they show her that love is real, and what she could have if she can reconcile with her mother. Does she? Do she and Cullen and Betty Ruth have a future? Most importanlty of all, will Lilly find faith in Christ? Those are the questions the novel answers.

The book was a truly fun read. Usually, I enjoy these Christian romances, but find them to be kind of, (okay, not kind of, definitely) cheesy. That was certainly not the case here. The story was compelling for two reasons. It was well-researched. The conventions, conversation, ideas, and historical trends were all realistically portrayed. Also, despite the typical happy ending, it seemed to fit. This was not some forced match-up between Lilly and Cullen, or Lilly and Betty Ruth. It progressed naturally, and believably.

When the topic of salvation and faith in Christ came up, it was addressed in a true-to-life manner. The way that Lilly comes to know the Lord is very much the way many people truly do come to know the Lord. I appreciated that.

An area that I also greatly appreciated was how realistically they portrayed what today would be called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The not just physical burns to his face, but the emotional turmoil that Cullen would often feel, were very accurate. I really was impressed by that.

I will say that also clever was the title, and how it ties into the story. Yes, there is the girl's name being Lilly, but there is also a connection to a symbol of her flirtatious and destructive lifestyle that is rejected for a wholesome one. There is more symbolism to the title that I have not mentioned. It is quite ingenious, and fun to read and notice. :)

The only thing I didn't like was how part of the story was driven by a "revelation from God" to one of the characters. In fairness, it was portrayed as not really true, and the result was more from individual prayer, and willing to surrender to God. The "vision" was only useful in leading to a said thoughtful meditation and surrender. Still, some could miss the nuance and think that the idea of a vision really is Biblical, despite the author's intentions.

That perhaps chance of confusion to an unknowledgeable Christian was the only drawback. This is honestly the most enjoyable Christan romance I have ever read. It was a greatly enjoyable read, period.

Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

All Stories Have a Beginning: Review of The Wheel of Time prequel novel, New Spring

2011-06-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Prequel novels should rarely ever be the first book read in a series. They are called prequels for a reason. Detailed knowledge of the ins and outs of the fictional world and the characters and their futures is sometimes necessary context to truly understand what is happening. For instance, in the debate in the Chronicles of Narnia series over book order, to read The Magician's Nephew first, makes no sense. The magic is lost, and some of the reveals are pointless without prior knowledge of the other books.

For this reason, I think that to read the prequel novel to the Wheel of Time series, New Spring, after one has read the first several books in the series makes the most sense. That is what I have, indeed, done. Jordan seemed to have agreed on this, since one is just given a narrative that assumes knowledge of the other books. Very little effort is made to explain the systems of magic, military organization, governments, and so forth.

What Jordan instead focused on, and did so very well, were the answers to the questions "Who?" and "Why?". Who are Moiraine Damodred, Suian Sanche, and Lan Mandoragan? Why did they take up the quest in the first place? Why are they the ones that this task was given to? These questions are answered to some detail. It was nice to finally have a back story to the series proper.

The main part that I really loved was how Lan and Moiraine actually got their point of view narratives. Finally. They had had some to be sure in the series proper, but not like this. To read of their thoughts, and their motivations for why they did what they did was, well, pure awesomeness.

Along this vein, let's just say that Moiraine and Lan decidedly did not have a warm and fuzzy relationship right off the bat. When they first meet, they are hilarious annoyances to each other. I found myself laughing at some of the things they did to each other. Laughing hard. :D

The only area that I would caution on the book is that it is much more violent than the chronologically later books. Well, maybe that's not an entirely accurate statement, because incredibly horrific things happen in the series proper. The difference is that in the regular series the more difficult elements were happening off-screen, if you will, and referred to after the fact. In this book, the horrific things were occurring right in front of the reader's "eyes" if you will. So I do warn of some of the violent areas, and suggested graphic violence as well.

For me an area that I will not rate the series down on, but do not like, was how Moiraine took the law into her own hands and allowed an evil character to be harmed and potentially murdered, instead of finding a way to turn her into the law. We never find out if the evil character lived or died. And this is not being killed by other Dark Friends, as is the custom with the villains here and in other stories, who turn on each other constantly. In this case, a truly evil, but non-Dark Friend character is set up to potentially die by Moiraine.

While it is true that the character of Moiraine did not show such heartless and vengeful notions of "justice" in the series proper, it was still disturbing to read. I can accept that as she grew older, she'd not do some of the same things that she would think right when she was younger. It's even a good narrative. And I do believe that that is part of what we are to conclude about her. She is young and inexperienced, and makes mistakes.

However, this seems to be one more item in a long line of items from the series that shows a very jaded and dark view on life on the part of Jordan. He seemed to learn the lesson of war that one does not just do what is necessary, but one actively seeks chances to do so. Revenge and necessary actions are not the same, really, in any sane view of life or warfare, but to Mr. Jordan, they apparently were. I greatly enjoy his books, but I'm more and more convinced that I would decidedly not have liked or agreed with him on these issues in real life. To do what is necessary is one thing. To do what is necessary with no sense of morality or restraint from a fidelity to justice over vengeance, is another. As is to enjoy doing the necessary thing. That is not just or necessary, but simply sadism.

Okay, that's enough of me on my soapbox for now. Other than the extreme violence that is done right in your face, and the very disturbing action of Moiraine referred to just now; the book was a great read, and a lot of fun. And seeing a Moiraine narrative was great, especially after several books in. *Whistles innocently* What? That is not a spoiler, come on. ;)

Highly Recommended.

Memorial Day is About Those Who Have Died for Our Freedoms, NOT Picnics, Barbecues, and Furniture Sales

2011-05-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

Remember that Memorial Day is not about picnics or bargain sales. It's about THEIR sacrifice.

Culture encompasses more than just entertainment media. It is the totality of how we think and conduct ourselves, and what we believe. Though this blog is not the all-purpose one that my other blog is, it is a good place to lay out something that is on my heart. It has to do with how frustrating it is to me that our culture is so consumer-driven that we ignore the true purposes of our holidays and other days of honor.

I saw a commercial on television for a local furniture store chain here in upstate New York. They were announcing their "incredible" furniture sale for Memorial Day. It caused me to be sad. This is just the latest in a string of holidays that we have turned into useless "fun days", spent shopping, eating, and goofing off. Gone is the appreciation for what many of these days mean.

I think of how in the classic Charlie Brown Christmas special on tv, Charlie Brown bemoans the "commercialization" of Christmas. None of his friends seemed to care about, or even know about, the true meaning of Christmas, until Linus tells them. For all of the happy ending, that special did make an important point. We seem to forget the reasons behind the days we celebrate.

Christmas is first and foremost a celebration of God's Gift to us of His Son. The gifts that we give to each other are supposed to reflect and point back to that wonderful and horrible event. The suffering and grace of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. If the gifts stop pointing to the Truth and become the main event themselves, then it is no longer Christmas, but a day of useless fun.

It is the same thing with Memorial Day. These men and women also died for you. Not in an even remotely comparable sense to Christ's sacrifice for us, obviously, but they did die to preserve our freedom.

Look, I'm not saying to not enjoy holidays. I'm only saying to keep our eyes on the purposes behind them in the first place. So this Memorial Day, amidst the picnics, barbecues, parades, and fun with loved ones, remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

Comments appreciated as always. God bless you all. HOOAH!!!

This Mystery Had Such A Great Premise, but Fell So Far Short

2011-05-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Mysteries are always fun to read. When I read a mystery novel, I tend to give higher marks right off the bat. That is perhaps why the disappointment is much more keenly felt when I read such a book that is either not good at all, or lackluster at best.

In The Corruptible, by Mark Mynheir, the mystery is told in a first-person narrative by the main character, Private Investigator Ray Quinn. Quinn has a tragic background that lead to his current place in life. He and the woman he loved were homicide detectives who were both gunned down, and only he survived. He decided to open a PI agency, as with his messed-up hip and cane resulting from the shooting, he can no longer work on the police force.

He is struggling for money with his partner, Crevis, when a very wealthy local investor hires him to find some proprietary financial information. The information was suspected stolen by a former cop who turned dirty when his life spun out of control. When the ex-cop, Logan, is found dead in a seedy motel room, the case takes a strange turn.

Eventually, Quinn finds out that perhaps Logan was trying to do right in his last days, and the case takes on a moral dimension. Which is more important to Quinn? Money? Or the truth?

This book had a really good plot and great detail, so it should have been a winner. It fell flat, unfortunately. The plot moved at a snail's pace, and when it did finally get resolved, it happened in a rush in the last quarter of the the book.

I can understand, in a way, why this happened. The author was trying to be detailed about the motives, mindset, and real-life details of police work. He did a masterful job. The problem is that the details eventually overtook and surpassed the narrative in importance. That bogged the story down greatly.

The other issue is that the author throws in moralizing about drinking. I can appreciate where he is going, even if I don't agree, but a slow story of a man's struggle with spiritual issues and coming to Christ over several books (at least, I think that's where Mynheir is going) is a good story by itself. The audience does not need a moral on how alcohol is evil. I understand that some abstain from all alcohol. Not all do, and it detracts from the overall story. It came off less like a story with a moral, and more like an overdone after school special from when I was a kid.

Finally, Mynheir accurately portrays the difficulties of what is obviously some sort of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that Quinn is suffering from, but then goes for the easy just pray and it's better answer. That can be the truth, but God does not always work that way, and some may think He should for them. I have a friend who works in Christian counseling, and there is a difference between those driven entirely by sin and spiritual difficulties, versus those who have real physiological problems. We over-medicate in this society, but some do need the medicine.

The previous paragraph is really a personal critique that I have, and does not affect the overall quality of the narrative. I merely think it is something to point out. The previous arguments do, however, detract from the book's quality. The story was a tad difficult to get through, and I might have rated it rather poorly, but the attention to detail, and truly interesting characters saved it from the trash heap. Still, while it is not horrible, it is barely above readable. I'm sorry to say that I can not recommend it.

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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Necessary Lessons and Changes: My Review of The Wheel of Time: The Fires of Heaven

2011-05-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Wheel of Time series has a lot of very plot threads and characters, with different cultures and ideas, that can make it quite difficult for the reader to keep track sometimes. In the first four books, that was fine, and worked to make up a beautiful tapestry that really drew the reader into a believable world. In book five, The Fires of Heaven, that was a huge drawback.

The camaraderie was gone, for the most part. The characters still talked and discussed, to be sure, but it was seemingly each fractured group competing against each other, instead of working with each other. It seemed like the desire to get more control and power for each person's parochial interests was what mattered the most to some of the characters. *CoughEgweneCough*

Other characters seemed to revel in a certain amount of cruelty. The culture of the Aiel, which is easy to value for it's warrior ways, is shown to have an extremely dark side. One character that they don't know is a dark friend, but do know to be a thief, they punish to a horrible extent, in a manner seemed designed more for getting their jollies than for any actual purpose. Did they want information or money, or any reward from her? No. They wanted suffering. That, and the cold way they looked at the deaths of those related to those who offended them years ago, really disgusted me.

To get to the pont of Egwene. She discovers that in the Dream World of Tel'Aran'Rhiod, she has greater power then Nynaeve, even when Nynaeve can channel. This is due to Egwene's training with the Aiel Wise Ones and her natural gift for dreaming. Nynaeve is strongest at healing though good at everything. Egwene is similarly strongest at dreaming, though she can do other things with the One Power as well.

Well, Egwene basically rubs Nynaeve's face in her weaker state when they see each other in dreams. She lies, acts like a huge hypocrite, and, worst of all, she is not sorry for being unkind to Nynaeve. She actually enjoys it. She enjoys having power over others. That creeped me out more than anything else about her attitude in the novel, I must say.

Anyone who goes to war will be affected in different ways. Jordan himself stated that he was trying to work through his Vietnam experiences while writing the books.

"I do think the military characters in my fantasy novels are more realistic in terms of how soldiers really are, how they feel about combat, about being soldiers, about civilians. Beyond that, my time in Vietnam certainly has affected a certain moral vision. Not just based on what happened to me, but on the abandonment of a people who had put everything on the line for us. It started me off on a quest for morality, both in religious and philosophical reading, and in my writing. Again one of the central themes in 'The Wheel of Time' is the struggle between the forces of good and evil. How far can one go in fighting evil before becoming like evil itself? Or do you maintain your purity at the cost of evil's victory? I'm fond of saying that if the answer is too easy, you've probably asked the wrong question."

Jordan was obviously haunted by his experiences, which is understandable. So am I. So are all who see combat. What matters is what one takes away from the experience. Now, maybe I am completely wrong in my assessment of Jordan. Perhaps later books will dispel my fears quite nicely. I don't know. I hope so.

It seems that Jordan had accepted an idea that necessary actions, such as killing, torture, harsh interrogations or actions, and so forth, are good. Not just bad things sometimes justifiable and necessary, but actually good. He seemed to have a view of power as good in it's own right. To be enjoyed without all of the guilt associated with those who are reluctant to use it.

If I am reading too much into it, so be it, and I hope that I am wrong. My experience was that power should be used, but never, ever enjoyed. Power is a good tool, but is not good in and of itself. Those who enjoy lording it over others are only one tiny step away from those they oppose. Doing harsh things for necessary reasons, is one thing. Doing harsh things for enjoyment is another. The former is good, the latter is evil. That is my lesson from war. Power and harsh treatments can do good, but themselves are not good. They are deadly in fact. I can't condone Jordan's view on power and enjoyment of harsh behavior. His experiences and mine simply lead to two completely contradictory visions of warfare. In other words, we may probably have agreed on tactics and actions to take, but diverged greatly in the mindset and moral vision behind the methods we may use.

Now, it seems that I am on the way to a low rating, but not really. There were three plot lines that salvaged the book and actually made it enjoyable to me. They are Moiraine and Rand learning from each other, Mat accepting more and more his role as a ta'veren, warrior, and champion for the Light and the Wheel, and Nynaeve, Elayne, and Birgitte, as Nyanaeve is forced to grow up some.

Seeing the friendship, even though greatly strained between Moiraine, Rand, Mat, Avhienda, on the one hand; and Nynaeve, Elayne, and Birgitte on the other; was a pleasure and brought back to me just why I love the series so much. Of course, there is still the matter of Rand's inevitable polygamy, but it's more of an epic-y myth like the ancient myths to me. Jordan was careful to do no gratuitous swipes against Christianity like many other fantasy authors do. *CoughTerryGoodkinCough* ;)

All in all, the weakest of the series so far, and presents some disturbing aspects of the so-called "heroes". However, there were also some fine parts of the novel, that have saved it from a bad score and the not recommended pile. I recommend it, but primarily for the above plot threads. You'd be better off skipping the other parts of the book.

Balancing Honor, Justice, and Revenge: My Review of Honor Harrington: The Honor of the Queen

2011-05-18T02:33:00.000-07:00

Honor Harrington is back, and this time, the stakes are higher, and much more personal. In The Honor of the Queen, Honor Harrington is assigned to escort a diplomatic envoy to a backward colony only recently discovered a few hundred years before.

This means that the colony had left "Old Earth" over a millennium previously. They are the off-shoot of a cult that took to the stars to escape technology. Though they are not necessarily amenable to Harrington and her crew, they are vastly better than their neighbors. The neighbors are an offshoot of the original cult that were expelled from the cult's planet, Grayson, and settled on the nearby world of Masada.

The People's Republic of Haven, who tried to take over a space terminal at Basilisk in the first book as a preparation for invading Manticore (Honor's home star system) are also back. They are ready to ally themselves with the lunatic Masadans in order to gain a foothold in the Grayson system. In effect, the book is about a Cold War-esque struggle between Haven and the Star Kingdom of Manticore.

Given the somewhat backward views on women, Honor takes her ship to do a supply run and leaves a back-up force behind. She thinks this is the best way for the opponents of the Grayson/Manticoran alliance not to use her as an issue to derail the treaty. In her absence, the Haven/Masadan alliance strikes, and the results are devastating losses to both Manticoran and Grayson navies and facilities.

Once Honor comes back to the system, she finds that she is outgunned due to the Masadans having control of a Haven warship that can easily destroy her small escort fleet. If help doesn't arrive in time, she, her fleet, and everyone on Grayson, will all die.

This might seem a rehash of the first book, and iin some ways, it was. The plot line was similar, yet it was unique enough with some twists and turns to not seem like a complete plot re-tread. Really the amount of thought put into the cultures of Grayson and Masada, and Weber's worldbuilding continue to impress me.

The pros of the book also include the respect for religion. Some would think from my description that the author trashes religion, but he does not. This is an in-space version of the difference between, say, Western Christianity and radical Islam/a Koreshian Doomsday cult. Clearly not all religion is evil. Christianity is widely practiced in the novels timeframe, and not trashed. The religious backdrop was a plot element, not commentary.

The other good parts are the same as in the first book. Realism, respect for the enlisted/NCO's, and so forth. However, there were two major problems with the book.

The first one is that the plot is still undeniably a recycled plot from the first book with a few changes, and I wanted to see some originality. The great narrative made some difference to help me enjoy the story, but not enough.

The second issue I have with this is that the character of Captain Honor Harrington is just too perfect. This is not my bias against officers (even fictional ones) speaking, but my bias as a reader. The way that every other character gushes over Harrington (even many of the bad guys, for goodness sake!) just seemed to out of place. It's like she is the best naval officer in the whole history of man. It just pulled me out of the narrative, as I wanted a main character that is believable, not the infinitely, absurdly best ever. I want a protagonist, in other words, not a Canon Sue. I fear that Harrington is headed that way, and it isn't good.

Despite these flaws, it was an excellent read, and while I can't recommend it as much as the first one, I do recommend it for a good read. Give it a try, it's a fun book.

The Comlexity of An American Icon: My Review of Washington: A Legacy of Leadership

2011-05-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

George Washington has had much written about his life and career (or should one say, careers) in public service to first the colonies, and then his country. The important role that he played in the formation of our republic, from military man to president setting precedents for our country in both areas, still leaves an indelible impression on us all, over two hundred years removed from his death. There is a wealth of information to discuss and catalog, argue about and debate.

Unfortunately, there is little accuracy or focus on the importance of his military career. It seems to be taken for granted that either Washington was a military genius, or a barely competent officer who stumbled through until the French saved him and the rest of us. Unlike with studies of his presidency, this dearth of in-depth examination on Washington the General continues.

Paul Vickery corrects much of this oversight in his slim volume, Washington: A Legacy of Leadership, part of Thomas Nelson's series The Generals. The view that he gives Washington is balanced, showing the complex man that he was. True, Washington freed his slaves upon his death, but he still kept them, and refused to allow freed blacks to serve in his army, until he had no choice due to falling enistments. He was a competent, and sometimes brilliant commander, but he was also short-sighted, and as a young man, signed a document that was the powder keg starting the French and Indian War. He cared passionately for his men, but also fell prone to the view of the superiority of officers as gentlemen over the common soldiers.

Make no mistake, Washington was heroic, but he was also a flawed human being, as all of Adam's fallen descendants are. Despite this, he was a sincere believer, and tried to be a good man. He was wrong on so much about the plight of the poor, and of slaves. Yet, he was also not a monster as so many of his modern detractors seem to believe that he was.

In short, he very much a man of his age. His views were very moral and steeped in Scripture, and of exemplary character for the age and prejudices with which he dealt. This is important to remember, when discussing the man, or any figure. A balanced view is always a good thing.

As a military man he was not a tactical genius, but neither was he a tactical dunce. He had a sharp mind, that while not the equal of his British adversaries, had one advantage over them. It was restrained by a humble heart. Despite his sometimes egotistical obsession with the position of "gentlemen", he would listen to others, and take their advice. True, sometimes his heart caused him to trust the wrong people, most famously the traitor Benedict Arnold, but it also caused him to win important battles due to his willingness to listen when others told him he was making a mistake with a tactical decision or other.

Finally, perhaps the most important decision that Washington made was to solicit and accept the help of Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben, or Baron von Steuben, for short. Von Steuben's main contribution to the war was to train the disorganized, unruly and undisciplined Continental Army into a competent and deadly military machine. He went on to write a book on military drills and principles, that, though changed through the years by later US military leaders, is still the basis for what the military drills into young warriors today. Our might and efficiency owes to von Steuben's work, and Washington blessed future generations incalculably by utilizing this great man.

All of this is great stuff, and really does make the book practically deserve a perfect rating, except for one small issue. Part of the purpose of the book was to explain and delve into Washington's philosophy and religious views. To know and learn what he felt and believed. Who he WAS in the end. Yet very little was devoted to that. I understand the purpose of devoting most of the book to the French and Indian and American Revolutionary Wars. The series is called, after all, The Generals, but if the author states a desire to explain something, then he really darn well ought to try to explain it. For not doing so, the book falls somewhat in my opinion.

If one is interested in reading about Washington's military adventures and exploits, then this is the book for you, and I recommend it. If one wants more than that, then don't bother with the book.

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I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Daily Reflecting on the Goodness of God: My Review of 90 Days of God's Goodness, by Randy Alcorn

2011-05-10T04:05:00.000-07:00

God is good. He is good. This seems to be the most obvious of truths. We all believe this, right? Not really. Despite that we know it to be true, we often find ourselves in our hearts having doubts. Now, don't misunderstand me, doubts are not wrong by themselves. In a way, they are a type of temptation. We are tempted to distrust God's goodness or purposes. Like all temptations, just having doubts is not a sin. Acting on them, however, is very much a sin.

How can we get past these horrible doubts that seem to afflict us? Through much prayer, and daily reflecting on God's Holy Word. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, as they say, that to pray and read the Bible sounds trite. Our culture has fallen, but doubt is not a sign of falling. Giving into doubts is.

An example from my own life. When I was in Iraq with the Army, I saw the most astounding poverty imaginable. I was filled with heartache that increased when I returned home. I sometimes have wondered the reason why. Why? Why have I and so many others been born into a free, rich, society where (despite some real setbacks and problems) Christ is still preached and people can hear and study the Word. Why is it that I was born in such a land, and others in some parts of the world are born into poverty, oppression and lacking a knowledge of Christ? I'm not special, so why?

Wondering was not the sin. Dwelling on it and doubting God and His purposes was the sin. That is something that I, and I imagine many others, have to work on. In Randy Alcorn's book that I previously reviewed, If God is Good, I talked about how Alcorn deals with these themes.

In this little book, 90 Days of God's Goodness, he again deals with these explores this subject by drawing from Scripture, other theologians, and his own previous works and arguments. Indeed, to analyze just how well the structure of the book works, two attributes of Alcorn's writing style is helpful to discern.

First of all, Alcorn is a "building block" author. He constantly builds one book on the other on the other, and so on. He does so to perfect his arguments as much as a fallible man can perfect them. He also relies heavily on Scripture to make his points. Not that he will not delve into exercises of logic as his obvious inspiration C. S. Lewis would, but he relies more heavily on Scripture and secondly on the words of other theologians.

