Random Readings 20-04-2007

I’ve really been enjoying reading books at an increased pace – at least increased for me. It’s certainly taken some discipline, but its been worth it. Next week I’ll be away for part of the week, so I’m only expecting to get through one book, and a short one at that. But I get ahead of myself, the books I read this week were good; here are my thoughts:

The Cost of Discipleship. One thing is for certain, this book doesn’t pull any punches. I found myself alternating between attempting to excuse myself via theological gymnastics and feeling as though I should throw myself to the ground and beg forgiveness. I did, in fact, prostrate myself on the floor at one point during the reading of this book and have a very open conversation with God. It was healthy for me. I think Bonhoeffer was right on with his concept of costly grace. His chapters on the Sermon on the Mount were also excellent, and I found later chapters to be somewhat reminiscent of the Didache. If we, as Christians, would actually look beyond ourselves and find our goal in Christ; if we would take the Sermon on the Mount as the content of discipleship; if we would be truly willing to give up all and follow I think the church would have a very different reputation.

I have to take a moment here and level a few small problems with the book. Sometimes Bonhoeffer rips passages so far out of context I get vertigo. At times I felt like he used a Bible search program to come up with a passage that contained the word he was talking about and stuck it in to prove his point. Plenty of other people do this – but it can be frustrating. I really wish that I could have a conversation with him. I’d really like to talk with him about nonviolence and nonresistance.

This book, in my opinion, is a must read for Christians. Even if you only find half the things Bonhoeffer says of value, you’ll have found more than enough to justify the purchase. There is a lot in this book, and I should probably re-read it in about three months. We’ll see if I actually do that or not…

A Sacred Sorrow. I never imagined I would read a book by Michael Card. I owe my reading of this book to iMonk. He did a recent post on a conference he was at where Michael Card spoke. I found this book to be a good introduction to lament. Michael admits that he pulls many ideas from Walter Brueggemann, and it is obvious. However, it is obvious not in a bad way, but in a way that says he studied and simply agrees with someone. After laying out why lament is important he examines four Biblical characters who lamented: Job, David, Jeremiah and Jesus. Oddly enough, his section on Jesus is the weakest in my opinion (for some reason typing that induced weird Deja Vu). Nevertheless, the book is worth a read if you haven’t already read The Psalms and the Life of Faith by Brueggemann. Ultimately I think Michael’s book is a good alternative because he says much of what Brueggemann says (he does miss out on some aspects though) but in a much more understandable way. It is too bad that most average pew-sitters will find Brueggemann difficult to understand (I sometimes find him difficult!). Michael’s book provides a good way to get the gist of what Brueggemann gets at in his sections on lament without having to keep a dictionary close at hand – or reread sections five times to make out what he’s saying.

Coming Up:

• Translating Truth by Wayne Grudem, et al. I picked this book up for free at the ETS meeting last Saturday. Dr. Snyder actually recommended I read it, just because it provided some interesting points. It’s a short book, so I shouldn’t have trouble getting through it before I head to visit my parents next week. I’ll have my thoughts on this book posted at some point next week.

~ by Calvin on April 20, 2007.