A review of the book “The Troubled Church: A study in 1 Corinthians” by Darrin Yeager

ISBN: 978-0-9831117-0-2

This book is intended for layman or average Christians. This is a lose style commentary on the letter of 1 Corinthians.

First let me give the positives.

The book is written in an easy to read style. It isn’t a highly technical commentary with original language references, lexical discussions, or Greek syntax. The book was written for the average Christian and seems like it may have been a series of sermons or bible studies that ended up as a book (this is simply my guess). The font size and the way the book was formatted were pleasing. I also liked that the book gives the biblical text that will be comment on. The text that was used was the King James Version and the New King James Version which can be a little hard to understand at times but I enjoy have the scriptures written out for easy references.

Now for the negatives.

            The book is extremely surface level in its interaction with the biblical text and has no real depth to it. There isn’t any real meat to chew on. While I may not agree with an interpretation given by a particular commentary I do enjoy reading people who have differing views as long as they give me some reasons for their interpretation. Many times the book gives the scripture and then makes a surface level comment no longer than a sentence with nothing at all to sink your teeth into. Often you will find the same illustration, quote, or comment multiple times in different chapters which is fine in a sermon (repetition is often key) but in a book it’s redundant and get’s tiring.

            At one point in the book we find a mistake. There is a reference to the Greek word for love (I think the only time a reference is given having to do with the original language) and the author says that the word AGAPAW and AGAPE are two different words and the word AGAPAW “…is not ‘God’s love’ as is sometimes mistaken.” (pg141) The problem is one of the words is a verb and the other is a noun but they are both from the same root. Also the word AGAPAW is used of God’s love for man in 1 Thessalonians 1:4. The word “loved” in this passage is the word AGAPAW.

In the end I can’t recommend this book because the theology and interpretation presented are (in my opinion) off base, because of the error with the original language, and because of the surface level comments.

You can buy it here or here 

Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: The Martyr of the Catacombs

The book is around 160 pages written by an unknown author. It was said to have been found on an abandoned American sailing ship in 1876.

The book is something like historical fiction. It’s a fictional story set in a history. You follow a Roman soldier named Marcellus as he is tracking a group of criminals in Roman around A.D. 251. The criminals are Christians who are persecuted under the Roman Emperor Decius, hated and forced to live out their lives in the Catacombs.

We follow the rather quick conversion of Marcellus who goes from Roman soldier to a persecuted Christian himself. Marcellus finds faith in Christ among the tombs of Christian martyrs.

The one thing I did like was the description of the events in the Coliseum. The book somewhat reminded me of the movie "Gladiator" or the HBO miniseries "Rome" although not as enjoyable to read as those were to watch.

The fictitious story is alright but there are parts of the book that were bogged down and slow. The book isn’t all that great and I really can’t recommend it. Save yourself the time and read something else or watch a good documentary on the martyrs.

You can buy the book Here or get it free for Kindle Here

Thoughts from this evenings Bible study

I just came back from an evening Bible study at the Worcester church of Christ. The study was on the “Gospel”. Mike, the Bible study leader asked us “what comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Gospel’?”

This seems like an easy question to answer for those of us who have been in a church or Bible study before but we were challenged to think about the different responses people might give. Some of the answers that were given were “good news”, “one of the first four books of the New Testament”, “the death burial and resurrection”. After talking about these and other answers Mike zeroed in on the way Paul defines it in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Paul defines the “gospel” as the death burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ and he says it’s of first importance.

Some of the things we talked about were “how does this gospel impact us and change us today”, “Does the gospel have the same impact today as it did in the first century”, and “What is the only way we can see the gospel power today?”

The study was very well done and is something we need to continue to think about. Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 this week and ask some questions about the text.

Tortured for Christ

Tortured for Christ is an autobiographical account of the life of Richard Wurmbrand while he lived in communist Romania. The book was written more than 30 years ago and is approximately 170 pages long with 7 chapters. Some of the chapters were added for the 30 year anniversary rerelease of the book (I think).

I have mixed feelings about the book because on the one hand the man’s theology isn’t very biblical but it’s not a theology book. There are things that he says that seem to go a little too far. For example on page 15 he speaks about American Christians needing to “atone” for national sins. That seems to go too far and I can’t accept that at all. He also seems, at times, to be a bit bitter. Some of the things he says about American or English Christians and/or churches seems harsh (you can read and make up your own mind).

But on the other hand the author does do a good job at times of refocusing us on things that are truly important. He speaks of being tortured for years and praying and loving his torturers and speaking to them about Christ in hopes that they might come to know Jesus. He says that we are to love the sinner but hate the evil.

On page 51 the author says: “The value of Bibles smuggled in by these men cannot be understood by an American or an English Christian who ‘swims’ in Bibles.” That truly is something to ponder. We live in a place that has an abundance of Bibles and many people own more than one and yet we tend to be illiterate when it comes to the Bible. So he does make good points and has given me a lot to think about.

