I thought that would get your attention. But in truth, you might not be able to handle this volume called “Accidental Pharisees” by Larry Osborne and published by Zondervan. I say this not because it isn’t good, but because it is so good! It tackles many preconceived notions with, of all things, what the Bible actually said. Novel approach? Well, you might not like it when you realize you have believed something yourself that the Bible doesn’t say.

I’ve reviewed several books at this point, yet I barely know what to say. There is so much challenge here, so much to consider, so much to answer for. By the way, don’t assume that you know what he is going to say since he speaks of Pharisees. It’s not just an attack on legalism as you expect, but an expose of the Pharisee that lurks somewhere down inside us all.

I loved every chapter, except when I hated it because it seemed to me that he pegged me exactly. You may seem filleted, but then again, it will be refreshing as you can’t help but believe that it is exactly what Christ would want you to think. I can only hit a few highlights though deep insights fly off of every page.

He describes Pharisaism as an overzealous faith. It’s a faith with a good beginning, as were the Pharisee’s dedication, that somewhere goes awry. He shows the depths of our dark hearts in our desire to make Christianity more exclusive, or with the bar raised ever higher, to lift ourselves up. He calls it “thinning the herd”, and shows how that becomes bigger to us than the mission Christ actually gave us. Putting litmus tests to distinguish the inferior Christians from me is part of it too. This is all part and parcel of being a Pharisee and Jesus fought it at every turn. If He didn’t like it then, He doesn’t like it in me.

He shows how extra rules are used to distinguish Christians even farther. Not clear Bible commands, but extra rules to make us even better is what he speaks of. Something could make us better than what God said? It all really is absurd. The worst of it is that it throws mercy along the wayside–you know, that mercy that so defines our God!

I love how He discusses what Jesus actually said. He attacks head on our stated interpretations that can actually run contrary to what was actually said. This is, to my mind, the most challenging part of the book. Do we derive our beliefs from  Scriptures themselves, or spotty interpretation from the past? If our goal is to follow God’s Word, this should in no way make us afraid. Watch him look freshly at the Early Church in Acts.

Then he explains how we’ve high jacked the Biblical admonition of unity and replaced with the much inferior uniformity. Uniformity kills unity. It’s this idea that unity must be based on thinking exactly like me. That doesn’t exactly sound like unity, does it? Then he shames us for taking this uniformity to the extreme of picking our own favorite teacher or demonination as the standard. That leaves no place for the Lord and His Word, does it? Ouch.

Finally he talks about gift projection. That’s where I make my gift the essential one and judge every Christian on that one criteria. He’s right–that’s wrong and it makes no sense to do it.

The book isn’t perfect. You will not agree with every detail. You likely will be mad here and there. At times when he tells us to be easier on struggling Christians, he could almost sound like great dedication isn’t important. I’m sure that is not what he meant, but he waxes eloquent at times. Still, he provokes thought, real thought down avenues you might never have thought of before. What more could a book give us?

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 . 

Admit it. All those chapters in Exodus and Leviticus on the Tabernacle really confuse you. I imagine you read them rather quickly when you are in that part of the Bible. What does this mean? Not that there is something wrong with you, but that we just need help. Enter this volume by J. V. Fesko and published by EP Books.

In 12 chapters he covers the building materials, the furniture (often a chapter for each piece), and ends with 2 chapters on Oholiab/Bezalel and the Sabbath respectively. In every chapter he tries to draw out the New Testament truth being taught in the Tabernacle.

Hardly any place in the Bible is so rife with typology. That’s what makes it difficult. Sometimes the New Testament, particularly in Hebrews, will spell it all out for us. At other times, we are on our own. The value in this book is that he makes appropriate suggestions for us. Whether we agree with his conclusion or not, he at least shows us not to be overly fanciful. We should tie the typology into the larger truths, not minute things. No suggestion he made seemed outrageous to me.

I appreciate his reminding us several times that this wasn’t just typological teaching, but a representation of a Tabernacle in Heaven. I fully agree with Mr. Fesko on that count.

This book will not be the definitive volume on the Tabernacle as long as we can still get to Soltau, Slemming, Haldeman, and Brown among others, but it is helpful. It might be all most families would need on the subject. I, for one, am glad to have it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 . 

Here’s real help! You are surely aware of the theological illiteracy of our day. Christians are often easy prey for cults because they so little know what they believe. Hand them the usual systematic theology book and they panic, or at least lay it aside quickly. Would you agree that we need more easily-digestible materials  to rescue confused Christians? This book written by Daryl Aaron and published by Bethany House meets a real need.

I’ll just admit it–I’m totally impressed with how well Mr. Aaron brought theology so clearly to us in this volume. I went in thinking that superficiality would drown this volume because of its daunting task to make us understand theology in a little over 200 pages, but that is not the case. This book is good, really good.

The strengths  of this book include understandable definitions, information on important divisions in Christian thought, and a clear love of Christ, His Word, and the theology that springs from it. It also succeeds in communication as many things are well put. I found myself underlining something in every chapter.

The book was at it weakest when in controversy. Particularly anything that touched  the Calvinism-Arminianism debate took a much more cautious approach. I suspect that was more the publishers guideline than the authors choice. Still, there is value in presenting both sides as objectively as possible and letting we readers decide for ourselves. The only big criticism I could make of this book is the lack of an index.

