Biblebase Books Reviews

Book of Fire: William Tyndale, Thomas More and the Bloody Birth of the English Bible: Brian Moynahan

2011-03-28T01:43:00.001-07:00

ISBN-13: 978-0349123226 Kindle Edition. 5 stars

Brain Moynahan’s book is subtitled ‘William Tyndale, Thomas More and the Bloody Birth of the English Bible’ and I read it in the Kindle version. As far I can see the book is now ‘out of print’ other than for Kindle readers but second hand copies are available.

William Tyndale is my hero and David Daniell’s book ‘William Tyndale: a biography’ might have thought to have been the definitive work. Moynahan’s book relies heavily on Daniell but brings a thrilling pace to the personal conflict between Thomas More and William Tyndale. Moynahan is more than sympathetic to Tyndale and clearly hostile to More but the dynamic between the two men, who never met, is brought out in a very vivid manner.

I am very familiar with the storyline of these events but Moynahan really seems to get into the character of the two men who provide a fascinating contrast to each other. This book also reveals how a ‘committee’ of the King James Version were able to produce such masterpiece of style and accuracy; they lifted over 80% of Tyndale’s New Testament for their new translation!

Moynahan's writing has been described as being, "mercifully free of the sludge that often clogs academic treatises”. This book however is not a novel but a carefully researched and documented history written with the skill of an accomplished communicator. He has produced that rarest of books… a historical page turner. The book captures the continual threat of arrest and execution that was the background to the whole translation process and makes the reader conscious of the enormous debt of gratitude that we owe to such men as William Tyndale.

Warmly recommended and a ‘must read’ for anyone interested in the romance of Bible translation. 5 stars.

William Wilberforce: William Hague

2010-06-14T06:19:00.001-07:00

William Hague, once leader of the Conservative Party and now Foreign Secretary, has provided us with a wonderful biography of this great Englishman. There have been several biographies of William Wilberforce but this is written by a politician who sets Wilberforce’s achievements within the political structures and struggles of his day. This makes the read a little laborious at times but surely William Hague has provided the definitive Wilberforce biography.

This is a very sympathetic record of Wilberforce’s labours and Hague really seems to have a true sense of the powerful motivating force of Wilberforce’s personal evangelical faith. It is a fascinating glimpse into an age which is almost unimaginable today. Wilberforce’s commitment to abolishing the slave trade and then slavery itself was the abiding passion of his life. His patience and tenacity in fulfilling what he believed to be his God-given task bore testimony to his personal faith. The delays and reversals would surely have deterred most other men. While bloody revolution and madame guillotine reigned in France and many expected similar events in Britain, through the Napoleanic wars and turbulent times Wilberforce patiently and carefully steered his path through to a solid foundation for abolition of slavery as an acceptable part of ‘civilised’ life.

I would have liked to hear more about the ‘Clapham Sect’, a community of evangelical leaders in society and the political world. This company of like minded believers had an enormous impact on Bible translation and publication, with the Bible Society and with the founding of several mission societies.

A long and sometimes laborious read but heartily recommended.

God's Undertaker. Has science buried God? (4 stars) John C. Lennox MA PhD DPhil DSc

2010-02-11T02:21:00.001-08:00

John Lennox is a bible-believing, evangelical Christian, he is also Professor in Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College and he holds three doctorates. So, in short, we have some considerable mental muscle behind this book. Lennox has debated publicly with Richard Dawkins and lectures throughout the world on science, philosophy and theology. All this might sound intimidating but Lennox’s book is very accessible to anyone who is prepared to consider his position carefully and has just a smattering of mathematics and biology; I include myself in this select group... just a smattering.

