5 comments about Presbyterian Hymnal Hymns Psalms and Spiritual Songs.

1. This is a great hymnal, that was thoughtfully produced, and obviously had a huge amount of time dedicated to its production. Presbyterians now have a hymnal that goes straight through the liturgical year, from Advent to Pentecost/Whitsunday, and beyond. This hymnal also contains all the Psalms, so essential to tradition Presbyterian/Reformed Worship, set to music.

   The redeeming quality of the Psalms offsets the fact that many words were to changed for "inclusiveness". I do not always have a problem with accepting everyone into the church, but when great hymns are changed from their original text I wonder... For example hymn 262 reads "God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand", when D.C. Roberts wrote "God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand" in 1876 as our National Hymn. Little things like this make me wonder how true other less-well known hymns were translated.

   Also included are a number of hymns in foreign tongues, such as Native American Languages, and Korean. This are wonderful additions to congregations with large numbers of members who are of different ethnic origins, but I attend an all-white church, not because we do not welcome people of other races but simply because the community in which I live is close to 99% white, and minorities have teir own strong churches locally, therefore these hymns are useless to us, and could have been replaced by some older hymns that are trditional favorites.

   All in all, this is a good hymnal and does remain true to God's will, but I much prefer "The Hymnbook" of 1955 or "The Hymnal" of 1933 or "The Trinity Hymnal". These books contain many more common hymns that many of us who were reared in the Presbyterian Church, or any other Protestant denomination, would recognize.

   I guess that if we were truly Presbyterian we would only sing Psalms- acapella, but I think hymnwriters, offer everyone a better chance to praise and worship God.




2. If you could have only one hymnal in your piano bench, this would be the one. The traditional Christian hymns in lush arrangements in the British style, with a great diversity of Christian hymn and praise songe from other non-European cultures. Some hymns have lyrics in various world langauges. A fitting tribute to the universality of the Christian tradition and the union of spirits in praise of the Divine.



3. 
   We understand that the Presbyterian Church is at the start of making a new hymnal (due to debut in 2014) to replace this one. Their theory is that every generation needs a new hymnal and if you look at the preceding hymnals (the blue or green hymnal of 1933, the maroon hymnal of 1955 and the ill-fated Worshipbook of the 70s), you see their point.
   
   Even so, this one gets most things right and will be hard to beat.
   
   The second half of the 20th century experienced what has been called the Hymn Explosion, and many of the best hymns of that time are represented in this book which is still called the "new" hymnal in most Presbyterian churches. There are some works that were hard to introduce to congregations that are now among their most beloved hymns represented: Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ, Here I Am Lord, etc. Fred Pratt Green, Timothy Dudley-Smith, Jane Parker Huber and Hal Hopson are all represented here, as well they ought to be.
   
   There are also some under-utilized gems in it as well, songs like "Come O Spirit" (for Pentecost) and "God Bless Your Church" (for an anniversary) that have also found their way into other denominational hymnals.
   
   All in all it is a great hymnal for expanding the congregations "Favorites" repertoire without being too jarring.
   
   LindaJo McKim and company did yeoman's work in creating it. The layout is according to the liturgical year. The indexes are thorough and easy to use. The print is clear; the size is comfortable to hold while singing. There is a non-denominational version of this hymnal available too, from the publisher, for non-Presbyterian congregations who find it to their liking.



4. This CD is a great way to copy and paste the songs of the Presbyterian Hymnal into Word documents, Powerpoint, etc. We also use it to import hymns into Mediashout for projection. One thing - to get it to work with Vista requires that two files be manually copied - dirdib.drv and macromix.dll into your c:\windows folder. Otherwise, you'll get error messages saying that the files can not be copied because the disk is full. What's happening is that the new Vista security features are preventing the files from being copied.
   
   So where do you get these two files? Install and run the hymnal CD on a Windows XP computer. The files are only available while the program is running. They are removed when the program is closed. So - while the program is running, copy them to a floppy disk, flash drive or whatever and then manually copy them into the c:\windows folder on your Vista computer. You'll need administrator priveleges to do so.
   
   After that, the CD runs as well on a Vista computer as on our XP computer.



5. The hymnal is a decent resource, but isn't extremely useful in determining the original reading of various hymns. The older texts have been altered to reflect contemporary concerns of feminist theology, even in removing certain references to God being Father (for one example, see "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," #276, footnote). The hymns are not mangled as a general rule, but I see the irritating "alt." designation next to more older texts than not. The type is clear and the musical settings are sound, so if egalitarian/feminist theology doesn't bother you, this is a fine hymnal.

