Take a photo of a barcode or cover
shelfreflectionofficial's Reviews (844)
“Pleasure and torture were often delivered in the same blow.”
As I discussed in my review for This Woven Kingdom, there were several things I felt were undeveloped in the first book: the water crisis, the devil or its opponent, and Kamran’s enigma of a mother. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t really say any of these progressed much in this book.
This felt more like a transitional book in between books one and three where not a lot of action or plot progression happens. It was more focused on the love triangle I suspected would develop.
This book takes place right after the first one so much so that you almost need to reread the last chapter before starting this one. I think I waited too long to read this one and had forgotten some of where we had left off.
Here’s the Sitch
This book is structured to go back and forth between what’s going on with Alizeh and what’s happening with Kamran:
Alizeh has just been captured by Cyrus and taken to Tulan where he expects her to become his wife and rule his kingdom. This is part of the deal he has made with the devil.
Once she realizes the devil’s involvement, Alizeh is resistant to do anything that would be in line with the devil’s plans. Trying to figure out a way to escape, she is intrigued by Cyrus’ mother’s encouragement to help her murder her own son.
She says, “Cyrus is exceedingly clever, rather deceptively strong, and lacks a basic standard of virtue. He’s also very, very angry, and suspicious to a fault.”
Alizeh and Cyrus hate each other and spend most of their words to each other insulting one another. But of course, where there is hate, there is love. Underlying the distrust and hatred, they’re book attracted to each other but won’t admit it.
The more time they spend together the more compassion Alizeh has for Cyrus’ devil-predicament and the more alluring Cyrus’ clear beauty is to her.
Meanwhile, Kamran is left behind in Ardunia to process all the betrayal he has just experienced. His anger is at an all time high, sated only by his dichotomous love/hate feelings for Alizeh.
“The entire Ardunian empire had been left vulnerable because he’d been frail of mind and body. Never again. Never again would he allow a woman to own his emotions: never again would he be made weak by such base temptations. He swore it then: this monster from the prophecy would die by his hand— he would drive a blade through her heart or die trying.”
“Alizeh spoke, and the Diviners had been slaughtered; she spun, and his grandfather had been murdered; she laughed, and his body had been disfigured; she breathed, and his mother had vanished; she sighed, and his aunt no longer spoke to him; she left, and his own people had turned on him. Even then, he wondered whether he’d ever see her again.”
The disaster that has just happened leaves Kamran whirling, not knowing who he can trust. His place on the throne is in danger and his ousting looms imminent.
He eventually gathers a rag-tag band of people seemingly loyal to him and willing to help him maintain his power and try to rescue Alizeh.
The end of the book sets us up to prepare for a reuniting of Alizeh and Kamran under unsteady circumstances and a lot of tension. It would seem the lack of action in this book should pick up in the next one!
Comments
Even though there wasn’t much plot movement, I still enjoyed reading this book. It didn’t feel like it was dragging or that I was bored.
I’m not sure how I feel about the characters at this point. There is just so much anger and insulting in the book. Everyone hates everyone all the time! Some of the sarcasm and insults are funny I guess, but the overall negative vibe is a bit much.
I’m also not a big fan of love triangles. I’m interested to see how Mafi decides to handle this in the next book.
In comparison to the first book there is a little bit more sexual encounters— no actual sex or anything weird, but probably enough ‘lustful’ (for lack of a better word) thoughts that I’m not sure if I would recommend for high school readers.
I was disappointed that we didn’t really get more development on some things so my expectations for the next book are pretty high. I hope Mafi takes the story in a satisfying way. I speculate that Kamran’s mother is going to be a big piece of the puzzle coming together so hopefully I’m not wrong about that.
What’s weird about this series is that I’m not entirely sure what the main conflict/problem is. Obviously the prophecy is central: Alizeh is supposed to rule her people. But the devil aspect is confusing to me because we don’t really know what his game is. What is he planning and for what purpose? Because his mission is unclear, it’s hard to know what moves/decisions help or hurt him— we can’t feel the tension as a reader of knowing the character is making the right or wrong choice. There is still mystery obviously, but sometimes it’s nice to know what we’re trying to avoid so the tension has more meaning.
Recommendation
At this point I’m still recommending this series, but we’re in the same place as the first book where a lot hinges on what’s next. Mafi is stringing us along a little bit so the pay-off better be worth it.
If you like enemies to lovers tropes, this is definitely for you (at least I think so, I guess I don’t know if anyone actually ends up lovers yet).
There is quite a bit of intrigue and potential left to come so at this point I’m still looking forward to more of this series.
[Content Advisory: no swearing (that I can remember); sexual content is just some ‘lustful’ thoughts that the characters are currently resisting]
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
As I discussed in my review for This Woven Kingdom, there were several things I felt were undeveloped in the first book: the water crisis, the devil or its opponent, and Kamran’s enigma of a mother. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t really say any of these progressed much in this book.
This felt more like a transitional book in between books one and three where not a lot of action or plot progression happens. It was more focused on the love triangle I suspected would develop.
This book takes place right after the first one so much so that you almost need to reread the last chapter before starting this one. I think I waited too long to read this one and had forgotten some of where we had left off.
Here’s the Sitch
This book is structured to go back and forth between what’s going on with Alizeh and what’s happening with Kamran:
Alizeh has just been captured by Cyrus and taken to Tulan where he expects her to become his wife and rule his kingdom. This is part of the deal he has made with the devil.
Once she realizes the devil’s involvement, Alizeh is resistant to do anything that would be in line with the devil’s plans. Trying to figure out a way to escape, she is intrigued by Cyrus’ mother’s encouragement to help her murder her own son.
She says, “Cyrus is exceedingly clever, rather deceptively strong, and lacks a basic standard of virtue. He’s also very, very angry, and suspicious to a fault.”
Alizeh and Cyrus hate each other and spend most of their words to each other insulting one another. But of course, where there is hate, there is love. Underlying the distrust and hatred, they’re book attracted to each other but won’t admit it.
The more time they spend together the more compassion Alizeh has for Cyrus’ devil-predicament and the more alluring Cyrus’ clear beauty is to her.
Meanwhile, Kamran is left behind in Ardunia to process all the betrayal he has just experienced. His anger is at an all time high, sated only by his dichotomous love/hate feelings for Alizeh.
“The entire Ardunian empire had been left vulnerable because he’d been frail of mind and body. Never again. Never again would he allow a woman to own his emotions: never again would he be made weak by such base temptations. He swore it then: this monster from the prophecy would die by his hand— he would drive a blade through her heart or die trying.”
“Alizeh spoke, and the Diviners had been slaughtered; she spun, and his grandfather had been murdered; she laughed, and his body had been disfigured; she breathed, and his mother had vanished; she sighed, and his aunt no longer spoke to him; she left, and his own people had turned on him. Even then, he wondered whether he’d ever see her again.”
The disaster that has just happened leaves Kamran whirling, not knowing who he can trust. His place on the throne is in danger and his ousting looms imminent.
He eventually gathers a rag-tag band of people seemingly loyal to him and willing to help him maintain his power and try to rescue Alizeh.
The end of the book sets us up to prepare for a reuniting of Alizeh and Kamran under unsteady circumstances and a lot of tension. It would seem the lack of action in this book should pick up in the next one!
Comments
Even though there wasn’t much plot movement, I still enjoyed reading this book. It didn’t feel like it was dragging or that I was bored.
I’m not sure how I feel about the characters at this point. There is just so much anger and insulting in the book. Everyone hates everyone all the time! Some of the sarcasm and insults are funny I guess, but the overall negative vibe is a bit much.