In the end this book is not recommended for its theology, it’s not a theology book but I do recommend every Christian read it for its eyewitness account of what one man went through and saw as a persecuted Christian in a communist controlled country. You really will do well to read this book and perhaps make it a habit to read even once a year a book on martyred Christians to help keep in perspective what is really important.

You can buy this book Here or get a copy (possibly for free) Here

Book Review “Danger Calling”

Danger Calling: True adventures of risk and faith by Peb Jackson and James Lund

                This book is 214 pages made up of 16 short stories divided into four sections each having a main theme. Section one is named “Sacrifice”, section two “”Perseverance”, section three “Courage”, and section four “Leadership”.

                The book is fast paced and thought provoking, written in an easy to read and vivid style that helps you to see in your mind the beauty and danger in each story. The stories ranged from mountain climbing expeditions to sea voyages and even military operations. They spanned in date from around 1914 all the way up to around 2008.

The book is set up with questions and reflections at the end of each story (It seems like everyone is doing this kind of thing now a days.). I usually don’t read the questions at the end of each chapter in books like this that are set up for small group study but I found that many (not all) of the questions were challenging and helpful in some way.

Some of the stories that are contained in this book are well known and you may have already read or watched a movie or documentary giving a fuller account of the story but even if this is true the stories are well worth reading again.

                What I did notice, and this is true of a lot of books like this, is that the scriptures given are sometimes pulled out of context or stretched to fit the stories better. This is a failure in my opinion. It’s far better to just not quote scripture than to stretch the text but the stories and questions (most of the questions) aren’t really based in any text of scripture so it was easy for me to just ignore those things that seemed a bit forced. I always say “reading a book is like eating fish. Eat the meat and spit out the bones”.

                In the end this was a great book easy to read and really quite thought provoking. I would recommend this book to anyone.

You can buy this book Here or Here

The Red Heifer Sacrifice

Research paper: The Red Heifer Sacrifice

Introduction

The Passover and the Red Heifer are the two great sacrifices that were not mentioned in Leviticus. All other sacrifices were mentioned in the book of Leviticus and discussed there. The Red Heifer is mentioned in Numbers chapter 19 (Now the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come. - Numbers 19:1-2 ESV).

The Red Heifer was a purification ceremony that had great significance to the nation of Israel and anyone who was considered unclean was to be cleansed with this water of purification as noted in Numbers chapter nineteen so things like touching a dead body, a person in the tent when someone dies, and other things that make one unclean ("Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. Numbers 19:11 ESV) He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean). Numbers 19:12 ESV) "This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. Numbers 19:14 ESV) And every open vessel that has no cover fastened on it is unclean. Numbers 19:15 ESV) For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh water shall be added in a vessel. Numbers 19:17 ESV) Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. Numbers 19:18 ESV) "If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. Because the water for impurity has not been thrown on him, he is unclean. Numbers 19:20 ESV) And it shall be a statute forever for them. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. Numbers 19:21 ESV).

The Red Heifer

The Red Heifer was an unusual sacrifice as it was burned outside of the camp and it was wholly burnt, nothing was removed from this sacrifice not the skin or the blood or even the dung (And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned - Numbers 19:5 ESV). When we read about all the other sacrifices in Leviticus they all were skinned but not the Red Heifer.

In the Old Covenant there were many symbolic things, things that were physical often had spiritual meanings behind them (In the worship of the Old Testament, where everything was symbolical , that is, where spiritual realities were conveyed through outwards signs, every physical defilement would point to, and carry with it, as it were, a spiritual counterpart. - The Temple: Its ministry and service) and the Red Heifer sacrifice is no exception.

            The Red Heifer was to be without any physical defect and it must never have been yoked. It then was brought to Eleazar and killed outside of the camp. It is interesting to note that it wasn’t Eleazar who killed the animal but someone else did the killing in front of Eleazar. Then some of the blood of the sacrifice was taken on Eleazar’s finger and sprinkled, towards the front of the tent of meetings, seven times. Interesting to note that the number seven was used in reference to completion or holiness (So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. - Genesis 2:3 ESV). The sacrifice was then to be burnt in front of Eleaza, all of the animal was burnt with cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop.

            Along with the Red Heifer, cedar, hysopp, and scarlet wool were burned to make the ceremonial ashes (And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer. - Numbers 19:6 ESV - “While the heifer was being burned, “cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet” (i.e. scarlet wool or thread) were cast into the flames.” ISBE). The water that was made by the combining of the ashes was “water of purification” used to cleanse people and things that were unclean (“This water was employed in the removal of the uncleanness of a person or thing that had been in contact with a dead body, and also in removing ritual defilement from booty taken in war.” ISBE).