In this way, Alcorn is effective. He constantly develops his arguments, searching the Scriptures and other Christians' commentaries thereof, to make sure he is right with God's Word. Second to this, he also realizes that he is limited in his abilities. Too many authors today seem to think that are the equal of Lewis, Tozer, Sproul, and others in writing, logical thinking, and persuasion. Often, they are not. Alcorn seems to realize that he has some talents here, but his talent for story-telling, narration, and analogy are the tools that the Lord has given him, not logic. Therefore, he relies more on these.

The book is broken down, as the title says, into 90 day increments. These are short devotionals. Unlike the devotionals in Our Daily Bread, these devotionals are actually thought-provoking. They are not quick blurbs that you read and go about your own way, but read and then think on. I am not even a large part through, but I am already enjoying the edifying pieces.

The usefulness of the slim volume comes in how one approaches it. If one is looking for some deep, weighty theological tome to completely explain an issue, then this is definitely not for them. What this is designed for is to keep one inspired and grounded in the timeless truths of Scripture by quickly pointing to those same truths. For the more detailed theological works, go to Alcorn's other books, in particular Heaven and the aforementioned If God is Good.

This book has been, and is, a useful and edifying volume of daily devotionals. I highly recommend it.

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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

The Beauty of the Story of Ruth: My Review of Mine Is The Night

2011-05-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

The book of Ruth in the Bible is one of the sweetest stories. It presents the real-life account of how God aided and rewarded the faithful service of a special young woman to her mother in law, who desperately needed her.

There are several important themes in the Biblical account, including chivalry, humility, kindness to the poor, and most of all, trust in God, and Divine forgiveness, among others. How to best communicate these lessons? Obviously, the best way of all, is to look at the Biblical account. However, historically, analogies and stories have been effective tools for presenting Biblical truth.

Author Liz Curtis Higgs uses a fictional scenario in her new novel Mine is the Night to recast the story of Ruth by placing it in Scotland right after the Jacobite uprising of Prince Charles against the King of England. In the story, Lord and Lady Marjorie Kerr move to the Scottish Highlands from their Lowland home and their sons marry two of the local women. Lord John passes away, leaving his sizable estate to his wife and sons. All seems well enough for the family, but soon it comes to naught, as the foolish actions of the two sons destroys the family's happiness.

The two sons support the rebel Jacobite cause. This leads to their deaths and the family's subsequent ruination when the King's forces crush the rebels. All those who supported the Jacobites have their property and titles taken as forfeit by the Crown.

Broken and penniless, Marjorie decides to return to her home of Selkirk, and begins the long journey that will take here there. As she starts out, her two daughter in law, decide to join her, but she insists they stay with their families. The older son's wife, who didn't truly love Marjorie, took the excuse and stayed behind. The younger son's wife, and main heroine of the novel, Elizabeth Kerr, or Bess, insists on staying. A grateful Marjorie accepts her help and companionship.

When they arrive in Selkirk, the truth of their disgrace and poverty becomes well-known, and those that Marjorie had formerly lorded over with her wealth and titles, now look on them with scorn. They have no choice but to humbly accept the resentment, ill treatment, and hatred of their townsfolk. This turns out to have been a wise choice, as the humility they display causes the local church's Reverend to rally to their cause. The townsfolk soon follow.

Into the mix comes a very wealthy military man, Admiral Lord Jacques (Jack) Buchanan. He is a friend of the king, and hero of many conflicts, including the local Jacobite rebellion. He becomes enamored of Bess, and takes up for her, even when he learns of her and Marjorie's disgrace.

I do not want to give away too much more of the plot, though some of it is predictable, some of it is actually surprising. The importance of the story is that the themes in Ruth are put forth in an engaging and easily understandable manner.

History, history, history. The historical setting and ideas were well-researched and really helped the story to develop. For that matter, the language was as well. Instead of using all modern language in the mouths of Scots from that time frame, they used the actual language and slang that we believe people then would have used. I say "believe" because we can not know for sure, but we believe it is so.

I would critique the story for neatly everything wrapped up with a nice bow on top, but that would be pointless. Happy romantic stories are part of the package for novels from the genre of "chick lit", as it is called. For that matter, this case is especially justifiable, as the Biblical Book of Ruth does have a happy ending. So a story based on it will as well.

There are also some nice surprises, as there are other "heroes" than Lord Jack in the story, and seeing the dynamic develop between the various characters was enjoyable, and edifying. As well, the truths of God's forgiveness and provision in our lives, though sometimes badly presented, were presented well, nonetheless.

While this is not high literature, it was, indeed, a fun and engaging tale that recast the Book of Ruth in a unique and memorable light. The better to aid us in understanding the lessons that particular book of Scripture have to teach us. Recommnded.

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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Horatio Hornblower... IN SPACE!!! - My Review of Honor Harrington, Book One: On Basilisk Station

2011-05-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever picked up any of the Horatio Hornblower novels by C. S. Forester, and thought to yourself that you really wished you could see what these stories would be like if Hornblower were in outer space, and a woman to boot? No? Well, don't worry, because David Weber has thought of this.

There, I got the tongue in cheek mockery over with. In reality, the above snarky introduction to this review is all just a joke, because this is probably many folk's reaction to the premise of the Honor Harrington books at first. Those who read on and give the books a chance anyway, are the ones who have made a wise choice.

The books take place in the far future. Since all species are essentially humans having adapted from what is called in the series "Old Earth", the use of various Earth measurements, terms, governmental systems, and so forth, is in play in this galactic backdrop. The years as calculated even place the series in the new time period's late 19th century.This better aligns it with the same time period in the new age as the Horatio Hornblower books did in the real-life current age.

There is even an obvious comparison between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and 19th century Great Britain. This very deliberate comparison could have made the books a hard read, as the reader may have found it all to be somewhat ridiculous. In Weber's capable hands, the comparison worked.

When the book opens, we meet a young commander, Honor Harrington, who is given a ship that is being refitted according to the wishes of certain political factions in the Manticoran (the interplanetary alliance of whom Harrington serves as an Officer) parliament. She is, justifiably, upset.

Instead of whining, however, she makes it her job to make the tactically-unsound weapons foisted upon her ship work in a simulation. She makes it to the point of disabling a high-ranking Admiral's ship in the war gaming scenario. Big. Mistake. Suddenly, Harrington and her crew find everyone gunning for them in the rest of the scheduled war games. The bright star that was the reputation of Honor and her ship, Fearless, plummets.

Eventually, the higher-ups in the Manticoran Navy decide to "sideline" the "problem" crew of the Fearless. Honor receives orders sending her and her ship to Basilisk station, a dead-end assignment that only the worst and most incompetent crews get sent to. Her career seems to be ruined. Her subordinates' careers are also seemingly in the dirt, and the crew openly despises and blames her.

Incredibly, Harrington actually figures out a way to make the mission work. The results impress her superiors far up the chain of command in her service, and Fearless's crew suddenly finds itself in good stead once again. Their respect and loyalty to Harrington similarly rises.

However, all is not as it should be. A sinister galactic power, bent on conquest to fund their ever-expanding needs for money and resources, has it's eye on the Basilisk sector, as the perfect entry point for an invasion of the Star Kingdom of Manticore itself. Harrington and her crew will find themselves in a bloody battle against a ruthless foe. The fate of her kingdom will rest on the shoulders of her and her crew.

This book was, as I hope the synopsis makes clear, a fun and engaging read. Very few works of so-called "military science fiction" actually have any real semblance to anything "military" at all. This series does. From the Officer Ranks to the Enlisted Ratings, to the culture, it all has the look and feel of an authentic, real-world military structure. One almost could believe that this was the descendant's of our world's militaries' in outer space.

The other thing that I truly enjoyed was the treatment of enlisted and NCO's or Non-Commissioned Officers, in the series. Yes, the main action centers around Honor, and therefore officers get the most attention since she is around them the most. Despite this, the value of the enlisted man and woman's experiences and skills is emphasized properly. This is refreshing for me, not just because I was enlisted in the Army, but because it is a realistic facet to the story that so many supposedly "military" stories do not present to the audience.

In too many stories, the Officers are seen doing everything, and the enlisted get barely a mention, if any, in the story. One would think that the Enlisted ranks did not exist in these universes, but I think it's because the Officer's ranks sound "cooler" somehow to modern audiences. I don't know about the reason for sure, but I appreciate that David Weber did not follow this ridiculously unrealistic, and insulting, trope.

Weber also has a respect for the audience. He does not "dumb-down" information and subjects, for the audience, but takes the time to explain the invented science, history, politics, military, and, really everything. He is able to do this, however, in a way that is not supremely boring, but actually quite interesting, which is quite an accomplishment, when it comes down to it.

The only aspect that I would criticize is how the officers and crew make the most unbelievable, and unlikely, leaps of logic to discover what the bad guys are up to and stop them. It somehow pulls you out of the story and makes you wonder at how contrived it can seem.

I want to state that while this was an enormous problem, that the characterization in general was superb. You really get into the heads of these characters, and see their motivations and ideas. It is one of the best "character" books that I have read in a long time.

Despite the one criticism, this was a wonderful book, and I can't wait to dive into more of the adventures of Honor Harrington and her crew. The only caveat I want to warn folks about is that the military culture and warfare are portrayed quite authentically. There is swearing and foul language, of a kind not found in most books, and the bloodshed and horrors of war are communicated for the reader. Fortunately, the swearing is not gratuitous, but only what the author feels the military would actually say and think. Moreover, Weber describes things in a roundabout way, so that the general idea is given, but he is not overly graphic, by any means.

If you want a fun, intergalactic Navy tale in the vein of Horatio Hornblower, a realistic "military" science fiction story, or just a great read period, this is definitely the book for you. Highly Recommended.

True Humility in a Man of Musical Genius: My review of Christian Encounters: Johann Sebastian Bach

2011-05-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

There are those who are good at what they do, and there are those who rise above the rest. Rarely, however, will a figure who is the best ever at what they do, be recognized as such. In the world of music, a figure has been recognized as the best in history. That figure is Johann Sebastian Bach.

In Christian Encounters: Johann Sebastian Bach, author Rick Marshall attempts to show the reader the man that Bach was, and how he humbly dedicated his talents to God. Bach is often seen as a cold, calculating fellow of musical genius. As Marshall shows with convincing documentation, only the musical genius part was true. Bach was, in fact, a loving, joyful individual who used his music to praise his Creator.

Such a premise was full of possibilities, but sadly, Marshall fell down on the job, as it were. In the book, he adequately covers Bach's devotion to God, and even the cultural influences that impacted Bach as he in turn impacted the culture. All of this is quite well-done and well-documented. Primary sources are used quite liberally, which is always a bonus for any biography.

Marshall also truly and deeply cares about the subject, as well as about Bach's work and legacy. The enthusiasm that Marshall's writing exudes is positively infectious. That is an overused term, but it is true. You can't help but be drawn in and admire Bach as well. All of this makes for a compelling read.

So what is the problem? Simply that Marshall never fully explains the musical and cultural ins and outs Bach's work. He explains the why, and the social theory, but an explanation of the music itself is very lacking. To be sure, there was an appendix of musical terms that helped explain some of the concepts to the musical layman, but that was about it. The author seems to take it for granted that the audience will have an underlying knowledge of music, which many do not. This can be truly aggravating, as it feels like the author is writing a book for music lovers that the rest of us may find quite inaccessible.

The other major problem is that the writing was a bit sub-par for this fine series of biographies. I realize that the name of the series is Christian Encounters, and that it is about Christians who have made a difference in history. I promise, we all get that from the moment we see the title. To remind us by using the term "christian encounters" sometimes with special emphasis, is not being clever. It is not sharing an inside joke. It is assuming the reader is an idiot. It does not encourage the reader to want to pay attention to what you have to say. The narrative is also riddled with truly awful jokes, that I imagine even dedicated acolytes of Bach would groan at.

This book had so much promise, and and could have been so great, but it has fallen so short of what it could have been. I still can recommend it as a fun biography, but not highly, and that saddens me. I have truly loved the biographies in the Christian Encounters series. A good book, but not what it could be.

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I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Friendship and Love Can Persevere Against All Odds: My Review of The Wheel of Time: The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

2011-04-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Friendship is a constant of mankind since our Creation. God designed us to need friends and to want to be friends to others. Often, the best stories and myths are those that take this very real element of the personal, and make that a distinctive part of the tale. Such was the case with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as it was also true with The Chronicles of Narnia stories.

Yet all too many movies and novels fall far short of the quality they could achieve and entertainment they could provide, if they simply focused more on camaraderie. One series that has not made that mistake is The Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan. Since I have already reviewed the first three, I will not go over the plot yet again for the series, but will examine two main threads that were the most prominent in the current book's narrative.

The Shadow Rising takes place shortly after the end of the events of The Dragon Reborn. Rand, Mat, and Perrin, the three ta'veren, and their friends and guides are in the city of Tear where Rand proved himself to be the Dragon, Lewis Therin Telamon, Reborn in a new body and personality. Meanwhile, we learn more of what it means for the three young men to be ta'veren. Rand, as the Dragon Reborn, was created by the pattern to be a ta'veren. His two best friends were chosen by the pattern of the Wheel of Time to assist him and are thus ta'veren who are gifted with unique abilities and pull others towards them just as Rand pulls Mat and Perrin towards him. This development of the abilities and significance of the three men is the first main plot point.

The second main plot point is one that was, in many ways, inevitable. The Shadow, the evil one who is trying to break free and destroy all of creation had to have some victories and negative impact at some point in the plot. You can't have a multi-book series without this happening at some point. This book is where he does. Thus, the title. Between the catastrophes and near or actual losses that occur to the characters and their loved ones, as well as the release for certain of ALL of the imprisoned Forsaken or servants of the Dark One, the Shadow is not winning, but most definitely is rising.

Of course, the ta'veren coming more fully into their own powers also means that the friends of the young men are also coming into their own powers and abilities, and finding new depths of skill and courage. All of this makes for some compelling reading.

What ties all of this together? What I started out by mentioning. Friendship. The deep friendship and love of each other and family keeps these characters from separating when they otherwise might try. It is not just that they have no choice due to the Wheel's forcing them together, as Mat would like to claim. No, it is that they all, deep-down, care for each other, and want to help each other.

For me, all of the action scenes, as neat as they were, were secondary in my enjoyment to the compelling depths of the love and loyalty these men and their friends have for each other.

Despite all of my gushing, their were some problems. The romantic parts of the story seemed to move really, REALLY quickly. Even though some of the romantic storylines are plausible, they do not feel likely or believable. Not really.

The second criticism is how one ta'veren's great victory at the very end seemed to be too sudden. I can see how it can work within the story, but it just felt like it was rushed, and that kind of soured it a bit for me, by yanking me from the story as I realized how contrived it seemed.

Despite these criticisms, I must say that along with the emphasis on friendship, I also appreciated how this was one of the few fantasy books that actually had logical battlefield tactics, and military veterans that actually act like they are military veterans. Joshing and kidding around is one thing in peaceful times. When the stuff hits the fan though, well, it's time to pull out the aggression and no-nonsense part of each person from down deep. The overall aspect of the military man and tactics he might use was portrayed realistically enough given the setting it is in. For that, I was really glad.

Despite the setbacks that occurred and the partially contrived ending, this book was a fun, memorable story of friendship and daring against all odds. A worthy volume in this terrific series. Highly Recommended.

Elizabeth Sladen, RIP

2011-04-20T16:23:00.000-07:00


Elizabeth Sladen 19480201-20110419

As I get older, it's hard to realize that many that I knew and looked up to as a child are reaching their senior and twilight years. Some will live a long time, perhaps even longer than I, while many others will die sooner. Some tragically young.

With today's medical advancements, to die in one's early sixties really is dying young.I find myself at a loss for words to discuss the death of British actress Elizabeth Sladen from cancer. She was a wonderful, bright, charming persona on television. Of course, she was also much more than that.

In real life, she was a wife and mother who leaves behind a grieving family, who both need prayers. I don't know her spiritual condition. That saddens me. We need to pray for her family, and all other families of sick and dying people.

I watched Doctor Who a LOT when I was a kid. The person of Sarah Jane Smith was a part of my life, just as many other persons on tv. I must admit to a preference (which many of the fellow old-school Whovians find heretical) for the new series. Yet, I enjoy the old one as well. Not just because the stories were great, but because my dad liked it. I feel a connection to him through watching it. Now that I won't see him until Heaven, I treasure such connections.

I don't know what else to say about this. Perhaps it is foolish to get this upset over a childhood character and her actress's death. I don't know. All that I do know is that she shall be missed by many 30-something men and women who grew up watching the reruns on tv, not to mention the 40-somethings that saw her in first-run. So for my tribute, I will quote the Doctor. Sarah Jane insisted the Doctor say goodbye this time in the episode "School Reunion" in Series two of the new Doctor Who. To quote the Doctor:

Goodbye, my Sarah Jane!

Elizabeth Sladen, 1948-2011, Rest in Peace

False Beliefs Are Dangerous: My Review of The Ale Boy's Feast by Jeffrey Overstreet

2011-04-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

It's kind of humorous, I suppose, how folks just do not seem to learn the lessons they swear they'll learn. I am one of those folks. I have stated before that I will try to not agree to read a book mid-series. The reason is because some series are hard to understand if you do not start from the beginning. This seems to be especially true of the science fiction and fantasy genres.

Complex physical laws and systems of magic are in play, not to mention a whole bevy of species and so forth. The paradox here is that the more satisfying books are also the hardest ones to read unless one starts from the beginning. For believability, the reader seeks a narrative that is coherent, organized, and logical. Of course, this same believability is what causes the book to be so difficult to understand.

Nevertheless, I started yet another book that is difficult to understand and keep track of, though it certainly was enjoyable. The Ale Boy's Feast, by Jeffrey Overstreet, is a novel that carries the distinction (to me, at least) of being the darkest "Christian fantasy" I have ever come across. The author tries to paint realism into the narrative, and there is much serious or adult, whatever term you prefer, material. Death, grief, mourning, loss of faith, and so forth. There is even an obvious criticism of science running amok without religious and moral restraint, that would please C. S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tolkien.

I would endeavor to try to outline some important facts about the book, but I really can not. I believe that I have gained a reasonably good understanding of the overall plot of the book, but I can not be certain that I do understand it. I fear that I would merely confuse the reader. I will endeavor to give a very rough sketch of the pros and cons of the book.

First of all for the cons. The author makes no real attempt to explain past events, other than a glossary at the end. Useful, but not much help when you are wondering why some bloke's wife is firing an arrow through his hand. Or why some people who are on the same side want to kill others on the same side. It can be quite confusing at times.

The other area that is not so much a drawback as a mistake in not giving proper marketing, is the amount of blood, gore, and death, in the book. Characters die in the book. Many quite gruesomely, as they attempt to defeat the demonic forces arrayed against them.This book is definitively not for younger readers. Though it is not gratuitous in any of the more "serious" aspects, it is clearly a very graphic, difficult and adult-oriented book. The fantasy is a serious look at what can happen when folks allow themselves to believe lies over the Truth. It seems to be a very violent allegorical story.

The positives are also present, and make the story worth reading. The characters are presented with a vividness that is rare in books. Some authors have a knack for world-building and description. Well, Mr. Overstreet is one such author. Whether it be the world's geography, or the various systems of magic and science, or the vague hints at the supernatural order governing the world, all of it is crisp, clear, and vivid. It all is made to seem real to the reader.

The other positive is the realistic portrayal of redemption, and that of heroism. So many stories make it seem like characters can do the most unspeakable crimes, and then do a heroic act, and poof! they are accepted as good as new. I am certainly not criticizing such stories, for they are uplifting and edifying. However, just as there is a place for such stories, there is also a place for more gritty, realistic stories of sacrifice, redemption, and forgiveness.

Heroism is not a glorious act with a stirring soundtrack in the background. It is hard, frightening, and the farthest thing from glorious. Not that the deeds can not be glorious. Indeed, they are so. The deeds, not the actions. The confusion, jumble of thoughts (often incoherent), and raw fear of heroes is set forth in a way hard to ignore.

I find myself somewhat flummoxed as to how I should rate this novel. Everything put together, it is a highly enjoyable and thoughtful book, but perhaps not the best I have read. Nevertheless, I do recommend it, and look forward to reading the previous books in the series, and future ones. Recommended, only for those who are ready for gritty Christian fantasy, and for adults. NOT CHILDREN. If you meet these two criteria, I encourage you to give the book a whirl.

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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Faith And Science Should Be Judged By Themselves and Each Other, NOT The Ideas of Man: My Review of Christian Encounters: Galileo

2011-04-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

To say that science is not my best subject, would be an understatement. I am horrible at it, but math is much worse for me to understand and deal with. Science is my veritable forte compared to mathematics. So parts of this book went way, way beyond my head. I will say that the author, Mitch Stokes, helped to explain the issues well enough to make it clear that Galileo's supposed brave stand for secularism is an absolute myth that insults Galileo by denying his immense faith in Christ. It was a battle of philosophies, and that is where this review will focus.

Plato and Aristotle have had a HUGE impact on the study of philosophy and religion, due to the reworking of their ideas in the writings of Augustine and Aquinas, for each man respectively. This has had good and bad results both. The good results are the ways in which intellectualism and logic were shown to be compatible with faith, as was science.

This has been key to the development of Western thought. The nature of science was, at first, to examine how God created the universe to bring Him glory. And, of course, many are those who have been attracted by the existence of a religion that is not afraid of being disproved by science. The vitality and growth of Christianity, and the successes it has had as a civilizational structure, is largely dependent on this intellectual Platonic/Aristotelian lineage.

However, for all of this good, there has been a very dark side to this. And that is the dependence that many Christians historically have had on the ideas of Plato and Aristotle as reinterpreted by major thinkers in the Christian tradition. In his book, Heaven, author Randy Alcorn points out how the Platonic idea has done harm to the Christian conception of Heaven, and drawn us away from the Scriptural truth for centuries.

In Christian Encounters: Galileo, author Mitch Stokes examines how the allegiance to Aristotle among Christian thinkers has equally hurt both science and religion on another ground via the cult-like aspects of interpreting the ideas of Aristotle above those of the Bible and observed natural phenomena.

Stokes persuasively argues how the so-called "Galileo affair" was not an instance of science versus religious faith, but of science versus false logic. There was more to it in the form of personality conflicts, malicious rumors, and hurt feelings, but this is what it all boils down towards in the end. Galileo was not hounded and harmed due to actual blasphemy, but due to challenging how the Bible had been interpreted according to the enormous fealty that Christianity has historically had to two prominent pagan thinkers.

Galileo never once gave up his deep faith in Christ and adherence to principles of the Catholic Church. He had his foibles, and MAJOR sins, which should not be ignored. However, he also agreed to travel to Rome and accept what he thought would be a severe punishment instead of fleeing to other Italian city-states that had actually offered him asylum. He did this out of a desire to not be thought of as a bad Catholic or Christian. If he had seen how he would be lionized as a champion of secular science (at least by the modern idea of secularism, as opposed to his definition which the Catholic Church would later adopt), he would have been horrified.

