Theology Books - Page 2

Practice of the Presence of God

Brother Lawrence

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 87 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Radical...not necessarily practical 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Brother Lawrence's spiritual classic can be summarized in a few short steps:

1. Have a mystical vision of the divine love of God. (Unfortunately, no hint of how this can be accomplished is given.)

2. Renounce the world and everything in it. (Larry Bro apparently had no family, career, or other extenuating circumstances, so he joined a monastery as a lay brother and cook.)

3. Pray ceaselessly, even while you're asleep. Don't worry about temptation, your neighbor, suffering, mortification, responsibility, complications, penance, formality, growth, doctrine, vocation, redemption, and anything else you can think of.

After around four to ten years of tormenting doubt and fear (by his accounts) you'll be ready to bask in the warm glow of grace!

The message of complete faith in God is indeed a great one. But the line between self-sacrifice and self-indulgence sometimes gets blurred. We are not given an account of any works of charity, love, or mercy that Brother Lawrence may have accomplished. Only that he went around happy all day. Somtimes he was so giddy with God's love that he would have to pinch himself to keep from giggling in front of other people. Then he derides normal people for not being drunk all day on spiritual consolations.

What is truly ironic is that Brother Lawrence's path was, at the time, thought to be a great shortcut. Compared to the discipline required of monks in those days, I'm sure it was. Nowadays, Deepak Chopra Winfrey would probably be unimpressed. The great Saints would probably recommend that you pick up your cross and eschew the easy path.

Editorial Review:

This work contains letters, ways and spiritual principles of Brother Lawrence, the 17th-century French monk who in his monastery kitchen discovered an overwhelming delight in God's presence.

The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life

A. W. Tozer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 73 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This classic of Christian testimony and devotion explores the attributes of God in words that fly straight to the heart. A superb aid to strengthening and deepening the spiritual life, each chapter begins with a prayer, lucidly discusses a divine aspect -- from God's infinity to God's love -- and relates that aspect to today's world, while pointing always to God's wonder and inscrutability.A. W. Tozer asserts that the cause of many of our modern spiritual woes is the loss in today's church of a lofty concept of God. He argues persuasively that the cure lies in our rediscovery of God's majesty. "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us," he writes. "The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God." The Knowledge of the Holy bearseloquent witness to the concept of God's majesty, encourages reverent meditation on the being of God, and offers a way to bring back spiritual power to our lives.

The City of God (Modern Library Classics)

Saint Augustine

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Some things are better read about than read 2 out of 5 stars.
5 of 17 people found this review helpful.

I read this for a book group I was in, and was rather peeved at being forced to blow so much time on what is essentially useful only to the Classical historian or Scholasticism buff. Realistically, Augustine is just a particularly eloquent proponent of a religious argument we all get in Sunday School at age 10: The things of this world are transitory and passing, but the things of the next world are eternal and more valuable. You can almost hear the monotonous cadence. If what you want is to add to your already-considerable knowledge of the particulars of late Roman civilization, then this is the book for you. If you're in seminary and reading Aquinas, and you're thinking, "I'd certainly like to know more about his major intellectual influences," then this is the book for you. But if what you want is an increased familiarity with the major ideas of Western civilization, then do yourself a favor and go pick up a pair of textbooks: one on ancient history, the other on classical philosophy. Augustine of Hippo will get a few pages in each one, and that's honestly all he's worth. Plowing through the entirety of The City of God for simple philosophical or theological curiosity would be like reading the complete works of Louis Agassiz just to see what scientific racism was like. Both efforts would be fruitful, in one sense, but in another sense you'd have spent an awful lot of time learning about antiquated theories.

Editorial Review:

One of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian philosophy, The City of God provides an insightful interpretation of the development of modern Western society and the origin of most Western thought. Contrasting earthly and heavenly cities--representing the omnipresent struggle between good and evil--Augustine explores human history in its relation to all eternity. In Thomas Merton's words, "The City of God is the autobiography of the Church written by the most Catholic of her great saints."

