Reviews

In an attempt to increase my reading comprehension and enjoyment of the books I am reading, I plan on reviewing the books I read. Then, I shall post my reviews and recommendations here to share my enjoyment with you. I would like to extend the reviews to more than just books as I have a load of old records, cassettes, and CDs that I would like to review just because most of what I have are unique compared to most music collections.

I'm building a basic format for the reviews that will probably evolve over time as I get a little more used to the whole process. For now, the format is as such:

• An image of the item I am reviewing either
• a scan of the actual item in hand or
• a stock photo provided by an online store.
• Basic information of the item, including
• Title
• Author/Artist
• Publisher/Producer
• ISBN
• Length/Format
• Genre
• Time it took for me to read it*
• Source (where I obtained it)
• Link to item in my aStore
• Synopsis/Summary
• Review
• Rating based on my rating system

* I tend not to have a lot of time to read for fun throughout the week, so my time to read will vary based on how much extra time I have to read.  As a matter of perspective, books I am really interested in I can read within a week or so.  Books that take me a while to get into may take up to a month.  Hopefully being a part of the 100 Books Reading Challenge will increase my reading speed.

Bible in a Year: Day Three

Today's Bible Reading:

Romans 1-2

Summary
Romans 1:1 identifies the Apostle Paul as the author of this epistle to the Christians in Rome.  Paul speaks about the Gospel and coming to preach in Rome.  He then notes that righteousness comes from faith, but God is wrathful against the unrighteous who know they should be righteous by the revelation in God's creation.  Paul talks about how people do not glorify God and worship the creature rather than the Creator and are given up to "vile affections" and a whole list of unrighteous actions and behaviors.

Romans 2 talks about the fairness of God's judgment on unrighteous man because man is inexcusable about knowing to do right, either by the written Law or by the law written on their hearts.  Paul finally ends on the fact that there is no difference between an outwardly circumcised person and an uncircumcised person if righteousness is not internalized.  Therefore, circumcision does not save and lack of circumcision does not condemn.

What I knew
"I am not ashamed of the gospel" is found in a few really good gospel songs, and it is the basis on which Paul preached to whomever he came into contact.  The last half of Romans 1 I had studied before when first I was confronted by someone saying the New Testament did not condemn homosexuality.  My studies led me to this particular chapter, and I was pretty astounded at some of the other things listed there that are commonplace behaviors today.

What I learned
A commentary I read said that it is one thing to be a racial Jew, and a whole other thing to be a spiritual Jew.  It's really what is inside that counts; any outward, ceremonial sign is not what regenerates.

Doctrinal Importance
Romans is probably the most preached book that I've heard because there is so much in it instructing us to live righteously.  Romans 1 tells of the natural degradation of morality that the sin nature and ignoring of God's laws causes.  The list of immorality at the end of the chapter not only list what man is capable of, but it is a snapshot of what the Christian should avoid.  Romans 2 illustrates the fact that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision are necessary for salvation, but that God is praised by internalizing righteousness and acting in a Godly manner.

My Amazon Store

Check out my new aStore through Amazon. I'm currently loading in some of my favorite books, CDs and more for you to peruse and possibly buy at your leisure. I also have a special section for items that I have mentioned or reviewed on the blog. I will also provide a link to anything I review in case you want to check them out yourself.

This of course is not a plead for any kind of money, but if you were planning on buying something at Amazon anyway, you might as well do it through my aStore and help out the blog at the same time.

I also have a little widget at the bottom of the page, too.  Be sure to check it out!

On Reviews

"I liked it. It was good."

In high school, the above was the summation of what most of the students would respond in any kind of review of some book they were to have read, a speech a classmate had given, or to any other performance to which they were to respond reflectively. A little molding and prodding by the teacher would eventually let the spoken notions expand to more than just trite answers of personal opinion.

It became more of a joke in college acting class such that the first answer in response to a student's monologue or some other speech would be "I liked it; it was good." Then all (including the professor) would chortle before the class moved on to more specific peer reviews of the student's performance, mostly consisting of a long-winded attempt at being deeply intuitive in an attempt to stall until class was over thus giving the wordy reviewer another day to practice his or her own monologue.

Unfortunately that is the most I seem to remember about giving reviews, especially since I have been toying with the idea of doing some kind of media reviews. All I can think of when I sit down to write about a movie I have seen is "I liked it; it was good." Any attempt to put into words the reasons why "I liked it" or why "it was good" get stuck somewhere in the transit between my memory and my afferent carpal nerves.

While I continue to compile my thoughts on the movie Rebecka and I saw tonight (Sherlock Holmes), I shall attempt to at some point put my thoughts here. In the meantime I will also be researching more about doing reviews and hopefully be able to put down something worth reading.