I’m also not a big fan of love triangles. I’m interested to see how Mafi decides to handle this in the next book.
In comparison to the first book there is a little bit more sexual encounters— no actual sex or anything weird, but probably enough ‘lustful’ (for lack of a better word) thoughts that I’m not sure if I would recommend for high school readers.
I was disappointed that we didn’t really get more development on some things so my expectations for the next book are pretty high. I hope Mafi takes the story in a satisfying way. I speculate that Kamran’s mother is going to be a big piece of the puzzle coming together so hopefully I’m not wrong about that.
What’s weird about this series is that I’m not entirely sure what the main conflict/problem is. Obviously the prophecy is central: Alizeh is supposed to rule her people. But the devil aspect is confusing to me because we don’t really know what his game is. What is he planning and for what purpose? Because his mission is unclear, it’s hard to know what moves/decisions help or hurt him— we can’t feel the tension as a reader of knowing the character is making the right or wrong choice. There is still mystery obviously, but sometimes it’s nice to know what we’re trying to avoid so the tension has more meaning.
Recommendation
At this point I’m still recommending this series, but we’re in the same place as the first book where a lot hinges on what’s next. Mafi is stringing us along a little bit so the pay-off better be worth it.
If you like enemies to lovers tropes, this is definitely for you (at least I think so, I guess I don’t know if anyone actually ends up lovers yet).
There is quite a bit of intrigue and potential left to come so at this point I’m still looking forward to more of this series.
[Content Advisory: no swearing (that I can remember); sexual content is just some ‘lustful’ thoughts that the characters are currently resisting]
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
"I tried desperately to understand and know my mother— what made her sad, what made her happy— at the expense of ever really knowing myself.”
Jenny Lawson, author of Broken (in the best possible way), says of I’m Glad My Mom Died: “How can a book be so sad and also so funny?… [it] is hysterical and heartbreaking and fascinating all at the same time.”
Although there was some good sarcasm and funny internal dialogue while the author talked to her therapists, and some good lines— like the ‘umless guy’ and “the amount of times I’ve thought buying plants might make a difference in my life is staggering”— it was very minor compared to the sadness and heartbreaking story of how Jennette McCurdy’s mom ruined her life and in doing so also prevented her from developing healthy ways to deal with the trauma.
This is a story that gives us an inside look at the grueling life of acting, especially for kids. It exposes the real struggles of eating disorders and poor body image. It reveals the emotional and physical damage a mother can cause for a daughter. It describes the intense emotional and physical struggle of recovery.
It is hard to read. It is not a ‘fun’ read. But it’s honest and real.
The title is meant to shock. Really it was a good marketing title because it’s so unnatural to say or read that I’m guessing it got a lot of attention for it— though mostly misleading I think.
The title is intentionally overly simplistic. The book is not a mom-hating book as much as a ‘This is what my life was like. This is what my mom did to me. This is why I am the way I am right now. And even though I hate my mom for it and I’m glad I’m free of her, why do I still feel love and attachment and am protective of her?’
I read this book for my reading challenge, not because I knew who Jennette McCurdy was. I had never heard of her. I never watched iCarly or Sam & Cat (the two shows she is most known for).
Jennette’s mom, who was ‘denied’ a career as an actress by her parents, was determined to live vicariously through her daughter. She forced her to become a child actor at the age of six.
“I want to give you the life I deserved. The life my parents wouldn’t let me have.”
Forced is the right word, but the wrong visual picture. The accurate visual is a pattern of manipulation and emotional abuse. She conditioned Jennette to attend to her every need and feeling, to cater to her and do whatever she could to make sure her mother was happy. To the severe detriment of her own life.
“The fragility of Mom’s life is the center of mine.”
Jennette’s mother suffered from a whole host of things. She successfully battled cancer when Jennette was only two, though her cancer history would be a regular topic of conversation, employed for sympathy in many occurrences, and a fear of it returning wielded as a weapon. Her mom was also a hoarder and a narcissist. She was anorexic and taught her daughter to adapt her unhealthy eating habits and relationship to food and her body at the tender age of 11.
The issues compounded on each other and left Jennette hurt, confused, angry, and dependent.
This book is divided into two parts: Before and After.
The event at which the book is split and thus named, is the death of her mother. Death from the return of her cancer.
As a reader you really feel the growth of the relationship between Jennette and her mom, the tension of a daughter wanting to please her mother but then realizing her mother is not caring for her as a mother should. In fact, she has really stolen her childhood and her innocence. You feel her emotional turmoil at loving her mother but being glad to be free of her manipulation and abuse.
“I know I’ve grown bitter. I know I’ve grown resentful. But I don’t care. I feel like that show robbed me of my youth, of a normal adolescence where I could experience life without every little thing I did being critiqued, discussed, or ridiculed.”
‘That show’ being iCarly, which— after many small parts in a variety of shows or movies— became her big break. She was a Nickolodean star. It is quite remarkable that she could become so good at something she actually despised. Her dedication to her mother and the control her mother had over her is also astounding.
She continued to grow in fame and recognition but realized she was more and more unhappy.
“She wanted this. And I wanted her to have it. I wanted her to be happy. But now that I have it, I realize that she’s happy and I’m not. Her happiness came at the cost of mine. I feel robbed and exploited.”
Her feelings are accurate.
Eventually she starts to resist the persona she has been shackled to at Nickelodeon. But even this leads to more trauma.
“The second the child star tries to outgrow and break free from their image, they become bait for the media, highly publicized as rebellious, troubled, and tortured, when all they’re trying to do is grow.”
It really changes your perspective on child actors and makes you realize that there is so much about celebrities’ lives that we are not privy to. Things are never as simple as the media and tabloids depict. Jennette inspires us to be empathetic when we see stars going through hard times. Not to excuse all the poor choices and harmful behavior, but to understand that there are probably a lot of factors at play behind the scenes that contributed to events that make the papers.
It makes me wonder about all the other child actors. How many of them experienced varying degrees of parental pressure that kept them in a place they didn’t want to be in? A place that increased their stress and messed with their body image and self-worth?
As a parent it reminds me of the power and control I can have over my kids. Power that is dangerous to utilize. It reminds me to let my kids be kids and to keep my own emotions and struggles from being problems I make them feel responsible for. I think as parents we can manipulate even in small ways that we don’t recognize. We’re hopefully not versions of Jennette’s mom, but manipulation is still manipulation and we should strive to listen to our kids, give them a voice, and allow them to make their own choices (obviously within reason…).
In some ways this book reminds me of Jeannette Well’s (whoa, similar name) book The Glass Castle which describes the ways her own parents failed to care for her and her siblings. It’s not the same circumstances, but both gave me a lot of anxiety and anger while reading.
One difference I like about this book over Glass Castle is that McCurdy correctly identifies her mother’s problems and responds understandably. Wells seems to excuse her parent’s behavior, almost explaining and defending it rather than wishing for restitution. That always bothered me.
A parent is supposed to care for their kids in all the ways because children are vulnerable and susceptible and because that’s how you love someone. And when parents fail to do so, it is not okay. McCurdy is honest about her love/hate relationship and exposing the wrongness of her mother, but Wells seems to see the world through rose-colored glasses and seems to see her parents as ‘different’ rather than abusive. (At least according to my memory of what/how I read her book)
The chapters here are nice and short and depict various encounters or stories that defined Jennette’s life, her own mental and physical struggles.
