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The authors provide a picture of the culture for which Paul was writing, and show that it is suprisingly cosmopolitan like our own.
Where others try to twist controversial portions of the scriptures to fit modern ideas, these authors uncover the ancient wisdom of God and bring it to life in the 21st century.
The authors begin by defining the confusion over marital roles today, and the resulting chaos. They then outline the husband's role as servant-leader, and describe his core concerns. The wife's role is then outlined as helper-lover, and her concerns are also presented.
Two chapters are devoted to the idea of submission, dispeling many myths regarding it. Common problems are addressed, and practical applications are provided. The book closes with two helpful appendices recounting the breakdown of gender roles in ancient Rome, and the impact that Paul's words had on that generation.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly for both husbands and wives desiring to gain a better understanding of a Biblical-oriented marriage.
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This book has put into words much of what I have thought, implemented, taught and preached for the past 5 years. It is as monumental to my thoughts towards ministry as Warren's Purpose Driven Church and George Hunter's Church for the Unchurch. If you can read just one book on church leadership this year, read this one. It will challenge you and may place you outside your comfort zone, but it will help move your church towards impacting and influencing your community in ways that please God and grow His kingdom.
It tells the story in a very well-written, easy-to-read way, of the Fellowship Bible Church of Little Rock, Arkansas.
A church that is truly striving to "make disciples" in the manner that Jesus intended when He gave His disciples that Commission.
It is a breath of fresh air, and it inspired me to: try to persaude my own church to adopt their approach; or find a church-planting group that is using these principles, and join them.
Inspiring! Five stars!
The Church that Never Sleeps by Matthew Barnett
Meeting Needs, Sharing Christ by Charles Roesel
City Reaching by Jack Dennison
Urban Churches: Vital Signs by Nile Harper
Recently, 25 pastors in Boulder County, who are committed to its spiritual transformation, received a copy of this book. If we apply the principles in this book, our community will never be the same!
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There really isn't a lot of substance to this book - it's mostly fluff. (There's some social commentary in the later parts of the book, when they're in Seattle, but I try to ignore it.) But it's grade-A, high-quality fluff we're talking about here. Claire Boltwood's transformation from a Brooklyn snob to a real woman is highly believable, and Milt Daggett is one of the sweetest, most wholesome men ever created. Set against the well-painted backdrop of the American West, the story shifts from amusing to heartwarming to bittersweet and back again flawlessly.
Just a good, simple love-story, unique and well-written. I would recommend this book to anyone just looking for a good read.
Reads as a social/class commentary, a Zane Gray western, with some romance added.
Corny in some ways, however, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to other Sinclair Lewis fans.
I have always believed that Mr. Scott deserved a more prominent place in history.
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Love, Adam
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I feel as though I could be the Alison in this story. I have a brother though he is older than I am, and I have a younger sister. We both have to baby sit younger children. (I baby sit my sister and she baby sits Ariadne and Billy). In the book Alison sometimes feels overwhelmed by her responsibility for taking care of Ariadne and Billy and I sometimes feel the
same way about taking care of my sister. I also relate to Alison because I have a friend, whose mom lets her eat anything and everything she wants, to say it plainly she is very spoiled just like the Rupe's kids.
The Absolutely True Story' is a very good, exciting, and mysterious book. I had a great time reading it. My favorite part of the book is when the two men from the motor home company were following the Rupes and snooping around their campsite. I kept asking myself "What on earth are they looking for?" This was a mysterious, funny, and very frightening part of the book. If I could change a part of this book I would probably change the scenery. I would have the Rupes, Alison, and Lewis take a plane to France to see the sites and have people from the motor home company follow them around Paris where it is more exciting and much larger.
I recommend The Absolutely True Story' because it is a well-written, mysterious, and adventurous book with lots of funny and scary scenes. I'd also recommend it because it actually relates to everyday life in the real world. I'd recommend it to 10-12 year olds because it would be hard for a younger kid to comprehend all the words in this book but the book might be a little boring for kids over 12. The Absolutely True Story' is a very good book. I really enjoyed reading it, and I recommend it to anyone from 10-12 looking for a great, mystery book.
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There are a number of strengths to this book which continue to make the book solidly relevant better than forty years after the revised edition came out. Lewis cuts to the heart of the matter very quickly in asserting that rejection of miracles apriori is a common attitude that at its core, is anti-intellectual. Attempts to base rejection of miracles on probabilities, as Hume tried to do, are philosophically untenable and require a betrayal of basic realities that are universally accepted.
