Happy Halloween & October Books

Andrew and Walker, our neighbor

Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill -- see previous posts

Grace at Low Tide by Beth Webb Hart -- Fifteen year old DeVeaux struggles with life on Edisto Island after her father declares bankruptcy and the family is forced to move from Charleston to a new life.  The biggest struggle isn't their going from the rich house to the poor, but the fact that her father has become a jerk and mistreats people as he works through his issues.  Good reminder of the hope we have with God. I got this book from Cindy.

 
Muhammad: A Prophet For Our Time by Karen Armstrong -- see previous posts

Home Another Way by Christa Parrish -- from the back cover:  "Sarah Graham is living life hard and fast -- and she is flat broke.  When her estranged father dies, she travels to the tiny mountain hamlet of Jonah, New York, to claim her inheritance. Once there, however, she learns that her plans for the future - and her memories of the past - are about to change forever."  -- I enjoyed this book as Sarah interacts with mountain folks who seem to know all about her, yet mostly embrace her as part of their community.  It's good to see how her brash personality plays out amongst these people.  I got this book from Cindy.

By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer -- from the back cover: "Following a series of murders in Virginia Beach, newspaper reporter Catherine O'Rourke experiences disturbing dreams that detail each crime.  To aid the investigation, she shares them with a detective working the case.  But her plan backfires when she's arrested as the main suspect."  Catherine turns to a Las Vegas lawyer Quinn who specializes in insanity defenses.  Another book I borrowed from Cindy.


Matthew's Story: The Jesus Chronicles by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins -- This novel is fictional in that we don't know about Matthew's early years except that the Bible speaks of him as a tax collector.  The authors have taken us from the time 8 year old Levi saw his baby brother murdered as Herod sought to destroy any potential rival to the throne.  Levi grew up believing in God, but hated the God who would allow such hurt into his family.  Instead of becoming a priest as his parents desired of him, he vowed to become a tax collector in order to secure himself in riches instead of God.  But Levi's life takes a dramatic turn when this Jesus guy comes through town. Eventually Levi becomes Matthew "gift from God" and allows Jesus to soften his heart and bring him back to the God Matthew vowed to hate.

Mark's Story: The Jesus Chronicles by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins -- speculating about John Mark and how he came to write one of the Gospels of Jesus Christ


Noah's Other Son by Brian Arthur Brown -- see previous posts

"Mark gives the essence of the teachings of Jesus, implying that if we get that, the more esoteric doctrines of his birth and resurrection may be seen as presentations of messianic credentials.  That is a subject for believers, once they have accepted his teaching. Matthew focuses on the 4 Jewish Diaspora from east to west and develops the messianic claim within Hebrew 'proof texts,' quoting prophecies and tracing the lineage only within the family of Abraham. Luke presents a gospel to the non-Jewish world, not quoting Scriptures that would be unfamiliar, but eyewitnesses who could then still be verified.  His genealogy relates Jesus to the whole human family, beginning with Adam."  (pg. 182)

"Unless the loving, healing, and redemptive relationship with God is secured through an encounter with God in worship (a burning bush experience, whether spontaneous or planned), the social action of the Christian Church is at risk of becoming a temporary feel-good exercise with constantly diminishing resources and impact. This has been precisely the experience of mainline Protestant Churches in North America and the state churches of Europe, in spite of sincere and heroic efforts to be relevant." (pg. 180)


What Paul Meant by Garry Wills -- see previous posts