There is a significant writing voice change about halfway through as Jennette grows up. She goes from a naive, innocent, sad girl trying to be a good Mormon to an angry, ‘f-this’ using, alcoholic, bulimic girl stuck between knowing the damage her mom is causing but still striving to please her.
The second half contains a lot more swearing and sexual encounters— described in a somewhat clinical way as Jennette is experiencing new things. I would have preferred not to have so much detail.
Some reviewers critique Jennette for ‘whining’ about her privilege. I disagree with this. Just because she was famous and had money doesn’t mean she can’t have trauma. It doesn’t mean that she has to enjoy her life. It doesn’t mean she can’t be honest about her feelings.
It didn’t come across ‘privileged’ to me at all.
And sure she was able to pay for a therapist in ways others can’t. We’re going to penalize her for this?! Reading about her recovery, it’s clear that she needed this kind of involvement. Why should she feel bad that she could afford to do that?
I get the feeling that writing this book has been part of her recovery process. A way for her to process her thoughts. I think it’s courageous for her to put it all out there. Perhaps some of it could have been written differently; it’s not a perfect book.
And because it jumped around a little bit, it was hard to track her age ad emotional status throughout the book. It made it difficult to view each encounter contextually correctly because of that.
I also don’t feel like we get the whole story- her brothers’ side of things is missing, though that’s clearly intentional for their own privacy and it’s not her story to tell. But I’m very curious to get their point of view of the situation and how they were affected by all of it. They couldn’t have come away unscathed.
Recommendation
If you are looking for a comedic memoir, this is not it.
If you have a hard time reading about abuse or eating disorders, this is not for you.
It feels weird to recommend people read a really sad and hard to read book. However, it does give insight into the struggles child actors face, the emotional battle of eating disorders, and the hard work it takes to recover from abuse and body image problems.
It also reminds us that things aren’t always what they seem and we should consider we probably shouldn’t make assumptions about people just because they seem to ‘have it all.’
I guess read at your own risk.
[Content Advisory: a lot of f- and s-words in the second half; trigger warnings for eating disorders, alcoholism, and abuse; graphic sexual content in the second half as well]
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
Jenny Lawson, author of Broken (in the best possible way), says of I’m Glad My Mom Died: “How can a book be so sad and also so funny?… [it] is hysterical and heartbreaking and fascinating all at the same time.”
Although there was some good sarcasm and funny internal dialogue while the author talked to her therapists, and some good lines— like the ‘umless guy’ and “the amount of times I’ve thought buying plants might make a difference in my life is staggering”— it was very minor compared to the sadness and heartbreaking story of how Jennette McCurdy’s mom ruined her life and in doing so also prevented her from developing healthy ways to deal with the trauma.
This is a story that gives us an inside look at the grueling life of acting, especially for kids. It exposes the real struggles of eating disorders and poor body image. It reveals the emotional and physical damage a mother can cause for a daughter. It describes the intense emotional and physical struggle of recovery.
It is hard to read. It is not a ‘fun’ read. But it’s honest and real.
The title is meant to shock. Really it was a good marketing title because it’s so unnatural to say or read that I’m guessing it got a lot of attention for it— though mostly misleading I think.
The title is intentionally overly simplistic. The book is not a mom-hating book as much as a ‘This is what my life was like. This is what my mom did to me. This is why I am the way I am right now. And even though I hate my mom for it and I’m glad I’m free of her, why do I still feel love and attachment and am protective of her?’
I read this book for my reading challenge, not because I knew who Jennette McCurdy was. I had never heard of her. I never watched iCarly or Sam & Cat (the two shows she is most known for).
Jennette’s mom, who was ‘denied’ a career as an actress by her parents, was determined to live vicariously through her daughter. She forced her to become a child actor at the age of six.
“I want to give you the life I deserved. The life my parents wouldn’t let me have.”
Forced is the right word, but the wrong visual picture. The accurate visual is a pattern of manipulation and emotional abuse. She conditioned Jennette to attend to her every need and feeling, to cater to her and do whatever she could to make sure her mother was happy. To the severe detriment of her own life.
“The fragility of Mom’s life is the center of mine.”
Jennette’s mother suffered from a whole host of things. She successfully battled cancer when Jennette was only two, though her cancer history would be a regular topic of conversation, employed for sympathy in many occurrences, and a fear of it returning wielded as a weapon. Her mom was also a hoarder and a narcissist. She was anorexic and taught her daughter to adapt her unhealthy eating habits and relationship to food and her body at the tender age of 11.
The issues compounded on each other and left Jennette hurt, confused, angry, and dependent.
This book is divided into two parts: Before and After.
The event at which the book is split and thus named, is the death of her mother. Death from the return of her cancer.
As a reader you really feel the growth of the relationship between Jennette and her mom, the tension of a daughter wanting to please her mother but then realizing her mother is not caring for her as a mother should. In fact, she has really stolen her childhood and her innocence. You feel her emotional turmoil at loving her mother but being glad to be free of her manipulation and abuse.
“I know I’ve grown bitter. I know I’ve grown resentful. But I don’t care. I feel like that show robbed me of my youth, of a normal adolescence where I could experience life without every little thing I did being critiqued, discussed, or ridiculed.”
‘That show’ being iCarly, which— after many small parts in a variety of shows or movies— became her big break. She was a Nickolodean star. It is quite remarkable that she could become so good at something she actually despised. Her dedication to her mother and the control her mother had over her is also astounding.
She continued to grow in fame and recognition but realized she was more and more unhappy.
“She wanted this. And I wanted her to have it. I wanted her to be happy. But now that I have it, I realize that she’s happy and I’m not. Her happiness came at the cost of mine. I feel robbed and exploited.”
Her feelings are accurate.
Eventually she starts to resist the persona she has been shackled to at Nickelodeon. But even this leads to more trauma.
“The second the child star tries to outgrow and break free from their image, they become bait for the media, highly publicized as rebellious, troubled, and tortured, when all they’re trying to do is grow.”
It really changes your perspective on child actors and makes you realize that there is so much about celebrities’ lives that we are not privy to. Things are never as simple as the media and tabloids depict. Jennette inspires us to be empathetic when we see stars going through hard times. Not to excuse all the poor choices and harmful behavior, but to understand that there are probably a lot of factors at play behind the scenes that contributed to events that make the papers.
It makes me wonder about all the other child actors. How many of them experienced varying degrees of parental pressure that kept them in a place they didn’t want to be in? A place that increased their stress and messed with their body image and self-worth?
As a parent it reminds me of the power and control I can have over my kids. Power that is dangerous to utilize. It reminds me to let my kids be kids and to keep my own emotions and struggles from being problems I make them feel responsible for. I think as parents we can manipulate even in small ways that we don’t recognize. We’re hopefully not versions of Jennette’s mom, but manipulation is still manipulation and we should strive to listen to our kids, give them a voice, and allow them to make their own choices (obviously within reason…).
In some ways this book reminds me of Jeannette Well’s (whoa, similar name) book The Glass Castle which describes the ways her own parents failed to care for her and her siblings. It’s not the same circumstances, but both gave me a lot of anxiety and anger while reading.
One difference I like about this book over Glass Castle is that McCurdy correctly identifies her mother’s problems and responds understandably. Wells seems to excuse her parent’s behavior, almost explaining and defending it rather than wishing for restitution. That always bothered me.
A parent is supposed to care for their kids in all the ways because children are vulnerable and susceptible and because that’s how you love someone. And when parents fail to do so, it is not okay. McCurdy is honest about her love/hate relationship and exposing the wrongness of her mother, but Wells seems to see the world through rose-colored glasses and seems to see her parents as ‘different’ rather than abusive. (At least according to my memory of what/how I read her book)
The chapters here are nice and short and depict various encounters or stories that defined Jennette’s life, her own mental and physical struggles.