It is also interesting to note that in the Red Heifer as well as some other purification sacrifices, those who took part in the offering of the sacrifices were considered ceremonially unclean as well (Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. The one who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening. And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering. And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them. - Numbers 19:7-10 ESV - Lastly, all these sacrifices equally defiled those who took part in their offering, * except in the case of leprosy, where the application would necessarily only be personal. * Hence the high-priest was prohibited from offering the red heifer. - The Temple: Its ministry and service).

Why did the sacrifice make the one doing the scarifying and those helping in other ways to prepare the Red Heifer sacrifice and the Water that was to be made from it unclean? It seems to me that it must have something to do with the issue for which it was ordained that being to clean the unclean. It may be that this showed the Israelites how important it was to be clean physically and how that being clean spiritually was connected to the physical. All the laws and sacrifices found in the Old Testament had physical as well as spiritual aspects and as we find in the New Testament they are fulfilled in Christ. I don’t understand all there is to know concerning why those involved with the sacrifice and preparations were unclean for being involved but it seems that it has spiritual reasons connected to it.

The Red Heifer sacrifice was an important part of the religious life under the old covenant system. The Jews of today are in search of a Red Heifer as they hope to rebuild the Temple and start the sacrifices again (April. 11, 2002 - Rod Dreher, senior writer for the National Review, asks a surprising question: "Could this little calf born last month in Israel bring about Armageddon?" Though many will laugh, he believes this is a very serious question. Without the ashes of a perfect red heifer, Jewish people could not be purified, and enabled to rebuild their Temple. If this heifer turns out to be an acceptable sacrifice it will awaken the desire of many Israelis and Jews worldwide to rebuild the Temple and prepare the way for the Messiah. The Temple can only be built on the Temple Mount, where there are very significant Moslem shrines. In the present atmosphere of anger against suicide bombers, it is conceivable that this news could trigger fresh attempts to blow up the Dome of the Rock. Source:National Review - http://www.bible-prophecy.com/redheifer.htm ). There have even been reports that Red Heifers have been born in different parts of the world (April 8, 2002 - A one month old red heifer, born in Israel, has been validated by rabbis to be kosher. The Temple Mount Institute says, This heifer could indeed be a candidate to be used in the process of purification described in the book of Numbers, chapter 19. This is an important development towards the rebuilding of the Holy Temple. Source: Temple Mount Institute -http://www.bible-prophecy.com/redheifer.htm ) but in the end the Red Heifer sacrifice has been fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus the Christ.

Conclusion

There is no need for the third Temple to be build for the priesthood to be reestablished and for any sacrifices including the Red Heifer to be reinstituted for all the old covenant laws and sacrifices are fulfilled in Christ. We see the fulfillment of this sacrifice in Christ as he has purified us of all defilements and uncleanness (“The meaning of the rite is divinely declared in Heb_9:13, "if the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?.” Fausset’s Bible Dictionary).  

As we have seen the Red Heifer sacrifice was a very important part of the Jewish Sacrificial System and for the Christian it finds its ultimate and final fulfillment in the person of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Bibliography

English Standard Version

Fausset’s Bible Dictionary

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

http://www.bible-prophecy.com/redheifer.htm

The Temple: Its ministry and service by Alfred Edersheim

“Fantastic Families”

Evaluation of the book:

“Fantastic Families” by Stinnett and Beam

The book “Fantastic Families” by Nick and Nancy Stinnett and Joe and Alice Beam was a helpful book and ok but I would not like to read this one again I found the book by Ken Wilson to be, in my opinion, much  better.

The book has an introduction in which the authors say “what’s so important about family? That question can be answered with a biblical illustration. You may recall the Old Testament story of Esther, whom God positioned as queen so that she could save the people of Israel from utter and complete destruction. Esther’s husband, King Xerxes, had  been manipulated by the evil Haman to sign a decree that would effectively end the messianic line and prevent Jesus’ coming centuries later.”  They go on to say “At first glance, this story may seem irrelevant to the importance of caring for one’s family. But with reflection it’s easy to see that this story has a moral that applies to today’s fathers and mothers just as much as it applied to Esther so many centuries ago. Many forces are at work today, tearing families apart, destroying the basic unit of all civilization.” An interesting way to start a book of families.

            Chapter one deals with committing to your family and its importance. The authors discuss characteristics of commitment and say “Commitment creates the warm, loving, accepting environment in which families grow.” I liked this idea as a first step in building a strong family. We should be committed to God and to our families and to building a strong loving home.

Chapter two discussed expressing appreciation and affection. Chapter three was on positive communication. The authors discuss the “value of communication” and say “When people are asked why communication is so important, they say things such as ‘Communication is vital to understanding each other’ or ‘Communication keeps you on the same pathway’ or ‘Communication makes you feel loved and vital to the other person.’ While these responses are a little vague, they highlight the importance of communication.”

