Christian Oliver Books

This book is a collection of essays dialoguing with Oliver O'Donovan's (OO) *Desire of the Nations.* The contributors come from a variety of traditions: Anglo-Catholic, Reformed, Dutch Reformed, Kuyperian, Methodist, and Liberation theologies.

There are around 16 essays and this review will not unpack each of them (for space reasons). Rather, I will categorize them and offer a few comments on the more notable ones.

Exegetical Responses:
McGonville, Furnish, Tom Wright, and others offer exegetical clarifications to OO's work. They argue, in different ways, that OO should have paid more attention to Y model in Scripture, rather than relying exclusively on the revelation of God's kingship model. Perhaps OO should have, and the authors score some points for noticing that.

Theological responses:
Jonathan Chaplin has the most important essay in the book. He brilliantly clarifies OO's work. He offers a few helpful criticisms (OO's view of the powers in *Desire* conflicts with his view in *resurrection and moral order*). And OO in response agrees with Chaplin.

Liberation Models:
Several liberation theologians criticize OO for a "northern view." Responding to them is tricky. While I cannot approve of their marxist structure, I am sympathetic to their desire to help the poor and offer a Public Faith. It is curious that they accused OO of maintaing a capitalist order when he spends several hundred pages critiquing capitalism!

Responding to Kuyper:
Oliver O'Donovan's response to Kuyperian James Skillen is magnificent. OO pointed out some problems with pluralism

Conclusions:
Many hail OO and these scholars as representing an important move in political theology. Let us hope the church recognizes the public dimension of God's revelation.

The Single Again Handbook is without question of the best divorce recovery books ever written, Christian or non-Christian. The information is presented clearly, succinctly, and in such a no-nonsense style that readers will be fully engaged from the beginning of reading the book.

The author, Thomas Jones, is a Christian counselor and minister who found himself getting a divorce over thirty years ago. His journey through the difficulties of divorce recovery led him into the path of Bob Burns. Bob Burns, Tom Jones, and others evetually founded Fresh Start, one of the best Christian divorce recovery programs in the world. Fresh Starts have helped thousands of people who are divorced, divorcing, separated, or just not sure.

As a Christian divorce recovery counselor who has worked with DivorceCare and Fresh Start, I can attest personally and professionally that this book is an immense help and encouragement to people who are going through any part of this journey. I know one person who was counseled using this book that identified so strongly with the book's description of divorce and its effects on a person that she took the book aloose and mailed pages to family and friends telling them that she could express how she felt any better than this book.

Anyone looking for an unparalled Christian divorce recovery book need go no further. This book is the book that you need.

This is a wonderful book to give as a gift to the high school or college graduate who is beginning a new phase in their journey of life. It's an easy read and will help enrich and nourish the soul for those seeking greater meaning in life than what our materialistic-driven culture can offer them.

Dr. Buswell demonstrates his humility through ordinary vocabulary for church goers. A non-Christian may need a dictionary. I use the Bible verse and topic indexes when I have a question and usually find what I need. Though one may continue searching his references a good idea of the different issues involved in a subject may be gained from what Dr. Buswell records. You can tell he was serious about the Bible (When he preached from the New Testament he held the Greek text but translated it from memory). His understanding of the grace of God shows in the framing of his sentences.

i liked: the author's style was easy and pleasant to read; flowed smoothly. the opening of each chapter begins with a historical quote that is relevant to that chapter's prayer principle. these quotes alone were worth the price of the book. the author tells of his personal experiences, which were very interesting, to illustrate the principle discussed in each chapter. in addition, he also uses stories from other's lives and experiences. all of these stories are engaging, stirring, thought provoking, and relevant to the biblical value being discussed. and to give validity to the value portrayed in each of these stories and principles, the author frequently and consistently draws on bible passages. i disliked: i did not find any aspect of the book that i did not like.

Overview:

Oliver O'Donovan (hereafter OO) argues that the authority of government resides in the act of judgment (3-4). The thrones of the world are subordinated to the task of witnessing to the New Jerusalem. This is commonly, if sometimes misleadingly, called "Christendom." Judgment is an act of moral discrimination that establishes a new public context. Furthermore, judgment must be public in character. Private individuals (e.g., vigilantes) can never speak for the whole. Given the above definition of judgment, we can define punishment as "judgment enacted on the person, property, or liberty of the condemned party" (107).

OO's discussions of judgment and punishment, always in a communal context, necessarily lead to discussions of international judgment. OO ultimately challenges our idols of democracy and the "liberal rights" tradition. We eventually see that all political orders are failing (and fading) and in their dimming light we see the rise of a more lasting--eternal--order of international judgment: the kingdom of God.