There is a significant writing voice change about halfway through as Jennette grows up. She goes from a naive, innocent, sad girl trying to be a good Mormon to an angry, ‘f-this’ using, alcoholic, bulimic girl stuck between knowing the damage her mom is causing but still striving to please her.
The second half contains a lot more swearing and sexual encounters— described in a somewhat clinical way as Jennette is experiencing new things. I would have preferred not to have so much detail.
Some reviewers critique Jennette for ‘whining’ about her privilege. I disagree with this. Just because she was famous and had money doesn’t mean she can’t have trauma. It doesn’t mean that she has to enjoy her life. It doesn’t mean she can’t be honest about her feelings.
It didn’t come across ‘privileged’ to me at all.
And sure she was able to pay for a therapist in ways others can’t. We’re going to penalize her for this?! Reading about her recovery, it’s clear that she needed this kind of involvement. Why should she feel bad that she could afford to do that?
I get the feeling that writing this book has been part of her recovery process. A way for her to process her thoughts. I think it’s courageous for her to put it all out there. Perhaps some of it could have been written differently; it’s not a perfect book.
And because it jumped around a little bit, it was hard to track her age ad emotional status throughout the book. It made it difficult to view each encounter contextually correctly because of that.
I also don’t feel like we get the whole story- her brothers’ side of things is missing, though that’s clearly intentional for their own privacy and it’s not her story to tell. But I’m very curious to get their point of view of the situation and how they were affected by all of it. They couldn’t have come away unscathed.
Recommendation
If you are looking for a comedic memoir, this is not it.
If you have a hard time reading about abuse or eating disorders, this is not for you.
It feels weird to recommend people read a really sad and hard to read book. However, it does give insight into the struggles child actors face, the emotional battle of eating disorders, and the hard work it takes to recover from abuse and body image problems.
It also reminds us that things aren’t always what they seem and we should consider we probably shouldn’t make assumptions about people just because they seem to ‘have it all.’
I guess read at your own risk.
[Content Advisory: a lot of f- and s-words in the second half; trigger warnings for eating disorders, alcoholism, and abuse; graphic sexual content in the second half as well]
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up
Francis Chan, Preston M. Sprinkle
I’ve tried many different Bible reading plans and have typically failed at them. Probably largely due to lack of discipline, but this year I was finally able to complete a plan and I think it was partly because of this particular plan and coinciding commentary.
D.A. Carson’s commentary is short but insightful and helpful when reading a lot of hard to understand passages. And even while reading books like Leviticus and Numbers he gives you something to think about which is nice because it’s easy to gloss over those and not get much out of them.
The setup of the plan is in such a way that just reading Volume 1 you could read through the NT twice and the OT once in the year. However the commentary in this book only follows the first two provided passages- which is what I did. (Meaning read the NT once, and half the OT) Reading volume two will have a new set of commentaries that will go through the NT again and the rest of the OT.
The only disappointment I had with the book is that some of the commentaries discussed a different chapter than I had wanted information on. Which isn’t a big deal, and maybe it was good because it caused me to seek answers on my own through other means.
If you struggle with following through on Bible reading plans- give this a shot, it might be just what you’re looking for!
D.A. Carson’s commentary is short but insightful and helpful when reading a lot of hard to understand passages. And even while reading books like Leviticus and Numbers he gives you something to think about which is nice because it’s easy to gloss over those and not get much out of them.
The setup of the plan is in such a way that just reading Volume 1 you could read through the NT twice and the OT once in the year. However the commentary in this book only follows the first two provided passages- which is what I did. (Meaning read the NT once, and half the OT) Reading volume two will have a new set of commentaries that will go through the NT again and the rest of the OT.
The only disappointment I had with the book is that some of the commentaries discussed a different chapter than I had wanted information on. Which isn’t a big deal, and maybe it was good because it caused me to seek answers on my own through other means.
If you struggle with following through on Bible reading plans- give this a shot, it might be just what you’re looking for!
Typical%20Woman-%20Free,%20Whole,%20and%20Called%20in%20Christ.jpg)
Chances are we all have different ideas of what it means to be a woman. Trying to define a 'typical' woman is a fool's errand. But the world and church alike try to tell us how to be 'true women.' What do we do when we hear conflicting answers? Abigail Dodds has written an extremely relevant and freeing book, rooted in God's truth, that shows how we can live as God created us to.
Whether you are single or married, a mother or desiring to be, working at an office or in your home, this book is for you. She covers pretty much all of the pressures we face as women to be a certain way, look a certain way, act or feel a certain way, and reminds us that God doesn't call us to be typical, he calls us to be faithful.
I found this to be a solid undertaking in a messy and controversial topic. There are plenty of ways that churches have failed women. Plenty of ways Scripture is mishandled and misused. And of course, plenty of ways our current culture has failed us- selling us a false doctrine of female empowerment that actually does the opposite it advertises. But we are not without hope, truth, and direction. Dodd is bold yet sensitive. Holding high the Word of God and letting loose the bonds of stereotypes. She tackles the taboo word of 'submission' with tactful, loving, powerful truth.
If you're tired of feeling like less than enough, that you don't measure up to being the 'right' kind of woman, that you're constantly battling against what the world tells you you should to be, read this book. It's not an author on a crusade with an agenda- it's a woman who loves the Lord and desires to be more like Him.
Here's a taste of the truth you will read:
"The nature of being Christian women isn’t based on what we do but on who we are—who he’s made us. The whole world, under the prince of the power of the air, is bent on rejecting how God has made men and women. As Christian women, we need to think long and hard about the direction in which we’re leaning. Are we flirting with a subtle version of the outright rebellion of the world, manifested in discontentedness and small obfuscations of the parts of God’s Word and design that we want to minimize—the parts that simply refuse to be contextualized to the twenty-first century? Or have we cloaked ourselves in a feminine stereotype that leans into legalism and away from the fullness of God’s Word, God’s design, and God’s mission for us? We dare not lean anywhere but deeper into Christ."
"Christians often admonish other Christians to be true or real men and women… But, unintentionally, calling people to be real men and women can send the message that if they don’t behave a certain way, their femaleness or maleness is at stake—that God’s creation of male and female is dependent on our ability to live it out rightly… Our behaviors and attitudes indicate who we bow down to, but they can’t dictate what we are. Only God can do that... What makes real men and women is the fact that God made us men and women, just as what makes us real Christians is that God made us Christians by making us alive in Christ. In both cases, we don’t earn it or achieve it or feel our way to it."
"Am I faithfully obeying God as his child by meeting the genuine needs of others, or am I pursuing self-actualization, self-fulfillment, or selfish ambition apart from him? Our faithfulness first requires a kind of death—death to self and selfish ambition. Yet death leads to life."
"So be encouraged and truly liberated, all you atypical women. God doesn’t ask you to be typical. He calls you to be his. He calls for unequivocal submission and loyalty to himself, and this requirement is the most loving thing he could command of you. A life of obedience to God is the riskiest kind of life that has ever been truly safe. And as he commands our submission to him and his Book and his design, he simultaneously enables it through the limitless power of his saving Son."
Whether you are single or married, a mother or desiring to be, working at an office or in your home, this book is for you. She covers pretty much all of the pressures we face as women to be a certain way, look a certain way, act or feel a certain way, and reminds us that God doesn't call us to be typical, he calls us to be faithful.