This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition is a complete and unabridged version of the Marcus Dods translation.

The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions

David Berlinski

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Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Militant atheism is on the rise. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have dominated bestseller lists with books denigrating religious belief as dangerous foolishness. And these authors are merely the leading edge of a far larger movement–one that now includes much of the scientific community.

“The attack on traditional religious thought,” writes David Berlinski in The Devil’s Delusion, “marks the consolidation in our time of science as the single system of belief in which rational men and women might place their faith, and if not their faith, then certainly their devotion.”

A secular Jew, Berlinski nonetheless delivers a biting defense of religious thought. An acclaimed author who has spent his career writing about mathematics and the sciences, he turns the scientific community’s cherished skepticism back on itself, daring to ask and answer some rather embarrassing questions:

Has anyone provided a proof of God’s inexistence?
Not even close.

Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here?
Not even close.

Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life?
Not even close.

Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought?
Close enough.

Has rationalism in moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral?
Not close enough.

Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good?
Not even close to being close.

Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences?
Close enough.

Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational?
Not even ballpark.

Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt?
Dead on.

Berlinski does not dismiss the achievements of western science. The great physical theories, he observes, are among the treasures of the human race. But they do nothing to answer the questions that religion asks, and they fail to offer a coherent description of the cosmos or the methods by which it might be investigated.

This brilliant, incisive, and funny book explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it can be–indeed must be–the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world and ourselves.

The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today

Josh McDowell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 97 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is an incredible tool for anyone studying the Bible, defending the Bible, or just wants a solid resource in this skeptical 21st century. I have found it profoundly informative and a must for anyone who wanted a more in-depth view of the Bible, History and profound truths therein.

This book changed by life 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is easily one of the best Christian books in print today. This book took my faith to the next level, and reinforced it with clear undeniable FACTS. It's a tough read, as the format isn't for relaxing bedtime reading, but you won't regret time spent studying this fantastic book.

good reading 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is a readable book for the lay person. Very thought provoking. It is written in the comman man's language.

Editorial Review:

Evidence I & II-The classic defense of the faith: Now fully updated to answer the questions challenging evangelical faith today.

The New Evidence maintains its classic defense of the faith yet addresses new issues.

The New Evidence is destined to equip believers with a ready defense for the next decade and beyond

The Pursuit of God

A. Tozer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 97 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This Version--Terrible Edition 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book is amazing and should be read by believers in Jesus, as well as people who "just go to church." This edition, however, is edited badly and unreadable at times. :( I've only gotten through the introduction.

The Pursuit of God 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book itself, The Pursuit of God, is wonderful and powerful. There were a few editing errors that I found distracting. Also, other editions have discussion questions that were missing in this edition. I always appreciate having those.

Don't buy this edition 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A classic book but a horrible edition. I have never seen so many proofing errors in my life. Not acceptable.

Most important 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I consider this book to be the most important I have ever read outside of the Bible itself.

Don Hawley

The Pursuit of God 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I recognized the name A. W. Tozer, because he is so often quoted by Christian writers. The pursuit of God is a devotional book, and you know, all devotional writers say the same things. I'll let you be the judge. Here are some quotes from The Pursuit of God:

"Sins are not something we do, they are something we are.

"Let us remember: when we talk of the rending of the veil, we are speaking in a figure, and the thought of it is almost poetical, almost pleasant; but in actuality there is nothing pleasant about it. In human experience that veil is made of living spiritual tissue...and to touch it is to touch us where we feel pain. It is never fun to die. Yet that is what the cross did to Jesus and it is what the cross would do to every man to set him free. Let us beware of tinkering with our inner life in hope ourselves to rend the veil. God must do everything for us.

"Ten million intelligences standing at as many points in space...can each say with equal truth, God is here. No point is nearer to God than any other point.
Jacob, 'in the waste howling wilderness'...cried out in wonder.'Surely God is in this place and I knew it not.'"

"God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination, and divine sovereignty. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints.

"In the beginning He spoke to nothing, and it became something.

"Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. While we are looking to God we do not see ourselves~ blessed riddance."

