The Next Evangelicalism

It's true I haven't had a whole lot of to write for enjoyment at college, but I have been doing a lot of reading. (and a lot of writing about reading)

Here's a little bit from a book review on The Next Evangelicalism by Soong-Chan Rah:

Content:

Soong-Chan Rah addresses a rather sensitive topic about how to free the Church from western cultural captivity. He tears the veil off of the white church, revealing exactly what is, has been, and how it is affecting other churches and cultures across the world. Rah contends that the next big evangelicalism will be the rise of multi-ethnic churches as immigrants flood the United States and Churches grow in other countries. As the white church conforms with society, it shrinks, becoming less and less like the Church God intended it to be. The question is whether or not the white-church will wake up and embrace this new change.

My Reaction:

I greatly appreciated the above points that Rah made, especially about materialism, consumerism, and individualism. It is so prevalent in our society, yet we are so blind to how it affects our churches. I also greatly appreciated that when Rah speaks of western cultural captivity, he is not just speaking about racism, but a much broader range of problems. My eyes were opened to just how culturally trapped we are in our churches in so many aspects, even in the content of our songs and the architecture of our buildings. It was also very convicting how he pointed out that we try to reach for multi-ethnicity in our churches, but we do not change our leaderships. 

 Near the middle of the book, I began to get a little bogged down. Rah began to get a little repetitive, and I began to feel like he was attacking the white church, and fitting all white churches into this category. However, in all honesty, I think I was just being convicted. I appreciated that at the end he drew lessons we could learn from multi-ethnic and immigrant churches. It does appear that we have a lot to learn from them, even in attitudes of more joy and praise in our music instead of self-focus. In summary, I felt like this book was well-thought out and convicting despite the difficulty I had in getting through it.

Four Stars, Ages 16 and up (based on difficulty of read)

The Auschwitz Escape

The Auschwitz Escape - Joel C. Rosenberg

Summary: A terrible darkness has fallen upon Jacob Weisz’s beloved Germany. The Nazi regime, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, has surged to power and now hold Germany by the throat. All non-Aryans—especially Jews like Jacob and his family—are treated like dogs.
When tragedy strikes during one terrible night of violence, Jacob flees and joins rebel forces working to undermine the regime. But after a raid goes horribly wrong, Jacob finds himself in a living nightmare—trapped in a crowded, stinking car on the train to the Auschwitz death camp.
As World War II rages and Hitler begins implementing his “final solution” to systematically and ruthlessly exterminate the Jewish people, Jacob must rely on his wits and a God he’s not sure he believes in to somehow escape from Auschwitz and alert the world to the Nazi’s atrocities before Fascism overtakes all of Europe. The fate of millions hangs in the balance.  (Copied from description on Amazon)

Pros:  This is a very interesting book that gives you a perspective on life in a death camp.  It is well-written with excitement and suspense; even though it is 480 pages, it kept me interested the whole time and I read it in less than a week.

Cons: There is some violence, as is to be expected from a book about a death camp.  It does not go into extreme detail though, so it isn't horrible.

Overall, I thought this was a very good book, especially for anyone who is interested in historical fiction.

Five stars.  Ages 10? and up.  (Question mark because it depends on how sensitive the individual person is to violence.  The suspense may also be a bit much for younger folks.)

Moods

  Moods--Louisa May Alcott

Summary-- Sylvia Yule falls in love. Then she finds out that the man she loves is engaged. Her heart goes through a thousand "moods" which finally culminate in her hearing through the grape vine of his marriage. Deciding she was not in love with him but that he was simply a friend she accepts his best friend who previously purposed. They get married but on their honeymoon, the former man finds her, discloses that he is not married and not be aware that she is, asks for her hand. A dramatic scene ensues leaving her to struggle with the thought that perhaps she had not really loved her husband when she married him and that maybe she still loved this man. Things continue to escalate until she is on the verge or divorcing her husband and marrying his best friend. Instead she decides that she will do neither. She can never love her husband but should not marry her lover because they aren't matching personalities. She sends her husband abroad, still morning for her and simply waiting to be called home. Finally, she calls him. He arrives home and she tells him that she still does not love him, she still loves this friend, and that she called him home to be with her when she dies. Then she follows through leaving her perfect husband to grieve for the loss of an emotionally unfaithful wife.

Pro's-- This book gave me an inside view of a woman's tormented mind. She made a mistake, and how was she supposed to correct it? It was an interesting character study.

Con's-- (Phew, where do I start?) The bottom line is that I did not like this book. I was shocked that Alcott would write it and disgusted with the ending. Sylvia was not a person I connected with. She was foolish in every way and for the life of me I could not understand why Mr. Moore wanted to marry her. Finally, when Sylvia discovered she had married the wrong man I hate her reaction. She allowed his best friend and her lover to stay, knowing that it would be a temptation. She allows him to tell her she married the wrong man and should divorce. And worst of all, she hides everything from her husband until a freak circumstance reveals the truth. Getting counsel to try and love her husband she (in my opinion), pretends like she has tried and found that she can't, he is only a friend.  I do not believe that if she really tried she would have found it at all impossible. Mr. Moore was perfect. He gave everything to please her and demanded nothing. On the other hand, her lover demanded everything to please himself and gave nothing. Then, the last and crowning insult: she calls her husband home from abroad where she has banished him, to tell him, in so many words, that she still does not love him but wants him to take care of her as she dies.

I was not pleased to have read this book and beginning it with no previously knowledge of the contents was astounded. I will give Alcott the fact that she never exactly says she agreed with Sylvia's choice. In fact she made Sylvia so upset by the whole thing that she literally worries herself to death.

Two Stars.  Ages 15 and up.

Four Queens

Four Queens--Nancy Goldstone

Summary--Set against the backdrop of the thirteenth century, a time of chivalry and crusades, poetry, knights and monarchs, comes the story of four provocative sisters who rose from near obscurity to become the most coveted and powerful women in Europe. The brilliant marriages of Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice the beautiful daughters of the count of Provence, made them the queens of France, England, Germany and Sicily.  (copied from the front flap)

Pro's-- The politics and tightrope walking presented in this book were fascinating. Being nobility/royalty is not all it's cracked up to be. These four sisters had to be highly diplomatic towards nobility in their own country, foreign powers, their husbands and sometimes even each other. I can't say that I would ever wish to be in their places but reading about it as an outsider several hundred years later was intriguing. At least in the beginning the book reads like a novel and kept me constantly curious about what would happen next.

Con's-- I felt like this book dragged out a little too long. The author is a good writer but not good enough for me to read every word of a 308 page book. She could have shortened things a little and kept me from skimming the last third.

If you like history, primarily, mid-evil history you will probably enjoy this book.

Four stars. Ages 15 and up. (nothing a younger person should not read but the content is a little hard to grasp for some.)