Conclusion:
Pros: As always, OO is judicious and balanced, writing from the mountaintops and not troubled with petty disputes. His use of Scripture, while sparse at times, is always timely and refreshing.

Cons: Much of this book will not make sense unless the reader is familiar with OO's other two works, *Desire of the Nations* and *Resurrection and Moral Order,* both of them demanding (but rewarding!) reads. OO can be dense and the reader is tempted to shout, "Just get to the point!" Perhaps. Either way, it does make for slow reading. I had to read this book twice.

Practical, humorous self-help in finding and enjoying who you are. Gives insights and enabling to get real, and courage to share the real you with everyone else.

This was such a thought provoking book! A small group of moms laying it out there for each other, discussing their respective religions and all of the similarities and unseen prejudices (and political/historical issues) that go with it. I'm still too busy processing the book to be coherent about it, but suffice to say it is a must read for anyone interested in a depth-plumbing discussion of the relationship among the Abrahamic faiths and their impact on life (and parenting) in modern America. When I put this book down I wished I had a faith club, too. I look forward to reading some of their suggestions for further research.

THE FAITH CLUB by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver & Priscilla Warner been nominated for the 2009 Rodda Award sponsored by the Church and Synagogue Library Association (CSLA), an international organization serving congregational libraries of all faiths. CSLA's Rodda Award is named for Dorothy Rodda Sargent, a lifetime member and one of the founders of the organization. This award recognizes a book which exhibits excellence in writing and has contributed significantly to congregational libraries through promotion of spiritual growth. The award is given to books for adults, young adults, and children on a three-year-rotational basis. The 2009 Rodda Award focuses on books for adult readers and this year's winner will be announced at the CSLA annual conference to be held at the McKinley Grand Hotel in Canton, Ohio, July 26-28. To learn more about CSLA and the Rodda Award go to www.cslainfo.org.

This book was written by three well intended women of different faiths; however, each of the women was not only ignorant of the other's religions but of their own, too. They write mostly about their own feelings and perspectives. Unfortunately, their perspectives are very limited. All three are totally uneducated in the field of religion. They modify their viewpoints and religion to fit the needs of this book. I bought the book because of the rave reviews and I am shocked that so many people fell for this nonsense. You will learn nothing factual about any of the religions in this book. It is only pure dribble.

As someone who considers myself Omni-religious (altho I do belong to one specific church, I can be found at many many others), I think this is an exceptional book about three women -- good friends, who take a long hard look at one another's faith systems, personal religious beliefs and the realities of their life experiences as these experiences relate to or are affected by... religion.....

As the three women authors themselves realized -- this book was not what they had started out to create in the first place. But they certainly achieved and recieved much more in the bargain, by staying together and discussing their belief systems, their concerns and their joys -- and in the process, enlightening and inspiring one another (and the reader).

The book is revealing, profound, and as the discussions continued, the kid gloves come off and feelings. emotions, epiphanies, disagreements, anger, confusion -- all come to the surface.

As a child who was raised as a (First Generation Italian) Roman Catholic, as a toddler I always thought that only Italians could be ROMAN Catholics and all the "other Catholics" were "just plain Catholics" (LOL). As a 13 yr old, who was raised in a Jewish-Italian neighborhood of the Bronx,(back in the Pre-Ecumenical days), I caused my mother to hit the ceiling one day when I went up to her and said "I want to remain Catholic but I also want to become Jewish and I want to be Mitzvahed".

I could never understand why people I repected would favor their religion and say that everyone else was going to hell. So I was VERY happy when the First Ecumenical Council was convened. And many churches now, so it seems, have carried this ecumenism forward and have never looked back. "The Faith Club" is another continuing facet of Ecumenism - an ongoing person-to-person, one friend to another, hearts and souls bared, no holds barred, frank, sometimes very emotional, heart wrenching discussion.

As I read the book, I could identify very much with Suzanne's feelings towards her Catholic religion -- once I realized how little I identified with it (altho I am forever grateful for the beautiful rituals and the ambience of my Bronx neighborhood church, St Lucy's) I too became baptised and confirmed as an Episcopalian (one week before my birthday-- a great gift!!!), and I never looked back.

AS a child of a non-practicing Moslem father, I find great insight and comfort in Ranya's love and knowledge of her religion -- none of which was demonstrated by my Dad. But I owe my Dad a great deal -- because of HIS brand of secular ecumenism, I am able to converse (to a limited extent) with my Middle East neighbors in their language and understand some of their customs, and this too is a way to open the doors of communication -- with a smile.

I also thought Ranya, whose family had lost so much, had the coolest head, the sharpest mind, and was the most "worldly-wise" of the three; I had the utmost respect for her knowledge base.

