This is all-star lineup of conservative Christians of differing confessions, but united in call to the church of today to repent of its adultery with our heathen culture, and to return to God's Word, to have our consciences tied to the Scriptures as Luther stood and would not recant, move or be moved.

Series of essays delivered at conference, with a common theme: let God's Word change the culture rather than the culture changing the world.

Horton, Veith and Wells are always thought=provoking writers, and their contributions here are a continuance of that.

This book is edited by James Montgomery Boice and Benjamin Sasse. This book addresses what the reformation in Martin Luther's day did for the church as a whole, and for each Christian individually. Dr. Boice points out that the Reformers spoke of salvation by "grace alone." He states, "Here they wanted to insist on the truth that sinners have no claim upon God, that God owes them nothing but punishment for their sins (p. 11)." He then points out the Reformers taught God saves the sinner, "Only because it pleases Him to do it (p. 11)." From here Dr. Boice starts from the top down on why Christianity is in the state it finds itself in today. He points out that, "Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has separted Scripture from its authoritative function (p. 15)." He then states that, "Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music (p. 15)." The contributors that write a chapter a peice are, David F. Wells, Ervin S. Duggan, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Gene Edward Veith, Michael S. Horton, Sinclair B. Ferguson and W. Robert F. Godfrey. Some of the chapter titles are, "Our Dying Culture, The Living Church, The Reformation of Worship and Reformation in Doctrine, Worship, and Life." This book attempts to examine the problems in the church as a whole and to give answers to the problems. In today's church where everyone seems to try to keep the peace and say everyone is right, the authors address the subjects rather bluntly at times. It has to be that way because no one seems to want to take a stand for biblical truth. R. Alber Mohler Jr., in his chapter quotes Blaise Pascal who said, "It is as much a crime to disturb the peace when truth prevails as it is to keep peace when truth is violated...But at no time is there a time for truth and a time for error, for it is written that God's truth shall abide for ever. That is why Christ has said that He has come to bring peace and at the same time that He has come to bring the sword. But He does not say that He has come to bring both truth and falsehood (p. 62)." The authors of the chapters in this book address different problems in the church and supply the answers to those problems. This they do admirably to get the church as a whole and each individual back into right relationship to God. They succeed completely, only if your willing to read, accept and put into practice the truths they try to bring back to the church. Be prepared as they try to be diplomatic but are harsh in places for a reason. I highly recommend this book. Every pastor should have a copy as well as every household in the church. The question is, are the readers willing to stand comfortably where they are, or, are they willing to move back to biblical Christianity? I vote for the latter, Do you?

God is calling His evangelical Church back to its Reformed roots. This book is an excellent "read" for anyone interested in objective truth over subjective experience.

The definitive book on the Inquisition is B. Netanyahu's The Origins of the Inquisition. This work goes back to the 6th century BCE and traces the destructive path of anti-Semitism and xenophobia all the way to Spain. One of the main points of this book is stating how most of the Conversos were good Christians and not heretics. This book also makes known how most of the hatred for Jews and later New Christians came from the lowest classes who felt socially, politically, religiously, and most importantly economically threatened by these supposedly alien people. It is also worth mentioning that Netanyahu believes that the hatred of the New Christians stemmed from RACISM; first for the Jews and then for their descendants, the sociopolitical jealousies only stoked the underlying fire. Netanyahu also demonstrates how the Morranos were caught in the middle a power struggle between monarchic supremacy and nobiliar and urban aristocratic independence. This work is worth your time and will add to your edification.

this encycolpedic oeuvre is almost overwhelming in its sheer scale; however, the attention to detail is necessary in order to understand how this horrifying portion of liturgical history developed. social contexts and authentic resources make this a very thorough history of the inquisition as it was experienced in spain. i only wish i could find an equally thorough treatment of the inquisition in italy and france. a very revealing work for the lay person who wants to know more about liturgical history, the woman's place in medieval social order, and the development of the social relationships among medieval spanish christians, jews, and muslims.

An engaging, rewarding read, much needed these days. Though they discussed the problems these three faiths have with each others claims to chosenness and truth, and hinted a few times at needing to widen the dialogue to include "other" non Abrahamic faiths, they did so in a way which indicates some lingering conceit and self righteousness. Hmm. Can't we rejoice in how our common spiritual yearnings find various expression in different cultures?