Lewis then systematically dismantles the worldview that tends to most cradle apriori miracle rejection, naturalism. He compellingly shows that naturalism is a worldview that cannot stand up to philosophical scrutiny. Key to Lewis's presentation is his argument that naturalism can be demonstrated to be false in its complete rejection of supernaturalism merely by the reality of reason. Logic and reason of the mind, by themselves, are supernatural acts that cannot be explained or accounted for in nature, as naturalism demands. Supernaturalism, according to Lewis is not only possible, but pervasive since the act of logical thinking itself is supernatural in origin.
Lewis then eloquently argues that the relationship between nature and the supernatural are not hostile, but complementary. In Lewis's view, nature is quite pliable to accommodate and assimilate supernatural acts in ways that do not bring the kind of chaos and randomness that many naturalists believe to be reprehensible relative to the 'invasion' of nature by alleged supernatural acts. Lewis persuasively demonstrates that this concern is bogus.
Once the reality, possibility, and plausibility of miracles has been established philosophically, Lewis moves to classifying the Biblical miracles as either old creation or new creation miracles. Here, readers might be a bit disappointed by the presentation. Those looking for an evidential defense of miracles in general or any specific miracle in particular will not find it here. This is a philosophical presentation that is chiefly concerned with whether miracles are possible and/or probable. It is not an evidential defense of the possibility of any specific miracle. Lewis's central point is that human beings are disinclined towards believing in the inherent possibility of miracles for reasons that are not intellectually honest and calls for a fresh reappraisal of the possibility of miracles with a fresh attitude of open mindedness and a sincere commitment to soberly seek the truth absent bias. On this point, he does very well.
I noted that I thought the book deserved 4.5 stars rather than a full blown 5 stars. There are two main reasons why this is. First, his discussion of the Incarnation, while fascinating, was mostly off topic. The focus of Lewis's discussion was not on the miraculous nature of the Incarnation, but on its meaning to the believer and its relationship to nature. The discussion is good, but in a book on miracles, I found it to be misplaced. Second, and perhaps more crucial, is that Lewis succumbs to the very ad hoc skepticism that he argues so passionately against. Without elaboration, Lewis introduces the idea of 'Hebrew mythology' as being behind at least some of the miracles described in the Old Testament (Jonah and the whale being one). Why Lewis believes that some Biblical miracles are genuine while others are mythological is something he doesn't discuss. But the reader gets the sense that by taking this position, Lewis is caving in to the very kind of apriori rejection he repeatedly and rightly condemns throughout the book. Lewis's central argument is therefore undermined by his own unwarranted and unexplained backtracking from his own position.
But because this slip of reason is confined to only one or two paragraphs of the book, it is a weakness that while noteworthy and unfortunate, is not fatal to his argument. One who remains skeptical about the viability of miracles should consider that Lewis revised this book back in 1960 (in response to the arguments of Anscombe) and to date, there has been no compelling rebuttal to its tenets. Attempts to erect a solid rebuttal have been presented and then systematically refuted as erroneous and mostly illogical. As a result, this book has stood the test of time and remains a compelling argument that should provide great comfort and assurance to those who believe the Biblical miracles on faith, but wonder whether this belief can also be grounded in reason and philosophical argument. It can, and we should expect nothing less from the Creator who not only created nature and supernaturally intervenes in nature, but who also created perfect logic and reason.
How exactly do you define a miracle? Lewis defines a miracle as "an interference with Nature by supernatural power." Lewis then presents many questions. Are miracles in contrast to the laws of Nature? What exactly ARE the laws of Nature? Are exceptions possible? How does probability fit into the discussion of miracles? Later in the book, Lewis focuses on three categories of miracles: The Grand Miracle (God becoming man in Jesus Christ), Miracles of the Old Creation (miracles of fertility, healing, destruction, etc.), and Miracles of the New Creation (miracles of reversal, glory, resurrection). This last portion of the book I found to be the most fascinating as Lewis examines several specific miracles from the Old and New Testaments.
"Miracles" is a relatively short book, but properly read will take a little time to read. Take time to absorb and contemplate each chapter. Lewis left us with a lot of things to think about here, regardless of your worldview. You may not agree with everything Lewis says, but it will cause you to think long after you've closed the book.
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