This book will be a real boon to younger Christians. For those of us who have most of the many works on systematic theology, this book is still a real asset. In my own studies I enjoy reading the larger works for understanding, but reading volumes like this to suggest how to teach it is helpful. I’d love for Christians everywhere to read this book.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 . 

Last month I reviewed another fine book in this series called Understanding World Religions In 15 Minutes A Day.

Would you like a juicy biography of Jesus Christ? How about one that brought the entire sweep of the Bible to bear on the subject? Then, you have what you are looking forward to in “Jesus: A Theography” by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola and recently published by Thomas Nelson.

Unlike other volumes on the life of Christ, the authors here take us back to eternity past. They vividly paint the scene in Heaven as Jesus leaves to come to Earth for us too. You probably won’t find that between the covers of others books on your shelves.

When the authors discussed Christ in both macro and micro version, they were providing great insights. Throughout the book they met a real need in giving a larger view. That is where many such volumes fail. They are able to wade through a sea of details to pull out the key ones that fill the canvas of the composite picture of God’s Revelation. Remember, it is the synthesized view that most leads to understanding.

You also had to love how they unlocked Jesus from some of the ridiculous stereotypes that have been around at least as long as Hollywood has been making movies about Him. They made Him so alive. You see Him as He surely was–always without sin yet righteously angry, laughing, talking, loving, even being funny. They showed Him with emotion–properly controlled of course–but with emotion nonetheless.

You might not agree with every conclusion they make but His death, burial, and resurrection is given its rightful place and they have a strong Christology. To make it all even better they can both turn a phrase and separate the important from the not so important. I never heard of a theography before this book, but am now convinced that it is exactly what we need.

They make it clear that Christianity is Christ. This book is important and flat-out good. I highly recommend it!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .

Do you ever catch yourself wondering what exactly other religions believe? Do you  wonder if your one sentence understanding is actually accurate? Do you then go look at a bookshelf of books on world religions and notice that they are all 500 pages or more and chicken out? Well, likely this is the book you have been looking for. It’s given in 180 readable, easy pages and as the title implies, your time is taken into consideration.

He begins by defining “religion”. He keys on a systematic set of beliefs that speaks to ultimate questions about life’s meaning. He will with this logical definition be able to legitimately address secular humanism as a religion.

He addresses Christianity first in one short chapter accurately focusing on the fact that Christianity isn’t a religion but a relationship. Well, according to his definition, it is one, but I appreciate how he found a way to show that the Christian “religion” is fully unique in how it answers life’s questions and the dealing with sin. When looked out from this vantage point, it is amazing, at least to me, what puts all other beliefs in the same fold-a solution tied up in works.

Then he dives into Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and Evangelical Christianity. I might find it a weakness in his trying to present Christianity objectively to the point of not overtly stating its superiority, but I’m sure it was so designed to reach a broader audience. You do see, though, that covertly he is a believer.

He gives the most detail on Islam as it is on our minds these days. Six chapters cover the variety that is out there in the Muslim world. He makes the complexities digestible and is all most would want to read on it. He also explains the confusing differences with Hinduism, Buddhism and the Baha’i faith.

He also covers eastern religions that, though rarer, make their way to us in popular culture in movies and current bestselling books. New Age and transcendental meditation are even covered.

He tries to define the difference in a cult and a religion. Some groups called cults in our day are addressed as well.

This book is a solid addition to Bible study. It’s length is a winner and it is understandable without being heavy. It’s most cases it will answer your questions satisfactorily. I recommend it to Christian laymen, homeschooling families, and pastors who need a quick review or overview.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 . 

Here’s a winning addition to the growing shelves of Christian books for men.  There’s no lack of need since men as a general rule are lagging behind in spiritual advancement. Frankly, we need the help.

Mr. Morley talks a language you can understand. It’s where we live–good or bad.  He says “…as many as 90 percent of Christian men lead lukewarm, stagnant, often defeated lives. They’re mired in spiritual mediocrity–and they hate it.” True on both counts, wouldn’t you agree?

The book arranges around what he calls the seven primal needs of men. You might think some of them selfish, or addressing brokenness, but they are undeniably the fabric of men’s lives. We don’t want to live life alone despite the male tendency for aloof isolation. Our actions, like being swallowed by a career, pull us away from meeting our real need. See the difference in approach? Not spend time with your family because it’s a good thing, but because it meets your own deepest needs. We so often misunderstand ourselves.

In our complete misunderstanding we run from God and the fellowship of other believers in a local church when that is our very need. We need the “transforming” mentioned in Romans 12:2.  He distinguishes between heart transformation and behavior modification. Which do we need? But where do we put our emphasis? No wonder we have such a hard time. Learning that the Father really loves me, individually me, is another. He explains how the tendency for macho behavior among men is at its core just a cover up in this area.

We also must believe our life has purpose. Sadly, most of us do not. He gives practical insight that can help. He progresses to explain our need to break free from destructive behaviors, which likely spring from the aforementioned. Needs 6 and 7 seem, to me, to be found in the earlier mentioned ones, but they are critical enough to be worthy of the extra effort to grasp.The 8th one is a good summary–To make a contribution and make the world a better place. That’s not as selfish as it sounds, and I imagine, is where Christ would be glad (on His terms of course) to help us. There’s psychology here, but the Bible lurks in the wings as well. I recommend the book.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .