he also gives a good summary of salvation history as well
348686
Hahn has outdone himself.  In addition to showing how pivotal the birth of Jesus is to history, he also gives a good summary of salvation history as well.
2786738
As the title suggests, this is a very good summary of Marcus Borg's convictions in life as they relate to God and the Christian faith.  Some of the material has been mentioned in previous books but this is certainly worth reading.  He makes some wonderful points and given his age and experience, they are all note worthy.  Like the reality of God and what God loves.  The chapter on Salvation or how he views Salvation is excellent.

I've read most if not all of his books and every one of them is good and insightful.  I also recommend Speaking Christian.  I hope this is not his last book.
726586
The work is primarily a brief biographical sketch of the life of Cornelius Van Til. It is good sometimes for serious disciples of Van Til's apologetics or those curious to know the background of Van Til's life and the historical development that led to Van Til's ideas. Reading this book, one can not help but to think about the soverignty of God as He orchestrated the timing of various Dutch Reformed thinkers who shaped Van Til, and events leading to the founding of Westminster Seminary. The book was not intended to be read as a robust defense of Van Tillian apologetics, but rather as a biography laced with sentimental values antidotes.  However, the two appendix in the book features a good summary outline by Van Til himself of his apologetics, and a paper he delivered that expouse his ideas. Those who are out looking for Van Til's ideas will find the two appendix to be precious gems.
I must add though that John Frame think this book is rather simplistic concerning its treatment of Van Til's ideas.  Since it has been a long time since I read this book (I'm posting this review up because it's been sitting for years on draft) Frame might be right.  This was one of the first biography of Van Til written and since this work was published another one put out by Presbyterian and Reformed has provided a more scholarly biography of him by a capable historian of the OPC.  Nevertheless, I did enjoyed this biography as well for its personal flavor.
4498361
very  informative while providing historic background as well.
924348
I like history.  I really like Christian History.  Just take one glance around my office and you will notice that most of the books on my shelves were written by dead guys (actually they wrote the books and then they died).  You might also notice a long shelve filled with biographies and still another shelf filled with volumes of Church history.  You will also notice a magazine stack of Christian History Magazines.  I'm a history guy.  I'm a Christian history guy.

So when On This Day in Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs and Heroes came up for review, I jumped at the chance to review it.  And I wasn't disappointed.  There are so many things that I like about this book and  it is hard to summarize in just a few words, so let me say this... it's the perfect gift for a guy like me.  I can also see it being a great read for someone who is interested in getting a glimps at the people and events of Christian history.

The stories are generally inspiring.  There is a scripture verse at the bottom of the page that brings relevance and meaning to the previously read story.  There is a fascinating topic index in the back of the book allowing readers to look up stories according to topic. Over all it does a great job at achieving its purpose (a bite sized reading of what happened in Christian history on a particular day) in a way that encourages readers to stay engaged in the book.  I dare you to just read one day's history when you get the book.

I  highly recommend On This Day in Christian History to anyone interested in Christian history.  To beginners its an easy read, small commitment book that will give you a broad spectrum view of Christian History.  To well educated history nerds like myself it will allow you to pull out of a narrowed genre of Church history (I find myself often in the Reformation and the Puritan Eras)  to appreciate a broader scope of history in a way that doesn't take a lot of time.  Plus, everyone wants to know what happened in Christian history on your birthday.

  Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
600444
Who is Jesus Christ? Is his common depiction historically accurate? Is the Bible true?

Questions related to Jesus Christ and the Bible are constantly being disputed by scholars, and in John Warwick Montgomerys apologetics book, History, Law, and Christianity, he explores these questions. The book is concise  just 102 pages  but it is packed with meaty information, making it a very informative read. The book is well formatted, and Montgomery not only presents his facts very well, but also gives the reader a good deal of historical information along the way.

The book includes some interesting charts and graphs. At times, I felt like I was reading a very interesting textbook. I really liked the section where Montgomery talks about how Jesus placed his stamp of approval on the Bible, and also when Montgomery disputed the claims that Jesus was a charlatan or lunatic. Besides offering a lot of information in and of itself, this book provokes a lot of questions for further study, and Montgomery includes a list of resources for further study at the end of the book.

History, Law, and Christianity would be a good book to read in a college class on religion. And if a Christian wants to defend his faith, this book would be an excellent tool.

I received a review copy from Cross Focused Reviews.
551937
Reading the Bible well can be a daunting task for many Christians, seasoned or young. That is why it is important to get the foundations of how the whole Bible fits together, how to read the different genres or kinds of Scripture, and how Jesus relates to it all.

Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible: A Guide to Reading the Bible Well is a short, helpful new book published recently by Crossway that aims to help in this task.

To be sure, this book is a compilation of articles that would help readers in reading and interpreting the Bible. The individual chapter authors are renown biblical scholars.

Thankfully, the editors (Wayne Grudem, C. John Collins, and Thomas R. Schreiner) have compiled one very cohesive and concise book to address all the basic kinds of hermeneutical issues. Part 1 of the book is on the Old Testament, part 2 is on the Background to the New Testament, and part 3 is on the New Testament itself.

*Helpful Time Lines
I found the last section of the book, Part 4, very helpful. These last few pages of the book contain Time Lines, and it gave me a really insightful look at the chronological history of the forefathers of the Jewish faith, the United Monarchy of the kings of Israel, the Divided Monarchy and exilic times, and the generations returning from exile.

Furthermore, the intertestamental events time line is a great resource for those Bible readers who did not know of the various historical and cultural events that predated the Bible, circumstances that affected the context of the New Testament. Consequently, the included New Testament Time Line is certainly an important chart to learn and be familiar with. When we understand the time of Jesus better, the more we can appreciate the significance of his atoning sacrifice for us and for our salvation.

*Biblical Backgrounds
Similarly, Part 2: Background to the New Testament is the most meaty and dense section of this book, and yet a section the seasoned Christian should consider studying carefully. The time between the testaments and the so-called "four hundred years of silence" is an era of Christian history that needs to be studied.

While in seminary at SBTS, I recall that this content was lectured and discussed in the first week weeks of my introductory New Testament class. I remember being very confused as to who the Sadducees were, and what the Esssenes were all about. Such historical facts were completely foreign to me, cultural artifacts that were never mentioned in my Christian life in the church. This is why every Christian will be aided in their understanding of Biblical history. When we develop greater perspective that the Holy Scriptures of our Christian faith came out of true, historical time periods and cultures, we get a better understanding of how amazing Jesus is. We will in turn discover why God's redemptive plan for all mankind is so amazing: Jesus is the fulfillment of the whole Scripture.

*Highly Recommended
I heartily recommend this small book to every Christian, young and old. If you are reading the Bible for the first time, or if you are reading through the Bible for the 40th time, you'll be sure to find that this book is an excellent assistant to your biblical interpretation.
4290187
Bill does an excellent job of describing the social and geographical times of Jesus. It is as he says a history book and he does an excellent job of description.
3270037
A valuable collection of experiences from this guy's life, rather than a re-hashing of the same standard apologetical arguments for Jesus.
316266
Whoever did the conversion did a good job. They added an outline of each postil that gives a good summary of each work. Although I have three hardcopy of these books and find these a valuable resource in writing sermons or lessons on Lutheran doctrine.
1973563
This book has really blessed me with a great overview of the background history that is do important in gaining a richer understanding of our Savior! I enjoyed it thoroughly!
4753086
Really good understanding of Redemption and Christus Victor. That it's about the self giving choice out of love and not of necessary justice as to why Christ died. It goes over some history of the early church and such ..it's very informative and it gives a good understanding of the story if redemption instead of atonement.  How one sees the cross affects how they see God ultimately.
1160583
I found Michael Reeves' book to be a very accessible, basic, easy to read history of the Reformation.  It would be excellent for small study groups or an educational setting in a church class.  Reeves is making an apologetic of sorts for the Reformation and why it is still meaningful and necessary for today.  It is going to focus on the big contributions that the Reformation made but not so much the unintended consequences the Reformation brought to the church and culture.

Reeves says at the outset that the Reformation was revolutionary.  That is the lens through which Reeves views this history. Yet this is exactly what the Reformers did not want to happen. Luther said so much himself.  Perhaps the outcome was revolutionary, but the intent of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and Cranmer was to reform the church, to reform it by returning to the simplicity of the early church and the clear teaching of the Scriptures that had been muddled over the centuries.  The Reformation happened because it could.
1888589
Though it reads a lot like Josh McDowell's More Than A Carpenter, La Hayes's Jesus was a well-written book.  It has some interesting trivia facts (like how many times Jesus has been on the cover of Time and Newsweek).  There were also interesting stories on how it compares to other religions and how the conversion to Christianity in some people's lives meant a lot to the individuals.  I would probably recommend it more to someone who's trying to understand Christianity and what it means to Christians than to someone who's already a Christian.  Those who are opposed to the religion may just be offended and LaHaye's views may not agree with some Catholics or mainline Protestants, but the USA has always prided itself on freedom of religion.
1315668
I have written before of the importance of good Christian biography as part of spiritual growth. (And by good, I mean actually biography, not hagiography, that looks at an honest portrayal of the real person.)

Karen Swallow Prior has written a very good, immentantly readable biography of Hannah More. A woman from history that I had never heard of before Priors work.

Hannah More lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She was a poet, playwright, devotional writer and activist. Her colleagues, William Wilberforce and John Newton are much better known, but More played an active role in bringing attention to slavery and helping to move public opinion toward abolition. She died just months before England outlawed the slave trade, but she deserves credit for her active role in abolition.

In addition to her work on abolition she helped start schools for the poor, and was behind low cost reading material that gave the poor reading materials that they could afford. She was against animal creuelty and helped start womens societies (that eventually moved toward womens voting.)

And as much as it seems old fashioned today, her and Wilberforce were behind a movement that encouraged moral behavior. More, has been referred to as one of the first Victorians. That seems condesending now, but that entire movement of moral behavior was at root a movement to popularize human rights and the value of indivdiuals. Without the Victorians, we would not have public schools or womens rights or widespread care of the poor.

More was still a person of her time, for all of her interest in reform. The schools that she started taught their students to read (in large part for evangelism) but did not teach them to write, because that was above the station of the poor. In many ways she was a proto-feminist, but still believed in womens roles in a way that few would agree with today. And many of her moral stands would be considered odd to our ears.

This is not a long biography, only 250 pages of main content. But it is a biography that I think is worth widespread reading. More, and many of her contemporaries, were starting to understand that evangelism was important after the Catholic/Protestant fights of the early reformation. And it was not long before the interest in evangelism and foreign missions necessarily grew to include local missions, poverty alleviation, abolition, and other social causes. More did not see social ministries as competative with evangelism, but a necessary partner with evangelism.

After reading Priors earlier literary memoir Booked, I have become online friends with her and have come to deeply respect her work. This biography far outshines Metaxas biography of Wilberforce and I hope encourages other good biographies to be written. (Metaxas wrote the forward for this Fierce Convictions.)

I also want to note, I hope in a positive way, that this is the first good biography I have read from Thomas Nelson in a while. After a string of bad biographies from Thomas Nelson I had intentionally been avoiding the publisher. If it had not been for the fact that Prior was writing it, I probably would have skipped this one too. I am glad I did not.
_______
The publisher provided me a PDF copy of the book for purposes of review.
3107564
This book is a good introduction to the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. FOr those who have never been in contact with Bonhoeffer, the writers give a good overview. For those who have already had some contact, they will find some useful information and good insight into his life. It doesn't give the depth of detail that Eberhard Bethpage gives but it does help to understand a man of deep faith and strong conviction. I highly recommend this book.
1882698
Although written primarily as a response to 'Love Wins' by Rob Bell, 'God Wins' is pretty good as a stand alone look at the nature of God and what the Bible has to say about hell.

The author, Mark Galli, is an editor at Christianity Today.  He is well versed in the subject matter. He certainly displays a loving attitude in his response to Bell.  If anything is wrong with 'God Wins' it may be that the author is a bit too willing to see the good side of Bell's book and is a bit soft in his criticism.  In spite of that, this book is worth reading.

Whereas Bell's book pushes a universalistic (and unscriptural) view of heaven and hell, Galli does a good job of making a Scriptural case for his views.  He understands that Bell's book portrays a completely unbalanced view of God (all love and no undertanding of God's holiness).

I would say that this is a must read for anyone who has read 'Love Wins' and it is a good read for anyone else.