Short Booklog

I listened to a reading of Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret (Sermon Audio). I knew little of Taylor before listening to this reading. His main objective was to preach the Gospel to the millions of China. He did not seem to be a man of extraordinary gifts or attainment. However, he used what he did have to the fullest to reach those people. Though not necessarily a talented writer, he learned to write in order to inform people of the need in China, and his little pamphlet circulated in the millions.

The need he wrote of was the need of the people to have the Gospel, not the financial need of his mission work. In fact, he never asked for money from anyone other than God, and his needs were always met and he operated completely without debt. He did ask for laborers for the field and hundreds responded. It took many years for Taylor to do the work he hoped to do in China, and he was at it right up until his death.

Another interesting fact from this account is that George Mueller was a generous contributor to the China Inland Mission. Yes, the George Mueller that operated the orphanage in England, whose faith is noised abroad. If you know anything of Mueller at all, you know he did not have an abundance of this world’s goods.

I have read the accounts of him waking up in the morning with absolutely no food for him and the children. Surely, he did not have anything to spare. So, what was he doing giving to Taylor’s work while the orphanage was running so lean? He is a testimony to selfless, sacrificial giving. Though he was doing a good work, which had many needs, he did not become absorbed and self-centered in his own work. He still reached out to others in need, remaining Christ-centered. He understood that “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). He gave out of his poverty abundantly. He did not worry over this for he had the promise: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

The Secret File on John Birch by James and Marti Hefley is the life story of John Birch. Birch was born in India to missionary parents, but he grew up in the United States when, for medical reasons, his family had to return home. He was a Southern Baptist missionary to China.

Birch went to China before the U. S. entered the second World War. He arrived when China was partially occupied by the Japanese. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, the U. S. entered the war and many missionaries in China were evacuated, but Birch stayed in China. Birch volunteered for the Army and became an intelligence officer in China. He was murdered by the communists after the end of the war.

This book is written from the conspiratorial perspective, which is disappointing because the spiritual aspects of Birch’s life are much more important and edifying. I highly recommend this book so long as you are not caught up with the conspiracy aspect.

Mind Siege by Tim Lahaye and David Noebel is a reworking of an older book, The Battle For The Mind. This edition has been updated with current information. The copy I have was printed in 2000. Mind Siege is very informative about Humanism and Secular Humanism. Lahaye shows that Humanism is unquestionably the established state religion in America and that this religion is observed and honored throughout the government, public schools, big business, entertainment, and news media, etc. In short, it’s everywhere.

Lahaye also discusses the fervent indoctrination practice of Humanist adherents. They have an extremely aggressive program of brainwashing the general public in order to create good world citizens after their own image. This book is a real eye-opener and should be read by every Christian in this day. Unfortunately, we do not seem to understand who the enemies are and what the battle really is.

The only weakness to the book is that the author’s conclusions are somewhat lacking. Some of the solutions offered are not necessarily in line with spiritual warfare and the Christian commission. We have powerful weaponry in Jesus Christ and we should not abandon it to try to fight the world on their terms. While the practical applications could be more biblical and thorough, this is still a very worthwhile book. We have to know what the problem is before we can begin to address it. On that score, this book is helpful.

Barbara Oakley has a new book out, Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend. Oakley has a long list of credentials involving both education and practical experience, a position in academia and world travel. She has written a science text that blends adept research with personal adventure and observation. All this tends to make her book accessible to a wide audience beyond her peer group.

Her basic premise is the exploration of “human evil from a scientific perspective.” She testifies that it was her own sister’s inexplicable, ruinous behavior that caused great pain to those around her that was the catalyst in researching this topic. From the scientific side, she discusses recent advances in brain imaging and the field of genetics to understand evil in humans. She believes science is revealing new details of how our brains work and how genes influence our ability to discern between right and wrong.

Oakley obviously writes from an anthropocentric perspective. She also writes from the black tower of the last bastion of modernity in this country, though I am sure postmoderns will be willing to borrow capital to advance their humanistic goals. Her base conclusion is that evil people are genetically crippled and that makes them dangerous and/or hurtful to others, even those who love them.

I can neither recommend this book nor condone its conclusions. I think it is something we need to be aware of. Man, since the fall, has sought to put new names on sin and shift blame off themselves. Today folks have problems, issues, episodes, genetic predispositions, but not sin. This is the culture we seek to evangelize and unless they own their blood-guiltiness before God, they will not be saved.

Chris Chrisman Goes to College by James Sire is a clever story about a young man going to secular college and facing “the challenges of relativism, individualism and pluralism.” It is an easy read. Sire’s characters are interesting and he gives them some depth with background information. The book will likely leave most readers wanting more.

This book is helpful at identifying the worldview behind the philosophy and methods of public institutions, which is disorienting to most first-year students. Putting this information into a narrative makes it appealing to a wider audience. Sire fades in and out of the narrative with non-fiction explanations of terms and concepts, which is somewhat distracting. The story itself is real and believable enough, but the solutions are perhaps a little too simple. However, these weaknesses do not take much away from the book’s overall value. It is a good book that covers the problematic worldview of public colleges in a brief and interesting way.

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The Universe Next Door is also by James Sire and deals with the most common worldviews of our day. Sire boils all worldviews down to a few basic questions about life, death, reality, etc. and then proceeds to answer those questions from the different worldviews.

The book is very informative and worth reading. It is also good to have around for reference once you have read it.