2 comments about The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English.

1. This modern translation of the Westminster Shorter Catechism has become the standard modern rendering of this catechism and is a most profitable tool.

   As is indicated in the short introduction to this work, the authors/translators were committed to making the Shorter Catechism accessible to today's readers in order to maintain its viability as a modern teaching tool and liturgical reference. The original language of the Shorter Catechism is sometimes difficult to follow, and this resulted in a decreasing emphasis upon its use. This translation eliminates this problem, and allows for a succinct and very faithful reintroduction of the Shorter Catechism to the masses via Reformed liturgy and instruction.

   This modern version is quite lucid. As a result, it is a teaching tool that can be used with children, as well as incorporating it into regular worship in ways that seasoned Christians, new Christians, and interested non-Christians can understand and follow. As I will mention below, this is really critical.

   It is important to address the major objection that always seems to come up whenever there is an undertaking to produce a 'modern rendering' of some centuries old work. Inevitably, the charge of 'dumbing down' is raised, where it is asserted that by creating a modern version, the accuracy of the original is compromised for the sake of contemporary ease of comprehension. And while I think this objection always has merit to the extent that we should always be very discerning about the faithfulness of any modern work to the original, I find that this particular objection is not valid in this instance. This modern rendering is very faithful to the original, and very accurate in communicating the distinctive truths of Reformed theology. In works like this, there has to be a balance between accessibility and accuracy. Jettisoning accuracy in the interest of accessibility is a bad idea that should always be rejected. However, that does not universally mean that it is impossible to accurately and faithfully make a previously inaccessible work accessible to people today. As a result, I believe this modern rendering is keeping with perhaps the greatest ecclesiastical tenet of the Reformation - the belief that Scripture should be accessible and available to laypeople, rather than confined among a powerful ecclesiastical elite. As the Reformation produced an explosion of Bible knowledge among the masses as a result of taking the Bible out of the priests of Rome and affirming the priesthood of all believers, so this work should take the Shorter Catechism out of the realm of the seminaries and back to the churches as a vibrant and vital teaching tool of Reformed theology. Highly recommended.




2. This is a wonderful update of the shorter catechism. It makes it more accessible to a modern generation without changing the actual meaning of the Q. and A. The only downside of this particular publication is that the scripture proofs are lacking. I had to buy this AND the original WSC with scripture proofs. If anyone knows of this modernization with the proofs incorporated in, I would love to know about it.

2 comments about The Parables of Jesus.

1. This book had a very positive theological impact on my life. In each chapter, James Boice tackles a different parable, relying on the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
   
   Boice groups 22 of Christ's parables into those relating to kingdom, salvation, wisdom & folly, the Christian life, and judgment. He then summarizes and provides useful background information and commentary on each one.
   
   The actual teachings of Christ himself plus the helpfully illuminating commentary by Boice gave me an enhanced understanding of Christ's will and encouraged me to draw closer to Him in appreciation for the peace and salvation He offers.
   
   Highly recommend this book.



2. It is a joy to read the works of the late James Boice. He was one of those teachers who not only had a passion for God's word and a solid grasp of theological doctrine, he also had an amazing ability to gently explain even the most difficult concepts in ways that are easily digestible. The Foundations of the Christian Faith is just another great example of this.
   
   In the Parables of Jesus, James Boice takes a look at 22 parables spoken by our Lord, separating them into five different categories based on their main application. He groups them into parables of the Kingdom, parables of Salvation, parables of Wisdom and Folly, parables of the Christian Life, and parables of Judgment. He walks the reader through each parable, discussing the overall theme of the parable and then examining the details and meanings of the imagery used by the Lord in these instructive stories.
   
   These parables were not new to me, and for most of them I had a pretty good idea what Jesus was teaching in His use of them. But even those parables I felt I already had a handle on, I gained additional insight into because of the sound exposition by Boice.
   
   There were a couple of parables he explained that I thought I understood before, but that completely surprised me as he worked through them. One example of this in the third chapter of the book where he discusses the man who found the treasure buried in the field and the merchant who found the pearl of great value. That single chapter alone was worth the price of the book many times over for me as it actually helped me better understand the process involved in my own conversion!
   
   And finally, of course, there were a few parables that had always been a little mysterious to me. This book helped shed some helpful light on those as well. The story of the persist widow and the unjust judge is a good example here, and he tied this parable to a neat story about George Mueller and the persistence of prayer in a way that was very encouraging.
   
