BookPastor >> "Jesus Among Secular Gods" (Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on March 15th, 2017.

conrade

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TITLE: Jesus Among Secular Gods: The Countercultural Claims of Christ
AUTHOR: Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Faithwords, 2017, (256 pages).

What comes to mind when we think about idols? In the Old Testament, it was about graven images or some physical artefact. In the New Testament, we read about false teachings and deceptive ideologies. One common theme among these idols and false teachings is the way it tries to unravel God's intended purposes, to suggest other ways instead of God's way. This trend continues today under the guise of secular gods. Modern society in the West has become more secular than ever.  The altars are everywhere and comprise both religious as well as non-religious idols. The claims of Christ are not only opposed by the traditional mainstream religions and cults, they are also aggressively pushed back by the secular forces of today. Famous apologist Ravi Zacharias knows it full well, having received a hostile reception on the basis of his stand for Jesus. He shares: "I was a nominal Christian but never gave that much thought, either. Most of my friends were either Hindu or Muslim or Sikh, with a few others of different faiths. I never recall feeling any anger or hostility toward those who believed differently than me, no matter how ludicrous their beliefs may have seemed to me. Nor do I remember ever being on the receiving end of such anger and hostility because I did not have the same belief."

BookPastor >> "How to Read the Bible Like a Seminary Professor" (Mark Yarbrough)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on May 5th, 2015.

conrade

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TITLE: How to Read the Bible Like a Seminary Professor: A Practical and Entertaining Exploration of the World's Most Famous Book
AUTHOR:  Mark Yarbrough
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Faithwords, 2015, (368 pages).

Have you ever been in Bible studies where people seem to lack a sense of proper interpretation, choosing instead to depend on individual feelings and experiences? What about cases where members seem to talk over the Scripture with personal opinions instead of proper Bible study? At the same time, there are those sessions that appear too difficult for the laymen to grasp, ending up with confusion and frustrations at knowing the text but failing to see the God of the text? Associate Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, Dr Mark Yarbrough, offers this volume to assist Bible studies for folks like you and me. The title of the book appears rather intimidating as readers may harbour negative views of theologians and seminarians as people who talk above the normal head. While people do not want to skip important theological themes, they too do not want to let Bible studies become exercises of subjective opinions and individual fancies.

Yarbrough writes with tremendous empathy of the struggles of the layperson. He uses his coursework to help readers anchor themselves in a "Know It, Work It, and Live It" model. In KNOWING IT, readers will learn the general structure, story, and the substance of the text.

The basic plan for the book is based on the sequence of numbers:

• Old Testament (5-12-5-5-12)
• New Testament (4-1-21-1)