Chapter four was a great chapter for me the title was “Spend time together”. I like the reminder that we need to spend time together to strengthen our bonds and to show our love for each other, the authors discuss the benefits of family time and say “Spending time together as a family reaps other benefits in addition to creating happy memories. It leads to good communication… It’s an antidote to isolation, loneliness, and alienation… It provides a family identity…”. A lot of important Things to consider.

Chapter five was on nurturing spiritual well-being. The authors say: “The importance of a spiritual center can’t be over stated when it comes to strong families. Reliance upon a power above and beyond themselves was the glue that held these families together and made them strong. Jesus, in the book of Matthew, talks about the importance of building our ‘house’ on the right foundation. ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.’ Ted and Nell felt the impact of the rains and storm and the winds that beat against their family. Yet because their house was built on firm, spiritual foundation, it weathered the storm and stood firm.” The go on to talk about the many blessings that come from building your family on firm foundation.

Chapter six discussed coping with stress and crises. They mention six tactics for coping with stress, “1 keep things in perspective, 2 let go and let God, 3 focus on something bigger than self, 4 humor yourself, 5 take one step at a time, and 6 refresh and restore. They go into much detail on each of these but I have only listed then to give an idea of what was discussed.

Chapter seven talked about becoming a fantastic family. There are also four appendixes that talk about “Assessing family’s strengths, Resources to help your family become fantastic, what you, your church, your business, and your community can do for families, and more about the family strengths research”.

The book was ok but nothing that I would reread. I am not sure I would recommend this book to anyone. There was a constant listing of things that seemed to be very strange, like the six steps to this or the five ways to fix that or the three tactics to overcome such and such. I don’t know if having these kinds of lists is really all that helpful I know it’s something that is being done a lot in our day and age but something about this approach bothers me.

Much of the book was stories from the lives of others and while this is helpful in illustrating points I am not one who enjoys reading stories about others I much more enjoy books that teach me and although his book is designed to teach people how to build strong families I thought the use of so many stories was too much and would have to leave this one on the bookshelf collecting dust. If I didn’t need to read this book for my course I would not have read it at all.

I want to say I applaud the efforts of the authors for wanting to help families to be stronger and godlier. I also think that there’s good information in this book but someone would have to do a lot of digging through the stories to get it.

You can buy this Here or Here

Colossians, To Philemon, and to the Ephesians

Evaluation of the Commentary:

“The New International Commentary of the New Testament: The Epistles to the Colossians, To Philemon, and to the Ephesians” by F.F. Bruce

The commentary was a very interesting and well done. The commentary starts with an Introduction which starts with a discussion of the cities of the Lycus river valley, the history and geography of this valley. It goes on to discuss the Jewish settlement and Christianity in the Lycus river  valley. There is also a section that deals with the “Heresy” at Colossae as well as a section dealing with the question of Pauline authorship. I was glad to see that the author dealt with this issue as it is important and with many liberal scholars questioning the authenticity of many of the Pauline letters.

This commentary has a translation of the text by the author above his comments which I really enjoyed. I really like having the Bible text on the page for easy reference. This makes it easy to reread the text and then think about the commentators thoughts on a particular passage. Another aspect of this commentary that I enjoyed was the author’s translation of the biblical text. There are many footnotes and in depth notes in this commentary which make it a great resource for those who want to dig deeper into the text of the Bible. This commentary, although it has lots of in depth information is suitable for the average lay person just wanting to get a better understanding of the Biblical text without wanting to get too deep into issues such as textual criticism or the Greek language in general.

There is nothing in this commentary that I didn’t like, although I didn’t agree with the commentator on everything he commented on. I did in fact agree with him for the most part and even those things in which I disagree I was spurred on to think and question what I believed the passage to say.

This commentary was very easy and enjoyable to read and I will make this one of my “go to” references when wanting to research a book or passage of the Bible text in Colossians, Philemon, or Ephesians.

You can buy this Here or Here

Holman New Testament Commentary Review

A Quick Review of The Holman New Testament Commentary Series

 

 

When the Holman New Testament Commentary set came out I had high hopes. I was expecting a well balanced and insightful commentary but after purchasing Matthew, Mark, and Revelation I found it was not quite what I had hoped for.

 

The Holman New Testament Commentary on Matthew, Mark, and Revelation are more of a devotional type commentary although they say it is for

“Pastors, teachers, Sunday school leaders and others…”

I found the information to be more useful for the Christian looking for a devotional read but the preacher may not find much help in these volumes.

 

If you are looking for something to help you understand the text of scripture then you would do better to pick up a different commentary something like The New International Greek Testament Commentary series or the Word Biblical Commentary series would better suit you but if on the other hand you want a devotional commentary that is easy to read but not very in depth you might want to pick this one up.

 

You can find this series Here or Here