   All in all, I highly recommend this little gem of a book. I think there is a lot of value and worth tucked into this book, and the simplicity of the presentation in no way undermines the depth of the wisdom it elucidates. Without a doubt or a misgiving, I will be recommending it and sharing it with other believers in the faith.

5 comments about Jonathan Edwards: A Life.

1. Marsden, George M. Jonathan Edwards: A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
   
   There is almost a glut of material on Jonathan Edwards. That can be both good and bad. It is good that men are wrestling with Edwards's life and thought. A study of Edwards can renew intellectual life within the church. Furthermore, Edwards is being fairly studied by scholars outside the conservative world. This, too, is good. But there is always the question when a new Edwards book comes out: is there anything left to say? George Marsden thinks so. And Marsden takes his point of departure from other Edwards scholars. For all of the work on Edwards, the standard biographies (Perry Miller and Iain Murray) leave holes in some places.
   Thesis: Jonathan Edwards lived in the crossroads of intellectual and social history. He is a perfect representative of both streams of both European and American thought: he was a traditionalist who stood for authority, order, and stable values. Ironically, he also planted the seeds of the individualism that would later haunt evangelicalism. Even more paradoxically, the very cure (e.g., the Great Awakening) to the problem (e.g., spiritual decay and social stagnation) would later become another problem for religious America.
   
   There are two illustrations of Marsden's thesis from Edwards' ministry: the Great Awakening and the communion controversy, the latter will be examined in light of his political views. In both cases we see Edwards the traditionalist clash with Edwards the innovator. Edwards' instrumental role in the Great Awakening conflicted with other pastors in the region. Unwillingly, or unwittingly, Edwards inspired other men to rise up and carry on the revival, a task that also meant criticizing the status quo ecclesiology. Another example is Edwards' view on church-state relations (160). Was Edwards going to be the traditional Constantinian Protestant and favor a state-protected church, or would he encourage his people to be a holy congregation, called-out and separated from the world? It appears he wanted both. On p. 196 Edwards advocates a strong Constantianism. This clashed with his view on presenting spiritual evidences to the Lord's Supper. It is obvious why.
   
   Solomon Stoddard, Edwards' grandfather and the previous pastor, sought a mediating position with the Puritans demand for evidence of conversion alongside the painful fact that many people did not have that evidence. If they did not have that evidence, they weren't really in the covenant. So they posited a "half-way" covenant. There was still the nagging problem of evidence. Therefore, the parishioners would give evidence of moral sincerity whereas Edwards' demanded evidence of godly piety (368). It was Edwards' downfall (or heroic hour, depending on your point of view) to overturn this compromise.
   
   Evaluation:
   This book faithfully carries on the Edwardsean tradition. It presents a pastor who sought Christ-exalting power in the pulpit. Yet it is one of the first sympathetic books on Edwards to illustrate tensions in his worldview--tensions the Evangelical world is feeling today. Does a longing for revival and fresh power from the Spirit undermine certain stati quo in Reformed orthodoxy? Marsden's thesis leaves the reader wrestling and thinking on this question. Another fine point is Marsden's emphasis on the healthy sexual morality and love found between Jonathan and Sarah, especially in light of current confusion on sexual mores. I heartily recommend this book.



2. Above all, it's very nice that I can recieved this book very quickly with perfect condition (paperback).
   Among biography of Jonathan Edwards, this book is a masterfiece!
   I'm very satisfied with this order!



3. I was seeking information regarding religious teachings before the American Revolution and found a theologian's theologian. This was not a quick read since I was largely unfamiliar with Edwards' writings and teachings. I now have a "Great Awakening" anchor thanks to Marsden's treatment of Jonathan Edwards, his time, and his contemporaries. An important preacher at a particularly important time in the history of America. Brilliant presentation by Marsden.



4. This is certainly a good biography of the life and times of the great Jonathan Edwards. However, it does lack something of a the personal touch, especially about the days to day details of his life; his study and spiritual life. For a man living in the backwoods of America, lacking intellectual and spiritual companionship, he must have (and other biographies tell us) spent much of his days in his study, writing, thinking and praying.
   
   Although I am not of Edward's philosophical or religious persuasion, I found the description of his thoughts very illuminating, and at times, a little frightening. When everything that happened in his little town or in the turbulent times of US and world history are sourced back to the work of God; in most cases, God's judgements on the sins of the people, one wonders what sort of psychological damage he must inflicted in his poor flock! You almost feel, that for all his learning, he was still living in pre-scientific times.
   