In 12 chapters he covers a great distance and not superficially. His chapter headings give a clear idea of his route;

1. War of the worldviews

2. The scope and limits of science

3. Reduction, reduction, reduction

4. Designer universe?

5. Designer biosphere?

6. The nature and scope of evolution

7. The origin of life

8. The genetic code and its origin

9. Matters of information

10. The monkey machine

11. The origin of information

12. Violating nature? The legacy of David Hume

and an epilogue

This is not street corner argument but a carefully reasoned and well documented consideration of the central claims of Neo Darwinianism. He quotes widely from opponents and fellow-travellers alike. The first chapter and the epilogue summarise his position which is to challenge the current debate about science and religion. Lennox contends that this is a false dichotomy and narrows the discussion to the the nitty-gritty; the contest of differing world views and the all important question ‘which came first “information” or “matter”? The mathematician’s love of the beauty of order shines through this book and Lennox is a master in this field. He has an ability of expressing complex mathematical issues in home-spun illustrations which can appear a little patronising at first but on examination are seen to be very pertinent. Don’t underestimate ‘Aunt Matilda’s cake’ it will become a recurring theme in his reasoning. The book has received a welcome in a surprising variety of quarters.

If ‘to wonder is the beginning of understanding’ Lennox shows that ‘to wonder is the beginning of worship too’. His own Christian conviction is plainly stated and yet it is a scientist who writes this book and he is particularly scathing of the ‘god of the gaps’ thinking that can operate in this area. This book is marked too by an absence of the cheap ‘jibe’ that has so often characterised this debate. You can safely give this book to your Neo-Darwinian friends knowing that it will provoke them to think but not insult them.

As a ‘non-biologist, non mathematician’ I found this book a fascinating read. To listen to an expert who has the ability to communicate is a treat and I would heartily recommend ‘God’s Undertaker’. If you have responsibility of any kind towards young and enquiring minds this book is a ‘must’ in your tool kit.

US ISBN 978-0-8254-7912-0 $14.95
UK ISBN 978-0-7459-5371-7 £8.99

Passion for Souls: The Life of D. L. Moody audio

2009-12-03T11:53:00.001-08:00

I had a free download of this and have listed to over 17 hours narrated by Jonathan Marosz. It has been a real eye-opener for me although I thought I knew a bit about Moody. The author, Lyle W. Dorsett, is an affectionate recorder of the Moody phenomena but not without attempting to measure the man and his work.

I had no real idea of the way that the Moody years have shaped what became the consensus of evangelicalism for the whole of the 20th century. Moody's son commented that Moody's single ambition was 'to proclaim the good news of the gospel through multiplied agencies'. It was the 'multiplied agencies' that I had missed. He stamped his personality and pattern on the whole evangelical world, for good or ill. Evangelistic agencies, YMCAs, Bible colleges, schools, missionary outreaches, international travel were all part of the multiplied agencies. There can be no doubt that he brought millions of individuals face to face with their need for a personal encounter with Christ. How successful those encounters were cannot be measured. His fund raising abilities were legendary and he used what have now become stock in trade methods of mail hits and newspaper publicity. He never appealed for his own financial needs but never hesitated to use his powers and influence to raise huge sums of money for evangelistic campaigns and agencies.

Moody comes through as a man with a genuine gift for loyal friendship and a large heart. His fame gave him access to wide ranges of society and his burden was always to point them to their need for Christ. His energies were also legendary, as was his ability to conscript others into his campaigns.

Dorsett has a final chapter called 'a retrospect' in which he attempts to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Moody as a man and as a model. I have listened to this chapter 4 times. It is challenging, humbling and disturbing but perhaps an honest account of any man would be the same.

I leave this account feeling I have met Moody and warmed to him in a way that has surprised me although my apprehensions of his methodologies have been confirmed. This is a valuable account of a man whose life and manner continue to impact the world of evangelicalism. I give this a solid 4 stars out of 5.

Publisher: Moody Publishers (October 1997) 491 pages.
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802451942
ISBN-13: 978-0802451941

Kabul24 - Arnold and Pearson 2009

2009-11-19T08:52:00.001-08:00

9/11 is a date fixed indelibly in the mind of the world. Millions throughout the world stood transfixed at the horror that unfolded before their eyes. Two days earlier the West's great hope for Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir, was assassinated by a bomb built into the video camera of a fake cameraman. While the world and Afghanis reeled the repercussions were impossible to guess for a much smaller group.

Eight western members of Shelter Now, a Christian relief agency had already spent more than a month as the abducted prisoners of the Taliban which then ruled Afghanistan. As the declared intention of the US to launch a punitive strike on Afghanistan became clear their status changed from prisoner to hostage and part of the Taliban's human shield. Another two months would pass with the dangers mounting day by day before their story concluded. Time after time like those on Paul's shipwreck they gave up all hope of being rescued, and yet time after time, hope arose as they prayed.