I found this to be a solid undertaking in a messy and controversial topic. There are plenty of ways that churches have failed women. Plenty of ways Scripture is mishandled and misused. And of course, plenty of ways our current culture has failed us- selling us a false doctrine of female empowerment that actually does the opposite it advertises. But we are not without hope, truth, and direction. Dodd is bold yet sensitive. Holding high the Word of God and letting loose the bonds of stereotypes. She tackles the taboo word of 'submission' with tactful, loving, powerful truth.
If you're tired of feeling like less than enough, that you don't measure up to being the 'right' kind of woman, that you're constantly battling against what the world tells you you should to be, read this book. It's not an author on a crusade with an agenda- it's a woman who loves the Lord and desires to be more like Him.
Here's a taste of the truth you will read:
"The nature of being Christian women isn’t based on what we do but on who we are—who he’s made us. The whole world, under the prince of the power of the air, is bent on rejecting how God has made men and women. As Christian women, we need to think long and hard about the direction in which we’re leaning. Are we flirting with a subtle version of the outright rebellion of the world, manifested in discontentedness and small obfuscations of the parts of God’s Word and design that we want to minimize—the parts that simply refuse to be contextualized to the twenty-first century? Or have we cloaked ourselves in a feminine stereotype that leans into legalism and away from the fullness of God’s Word, God’s design, and God’s mission for us? We dare not lean anywhere but deeper into Christ."
"Christians often admonish other Christians to be true or real men and women… But, unintentionally, calling people to be real men and women can send the message that if they don’t behave a certain way, their femaleness or maleness is at stake—that God’s creation of male and female is dependent on our ability to live it out rightly… Our behaviors and attitudes indicate who we bow down to, but they can’t dictate what we are. Only God can do that... What makes real men and women is the fact that God made us men and women, just as what makes us real Christians is that God made us Christians by making us alive in Christ. In both cases, we don’t earn it or achieve it or feel our way to it."
"Am I faithfully obeying God as his child by meeting the genuine needs of others, or am I pursuing self-actualization, self-fulfillment, or selfish ambition apart from him? Our faithfulness first requires a kind of death—death to self and selfish ambition. Yet death leads to life."
"So be encouraged and truly liberated, all you atypical women. God doesn’t ask you to be typical. He calls you to be his. He calls for unequivocal submission and loyalty to himself, and this requirement is the most loving thing he could command of you. A life of obedience to God is the riskiest kind of life that has ever been truly safe. And as he commands our submission to him and his Book and his design, he simultaneously enables it through the limitless power of his saving Son."
It’s a beautiful book. The design is well done- very vibrant and colorful and full of beautiful pictures of nature.
This is a 52 week devotional- one devotion per week. It’s called Earth Psalms so I started it at the same time as I started Tim Keller’s Psalms Devotional thinking they would pair well together. But I didn’t do my research. Rivers’ book is not solely based in the Psalms. She picks Scripture from the whole Bible to go along with something she sees in nature that pertains to biblical principles. And not realizing it was 52 weeks and Keller’s is daily, it didn’t make the best duo.
I would probably read this again but try to do it as it was designed and spend more time reflecting on one devotion weekly. She provides good questions and reflections at the end of each devotion as well as a short prayer. Some of the devotions are pretty surface level as most devotionals are, but the questions are relevant and the information is theologically sound. I still found many of the devotions to be valuable and what I needed to hear that day. God still speaks through pretty devotional books with pretty pictures.
This is a 52 week devotional- one devotion per week. It’s called Earth Psalms so I started it at the same time as I started Tim Keller’s Psalms Devotional thinking they would pair well together. But I didn’t do my research. Rivers’ book is not solely based in the Psalms. She picks Scripture from the whole Bible to go along with something she sees in nature that pertains to biblical principles. And not realizing it was 52 weeks and Keller’s is daily, it didn’t make the best duo.
I would probably read this again but try to do it as it was designed and spend more time reflecting on one devotion weekly. She provides good questions and reflections at the end of each devotion as well as a short prayer. Some of the devotions are pretty surface level as most devotionals are, but the questions are relevant and the information is theologically sound. I still found many of the devotions to be valuable and what I needed to hear that day. God still speaks through pretty devotional books with pretty pictures.
Mysterious and tense read. Terra was taken for 4 days, but no one noticed she was gone. She escapes but eventually the investigation of her story turns up no evidence to back up her claims and she is blasted for making it up. Still dealing with the trauma of her parents’ death from their house fire, her history of lying, skipping school, not taking her meds, and making up stories makes her unreliable. As a reader we are left to figure out if we can trust her narration or if this is a made up story. Is this all in her head or is there someone out there who is setting her up, who is playing on her weaknesses and is maybe still hunting her?
Terra is on a mission to prove that what happened to her was real. She must find the water well she was kept in and the book her captor left with her depicting a foreshadowing of her captivity. But she questions the reality of everything she finds. It doesn’t help that her own aunt doesn’t believe her and thinks she needs more therapy to deal with the trauma she has endured.
Meanwhile, Terra develops an online friendship with a girl named Peyton in an anonymous chat room for victims of abuse. When Peyton expresses fear of her captor coming back for her, that she’s in danger, and then stops showing up in the chat room Terra feels responsible to track her down and save her.
This book kept me guessing! I kept going back and forth- it must have happened, no it must be in her head, no I think it was real. You become suspicious of every character, questioning if they’re real, questioning their motives, and wondering what part, if any, they played.
I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but I was still invested in the story. The suspense was good and the plot movement compelling. Definitely a book I would recommend!
**Received an ARC via NetGalley **
See more of my reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!
Terra is on a mission to prove that what happened to her was real. She must find the water well she was kept in and the book her captor left with her depicting a foreshadowing of her captivity. But she questions the reality of everything she finds. It doesn’t help that her own aunt doesn’t believe her and thinks she needs more therapy to deal with the trauma she has endured.
Meanwhile, Terra develops an online friendship with a girl named Peyton in an anonymous chat room for victims of abuse. When Peyton expresses fear of her captor coming back for her, that she’s in danger, and then stops showing up in the chat room Terra feels responsible to track her down and save her.
This book kept me guessing! I kept going back and forth- it must have happened, no it must be in her head, no I think it was real. You become suspicious of every character, questioning if they’re real, questioning their motives, and wondering what part, if any, they played.
I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but I was still invested in the story. The suspense was good and the plot movement compelling. Definitely a book I would recommend!
**Received an ARC via NetGalley **
See more of my reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!
“We must remember that Christianity is worthy of our belief not because it always feels better—or even seems to work better than other systems— but because it is true. If Jesus is really the Son of God, if he really rose from the dead, if there really is eternal life only through him, then that is enough to make him worthy of following.”
I wish I had this book when I went to college.
It is short, to the point, easy to understand, and fairly comprehensive. Written to college students (not to scholars) it provides an excellent resource for confident, preliminary answers to all the most pertinent questions high school grads will encounter as they go out into the world, namely in institutions of higher learning.
I used to give the book ‘Just Do Something’ for all the high school grads, but I think I might switch to this one.
I believe this book should be owned by every adult leaving home and entering the world.
I grew up in a Christian home. My world was pretty black and white. I knew what was wrong and what was right. It was pretty easy for me to determine truth from lie.
But then I went to college.
And not just any college. A conservative Christian college. I did not anticipate any theological dissonance; after all, we’re all Christians so we all believe the same thing, right?