   And you have to laugh where he refers to Hume's Treatise as a 'corrupt book'!But at least he read Hume and a number of other enlightenment philosophers; more than what can be said for the average pastor or preacher/'pop'writer today!
   
   This is a good readable work that does justice to a great, though in many ways, misguided, thinker.



5. This is a long book; the text alone is a little over 500 pages. In the ample space of those pages, Marsden very fully sets out virtually everything that is known about Jonathan Edwards. First and foremost, this is the story of a life. It is biography on a grand scale, in which Edwards' life is described, from beginning to end, in great detail.
   
   What is really marvelous about this book is how Marsden combines the professional objectivity of a historian with sympathetic understanding of his subject. This is very important, because Edwards is not the kind of person that just anyone could write about in a useful way. The events of Edwards' life are not very dramatic or significant. What makes Edwards important is his thought. He was a theologican and a philosopher, who stood on the point of transition between a world in which God still reigned supreme and the modern world of secular thought and scientiic belief. He was also a defender of Calvinism, in a world which was about to turn against Calvin.
   
   To write usefully about such a man, the writer needs to have a deep interest in theological and philosophic subjects, and Marsden does. I am not entirely sure what his own perspective is, because he keeps his own beliefs off stage, as is proper, but Marsden says that he is, and he plainly is, someone whose personal religious viewpoint is not too far away from that of Edwards. Marsden is someone to whom the issues Edwards wrestled with are still alive. He is thus able to bring alive Edwards' philosophic and theological concerns in a wonderful way.
   
   I, personally, do not yet know enough about Protestant thought to really be able to make sense of all of this. Much of Calvinism seems very odd to me. I am perplexed by such doctrines as the teaching that humans have absolutely no ability to merit grace -- not just faith alone, but the further teaching that what we believe and feel is not relevant either -- combined with the belief that we should exert ourselves greatly to be saved. If nothing we do makes any difference, where is our motive to work hard to accept God? I find all of this very perplexing.
   
   Marsden does not try to explain the larger Calvinist framework of thought to those, like me, who are bascially ignorant of it, so much of this material goes past me. One point that came across very strongly, however, is that Edwards -- in his own, odd Puritan way -- was a passionate mystic, as devoted to God as Saint John of the Cross or Teresa de Avila. I think, quite often, we find the Puritans repugnant, because their stress on God's anger is so foreign to us. While I still find that aspect of Puritan thought hard to sympathize with, I am glad to have someone show me that the Puritans -- in their own way -- were extremely sincere and zealous Christians.

No comments about Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change.

No comments about A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction.

5 comments about God Is Closer Than You Think Participant's Guide: This Can Be the Greatest Moment of Your Life Because This Moment is the Place Where You Can Meet God (ZondervanGroupware Small Group Edition).

1. Comments from commenter #2 crack me up. I have heard many folks refer to John Ortberg as "Dallas Willard Lite" or "Dallas for dummies." I have had the opportunity to spend time with both the author and his wife, and I find both his speaking and writing to be very refreshing to my mind, spirit and life. I find John's writing simple and practical. Is it Dallas Willard deep? No. However, it's more like a great message that you hear in a weekend service. One that you can see clearly how applicable it is. Also, for you to get the most out of this book, you need to have a sense of your own brokenness and fallenness. Otherwise, you will find it simple and for average or below average people.........which, if I recall, is the same peeps that Jesus TOTALLY hung out with and loved deeply. In fact, some of their names were Peter, James, John, Andrew, Thomas..............



2. The product was great, I just ordered the wrong thing. Complete error on my part otherwise item was shipped in a timely matter.



3. Wonderful book full of easy ways to put God first in your everyday life. Very effective. Beautiful!



4. This study guide is an excellent bible study for groups or individuals looking to develop their relationship with God. John Ortberg is very insightful, challenges your status quo, provides excellent examples of God's message and makes it relevant for you in your walk with Christ. He reveals God's desire to develop a relationship with you and challenges you to reach out to Him. I have struggled trying to find good biblically-based studies that balance God's Wrod with real-life relevance of His message. This study does that. I highly recommend it.



5. This is an excelant program and the guide is very good if you attend the class.

5 comments about Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt: A Theological Survival Guide for Youth, Parents, and Other Confused Presbyterians.