Bible in a Year: Day Two

Today's Bible Reading:
Matthew 1-2

Summary
Beginning from Abraham, Matthew gives the lineage of ancestors that leads up to Jesus.  At the end of Chapter One, he recounts of Mary being with child through the Holy Spirit according to the prophecy.  Then he tells of an angel visiting Joseph to tell him about the coming birth of Jesus. 

In Chapter Two, wise men from the east visit King Herod in Jerusalem having followed a star pointing them toward the newborn King of the Jews.  The scribes revealed that he would be born in Bethlehem, so Herod told the wise men to find him and come back to Herod so he could go "worship him."  Once the wise men found Jesus and gave their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, God told them in a dream to not return to Herod (who had other plans than to worship the new King); they then told Joseph and Mary to take Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod's wrath.  Herod in the meantime had every child under two years old in Bethlehem killed.  After Herod's death, Joseph and his family returned to live in Nazareth.

What I knew
Though Luke 2 is the most often read Christmas story, Matthew also has an important account that reveals a lot of the prophecy being fulfilled.  It is also the place where the wise men and their gifts are mentioned, as well as the angel coming to Joseph and Herod having the babies killed in Bethlehem.
What I learned
Something I sort of knew before but had forgotten about was in 1:17 when Matthew, from the genealogy he gave, shows that there were 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David until Israel was held captive in Babylon, and 14 generations from then until Jesus' birth.

Doctrinal Significance
The virgin birth of Jesus is one of the most important doctrines of Christianity.  In Matthew 1 and 2, we find a lot of prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus' birth, including historical events, His lineage, the way He was born, the location of His birth, and the events immediately following His birth.  His birth is the beginning of the culmination of much of the Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament.  That so many are fulfilled in Jesus is far more than mere chance.

Bible in a Year: Day One

Today's Bible Reading:

Isaiah 1-6

Summary
These chapters of the prophetic book of Isaiah contain Isaiah's visions from God concerning the judgment of His people. The people of Israel have turned their backs to God, participating in vain rituals, idol worship, and all manner of transgressions, while still trying to make sacrifices unto God. He compares them to Sodom and Gomorrah, but in His mercy compels them to become clean and "cease to do evil."

While the first chapter voices God's displeasure at the sins of Judah and His offer of forgiveness, the other chapters focus on prophetic revelations of judgment for the wicked who do not turn from their evil ways. The righteous will be spared. A parallel is drawn between a protected vineyard bearing wild grapes.

Chapter 6 details Isaiah's vision of the Lord on His throne surrounded by six-winged seraphims crying "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." Finding himself in the presence of God, Isaiah declares himself a "man of unclean lips." One of the seraphims takes a hot coal and purges Isaiah's lips. The Lord gives Isaiah a mission to prophesy a judgment to the people.

What I knew
A few key verses from these chapters, plus the entirety of the sixth chapter, I had heard preached or referred to several times. One of my best friend's favorite verses (and increasingly mine) is found in 1:18

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

which is a very beautiful verse promising forgiveness of sins.

I recognized a couple of places that have been referenced in songs: "beat their swords into plowshares" (2:4); "neither shall they learn war anymore" (ibid); and, of course "Holy, holy, holy" (6:3).

What I learned
There are many levels of prophecy I discovered so far in Isaiah. Based on some cursory research just on the book as a whole, I found out that some of the prophecies have been fulfilled in captivity of Judah by other nations. Other prophecies point to end times.

Doctrinal Significance
The doctrines of holiness, righteousness, and seeking forgiveness are clearly laid out in these chapters of Isaiah. Also found here is God's promise that He will honor righteousness by preserving those who seek His forgiveness. At the same time, the unrepentant and those that give empty sacrifices without any change in their way of living will be judged. This judgment is not reserved for just the people of Israel. There were many things pointing to the judgment of nations that do not honor God and His righteousness.

Bible in a Year Challenge

I present a new reading challenge that's a couple thousand years in the running: To Read the Bible in a Year.  Since I have already determined to read 100 books in a year, I consider this one to be the ultimate foundation of that reading challenge.

Today I began a 52 week Bible reading plan, partly because I have never read the Bible completely and was going to attempt it this year. But when our pastor made a request that all the congregation participate this year in attempting to read the Word over the course of the year (and even provided a daily guide to follow), I was doubly determined to do so.

I have to admit my severe slackness in reading and studying the Bible like I should. I tend to let everything in the world distract me or take priority over even a cursory glance at the scripture. So now I have the urge and method to increase my biblical exposure from whenever we read at church to a daily and personal study.

In addition to reading the Bible, I am going to attempt to apply what I read as I review at select points.  I will provide a summary of the text, what I knew before I read it, what I learned from reading, and finally what I see to be part of the doctrinal significance of the passage.