But even there, I was challenged in my beliefs. Things I thought were standard beliefs turned out to be disputed. Questions were asked of beliefs I held that I never really had to defend. It rocked my world a bit. What do I do now? Have I believed a lie? Can I trust the Bible from which my whole worldview stems?
In fact, I saw many people go through college with me and essentially give up on their faith. As soon as the foundation of their beliefs were questioned and they couldn’t come up with an answer, they threw their entire faith away. ‘I guess we can’t really know anything,’ they thought.
If that’s the experience at a conservative Christian college, then how much more opposition do Christians face in secular universities? This book is so important.
It’s hard to push back against people of authority and higher education. We tend to think ‘Well, my professors must know more than me. This is their job and they have a PhD so I should probably believe them.’ Especially if they are professing Christians.
But just because professors have years of schooling, doesn’t mean everything they tell you is completely true and unbiased. Kruger reminds us that everyone operates and discerns out of their own worldview:
“People (including your professors) are not neutral. They have a worldview, a paradigm, that shapes everything they see. World views involve our most foundational commitments: where the world came from, our place in it, the purpose of life, the meaning of ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ the existence of God (or gods), what happens when we die, and so on.”
Dan Crenshaw lists a shocking stat in his book Fortitude: only “9.2% of academic faculty members identify as conservative.” While this is more along the lines of politics instead of theology, it is still indicative of a striking worldview-shaper and no doubt influences how they teach their classes.
Tellingly, what Haidt and Lukianoff show in their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, is that universities are straying from encouraging intellectual freedom and a fair representation of all ideas. Kruger agrees- “It seems the modern universities are for every sort of diversity (gender, race, ethnicity) except diversity of ideas. And nowhere is this trend more evident than in religion classes.”
Michael J. Kruger, this book’s author, attended college at UNC. One of his professors was Bart Ehrman, one of Christianity’s profuse critics. Everything Kruger believed was called into question by a very respected and intelligent man. But instead of just accepting the words of a professor, he did his own research. Now Kruger is a leading scholar on the origins and compilation of the New Testament. His faith weathered the storm.
Kruger’s daughter, Emma, is now attending UNC which is the inspiration for this book. Surviving Religion 101 is loosely structured in letter format— letters to his daughter—addressing many of the questions she will face at college and why we, as Christians, can be confident in what we believe.
‘Confidence’ is a good word to describe the tone of this book.
Speaking from experience, it doesn’t take much to shake your confidence when you are away from home, coming into yourself as an adult and hearing things you’ve never heard before. Things that, if true, would completely topple or significantly change your belief system.
These years of education are very formative and influential on a person. In today’s culture, the concept of ‘how you were raised’ is almost synonymous with ‘misguided’ and ‘preferential.’ The pressure to trade in your parents’ beliefs for whatever feels right to you and how you want to live is forceful and encompassing.
Students need to be prepared to engage in conversations with people who oppose their views without being defensive or blind. We, Christians, need to know that our faith is not baseless. There is significant evidence for the beliefs we have, and we do not need to be ashamed of the Bible.
My years at college were years of tremendous growth in my faith because I didn’t just cast-off my upbringing or shut down what threatened it. I engaged the opposition and I vigorously looked for truth.
I believe every high school graduate should own this book for this very reason. As Kruger encourages: “Be readers. Be studiers.”
He addresses these questions:
- Isn’t it more likely that my professors are right and I’m wrong?
- How can we say Christianity is the only right religion?
- Aren’t Christian morals hateful and intolerant?
- Are we sure homosexuality is really wrong?
- Why would a loving God send people to hell?
- How can a good God allow evil?
- Are science and Christianity at odds?
- Can we really believe in the miracles?
- How can we trust that the Bible is true and compiled reliably?
- Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery, the oppression of women, and genocide?
Kruger is very in touch with what struggles his daughter will face, because he has been there. He writes in a compassionate and understanding way, anticipating ‘but what about…’ objections, and providing well-researched and accessible answers.
I feel like Kruger did a good job of using logic to show how our beliefs connect and build on each other and conversely how opposing viewpoints contradict each other when following the same logic, i.e. relativism. We can’t just critique Christianity without also applying those same critiques to the alternative options. Kruger shows us how Christianity makes sense and explains our world far more convincingly than any other religion, including atheism.
Another thing to note that Kruger also inserts throughout the book, is the acknowledgement of our sin nature—our innate desire to oppose and reject God. Paul tells us in Romans that God has revealed himself to us and it is plain for all to see, yet we choose to reject it.
Romans 1:21-22, 25: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools… They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”
Kruger reminds us that no amount of argument and evidence can change someone’s heart. We must recognize that when we interact with people who oppose our beliefs, we are communicating with image-bearers of God who are in need of a Savior. It’s not just correcting their minds, it’s transforming their hearts.
We are all dead in our sin until God makes us alive in Christ. Our sin blinds us to truth until the Holy Spirit opens our eyes. So every discussion on the aforementioned questions must be imbued with humility and love, seeing all as eternal souls yearning for their Creator, not as enemies to be conquered. Our sin levels the playing field.
Lastly, it is so important to remember that the questions and doubts people raise are not new. They have been asked and largely answered throughout many generations. The Bible has stood the test of time and critique over and over again.
God is not threatened by your questions or your doubts. Thankfully, his veracity and sovereignty is not dependent on our ability to prove his existence. Asking a question or not knowing an answer does not automatically make your belief untrue or your foundation for morality crumble.
These are questions that hold eternal weight. Don’t push them aside in the throes of college chaos, but be confident and invigorated to grow in faith and love with your Creator—Truth made flesh.
Good theology matters.
Some other quotes:
“We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking.”- Mark Twain
“We do not claim to have true knowledge of God because we are better or smarter or more devoted than all other people. Our knowledge doesn’t come from our efforts to figure out God but rather is a result of God graciously revealing himself to us.”
“The claim that Jesus is the only way does not mean Christians are out to denigrate, demean, or despise adherents of other religions… Disagreement is not the same as disrespect.”
“You will feel the pressure to pick between your friendships or your moral convictions. And if it’s one or the other, most people will end up picking their friends. But it’s not one or the other. The Bible makes it clear that we can really love people— we can be kind, generous, and respectful— and also believe that they are caught in serious sin.”
“Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.” G.K. Chesterton
'“The fact of the matter is that most of your friends are both moral relativists and moral absolutists at the same time. For some behaviors, they are one; for other behaviors, they are the other. They pick and choose. So when it comes to environmentalism and the treatment of refugees, they abandon moral relativism and act as if there are moral absolutes after all. But when it comes to their sexual behavior, then they suddenly become moral relativists again, insistent that morality is determined by each person and culture. They want to have it both ways.”
“When we doubt some truth of Christianity, we often don’t realize that we are doubting that truth because of some other belief we hold… fight back by challenging the belief that replaces it.”
“When facing doubts and fears, the last thing you want to do is isolate yourself and struggle alone. Sometimes we do that because we don’t think others will understand. Or maybe we feel embarrassed that we are questioning our beliefs. But we have to be honest about our struggles and bring them into the light.”
One thing I wish Kruger would have included was a list of additional resources for further reading and research since he intended this book to be introductory. I read the ARC version so maybe the published version will have that. But I’ll include just a few here that I’ve also read and reviewed.
Other books addressing common objections to Christianity:
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller
How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil by D.A. Carson
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
This book is not related to Christianity at all but is a significantly relevant book when we’re talking about the opportunity to discuss diverse viewpoints in a university setting:
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Gregg Lukianoff
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
[For more reviews follow my book review blog at www.shelfreflection.com!]
