King's Cross: Short Review

King's Cross by Timothy Keller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

King's Cross is a series of reflections on the life of Jesus based on the Gospel of Mark. In fact, the book is really a re-working of some of Keller's sermons on Mark over the years at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. It's broken down into two main sections reflecting the organization of Mark's Gospel. Part One: "The King" attempts to give the reader an understanding of who Jesus is. This is seen in Jesus' teaching, but also in his interactions with people, his answering of critics, as well as his miracles. Part Two: "The Cross" tells the story of what Jesus came to do. Namely, he came to die. And through his death, Keller argues, the deepest issues of the world find their meaning and resolution.

Keller's great strength is in his unique ability to address the believer and the skeptic at the same time. He does this again, arguing that the story of the world finds its meaning in the story of Jesus Christ.

I only wish this book came out before I preached through the Gospel of Mark at my church. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to reflect and meditate on the life of Jesus, or is just curious about the significance of Jesus' life.

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Book Review: The Monster in the Hollows

The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third in Andrew Peterson's award winning fantasy series The Wingfeather Saga. The Monster in the Hollows tells the story of the Wingfeather children hiding from Gnag the Nameless in the Green Hollows, one of the few places in the land of Aerwiar not overrun by the Fangs of Dang.

It's a story about the children attempting to assimilate into a new culture and figure out how to do life (simple things like make friends, go to school, survive bullies, etc.). It's also a story about Kalmar's battle against guilt and shame, and Janner's struggle to protect his little brother. There also is a wonderful side story about Sarah Cobbler and the rebellion at the Fork Factory.

Of the three Wingfeather books, this has the least "laugh out loud" passages (there were many in the first two books). However, what it lacks in laughs, it more than makes up for in suspense. I read the majority of the book in two nights. I'd finish a chapter and not be able to put the book down because I simply had to know what was going to happen next (this rarely happens for me; I almost always choose sleep over resolutions in plot lines). There also were a few tear jerker moments, beautifully written and wonderfully woven into the plot line.

Fairy tales are great because they create for the reader (especially in kids) a moral imagination. You can't learn compassion or sacrifice or courage from definitions. We need to see examples in great stories. The Monster in the Hollows is one of those great stories that helps to form the good, the noble, and the beautiful in our minds and hearts. Peterson may very well be a better novelist than he is a songwriter (and that's saying something). I can't wait to read these books to my daughter.

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Book Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mystery novel by recently deceased Swedish writer, Stieg Larsson. The story behind the book's publication is almost as interesting as the novel itself. Larsson died when The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the final two books in the trilogy had been sent off to a publisher. After his death, a battle ensued between his long time live in girlfriend of 30 plus years (a common law marriage almost anywhere else) and his brother (whom he was not close to) for the rights to the work (and the proceeds). As it stands, I don't think the girlfriend is getting much of anything, but she is writing a book of her own about what life was like with Stieg Larsson.

The book itself is a mystery. A financial journalist gets drawn into a decades old investigation of a missing (and presumed murdered) 16 year old girl. Complicating matters is the history of the family: a rich industrialist clan whose members largely hate each other. On the day of the girl's disappearance there was a car accident that closed down the only accident to Hedeby Island. Where could the girl have gone? If she was killed, where is the body? There was a limited number of people on the island that day, and yet they all seem to have an alibi.

The murder mystery plot is quite good. I want give you any spoilers. But rather than just fun, the subtext of the story is violence against women - indicated both in what is uncovered as the story goes along, and Larsson's section headings (all of which list statistics about violent crimes against women in Sweden). In addition to wanting to write a page turner, Larsson wanted to raise awareness of a very real issue in Swedish culture.

Why only three stars? While I thought the plot was great (especially about 200 pages of the 620 pages in), and the dialogue was interesting, I never really connected with the characters. Perhaps they weren't sympathetic enough. Perhaps I operate from too different a worldview. I never felt like I understood where the main characters were coming from, or why they would decide what they would decide. It was still interesting, but it left me with a disconnect to the book.

