Currently Reading . . .

[Fawzo]

Gaudiya Vidanta Samiti

The Sri Sri Gururangau Jayatah

Bagavad Gita

With Commentaries by Chakravati Thaqura and Narayan Maharaja

There is hope for you afterall

[Brother Yukio]

Fareed Zakaria's "The Post-American World".

[boteomm]

"It's a half a mile to the outhouse"

Author:Willie Mayket

Illisrated by Betty Waunt

[GothicScrybe]

Currently going over the June issues of my magazines (and am enjoying some of the stories and poetry, immensely) before releasing it on June 1.

Then I'll be reading submissions again for the October issue.

I'm always amazed at some of the things my contributors come up with!

I have stared a section called "A Little Bit of Evil" for stories under 500 words and wasn't sure I'd get any stories...but have and wow...

So that's what I'm currently reading.

[grateful]

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - amazing

[Rev. Justice Rivermyst]

I'm reading Handfastings & Wedding rituals by Kaldera & Schwartzsein

Oh snap, I think I read that one in either 2005 or 2006.. Good book. (:

Edit: I'm also reading a copy of Dead Sea Scrolls by Millar Burrows, The Book of Mormon, Women in the Bible by M.L. de Mastro and The Holy Bible which is the King James Version. I plan on buying a Geneva 1599 translation of the Bible. Heard things that it was like in tons of error compared to the original Geneva Bible but I think they're just saying that because they want the 1560 version to be the "authorized" version of it.

Edited May 14, 2011 by My Sanctification

[Brother Michael Sky]

I'm reading "The Young Mary 1817-1861"

Early years of Mother Bicker**, America's Florance Nightingale, and Patron Saint of Kansas.

Because she was my direct ancestor... and she was a fascinating personality...

My grandfather was a Bicker**, and My grandmother was a Bell.

It was interesting to be at the Mary Ball Washington museum, and find out that I was related...

oh, come on..... edited her name? really? it's bicker---- (dee - why - kay - eee)

Edited May 22, 2011 by Brother Michael Sky

[Rev. Justice Rivermyst]

Right now, I am re-reading The Secret by Ms. Rhonda Byrne. A very nice book, I think.

But I had completely stripped those teachings from my mind when I had re-converted over to Christianity, thinking it to be some sort of "new age" thingy-bobber and then when I started re-reading it just recently.. I realized that I had been using The Secret this entire time! Which is why I had so many blessings in my life. I was using it and not even realizing it! lol

Though, I'd have to say it's a pretty good book. After this I'm going to be reading The Power by the same author and then read There's More To The Secret by another author of whom I've forgotten the name.. It's basically a Christian "analyzing" The Secret to either prove it real or to debunk it entirely.

Are there any other books out there that refer to Law of Attraction?

Also, I read one of the very first pages and it said this:

As above so below;

As within so without.

And for the first time since I was sixteen-years-old(I had stumbled upon it through my studies of Wicca).. I finally get it. I finally know what it means! Woooooow~

Edited May 27, 2011 by My Sanctification

[Coolhand]

BOOK REVIEW

Carson, D. A. 2008. Exegetical Fallacies. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. 148 pages.

D.A. Carson is the research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He argues that the church of God is damaged by the “blatant nonsense” that is uttered by many preachers and teacher because of a lack of exegesis and critical thinking when it comes to the text of the Bible. He argues that one of the good things a seminary education does is that is forces “distanciation” between the text and the interpreter, whereby the proper distance is achieved between the interpreter and the text to ensure the text is approached objectively.

The four main types of fallacies he addresses are: 1) word study fallacies; 2) grammatical fallacies; 3) logical fallacies; and 4) presupposition/historical fallacies. He is careful to state that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather it is a list of common errors in handling Scripture. In an attempt to be even handed he even addressed some of his own prior published errors.

This book is most definitely written for the seminary student or graduate. It would benefit anybody who preaches or teaches the Bible however if one is not familiar with Greek vocabulary, grammar, morphology and such it will be extremely difficult to get what it being said. Either way, keep a dictionary close by and don’t get discouraged of the work you are looking up is not is the dictionary. This is an excellent reference to have nearby while doing Scriptural exegesis.

[Coolhand]

BOOK REVIEW

Spong, John Shelby. 1999. Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile. New York: Harper Collins. 257 pages.

The author is a retired Bishop that is now a lecturer. He says he was educated by Paul Tillich and seems to hold to a lot of the same theological views that Tillich held. He rejects that there is anything literal in the Bible and that the New Testament is a retelling of the miracles and magic in the Old Testament through the personhood of Jesus. He believes that Jesus existed and was a a full manifestation of humanity, and that this is was people should seek: to be a full manifestation of humanity.