They had put a complex prayer before God. They asked for a perfect rescue in which no life, either of hostage or captors would be lost. The intricate way in which God answered this extraordinary prayer is the story of Kabul24. Eight Christian westerners, two men and 6 women were kept, for the most part, in separate parts of various prisons and contact was very sparse. 16 Muslim Afghan employees of Shelter Now were also arrested and incarcerated in even more hideous conditions. Eight westerners and 16 Afghans - the Kabul 24.

This is a gripping story expertly told and will have you on the edge of your seat as you read and yet is by no means theatrical in the telling. I read this book at a single sitting and when I put it down my wife picked it up and read it a single sitting. The skill of the writers never obtrudes into the story but carries the story faithfully through the captives personal descent into a modern equivalent of Dante's inferno.

We see, said Paul, that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him and and are the called ones to his purpose. That "working all things together", synergy in Greek, is the distinctive fingerprint of a sovereign God. This book will frighten you and encourage you. "God" said the Puritans, "only gives dying grace in the dying hour." I know of no modern equivalent to illustrate that truth to compare with Kabul24. This is a 'must read' modern missionary classic.

As a blogger with a book review blog, I review books for Thomas Nelson. I am required to review them honestly and receive no incentive to review them positively. This book was provided free of charge by Thomas Nelson.

Sounds from Heaven. The Lewis Revival of 1949-1952

2009-08-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

Colin and Mary Peckham's history of the Isle of Lewis revivals is very comprehensive. Mary's personal experience and contacts make it a unique work of history but, of course, it is much more than that. It is a thrilling and puzzling account of God at work in his own way.

One of the personal testimonies records "I have been puzzled over the years theologically to try and work out what it is that happens when God comes in revival. Is it something that happens within God in His response to us or is it something that happens in us in our response to Him?" (testimony of Rev Jack MacArthur). I am encouraged to hear this response 'from the coal face'. I am personally convinced that anyone who claims to understand revival 'theologically' is missing the whole point. This is God at work in original and powerful ways. There is no biblical model for what we read here and yet there can be little doubt that it is authentic, moving and a powerful provocation to prayer.

Throughout the Peckham's account and throughout the personal testimony of 24 islanders certain 'flavours' are persistent. The cultural separation of the islands created a society that is almost unrecognisable to any other citizens of the UK of that era. The predominance of church attendance, the saturation of scripture knowledge through home and school, is another unique feature of the islands. The fierce contentions of the different presbyterian denominations is faithfully recorded and the sad note of 'those who resisted the revival' permeates the accounts. The strong conviction of sin and the special struggles of a Calvinist people to be assured that they were 'elect' and the sheer bubbling joy of those who came to Christ is another unique phenomena. These converts had no slick gospel meetings and no counelling for decision and yet they received an absolute conviction that God had heard them and brought them to himself. And yet 'in spite of' these unique contexts 'Sounds from Heaven' is a haunting account and one that ought to send the saints to their knees.

The prodigious labours of Duncan Campbell are faithfully recorded as are the long hours of meetings that sometimes resulted in folk going straight from the prayer meeting to their morning occupations, wihout feeling weary. It brings powerfully to mind the phrase in Psalm 110. "thy people shall be as freewill offerings in the day of thy strength;" Psa 110:3. and the wonderful promise of Isaiah, "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Is 40:30-31 KJV

The un-sanitized and untidy testimonies of the 24 occupy more that half the book and are a wonderful testimony to the infinite variety of God's workings. These personal reminiscences add wonderfully to the whole atmosphere of the book;in some ways they are the most valuable part of book representing the unique primary sources of the eye-witnesses.

One of the things that encourages me most is that the evidence of the book itself makes it impossible to use the Lewis awakening as a template for any human imitation. The God who is the origin of all must be allowed, always, to behave origin-ally. Will God 'do it again?'. No, I think not, he seldom repeats himself. Is he ready to pour water on him that is thirsty? always! Can he move in our day and generation in Holy Spirit origin-ality? of course he can. To your knees then, saints!

