Between Grace and Glory

 

Then Sings My Soul, by Robert Morgan

I received the book from BookSneeze, so this is not one I would normally have purchased. I had never heard of Morgan, but upon closer examination the subject of this book appears to be his main interest. I was quite pleased with the book I received (I got the Special Edition, which is a recent version published by Thomas Nelson). The book provides one page of sheet notes for each hymn, in addition to a facing page with background notes about the song. It is often a wonder how many class Christian hymns develop. The depths of God's grace and man's need for a Saviour are quite evident on each page of this book. I did not particularly care for the classic American hymns section, as American theology in many ways skewers orthodox Christian theology (dispensationalism and charismatic theology a la the Azusa Street Revival are two notable examples). Thankfully, you can skip that section and still enjoy the book immensely. The Christmas hymns section proved quite useful during this past Christmas season, and I assume I'll be using the book again around Easter. I often find myself singing songs with my kids, and then reaching for the book to find out more about what we're singing. If you enjoy singing hymns and want to know more about how the songs you sing were developed, then get this book! Morgan's writing style is easy to read and enjoy!

 

Mind Your Own Mortgage, by Robert J. Bernabe

 If you've ever shopped for a mortgage, then after reading Bernabe's book you'll likely be convicted of having made past mistakes and wonder how much you actually lost to the mortgage scam. Not that all mortgages are inherently bad, but certainly Bernabe's warnings of the typical pitfalls made in shopping for a mortgage will ring true to the average reader's ears. He offers amazing insight into the mortgage market and the participants to demonstrate that mortgages are indeed commodities and should be marketed accordingly. Any lender that can give you a great deal on a commodity is trying to sell you something you don't need... or even want. At first I was wary when I read about Bernabe's Mind Your Own Mortgage system, as if the book was merely a means of publicizing yet another system, but my concern quickly vanished. Bernabe has merely developed free tools to allow the reader to implement the many lessons gleaned from this book, but even if you decide not to use his system, the book stands on its own. At times the book is repetitive, but I believe that this is for the reader's benefit, to hammer home the basic message. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who owns or intends to own a mortgage.
 

Isaac Newton, by Mitch Stokes

 Before I read a new book, I need to know the perspective of the author. I had never heard of Stokes before, but his association with New St. Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho was a concern. For those who are unfamiliar with the college, it breeds pastors for the CREC which, though it claims to be Reformed, is anything but. The denomination does not understand the nature of covenant and, accordingly, teaches a flawed ecclesiology and eschatology. All that said, I had to watch out for these patterns in the book. Thankfully, I did not find evidence of it. Stokes does approach Newton's life from a Christian perspective, mocking naturalists who would have loved to claim Newton as their own was it not for his strong theistic bent. He also uses the book as an opportunity to argue from a evidentialist apologetic approach for the existence of God. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise given that this book is part of the "Christian Encounters" series, but today the word "Christian" has a wide range of meanings. All in all, I was pleased with the book. It provided a decent overview of the life of a famous scientist who loved God, even if he did fail to understand the Trinity (and who can blame him?). Unfortunately, in this one area of theology he decided not to live as one without understanding, but as one who fundamentally rejected (from a supposedly Scriptural basis) the doctrine itself. But man is sinful, and Newton was no different. Despite Newton's many shortcomings, we do get a sense from reading Stokes' book that God used him to accomplish His purposes, not in a special revelatory way, but to unpack the mystery of God's creation itself and to contend against those (presumably all from the Continent) who thought the creation had nothing to do with its Creator. This is a short book that reads like a story. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the life of Newton with one caveat: the book itself is nothing special but does provide a quick and easy guide to Newton's life. On that count, if you can find another that fits your bill, with this book you can take it or leave it.
 

Love and Respect, by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

 Emerson Eggerichs' book appears to be yet another title, both religious and secular, that aims to explain why men and women can't seem to get along, especially within the context of marriage. From "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" to "The Five Love Languages," it's hard to comprehend how yet another title will offer anything of redeeming value. And the opening chapters do not offer much hope, especially to a covenant theologian as myself. Dr. Eggerichs appears to believe, along with many modern evangelicals, that we are saved by letting Christ into our hearts. I figured that this semi-Pelagian theological construct would pervade the remainder of the book. Thankfully, it did not. Although he does refer to often to the man and woman within a marriage being "good-willed,' even a Reformed mind can agree with that assessment, although they may understand it differently than Dr. Eggerichs. Nevertheless, the focus of the book is not on a flawed understanding of salvation, but rather how we are to behave in light of the fact that we hold Christ as our Saviour. Men and women are indeed created to be different but complementary. We are equal in value, but not in form and function. Eggerichs explores these differences in a clear and concise manner and offers two models (one for men, one for women) to remember as they approach their spouse in a meaningful way. I was often convicted, and my mind was enlightened, by reading Dr. Eggerichs' book, and I have recommended it to other friends as well. I appreciate his exegetical insight and would consider reading his other titles as well. Overall, I believe that, theological differences aside, I will be a more Christ-focused husband to my wife if I apply the truths that Dr. Eggerichs has gleaned from Scripture, and it would aid her to read this as well.
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To Posterous, Love Metalab