On bekahcubed
Book Reviews:
- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
“Author John Boyne describes his work in an author’s note: ‘Throughout the writing and rewriting of the novel, I believed that the only respectful way for me to deal with this subject was through the eyes of a child, and particularly through the eyes of a rather naive child who couldn’t possibly understand the terrible things that were taking place around him.’
Naive is right. Nine year old Bruno is completely lost in 1940s Germany. Despite his father being a commandant in the Nazi army, he has no idea what is going on around him. He doesn’t seem to know that the country is at war. He doesn’t understand who Hitler is–and calls him the “Fury” (as if a German child wouldn’t be able to pronounce “Fuhrer”.) When his family is moved to Auschwitz, where his father is to command the concentration camp, he mispronounces this name too, calling it “Out With”. He sees the people walking about inside the camp wearing their identical garb and thinks that they’re wearing striped pajamas.”
- Religion Saves: and nine other misconceptions by Mark Driscoll
And then there are the books that I read a review of, think “Hmm” and do absolutely nothing with.
That’s what I did with Religion Saves: and nine other misconceptions after Jonathon and Carrie reviewed it at Reading to Know. I read the review, thought it sounded interesting, but neither added it to my TBR list nor bookmarked the page. I just let it lie.
Until the audiobook version was featured as ChristianAudio.com‘s free audiobook of the month. As one who positively adores almost anything free, I jumped on the opportunity. After all, if I decide not to listen to it, what have I lost? 290 MB of computer space, easily recoverable via the Delete key. Why not?
- Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff
“If you’ve never checked out the Stuff Christians Like blog, you’re seriously missing out. Every day Jonathan Acuff (or a wickedly funny guest blogger) posts a satirical piece about some aspect of modern Christian culture.
Acuff is certainly not the only blogger who pokes fun at Christian culture. In fact, such sites abound. But Acuff’s “Stuff Christians Like” manages to set itself apart from other sites in that it’s not cynical. Acuff isn’t giving up on Christians or on the church. He’s not setting himself up as a holier-than-thou. He’s just making observations, in love, about our unique culture (which is also HIS unique culture.)”
Recipes:
On the web
Books for the TBR list:
- Masterpiece by Elise Broach
What happens when a beetle draws a picture trying to cheer a boy up–but then the boy’s Mom finds the drawing and thinks that her SON did the drawing? In this story, at least, it leads to bragging, an elaborate scheme to reproduce some famous art, and a mystery for the boy and the beetle to solve.
News to take note of:
- To treat or not to treat thyroid cancer
Given that one of our parishioners underwent treatment a couple of years back for thyroid cancer, that a cousin of mine had some nodules removed from her thyroid last year, and that two individuals in our church had complete thyroidectomies a couple of weeks ago for what turned out to NOT be thyroid cancer–I’m understandably curious about thyroid cancer. This study indicates that there has been a dramatic upswing in thyroid cancer cases in recent years–but that chances of survival, even if not treated rapidly, are quite high for those with thyroid cancer, suggesting that treatment can be avoided or delayed for individuals who have cancer that is contained to the gland. Very interesting. I’ll be watching this conversation, that’s for sure. - Is a raw diet right for you?
What this writer and proponents of raw diets everywhere fail to understand and point out about nutrition is that cooking is necessary to make some nutrients bioavailable. It is true that some nutrients can be destroyed by heat–but others require heat to be made available to our bodies. Cooking serves a vital role of increasing palatability and digestibility of foods. For best health, consume a variety of nutrient-rich foods, both cooked and raw. - Sea lions and dolphins as underwater anti-terrorism scouts?
The Navy is out to prove that it’s not a bad idea. Think K-9 units only with really speedy underwater motion.
HT: Instapundit - Is free speech a universal right?
Apparently not. It seems that free speech is only accorded to those who have been trained in the nation’s best liberal indoctrination camps (journalism schools) and who are currently working inside of the nation’s best propaganda machine (mainstream media).
HT: Instapundit - Cadmium found in jewelry from China
I’m not a “buy American or else” kind of person–but there is definitely good evidence that buying from China is NOT good for your health. Lead in more articles than can be counted (at least by me), melamine in milk, now cadmium in children’s jewelry. “Made in China” simply isn’t safe–especially for children.
Thought-provoking posts:
- Should a Pentecostal marry a Calvinist?
I’ve been following the comment responses to this question since Dr. Russell Moore posted it several weeks ago–now Dr. Moore weighs in with some wise words. I especially liked:“If the two of you marry, God has called Calvin to spiritually lead the home (Eph. 5:23, 25-28; 1 Cor. 11:3). Aimee, if you see Calvin as spiritually immature because he hasn’t experienced the “baptism of the Holy Ghost,” do not marry him. He will be leading you spiritually, and if you can’t respect him, as he is, move on. If you would plan to whisper to your children, “Don’t tell Daddy but really serious Christians get slain in the Spirit…” then call off the engagement.
Calvin, if you secretly think of Aimee’s background as nothing more than ridiculous “man-centered” “holy-rolling,” don’t marry her. She will be, if the Lord wills, the mother of your children, training them up in the sacred writings (2 Tim. 3:15). Your headship isn’t raw force of argument. It is modeled after the way our Lord Christ loved his church, cleansing her “by the washing of water with the word” (Eph. 5:25). How did our Lord Jesus do that with a foundation stone of his church, the Apostle Peter? By kneeling to serve, while teaching (Jn. 14:1-20). You must do likewise.”
- Vitamin Z on the ache of foster care:
“Some dear friends of mine recently have taken two little girls into their home. They are 5 and 6 years old. Things have not gone well. Imagine living a life for five years with zero boundaries and then being placed in a home that is patient, loving, and grace-filled, but has firm boundaries. How would you feel? Of course you would freak out. And freak out they have. Screaming fits for hours, empty haunted eyes, and constant rebellion against their new Mom and Dad. I talked to my friend after they had been in the house for about 18 hours and he already sounded completely worn out and weary. “
My heart goes out to these girls, to this family. Please pray for them, for the many children caught within the foster system, for the Christian foster parents who have been called to parent them, and for God to continue to call new laborers into this white-for-harvest field.
- On Ergun Caner and ministerial exaggeration:
“Much attention has been paid both to Caner’s sub-standard apology and to the comments of Dr. Towns in the Christianity Today story. I believe, though, that the real story is in the other statement above – the euphemistic characterization of “exaggeration” as “ministerially speaking.” This statement appears without citation; I do not know whether it is traceable to anyone at Liberty. It does not matter, for it is an entirely true statement. What Caner appears to have done is nothing other than what is common among preachers: he has exaggerated, embellished, and perhaps even fabricated the stories about himself which form the backbone of his sermons. That is where our attention ought to be. Liberty University has misjudged the severity of the scandal, but they have done so because it fails to appear scandalous to Christians who have become comfortable with the idea that preachers regularly tell fibs in the pulpit.”
While this article specifically speaks to pastors, I know we can all be tempted to “embellish” our stories. A number of years ago, I was convicted that I had been making up statistics in conversation with others when I only knew approximations. It wasn’t increasing my credibility to say that I read that 54.2% of people surveyed were in favor of stricter abortion laws, when the truth was I only remembered that over half of those surveyed in this particular magazine were in favor of stricter abortion laws. Nitpicky? Maybe. But if truth is what sets men free, I want to be as close to the truth as I can be.
HT: Vitamin Z