I wish I had this book when I went to college.
It is short, to the point, easy to understand, and fairly comprehensive. Written to college students (not to scholars) it provides an excellent resource for confident, preliminary answers to all the most pertinent questions high school grads will encounter as they go out into the world, namely in institutions of higher learning.
I used to give the book ‘Just Do Something’ for all the high school grads, but I think I might switch to this one.
I believe this book should be owned by every adult leaving home and entering the world.
I grew up in a Christian home. My world was pretty black and white. I knew what was wrong and what was right. It was pretty easy for me to determine truth from lie.
But then I went to college.
And not just any college. A conservative Christian college. I did not anticipate any theological dissonance; after all, we’re all Christians so we all believe the same thing, right?
But even there, I was challenged in my beliefs. Things I thought were standard beliefs turned out to be disputed. Questions were asked of beliefs I held that I never really had to defend. It rocked my world a bit. What do I do now? Have I believed a lie? Can I trust the Bible from which my whole worldview stems?
In fact, I saw many people go through college with me and essentially give up on their faith. As soon as the foundation of their beliefs were questioned and they couldn’t come up with an answer, they threw their entire faith away. ‘I guess we can’t really know anything,’ they thought.
If that’s the experience at a conservative Christian college, then how much more opposition do Christians face in secular universities? This book is so important.
It’s hard to push back against people of authority and higher education. We tend to think ‘Well, my professors must know more than me. This is their job and they have a PhD so I should probably believe them.’ Especially if they are professing Christians.
But just because professors have years of schooling, doesn’t mean everything they tell you is completely true and unbiased. Kruger reminds us that everyone operates and discerns out of their own worldview:
“People (including your professors) are not neutral. They have a worldview, a paradigm, that shapes everything they see. World views involve our most foundational commitments: where the world came from, our place in it, the purpose of life, the meaning of ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ the existence of God (or gods), what happens when we die, and so on.”
Dan Crenshaw lists a shocking stat in his book Fortitude: only “9.2% of academic faculty members identify as conservative.” While this is more along the lines of politics instead of theology, it is still indicative of a striking worldview-shaper and no doubt influences how they teach their classes.
Tellingly, what Haidt and Lukianoff show in their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, is that universities are straying from encouraging intellectual freedom and a fair representation of all ideas. Kruger agrees- “It seems the modern universities are for every sort of diversity (gender, race, ethnicity) except diversity of ideas. And nowhere is this trend more evident than in religion classes.”
Michael J. Kruger, this book’s author, attended college at UNC. One of his professors was Bart Ehrman, one of Christianity’s profuse critics. Everything Kruger believed was called into question by a very respected and intelligent man. But instead of just accepting the words of a professor, he did his own research. Now Kruger is a leading scholar on the origins and compilation of the New Testament. His faith weathered the storm.
Kruger’s daughter, Emma, is now attending UNC which is the inspiration for this book. Surviving Religion 101 is loosely structured in letter format— letters to his daughter—addressing many of the questions she will face at college and why we, as Christians, can be confident in what we believe.
‘Confidence’ is a good word to describe the tone of this book.
Speaking from experience, it doesn’t take much to shake your confidence when you are away from home, coming into yourself as an adult and hearing things you’ve never heard before. Things that, if true, would completely topple or significantly change your belief system.
These years of education are very formative and influential on a person. In today’s culture, the concept of ‘how you were raised’ is almost synonymous with ‘misguided’ and ‘preferential.’ The pressure to trade in your parents’ beliefs for whatever feels right to you and how you want to live is forceful and encompassing.
Students need to be prepared to engage in conversations with people who oppose their views without being defensive or blind. We, Christians, need to know that our faith is not baseless. There is significant evidence for the beliefs we have, and we do not need to be ashamed of the Bible.
My years at college were years of tremendous growth in my faith because I didn’t just cast-off my upbringing or shut down what threatened it. I engaged the opposition and I vigorously looked for truth.
I believe every high school graduate should own this book for this very reason. As Kruger encourages: “Be readers. Be studiers.”
He addresses these questions:
- Isn’t it more likely that my professors are right and I’m wrong?
- How can we say Christianity is the only right religion?
- Aren’t Christian morals hateful and intolerant?
- Are we sure homosexuality is really wrong?
- Why would a loving God send people to hell?
- How can a good God allow evil?
- Are science and Christianity at odds?
- Can we really believe in the miracles?
- How can we trust that the Bible is true and compiled reliably?
- Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery, the oppression of women, and genocide?
Kruger is very in touch with what struggles his daughter will face, because he has been there. He writes in a compassionate and understanding way, anticipating ‘but what about…’ objections, and providing well-researched and accessible answers.
I feel like Kruger did a good job of using logic to show how our beliefs connect and build on each other and conversely how opposing viewpoints contradict each other when following the same logic, i.e. relativism. We can’t just critique Christianity without also applying those same critiques to the alternative options. Kruger shows us how Christianity makes sense and explains our world far more convincingly than any other religion, including atheism.
Another thing to note that Kruger also inserts throughout the book, is the acknowledgement of our sin nature—our innate desire to oppose and reject God. Paul tells us in Romans that God has revealed himself to us and it is plain for all to see, yet we choose to reject it.
Romans 1:21-22, 25: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools… They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”
Kruger reminds us that no amount of argument and evidence can change someone’s heart. We must recognize that when we interact with people who oppose our beliefs, we are communicating with image-bearers of God who are in need of a Savior. It’s not just correcting their minds, it’s transforming their hearts.
We are all dead in our sin until God makes us alive in Christ. Our sin blinds us to truth until the Holy Spirit opens our eyes. So every discussion on the aforementioned questions must be imbued with humility and love, seeing all as eternal souls yearning for their Creator, not as enemies to be conquered. Our sin levels the playing field.
Lastly, it is so important to remember that the questions and doubts people raise are not new. They have been asked and largely answered throughout many generations. The Bible has stood the test of time and critique over and over again.
God is not threatened by your questions or your doubts. Thankfully, his veracity and sovereignty is not dependent on our ability to prove his existence. Asking a question or not knowing an answer does not automatically make your belief untrue or your foundation for morality crumble.
These are questions that hold eternal weight. Don’t push them aside in the throes of college chaos, but be confident and invigorated to grow in faith and love with your Creator—Truth made flesh.
Good theology matters.
Some other quotes:
“We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking.”- Mark Twain
“We do not claim to have true knowledge of God because we are better or smarter or more devoted than all other people. Our knowledge doesn’t come from our efforts to figure out God but rather is a result of God graciously revealing himself to us.”
“The claim that Jesus is the only way does not mean Christians are out to denigrate, demean, or despise adherents of other religions… Disagreement is not the same as disrespect.”
“You will feel the pressure to pick between your friendships or your moral convictions. And if it’s one or the other, most people will end up picking their friends. But it’s not one or the other. The Bible makes it clear that we can really love people— we can be kind, generous, and respectful— and also believe that they are caught in serious sin.”
“Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.” G.K. Chesterton
'“The fact of the matter is that most of your friends are both moral relativists and moral absolutists at the same time. For some behaviors, they are one; for other behaviors, they are the other. They pick and choose. So when it comes to environmentalism and the treatment of refugees, they abandon moral relativism and act as if there are moral absolutes after all. But when it comes to their sexual behavior, then they suddenly become moral relativists again, insistent that morality is determined by each person and culture. They want to have it both ways.”
“When we doubt some truth of Christianity, we often don’t realize that we are doubting that truth because of some other belief we hold… fight back by challenging the belief that replaces it.”