This book was great...' kept my full attention. The last book I reviewed was about the same religions, but this one was so much better. It gave me a much better understanding of the common Islamic views. You get the words straight from the discussion between the 3 faiths, not just one man's research of other men. This book is very simple for any reader to enjoy. It is always great not only to see comparative religion but to see people with entirely different views on the same subjects conversing "in a beautiful manner". They are struggling to find a way to bring their views together, and the Christian commented on how very close he was to including Muhammad as a prophet of God. Their struggles just begged one uniting cry in my mind, although they didn't know it themselves: Baha'i.

This book is based on live dialogue between well-qualified spokesmen representing Judaism, Christianity and Islam, presented before audiences throughout the United States. It provides an excellent insight into each religious tradition, and left me with a greater appreciation for what the three faiths have in common. Worth reading by anyone who wants to better understand the relationships between the three Western religions that trace their beginnings to Abraham

This book was written with a specific audience in mind: western Christians, especially Protestants, interested in the history and development of Christian worship. As the sub-title demonstrates, Christian worship developed out of Jewish worship practices, that were informed by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and were transformed by the early Christian church into the core of Christian worship. For most western Christians, and particularly Protestants (and both author's were raised as Protestants) this is a little known fact. Besides tracing the history and development of Christian worship, the book also contains a step-by-step commentary on the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the common Sunday morning service of the Orthodox churches. This book was written for "the common person", and does not require a theological background. It is straight forward and accessible.

"Orthodox Worship" is essentially two books and a pamphlet under one cover.

In Part I: "Understanding the Divine Liturgy", Benjamin D. Williams, explains the development of Christian worship, starting with the Early Church and its roots in Scripture and the Jewish traditions of temple and synagogue worship.

In Part II: Harold B. Anstall takes the reader on "A Journey Through the Liturgy." Here he starts with "The Interior of an Orthodox Church," which is appropriate, since that is usually the first thing someone experiences upon attending any service in the Orthodox Church. The rest of this section goes through a step-by-step explanation of everything that is said and done in a Divine Liturgy, the "main event" of Orthodox Christian worship.

In the conclusion: "A Call to Worship," Williams invites the Western reader to visit, understand and experience liturgical worship as practiced in the Orthodox Church. Here he gives a quick, understandable overview of how Christianity in the West has departed, and continues to travel farther, from its historical roots in liturgical worship.

I first read "Orthodox Worship," after attending a series of lectures by Frank Schaeffer (son of the late Evangelical apologist and theologian, Francis Schaeffer) in 1997. At that point I was firmly entrenched in an Evangelical church as a praise band director and worship leader. Schaeffer explained his departure from Evangelicalism and his "coming home" to the Orthodox Church. (For more about that, see his book "Dancing Alone.") I began visiting a couple of Orthodox churches in our area, and decided I wanted to understand what was going on.

After my first reading of "Orthodox Worship," I concluded that:

1. Liturgical worship does indeed have its roots in Scripture and in the practices of the Early Church, as practiced in the book of Acts.

2. There is a reason for everything that is said and done in the Divine Liturgy, and that it is all based on Scripture and the development of the Christian faith in the first three centuries.

Now, several years later, as I approach the second anniversary of my own "coming home" to the Orthodox Church, I decided to reread this volume. Now that I've gradually let liturgical worship become an integral part of my life, and now that I sing in (and sometimes direct) our parish choir, I found completely different quotes jumping off the page than the ones I highlighted the first time through, such as:

"It is worth noting...that the frequently quoted passage..."where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them" is not a stand-alone proposition. It has a very specific context, and that context is The Church! (page 80)."

I'd recommend this fine introductory volume to people who want to investigate the roots of liturgical Christian worship, to those who are inquiring about the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as to those Orthodox Christians who need a refresher course on the Divine Liturgy. The only drawback of the edition I read was the many typographical errors scattered throughout the book, which was a little distracting.

(...)