1. Great book! I recently switched from Methodist to Presbyterian through re-affirmation. All through my childhood I recall attending a Presbyterian church even though I was Methodist (go figure)... Anyway, there were a lot of questions I had over the years and searched for answers about being a Presbyterian. THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT!!! It explains everything in great detail and gives scenarios that everyone can relate to. The only slight negative thing I can see in the book is the authors writing style. Perhaps it's me, I don't know... but some of the paragraphs are worded in a way that they run on. You have to re-read a sentence or two again to get what the author is saying.



2. Someone really needs to write a book for Reformed Christians that guides them through the landscape of American Christianity. Sadly this book does not accomplish that task. It raises questions, and answers them with a tepid Christology and a watered-down Bible.

   American Christianity is an eclectic mix. We worship the Creator from the Declaration of Independence who gives inalienable rights. We practice the piety of WWJD bracelets echoing the liberal Christianity of Charles Sheldon. We embrace the Jesus of Mel Gibson's "Passion" drawn from pre-Vatican II Roman Catholicism. We accept the dispensationalism of the "Left Behind" books. We follow the moral teachings of Veggie Tales and the psychobabble of Norman Vincent Peale and James Dobson. Our politics draws from both Martin Luther King Jr. and Pat Robertson. The forty days of Lent have been replaced by the forty days of Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life." Finally, set the whole thing to a soundtrack of bubble gum praise choruses and Fanny Crosby hymns. Presbyterians wonder if this theological pop culture is all there is. Many wonder who they are and what makes them distinctive.

   As Presbyterians we draw upon the historical ecumenical consensus of the faith found in the Scriptures and outlined in texts such as the Nicene Creed. Instead of engaging the culture of the Bible Belt with this consensus, the authors of this book
   propose an alternative. They make a distinction between the Jesus of history and the Jesus of faith. Doesn't Jesus proclaim that he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)? The authors attribute it to the anti-Semitism of the early church (pg 72). Then they reinterpret the meaning of the verse. Wherever one finds the way, the truth, and the life, they seem to argue, one finds Jesus (pg 73).

   I agree with the authors that the Bible needs to be interpreted. Moreover, I agree that there are some lousy interpretations out there. However, the authors do not engage those who interpret the Bible differently. Rather they merely rail against those who interpret the Bible literally. The authors engage in rhetoric that they themselves find offensive among "neo-evangelicals." For example, they make an argument in favor of "Biblical universalism." They then ask the question, "What then do we make of biblical references to the `fires of hell'?" The response: "We've already noted that literal interpretations of many scriptures are problematic" (pg 39). There is no discussion of the argument on its merits. Rather, those who take the Scriptures seriously concerning hell just don't know how to read the Bible. To make matters worse, the authors then imply that those who accept the traditional notion of hell probably just want to populate it with people they don't like (pg 39).

   As a Presbyterian pastor in the Bible Belt, I am constantly encouraging my congregants to move beyond a cultural Christianity to embrace the faith for themselves. Essentially, this book is a hindrance to my efforts. The book is a wasted opportunity.




3. This is a delightful little volume that will remind many of us why we belong to the Presbyterian Church. It has always been more 'comfortable' to belong to a more militaristic style of church, where, regardless of what is stated, the members are expected to fall in line with church doctrine. I believe this freedom, this lack of forcing, has cost the Presbyterian Church many members--those who migrate to fundamentalist churches. The question, then, is whether this has necessarily been a bad thing. Like other reviewers, I particularly liked the chapter on 'whether one is saved' or not.
   
   I believe in the basic inerrancy of the original autographs of the Bible, and certainly believe that a number of modern translations are distorting the word. A parallel Bible will illustrate it. Again, as a Presbyterian, I believe each individual should decide. This book perhaps strays somewhat on the 'liberal' side of that debate for me.
   
   Don't dismiss it out of hand, however. There is valuable information here, regardless of what the Minister reviewer states. Again, our freedom to differ is what does make us special!



4. Much of what these authors identify as "Presbyterian" would not be recognizable to any of the earlier generations who owned that label. A low view of Biblical authority, a loose cafeteria view of confessions, a man-centered theology -- that used to be called "Unitarian" not Presbyterian!
   
   More or less a waste.