Additionally, there were several depictions of violent rape in the story. While I'm sure Larsson included this in an attempt to call attention to how heinous these crimes are against women, I found these pages terribly uncomfortable to read. I believe the fierceness and the horror of the crimes could have been depicted by describing the long-term affects on the victims and their families without a blow by blow account of the attacks themselves. This I'm sure is a point of debate, but I'm writing the review - so there's my opinion.

Not sure if I'm sufficiently motivated to read the next two novels.

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Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl - Short Review

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World by N.D. Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imagine a Rob Bell book, but with longer sentences and better theology. I suppose that's mean. Fans of Bell will think I'm taking a swipe at him (which I suppose I am). Fans of Wilson will think I'm dragging him down by comparing him to Bell (which isn't my intent). Okay, let's start over.

I read a review this morning talking about Francis Chan's book Erasing Hell. Chan's book is a response to Rob Bell's controversial Love Wins. The reviewer said of Chan's attempt, "right time, wrong book."

Trevin Wax: "Bell’s book is troublesome, not because it is a thoughtful representation of [his position]... It’s troublesome because it is seeking to make inclusivism beautiful. Bell succeeds at “dressing up” falsehood. Meanwhile, his evangelical critics aren’t even bothering with the wardrobe. We are Nixon, and he is Kennedy. From a purely rhetorical, debating standpoint, we win. But Bell understands the medium."

Wax goes on to suggest that reformed types do great exegesis and historical theology and win the substantive battle every time. But folks like Bell and William Young (author of The Shack) continue to craft great stories. "We grasp the issues, but others grasp the medium." So true.

That's where Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl comes in. It's hard to classify what this book is: philosophical musings, spiritual memoir, travelogue. It has something of all of these. But mostly, it's just beautiful writing. Wilson gives us a great example of robust theology artistically expressed. He grasps the issues and the medium. I can't recommend this book highly enough. And you also ought to check out the hour long DVD (a bookumentary of sorts - trailer below).

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What the Bible is All About

At my church we've been preaching through the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Here are a few reflections.

5 Great Realities from Genesis 1-11
1.) God himself: Genesis begins with God, and it really couldn’t be any other way. The Bible tells us that God is the ground of all being – everything that exists only exists because he exists. If this is true, then we’ll never really understand the meaning of life unless we begin by seeking God (Prov 9:10). It’s like buttoning a shirt: if you start with the wrong button, you’ll always be off.

2.) The created world has meaning and purpose: The world was made by God, and because it was made, it has meaning and purpose. Perhaps the most persuasive case for this was made by an atheist – Jean Paul Sartre. In his essay “Existentialism is a Humanism” Sartre uses the example of a paper-knife. A paper-knife has a designer, and the designer makes it with a purpose (to cut paper). The knife can be said to be good or bad only because it has a purpose (if it cuts paper, it is good; if it doesn’t, it’s bad). If humans were created by God, then they (like the paper-knife) were designed with a purpose. So we can talk about right and wrong, good and evil. But if there is no God, then there is no such thing as human nature, or right and wrong. As Dostoyevsky wrote: “If there is no God everything is permitted.”

3.) The reality of human sin: What is wrong with the world? How you answer that question determines what you will do to try and make the world better. The Bible says that sin has marred the world that God originally created as good. Genesis 3 tells us of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God. In chapter 4 the sin spreads from the parents to the children. And then throughout civilization, so that by the time we get to chapter 6, violence has filled the earth. In chapter 11, the first great civilization is founded and has as its first principle, rebellion against God.

4.) God’s judgment: God is holy and just, and is not indifferent about the spoiling of his world. The Bible tells us that God judges sin. Sometimes that judgment is active, as when God expels Adam and Eve from the Garden, destroys the world in the flood, or scatters the people in Babel. At other times God’s judgment is the removal of his blessing, allowing sin to run its course. Shame, guilt, violence, and death are realities in a world tainted by sin.

5.) God’s grace gets the final word: Even in the most severe of judgments, Genesis points us to God’s grace. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden, but they are clothed by God and sent out with a promise that God will someday send a Redeemer (Gen 3:15). Cain is sent away, but is marked by God for his protection. God sends a flood but, in Noah, preserves a people. Shortly after Babel, God calls Abraham from among the scattered peoples and tells him that he will be blessed, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

For a longer treatment of these things, check out this sermon.