In the end, Galileo had affirmed the primacy of the Church, and agreed with the Bible. Because the Bible was interpreted on Aristotelian terms at the time, he was falsely hounded for heresy that he did not commit. In modern times, he has been vindicated, as his methodology of Biblical interpretation in relation to the natural world is the one stated by the last Pope, the late John Paul II, during his papacy. It is interesting that a warning to examine Biblical and scientific evidence in light of each other, was John Paul's warning, as a result of official church documents pointing this out to be the reason for Galileo's mistreatment by the Church.

Galileo was a great scientist and man, so far as men go. The Catholic church is a great organization. That the two came into conflict is sad, but it is NOT due to some trumped-up incompatibility of science and faith. It is due to the cult of personality that caused Christians to mistakenly honor the thoughts of men over the Word of God in the Bible and the handwriting of God in Nature.

This biography, though heavy on science, was written easily and clearly enough where even a near science and math illiterate as myself could follow the general ideas. I can and would criticize the author for having spewed so much science that, unless one understands the ins and outs of the discipline, the audience could probably not ever understand all of it well. The fact that I spent so much time scratching my head at some of the information was a huge drawback. It seemed that Stokes actually tried to write in layman's terms, but kept slipping into technical terms. This back-and-forth could be jarring and confusing to read, and made the narrative more difficult to follow than it already was.

Despite this, the book was, as I stated earlier, eminently informative readable, if not always understandable. I encourage folks to read this in order to learn the truth behind one of the biggest myths in the history of science and of the Catholic church. Faith and science should be judged by themselves and each other, NOT by the ideas of popular men, or else heartache is inevitable. A fascinating read. Recommended.

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I received this biography of Galileo from free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Schemes Gone Awry Can Be Hilarious: My Review of My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

2011-04-13T02:23:00.000-07:00

I was first put onto the comedic genius of early 20th century British author P. G. Wodehouse by a friend of mine. She raved in her reviews and comments about how great the author was. I gave him a try with The Clicking of Cuthbert, and I was hooked. The humor was spot on, and it wasn't slap-stick or in your face, as much as subtle humor. It was as hilarious as anything one might read today, but at the same time, the reader has to pay attention to the nuances in language, and the context the humor is in, in order to understand what "jokes" Wodehouse is saying.

I guess a way of explaining it would be to say that Wodehouse used situational comedy. Long, long before Seinfeld or other modern comedians, Wodehouse utilized this type of comedy. Unlike later attempts at this method, his work is clean, truly funny, and makes the reader think to understand the humor.

While The Clicking of Cuthbert was humor about the game of golf, My Man Jeeves is humor about various situations that the main character and his friends get into. Despite the title, Jeeves is "a" main character, but not "the" main character. That honor for about half of the stories went to Bertie Wooster. Wooster is a wealthy, aristocratic man from England, who is spending time in New York City, and brings his butler Jeeves with him.

In situation after situation, the characters would get into some scrape, and Jeeves would use his talents and genius to get them out of it. The scrapes ranged from truly problematic situations to the absurd. There would be a hitch, and Jeeves would save the day. The non-Bertie Wooster/Jeeves stories followed much the same formula, but with different characters (who turn out to be friends of Wooster's) trying to come up with plots.

Maybe it was just me, but I found myself enjoying the Bertie Wooster/Jeeves stories more than the other tales. For one thing, Jeeves just tends to be designed as more "brainy" by Wodehouse. His schemes are more elaborate and thus more enjoyable to read. Whether this was a purposeful choice by Wodehouse, or just him doing it unconsciously, I don't know, but it was how I read the stories. It eventually was at the point where I laughed out loud, wondering, along with Wooster, just why Jeeves contented himself with being a butler, when he's obviously one of the smartest guys around. Truly a unique character creation there, on Wodehouse's part. :D

The merits of the book, and seemingly most or all of Wodehouse's writings, are numerous. The two to be mentioned here is that the book does humor and camp right. It is an almost intellectual camp, if you will. The author did not take himself or his books too seriously, but neither did he engage in pointless humor just for humor's sake. The humor always had a point as part of, or referencing back to some fact in, the story.

The other great strength of the book was the relationship between Wooster and Jeeves. While they are clearly employer and employee, they also appear to be, without a doubt, friends. Sometimes these two roles came into conflict and friction was introduced, while at other times the two roles almost seemingly merged, and only Jeeves' careful observance of protocol and address towards Bertie kept the relationships distinct from each other. This unique friendship between the master and butler added a new and interesting facet to the collection of tales.

I could only say that the problem I had was the length. It was TOO SHORT! I will soon be returning to Wodehouse, and especially the tales of Bertie Wooster and his faithful friend and butler, Jeeves. Highly Recommended.

Strong Character is the Greatest Strength of All: My Review of Mandfield Park by Jane Austen

2011-04-11T03:13:00.000-07:00

Mansfield Park is somewhat quixotic. It is at the same time one of my favorite, and one of my least favorite, books of all time. It is a beautifully-written tale of love, kindness, and strength of character, rising above adversity and winning the day for the heroine. It is also a tale of unspeakable emotional abuse of the heroine by nearly everyone else for some half of the book, and most others for nearly the entire story.

The book begins with the tale of three sisters who had a falling-out. Two of them married well enough that the one after her husband's death was still upper-middle class, while the other was quite wealthy. The third sister married a lower-class man whose inability to provide much economically for his new wife, lead to a furious disagreement that never quite heals. Eventually, the poorer sister, Mrs. Price, after having a large number of children, appealed to her sisters desperately for help.

The help came in the form of an offer to take one of the daughters into the family of the wealthier sister as a ward. While this may seem ideal to most folks to be removed for near-poverty to opulence, it had a serious drawback for the young girl named Fanny Price. She spent her days either being ignored by most of her relations, or outright abused by others. Particularly, the widowed sister was a bitter woman who clearly hated her other sister still, for her treatment of Fanny is horrendous.

And trust me, I really do mean horrendous. I found myself shocked and angered as I read, though I am aware that these are just literary characters. Shocked and outraged because I know this almost certainly happened in real life to these children. What the wealthy clan, the Bertrams, did for Fanny seems to have been common practice at the time, as probably was the abuse in all too many situations.

This is the strength and weakness both of the novel. Jane Austen takes her same skill at wit and satire that she employed to write the bantering romance of Darcy and Lizzie in Pride and Prejudice, and uses it to tell a story of triumph over incredible adversity. I found myself simultaneously drawn into the narrative and wanting to put the book down because of how vivid the world of young Fanny was, with all of it's attendant triumphs and horrors, pleasures and abuses.

There seems to be a rather large, and quite sickeningly stunning to me, number of people who don't like the character of Fanny, because of her perceived "weakness". They seem to view the fact that Fanny is not assertive and takes the abuse as evidence of her unlikable "wimpiness". To be sure, they have might have a point, but for the fact that they obviously had not paid attention to the overall narrative of the story.

What I mean by this is that it was not just Fanny's more gentle nature that lead to her lack of assertiveness, but her treatment at the hands of her relations, especially the complete monster of an aunt that she had in the abusive Mrs. Norris. She was a girl who knew and was constantly told her place, and she was certainly too scared to cross that line in the sand. She pretty much did what she was told to do, including being treated like the servant of her aunts and daughters, and accepted being told how worthless she was.

Despite all of this, however, she had the strength of character to refuse to do anything that may have compromised her principles. She had a clearly developed worldview and sense of right and wrong. This enabled her to make the correct decisions while most of her family made horrible decisions that caused much harm. In the end, Fanny became the apple of her wealthy uncle (Sir Thomas Bertram) and aunt's eye. As well she was the apple of the eye all along of her future husband.

For those who wonder, yes I'm being vague. Given the status of the story as a novel of romance and manners, too much more detail may literally give the entire plot away from the start, which I do not wish to do. I do wish to say what is good in this story. And what is bad.

To be honest, there is hardly anything bad to be told. The book is hard to read for the sorrow and abuse of the heroine, but that is part of the plot that weaves together a story of ultimate triumph over adversity. The one and only drawback that I can put to the plot is how the heroine has a long tale of tumult and adversity with most of the novel's length dedicated to that, but only a few pages dedicated to her triumph and happiness. Do not get me wrong, I am happy about the ending and it did not disappoint. It was truly and deeply satisfying. I just would have liked a longer ending with more happiness explored. It would have been even more satisfying.

Nevertheless, the story is a compelling novel that teaches the reader an important lesson. You see, outside strength does not matter as much as inner character. Give the most fearless man or woman who lack a moral core (which I believe they can only obtain if they trust in the Lord Jesus Christ) enough time, and they will cause far, far more problems than the less stellar (from the outside) acting or appearing man or woman who have strong moral convictions. Me? I trust those of strong character more. For strong character really is the greatest strength of all.

Read this book, even if you have to occasionally put it down because of the intense content, as I had to do. You will not regret it. Highly Recommended.

Angel-based Fiction Done Properly: My Review of Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley

2011-04-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

There seems to be this strange trend these days for books with angels and Nephilim as characters. Nephilim being the off-spring of angels and humans. The rash of books one might see in bookstores and online (I have noticed it myself) is somewhat annoying. It seems like every craze has to be imitated. Whether this be vampires, goblins, time travel, or now, this angel schtick.

I hate trends like this. So I surprised myself by agreeing to review the novel, Breath of Angel, by Karyn Henley. I found myself enjoying this novel, despite it's drawbacks, and despite my disdain for this modern, often unbiblical trend, that uses angels for little more than putting sexual immorality on exhibition for the reader.

First, to the parts I didn't like. This is obviously an attempt to write a "Christian-acceptable" version of the aforementioned "angel books". That irked me. We should not let any medium or idea slip by in trying to witness to the lost and nourish believers. If the entertainment can be honoring to God, then we ought to utilize and embrace it. However, it just irked me that this seemed at first to be a "me too" type of book. I don't know, just felt upset with that aspect.

The other major area of weakness in the story is how the plot threads were sometimes revealed for the sake of keeping the plot going, and solving plot problems. Or at least, that's how it seemed. In reality, I think that it was a typical problem with novels, especially young adult ones. The length was likely set down ahead of time, and the author had to fit this narrative into a very slim amount of space. This made it appear to be a case of pulling things out of thin air, even though the strength of the details suggest that it wasn't, and really made some parts of the story pull you out of the narrative with how disjointed, and/or sudden that they seemed to appear.

For all of this, the book was quite enjoyable, due to two overriding factors. The pure fun of the story, and the carefully laid and developed mythos of the world in which the story takes place. Unlike many of the books in the current angel craze, this was not written just to put sex on display, or prop up a romance. There is a romance, to be sure, but it is written remarkably clean, and it is secondary in importance to the other plot threads. This was refreshing.

The other part of the plot development that was good was that it is an ancient world type of culture and landscape. It's not some modern high school-based, or urban-based, fantasy. Do not get me wrong. I honestly do not have a problem with such types of literature. They may not be my cup of tea, but, if they honor God, then there is certainly nothing morally wrong with them. The main thing that is actually wrong with them is the lack of a compelling narrative and fully developed storyline.

Breath of Angel avoids this problem by basing the storyline in a setting that allows for some superior world-building. For those who are fans of Megan Whalen Turner's Attolian Conspiracy series, the world, myths, religious structure, and emphasis on prophecy and Providence here, will be sure to please. It is not by far as good as Turner's books, but it is a fine novel in it's own right.

The final element to the book that I enjoyed was the emphasis on good, worthwhile character virtues. The love and camaraderie of the characters for each other is obvious, even when they bicker. The (supposed) struggle between predestination and free will is highlighted, and the ideas of honor, duty, and sacrifice are described in a way rarely put forth in fiction these days, young adult or otherwise.

I encourage those who are at all curious about many of the angel fantasies on the market today to ignore those books, and give Breath of Angel a chance. It is a fun, well-thought out read, and well worth your time. Recommended.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. WaterBrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank WaterBrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

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Next up in a day or two, my review of Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen. :D

You Can't Escape Destiny: My Review of The Dragon Reborn: Book Three of The Wheel of Time

2011-04-05T03:13:00.000-07:00

The previous book in the Wheel of Time series dealt with the main heroes trying to deny their destiny and shirk their duties. To shirk the destinies that are being forced upon them as "ta'veren" or those whom the wheel ties other destinies to in an effort to accomplish the purposes of the current age. At the end of the book, Rand al'Thor seemed ready to accept the destiny that he had to fulfill, as he proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn; while his friend Perrin seemed to also accept his mission to help Rand as the Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, approaches.

The title and structure of the book are fairly interesting. Though the title seems to be about Rand, and he is the focus of everyone else's attention, whether for the entire story, or just at the end of the story, Rand has very little actual point of view narration in the novel. It seems to tell the story through the eyes of everyone else BUT him.

I don't have Robert Jordan, who passed away a few years back, to ask the reason why, but there are certainly plausible reasons. Perhaps the strain on Rand, both of his duties, and of the madness and insanity that the evil-tainted male half of the True Source pressing down on him, is better shown from the outside. Perhaps it is just the best way to focus on other characters, since there are a BOATLOAD of them. Regardless of the reason, my disappointment soon was dispelled, as I truly enjoyed getting to know these other characters better.

The characters I most enjoyed in this book were Mat and Nynaeve. It was fun to see the strong and compassionate leader Nynaeve turned out to be, as well as the good guy Mat truly is. In the previous two books, he was a pretty good guy, but was also a jerk at times due to the evil-tainted dagger of Shadar Logoth. In this book, after the dagger's taint is removed, Mat becomes an increasingly likable character.

The only character flaw to Mat seems to be his inability to NOT save people. Then again, given his status as "ta'veren", it should not be surprising that he has this instinct. It seems to be a defining characteristic of all thee of the boys.

The other interesting aspect that I noticed was that the three "ta'veren's" skills and abilities, seem to have manifested themselves all within the same year or two span of time. Rand, as the Dragon Reborn's, channeling abilities, Perrin's wolf-brother abilities, and Mat's incredible luck. It seems like the Wheel really did come a-calling, and dragged them kicking and screaming along.

The character that I did not like, was Egwene al'Vere. She seemed to be more concerned with being independent, than she was with accomplishing what they had to accomplish. She was tiresome, snappish, irritable, and sometimes just plain mean to Nynaeve and Elayne. While all three of the girls could irritate me with their treatment of Mat and overall haughty behavior, Egwene was the worst by far. She seems so blinded by ambition.

All in all, the third book was a vast improvement over the second one. While the characters were still separate until the end, they began to recover that comity and close friendship that made them such compelling characters during the first book and last third of the second book. I stated at the end of my review of The Great Hunt that if the future books had the type of characterization and deep emphasis on friendship that I described above, that I would eagerly continue the series. Well, the third book did, indeed, and I am sold on the series. Give it a try. You won't regret it.

Best book so far, and Highly Recommended.

The Absurd "Rebecca Black" Brouhaha Reveals the Cruelty in Too Many of Us

2011-03-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

It looks like the kitty has learned a lesson more of us should learn. :)

Being a gentleman. Showing love and kindness. What does that mean? A gentleman is one who shows some sense of refinement in his dealings with others. In other words, he has a keen sense of morality and shows it in his bearing. To be a lady is the feminine equivalent of this. Oh, the roles are different between ladies and gentlemen, but the morality is the same. I am not speaking, by the way, of those who are pretentious, and think themselves superior to others for quite nonsensical reasons of prejudice. That is foolish snobbery. I am speaking merely of the moral dimension.

What is the issue that has brought this up for me? It is the recent brouhaha over the music video, "It's Friday", by a young girl named Rebecca Black. I had heard some withering criticism of the girl and her video, first on Yahoo News, and then from some friends on Facebook. I agreed that the video was bad musically, and had a good laugh at it. I then paid the video or the issue no further heed.

Then I had noticed what may be termed a bit of an overkill in the criticism, and read an article on Yahoo News about how upset the girl and her mother were over some of the more virulent criticisms. I was a bit shocked when I found out that she was only fourteen years old. I realized that she has had to endure hateful comments, and even among the non-hateful comments, a barrage of negative comments altogether. I can not describe how sorry I am to know that, and realize that.

What is the point of all of this? Why in the world am I writing about this topic? You may be asking these questions right now. Well, it is simple. It shows how far we have fallen in society. It used to be that men treated women kindly, and women who were cruel were shamed into silence (except for the upper-crust, but even they eventually were shamed). It used to be that most people showed kindness to others. Yes, I realize that there were evils that occurred years ago as well. I am not trying to call us back to a "golden age" that never existed. I am trying to call us away from our modern, crass notions of morality, manners, and chivalry being old-fashioned. I am trying to ask folks to be kind.

Yes, the video is not very good. Yes, her singing leaves a lot to be desired. But she does have a grain of talent. Let's try to encourage her to water that grain, that seed, and see what sprouts. Let's pray for her. Let's critique her in kindness, but let's not make social media a land of hurtful comments to her.

I don't know her from Eve. I do know one thing, however. I know that if she were my sister, daughter, or best friend, I would be angry and want to see her let up on. Wouldn't you? Think about it. Please think about it, and be kind. Be Ladies. Be Gentlemen.

What do you all think? Am I making too much of this? Or should people, especially children, be afforded some respect, whether we like their performances or not? Are chivalry and gentlemanliness dead? Comments appreciated as always. God bless. HOOAH!!! :)

The Saga Continues and New Legends Emerge: My Review of The Wheel of Time: The Great Hunt

2011-03-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes destiny can not be avoided, or so Rand Al-Thor and his friends find out in the second book of the late Robert Jordan's immensely popular series, The Wheel of Time. As the story begins, things appear to be on an even keel and pretty relaxed from the denouement of the first novel in the series.

All of this is soon to change, however, when a raid on the castle where the heroes are staying leads to the theft of the recovered Horn of Valere and the evil-tainted dagger of Shadar Logoth. The Horn is desperately needed to ensure that the heroes of Legend will be on the side of the Light in the story, and the dagger is needed to complete the healing and keep Rand's friend, Mat, from dying. Rand, of course, goes with the small force of soldiers in search of the Horn and dagger. Accompanying him is Mat himself and Perrin, as well as Verin of the Aes Sedai.

As if all of this is not enough, Rand finds out that he is the Dragon Reborn, the reincarnated spirit of the guardian of the Light against the forces of darkness. All of this is a bit much, so it should come as little surprise that Rand resists this destiny as long as he can, until literally the end of the novel.

Though they are not the same level of importance as Rand, Mat and Perrin are also important. Arguably, they are part of the larger picture as well. Not only are they Rand's closest friends, but they are also what is known as "ta'veren", or those whom the Wheel of Time weaves around to serve it's purposes. It is hinted that they are important as well to the prophecies of the Dragon that foretell of Rand's rise and battle with the Dark One.

To say that Mat and Perrin are as resistant to their destinies as Rand is, would be an understatement. All of these divergent threads tie together in an epic confrontation and battle between the forces of good and evil. Pulled into the mix are other important characters such as Nynaeve, Egwene, and other friends of the Ta'veren.

As you can see, this is quite the story. There are numerous threads to keep track of, and while it is all worth it, this is, if anything the one of the two major weakness to the narrative that I can see. The various plot threads are long and drawn out, and at times, quite difficult to keep sorted out and track of.

The other criticism of the book that I had while reading it is that the story just did not, until about two-thirds of the way through it, have the same sense of camaraderie and friendship among the characters as the first novel did. Even though the narrative is much faster-paced, and not as boringly descriptive in parts as it's predecessor, it really suffered form this lack of emphasis on friendship exemplified in the first book. There is a criticism that the series dovetails too much with J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, but this book avoids some of that from the first book, though not all to be sure, and suffers from this. The last third of the book with the emphasis on characters and friendship was by far the best part of the whole book.

A very poignant, to me, part of that last third, was the heroic redemption and sacrifice of one of the characters. I won't say which one, so as to not spoil the book too much, but I will say that it was thoroughly touching. A character driven to desperation found redemption and hope in sacrificing himself for the sake of the heroes he believed in. The main heroes, Rand, Mat, Perrin, and their allies, later take up that calling to wage the final confrontation. This, this type of narrative is what makes books great. If Jordan managed to keep it up, and make the rest of the books more like the first one, and last third of the second one, this will be well-worth reading.

Very rarely have I come across a secular fantasy series that I could sink my teeth into and enjoy. This is one of the few that I can take pleasure in, and boy, is it fun! :D I look forward to starting book three, titled, aptly enough, The Dragon Reborn. Give the series a try. You won't regret it. Recommended.

God Is Always There, Even When Our Family Is Not: My Review of The Mountains Bow Down, by Sibella Giorello

2011-03-21T03:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there is a book that can really confuse you to read. You're simply not sure how to react to it. Did the book have a point, beyond event the story? And if so, did it make that point? Was the point real? Or just tacked on so the book can sell better?

To be honest, all of these questions swarmed around in my head as I was completing this novel. In The Mountains Bow Down, by Sibella Giorello, the above questions arose for me. In the story, the main character, Raleigh Harmon, is a mineralogist, a geologist who specializes in studying minerals, and she is an FBI agent. She has a somewhat complicated backstory that precedes this novel, but winds up as the story begins, on a cruise with her Mom, her Aunt Charlotte, and Charlotte's extremely eccentric friend, Claire.

Raleigh is hired to be the official FBI consultant on a film project taking place on the cruise ship. During the early part of the voyage, the wife of the movie's star winds up dead. From there, as they say, the mystery thickens.

Several threads are woven together in this book. From Raleigh's turbulent relationship with her fiance, to her strained relationship with her family. Her mother is always at the point of a psychological breakdown, while Aunt Charlotte and Claire are into ridiculous new agey garbage, that becomes increasingly a way to try to evade the enormous pain and loneliness that they feel.

At first, I was looking for an overt Christian message, but couldn't find one. I mulled over if this was good or not. Too many authors put in some evangelistic message to appear "Christian" for the publisher's check lists or whatever, but the message makes no sense with the plot. It sometimes seems like a "Now You Know" segment from the GI Joe cartoons I'd watch as I kid. About two-thirds of the way through the novel, Raleigh does, indeed, cry out to God for help.

I was somewhat taken aback by this, thinking the "Now You Know" had come after all, much to my disappointment. It seemed to come out of nowhere. As the story progressed, however, I found that I was wrong. Within the numerous plot elements, the story makes perfect sense.

We are shown how the heroine is unable and unwilling to condemn others when not angry, because of her numerous sins. We are also shown that perhaps, just perhaps, those who do that which we would normally consider ridiculous, rocks, and New Age stuff, are just as lonely and searching as the rest of us. To condemn their evil is a must, of course, for they dabble in what the Lord hates; but to show them love and a desire to help them is also a must. God holds out the hammer of His wrath to those who reject Him (as we all do as sinners until He draws us to Himself), but He also holds out His arms as a loving Father to draw His children to Himself, if we will turn from our sins and to Him.