5. I must read too much W.E.B.Griffin, because like him I feel the best measure of another person's intelligence is the degree to which he agrees with you. That being said, I find the authors of Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt very intelligent beings indeed. My wife and I recently Joined a Presbyterian church after visiting several times and feeling very at-home. We both come from other Protestant denominations and I for one wanted to know more about the beliefs of the Presbyterian flavor. This book both validated our personal beliefs and our decision to join this denomination. As a life-long Christian and scientist I have spent nearly sixty years being either appalled or downright angry that most Christian denominations expect me to check my God-given intellect at the door of the church, while at the same time dealing with scientists who consider religion irrational for a person seeking logical scientific answers to life's mysteries. As a scientist I very much believe that nothing speaks to the existence of God more than the elegance and orderliness of nature along with the fact that science does not and cannot explain everything. But I cannot and will not surrender to ignorance and outright stupidity for the comfort of Bible-thumping Neanderthals who don't understand the larger words in the texts they have memorized. It seems to me to be in God's nature to be inclusive all the while it is in man's nature to be exclusive. This book reinforces my belief that we are where we are because that's where God wants us to be at that moment, and He speaks to us all (and not just to the self-appointed elect) if we just will listen. "He leadeth me, oh blessed thought...".

5 comments about A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life.

1. JI Packer is a gifted scholar. Not because he has any unusual knowledge or superior intellect (altho he does possess these in abundance!) - but because he has chosen to make the past accessible to us.
   
   This past is not an everyday event. The age of the Puritans was uniquely God-seeking and Lord-exalting. These Puritans knew whom to fear, knew whom to turn to, knew whom to extol, knew whom to obey.
   
   In a century of persecution and The Great Assizes, during turbulent and antagonistic reigns, they made it known that they served only under One's rule. These men and women of the past, were fearless and absolutely committed to the Reformation. They were not satisfied with half-measures or the petty pay-offs their lords so regularly gave into.
   
   Even in their everyday life, they suffered trials of incredible variety.
   It is only an attestation to God's providence, His gracious benevolence, that they withstood the test of time.
   
   And so this is the premier work on those Giant Redwoods. It is inescapable in its scope and God-revering in its content.
   
   'The doctrine of revelation is in the melting-pot; the historic evangelical belief in verbal communication from God through the Bible is at a discount; can Owen, the greatest British divine of his day, if not of all time, help us recover and re-establish the truth?
   
   Or is he himself vulnerable to criticism? One feature of the contemporary theological scene is the polemic of Karl Barth and some of his followers against expositors of Reformed orthodoxy for having, as they allege, foreshortened their doctrine of divine communication by 'freezing' the Spirit in the Scriptures.
   
   In fact, we shall find that the criticism, as applied to Owen, is wholly invalid, and that the point at which Barth regards Owen's generation deficient, is actually the point of Owen's greatest mastery.' pg 84
   
   The Puritans are being heard from the pulpits again, thanks to men like Packer and Lloyd-Jones. Their legitimate voice has many a word of advice to a complacent, under-achieving Western world, where once they ruled in submissive allegiance to a glorious God. They are the intellectual giants of our Christian culture.



2. I heard that this was a life changing book so I took advatange of ordering it on Amazon and have been greatly pleased.



3. J. I. Packer is one of the top thinkers of our day. His love for the Puritans is obvious from his devotion to their thoughts and theology. This is perhaps the best book Packer has written. Everyone should have this book on their shelf.



4. Packer does an outstanding job imparting the Purtain's' Christian beliefs and how it relates to our everyday walk with Christ.



5. In 336 densely packed pages and over several chapters, Packer, in his book, 'A Quest for Godliness,' brings the reader face to face with many different facets of Puritan life and ministry with historical precision and keen theological insight. Packer insists that an encounter like this with the Puritans is essential for Christians today who have all but lost any true sense of what Puritans believed, lived for, and sought to give to the church.
   
   In an introductory chapter, Packer explains why we need the Puritans; his reason is clear and unmistakable. "The answer, in one word, is maturity. Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity. The Puritans exemplified maturity; we don't. We are spiritual dwarfs" (22). In an earlier chapter, Packer compares the Puritans to giant Redwoods. Packer writes,
   
   "As Redwoods attract the eye, because they overtop other trees, so the mature holiness and seasoned fortitude of the great Puritans shine before us as a kind of beacon light, overtopping the stature of the majority of Christians in most eras, and certainly so in this age of crushing urban collectivism, when Western Christians sometimes feel and often look like ants on an anthill and puppets on a string (12)."
   