He claims to believe in God but in a non-theistic way. He almost dares you to call him an atheist. He argues that Christianity needs to shed all of the imperialistic and royal baggage that is has picked up over the years and by the different cultures. He seeks to redefine Christianity in a way that will appeal to the postmodern culture of today.

It was an interesting read and I agree with a lot of his historical and exegetical points. However, I disagree with almost all of his conclusions that he draws. I’m not sure why he stuck with the Anglican denomination and continued in the tradition if he truly feels the way he claimed to feel about the distinctives of the Anglican tradition.

This would be a good book for fundamentalist and evangelical Christians to read to gain the understanding of the liberal Christian view and why liberal Christians hold the positions that they do.

[Pete]

BOOK REVIEW

Spong, John Shelby. 1999. Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile. New York: Harper Collins. 257 pages.

The author is a retired Bishop that is now a lecturer. He says he was educated by Paul Tillich and seems to hold to a lot of the same theological views that Tillich held. He rejects that there is anything literal in the Bible and that the New Testament is a retelling of the miracles and magic in the Old Testament through the personhood of Jesus. He believes that Jesus existed and was a a full manifestation of humanity, and that this is was people should seek: to be a full manifestation of humanity.

He claims to believe in God but in a non-theistic way. He almost dares you to call him an atheist. He argues that Christianity needs to shed all of the imperialistic and royal baggage that is has picked up over the years and by the different cultures. He seeks to redefine Christianity in a way that will appeal to the postmodern culture of today.

It was an interesting read and I agree with a lot of his historical and exegetical points. However, I disagree with almost all of his conclusions that he draws. I'm not sure why he stuck with the Anglican denomination and continued in the tradition if he truly feels the way he claimed to feel about the distinctives of the Anglican tradition.

This would be a good book for fundamentalist and evangelical Christians to read to gain the understanding of the liberal Christian view and why liberal Christians hold the positions that they do.

Another book I have just read by John Shelby Spong is "Eternal Life - a new vision".

Spong goes into more depth than previous books about what he believes and also how he sees the next life. He makes a big distinction between his view and that of fundamental christianity which he insists does not have a long history and started around two hundred years ago.

I can see his vision although I do not agree with all he says (which as a liberal that is fine). However, I did find his book a good read. I enjoyed his views on the giving of himself to the service and love of others as being rewarding to himself and drawing himself closer to God. This theme he based on Frances of Assisi's peace prayer which I have placed on the open Pulpit. His belief in God is real (IMO) but he does not believe the bible describes God well or in any way that he can accept. I recommend this book as a challenging read. Spong says that he believes this will be his last book but I suspect we will hear more from him.

[Kingfisher]

This month has been James Herriot's collection. For like the millionth time. There's a serenity in his work I've always admired, both in substance and in style. I find losing myself in the wonder of life, along with a cup of herbal tea, to be a beneficial way to settle an agitated mind after a long, hard day of ministering to crackerdogs.

All Things Bright And Beautiful (Anglican Hymn)

Refrain:

1.All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

2.Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

Refrain

3.The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

God made them high and lowly,

And ordered their estate.

Refrain

4.The purple headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky.

Refrain

5.The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one.

Refrain

6.The tall trees in the greenwood,

he meadows where we play,

The rushes by the water,

We gather every day.

Refrain

7.He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

(Amen)

((You don't have to believe it's true, just let your joyful Spirit sing!! ))

[Cornelius]

The Road to Hel ~H.R.E. Davidson. A book about heathen funeral customs and worldview regarding the afterlife.

Space Wolves Omnibus 2. A Warhammer 40,000 novel.

[Songster]

I'm currently re-reading Taylor Caldwell's The Lion of God. A novel about the life of the apostle Paul. A very interesting read.

[Kingfisher]

Farley Mowat - People of the Deer

[Bluecat]

By the bedside I've got

The Allotment Handbook. I'm learning how to grow food!

The Lore of the Land by Jacqueline Simpson and Jennifer Westwood. This is basically an encyclopedia of English folklore, county by county. It's great, but it's one for dipping into (I was wondering if there's something similar for the US... does anyone know?)

Seafaring Lore and Legend by Peter D. Jeans. Fascinating stories, but his writing style is terribly lame.

Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Bendigo and I are reading her aloud - she's much funnier that way.

And... hmmm, I don't have anything to read.

[Ex Nihilo]

Mystic Christianity, Our Unitarian Gospel...both free on Kindle (yay!)

[Kingfisher]

Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology, The First Temple Period and Larry McMurtry's

.

Because a man needs to feed his head, but he also needs to feed his heart.

[kokigami]

killer angels about gettysburg and The Marsh Arab Raji Hakkan.. a very old travel memoir about time spent with a Marsh Arab Trader in Iraq early in the 1900s.. And various game rules.

[Dorian Gray]

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037702/