In the end, this book did not fall into the trap of having a convenient Gospel message that seemed almost pointless in the structure of the story. There was no "Now You Know" segment here. There was a deep, thoughtful, engaging narrative, with fleshed-out characters and situations, as well as a deep Biblical message.

Of course, there is a romance. Didn't really think you'd avoid that one, now did you? ;) Thankfully, it is tastefully done, and is left open-ended for future books. There is so much more characterization about relationships, how people should and should not treat each other, and so forth. Plus the story is actually compelling, and a good mystery. I usually figure out the bad guy right away when I read a mystery. Here I didn't figure the bad guy out until near the end.

Were there deficiencies in the narrative? A few. The ending seemed a little rushed. Which was a disappointment. The clues were all there and developed patiently over the course of the story, so it seemed to me like the author was simply trying to cram all of this story into a limited page space. For that matter, the interactions of Raleigh, and her fiance, DeMott, made neither seem very sympathetic. I'm trying to decide if that was the point of the author in the first place, or not.

All that said, this book, while not Sherlock Holmes, is a delightful treat to read, with a positive and compelling Christian message about salvation and how to love and reach out to our enemies, with the hopes of winning them to the Lord. Recommended.

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I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson Publishers for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

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NOTE: Tomorrow. My review of The Great Hunt, Book Two of The Wheel of Time Saga by Robert Jordan.

A Young Adult Novel With An Unusual, and WELCOME, Military Point of View Character

2011-03-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

A Brief Note: This is a review I wrote some time back for this novel. I am reposting it here with some changes to make this the first article that will bear the them that there ought to be more realistic portrayals of military characters in fiction, especially enlisted ones. Those media that do have such a realistic portrayal will receive mention from time to time. I say "theme" instead of "series" because it is precisely that. A theme that will be much looser than a series. It will more come out when I see a good reason for it, but there will be no overarching structure to any pieces that mention this concept. ....

One of the best YA (Young Adult) series that I have had the pleasure of reading, is *The Queen's Thief* series, by Megan Whalen Turner. I had read the previous two books in *The Queen’s Thief* series, and I thought I knew what to expect. I was surprised, and pleasantly so. In many series, the author basically takes the “winning formula” from the first book, and repeats it for the other books to follow. Turner takes a completely different tact, in fact having the narrator be none of the major players in the series, but a lowly squad leader. Herein lays the strength of the book. (As a side note: this is a theme I will touch on again and again, why there ought to be more realistic portrayals of military characters, especially enlisted ones.)

The series has always incorporated themes of politics, culture, religious themes (explored through the fictional religions in the story), morality, and relationships. As a backdrop to these themes are fun adventure stories of daring, sacrifice, and victory over all odds. At least, that was the formula in the first two books in the series. In *The King of Attolia*, the focus turns entirely to the effort by the former Thief of Eddis, and now King of Attolia, Eugenides (Gen for short), to fit in the Attolian court and find his bearings in Attolian society.

There are no real exploits here, and the intrigues are mostly controlled by Eugenides. The story is narrated by the squad leader Costis. Costis is a promising young soldier in the Queen’s Guard, who makes the mistake of assaulting Gen in a fit of rage. In Attolian society, the punishment for such acts against the Crown is death. Gen acts on his behalf to have him spared. There is more to it than one might see at first glance, but that is to be expected to anyone who has read *The Thief* or *The Queen of Attolia*.

The book is perhaps more comedic than the first two. Though the plot is very serious, it is also a sort of bridge novel in many ways between the first two books and the ones to come. As such, the plot is almost by necessity somewhat sparse, and so needs other elements to further the story. Humor serves this nicely, making up for some areas where the plot may have caused the story to drag for a bit.

The other element of the story that I enjoyed was the further exploration of the internal continuity of Turner’s books. You learn why the name of the rulers and their countries being identical is more than just coincidence. You also see life from the point of view of the soldier in the books.

In the previous books, the main action and focus was on Gen and the other principals of the story, so the military ended up being just cannon fodder to further the story. In this novel, the military was explored, with the inner workings and the culture of the military fleshed out. As a veteran, I truly appreciated this development, and was fascinated to see the aspects of real-life military culture that were reflected in the story. Turner really made sure she got her facts straight and reflected military culture accurately. Militaries undergo changes, but much of the culture and traditions remain the same.

In few books or movies do they portray the mindset of the average soldier. And when they actually do portray the military mindset through a military character, it is an officer. I'm not saying that is wrong, mind you, but that it is not an adequate picture. Most of those in militaries throughout history have been the enlisted, and lower enlisted at that. Most of those who have done, and are doing, the fighting overseas, are the grunts, joes, whatever you want to call them. As a former enlisted guy, I was really happy to see this character, Costis, be the equivalent of an enlisted soldier (even when he appears to be more, he still acts and thinks like one), and see things from his point of view. I can't say enough of how pleased and happy I was with this, and how much I think the character truthfully displayed the attitude and thought processes of your average soldier.

A further interesting part of the tale was the exploration of spiritual and moral ideas and truths by way of a made-up pagan religion. The concepts of predestination and destiny set for us that were explored in the first two books are furthered herein. As a Christian, I really enjoyed and took to this part.

While I must admit that, yes, the story did drag a bit in places, the character development, humor, and realistic military portrayal more than made up for this. This story was just superb.

The book does contain some swearing, graphic depictions of violence and other areas, and some bawdy humor. It is not for very young children. For teenagers and above, it is a marvelous book that teaches real truths with the use of pagan symbolism.

Humor, great character development, realist military portrayals, and a fun story. Who could ask for more? Pick up this book today. You will be glad that you did. Highly Recommended.

Trees, Myths, and the One, True Myth

2011-03-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

I came across an idea while looking up spoilers for the fantasy series I am currently reading. In the spoilers for the series, one of the characters is compared to Odin, the fictional deity in the Greek pantheon. I learned that one reference for the character's comparison to Odin is how the character hangs on a tree.

This brought to my mind a reference from the Scriptures, where Paul writes:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." - Galatians 3:13

The verse that Paul the Apostle was referencing was in Deuteronomy:

If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. - Deuteronomy 21:22-23

So there seems to be a commonality between the Truth of God's Word and the ancient beliefs of pagans, however vague. This brought to my mind how one of the ways that J. R. R. Tolkien was used by God to convert C. S. Lewis to the Gospel of Christ by appealing to the "One True Myth" of Christianity. In other words, all other myths and stories share a commonality to one degree or another because they reference the True Myth of the Bible and Christian religion, pointing the way to Christ for Salvation and escape from Hell, if only the lost will accept the True Myth once they hear of it.

C. S. Lewis believed in this whole-heartedly as one can see by his allusions to pagan works. He would reference them and subordinate them to the truth of the Word of God, as reflecting that Truth. It just fascinated me when I see such examples of how the Truth permeates all histories and cultures, even those that try to reject him.

What do you all think? What other examples of myths pointing to the One, True Myth have you noticed? Do you believe that myths actually DO point to the Scriptures in such a way?

This Week's Castle As Good Social Commentary?

2011-03-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

Image from Castle: Countdown, Part 2

One of my favorite television shows, Castle, has become the subject of a small controversy among some conservative circles (as this piece attests to) who deem a recent episode of the show to be anti-Christian and anti-military. The anti-Christian part I will not even touch, because it is, quite frankly, absurd. There is not one slam on Christianity in the whole episode. As for the anti-military part, I will touch on that.

I am a military veteran who spent time in Iraq as a combat medic. I saw things that most don't get too see, (nor would they want to see) both the good and the bad. I did not interpret the episode as condemning the military. At first, that was my fear when I saw the terrorists were ex-Spec Ops wanting to shock America into supporting the troops. But then, something happened that never happens during anti-war, anti-military hatefests in Hollywood.

The main character, mystery author and police consultant, Richard Castle, actually defends the motivations of the terrorists. To the shocked looks from the police, including his "partner" he works with, Detective Kate Beckett, he explains his statements. Yes, he obviously thinks that the actions they were going to take are evil, but that doesn't make their gripe wrong. Americans, he pointed out, really do send these folks out to die, and then, when things are uncomfortable, we take away support, and gripe about paying for those who are physically and psychologically maimed. This is wrong, Castle points out, and he has sympathy for the cause, though he hates what they do.

I will also point out that the episode paints the extreme actions of the rule-breaking and procedure-breaking DHS agent in a favorable and understandable light, given how his wife was killed on 9/11 "riding" one of the towers "down" when it collapsed. He is even admired by Castle who doesn't like him, because of the tough job he has to do. This definitely does not seem like a liberal, anti-military, anti-intelligence service, hatefest.

Some people see all this as a bone to the conservative viewers to quell controversy. I don't. Castle has NEVER gone for in your face political angles. In fact, one might say that the closest it comes to politics is to adhere informally on the matter of family and police to the right side of politics, though not overtly so.

In the end, I believe that it was an effort to write a compelling story. Did they go over-the-top and portray the ex-military as doing things they wouldn't do? Yes. They also defended the military and intelligence services, while making an important social point that we as a country do not support our men and women in harm's way, both in the field and upon return home, as we ought to do so. We seem to forget and turn away so quickly from those who serve to protect us. That is a lesson we all should ponder.

Anyone who saw the episode, please think about the message, and comment below with your own opinions, if you wish. Always glad to hear from you. :) God bless. HOOAH!!!

Looks Can Be Deceiving, My Review of The Charlatan's Boy, by Jonathan Rogers

2011-03-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a person may describe a book as unique. Usually they mean unique in a negative way, or, more rarely, unique in a positive way. In the case of the novel, *The Charlatan's Boy*, by Jonathan Rogers, I mean neither positive or negative by that description, just *unique*.

The book is a first-person narrative about the life of Grady, an orphan boy who is raised by a liar and huckster named Floyd. They go around the island nation of Corenwald, engaging in one con after another. The most successful of these cons was the attempt to pretend that Grady was a "Feechie", a creature of the swamps of the world in which the story takes place.

About twenty years before the story begins, there was a "Feechie scare". The people in the surrounding countryside, who believe themselves to be so civilized, believe that these creatures exist, and mean to do them harm. The Feechie are ugly and dirty, after all, so why not believe them to be bad?

Eventually, the scare wears off, and the business fades away, as folks no longer believe in Feechies. They are apparently a mythical creature, like our elves or something. Floyd attempts many other cons, but none of them works out, until Floyd gets the idea to cause *another* "Feechie scare", so he can profit off of it.

I honestly can not say much more, or I will spoil the surprise ending, which, if one pays attention is not really that much of a surprise, but I'll leave that to the reader to discern and figure out for themselves.

The book may seem at first to be encouraging a life of dishonesty, or showing dishonesty to be just the work of "rascals" and some such bilge. It is not, however. The book shows through the example of how Floyd treats, emotionally abuses really, Grady, and how a friend of Grady's, the beautiful Barbary is treated by her father, how such a life of lies leads to sorrow and heartbreak.

Another prevalent theme is the old adage that one can not judge a book by it's cover. What is inside is what counts. Reading the story, especially the end can make one think of the example of King David in the Bible. David had not much to commend him, so his father Jesse did not even bother to bring him to see the prophet Samuel. However, Samuel was told by God that He sees on the heart, whereas man only looks on the outward appearances.

The truth is a simple, yet profound one. You can have the mightiest, strongest, most beautiful and intelligent person around, and if their heart is not right with God, what does it do them? What good?

The only real disappointment to the story is two-fold. First of all, the ending seems kind of rushed. The narrative is going normally, then suddenly there is a dramatic shift in the story that seems to hit the reader like a brick wall. The second issue is that the book only gets to the key elements that will likely drive the series *in the last twenty pages* of the novel. This book is, in the truest sense of the phrase, an introductory work for the series.

I really enjoyed the fun, Southern style language and descriptions. The reader can tell that the island nation of Corenwald is based on the author's childhood home in the deep south in Georgia. The authenticity of the language and mannerisms, and the well-researched history of some of conmen that traveled in the South and West in the 19th century US is readily apparent, and adds a rich layer to the narrative.

All in all, if you can take the intentionally folksy prose, and the somewhat disjointed ending, which I think is well worth it that you do, then the book is something that any reader should greatly enjoy. Recommended.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. WaterBrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

The Beginning of a Saga: My Review of The Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World

2011-02-28T05:54:00.000-08:00

Fantasy is a genre that can be quite difficult at times for a Christian to really sink his or her teeth into. This is especially the case with "mainstream" fantasy, i.e., fantasy that is written for a more general audience instead of a Christian one. Much of modern secular fantasy has elements having to do with lust, sexual themes, and hostility to religion that makes it difficult for a Christian to enjoy the works.

This is, thankfully at least so far, not the case with The Wheel of Time series. The first book, The Eye of the World, is a fun, adventure tale that actually has some good themes present in the narrative. The series written by the late author, Robert Jordan, is being completed by up-and-coming fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, and Jordan's widow and editor, Harriet McDougal, based on detailed notes Jordan wrote for that purpose in the last days of his life.

The story is a coming-of-age tale which takes place in another world, where three young boys find themselves chased by a dark, evil power. They can't figure out why this evil force, called the Dark One, wants them so badly. They are guided on their quest by a good sorceress named Moiraine. Moiraine is an Aes Sedai, which is the name for those who wield magic connected to the True Source, the power that the world's Creator designed to keep the world working.

Years beforehand, the Dark One had been resealed in an effort that exacted a terrible price. Now, three thousand years later, the prison of the Dark One is again beginning to unravel. Only the Dragon, reborn in the newest age, can defeat the Dark One. Knowing this, the Dark One sets out his evil influence to find the Dragon, and either turn him, or kill him.

The three youths are all connected by the fact that any of them may be the Dragon, and all are connected to the Wheel of Time that keeps creation moving. Their destinies are uniquely woven together and nothing that happens in the last days of the current age of the world in which they live can happen without them. Their quest to defeat the Dark One and stay alive is the unfolding of the story.

The Eye of the World has so much to enjoy and so little to criticize. There is really only one element that irked me, and that was the slow pacing and seeming filler in the story. Robert Jordan seemed to enjoy describing things in minute detail. At times I wondered if Jordan were trying to copy the style of Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe. If the detailed descriptions, and some of the unnecessary information were dropped, the book may be around a hundred pages less. This criticism is, however, limited, since in some areas the filler was a welcome relief from too much action or too great gravity of tone. For that matter, some people quite like to read detailed descriptions.

This is not to say that nothing bothered me at all about the story. There was an over-use, shall we say, with the concepts, themes, and outright story ideas of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Many elements seemed to be borrowed from it. There are character analogues for Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, the Hobbits, Gollum, and even a story thread similar to the corrupting influence of the One Ring. Actually, there are several such story threads, that will probably span several books in the series.

This heavy stealing of Tolkien's ideas was alleviated when I read elsewhere that Jordan admitted stealing story ideas from Tolkien. His world is built on the idea that "all myths are true", and that this world may be our world, or another world. It may be in the past, future, or both at the same time. The complex structure of the story makes use of these elements to propel the narrative forward. Given that Jordan admitted what he was doing and explained it, it is kind of hard to be angry with him for it.

This story is a fun fantasy story with themes of friendship, fighting against evil, and hope in difficult situations. I have not described many books before as "page-turners", but this one was a definite example. I highly recommend this book.

A Change (of Sorts) in the Blog

2011-02-28T05:15:00.000-08:00

I am a slow reader and slow writer. I also am somewhat self-conscious, and unless I have something of which I am quite proud of having written, or have agreed to write, I do not post my book reviews on here as often as I could do so. I am making a change and will post ALL book reviews on here from this time forward.

This slight change has several reasons behind it. First of all, it is possible that some may desire to read my opinions on a greater variety of books. Also, it may help me to be more thorough and careful in my writing of book reviews, if I am writing for a general blog audience as well.

Finally, this will encompass more than just books, though mostly them. I will continue on general pieces on various topic having to do with culture, to be sure; but I will also review movies and television shows more than the one or two pieces so far.

I hope that anyone who has read, or will read, this blog enjoys these changes, and I invite you to keep reading and ALWAYS to give comments if you find anything you like, or anything you don't like. Criticism always helps. Thanks so much. God bless you all. :) HOOAH!!!

The Importance of Women of Quiet Strength

2011-02-17T05:24:00.000-08:00


Arwen Undómiel

Fanny Price

How do you define a strong woman? Unfortunately, for all too many people, the definition of how to define a woman as "strong" and "capable" and even to be emulated, is to have her be, well, as tough as, if not tougher than, the men. The name for this convention is an "action girl".

Before I begin, let me make clear that I am not saying that women can not be "tough", but that this is not the only type of woman that can be strong, or should be emulated.

One can see this bias in many areas, but I wanted to point to two examples in fiction. One occurs across an author's literary works, and the other occurs in the same work.

The first example has to do with two popular heroines of the works of Jane Austen. They are Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice and Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. Elizabeth Bennett is a sharp-tongued, while still respectful and loving, young lady. Fanny Price is shy and unassuming, and will only seemingly stand up for herself and stop being a doormat in the most extreme cases when her principles are at stake. Both women possess a deep and developed sense of morality. Though Fanny Prices's naivete is more obvious, dear Lizzy Bennett can be quite naive at times herself.

The other two characters, who are within the same work, are Eowyn and Arwen, from J. R. R. Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Eowyn is gutsy, fights in battles, and tells people what she thinks! Arwen, well, she just uselessly waits while her man does all the fighting. You can tell that I'm being sarcastic here. The truth is that I was also being facetious in the previous paragraph. Our Miss Price does, indeed, allow people to speak harshly to her, but if one reads her point of view on whatever current situation she is in, one can see that her actions are more logical than they at first seem.

Often, Miss Price will allow her shy and unassuming manner to defuse a situation, and she will manage to comfort and help others, who would not have otherwise found comfort or aid, due to her quiet strength. She has a backbone when it is needed, but above all, she offers quiet strength to those around her. Arwen does the same in LOTR. She could easily outfight Eowyn, and most other characters in the mythos who are non-Elf and non-Dunedain (in other words, all humans other than perhaps Aragorn, and to a lesser extent, the Stewards of Gondor). Yet she doesn't. Why? Was Tolkien a sexist? Was Austen a self-hating woman?

The feminist critic may foolishly wonder such things, but the answer is no. A resounding no. First of all, Lizzy Bennett is far more to their liking, and she was created by Miss Austen. Secondly, Eowyn is also created by Tolkien. What, then, are they trying to say with this divergence of character traits in the heroines? The answer is simple. There is more than one female character type that can be virtuous and helpful. There are all sorts of types of women in real life, as there are with men, so why not show them in literature?

Let me tell you something from my own personal experience. Women who are tough are great, but so are women who softly support their husbands, sons, brothers, an so forth. Both are strong, both are great, and both are real women. Femininity is not bad, and it is not limited to either women who support men, or women who take a more publicly active role. Both are taking on concrete, important tasks. Any military man who goes overseas finds comfort in their wives, fiances, girlfriends, mothers, daughters, sisters, and so forth. Having someone to support you "back home" or "at the rear" makes the still incredibly heavy burden at least somewhat lighter to bear. At least somewhat less painful, or madness-inducing (over 30 percent of our troops returning actually are becoming mentally ill, due to stress and shockwaves from explosions wreaking havoc on our brains, so we can use all the help we can get, sadly) to bear.

You see, strength is not just in impressive displays, strength is in doing what God calls each of us to do, and doing it to our best ability. This is the lesson of Arwen and Fanny Price, just as much as of Eowyn and Lizzy Bennett. God is a God of Providence, Who chose to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the Elect before the world's foundation was laid (Eph. 1:4, I Pet. 1:19-21), and He has a glorious will for each of our lives, one that he calls us to perform for His glory (Eph. 2:8-10, Ps. 37:4).

I threw Ps. 37:4 in there because it is a key concept to Christianity. God says he will give us the "desires of our heart" if we "delight in Him". This does not mean that He will necessarily give us a million dollars. He could, obviously, but it may not be the best for us, and for His will. The verse is clear, God gives us what our hearts desire when we delight in Him. The issue is that if we delight in Him, our hearts will want what He wants for us.

The truth is that sometimes, God wants an Eowyn or Lizzy Bennett, and designs and creates humans accordingly; while at other times, He wants an Arwen or Fanny Price, and designs and creates the women according to that model. Both types of personality, and all those in between, are His will, and, as long as they do not cause sin, should be honored and cherished. So, please, no more deriding the Arwens and Fanny Prices of the real and fictional worlds. Their quiet strength is just as important to God, and therefore should be just as important to us, as all of the public, assertive strength of the Eowyns and Lizzy Bennetts.

Only with Jesus Help Can We Cross the Chasm Separating Us from God, My Review of The Chasm, by Randy Alcorn

2011-02-14T17:28:00.000-08:00

When I first received my review copy of The Chasm, by Randy Alcorn, I looked it over. At first, I was a tad disappointed since it was obviously a short novella. I had thought it might be a bit longer. It also takes place during the time line of Alcorn's novel, Edge of Eternity. Thankfully, The Chasm was written in such a way as that one does not need to have read Eternity in order to understand it. With reassurances in hand, I settled down to read the book.

The story revolves around a man named Nick Seagrave. He is apparently a wealthy businessman who is estranged from his ex-wife and daughters. He suddenly finds himself in this mystical land, and he must choose between the simple red road, or the multiple other roads, in an effort to reach the beautiful City of Light. In the end, he discovers that the red road, like the others, leads to an infinite chasm. One that hopelessly separates the land where he stands, from the shores wherein lies the City of Light. What can he do? The answer is nothing. Nothing but have faith.

That seems to be the theme throughout the little novella. Faith. Only by faith in the Lord Jesus, can we escape the due penalty for our sins. And We ARE culpable for our sins, and thus the punishments of the Cross that our Lord willingly took upon himself. In the story, Nick finds himself joining a gang of others, egged on by their own resentments and demons, driving spikes into the feet of Christ. Then when the armies of Heaven implore the Lord for permission to destroy those who hurt Him so, the Lord denies it, pointing out that He could stamp the crowd at his feet out with "a thought". When he is asked why he allows such a pathetic, evil rabble to hurt him, he responds, "Because it is the only way to save them."

That struck a powerful chord with me. Not since I read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, have I been so struck by a fictional representation of our Lord's sacrifice on our behalf on that Cross on Calvary. This book drove the point home. The pains and torment he undertook that day so long ago (for us, to His eternal mind, perhaps just yesterday), the hurts we deliver to Him when we hate Him, mock Him, blame Him, question His judgement, or so forth; are all our fault.

Think of it! Think of the pain that we must cause Him, though He in His holiness has every right to send the whole lot of us to Hell, and it would not be at all unloving or unjust of Him to do so. So what does He do? He comes down and dies for us!!

We sing songs in church of the enormous holiness and love of God, and His other amazing attributes. These songs do not even begin to cover the truth of the picture. God's attributes and Self are inexhaustible. In eternity, those of us who know Him will NEVER encounter the end of His Being. Randy Alcorn makes that all-too-neglected Scriptural point in his story.