   To some, this description of the Puritans sounds exaggerated and contrived; a depiction not even close to the original. This is not surprising. The word `Puritan' was originally coined as a smear word implying, "peevishness, censoriousness, conceit, and a measure of hypocrisy...it's primary reference...was...to what was seen as odd, furious, and ugly form of Protestant religion" (21). Many of the word's negative connotations have endured and hardened a prejudice toward the Puritans in much of the Western world. Fortunately, at the time that Packer wrote this book (1990), scholars, for the past half-century, had already begun to unearth the lost and forgotten treasures of Puritanism, while "meticulously wiping away the mud" from the original portrait. Since then, much ground has been regained in Puritan studies, and we now have a host of resources to which we can turn for insight into what the Puritans were really like.
   
   Nevertheless, I think Packer's book is still very important, despite the recent growth in Puritan literature. For one, Packer writes from the burden to demonstrate why we need the Puritans. Although it is wonderful to have Puritan resources at our fingertips and in abundance, it is equally important to understand why we should make it a priority to study them. Packer's explanation of why we should dig deep into the Puritans in chapters one and two of this book should be required reading for Christians of all walks of life.
   
   The remainder of the book is devoted to exploring five different aspects of these godly people we call the Puritans. Packer examines, in three chapters a piece, the Puritans and the Bible, the Puritans and the gospel, the Puritans and the Holy Spirit, and the Puritan Christian life, and the Puritans in ministry. Within the section on the Puritans and the gospel, one will find Packer's famous essay from his introduction to John Owen's Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Packer's heart-felt and rigorous defense of Calvinism and it's inexorable relation to the gospel is worth the price of this book alone.
   
   A fair and thorough reading of the section on the Puritan Christian life would probably help to dislodge our misconceptions about the so-called ridged formality and prudishness of the Puritans. Far from dull and unloving, the Puritans were those who cared deeply for the physical and spiritual well-being of their families, who sought to live all of life with great passion (not merely passion as a feeling, but passion for Christ), who desired to work with diligence and excellence in their calling, and who treasured marital devotion and fidelity.
   
   That is not to give the impression that the Puritans were flawless and worthy of emulation in every respect. They had their faults, and Packer deals with several of these squarely and with grace. But, in their case, the good far outweighs the bad, and their example in a multitude of areas should be admired and followed.
   
   Packer's book, overall, is excellent. His careful choice of words to describe the Puritans ("sweet, peaceful, patient, obedient, and hopeful," is just one edifying string of adjectives) and his insight into what makes the Puritans a valuable model for Christians today are only two of the many reasons why I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One weakness I did perceive (and this is minor), is the lack of chapter to chapter coherence in some cases. 'A Quest for Godliness' is not a book that Packer sat down and wrote from start to finish. Rather, it is a collection of essays on the Puritans previously written by Packer that have been tied together by a some introductory chapters and an identifiable theme. This, however, is only a small weakness, if one could call it a weakness. Regardless, Packer's book is definitely one that is worthy of close attention; not for the sake of raw information and an educated historical perspective, but for the good of our souls, as we learn from a group of men and women who walked near to God.

5 comments about Telling Secrets.

1. "I not only have my secrets, I am my secrets. And you are your secrets. Our secrets are human secrets, and our trusting each other enough to share them with each other has much to do with the secret of what it is to be human."

   In Telling Secrets, Buechner does just that. He tells the details of his most intimate life. He tells of his struggles and his tortuous search for answers to life. And Buechner finds some answers. He finds that so much of the secret of live is to love and to love means being able to lay bare that core of our being, that soul with the "print of God's thumb still intact." And this book is just that. In an tremendous act of love, Buechner is baring his most essential soul and allowing the reader to connect and learn.

   It's difficult for me to express how much I love this book. It is short, but each page holds enough wisdom to fill volumes. Telling Secrets is a book that has earned a prestigious spot on my bedstand where I can reach it easily the times I need it most.




2. Frederick Buechner is one of my favorite autbors. I have almost all of his books. His latest, Telling Secrets, arrived last week and I have not opened it yet. I was almost through reading another book and didn't want to peek until I could sit down and read and read. I am so glad to have Amazon.com to remind me of books by him and other favorites.



3. In this book, Buechner places great stress on the influential nature of the secrets we tend to keep. He also places great importance on the power of memory to recall and grapple with the events in our past that impact our lives. I found much of what Buechner had to say to be searching, honest and incisive, if not altogether theologically tight.
   
