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Dr. Robert Sumner passed away in December 2016. The Biblical Evangelist newspaper is no longer being published and the ministry of Biblical Evangelism has ceased operation. The remaining inventory of his books and gospel tracts was transferred to The Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles and may be ordered here. Book Reviews EMPTY: A Story of Anorexia, by Christie Pettit; Fleming H. Revell, This book was received from the publisher about two years ago and was, alas, mislaid. Since we try to review every book received we want to say just a word now. It was originally published as Starving: A Personal Journey Through Anorexia in 2003 and reprinted under the above title in 2006. Anorexia, thanks to our worldly, secular culture – and its strange thesis that skinny is beautiful – is a tremendous problem in our day and many girls and young women are being sucked into its dangerous, unhealthy web. The author was one of the victims and her trouble started as a college freshman on a tennis scholarship at a prominent secular university. She tells the story by pages from her personal journal, adding her comments/explanations about them. There is no doubt about it, a person with such an obsession thinks about little else and she is not even conscious of the danger being done to her body. Christie’s problem is multiplied by literally tens of thousands of others. If you have such an obsession or know of some one who does, this book could provide help, instruction and counsel. * * * * * 1001 QUOTES, ILLUSTRATIONS & HUMOROUS STORIES FOR PREACHERS, TEACHERS & WRITERS by Edward K. Rowell & Leadership Journal; Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI; 3 Parts, 591 Pages; $27.99, Paper The three sections are the three listed in the title: quotes, illustrations and humor. Most of the quotes are excellent (sample: “Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not to envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate,” William Arthur Ward). Most of the illustrations are usable (usually just a few paragraphs each). Most of the humor is the kind belonging where it is, in the back of the book (sample: “A hand-lettered sign nailed to a telephone pole said, ‘Lost dog with three legs, blind in left eye, missing right ear, tail broken, and recently castrated. Answers to the name of Lucky’”). In short, most of the quotes are usable (ideal for church bulletins), many of the illustrations will have a place in a speaker’s repertoire, and you probably may be willing to tell some of the jokes in public. At the bottom of every page is “Date used _________,” which made me wonder: if the speaker couldn’t remember using it, would the listeners remember hearing it? The price for a paperback is hefty, but so is the book. * * * * * THE KREGEL PICTORIAL GUIDE TO THE LIFE OF JESUS by Rob J. Bewley; Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI; 14 Sections, 32 Pages; $9.99, Paper The author is currently Senior Curate at Bewley says He was given the name Jesus “when he was a week old.” Scripture says He was given the name before He was born, the angel Gabriel thus instructing Mary (Luke Bewley says He was baptized as “a sign of solidarity with the people,” and that is about all we could expect from a baby sprinkling Anglican, I suppose, but evangelicals have long associated it as a testimony of His coming death, burial and resurrection – all of which are highlighted in biblical baptism (immersion), a picture of the Gospel in its fullness (I Corinthians 15:1-4). He says of Jesus finding the three disciples sleeping in the Garden, He seemed to be “agitated.” We always thought it was sorrow of heart. And he says our Lord’s praying at that time was praying “fervently to his Father not to have to face what was to come.” That seems to be at odds with Hebrews 5:7, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” If Bewley is right and He was fervently praying to not have to face the cross, He obviously wasn’t heard! Yet Hebrews says whatever He was praying about, He was heard. Bewley says on the Mount of Transfiguration “he appeared to be joined by Moses and Elijah.” Matthew 17:3, Mark 9:4, and Luke As typical with the Kregel pictorial guides, this one is a quality production on slick paper in full color. In this case, you can have ‘high class’ nonsense. * * * * * OUT OF DARKNESS by Alicia Petersen; JourneyForth, a Division of BJU Press, This is Christian fiction for young adults. The story weaves around a young Jewish boy, Elhanan, with a sick mother, Rachel, and a father, Joseph, who is a member of the Council. His friend is a blind Arab boy named Amplias and his nemesis is an overgrown bully, Maachah. The setting is New Testament times and the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ play a part near the end. His sick mother is never healed, but Amplias comes in contact with the God-Man, Jesus of Nazareth, and receives his sight. This is true Christian fiction in that the reader doesn’t have to wait until the end of the book to read something religious – the whole story revolves around God and His word. What happens to the bully? Where is Christ buried? These are all woven into the story. It is really delightful reading. We are glad to recommend it. * * * * * LORD OR LEGEND? By Gregory A. Boyd and Paul Rhodes