“When facing doubts and fears, the last thing you want to do is isolate yourself and struggle alone. Sometimes we do that because we don’t think others will understand. Or maybe we feel embarrassed that we are questioning our beliefs. But we have to be honest about our struggles and bring them into the light.”
One thing I wish Kruger would have included was a list of additional resources for further reading and research since he intended this book to be introductory. I read the ARC version so maybe the published version will have that. But I’ll include just a few here that I’ve also read and reviewed.
Other books addressing common objections to Christianity:
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller
How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil by D.A. Carson
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
This book is not related to Christianity at all but is a significantly relevant book when we’re talking about the opportunity to discuss diverse viewpoints in a university setting:
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Gregg Lukianoff
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
[For more reviews follow my book review blog at www.shelfreflection.com!]
I had never heard of The Daily Grace Co. before but a friend shared with me they were having a sale and I was in need of a new devotional book so I purchased some Bible studies.
This is the first one I’ve done so far.
I chose Romans because my pastor had just started preaching through Romans. This was an excellent study to do alongside the preaching. It allowed me to continue processing the sermons and reinforce the teaching throughout the week.
This company is (I think) endorsed by The Gospel Coalition if you’re wondering what theology will be taught, and if I’m wrong, they at least both hold the same beliefs. The Daily Grace Co. statement of faith can be found here.
The format of the book is organized in 8 weeks— each week with 5 days of study and a weekly review page. It would work great as a weekly group Bible study or you can do it solo like I did. If it’s just you, you can set a slower pace but I felt the design was very doable for my busy life. Each day’s reading was focused on a few verses at a time and had 2 short pages of exposition, followed by 3-4 questions to answer.
It didn’t take long to complete each day and if I missed a few days, it still worked out to line up with the weekly sermons.
The book is beautifully designed— the color scheme, photographs, layout— and has nice glossy thick magazine-type pages. Visit the link to my original blog post at the end of my review to see some sample pictures.
But there is nothing fluffy about the content. I was worried that such a pretty book wouldn’t have much meat, but the exposition was right on track with my pastor’s preaching and focused on the big themes of Romans: our sin and depravity, grace and hope, justification, and a contrast of life before and after the Spirit.
There is the emphasis that we are dead in our sin and cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the due price for our sins and offers us hope and eternal life. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to Christ. The Spirit enables us to pursue and desire righteousness.
There weren’t any anecdotes, illustrations, or trendy language. It was straightforward verse by verse teaching.
One of my favorite things about this study was the incorporation of Scripture memory. And it was fortuitous to select Romans because the passage we are working on memorizing is Romans 8 which is one of my favorite chapters in Scripture and one I had tried to memorize in college.
Each week there are 2-3 verses to memorize. By the end of volume 1 we have memorized Romans 8:1-21. Volume 2 will continue through the rest of Romans and will memorize the final verses of Romans 8. I feel like I’m fairly good at memorizing so for me, this pace was fine, but again, any pace is fine— it’s not about checking off the boxes but about spending time in God’s Word however that works for you.
I would write my answers to the questions in a separate notebook (because I didn’t want to ruin the beautiful book, ha!) and would also write down each week’s memory verse. Because there were daily readings, I would spend the first couple minutes of my quiet time going back over the memory verses I had memorized thus far. This was an effective way to reinforce the memory and keep up with it.
Scripture memory is so vital to our walk with the Lord— to have his Word buried in our hearts and minds, dwelling on it, and being able to recall his words of truth in times of need strengthens our faith and trust in the Lord. After all, Scripture is God’s very words and his Word is powerful.
I love that this study encourages and helps us to treasure God’s Word.
If you are looking for something short, theologically sound and to the point, yet pleasing to the eye and fun to open each day, this is for you!
I am moving on to Volume 2, so stay tuned to see how the study finishes up and to see which Bible study I do next!
Pro Tip: I have learned since taking advantage of the aforementioned sale that The Daily Grace Co. actually has sales quite often. Their prices are pretty good. Most of the studies during sales are between $5-10 dollars and cover specific topics or just go through a certain book of the Bible. You can browse here.
To see sample pictures of this book click here to see my original review blog post.
Book Review blog: www.shelfreflection.com
Pinterest: @shelfreflectionblog
This is the first one I’ve done so far.
I chose Romans because my pastor had just started preaching through Romans. This was an excellent study to do alongside the preaching. It allowed me to continue processing the sermons and reinforce the teaching throughout the week.
This company is (I think) endorsed by The Gospel Coalition if you’re wondering what theology will be taught, and if I’m wrong, they at least both hold the same beliefs. The Daily Grace Co. statement of faith can be found here.
The format of the book is organized in 8 weeks— each week with 5 days of study and a weekly review page. It would work great as a weekly group Bible study or you can do it solo like I did. If it’s just you, you can set a slower pace but I felt the design was very doable for my busy life. Each day’s reading was focused on a few verses at a time and had 2 short pages of exposition, followed by 3-4 questions to answer.
It didn’t take long to complete each day and if I missed a few days, it still worked out to line up with the weekly sermons.
The book is beautifully designed— the color scheme, photographs, layout— and has nice glossy thick magazine-type pages. Visit the link to my original blog post at the end of my review to see some sample pictures.
But there is nothing fluffy about the content. I was worried that such a pretty book wouldn’t have much meat, but the exposition was right on track with my pastor’s preaching and focused on the big themes of Romans: our sin and depravity, grace and hope, justification, and a contrast of life before and after the Spirit.
There is the emphasis that we are dead in our sin and cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the due price for our sins and offers us hope and eternal life. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to Christ. The Spirit enables us to pursue and desire righteousness.
There weren’t any anecdotes, illustrations, or trendy language. It was straightforward verse by verse teaching.
One of my favorite things about this study was the incorporation of Scripture memory. And it was fortuitous to select Romans because the passage we are working on memorizing is Romans 8 which is one of my favorite chapters in Scripture and one I had tried to memorize in college.
Each week there are 2-3 verses to memorize. By the end of volume 1 we have memorized Romans 8:1-21. Volume 2 will continue through the rest of Romans and will memorize the final verses of Romans 8. I feel like I’m fairly good at memorizing so for me, this pace was fine, but again, any pace is fine— it’s not about checking off the boxes but about spending time in God’s Word however that works for you.
I would write my answers to the questions in a separate notebook (because I didn’t want to ruin the beautiful book, ha!) and would also write down each week’s memory verse. Because there were daily readings, I would spend the first couple minutes of my quiet time going back over the memory verses I had memorized thus far. This was an effective way to reinforce the memory and keep up with it.
Scripture memory is so vital to our walk with the Lord— to have his Word buried in our hearts and minds, dwelling on it, and being able to recall his words of truth in times of need strengthens our faith and trust in the Lord. After all, Scripture is God’s very words and his Word is powerful.
I love that this study encourages and helps us to treasure God’s Word.
If you are looking for something short, theologically sound and to the point, yet pleasing to the eye and fun to open each day, this is for you!
I am moving on to Volume 2, so stay tuned to see how the study finishes up and to see which Bible study I do next!
Pro Tip: I have learned since taking advantage of the aforementioned sale that The Daily Grace Co. actually has sales quite often. Their prices are pretty good. Most of the studies during sales are between $5-10 dollars and cover specific topics or just go through a certain book of the Bible. You can browse here.
To see sample pictures of this book click here to see my original review blog post.
Book Review blog: www.shelfreflection.com
Pinterest: @shelfreflectionblog