The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses

C. S. Lewis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Classic Perceptive Lewis 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is actually a collection of essays. Lewis addresses various things such as, the glory of man as being a reflection of the glory of God, why he is not a pacifist (where he gives some pretty strong moral, biblical, and sensible arguments), speaking in tongues and various spiritual gifts (moreso on their implication, not on the technicality of each or what exactly each gift is), what he calls "is theology poetry" (or in other words, do we believe in theology just because the idea of a cosmic drama appeals to us), the affects of peer pressure and the gradual degradation of one's inner principles and also its positive affects when one surrounds him/herself with Christians, and forgiveness.

Overall a very enlightening read, in which many issues that are not commonly talked about are given attention. Not very long either, but packed full of insight.

Editorial Review:

Contains selections from diverse addresses given by the famed author of The Case for Christianity, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and other works. Reprint.

A Divine Revelation of Hell

Mary K. Baxter

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Total reviews: 344 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Not very divine after all 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I remember reading this not long after it came out. I ate it up! It took me a few years to conclude that it was all her fertile imagination. I agree with another review posted here that asserts that the "Jesus" of Baxter's so-called "revelation" bears little to no resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible or traditional church teaching. I think this "revelation" can be safely ignored. As a telling side-note, has anyone else noticed her "A Divine Revelation of..." series of books? Looks like she started herself a franchise along the lines of "Chicken Soup For The (fill in the blank) Soul"!! Sounds like money might be the big revelation here.

Loved the book, bought it for my niece. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I read this book a few years back and I loved it. Recently my niece wanted to read it, so I ordered it for her.

Editorial Review:

Over a period of forty days, God gave Mary K. Baxter visions of hell and commissioned her to tell all to choose life. Here is an account of the place and beings of hell contrasted with the glories of heaven. It is a reminder of the need each of us has for the miracle of salvation.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

W. Phillip Keller

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Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Classic that Needs to be Read 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 is a masterful book that has remained a classic for years. The overall theme of this book is worship. Keller is in love with his God, and it is hard to go more than a paragraph before you find more words of praise for God and Jesus.

Keller weaves the metaphor of the relationship between sheep and a shepherd like no one else could. He raised sheep for years, so he has exquisite knowledge of what it is like to raise sheep. Not only does he expound on what the psalm can mean to your spiritual life, he also gives interesting information on sheep and how to raise them.

Some of Keller's comparisons of Jesus to a shepherd astonished me, and I was left with a feeling of comfort. I've always been familiar with this psalm, but Keller explaining the actual herding terms and how dependent sheep are on their shepherd made me stop and think. Excellent read. Definitely worth having on your bookshelf.

Editorial Review:

With over 2 million copies sold, Phillip Keller’s beloved contemporary classic spans the decades with its uplifting insights on Psalm 23. Pairing Keller’s sublime reflections with the New International Version, this edition sheds light for a new generation of readers on the nature and ways of sheep—and of the Good Shepherd who cares for them.

A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works

C. S. Lewis

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Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

What an awesome book! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

C.S. Lewis is always great. This book is awesome. It contains daily, short but deep readings will help you grow in your spiritual life. You'll read it over and over.

A Wonderful Devotional Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Taken from a number of his most widely read works, A Year with C.S. Lewis, is a wonderful resource for Christians to consider many of the theological points of their faith in small nuggets upon which they can chew and digest without becoming overwhelmed.

I have been using this book for my lunchtime devotional reading and have found, without fail, that each day's reading is thought provoking and insightful. I have found the passages taken from "The Problem of Pain" and "A Grief Observed" to be the most compelling on a personal level.

What the reader will not find here is the sort of light, relentlessly optimistic writing often seen in devotional literature nor will he or she find a short bit of Scripture quoted and then expounded upon by some selection of Lewis' writing. Instead, what I have found are selections chosen for their ability to pierce cliches and platitudes and engage the reader's intellect both authentically and without pretense.

I strongly recommend this compilation for those who would like to go deeper into their own faith during their devotional times.