May Reviews

This month I finished my Masters level studies, so the first of the month was not spent reading much, but I did manage to get a few good reads in…

This month I only read three books.  The first, The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation by Andrew Fuller, was written in 1786.  Fuller was a gifted theologian in many regards.  His book presented a very interesting soteriological perspective.  In essence, Fuller believed that mankind had been commanded to repent and believe in Christ.  We are commanded to be saved, therefore when we fail to do this, we are in disobedience toward God and lost in our sinful state.  Taking liberties with his thought, how could this impact your view of the unpardonable sin?  He further emphasizes the preacher’s responsibility in preaching for change in the lives of his congregation.  It was a powerful work with some areas being difficult to translate into our modern perspective and wording.

Fuller’s book was found for free through Google Books.  They have myriad classics for free.  Check it out.

Second, I read CS Lewis’ classic, The Great Divorce.  I believe that Lewis was one of the most brilliant thinkers in Christian history.  In this work, he presents heaven and hell in stark variation to the traditional views.  In the end, this is a work that illustrates the importance of temporal choices and how ridiculous some of them are in view of eternity.  Get ready for a classic twist.

Third, and finally, I ventured to one of my favorites in order to get in the right mindset for vacation, Hemingway’s, The Old Man and the Sea.  Yes, I know this is not a theological or ministerial work.  However, given the toil of Santiago and the end result, I believe that he could very much appreciate the words recorded in Ecclesiastes.

June will prove more…strenuous as I have received my reading assignments for my first two doctoral seminars.  There are some old favorites and some new works that I am looking forward to reading.

Enjoy!