I honestly can not think of any great defect in the slim story. Since it links to the events of the larger novel, Edge of Eternity, the length is obviously no real issue. The closest that I can come to a criticism, is that the violence is a bit graphic. Not gratuitously so, but because Alcorn seems to want to show how our struggle is for our eternal souls, and even sometimes our temporal lives. And it is a real battle, with unseen forces that we ought to be taking more seriously than we do.

The part that I liked, on a more minor level than the praise so far given by me, is the way in which the author weaves together beloved authors such as Lewis and Tolkien with Scripture in the narrative. Not only is it wonderful to see Lewis and Tolkien properly used and interpreted in another fictional work, but the use of Scripture is quite refreshing. The Word of God is supposed to be our first stop for knowledge and instruction, not a pit stop after some later human authors. I was glad to see Alcorn bring this correct place of the Bible into the novella. He even seems to throw a bit of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress into the mix, which is also great fun.

This book, despite it's short length at 112 pages, is a must-read. The vivid battles and imagery paint an accurate picture of how we, as sinners and enemies of God, were redeemed by His hand through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary. It also paints a beautiful picture of what we can look forward to on the New Heaven/New Earth: inexhaustible paradise, with our inexhaustible Lord and God that we were created to worship. Amen and amen! I can not wait!!! HOOAH!!! Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. WaterBrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Growing on God to Find Meaning in Mental Illness, My Review of Life: In Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson and Tricia Goyer

2011-02-10T04:18:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we feel so much in our hearts and want to just do something about it all. For some of us, this can include self-injury or even suicide. Most of us do not go that final step, due to a good support system, the Lord graciously preventing it, or some other such reason. Some of us DO go through with some horrible action, however, and then the consequences are felt by all.

Kristen Anderson attempted suicide after months of emotional anguish. First her grandmother died, then a close friend killed himself. As if this was not enough for such a young one to handle, she was raped. She began to feel weak, worthless, as if it was her fault what happened, like life is a never-ending crapshoot that never gets better. One day, she decided that if she ever were to kill herself, she would have a train do it.

This temptation was powerful for one so gripped by depression, fear, and hopelessness. One day at the park, she simply gave into the urge, the desire to "end all the pain", and she laid down on the tracks in front of an oncoing train. The train rolled over her, and she looked over to see her legs away from her. She had SURVIVED!! Later on, she found out that she had lost eight pints of blood. She should have died after losing a maximum of five pints. As an aside, I was a medic in the Army, and I can say that this is true. She medically should have gone into hypovolemic shock, and died.

She did not.

After she was released from the hospital, she was shocked when a woman told her that the woman was thankful she did not die in the accident, or she would have gone to Hell. Kristen was stunned. How dare the woman such a thing to her! She began to wonder if it was true though. She had been struggling still with depression and now it was worse, as she wondered about this. What would have happened? She realized after a talk with a trusted individual that she would have gone to Hell, because she had not accepted Christ as Savior. A short time later, the angels in Heaven rejoiced over her accepting God's gift of eternal life.

It would be nice to say that she had no more trials, but she did, but the Lord got her through them all. The rest you can learn about by reading the book.

The book is fantastic! I simply can not think of enough praises for it. Having given her life over to the Lord, she is very honest and forthcoming, in order to help others. She has a ministry to help those who, like me and others, struggle with these issues. I admit I do as well, and I appreciate her honesty.

The only caveat that I have, and this is a big one, is her attitude towards psychiatry. Or rather her perceived attitude towards psychiatry. She realized that the doctors were not right about some of her diagnoses. Her counselor realized this as well. Part of her problem is that she had no consistent psychiatrist for very long. I am thankful and proud of her, that she got off the meds, because her depression was temporary, and no lasting causes were to blame. I know that if she heard my story and others, she would understand that we should not view our meds as a sign of weakness. However, I KNOW that in my cogent, non-spiraling out of control moments. At my less than ideal moments, I think I and others, could make the mistake of misinterpreting her as saying such a thing, so we may stop meds we need, or not start them if we need to do so.

I have read from other Christians on this topic of depression, and they always make the distinction between those who are over medicated, and those who are truly diagnosed correctly, and thus need the medications, as is the case with some people.

Miss Anderson does not make this distinction, so I must caution people that if they buy this book for one who is struggling with mental illness, please make the distinction yourself. I believe she simply didn't think of this concern, even though she would agree with these other authors and myself. That is the ONLY reason her book is not receiving a perfect rating from me. It is a phenomenal book, and if you want an inspiring story, want to help those who suffer, or are suffering yourself, I recommend it. Please just understand the one weak point, and do NOT view your meds as a weakness. I don't believe she would say they were either. I just wish she had included the distinction.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers via their BloggingforBooks program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. WaterBrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

How CS Lewis Impacted My Life

2011-02-10T04:17:00.000-08:00

There has been a ruckus in recent weeks over comments on a broadcast of Wretched Radio, that called C. S. Lewis a heretic. I do not want to get into some defense of Lewis, or condemnation of those who (foolishly and wrongfully, I believe) condemn the man. I simply want to give my own opinion based upon my own experience with Lewis.

For me, Lewis was an inspiration. In college, after the military, and now in the deepest days of battling mental illness, I have looked to Lewis for his cogent thoughts on the Scriptures. I began in college feeling doubt about my beliefs. I despaired, unable to defend against attacks from those who are unregenerate. Then I read Lewis. He was a breath of fresh air! Believe! Logic! Faith! These terms are not exclusive, but CAN work together. Yes, we are called to have faith, but faith from the point of view of accepting the logical, that God exists, and we are sinners worthy of Hell. When we see and understand these truths, then the faith part comes in believing Christ, even though we can not see him ourselves, but must take the word of others that He has taken our sins upon Himself.

After the military, I felt some doubt again, because of what happened and continues to happen, but getting into Lewis makes me realize that, like him, if I turn to God, I can find PEACE. Peace in Him. Praise God for that.

This was merely my own very brief account of how the great man influenced me. I do believe Lewis was a sincere, and powerfully used believer, whom I will meet in Heaven. Praise God for this. For an actual defense of Lewis, see here at my friend Stephen's blog. God bless. :)

A Wise God Can Use Suffering For Our Own Good: My Review of If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn

2011-01-31T04:48:00.000-08:00

We in the affluent West seem to have a nasty habit of forgetting that we are not the fulfillment of history, and are not really all that unique. What we cherish as our special institutions and ideas were a long time in developing. We even think that our negative traits, such as our "logical" arguments against the existence of God Himself are unique to us. Really, the "problem of evil" is almost as old as evil itself. David Hume was nothing special, for men have desperately asked a Just and Loving God about why evil exists for all of history. Or at least all of history since the Fall.

Randy Alcorn makes this and other important points in his book, If God is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. The use of evil as an objection to God's existence is the one most often cited by skeptics. As Alcorn puts it early on, people use this objection almost smugly like a "trump card" to end the discussion. But is it that simple? The answer is that no, it is not. Alcorn invites us to journey with him as he examines the issues of evil and suffering by way of history, logic, philosophy, and most importantly of all, Scripture.

If I intended to go into deep detail on all of Alcorn's points, this review could likely stretch on for a good long time. I will instead look at the few weaknesses and many strengths of the book in order to give readers an ACCURATE view of the work, and why they should read it.

There are only really two weaknesses that stand out to me I read the book. The first is that Alcorn attempts to use logic in the same way that his inspiration, CS Lewis did. I say inspiration even though Alcorn never mentions this, because if you read enough of Acorn's books, he is most prolific in his Lewisian quotes and ideas. This is not bad, in my opinion, because I share that high opinion of Lewis, who is my favorite author. However, I am wise enough to know that I am not Lewis, and my argumentative style is somewhat different. When I try to mimic him, I'd better be as smart, witty, and logical as he, or I will not succeed at all.

Alcorn attempts to be Lewisian in his approach to the issues. Indeed, this volume at first seems almost like an homage to Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and A Grief Observed all rolled into one work. I suppose I would just say that the result is not, well, Randy Alcorn, so it falls flat at first. Very quickly though, the text gets infused with heavy doctrine and use of the Scriptures, and more of a folksy tone. In other words, the "real" Randy Alcorn shows up and saves the book. From that point on, the book goes from awdward, yet compelling, to gripping and a true joy to read.

The other weakness is that he keeps giving homage to the argument of a belief system based on what answers our questions in the best way. I really think he means to say what can logically make the most sense out of our world as it is, but he doesn't word it that way. By his wording, he opens up his excellent arguments to attack, and it makes me blanch when I see the concept phrased the way he does.

Compared to the strengths of the book, these two weaknesses are minor and trivial. The chief strength would be his incorporation of Scripture and anecdotal evidence by stories. This is helpful for Alcorn whereas for others it may not work as well, because Alcorn repeatedly, in various ways, actually admits the evidence is anecdotal. His broader point being that if God could use suffering "in this case", when why can He somehow not do so elsewhere?

In the book, he puts to rest the idea that it is somehow "wrong" to lament and question God. There were individuals in the Bible who were still righteous despite questioning God, whilst still praising Him and accepting His sovereign control. Notice, I said, and Alcorn makes clear, "question" God, while still praising Him, NOT blaming, condemning, or otherwise blaspheming Him.

The concepts of sovereignty and free will are explored and explained in light of Scripture. While Alcorn explains what degree of each is Scriptural, he also admits that he DOESN'T KNOW for sure what the truth is. Why? Because we only can know what God has allowed us to know.

There are many more strengths and good points that I could list about this book, but I will close by simply praising the Lord for using Alcorn to make three (out of many) great points that I will highlight here. The first is that suffering can be used by God for our good to bless us even further, and the second is that depression is real. Sinning because of it is wrong, but having it is real. God can use it like any other affliction. We should seek help for it, but also recognize that it is a valid medical issue, and one God can use for His Glory, which always benefits us, His "image-bearers" as Alcorn uses the term. As someone who deals with such issues, this was a great comfort to me to realize.

The third strength to be mentioned herein is related to the previous two. Satan and our fallen world often hurt us, but even then, God can and DOES use it to better us and so many others. Remember that. The Voice reaching out to you to turn to God is His, and please accept and. listen to that Voice. The voice trying to tell you to harm yourself or others, sin, or do evil, is the Enemy. Don't listen to him, and look to the Father, as He turns the evil into good.

This book can not be rated highly enough. After reading this book, how anyone can have any doubt about their need for Christ's redemptive blood to wash their sins away and save them from Hell and a life of sin, is beyond me. Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers via their BloggingforBooks program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. WaterBrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

The Man Who Influenced C. S. Lewis, as C. S. Lewis Influenced Me, A Review of The Quotable Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte

2011-01-20T04:44:00.000-08:00

Some books are inevitably harder to review than are others. If the book has very little coherent structure, but is only a collection of essays and quotes, this is a maddeningly difficult book to review. For that matter, it is a difficult book to even read. The book, The Quotable Chesterton is this type of book.

I really enjoy the subject matter, because G. K. Chesterton is an important light in the worlds of theology, apologetics, satire/wit, literature, and journalism to name a few. Chesterton also greatly influenced C. S. Lewis, whom I owe for the Lord using him to bring me back to a stronger faith in Him. I knew that if I attempted to read the book straight through, I would eventually get overwhelmed by the lack of structure, and the deep treasures of quotes and insights from Chesterton would begin to evade me as my eyes would glaze over. So I came upon a solution.

I decided to spend a couple of weeks mining the quotes for interesting passages to use on my Facebook account, and for just everyday insights into issues I contended with or even idly wondered about. The book has that many quotes in it, where it is quite difficult not to find some interesting quote or saying about a given subject. Or at least related to said subject.

The format of the book is basically the quotes broken up by short essays placed to coincide with whatever quotes are closest to the theme of the essays. It is essentially an A-Z compendium of the ideas and person of G. K. Chesterton, with essays thrown into the mix at their appropriate alphabetized spot.

I have to admit that how to rate this book eluded me. I was quite disappointed with the simplicity of the essays on Chesterton. There were no deep examinations of the man's thought and character. Really, the essays gave little extra insight into the man, to the extent that if someone were to only have read the quotes and skipped the essays, they would have learned about the same amount of information on Chesterton as someone who did read them would have learned.

I realized then that this "weakness" is probably intentional. Surely a man who can find and edit together so many quotes from an abundance of sources, can write very deep, erudite thoughts about his subject. The simple truth is that the author, Kevin Belmonte, chose not to delve too deeply in his essays. My personal belief is that the reason for this is so that anyone who picks up the book out curiosity for the man who inspired C. S. Lewis's re-conversion to Christianity, will not be lost in the details. They can learn the essentials, and see the brilliance that was Chesterton.

One strength that truly impressed me about the book was how focused the author was on Chesterton's deep religious piety and faith in Christ. Some authors have a habit of trying to downplay the religious motive in a subject's life, but not Belmonte. He gave us the picture of how Chesterton's faith not only influenced, but indeed shaped, the man that Chesterton became, and all that he did.

Here are some quotes that I thought I would repeat here to give a taste of what you can find in this compendium.

"God is not a symbol of goodness. Goodness is a symbol of God." G. K. Chesterton, in the book, William Blake

"Men may keep a sort of level of good, but no man has ever been able to keep on one level of evil." - G. K. Chesterton, in The Innocence of Father Brown, Chapter 4, "The Flying Stars"

"There is something psychologically Christian about the idea of seeking for the opinion of the obscure rather than taking the obvious course of accepting the opinion of the prominent." - G. K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy, Ch. 7, "The Eternal Revolution"

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who who merely happen to be walking about." - G. K. Chesterton on tradition, in Orthodoxy, Ch. 4, "The Ethics of Elfland"

"We do not need to get good laws to restrain bad people. We need to get good people to restrain bad laws." - G. K. Chesterton, in All Things Considered, Ch. 16, "Thoughts Around Koepenick"

"It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all." - G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Ch. 3, "The Suicide of Thought"

And a whole lot more of that to go in the actual book. Even though the simplicity of the essays bothered me, in the end, it was excusable given the aims of the author and the incredible breadth of the sources the quotes were gleaned from. I highly recommend this book.

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I received this compendium of quotes from G. K. Chesterton for free from Thomas Nelson publishers via their BookSneeze program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

The Problem, The WONDER of Good

2011-01-17T03:14:00.000-08:00

Recently, I discovered a really neat video that is inspiring on several levels. First of all, it reminds me of a great love of certain cartoons, including *Transformers*, from when I was a kid. Secondly, it honored the troops. So, of course, I feel that I honestly must post it here. First a few thoughts about this.

We often in society have our "heroes". These heroes (and heroines) are fictional characters from comic books, our relatives or friends we admire and love, certain people who "serve" by putting their lives on the line for others.

I argued in December that having "heroes" is important, and why can't Santa Claus be like that? Washington is, as are other historical figures to boot. Yet, how many of us think of the everyday real, honest to the Lord, heroes out there, in danger for us. Police, firefighters, EMS folks, the intelligence community, and our military, are the best examples of this.

I am currently reading Randy Alcorn's book, If God is Good, and I really enjoyed one interesting question he asked. Yes, he talked about how morality can only come from a God Who controls and knows all, and so forth. But many point that out to demolish liberal, secularist, arguments against the existence of God. What Alcorn presented, though, goes beyond this. He asked any readers who are atheist or agnostic, to wonder about a different problem than their so-called "problem of evil". He challenged them to think of what he calls "the problem of good".

Now, Alcorn is not saying that good is a problem, but is asking the opposite of the atheist's question about evil. The atheist asks how a loving God can allow evil if He exists and can stop this. Alcorn asks how if God does not exist, good can be so prevalent, even in an imperfect world (which we Christians recognize as fallen and under the Curse of sin begun by our first parents).

This is not limited simply to not hurting others, but in sacrificing for others. Sometimes our lives. There are several stories during the past decade in Iraq and Afghanistan about soldiers dying by jumping on grenades, drawing enemy fire to allow their brothers to escape, and so forth. Actions that these troops had to know would result in their near certain death. Yet they did it. Doesn't make much sense as an evolutionary social construct to keep the race going. After all, what's the other guy's life worth as long as you reproduce, right?

Yet sacrifice they did, and sacrifice many others do in less dramatic, but still important ways, receiving physical, emotional, and mental scars. usually all three. What is the reason for such good? For such heroism? God is the reason. Heroes are real, and they are real because the ultimate Hero, the ultimate Everything Good, Wholesome, or Wonderful, wills them to be real.

So, ponder that. Ponder the problem of good, the WONDER of good, as we give tribute to real-life heroes in our nation's military. Below is a video to the tune of Stan Bush's song, The Touch, from the 1986 animated Transformers: The Movie. Mr. Bush went and cut a new video with footage of our military, combined with troops he visited in the war zones, to make a tribute video to our troops. Enjoy, bring tribute to our troops, and even greater tribute and praise to the wonderful glories of our Great and Wonderful Father in Heaven! HOOAH!!! Airborne!! Amen and Amen.

Redeeming Santa

2010-12-30T05:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, an issue comes up that seems to flummox some people. And the issue may be minor, but the seriously held concerns of some may clash with those of others. Neither side can understand the other.

Note, this is a seemingly minor issue, not something like salvation by faith, abortion, the nature of God, and so on and so forth. This is an issue that grows to epic proportions very quickly, despite the seeming small nature of said issue.

For me, during Christmas time, that issue is the issue of Santa Claus. I wrote an article a year ago, which is my view on the reality of Father Christmas/Santa Claus, which I am linking to here. More importantly is the issue of how Christians can deal with the issue of Santa Claus, to redeem the Santa myth, as my friend, Stephen Burnett, points out in his article here. Please read these articles, but especially Stephen's, which shows us how to handle and redeem Santa/Father Christmas for the kingdom of God. God bless.

Pondering The Holidays with Anne: My Review of Christmas With Anne and Other Holiday Stories by L. M. Montgomery

2010-12-30T04:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes around the holidays, a little light reading is best to take one's mind off of the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year's day. But light need not be mindless. A book can be fun, light, and yet engaging and thought provoking. It can warm your heart, and challenge you to think of certain moral issues, such as gratitude and helping others.

The book that accomplished this for me is the collection of short stories entitled, Christmas With Anne and Other Holiday Stories, by L. M. Montgomery. It should be noted that Montgomery did not organize this set of stories herself. Instead, these are tales taken from various magazines that she wrote stories for, and put into this book. The editor, Rea Wilmhurst discovered that there were many stories by Montgomery written in magazines that had not been re-published. She took it upon herself, with the assistance of Montgomery's heirs, to gather and publish these stories again.

In the book, she takes two stories from the Anne Shirley books that focus on Christmas, and combines them with the assorted stories about the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Most of the stories appear at first glance to be fluff, but when the reader takes time to think about the ideas and morals that Montgomery is trying to convey (and convey them she did, as the editor notes, since magazines liked the stories to have morals at the time), the reader will realize that these simple stories have a greater depth than is at first apparent.

The stories focus on such commonplace issues as people in poverty, or who hold grudges. How does one handle the stress of financial hardship, especially at Christmas time? How sad it is to let grudges get in the way of life? How fortunate are we if we have family, friends, and financial security? Do we ever think of these things? Do we ever help others when they need help? Do we mend fences with those who hurt us?

These are all deep, deep questions that Montgomery asks the reader to ponder along with the characters in the stories. The stories all end happily, and are all quite heartwarming. For some, that may be a drawback, but for me, it is a breath of fresh air. Serious topics can be dealt with in a fun, happy manner. Not everything serious need also be melancholy or depressing.

Read this book, ponder these issues, and allow your heart to be warmed by these timeless characters. Highly Recommended.

Heaven Really IS And WILL BE a Wonderful Place: My Review of Heaven by Randy Alcorn

2010-12-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas Day, so why am I writing a book review? Well, what better day, other than Easter, I suppose to write a review of a book called Heaven. Heaven is the simple title of the very important and doctrinally significant book by Randy Alcorn.

I first heard about the book when some friends recommended it to me. I picked it up eventually, and boy am I glad that I did. The book has truly revolutionized my thinking about the subjects of Heaven and eternity. I know that that may sound somewhat trite, so say that it "revolutionized" my thinking, but it is so true.

Before reading this book, I was stuck in the trap of what Alcorn terms to be "Christoplatonism". This word is his own invention to describe the corrupting influence of the anti-material vision of Platonic thought on Christianity throughout the ages.

This corruption is the reason for a great deal of the misconceptions that we have about the subject of heaven and eternity. When most people think of Heaven, they think of this strange, disembodied, "other" place. The idea of real flesh and blood bodies in glory is foreign to many. For that matter, though we all give lip service to the idea of resurrection, we seem to think that the New Earth is somehow totally unrelated to our own earth. We think it will be otherwordly. In other words, we think that New Earth will be very un-Earthlike.

Alcorn corrects, this, helping us to see that our misconceptions about Heaven are, in fact, blasphemous. We presume that God has so failed that He will just throw up His hands and destroy everything. The devil has thwarted God. Satan has won. That is, of course, chillingly blasphemous to say, or contemplate. It is, however, what we think, whether we realize it or not. We think the Devil has won so small victory by tempting Adam and Eve into sin.

Of course, he has NOT won a victory at all. Alcorn points our many, MANY passages to prove how the intermediate Heaven (the term for the Heaven people reside in now with God until the end of time on the present earth) is an absolute Paradise, just as Jesus told the thief on the Cross. We will do so many wondrous things therein, and any thing that we. don't do in the intermediate Heaven, (and this is the exciting part) we WILL do on the New Earth, which will be the permanent Heaven.

Animals, physical activity, adventures, great literature, every great creation of God, and the few marvellous creations of man as sub-creators under Him, will be there together on a perfected world. Only this time, life will be forever, and there will be no more sickness and death. We will be able to increase in science, learning, do meaningful work, and worship the King Jesus as we see Him face to face! Just think of it all! Praise God! HOOAH!!!

I doubt that I have done this book justice, but I will close out the review anyway, with the following tidbits. There is suffering due to the Curse and sin in our present Earth. However, some suffer more than others. For all of those who suffer or go without, as we all do to some extent in our limited lifespans with limited abilities and resources, remember that life is NOT over. Life on earth is not over either. Someday, the old heavens and earth will be rolled back and replaced with a new heavens and earth. They will not be a different heavens and earth, but a new owe that is an improvement on the old, with Eden replaced by the New Earth. As Alcorn says, we live between Eden and the New Earth. God will bring down the New Jerusalem, and we will live forever with Him. Any geographic features you want to see, you will see, any jobs you want to do, you will do, and the relationships you wanted to have but couldn't, you WILL HAVE.

This is contingent on one point though. You must accept the Lord Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God Himself, as your Lord and Savior. You must realize that we are all born as sinners, and our default destination is Hell. God can not violate His nature, so this must be so due to our sin. Yet God was not willing for His creation to perish, so He came down Himself, as a Man and died for our sins. He offers us this gift freely, and we have the choice to freely accept or no. This choice determines our destination. We are on a train bound for a cliff, but God offers us a chance to get on a different train, one bound for endless possibilities, where the Conductor Himself lives and awaits us. It is our own fault if we go to Hell, for we reject His gift if we do so.

