Book Review: Baptist History
Baptist History by John Mockett Cramp
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This isn’t exactly a history of churches as much as it is a history of preachers and leaders. It was interesting to read about about a number of oddities and variances between churches. Among churches in the past can be found such things as naked baptisms, trine baptisms, temporarily abandoning baptizing at all, the laying on of hands after baptism, and times of women preachers and elders. There were quite a bit of differences between churches, but some things were more consistent.
They were unified around Gospel issues such as rejecting baptismal regeneration and infant baptism. They held the Scripture as the all-sufficient and final rule of authority for all matters of faith and practice. These churches were promoters of Bible translations, so the Bible was in the common language of the people and in their hands. They were proponents of educated and trained preachers for the ministry. They held to liberty of conscience in religion and opposed state churches.
If we’re being honest, history isn’t quite as pretty as we might like it to be, or as many men would lead us to believe it is. I guess when you’re facing constant persecution and harassment, you just don’t have as much time to criticize and harangue your brothers, and split and fracture over little narrow point until you’ll hardly fellowship with yourself. I’m thankful for our goodly heritage and do think we should learn from history.
Book Review: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Newport gives many practical steps to think through and adapt to your own needs. He seemed to strive for a balanced approach between connectivity and deep work, which requires less connectivity and more isolation. The implications for deep work are ubiquitous across all industries and disciplines, so everyone could benefit from it. I appreciated the brief section he had thinking about the relationship we have with our tools. It something that needs more thought.
Book Review: Sons
Sons by Pearl S. Buck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Book Review: From Famine to Fullness: The Gospel According to Ruth
From Famine to Fullness: The Gospel According to Ruth by Dean R. Ulrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book Review: A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God
Posted by Jeff Short on February 6, 2020 · Leave a Comment
A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper
This book goes through the book of Ruth chapter by chapter with a summary of practical application at the end. Piper blends theological and practical commentary while walking through the book. As you would expect, the book is very God-centered in interpretation and insightful in application.My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Filed under Reviews, Short Booklog · Tagged with Christian Life, Commentary, John Piper, Old Testament, Providence, Reviews, Ruth, Sovereignty of God