Creation or Evolution. Do we have to choose? Denis Alexander

2009-08-18T07:45:00.001-07:00

This book comes brimmming with recommendations from the evangelical world. Denis Alexander is part of the Alexander family who formed the Lion Publishing company. I regard him as a liberal evangelical and much of Lion's publications though usually in stunning colour are of the same liberal position.

The book is an amazing display of erudition. He is leading light in the fields of Molecular Immunology and has worked in many leading positions in the field. The biological aspect of the book is intense and although written for non-biologists left me well behind in the dust. So how would I begin to judge the worth of such a book?

When I consider the position of Christians who hold an essentially Darwinian view of creation I have a litmus test, I try to discover what they think happened at the Fall and how it has affected the human race. Alexander wonders whether "Christians do not take more of their doctrine of the Fall from the pages of Milton's Paradise Lost than they do from the pages of sacred scripture." p256 This itself is an interesting statement in that it seems to ignore classical Christian teaching from the likes of Augustine, Tertullian and Calvin; all of whom predated Milton.

Alexander does not believe in the Fall in classical Christian terms; the notion of the human race under condemnation as a result of Adam's disobedience is underplayed and his position is revealed in his section on The Fall in Romans. He believes that Adam was a literal figure but sees him as having developed to the stage beyond other Neanderthals in that he became God-conscious. He does not hold however to the classical view that Adam's sin damaged the whole race. His position is stated plainly in "..although verse 12 (of Romans) makes it clear that spiritual death came to all by them actually sinning. Each person is responsible for his or her own sin." p 265

This the position of Charles Finney and his followers who do not believe in congenital sin but only acquired sin. In this view at the point of personal disobedience a man enters into Adam's condition and thus shares with him his condemnation. John Wesley famously declared that a man who did not hold to 'original sin' was still a half-heathen. The Finney view does not do justice to Paul's statement... For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, Rom 5:16 NKJV and Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation... Rom 5:18a NKJV These verses seem to make a clear statement that Adam's sin (and not Eve's) had a dynamic effect on the whole race.

It would be unfair to condemn a book on this single point perhaps but for conservative evangelicals who subscribe broadly to classical definitions of 'original sin' it does constitute a fatal flaw in Alexander's theology. For those better able to judge the biological evidence it a well worth reading but none of Alexander's suggested solutions give any adequate explanation of what it means to be 'in Adam'; a theme which has vital consequences when we examine the parallel phrase of 'in Christ'. On this point alone Alexander's thesis fails biblically.

Defending Christian Zionism: David Pawson - 3 stars

2009-06-30T04:17:00.001-07:00

I have long appreciated David Pawson's (DP) work, have read most of his books, attended his lectures and met him a couple of times. I appreciate his rigorous way of examining the scriptures and the issues and, in many areas of controversy, have a large measure of agreement with him. However, in this controversy, I suspect he would regard me as somewhere in his Replacement/Fulfillment categories of Christian anti-Zionists although I don't fit his criteria for either.

His book serves a valuable purpose in removing the dispensational element from the discussion. Stephen Sizer's (SS) book right targets the dispensationalists but as DP points out there is a brand of Christian Zionism which utterly rejects the dispensationalism of Darby, Lindsay and LaHaye. It is useful to clear that ground and to see that in terms of the Mosaic Covenant David Pawson himself is a `Replacement Theologian'. However it was the Mosaic Covenant which established Israel as a nation with a destiny and the Commandments and Judgements served partly as a tenancy agreement for the land. Where does this leave a right to the land for those whose constitutional covenant giving them the lease, never the right, to the land was `replaced' by the New Covenant?

Clearly DP feels strongly about these issues but I think this book does not maintain his usual standards of patient reason and fairness. I was saddened to note one or two places where he adopted the `guilty by association' brand of reasoning and surprised at his association of several UK politicians with `Christian Zionsim'. I would scarcely regard Churchill or some of his other `Christian Zionists' as `Christian' in any sense.