I encourage everyone, both Christians and non-believers alike, to read this book. Christians will be strengthened in their desire to read the book, and to witness to others about the glories of the Father. The unbelievers will see how accepting Christ is not "being religious", but is being SMART. We are wise to invest in our eternity. Please, please, please read this book. You will not regret that you did. Highly, highly recommended. Praise God! HOOAH!!!

A Young Patriot and Christian, My Review of The Truth of the Matter - The Homelanders: Book Three

2010-12-22T16:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you read a book that is a literal thrill ride. There is very little, if any, stop to the action. Usually my experience is that such books can tire me out, and make me just want a break. Usually I like a narrative with information, and some details. Constant action, if done correctly, can enhance a story and have you on the edge of your seat. If done poorly, however, it can destroy a story, as it seems to take the place of the story.

Andrew Klavan, in his Homelanders series of books, finds the right mix between narrative, action, and detail, to keep you on the edge of your seat, but not hit you over the head with actions sequences that take the place of the story.

The storyline begins in book one, when the protagonist, teenager Charlie West goes to bed one evening, and wakes up to find himself in a room being tortured by Islamic terrorists. He escapes from his tormentors to find that he is a wanted man. An entire year has passed, and during that time, he was falsely convicted of murdering his best friend, joined a terrorist group, and was caught by the group betraying them. Yet the police and federal agents are chasing him down, so is he an agent against the terrorists, or one of them?

He endeavors to find answers to his questions, and from this search discovers a girlfriend that he can't remember falling in love with, and a secret network of native-born terrorists out to kill innocent Americans in the pursuit of their nihilistic goals.

The beauty of the series is that I have only read the third book. That was what I received to review for Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program. Klavan manages to tuck all of these details into the book, without it feeling like a recap. A common fault of many books in a series is that either the reader has no idea what is happening unless he starts from the first book in the series; or else he has to endure an obvious recap that almost seems like the author is patiently re-iterating past points in a way that has nothing to do with those events. The explanations seem to just drone on, and on, and on.

Charlie West finds much of the answers over the course of the first three books, but with the terrorists and intelligence agents both out to get him, and only a few people knowing the incredible, unbelievable truth behind the events that have plagued him, this seems to be very little help to Charlie.

In the current installment, The Truth of the Matter, the hero at last uncovers his memories, and finds a slim hope that may, just may, help him to finally unravel all of the webs of deceit, and bring down the terrorists, thus escaping the trap that ensnares him.

The part that I appreciated the most was the dimension to the books that faith had in the narrative. Andrew Klavan is a committed Christian, who does his best to integrate his faith into the story, but without bashing you on the head with it. There is no Gospel message overtly ending with a literary altar call, but a story of a Christian (Charlie) who has spent three books apparently wondering why the Lord has allowed this to happen to him. Then, he remembers the answers, and realizes that it is not God doing this to him, but helping him. The Lord is aiding him in doing something incredible. He realizes that God has a a will for him, and he changes his prayers from bitter accusations of why, to a prayer of thanks to God, and a committment to serve Him for as long as He allows Charlie to live. That aspect of the story was quite inspiring.

Finally, the book speaks of the basic values of the United States, while not coming across as preachy in this regard any more than with the topic of Charlie's Christian faith. It is clear that Klavan has put a great deal of thought into what he believes it means to be an American, and the true definition of patriotism. As an Iraqi war vet, I really enjoyed this cogent defense of American patriotism, and our effort in the War on Terror.

Some of the scenes were quite improbable, and were almost a literal deus ex machina. However, that is forgivable, because the story draws you in so much that you can hardly notice it on first reflection. If you do not like action, then please do not read this, as it is absolutely intense.

However, if you are ready for an exciting book, one in which the main character is a committed Chrsitian fighting for his country, then please read this book. It is highly, highly recommended. I can't help but give it a hearty HOOAH!!! Airborne!

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I received this novel for free from Thomas Nelson publishers via their BookSneeze program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

A Subtle Christmas Miracle

2010-11-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

It is now Thanksgiving! Christmas is fast approaching, and it is indeed a magical time of the year. The Lord's presence is felt dearly by many, as sadly is a great loneliness for those who don't know Him, or are not fixing their gaze upon Him. Sometimes, even those whose gaze is fixed upon our Savior still struggle due to childhood tragedies. The good news is that the Lord is Sovereign over all things. He can, and will, find a way to accomplish His will in our lives, sometimes in miraculous (or even, magical) ways.

These themes are present in the story, Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball, by Donita K. Paul. Paul, best known for her mix of fantasy and Christian Truth in her Dragonkeeper Chronicles books, here weaves together everyday modern lives, wonderful characters, and a touch of the supernatural, to tell a romantic story of two souls coming together to complement each other wonderfully.

The story begins with the one of the main characters, Cora Crowder, entering an obscure bookstore in search of a gift for a relative back home. At the bookstore, she runs into her boss, Simon Derrick, the other main character. Each of the characters ends up receiving a ticket to a "Wizard's Christmas Ball". Neither one really wants to go, but Simon agrees to go with his adult Downs Syndrome sister, Sandy.

Cora doesn't want anything to do with the affair, until an incredible series of seemingly unrelated events propels Simon and Cora into each other's lives, and Cora to the Ball. Cora, who comes from a terrible, dysfunctional home that she left upon entering college admires the dedicated Christian lives of Simon and his family. She had become a Christian during college, and is drawn to his enormous faith.

Simon, on the other hand, is drawn to Cora's empathy, as unlike most people outside of his family, Cora treats his sister as the wonderful and beautiful child of the King that she is, and ought to be treated like. This empathy, and ability to show feelings, is beyond Simon sometimes, and this draws him to Cora.

Everything seems to be going well until a blast from Cora's dysfunctional family past intervenes and manages to manipulate Cora and Simon into nearly splitting apart their budding relationship. Due to some timely meddling from the wizards, and a bit of magic, in other words, Divine intervention, they come back together.

This book had very little that I can think of to complain about. I suppose that Paul could have spent more time on the resolution, or given us more of a clue as to what will happen. It is implied that the fate of Simon and Cora is to come together in service to the Lord as the previous couples at the "Wizard's Ball" have, but it is left up to the reader's imagination what path occurred leading afterward to their marriage. I just would have liked a bit more detail, is all.

Other than that, I have nothing but good to say about the book. Most authors would have come right out and presented the fantasy elements to the audience in short order, but Paul did not. She allowed the reader to ponder if this was really fantastical or not. Lending to this, she inserts conversations that confuse the reader, because they seem to be debates about whether fantasy is a proper genre for Christians or not. You almost believe her to be on a personal soapbox about this. Not until the very end, when the miraculous nature is finally, and firmly, revealed, do you realize that the conversations were not some personal author tract, but were the characters leading the reader to a truly satisfying conclusion.

I also appreciated how the truth of most families as not being perfect, but having arguments, fights, illness, and so forth, was presented. The uncertainty that anyone will want Cora's dysfunctional relatives, or Simon's quirky and quite physically needy relatives, is a concern that many people have in real life.

Even with the issue of Sandy, Paul was wonderful! Down Syndrome and other so-called "handicap" people deserve our respect and love as much as anyone else does. Paul was so wonderful in portraying Down Syndrome people as they truly are, and not how popular culture vilely caricatures them.

The other part of the story that I appreciated was how Cora repented of her anger towards her family, but she was not portrayed as all wrong. Indeed, Simon and the other, "more experienced and mature" Christians, were actually more destructive than Cora due to their refusal to see evil and sin where it exists. Usually, one would expect for only Cora to be wrong, or both to be equally wrong, but Simon is clearly more in the wrong, and that is not just realistic, but refreshingly so. Sometimes, if not most times, people need to fall hard before they can be held accountable, and idealistically catching them all the time, only hurts them more.

If you really want a wonderful, romantic, charming story, that will help you to appreciate the wonders of God this holiday season, pick up this book and read it. Highly, highly recommended.

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I received this novel from WaterBrook Press for the purposes of writing a review for them. I must emphasize that they do not ask for a particular type of review, whether positive or negative. I truly appreciate the chance to review this book, and the above opinions are my honest viewpoint. I also want to give my sincere thanks to WaterBrook Press for the opportunity to review this book, and thank you all for reading this review.

My Hero from Military History, Sergeant Alvin York

2010-11-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

I have no clue how one goes about reviewing a movie or television show. I'm merely going to "wing it" as they say. I recently saw the movie Sergeant York, and it struck a chord with me. I felt an admiration and understanding of York's mindset. Indeed, this movie inspired me in a way that very few ever have.

In nearly every unit that I was in, I was often mocked for my obvious hope of not fighting. It was not cowardice that drove me, but a desire not to hurt people. Whenever I had to scare any of the bad guys, or even innocents to protect them, I felt guilty. I was quite mercilessly mocked for this.

It was due to my moral view, that I did this. I realized, however, that I needed to protect myself, my brothers and sisters in my unit, my country, and innocent civilians. I did not want to see anyone die. How could I revel as some did, knowing that these terrorists did not believe in Christ, and would thus burn for eternity in Hell? I couldn't do it. But I could protect myself, others, and my country. That was moral. In that case, I would do what I had to do, and leave it up to God.

The story of Alvin York impressed me for this reason. In the movie, Gary Cooper brilliantly plays the rough, violent, man who, upon coming to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, does not want to hurt people anymore. Yet he finds himself drafted into service, and then promoted quickly. What can he do? Well, he has to consider if his faith and pacifist stance can be reconciled with his country's call to war.

Decide he does, and he fights marvelously, and becomes the most highly decorated veteran of World War I. He never tries to earn money off of his fame for himself, only for others. I found so much inspiration in his ideas and message.

I learned later that he turned his back on his pacifism, insomuch that he was supportive of a strong military, and some foreign intervention. However, this was mostly due to his desire to deter aggression, because he still hated the idea of killing anyone.

I encourage anyone who watches the film to read up on York's life, as the film takes dramatic license with some areas, and York's thought developed later on, as noted above. All of this is pertinent to anyone who want to study how York reconciled his Christianity with his war record and views on war.

If anyone wants a vivid example of how a man can strongly live for God, while fighting and serving in the military, I urge them to watch this film, and study up on the life of Sergeant Alvin York.

Beauty and Beast As a Picture of Redemption

2010-11-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

I was reminded recently of the Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast. I decided to take a new look at the film, as it was one of my favorite animated films (along with The Lion King and Toy Story) as a young boy and teenager.

What I noticed as I saw the ending of the film surprised me, because it correlates, in a way, to the truth of the redemption, where sinful man and the Cursed earth will be transformed into righteous men and a redeemed New Earth, by way of Christ's atonement.

Currently, I am reading the book, Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. In this lengthy book, Mr. Alcorn goes to great pains to discuss the glories of Heaven and the New Earth. He also debunks many of the popular myths about the subject of Heaven and the New Earth. Sadly, these myths are even accepted by many Christians. Many of us, as believers, have not examined the Scriptures, as we are commanded to do, and have instead bought into these false doctrines.

For instance, how many of us view Heaven as a place where we all will sit on clouds, or else in a choir section of pews, at an eternal church? Do not get me wrong, praising God for all of eternity will be our mission, passion, and joy.

However, there is not anything in the least bit wrong with us for not particularly looking forward to the popular myth of Heaven. God did not design us to only bring Him glory through singing and Bible reading. That is why we desire more, because He made us to desire more. It is because we can glorify Him through many different outlets. Reading, writing, eating, laughing with friends, and so much else. I want to be clear, praying, reading the Scriptures and corporate worship are all an important part of glorifying Him, and I believe there will be these activities in Heaven, but the point is that there will be so much more.

You ask what any of this has to do with the denouement to the Disney film earlier mentioned. Well, another part of the New Heaven and New Earth, will be the restoration of all things. The New Earth will be the current earth resurrected. The thorns and bad weather that are a part of the Curse will be rolled back. It will be Eden made even better. The animals will likely regain their former peacefulness and faculties, I believe. Remember, that Eve was not surprised that a serpent spoke to her. This would imply that some animals did, in fact, speak. They do not have souls in the way that we do, but they had some type of extra special nature to them. It is extraordinary to think of it all.

I think that I have found a beautiful example, of sorts, in this animated movie. Below is a clip of this scene. First, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince, and then the wave that transformed him, the moment he kisses Belle, stretches over everything on the castle grounds. The dark, foreboding castle grounds are transformed into a white marble estate. The hideous, fearsome gargoyles are transformed back into beautiful white stone cherubs. The servants and their families, having been reduced by the Enchantress' spell into living objects such as clocks, feather dusters, candle sticks, tea pots, and so forth, are turned back into the people and animals that they were before the spell took hold.

Obviously, this is an imperfect comparison, for the Beast was saved by a mortals love, and not Christ's love, and the estate bears no resemblance to Heaven, and so on and so forth. I know all this. What I am saying is that often a glimpse of Heaven, and of the Truths of Scripture, can come in a variety of forms, and from a variety of places. I am looking forward to Heaven, after I accomplish the tasks that the Lord has for me here on Earth. I can't wait to get there!

Heaven and the New Earth are real places, and they are in our futures if we have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. Praise God. Amen and amen! HOOAH!!!

See below for the aforementinoed clip from Beauty and the Beast.

Actual GOOD Contemporary Christian Fantasy

2010-10-30T02:06:00.000-07:00

Normally, I would advise people against reading a book in the middle of a series. All sorts of problems may arise. The least of which is that (unless said series is extraordinarily popular) the reader will often have little idea about the overall plot, characters, locations, or events in the story. I requested a book for review that I did not realize was the middle book of a trilogy. I started to read Dragons of the Valley, by Donita K. Paul, anyway, and proceeded to become thoroughly and completely confused.

The species in the story, the events, the "magic" elements, the characters, and so forth were genuinely puzzling. Eventually, I grew frustrated, and was about to rate the book badly for not even taking the time to describe the essentials for new readers. That is, after all, the basic job of an author in a series. Then, I dropped the book and picked it up. Somehow, my hand thumbed the last pages open, and I discovered an index of all the main species, characters, and facts in the story. I had to shamefully admit that I should have examined the book BEFORE my frustrations began to mount. Blush

To avoid giving away too many spoilers, a very brief sketch of the story will be given. The world is divided into a number of realms. The realm of our heroes, Chiril, is in the throes of a conspiracy to destroy it. The land's fate is tied to a trio of statues that the Deity Wulder (based on the Chrstian God) ordered the wizard-artist Verrin Schope to create. The statues had to be separated in order to protect them from being destroyed by the foreign power that is slowly sowing dissent and killing officials in preparation of an invasion of the realm. The last line of defense for that stands between the invaders and the fate of the statues and the realm, consist of a funny group of royalty, wizards, furry allies, a prophet of Wulder, and a reluctant artist who is initially hesitant to take up the Wulder's call. Eventually, when all seems lost, our heroes do win, in a way that can only be seen as an instance of Divine assistance from Wulder, as it is due to the wisdom and magic that comes from Him.

The book is, I have to say, better than much in the genre of contemporary Christian fantasy. Much Christian fantasy seems to come across as an author sitting on a soapbox lecturing you by way of their author character. Hitting people over the head with a sledge hammer rarely does anyone much good in convincing them of the Truth. Showing them, whether by soft-spoken logic, or in this case, a great story, works much better.

C. S. Lewis once stated that he wrote the Chronicles of Narnia to get the truth past "watchful eyes". He also stated, however, that he did not set out the "truths" to teach, and then design the story around them. Instead, he began to write the story, and the truths organically came forth naturally as the narrative developed.

This is the method seemingly used by Donita K. Paul, in her books, as she properly draws on other sources of myth and fantasy, and tells a truly enjoyable story. She also infuses moral truths into the story, yet does not lecture us, or subvert the entire story for the sake of bringing her points across. Indeed, to grasp some of the deeper theological points, I actually had to think, because Paul chose to use subtlety and put the story first.

I truly enjoyed, and found myself drawn to, the fun and exotic creatures in the book. I'm on the lookout for the first book in the trilogy, as well as the previous series by the author (which occurs in the same universe as these stories do). I am eager to revisit the imaginary land of the author again. Highly Recommended.

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I received this novel from WaterBrook Press for the purposes of writing a review for them. I must emphasize that they do not ask for a particular type of review, whether positive or negative. I truly appreciate the chance to review this book, and the above opinions are my honest viewpoint. I also want to give my sincere thanks to WaterBrook Press for the opportunity to review this book, and thank you all for reading this review.

Fun Mysteries and Nostalgia

2010-10-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

Some may wonder why I am devoting time at all to writing a review for a children's book. Sometimes, the best, and most satisfying, literary experience comes from reading an old childhood standby. While some may find that statement childish, and myself immature for making it, it is true nonetheless. As C. S. Lewis pointed out, the mark of true maturity is being able to enjoy good books regardless of what type or kind they may be.

Currently, I am in the process of collecting the entire set of Encyclopedia Brown books, and have made my way through three of them. Since the books are so similar in structure, the only difference being the sets of actual four to five page long "cases" in each book, I can basically review all of them by reviewing one of them.

The protagonist is a ten year old boy named Leroy Brown. Due to his near-perfect memory, and love of learning, everyone other than his parents and teachers call him "Encyclopedia". His father is the Chief of Police of their small, fictional town of Idaville. Joining Encyclopedia is his best friend, and bodyguard, Sally Kimball. Sally is described as pretty, tough, a great fighter, and almost as smart as Encyclopedia himself.

Whether helping his father with a case, or helping his friends for the fee of "25 cents per day, plus expenses", the boy detective goes about the solutions in the same way. He carefully looks for any inconsistency in the stories or mannerisms of potential antagonists, and exposes them when he notices them.

Often, the solutions that Encyclopedia and Sally give are solid, and the bad guy is soundly caught. Other times, the solutions are a bit more subjective, but the perpetrator confesses out of panic. What is neat about this aspect is the realism of it. I read a statistic a while back that the vast majority of criminal convictions are won on the basis of the criminal confessing to their crimes. This is not always because the criminal is caught red-handed, but because he was caught in a lie. He confesses when he realizes he can not get away with the crime.

The most enjoyable part of the series, other than the nostalgia factor of remembering my boyhood, is the way that the "end" of the story is placed in the back of the book. After Encyclopedia (or Sally) declares the answer to the problem, the author asks how they came to that conclusion. At the end of the book is a special section telling readers the solution and what happened in the story after the case was solved. It is a lot of fun to try to solve the cases myself.

These books, written by Donald J. Sobol, are enjoyable and engaging. They will never be considered classical literature, but sometimes it's neat to read something just for the fun of it. Recommended for those who want such a fun read.

To Face the Future with Grace and Resolve: Review of Anne of Windy Poplars

2010-09-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

Anne of Windy Poplars is the fourth book, chronologically, and the seventh book to be published, in L. M. Montgomery’s Anne Shirley series. Montgomery, in the case of this book, and Anne of Ingleside went back after the series was over, and filled in gaps in the timeline of the books. This is an important distinction to remember, for the foreshadowing that appears in Poplars.

Anne has recently accepted Gilbert Blythe’s marriage proposal, but must wait for three years before the two of them can be married, as Gilbert is studying to be a doctor for this time. Instead of living in Green Gables, Anne lives in close-by Summerside, where she accepts a three-year term as the principal of the local high school. Adventures ensue. Obviously. ;)

This book was quite a unique experience for me. I found myself enjoying the adult that Anne has become, but feeling a poignant sense of loss, as she sheds some more of her childlike nature. She is the adult, the authority figure, and must act accordingly. Because of this, the fun adventures she gets in are few and far between. Oh, she still does get into them, and they are absolute doozies! Not to mention hilarious. Yet they are more rare. This Anne is very different than the Anne of the first book, and even then the Anne of the third book. She has learned some of the hard lessons of the third book, and is better for it, but not cynical, I hope.

I think that this is why Montgomery chose to write the novel the way that she did. The novel alternates at random intervals between the third-person omniscient narrative, and an epistolary novel told by Anne in her letters to her beloved Gilbert. By reading the letters, we can see that even when Anne is the mature, collected, responsible principal, she is still the Anne that we all know and love. In a way, Anne confides her “real” self to us as she does to Gilbert. These letters made the story more cheerful, and gave me a closer look into the inner workings of Anne’s mind.

Poplars is not without some melancholy sentiments. For all of the good that she does to and for those around her, changing lives for the better in beautiful, heartwarming ways, there is darkness ahead. It lies just around the corner, like some foreboding phenomena from an Edgar Allen Poe novel. In fact, I felt sad enough to shed a tear or two when I read Anne’s thoughts on war, and how she is relieved that it will never again come to Canada. Those who have read the entire series, or reviews of the series, know what I read in reviews, that war does come to Canada. Like dark spectre, it stretches out and hurts Anne and Gilbert in a terrible way in their future.

This book is almost the final step in the process of Anne growing up and maturing into a young woman. She will embark on many tragedies and triumphs. She will emerge triumphant, and the future beckons to her. Both good and ill await.

Despite the sadness in the book, I extremely enjoyed this necessary chronicle in the life of Anne Shirley. I prefer books that have some value for imparting truths to the reader, and this one certainly does that. We are all like Anne in a way. We all must grow up at some point. The future is uncertain and intimidating, but we must take that first step into it. Anne Shirley does this cheerfully, and with faith in God and the affection of her loved ones. May we do the same. This book was my second-favorite after Green Gables, and I highly recommend this fun, engaging, and poignant portrait of a remarkable young lady taking the last steps into womanhood.

Media Such as Star Wars Show That When We Influence Culture for Christ, We Influence Entertainment for Him

2010-09-29T12:26:00.001-07:00

An article on a site that a friend of mine co-blogs on raised the question of how to respond as a Christian to media that are not specifically Christ-centered in view point. This lead to a thought of mine that I have expressed from time to time over the years. Namely, what cultural influences go into a work, and can a non-Christian produce a work that teaches important spiritual truths, even if they actually try not to do so.

The original article and the follow-up comments among some of the readers elsewhere dealt with the “Christian” elements in the Star Wars movies. I wrote a piece for a film class during my college days arguing that the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and indeed the entire saga as a whole, dealt with the theme of predestination. I know that some may laugh at this assertion, but it is grounded not just in a reasonable interpretation of the story, but also in the fact that an author cannot help but be influenced by the culture in which he or she lives and grew of age.

The predestination theme in the person of Anakin Skywalker and his bringing balance to the Force by destroying the Sith is not a purposeful one, but an accidental theme, of sorts. I fully admit that Lucas is not a Christian, and may not agree with my analysis, but he may, I believe have to concede my points if they were discussed with him.

Simply put, I believe that there are Christian points in Star Wars because once Lucas chose to do the whole "hero's journey" motif with the accompaniment of religion, he inevitably brought what he knew into the equation. What he knows best is a very Christianized culture that we have here in America in particular and the West in general. This cultural influence is, as I stated already, quite common and pervasive among mankind.