Eddy; Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI; 2 Parts, 12 Chapters, 183 Pages; $14.99, Paper The subtitle says, “Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma,” and in our opinion the authors are not very good wrestlers – they wouldn’t make a high school team, to say nothing of the Olympics. Part One is “Jesus, History, and Legend-Making” (5 chapters) and Part Two is “The Gospels and Ten Tests of Historical Reliability” (7 chapters). On the opening page the authors tell us they are both Christians (!) – perhaps because folks wouldn’t get that idea reading the book – and so embrace Christian theism, “but not always comfortably so,” and then suggest “those who are entirely without doubt cast the first stone!” They then “confess” (the second confession on the opening page; the first was that they are Christians) that, and the emphasis is theirs, “intellectually speaking¸ faith has not always come easily for us.” (Apparently they ‘humbly’ feel they are such brilliant scholars believing comes only with difficulty!) And the confession goes on that they each have “found ourselves seriously questioning aspects of our Christian worldview,” and wondering “Why did I ever find this belief to be credible?” Then, two pages later, “honesty” is added to “confession” and we are told “a main reason the authors of this book continue to profess faith in Jesus is because we cannot with integrity account for the evidence without concluding that the Gospel presentation of Jesus is deeply rooted in history.” So much for Holy Spirit inspiration and inerrancy! And the book started downhill from there. We tossed it aside. We do not (emphasis ours) recommend it. * * * * * SEX, SUSHI & SALVATION by Christian George; Moody Publishers, This is a book of short messages – call them editorials if you wish – and the publisher has given it the subtitle, thoughts on intimacy, community, & eternity. It is all that, and more. He writes somewhat in the style of our Don Ledbetter, with one point per chapter His first note (alas, all the notes are ‘go hunt’ in the back of the book) in his first editorial, “Russian Sex and Wedding Vows,” quotes in full “The Ode to the Sustaining of Friendship in a Relationship” that he and his sweetheart, Rebecca (now his wife) drafted and then signed early in their relationship, a covenant every couple should read, pray over, and solemnly sign. It would be worth the price of the book for you to get it. A footnote that didn’t please us was in chapter 9 where George gives illustrations of sins causing great tragedy and says, “Examples include Job’s sons and daughters, who were killed because of their debauchery (Job He has a special editorial, “Who’s Your Daddy?” that I thought was fine. His dad – whom I had always admired for his position during the SBC turnaround, but had different feelings about his radical Calvinism – comes across here in a manner that made me decide he is probably an all-right guy once you get to know him. George talks about being united (“If our love for God doesn’t unite us, certainly our fear of Satan should. Our enemy is far greater than our differences”), but he is not advocating everyone getting together, only loving one another in the spirit of Psalm 119:63. And he wants, as we do, solid meat in our services, saying, “We are spitting out a cotton-candy Christianity that melts in our mouths and poisons our souls. We want meat. Not charred steak, but juicy rib eyes that still contain the blood of Christ.” He relates a fascinating illustration in his editorial “Selling Your Soul on E-Bay” about a doctor’s experiments to prove man has a soul (but none for dogs). He puts in a good word for contemporary music, while insisting it must be “faithful to biblical doctrines, theology and God-centeredness.” He does not want old to be discarded or new rejected because of age and he uses Charles Wesley’s “And Can it Be” and “In Christ Alone” by Townsend/Getty as examples of the value in both periods. And he notes “a God-centered life goes against our grain” because “we want to be on top.” George used a number of good illustrations – including a ‘boat’ one that probably originated shortly after Noah landed on Ararat! He is, alas, a greater fan of dancing than are we. This young man is a gifted writer and you will surely see more prose coming from his pen in the future. * * * * * GOD’S RAINBOW by Allia Zobel Nolan, Illustrated by Chi Chung; KidZone, Kregel Books, Grand Rapids, MI; 16 Pages; $12.99 BENJAMIN BEAR SAYS PLEASE by Claire Freedman, Illustrated by Steve Smallman; Candle Books, Distributed by Kregel Publications, AM I FORGIVING? by Jeannie St. John Here are three books for children, Rainbow for ages 3-6, Benjamin for “very young,” and Forgiving for ages 4-8. The first story, obviously, relates to Noah and his ark, telling the tale in pull-up fashion from page to page. Benjamin is to help the young learn manners, in this case remembering to say ‘please.’ Forgiving tells the story of Erik whose best friend gets another best friend and together they are mean to him, eventually causing him to break his arm. How Erik handles it is the story. The two more expensive books are on hard binding with slick pages – you know, the kind that will take a lot of the abuse little kids give books – and paperbound is with stiff covers and slick paper. All three are in full color. If you can handle the sticker shock, you will like them. * * * * * GO: THE GOOD NEWS IS A VERB by Bill Monroe; 21st Century Press, This is a book on evangelism and the great commission so the first thoughts relates to the author. Does he know what he is talking about experimentally? Is he a soul winner, one who has promoted the great commission through his local church and through missions? The answer to all questions like these is a positive, dogmatic, enthusiastic “YES!” After founding the Florence Baptist Temple (SC) from zilch, he has built it to an average attendance of 1,600 and supports missionaries around the world. Probably the chapter titles will give readers a better understanding of what the book is about that we could: Why Go? Who Is Responsible to Go? What Does it Mean to Go? [One of the best in the book!] The Go Philosophy; Going by Design [Success demands a plan!]; The Supernatural Push; Jesus on the Go; Go and Baptize; Go and Do; and, The promise to the Messenger. There is also an Appendix offering resources for a “Go” campaign in your church. Who coined the term, “Great Commission”? What are the four ‘statements’ in the Great Commission? What is a New Testament church? What are the best ‘working models’ for church planting? What are the three ‘legs’ of evangelism? What was our Lord’s method of training disciples? This book will tell you the answers to these and a host of other important questions involved in the verb “go.” Discover again for yourself, through this book, the Lord’s mandate of “the Great Commission.” You’ll not regret your investment of either time or money. * * * * * PRODIGALS: AND THOSE WHO LOVE THEM by Ruth The subtitle is Words of Encouragement for Those Who Wait and Part One tells the stories of five famous prodigals while Part Two is made up of hymns of hope, encouragement from poets, prayers from the heart, reflections on parenting, promises from God’s Word, thoughts on prayer, and ‘a P.S. of Thoughts.’ The theme is based, of course, on Luke Mrs. Graham has had some personal heartaches in these areas. Perhaps the most widely known relates to her eldest son, Franklin, who “returned from the far country” and has been greatly used of God ever since. She has another son, whom we’ll not mention, who, as far as we know, is still out there. One of the five mentioned in Part One is a grandson, the son of Gigi (this chapter was written by her). He, too, came home and is now in seminary. In addition to the latter, the other four men in Part One are Augustine (the Roman Catholic priest who refined the doctrine of Purgatory; gave the world what become known as Calvinism; invented A-millennialism; and foisted other weird doctrines on the ‘Christian’ world, but had a truly godly mother, Monica, who ‘prayed him into the kingdom’); John Newton (who gave us the beloved “Amazing Grace”); Flora Campbell; and Fyodor Dostoyevski. The one about Flora is adapted by Ian Maclaren’s Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush, and the one about Fyodor is adapted from one of the gifted F. W. Boreham’s volumes. Hymns, poems and prayers are self-explanatory. We were impressed with a number of the poems, quotes and incidentals in the book, but I think my favorite was the one entitled, “Had I Been Joseph’s Mother.” The first verse started with those words, the second, “If I Had Been Moses’ mother,” then “If I Had Been Daniel’s Mother,” then “If I Had Been Mary,” with a final verse reflecting on how much better that all were in control of a Sovereign God. It is a comforting, encouraging (based on the power of prayer) book. Prodigal was first released in 1991 and this is a new paperback edition. The author, of course, went to her own reward last year. * * * * * THE DUTCHESS AND THE DRAGON by Jamie Carie; Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN; 27 Chapters, 294 Pages; $14.99, Paper If your very first novel (Snow Angel) wins the USA Book News national award for Religious Fiction and Literature and is a finalist for Romance Book of the Year, what do you do for an encore? If you are Jamie Carie, you sit down and write another novel, The Duchess and the Dragon. We read it on a flight from The male hero is Drake Alexander Weston, Earl of Warwick (he’s the dragon – although reared to be a Duke), who poses as Drake Winslow for most of the tale. The female heroine is Serena Winter, a volunteer nurse in The deceitful plans of the Earl to take over his father’s estate after daddy cut him out of his will is the theme of the novel’s plot. How it turned out is not ours to reveal, but he didn’t kiss the horse and then ride off into the sunset at the end of the book. Actually, some of the story was easy to figure and some impossible, with many twists and turns. If you are into fiction, this might be your cup of tea (as they would describe it in the jolly * * * * * THE QUEEN OF SLEEPY EYE by Patti Hill; Broadman & Holman Publishing, Nashville, TN; 45 Chapters, 388 Pages; $14.95, Paper This novel opens with the main character, Amy, and her mother heading for Sleepy Eye (MN) to return a car the Mom stole a half-century earlier from the family of the man who impregnated her, details not enumerated at that point. The second chapter flips back to 1975 and the bulk of the story is absorbed with the town where the duo’s car burned out a transmission, forcing them to “hole up for a spell,” as they would say in Texas, at a small town in Colorado. (They were on their way to What happened while they lived there in a funeral home (working for their board) would make the characters of The Grapes of Wrath green with envy. It was filled with highs and lows and is interesting in a boring sort of way – or is it boring in an interesting sort of way? Perhaps the length of the book helps because by the time it is three-fourths over you have begun to get more and more interested in how the whole “mess we is in” turns out. Amy’s love interests revolved around “H,” an aspiring football player (who deserves a better fate) and “Falcon,” a gifted but ambitionless drifter at the nearby Hippie commune (who deserves a worse fate). Yes, it is religious fiction and if asked to evaluate the religion we would describe it as New Evangelical. Perhaps that was why Amy was headed for Sleepy Eye’s queen? The tale gets its title from the mother who had won a beauty contest in Sleepy Eye, a fact that was her main glory in life, even stealing the Rhinestone tiara with which she had been crowned (including its velvet box) at the same time she stole the car. * * * * * HEROES IN BLACK HISTORY: True Stories From the Lives of Christian Heroes by Dave & Neta Jackson; Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI; 14 Biographies, 188 Pages; $14.99, Paper This is a book first released in 1996 and in reading it I understand how it deserves to be kept in print. It opens with the story of “Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad” and closes with “Ben Carson: The Brain Surgeon They Called ‘Dummy’.” In between there are a dozen more tales about black heroes; some we would have chosen and some we undoubtedly wouldn’t have, but all are interestingly narrated. The format for the stories includes a brief introduction, three short chapters/stories about the person selected, a sentence summary about the theme of the chapter, a “From God’s Word” offering a verse summing up that theme, and a “Let’s Talk About It,” asking three questions for discussion. The latter is helpful for use in classes or when being used as a family reading. We were disappointed that the ex-slave-turned-preacher who attracted congregations from around the world to Richmond (VA) to hear him, John Jasper, wasn’t included – and disappointed that Martin Luther King, Jr., whom we have never admired, was! While there are several others we wouldn’t have included, there were some we had never heard of that we are glad the authors introduced us to. In fact, they got better as they went along and our three favorites were the final three: Festo Kivengere (called here “Africa’s Apostle of Love”); Ricky & Sherialyn Byrdsong (“Coaching Kids in the Game of Life” – he was the basketball ex-coach who was shot to death on the streets of Chicago by a racist shooting Blacks and Jews indiscriminately); and Ben Carson, whose title we gave above. Kivengere was an Anglican minister in * * * * * THE MANDIE COLLECTION, VOLUME ONE by Lois Gladys Leppard; Bethany House Publishers, a Division of Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI; 541 Pages; $12.99, Paper THE MANDIE COLLECITON, VOLUME TWO by Lois Gladys Leppard; Bethany House Publishers, a Division of Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI; 574 Pages; $12.99, Paper This is Juvenile Fiction for junior girls. We reviewed several of the books in time past, quite favorably. In short, they are interesting, have high moral principles, but are somewhat short on spiritual emphasis. More to the point, there is not much going to church or other spiritual activity – which is pretty much par for the course in religious fiction these days. Altogether, Leppard penned 40 of the Mandie books and these two volumes reprint five in each volume. The first one has Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, Mandie and the Cherokee Legend, Mandie and the Ghost Bandits, Mandie and the Forbidden Attic and Mandie and the Trunk’s Secrets. We previously reviewed Forbidden Attic. Volume Two has Mandie and the Medicine Man, Mandie and the We think these are good books, fitting the above description in our opening paragraph. We are glad to recommend them. Price-wise, they are a tremendous bargain. They would make excellent gifts for a young girl’s birthday or Christmas. * * * * * THE LAST MEN’S BOOK YOU’LL EVER NEED by David Moore; Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN; 6 Parts, 17 Chapters, 205 Pages; $12.99, Paper This is featured as “What the Bible Says About GUY Stuff” and the six parts relate to a man’s relationship to God, his family, others, his work, his time and his things. The first section has seven chapters and all the others two each. The pages are 5” x 7” so the book is not as large as it might seem for over 200 pages. We liked the quote of historian Daniel Boorstin’s take on poet/philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) famous advice (“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”), namely, “trying to understand the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.” Admittedly, the author does have some good thoughts, but “the last men’s book [I’ll] ever need”? Not exactly. And we seriously doubt any reader will agree when he has finished it. * * * * * |
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