   Buechner describes 3 sore spots in his past that have greatly shaped his present outlook - his father's suicide, his mother's narcissism, and his daughter's battle with anorexia. He suggests that his over-controlling and over-fretting response to his daughter's illness was shaped by the loss of his father and even the potential loss of the memory of his father. This, he believes, fed a great fear of losing things close to him. He further intimates that his mother's tendency to wall off certain topics and events from discussion left a relational hole that he tried to fill by over-pursuing and over-analyzing his daughter both before and during her illness. He suggests that this suffocation actually contributed to his daughter's crisis.
   
   The best portion of the book is the final chapter in which Buechner delves into spiritual realities. Here, Buechner tells a poignant story of his time at Wheaton, where he discovers that evangelicals are not the close-minded apocalyptics that the culture describes. Instead, Buechner found a principled tolerance that is anchored in a faith that sets a principled direction for all other endeavors. He contrasts this with his time at Harvard, where he observed how brute pluralism often degenerates into all-out factionalism. Buechner is very insightful here. Few are willing to flush out this 'dark side' of pluralism, but of course, the factionalism that Buechner laments is increasingly the norm in American culture today. Tolerance, pluralism, and acceptance tend to be popular buzzwords that in the end, rarely endure the trials and complexities of life unscathed by those who exalt them in theory. Buechner's honest grappling with this dilemma is very refreshing.
   
   Buechner has other insightful points to make as well. He provides helpful balance in analyzing the great love commandment, believing that in addition to loving our neighbors, we need to reclaim some love for ourselves as images of God. Self-loathing defames the image of God as much as loathing others, and loving ourselves biblically doesn't mean being self-absorbed or wanting to bring glory to ourselves. There is a balance that needs to be struck, and Buechner is helpful on this. In addition, Buechner also applies his 'secrets' hypothesis to the church. He notes that the church often bears the marks of a dysfunctional family, where outward community abounds but inner connectedness is in short supply. Like people, the church tends to prefer keeping things unsaid (keeping secrets, of a sort) and unvoiced by chossing to put on a good show rather than acknowledge individual and shared struggle and dealing honestly with it. While Buechner perhaps goes too far in seeing the church more as therapy and group catharsis instead of a place of worship and union with Christ, it is hard to argue with his basic point that both the church and us are often defined by the secrets we keep.
   
   I'm giving the book 4 stars because in the midst of penetrating observation, Buechner seems to not penetrate far enough in some ways. In particular, it appeared to me that the death of his father helped shape some of his views about God that he does not really flush out or hold up to examination. It's not enough to say that experiencing a loss in life makes me afraid of going through that experience again, so that I try to fight it through over-protection and over-meddling. This might be true for as far as it goes, but it also involves something deeper. It involves, at root, a distrust in the goodness of God, and a fear of pain and loneliness; even when we may know intellectually that there is a redemptive character to such pain. In some ways, Buechner seems to see God in everything, but struggles with trusting him in everything. He hints at this toward the end of the book, where 'letting go' is very difficult for him. So ironically, in a book that purports to tell secrets as a result of believing that people are their secrets, I'm not sure Buechner goes far enough in contemplating just how comprehensively his secrets have shaped his view of God.
   
   In the end, Buechner offers us a very penetrating, vulnerable, and often insightful glimpse into his life. The reader will likely be impressed not only by the vulnerability they find, but also in how Buechner's core struggles and secrets might be ours as well. His rather strong statement that we have a right to be happy, as if such a right is owed to us, is no doubt a popular sentiment, though one will struggle mightily to build a biblical case for it. However, robbing ourselves of happiness by obsessing about our fears isn't right either, and this is where Buechner is helpful. Recommended for the discerning reader.



4. This book was shipped to me very quickly, and was in very good condition, with a small amount of highlighting.



5. Frederick Buechner has a wonderful way of showing how the stories of our individual lives evoke and elucidate our common story of human experience. As for the darkest "secrets" of our individual and family histories - in Buechner's case, the suicide of his father - he holds out the hope of God's healing. In perhaps the most poignant passage of the book, Buechner is able to write down an imaginary conversation with his father (decades after the fact) that exemplifies the redemptive possibilities available for even our deepest wounds.
   
   While fully cognizant of the challenges involved in making meaningful connection with fellow humans, Buechner provides instances in his life that encourage us to continue the difficult, upward path of love. He is astonished to find, for example, in the midst of a meeting of Adult Children of Alcoholics, people "speaking something extraordinarily like truth in something extraordinarily like love."
   
   Spending time with some authors feels like making a friend. Along with Henri Nouwen, C. S. Lewis, and many others, I now count Frederick Buechner among my author-friends.