If you go to India, those Christians in that country will have many practices and viewpoints that we find questionable for their basis in Hinduism. They do not actually believe the Hindu stuff, but they do have that cultural baggage. This same example applies to George Lucas, just as it would to any other American.

Another example of this, for instance, is that of the presentment of abortion in popular culture. Rarely on television will we see a story where an abortion is actually performed, even in shows where the producers are not just typical Hollywood liberals, but far-Left pro-choice, firebrands. Why? Their cultural baggage somehow restrains their actions via their creations. Despite their lip service to the abominable evil of abortion, they feel uncomfortable at heart presenting the act.

The question then is one of whether Christians should take enjoyment in forms of media that are not exclusively Christian. I would argue that the answer is yes. Often lessons on chivalry, bravery, adventure, the nature of good and evil, and other ideas can be learned from even unsaved sources.

This even was true for the Christians in the Bible. Paul and many of the other early Christians, and later church fathers, enjoyed the entertainments (the moral ones, you know what I mean, so no trying to obfuscate by misinterpreting this) of pagan theater, education, and society. Why can Christians not do the same today? If there are problems caused, it is not the fault of the piece, be it appropriate, of entertainment, but our fault as Christians for not being spiritually strong due to our lack of proper nourishment from the Father through the Word of God.

Our culture does contain secular works that can teach Christian truth. All that you need is to be discerning in searching them out, and then learning from them. You will be glad that you did.

The Greatest Leader of the Civil War, Who Truly Loved and Lead His Men - Book Review of Lee: A Life of Virtue

2010-09-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

When people write biographies, their finished work will normally take on one of two different voices. That is, the author will either clearly end up sympathizing with the cause of his subject, or deriding the cause of his subject. To be sure, many authors do try to be fair, and not take a side, but, Man being fallible, the author usually fails. Sometimes, this adds flavor to the biography by way of the passion of the author for the subject. At other times, however, it becomes a serious detriment to the work.

Thomas Nelson Publishers is releasing a book series called *The Generals*, whose subject matter is quite obviously clear. ;) In the latest edition, *Lee: A Life of Virtue*, about the Confederate Supreme Commander during the American Civil War, the author writes what should be a brilliant biography, but then falls into numerous pitfalls for which the book greatly suffers.

The author, John Perry, sets out to argue that Lee is vastly misunderstood. He was, in fact, a sincere Christian who hated slavery and prayed for a gradual end to the institution, was actually opposed to the secessionist movement, and only fought for his native state’s honor, not some grandiose political ideology. Indeed, the closest he came to some idealistic notion was state’s rights.

To begin, the author tries to delve into what factors and influences impacted on Robert E. Lee as he grew up from a small boy to the man that he came to be. A case is made by Perry that Lee was the purposeful antithesis of his absent and irresponsible father. His father left the family when Lee was still a child. The father had left debtor’s prison after several “get-rich quick” schemes failed, and he was severely in debt. When Mr. Lee was ready to finally come home and fulfill his responsibilities to his family again, he died en route.

From this, young Robert Lee learned to put duty above all else in his life. His family came first in most things, but before even that, his duty to his job, his country, and later, his God, came first. In a way, this had to do with his family. His father had spent so much time trying to make himself rich and not simply being responsible, that he really failed his family. The belief in stability and responsibility as the best avenue to helping serve and protect his family was a lifelong ethic for Lee.

Lee cared for his disabled mother, and later on, his disabled wife. Even when he was distant from his family because of his military life, he constantly provided for them what he did not ever have. He provided a close and attentive (even if only by way of letters at times) father, a responsible financial overseer, and a good example of virtue and a high work ethic.

Throughout his career, Lee was recognized and praised for his leadership ability, and immense intellect. The mind that could construct the engineering feats requested of him for most of his career, was also able to strategize methods for fighting and scouting in the Mexican-American War, as well as almost leading the Confederates to victory in a war they should have lost quite quickly.

Perry makes as part of his main theme of the book Lee’s transformation from a public (though perhaps not private) Christian to a committed Christian. It was a gradual process, and when it did happen, it was sort of an epiphany, but a quiet one. Like C. S. Lewis, on his way to the zoo one day, and many other Christians, the quiet conversions are sometimes the hardest to describe. One cannot be sure for certain when it happened. They can know when they prayed to make sure, or some such, or wrote it down, in other words when it was completed to their knowledge, but not the *exact* moment that it occurred.

Whenever it did occur, Lee was a strong Christian thereafter who took to all loss and hardship as the grace and mercy of a Loving, Holy, and Omnipotent God Who looks out for what is best for his children.

All of this made for one of the most powerful biographies that I had quite honestly ever read, other than C. S. Lewis’s *Surprised by Joy*. Then, we moved on to the subject of the Civil War, and the book went irrevocably off-target.

This is because the author does not just defend Lee’s actions, or try to enable the reader to understand the mindset of the general and other southerners. He actually seems to forget General Robert Lee at times, in his almost polemical attack on the evil North invading the peaceful South. Do not get me wrong, I have no problem with someone writing a defense of the South, because even though I may disagree with many of arguments, they are not without some merit. The problem is that the actual purpose of the book, *a biographical defense of Lee*, was pushed to the back-burner for the political historiography of the conflict.

As I stated before, the author’s view on the issue seeping in is inevitable, but that is all that should have happened. Instead, we have the purposeful pushing aside of the biography’s actual focus, and that drastically hurt the book, in my view. I suddenly found myself having gone from rapidly reading a fun, engaging, and informative biography, to struggling through a polemic that in some spots appeared almost as a diatribe against the North.

Near the end of the book, Perry got back to the point, and spoke of how Lee handled the surrender, the rebuilding of the South such that he could influence, and his final years of life. The book ended well enough to save it from a complete waste of time, and make it a tolerable read.

There was one part of the book that was actually a legitimate contrast of characters during the Civil War, in this case between Lincoln and Grant on one side, and Lee on the other. Though a bit overdone, to be sure, it *is* historically accurate, and shows a side to Lee that had the author focused on showing without the uncalled-for polemics, would have made the book’s arguments nicely.

Lincoln, partly out of a desire to be re-elected to keep the war going to victory, wanted the rebels crushed, and didn’t care how many soldiers died for this to happen. General U. S. Grant didn’t want to lose his job, and was actually more ambitious than Lincoln, and thus reckless of his men’s lives. Other generals under his command had to come to him and intercede to convince him to back off from the veritable bloodbath that he was about to initiate with some of his more grandiose schemes for sudden victory over the South. Instead, he was convinced to engage in a strategy of smaller attacks in a campaign of attrition and disruption of supply lines to starve the South into surrender. The fact that he almost went with what his generals viewed as using his troops as cannon fodderth, is disturbing.

On the Confederate side, Jefferson Davis wanted to initiate guerrilla warfare (terrorism) to drive the northern “occupiers” out of the South. Lee realized that they could not win the conventional war, and that Davis’s plan would only lead to more bloodshed and death all around. Others in the South wanted to fight to the last man in a now hopeless cause. Lee would have none of it. For the good of his men, he convinced Davis of the futility of fighting onward, and surrendered to Grant. This piece of history is accurate, and is one of the great admirable traits of Lee.

Lee had always refused better accommodations and suffered with his men every deprivation that they suffered, and willingly gave up the cause for their sakes. Unlike so many politicians and high-ranking officers and NCO’s (Non-Commissioned Officers) throughout history even up until today, he thought highly of his men. They were not just cannon fodder, but real, living, breathing, valuable humans created by God. War was horrible, but to devalue the men under his command would make it even more horrible yet. In this resolve and caring for his men, General Lee showed the best traits of leadership.

I still cannot recommend the book highly for its earlier-noted polemical nature during the section which dealt with the Civil War, and the fact that the violence was also, I might add, unnecessarily graphic in description. However, for those who want to learn about the man often vilified by history, and how his faith lead him, even in defeat, to being the best leader of his age, I can certainly encourage you to give the book a try.

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I received this biography of General Robert E. Lee for free from Thomas Nelson publishers via their BookSneeze program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Evil Is Powerful, But God Is the Most Powerful of All - Book Review of Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker

2010-09-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine once commented in a book review about a collection of vampire stories how the classic ones with sin, morality, and evil vampires are refreshing in the climate of the current vampire craze. Indeed, the clash between the current trend of morally ambiguous, sex-crazed vampires, and the older cosmology with its emphasis on good and evil, God, sin, and religion, is a picture of much of what makes modern literature so useless compared to the classics of almost any genre.

Ted Dekker returns us to the older conception of good and evil, and the idea that these creatures are *definitely* evil. Yet, he also skillfully weaves into the story the modern conception of a good vampire. It’s not definitively stated, but it is definitely teased a bit. I can imagine that there are some who mistakenly think of Dekker’s new book, *Immanuel’s Veins* as a “new” concept in vampire myth, when it is not.

The novel opens in the late 1700’s, where two soldiers are sent by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia to watch over the daughters of a wealthy family, as there are rumored threats against them from the numerous enemies of the Empire.

Upon arrival at the spacious, castle-like grounds, two things happen. First, the main character, and first-person narrator for most of the novel, Toma Nicolescu falls irrevocably in love with one of the young daughters. Secondly, a group of supposed “royals” moves into an even more spacious castle nearby, and begin to stalk and eventually court the entire household, including Toma and his partner and subordinate, Alek.

Out of duty, Toma keeps his feelings to himself. That is, he does until he falls temporarily to the charms of this monstrous clan. Then Toma realizes what type of creatures these are, and that the woman he loves has been seduced and turned by them. Now he is faced with the truly impossible task of freeing her from the disease of the mind and body that is seemingly irreversible, as well as defeating an adversary that is his better in every physical manner.

Of course he wins, and how will anger some people. It is not some straight on fight, not once the creature begins wiping the floor with him. It is only through divine intervention that he wins. Really, that is the only way he could win.

This ties together the central themes that Dekker weaves throughout the narrative. Evil exists, evil is much more powerful than us, so we cannot hope to defeat it. Even when it appears to give us the earthly pleasures we seek, and it often does, it comes at the price of long-term suffering in this world, and guaranteed torments in the next. It is not sexy, or cool, or any other such bilge. How, then, can we defeat this evil? God. Jesus Christ. Morality. We cannot ourselves defeat evil, but God can, because the universe is *not* a yin and yang place. God and the devil are not equal. God is supreme.

The final theme that Dekker touched on could have turned out badly, as it so often does. Dekker appeared to pull it off quite beautifully. That is, he makes the victory of God by use of Toma and the redemption of the lady a type, or picture, of the victory of God through His Son Jesus Christ, and the redemption of the world.

All in all, a great novel. The only problem that I had with it was the rather gratuitous attacks on medieval Christianity. This historical fallacy is common in writings. The Church was not the corrupt institution that people believe it to have been. This historical smear is repeated by Dekker as contrasted to the eventual “true” Christianity of the characters at the end of the novel. To be fair, I think it was more of plot device than a purposeful attack, but it still is bad history, and really did border on the gratuitous.

Despite this small criticism of the story, the book is a genuine page-turner, and is filled with food for thought to nourish the intellect and the spirit. Highly Recommended.

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I received this novel by Ted Dekker for free from Thomas Nelson publishers via their BookSneeze program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

Everyone Faces Certain Ultimate Questions... Even Super-Heroes

2010-08-28T02:02:00.000-07:00

I have never before written a review for a comic book. This is a new experience, to say the least. If the review is not written as well as my normal reviews, I hope the reader will grant me pardon.

All-Star Superman is a concept whose genesis is in the effort by DC Comics to have something of their own to compare to the “new take” on the comics that Marvel created with their Ultimate series of titles. The difference is that these All-Star titles are designed to be short mini-series events, unlike Marvel’s Ultimate series, which are ongoing, monthly publications.

The story tells the story of the last days of Superman’s life, when he learns that he is dying due to a plot by Lex Luthor to kill him. He is dying due to solar radiation overloading his cells. It’s like the “solar battery” in his cells is breaking from too much energy.

Supes then undertakes various tasks in the effort to save the future by helping make as much progress as possible on the scientific, medical, and technological fields as he can, as well as ensure that the earth is always protected after he is gone. He also attempts to reveal himself to Lois Lane, who hilariously doesn’t believe him, thinking that he is pretending to be Clark as a prank on her.

The book continues to deal with the relationships of Superman, and really that is the focus of the book. What does a man who knows that he is dying do in his last days? How does he handle the situation? In the end, it is really no different for Superman, than for the rest of us. His responsibilities may be a bit more dramatic, but the ultimate questions are the same. That is what this volume is really about.

The storyline and plotting are superb. Comics, as a medium are obviously much more visual than narrative. Without the proper pacing and a good plot structure, the experience can be quite boring, as if one were reading a production script with pictures the conceptual drawings attached. It is difficult to successfully time the plotting against the illustrations in the comic, but Grant Morrison pulls this off brilliantly.

The illustrations by artist Frank Quitely were absolutely beautiful. This is honestly some of the best artwork that I have ever seen in a comic before. Beyond the colors and drawings is the realism to it all. The characters are not drawn like supermodels or gods ascended from Mount Olympus. They are drawn realistically. Lois, for instance, is shown to be quite pretty, but not the levels in other comics. Superman is muscular and attractive, but that is all. He is not unrealistically so. Most artists forget that he gets his energy from the sun so his musculature has nothing to do with his strength. This is important to me, because I think that the artwork here fits in better with the mythic aspects of the mini-series.

There are a few items that were less than desirable. First off, the monster at the end of the volume was unnecessary. They could have had the actions they had and storyline development without the monster. It felt somehow as if they figured at the end of the first volume, they had to have a monster of some kind. They couldn’t wait and stick with the fight at the end of the second volume, but had to have one now for it to be comic book-y or something. The other problem was that the book is tied to Grant Morrison’s other title, DC One Million. That bothers me. Even though One Million is an Elseworlds title, it is also connected somehow to the main DC continuity. How can this be completely All-Star Superman be separated from the main continuity, yet connected to a comic that is a possible future of the continuity? It makes no sense, except for Grant Morrison’s desire to make All-Star Superman into Gran Morrison Superman.

Despite these quibbles, the volume does what it sets out to do as a comic book graphic novel. Is it high literature? No, obviously not. Is it a brilliantly created work of its genre that deserves a high rating and recommendation? Yes. Read this, you will definitely enjoy it.

A Refreshing Change from the Typical Christian Historical Romance

2010-08-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Once again, I am reading a romance, only in this case, a historical one instead of a suspense one. I will volunteer to be the first to mock myself, in a light-hearted manner. I realize that some people with whom I am acquainted will smirk at the fact that I offered to receive and read this book for review. Okay now, are we done with the mocking, smirking, and eye-rolling? Good, let’s go on to the review. ;)

In Tamera Alexander’s book, *Within My Heart*, the plot begins in a traditional manner for the typical genre of historical romances. There is a young woman, in this case widowed, who is a genius, and much better-educated than most women of the time. She has a fiery temperament, and is willing to stand her line with *any* man. This is great for me, up to a point, because I really enjoy strong female characters. Not the “I am woman, hear me roar” silly feminist type, but a strong, realistic woman. The problem is that I also enjoy characters and settings that are at least *somewhat* historically accurate. The typical historical romance seems not to be accurate in this regard at all.

The other element that annoyed me was the ending. The typical “deep, dark” secret was in presence. Also, in the great culmination of the book, there is the typical “danger” to the characters. There are a limited number of dangers used (or, I should say, over-used) in historical romances that anyone who has read them, or read the jokes about them, would recognize. One of these is actually used near the end of the book. Finally, the author tries too hard to be stirring with her flowery rhetoric. The last paragraphs sounded like the end to an English epic from literature class in high school. The flowery language was a bit over-the-top, as it were.

Despite all of this, I truly did enjoy the book, and rate it quite highly. For one thing, despite the over-use of literary conventions typical to such novels, the author pretty much limited her use of these to the above-listed items. In fact, historically the somewhat “modern” temperament of the women out west was in evidence. They had no choice *but* to dispense with traditional cultural understandings of the sexes, and learn to hunt, shoot, chop wood, haul wood, farm, and so forth, just as well as any man. The historical records, including the diaries of frontier women, showed this remarkable independent streak. The problem is that most authors do not portray the situation in a realistic enough manner to show why these women were like they were. Tamera Alexander does do this. Granted, not all were the geniuses that these books portray, but that is forgivable given the broader pluses in the book.

The “deep, dark” secret seemed quite out of place, and not necessary to the plot. It really did seem as if Alexander only put it in there to make the book more like the other books in the genre. Other than this, the story was remarkably realistic. The main characters had a bad past, but these were well-known in the case of the heroine, Rachel Boyd, and hidden for a reason in the case of the hero, Dr. Rand Brookston. Rachel’s husband was killed a few years prior to the book by a wild animal, and she is afraid to love again. Still no deep, dark secret. Brookston was injured and had a frightening experience of nearly being horribly misdiagnosed by the battle surgeon. Again, this was in his past, prior to the novel. During the time frame that it occurred in the Civil War, such happenings could occasionally happen.

The book seems to be divided into three roughly equal parts. These parts are not officially listed, indeed, there are no larger “sections” to the novel, beyond chapter headings. This is only my own observation.

In part one, the characters are introduced, and Brookston is clearly in love with Rachel, which she knows, but doesn’t reciprocate. She has a negative view of medical doctors, for her own reasons. Brookston proves to her he is not like her misconception of doctors, so her feelings begin to thaw towards him. Part two is the story of how their friendship develops and she falls in love with him, and part three details how she gets over her fears and they become engaged.

The typical, tired story elements of the novel may have caused me to become so irritated that I ignored the enormous good in the book, but not quite. There was another saving grace to the novel, and that is how they portrayed Brookston’s symptoms that today would be classified as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the war. The realism, largely absent from much period fiction, was a breath of fresh air. Even though I did not have the same personal injury horrors in the same manner as Brookston did, I can empathize with his plight, as I have PTSD, and so it struck a chord with me.

Trust me, this book may have some faults, typical of such romances, but it is not the typical book of this genre. It has realism, believability, sheds most of the more annoying tropes, and is extremely well-written. The prose is easily readable (though a bit overly, purposefully, poetic at times), and the characters were ones I truly cared about. This book, despite its problems, was well worth the read. Recommended.

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I received this novel from Bethany House Publishers for the purposes of writing a review for them. I must emphasize that they do not ask for a particular type of review, whether positive or negative. I truly appreciate the chance to review this book, and the above opinions are my honest viewpoint. I also want to give my sincere thanks to Bethany House Publishers for the opportunity to review this book, and thank you all for reading this review.

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Note: Bethany House did NOT ask for me to post this on my blog or anywhere else specific other than LibraryThing.com. I am posting this review on my blog because I truly enjoyed the book, and I am impressed on how it told a good story while dispensing with some of the more over-used elements of the genre.

Iron Man Does NOT Harm Children

2010-08-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

Iron Man is perhaps one of the most under-appeciated, but compelling comic book superheroes around. In a way, this is to be expected. His origins were literally designed to create such a character that fans would feel mixed-up towards.

In an interview one time, Marvel Comics bigwig Stan Lee discussed the origins of the character. He spoke about how he and fellow Marvel people were discussing just what type of new hero could be made. This was in the late 1960's, and the general tone of the country was for a time becoming increasingly liberal amongst the social upheaval. Comic book fans were even more liberal than the general populace. Stan Lee came up with an interesting idea. Why not create a superhero that was an unapologeticly pro-business, pro-American capitalist that stood up for the general ideas of conservative Americans. The comics fans would hate it, and it would be fun. In a strange twist of fate, the fans hated Tony Stark, but at the same time loved him and were strangely fascinated by him.

What was the cause of this fascination? I think it is mainly the timeless truths for which the character stands. Even those who do not agree with the ideas of the Right have a gut reaction of respect, whether they like it or not, for the ideas steeped in the American culture from which they come. These include freedom, liberty, overcoming of personal failure and adversity, and most of all, redemption.

In a recent article in the news, presenters at the American Psychological Association spoke of how their "research" shows a negative impact on young boys who look up to superheroes. Who was the chief culprit in this undermining of the young males of America? You guessed it, Iron Man.

The chief concern of the researchers was the way that Iron Man treated women, and his macho nature. Seemingly missing from the discussion is the way that Iron Man is shown to be wrong in his treatment of women, and how he had to learn to be a hero and use his power justly and wisely. In other words, he had to grow. The negative portrayals, and the hero's journey wherein Stark learns from his mistakes and defeats his demons are recycled for every generation during every reboot.

One wonders if the real reason why these researchers so disdain the character is really due to his supposed conservative ideas, unabashed Americanism, and very manly attitude. Yes, some boys may take it too far and be violent, but in general, they have not and likely will not. The boys in this world need heroes. As much as it terrifies the Left to conceive of the ideas of patriotism and vigorous manliness, these are good things to inculcate to future generations. If our country does not have men willing to use force to protect our future and way of life, we are in great danger.

I say we should leave Iron Man alone, and let our children have their heroes. Perhaps it will enable our troubled boys to someday rise up and be the men we will need them to be.

One of the Best Fictional Series About The "War on Terror"

2010-08-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

In Brad Thor’s book, *Takedown*, the world is once again set on fire in an attack that makes 9/11 “look like choir practice” to quote the series’ protagonist, Scot Harvath.
Once again, as in earlier books, the fact that Scot Harvath and his allies work *outside* of the normal governmental channels and away from the beauracracy enables them to get the job done.

The book begins with two radical Muslims who are expert bomb makers for al Qaeda being captured. One of the men is more “high-priority” for the bad guys than the other one. So much so that the terrorists are willing to mount a vicious campaign against New York, to rescue him. It is made clear that al Qaeda has the ability to attack us on this scale, but only hasn’t done so out of the fact that it would risk their best operatives and equipment. Our superior strengths and resources would ensure that they would suffer such losses. In other words, a defeat could cost them the ability to mount further future attacks. Even a victory could lead to such costs that it could end up being Pyrrhic in nature.

The title is aptly entitled *Takedown*, because the heroes and evil guys spend the whole book *taking each other down* and often enough *out*. In the end, it is the determination of the main character, Scot Harvath, to not accept defeat, and emerge victorious, that allows the good guys to win. Even so, with the incredible carnage that the terrorists wreak on the United States, one might be tempted to wonder if it was even worth it to win.

The answer, as revealed in the book, is a resounding yes! One must accept the fact that evil does happen, and as Edmund Burke noted, the only way to stave off evil is to stand firm for good. In the end, good does triumph, and the evils that happen are not the final word. To quote Sam from the film *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*, “there is still good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for”.

I believe that this book will be regarded eventually as the equivalent for the War on Terror of what Tom Clancy’s *Red Storm Rising* was for the Cold War. It is a prescient, informed, and realistic book that details the all-too-possible chance of a massively successful terrorist attack on our country, and how we might just fail to prevent it due to our own bungling, and beauracratic incompetence. The same areas that harmed us so on 9/11 could do so once again. I close with the same quote I did for the last Brad Thor book review.