DP's book is only the beginning of a response to SS's position. His handling of the topic was inevitably reactive but it suffers as a result of this. It left me with more questions than solutions. I still think that in agreeing with Stephen Sizer's demolition of dispensationalism DP has served his readers well, now we can get onto the real issues of interpretation.

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Terra Nova Publications International Ltd (April 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1901949621
ISBN-13: 978-1901949629

Planet Narnia: Michael Ward - 4 stars

2009-06-30T03:41:00.001-07:00

Michael Ward is an Anglican minister who has caused a lot of excitement among his fellow academics and others by his claim to have 'found the key' to C S Lewis' fiction writings. The books he has in mind are the Narnia Chronicles (which he calls 'the Narniad' and the Ransom Trilogy of science fiction books. Many have enjoyed Lewis' works without ever concerning themselves with the search for a 'key' but academics have frequently criticised Lewis for the 'hotch potch' of conflicting ideas and the lack of apparent order in the Narniad in particular. Even friends of Lewis criticised his entry into 'children's fiction' and thought that, as a writer, he had missed his mark.

Michael Ward suggests, in what was originally a doctoral thesis, that there are unspoken themes to Lewis' works of fiction. Others have also made this claim and suggested various linking themes but none have received as wide support as Ward. Lewis was known to be 'a man who liked his secrets' and Ward claims that this is why they were hidden for so long.

Lewis' chosen field of expertise was medieval literature and Ward claims that Lewis has used a medieval philosophical framework for his fiction even though the apparent stories are set in a fairy-tale world or in interplanetary space. Lewis has used the medieval mind-set to create a subliminal mood or atmosphere that was, in a sense the real story, and which was more important than any of the apparent allegorical details. Lewis, says Ward, was creating an atmosphere which in its overall effect cannot be examined too closely without losing its essence. The 'hidden key' to these subliminal moods is the medieval concept of the seven kingdoms of the seven planets.

These planetary influences are not the planets or spheres of Copernican astronomy but the Ptolemaic and 'astrological' influences of the medieval world. Lewis found a beauty and order in the pre-Copernican cosmos which he preferred to the factual order of the Copernican cosmos. The wise man, he said, does not only think in categories of factual truth but also of beauty. In this sense the Narnia Chronicles are a literary equivalent of Holst's Planets Suite, each of the seven 'heavens' giving its own key to a different Narnia chronicle.

Ward coins the word 'donegality' which he describes as a work of art in which a spiritual essence is intended by the artist but inhabited unconsciously by the reader. The author is consciously trying to create an atmosphere that he wants the reader to experience sub-consciously. It was designed by the author to remain 'implicit' in the text itself and not intended to be 'visible', nevertheless it was intended to impact the reader and to awaken sub-conscious truths that are common to mankind. For example, says Ward, Lewis attempts to awaken the sense of 'Jupiter/Jove', the kingly, magnanimous, festive, full-blooded, enjoyable aspect of God. This is the mood, expressed in the adjective 'Jovial'. A survivor of the Great War, Lewis saw life and culture as having become dominated by the 'Saturnine' influences and sought to awaken 'Jupiter' in the hearts of his readers.

This is a book intended for academics but not restricted to such. Lewis described himself as reading 'as a native, texts that his students read as foreigners'. Lewis' personal world and mind-set was medieval. His stories consequently have a level at which they are patchwork quilt of 'puns' and 'quotations' from the world of medieval literature. To fully appreciate what Lewis is doing the reader would need more than a passing knowledge of Classical literature, Shakespeare and Dante! In his 'Preface to Paradise Lost' Lewis had written 'an influence which cannot evade our consciousness will not go very deep'. Ward contends that the Narniad and the Ransom Trilogy are Lewis' attempt to create such a deep influence; to reawaken forgotten concepts of God and his ways. Ward's theory is not complicated but his elaborate proof of his theses is very comprehensive and thereby not a book to be read by the pool on a hot summer's day!

Does Ward carry his case? I believe he does. If you are prepared for your mind to be stretched... gently by a very readable writer this book will fascinate and enlarge your next reading of Lewis' world of fiction.

This gains 4 stars in my estimation. (or should that be planets?)

Planet Narnia: Michael Ward.
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: OUP USA (3 Mar 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0195313879
ISBN-13: 978-0195313871