This book was written with a specific purpose: it was a leadership development project within the Orthodox Church in America. Thus, it is not only a "christian leadership" book, but is also a somewhat religious-specific effort, reflecting the Eastern Christian perspective. With that said, though, most of the religious-specific material is illustrative. I believe the main contribution, for Christians of all sorts who are serious about leadership issues, is to be found in the two primary subjects. The first has to do with the subject of organizational models and the core concept of Christianity: the Holy Trinity. Our contention is that rather than being an abstract theological concept, the Holy Trinity, can be used to deduce the optimal organizational models. The second has to do with the leadership of Jesus Christ: He incarnated the Trinitarian leadership principles in a fashion that is now commonly referred to as "servant leadership". The book was written for the average person by two business men with theological training, and is pretty easy to read.

The two authors of this book are trying to convince the reader of this 'book' that everyone in Chiapas who is not a good follower of protestant religion is bad. Everyone who does not belief in the Spirit of the Lord and the Word of the Bible, and does not live a life as a person who has not the belief in the eventual comming of the Kingdom, is essentially a deceiving enemy. It seems to me that they hate almost every person. The Catholics, the so called 'lazy' Indians, the Zapatistas, the caciques, the Human Rights groups and the government, but also the protestants who try to act and fight for a better life. The books contains a large number of incorrect names and data. At best this books is informative on how not to understand life in general, and specifically in Chiapas. It is informative on the subject of the minds of two fanatic protestant believers. The way they understand the outside world is food for shrinks (they will have a hard job!). It is the most unreadable piece of junk I have seen since a very long time.

This book gives a very thorough examination of the recent incidents and uprising in Chiapas Mexico. An extensive historical background is given that helps give fact status over emotional fiction. Intertwined between the historical facts is the personal tale of a local Indian that describes the life these persecuted people have been subjected to.

This book was very compelling. If you are interested in the history of mexico, the present rebellion or what is actually happening in Chiapas then this is the book which gives complete and concise information. In addition it gives a personal account of one who has dwelt in and been effected by years of turmoil. I highly reccomend the Cross & the Sword.

I read with great interest Mr Hart's contention that the founding fathers philosophy was essentially drawn from the Bible. Through select uses of quotations Mr. Hart leads the reader to believe that the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, etc. are essentially a product of a Christian world view. His use of quotes to support his suppositions are not based in the context in which they were written. For example, he quotes from Thomas Jefferson extensively to support his position that the founding fathers used the bible to form their ideas of liberty and freedom for the individual. I am assuming that Mr. Hart is an Evangelical Christian who believes that the Bible should be the only source to inform the morals and laws for society. He ignores the fact that Thomas Jefferson was a deist, which is the very opposite of what he believes. He uses the term from Jefferson of "God's Nature." Mr Hart you need to know that Jefferson did not believe in the deity of Jesus Christ or the Bible as the Word of God. He draws parallels between the Old Testament and a supposed relationship to the Declaration of Independence. He fails to give hard evidence of this connection. This book is at best a diatribe against what Mr. Hart sees as the destruction of America's "Christian Roots." Check your sources Mr. Hart and admit that America's "Christian Roots" is at best laced with historical fabrications and misleading assertions.

The logic this book uses is bad. For example, Hart states that everyone, not just members of one religion, should have a say in how government works. In a different chapter he says that it's O.K. for a majority to make the entire decision (as long as it's a Christian majority, of course). As a secular humanist who believes that religion should be tolerated but not encouraged, I recommend this book as a way to gain understanding of why fundamentalists often suffer from brain atrophy. The reason why I gave it two stars instead of one is that despite its lack of logic, it is well written, and the history itself is very interesting, particularly the section on the Quakers.

Faith and Freedom is an excellent history of the ideological roots of American Government. Mr. Hart has done a masterful job of identifying the sources of those ideas that influenced the Founding Fathers and the charters which they wrote. This book defuses the revisionist's arguements that posit that America is a child of the Enlightenment in the same vein as France. Mr. Hart shows that America, unlike France, adopted the Protestant Christian principle that freedoms came from God and not government. Government within this structure was charged with the protection of those God given freedoms. France on the other hand virtually excluded God from discourses that proceeded their revolution, and by doing so, put government in the position to give and take freedoms as it saw fit. Our war for Independence was successful while France's was a bloodbath that failed by all measures. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in an accurate, concise history of this very important episode of the American story.