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People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. – George Orwell

Jack Bauer's Literary Counterpart

2010-08-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to admit it. I am a HUGE fan of the television show *24*. Though recently ended, there are rumors that the production team is working on a film trilogy about our tough hero Jack Bauer. Why do I mention all of this right now? Because the *Scot Harvath* series of books by Brad Thor are to literature what *24* was/is to television and film.

This was my first foray into Brad Thor’s books, and it was well worth it. Some of the plots have been said to be over the top, but are they really? Other than the “success” that the terrorists have in winning until they reach the one man army of Scot Harvath, and the way Harvath is in on *everything happening*, I would argue no. The fact that dramatic license has to be allowed for to make the plots interesting does not take away from the fact that this is quite realistic.

The world is not a safe, fun, nice place, as Harvath is well aware of. There are evil people out there who wish to do us harm. The fact that they would not care if their religion *really* endorsed it or not, is an interesting subtext.

All of this is a fine way to summarize the series as a whole, but the current book, *The Last Patriot* is a look at the author’s vision of the world (one which I share, because I believe it to be true). The hero runs into good Muslims and bad Muslims, honest patriots in government and incompetent boobs in government. The fact that he wants to leave government service once again, but stays on for his country’s sake, is inspiring to me personally. So is the fact that Harvath *knows* he is doing things that cross the line ethically, but he does it anyway, because someone has to do it.

I don’t want to give too much of the exact plot away except to say that there is a supposed document that will potentially turn Islam into a universal religion of goodwill, helping the moderates to win. There are radical jihadists who will do anything to stop this information from coming to light. Harvath is on the case to protect the country he loves, and try to bring peace to the world. One good part of the book is that Harvath actually loses in the end. He beats the bad guys, but still fails to accomplish his mission. We do not always win in this war, and that was a dose of much-needed realism for the books.

The book is controversial, to say the least. Though Brad Thor takes great pains to make clear that the general plot device is *fictional*, many with their own agendas, whether radical Muslim groups, or various political correctness disciples, have labeled him as “hateful”, “anti-Muslim”, “Islamophobic”, and the rest of the typical accusations one expects directed at anyone who writes on this subject matter. Of course, it doesn’t help that Brad Thor hilariously skewers the dangerous political and ideological agendas of real-life people and groups. He uses different names, but if you have heard of the real-world analogues as I have, you know who he means.

This book is a tour-de-force that is sure to keep you riveted to your seat until the very end, and make you glad that there really are people like Scot Harvath (and Jack Bauer, for that matter) out there keeping us safe. And yes, there really are. Highly Recommended.

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People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. – George Orwell

The Catholic Faith of Conservatism’s Patron Saint

2010-08-17T01:37:00.000-07:00

William F. Buckley, Jr., has been called the “patron saint of Conservatives”. The title, though audacious, is pretty well-deserved. Buckley did something that many would have thought impossible. He combined the different strains of conservatism in the country at large into one over-arching philosophy. Moreover, he made conservatism *respectable*. This was not some freak mistake. The ability of Buckley to accomplish this was due to his religious faith.

In the latest edition in the Christian Perspectives Series from Thomas Nelson Publishers, author Jeremy Lott undertakes a quick topical examination of Buckley’s life through the facets of his religious beliefs. Lott begins the work by making clear that he is not at all attempting to do a complete study of the topic. Indeed, such a study would take up a much longer book, perhaps more than that. His goal is merely to present the argument that Buckley’s deeply felt Catholic piety is the root of his efforts, and even success in life. Lott actually recommends the reader does research of their own, supplying a brief, but helpful, prospective reading list for those wanting to learn about the man.

Buckley was raised as a Catholic, and this stuck with him his whole life. First as a polemicist writing about the lack of fidelity to the Protestant heritage of Yale, to his defense of capitalism and hatred of Communism as an affront to God, to his belief in the supremacy of the individual over the state; all of these various threads linked back to his Catholic roots.

Buckley created the hodge-podge “fusionist” coalition that we know as post-war American conservatism. Up until this time, the various strains of “conservative thought” were at odds with each other. The highly religious felt the market was uncaring, lead to great harm, and caused people to indulge in their base natures. The supporters of the free market (usually libertarians) scoffed at Christians, viewing them as backwards hicks and rubes. Of course, this is still the opinion of many on both sides. Despite all of this, there is a great deal of respect for the ideas of natural law and God-given rights on the part of the Libertarians, and respect for the market on the part of most Christians. Even among Democratic voters, this is the case according to public opinion surveys. This change in course by Buckley affects even self-identifying liberals.

The key to Buckley’s ability to create this movement, and he admitted he was trying to do as much, are the concepts of natural law and natural rights. Natural law and natural rights are concepts that Protestants and Evangelicals have been willing to embrace since C. S. Lewis wrote about the concepts, but they are historically Catholic in nature, with some philosophical supports among the Presbyterians of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Natural law and natural rights can be summed up simplistically as the idea that God has placed a certain law on our hearts. We all know what it is. Sometimes there are different interpretations based on levels of knowledge of agriculture and science, but the general agreement across culture is important. On the other side, natural rights are God-given rights that are also universally known to mankind, and that the sole job of government is that of protecting.

Inherent in this worldview is the idea that we each are accountable to God, and have a right to the fruits of our labors as God sees fit to bless us. If we sin, it is between us and the offended parties, both human and Divine. Government is not part of the equation unless the sin is a crime that will harm another person’s ability to enjoy their natural rights before the Almighty. This conception was able to draw together the Christian conservatives and the libertarians together. The hard stance against Communists drew in hawks and the anti-Communists as well.

There is so much more about how Buckley created this movement. I would have to write a book myself to deal with it all, or even just the rest of the ideas that Lott presents in his work.

A final point. As Lott recounts, though Buckley was never suicidal, he was cognizant of his upcoming death, due to his age and failing health. After the death of his wife Pat in 2007, he publicly talked of his desire to go on a “final voyage” to Heaven. He yearned to see his family and friends long gone. On the morning of February 27, 2008, he got his wish, and joined his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in a glorious reunion with loved ones.

I write this last tidbit for the purpose of pointing out that his Catholicism was not a ploy to further his career or politics, but something that deeply informed and supported him throughout his life. If you are interested in knowing the deep piety behind William F. Buckley, Jr., I highly recommend this book. Easily the best argued to date of the Christian Encounters series.

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I received this biography of William F. Buckley, Jr., for free from Thomas Nelson publishers via their BookSneeze program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

A Look Into the Important Documents of Our Nation’s Founding – Review of The Portable Patriot

2010-08-17T01:34:00.000-07:00

The Portable Patriot is a small, yet substantive, collection of documents from our nation’s history. Each section has attached commentary introducing the document and discussing its role in the political history and philosophy surrounding the formation of America.

Indeed, the word philosophy is crucial to the notion of the volume.
The United States of America is not just a country, though it is that, to be sure. No, it is so much more than that. It is a set of ideas, beliefs, and values. What makes us different from the British even in the colonial days is what makes the British different from other countries in Europe. That is, an ideal.

Russell Kirk, the conservative historian, philosopher, economist, and general man of letters of the twentieth century, has written how much our country’s moral and philosophic underpinnings owe to the English, and indeed, reflect them to a great extent. Where we diverged from Great Britain was chiefly in the frontier spirit that was so prevalent to our young country.

Largely due to space, the large diversity of opinion, and other factors, we had very little choice but to embrace the republican tenets that had been slowly forming since the Magna Carta. These ideas of law, culture, justice, and Christian philosophy, or what some historians have called “Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem”, were put into practice in our colonies turned country.

The obvious point that I have not actually quoted much from the book is one to which I must readily admit. It is a book with documents and speeches ranging from the earliest days of the colonial experience with the Pilgrim’s and The Mayflower Compact through the Inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as our third president and shortly thereafter. Indeed, it would be hard to find a useful document to quote as the important one.

Because of this, I am left to summarizing the book, and why it is important, in my humble opinion. The crucial aspect of my earlier historical summation is that this is the idea put forth in the book at the most basic level. The ideas and philosophy of America are explained via the important documents therein.

These documents and speeches are largely neglected these days. This is a very bad turn of events. For years churches, schools, civic clubs, and parents inculcated these documents and the ideas they represent to children. Such efforts are not undertaken so often anymore. This book is a good first step in correcting this cultural downturn. I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the very essence of what America truly is.

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I received this volume of historical documents for free from Thomas Nelson publishers via their BookSneeze program. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Thomas Nelson emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

The Myth of the Dying Church

2010-08-17T01:32:00.000-07:00

What do most Americans think about Christians? Are Christians just as immoral as unbelievers? To most people, the answers are an obvious negative opinion to the first, and yes and worse to the second. The thing is that these answers would be wrong. There are a lot of misconceptions about Christians in America, and sociologist Bradley R. E. Wright has decided to correct many of them in his brilliant new book, Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites… and Other Lies You’ve Been Told.

I know what you are thinking. Oh boy! Another book review on the blog. Well, I like them, and getting and reading books. I am truly excited about this one, though, since it is useful in making a point about the misconceptions about our culture and the state of Christianity in this country. It also presents questions about what type of society is truly best for America and American Christianity.

Dr. Wright introduces the book by giving a summary of what started him on this research path. He kept hearing and reading dire statistics about the state of Christianity in the United States. He wondered at how these statistics come from both Christians and secular sources, and he wondered if the universality of the predictions was because of a true statistic, or a myth that people repeated without examination.

The professor began by looking at various social science surveys, including from the Gallup organization, the Barna group, and out of academia. He looked at the wording of the questions, and the respondents’ answers. He found something unique, that Christians in general are highly respected, and that most denominations that make up “Evangelical Christianity” are also highly respected, as are “Christians” in general, and “Born-Again” Christians. Only “Evangelicals” are not highly respected, as a name-group, and that probably lends itself to the idea that people misunderstand the term, and actually respect Christians.

The professor goes on to show how in research, Christians are not just viewed favorably by the general public, but are also doing well on almost every social and political level. Whether marital fidelity, spousal treatment, religious observances, love for others, prayer, belief in the fundamentals of the faith, and so forth, Christians are doing as well as, or better than, any other time in history other than perhaps the 1950’s.

The only caveat to this is the increased number of “religiously unaffiliated”. Many point to a culture that is less Christian and more secular. The question is whether one wants a culture of large churches with many non-Christians, or churches where the Christians are more likely than in previous eras to be sincere Christians, and not just going to church for fear of social stigma. Which one is better? It’s up to the reader and Christians in general to decide.

The only real problem I had with the book was the way that the areas of race relations and attitudes towards gays were covered, the author gets into his politics. At least, I presume that he does, since he looks hard at every question, except those that relate to these two areas. I am not saying that there is no issue of negative feeling in these areas, but think carefully here. If a person thinks someone is a liberal, as most blacks are, and the respondent is a conservative, then they might not like them for supporting ideas they don’t support. It doesn’t mean it’s an actual lack of love, but an unfavorable feeling. This is NOT racism, but logical, just as many blacks do not view white conservatives favorably.

On the issue of homosexuality, unfavorability is not the same as hate. If you ask Christians if they have favorable opinions about adulterers, those cohabitating outside of marriage, and so forth, they will likely not feel very favorable. This does not mean a lack of love. It can, and in some cases, likely does. In most cases, probably not.

Despite these criticisms, this book is invaluable for its exposing myths and correcting the record on the state of Christianity in America. I recommend it for those wanting to gain a better idea of where we really are in this country as Christians, and how to progress even further.

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I received this book from Bethany House for the purposes of review. I am obligated to post the review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. I want to emphasize that the opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.

My Book Review of Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time (The Every Man Series) by Stephen Arterburn

2010-08-17T01:29:00.000-07:00

There are certain subjects that many people do not want to discuss due to the discomfort associated with discussing them. One of those subjects is that of sexual purity. No one wants to go anywhere near it. That is taboo, it seems.

No one wants to even think about it. The conversation that might get started will invariably end up discussing our personal darkest thoughts and secrets, as well as biological concepts that we would rather not deal with, or even know about, really. On top of all of that, if we admit to struggling with sexual purity, we fear that any women in our lives will condemn us. This fear is not altogether unreasonable. More on that soon.

I will admit to having struggled quite a bit in my life with the issue of sexual purity. I always have had this issue, but the time I spent in the military greatly increased my difficulties, and eventual sins in this area. Away from home in danger, or coming back while dealing with severe emotional, mental, and spiritual issues, it was easy to turn to the various outlets at my disposal for a sexual high and thrill to make me feel better. Of course, it never did, but try I would with magazines and anything else I could get my hands onto.

After I left the Army, I still did not really repent. I was so messed up that any action seemed justified to me. Finally, around last summer, I fully repented and turned to God. I sought out people to seek help from in finding peace. I found the peace from my guilt, but did not have a plan to conquer my sexual sin. I finally found it in this book.

*In Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time* by Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey; I finally found the plan that I had been looking for. The authors warn the reader up front that the subject matter will most assuredly be mature and frank. Let me tell you that they are not kidding. They get into biological and psychological aspects of the male mind and body. They describe sexual sin and ways to get past it in very frank, and actually somewhat graphic, terms.

What is unique about this book is that they do not throw verses at the reader. Yes, they do give you recommended verses to memorize to help the reader stay on the right track, but they also give you many other concrete Biblical examples, as well as real-life methods to incorporate God’s teachings in His Word into a practical step-by-step process to help men conquer this fierce enemy that threatens their relationship with God, and their family and friends.

The authors do not just address men, however, but also women. They try to help women understand that men are not horrific pigs, but are created in a way where the great strengths that God gives them can become horrible problems when turned to sinful ends. If a man is in the midst of sin, he must be confronted and given no quarter. If he is repentant, he must be given encouragement, and not just condemnation. A woman that understands and tries to help her husband deal with this issue through moral, Biblical means, is a glorious help meet for him.

There is only one real gripe that I have with this book, and that is that it is full of great ideas for all men, but extra help for those who are married. If one is single like I currently am, then there is almost an undercurrent of a blasé “stinks to be you” attitude in the book. Some concrete help would have been appreciated. I found practical advice to help me combat the sexual sin, even truly conquer it with the Lord’s help, but I will seemingly have to wait until I am married to ever have any of the ways of alleviating the intense struggle at all. This may very well be true, and it probably is, but the authors could have written more about this issue, and maybe come up with some more practical advice for single men.

Despite this criticism, I am glad that I read the book, and I learned a great deal about the causes and roots of my sin in relation to sexual purity, as well as how to conquer it. Though the book is certainly not for anyone below older high school students due to its graphic content, for the right age groups and maturity level, it is a great blessing in helping someone to grow closer to the Lord. I highly recommend it.

My Book Review of The Negotiator, Book One of The O’Malley Chronicles

2010-08-17T01:26:00.000-07:00

Let me be the first to poke fun at myself for having read this book. I know there are those who will look at this review, and wonder at a guy reading this modern Christian romance genre. After all, this is not a classic like Pride and Prejudice, but a contemporary novel. It isn’t destined for classic status, by any means. It is, however, a surprisingly good book.

The book begins with a Chicago police hostage negotiator, Kate O’Malley, called in to negotiate with a man who is threatening to blow up a bank to get revenge on the bank president for not giving him a loan extension for his troubled business. At the bank, she sees a hostage, Dave, an FBI field agent who kept himself hidden from the bomber. He used a notepad to write messages for her from behind the back of the bad guy. The coordination they had in the most unusual of circumstances was merely the beginning of a repertoire that they would quickly establish once the situation was resolved and the bomber arrested.

Due to injuries, Kate was briefly hospitalized, and she and Dave struck up a quick and firm friendship. Dave found himself falling for her, but was deeply disappointed when he learned that she was not a Christian. His convictions forbade him from being with her. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to be friends with her even, though it would be nice.

He was to have no choice in the matter, as a bombing of a commercial flight changed everything. Suddenly, he had to protect her. He wanted to witness to her, and see her safe physically, and saved spiritually. Eventually, he would learn of, and meet her “family”.

The O’Malley family is not really related. They are a group of orphans who decided to become a family. They all changed their last name to “O’Malley”. They love and care for each other in a way that struck me as so wonderful, because it is a love built on hard times, a love that I can sympathize with from my military days.

The case would go on to surprising conclusion. I won’t say anymore, as it is my policy not to give the end of a book in a review. Things do work out in the end, but it is done in a way that you can figure out, if you look at the clues, which are cleverly hidden. It is a great mystery story, in that regard.

The book had a few weak points. The ease with which Dave and Kate get together is unrealistic. The short split of their friendship is not even a real split, and is not entirely convincing to me. In the end, it is all a bit too pat and easy, in the way that contemporary romances are famous for.

Yet the strengths vastly outweigh the weaknesses. The technical details are very realistic. Henderson put a great deal of time, effort, and research into her book. It is not just the technical details that caught my attention, however, but the realism. The bond created by those who suffer adversity together is unique among any human relations.

Also realistic is the description of the interaction among the law-enforcement, EMS, and other civil protectors. It is so difficult to be a Christian in these environments, as I can attest from my time in the Army. The perspective of Dave in the FBI nicely puts this on display.

I also loved the method of Kate’s personal spiritual journey. Usually, these types of journeys are portrayed in a sappy, uber-supernatural Touched by An Angel type of manner. In this story, it is quieter, simpler, yet no less profound and wondrous. It is, in a word, real. It strikes one as so real, and down to earth, that it is truly able to be appreciated.

This story is a romance, and it is not a Classic, by any standards, but it is a very enjoyable and realistic portrayal of the life of a Christian in the military/law enforcement/EMS fields. There is significant violence in the book with themes of bombing, stalking, and murder. The strong redemptive themes present more than make up for this. For any reader aged 16 or older, this is an appropriate and worthwhile read. I recommend this.

My Review of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

2010-08-17T01:24:00.000-07:00

Pride and Prejudice is a Classic. Of that there is no doubt, as it has stood the test of time for nearly 200 years, and been commented on and reviewed a multitude of times. I seriously doubt that there is much I can say that is unique, original, or even all that helpful to anyone. I certainly won’t write the type of review that one of my friend’s on here wrote. I shall try, nonetheless.

The story is a truly intriguing love story. Two young, intelligent, yet naïve girls, Elizabeth Bennett and her sister Jane meet their potential suitors, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley and Jane hit it off right away, but Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth do not. At all. She is angered by his arrogance, which he has in ample supply; whilst he is disgusted by her tolerance and enabling of her horridly rude family, whom she certainly does tolerate and enable very much for the first half of the novel.

About midway through the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy have a confrontation, in which he professes his love to her, and she adamantly refuses to have anything to do with him. It was he who helped break up his friend Bingley and her sister Jane. He, who treated her, her sister, a friend of hers, Mr. Wickham, and people in general, so horridly, now wanted her hand? It disgusted her. He responded in a letter to her that her family warranted the ill manner in part. He also told her how Wickham betrayed his late father’s trust, and nearly ruined his teenage sister while trying to seduce her.

Much more happens during the novel, but that is not important to me for the purposes of this review. What is important is the lesson contained within the story, the lesson of compromise and changing one’s ways. Both Darcy and Elizabeth are right. Both need to change and both do change. Afterward, they fall in love. Jane and Bingley do get back together, and it seems so story book, but not so fast. In the last chapter, which acts as an epilogue of sorts, we learn how not everything is happy go-lucky. Yes, the two couples are happy, but not everything is peaceful as they have to suffer the discord of their extended relations, just as so many real-life couples do. This is so refreshing in our day of simplistic love stories, where everything is happily ever after, and there is little true conflict.

In the end, perhaps that is why the novel is still so popular. It is realistic, it tells a good story, it has characters, and it teaches a good moral tale, not to believe everything you hear until all of the facts are in, because you might make a serious misjudgment. And even if one is right, one can still have bad traits, and must be willing to change. This realism and moral teaching are what have made this book one of my favorite novels. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Let me take a moment to also recommend a brilliant movie adaptation of this seminal work. It is the 1995 BBC version starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It is a truly marvelous work that is faithful to the source material in a way few movies that I have ever seen have been. The movie has all of the elements of the book, sometimes in excruciating detail where you have a desire to magically reach into the screen and throttle some of the annoying characters. You can see the conflict, compromise, love, and happy yet realistic ending of the couple. No, you don’t get the epilogue to explain everything as they have it in the book, but it is hinted at enough. You get the sense that these two couples are happy, but part of a very dysfunctional family.

The acting is superb, the music incredible, and the characterization and pacing are almost exactly like those in the book. A brilliant movie that I also highly recommend.

Jane Austin…. Apologist?

2010-08-17T01:22:00.000-07:00

Reading is a remarkable joy, particularly when one can learn a spiritual lesson from the oddest of places. I’ve learned a spiritual lesson from reading Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen. That might very well sound quite silly. How can one learn a lesson from that? Well, even though I am only a little over a hundred pages through the book, I have, nonetheless, learned to remember the importance of not listening to gossip.

I can already see that things will not be as they appear for Darcy and Elizabeth. I do not believe Wickham. I think that he is lying. If I am right, then that is a grand moral lesson. Too often in life, we gossip and talk about other people. What does this do for us that is profitable? Nothing. Does it ever result in good? No. Either we are wrong, or we push people further into a bad situation, or we hurt people. Sometimes, we do all three of these.

In the book, I hope that Elizabeth chooses Darcy in the end. Even though he is a bit of a pompous oaf, he has many good qualities that peek out from below the surface, sort of like a Diamond in the Rough, as they say. If she were to choose Wickham, who I believe to be lying, then that would be a tragedy. It would be her deluding herself into believing gossip,which is against her rational nature to believe, but all too sadly in line with human nature to entertain and engage in.

In real life, how many people have we hurt by gossip and idle words? The Bible states that gossip divides people. (Proverbs 16:28) and is one of the worst sins listed in the Bible. (Romans 1:29-32) Gossip can ruin lives, and end relationships, often before they can really begin. I learned a great spiritual lesson from Jane Austen through a practical example of the dangers of gossip. Jane Austen, Apologist. Who’d have thought it?

From Trenches to Culture

The Experiences that Created Middle-Earth

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A Thought-Provoking, but Ultimately Mediocre, Suspense Novel: Reviewing *The Justice Game*

The Heart God Molded to Bless Us All, Regardless of Race: Reviewing *Christian Encounters: George Washington Carver*

Is God Our Deepest Treasure? Reviewing *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*

Courage to Face Our Fears: Reviewing *The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian*

The Novel that Disney's *Beauty in the Beast* Is Partially Based On: Reviewing *Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast*

Faith Meets Survivor Meets Matlock: Reviewing *The Cross-Examination of Oliver Finney*

Is the West Losing It's Soul? Reviewing *The Book That Made Your World*

The Beginning of a Saga: Reviewing *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe*

A Fantastical Quest for Faith: Reviewing *The Dragons of Chiril*, by Donita K. Paul