Because of the many tensions and problems inherent in all of our daily lives today, I feel we need to reach out more to try to understand one another, to opening up constructive dialogue -- and there should be MORE discussion groups like the one that Priscilla, Ranya, and Suzanne have now made so famous.

This book made me wonder -- "How would I have fared in the middle of such discussions?" Would I have been turned off by Priscilla's temper? Would I have been upset by Suzanne's embarassment of being seen in a Temple? (I whave always loved being part of a Temple service). If I had been subjected to Ranya's coming-out-of-nowhere withering attack on my principles, would I have shrunken into the sofa cushion?

These three women bared their very souls and dared one another to reach into their hearts and souls and lay it all on the table, despite temper tantrums, or personal travail, and I think we are all the better for having read this book.

These women come together after 9/11, initially to write a book for children that would teach understanding and respect for their respective religions. Movingly, it is entirely in their voices, drawn from their weekly conversations, their journals and their reflections. They grow in sensitivity, caring and honesty with each other, and I felt as though I made their journey with them.

Macdonald wisely shows the reader how to take things back to page one, so to speak. In other words, most of us "allow" issues and things to become a priority in our private world. This was never what God intended. Macdonald uses this book as an alarm to wake us up out of our slumber and remind us of what is really important in life.

I have heard people refer to Gordon MacDonald's "Ordering Your Private World" for years, and I finally got around to reading it. I can see why it has been so influential, as it is extremely well-written. Though this book might be most helpful to pastors, since MacDonald writes from that perspective and experience, I think that he has much wisdom to share with any Christians or even non-Christians who want to establish some order in their lives.

One of the things that I appreciated most about the book was that it was not specifically prescriptive of the ten steps that everyone needs to take to fix their lives, as most self-help books tend to do. Instead, MacDonald offered an insightful diagnosis of what many of us experience (exhaustion, stress, overcommitment, hyperbusyness) and suggests some simple and broad choices that can help to alleviate the problem.

Ultimately, I appreciate MacDonald's primary perspective, that we have the power to make choices that will help to get our lives in order. Other reviewers have suggested that his approach is too man-centered, but I wholeheartedly disagree. MacDonald correctly understands that God has not promised to bless our lives if we choose to live however we want. Instead, there are basic parameters that we can set to create the environment in which God will do all that He wants to do in our lives. In some very real sense, the choice is ours. It's all about being intentional, rather than just letting life happen to us.

I've read some other books that provided analagous suggestions, so this book isn't going to completely transform my life. However, I enjoyed reading it and really appreciated MacDonald's writing style, which is both intelligent and accessible. There is much wisdom from this book that I can apply in my own life, and I know many Christians would be well-served to read "Ordering Your Private World" and to take to heart what MacDonald has learned over his years of living a chaotic, unordered life.

I think that not only every minister should read this book, but every true born-agian Christian should read how we should manage the resources that God has given us.

Anyone wishing to explore their private life, that their life in this world might be different should definitely read this one. A great book. One that I'll be going back to year after year.

Is uplifting and has a series of useful disciplinary tips that anyone can use and benefit from in putting order in one's life. It is a book that christians and non christians alike can read and benefit.

Dangerous Journey is an awesome "retelling" of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. We read this story two or three times a year and find new things with each reading to talk about and muse over. The pictures can be a little scary for very young children.

Dangerous Journey is an exciting abbreviation of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress -- perhaps most exciting to me is that it uses the original words of John Bunyan, selected to offer children a digestable version of the story.

The exciting illustrations were teriffically gruesome for my 3 and 4 year old children (Christian being tackled by a very fearsome dragon, piles of men's bones, and very monstrous monsters) -- and they begged excitedly to read another chapter from the book each night. I was initially hesitant about showing them some of the pictures, because I thought they might be too scary for pre-schoolers -- but the story does a wonderful job of constantly reminding the reader that the Lord reigns over everything that happens to Christian. We haven't had any nightmares or scary dreams about these villians.


Just as the original author intended, this adaptation personifies so many of the devil's schemes, and makes it easier to talk with children about avoiding pitfalls in their own lives -- because they can associate words like despair and vanity with places and images rather than abstract ideas that may be harder to grasp.

My one disappointment was that several of the characters and items were truncated too much in the abbreviation. They were so underdeveloped that they were not very helpful to the storyline. This, of course, wasn't any disappointment to my children, who excitedly met a new character on each page and had little concern when one was passed too quickly.

This was my introduction to John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" as a child and it changed my world. It was a such a rich adventure, it made me understand there were deeper things in this world than I could not yet comprehend. As an adult, I value it for illustrating the life-long test that Christians must go through to make it through this world and in bringing the truth of our Creator and Savior to the unsaved.

It isn't often that I would recommend an abridged or adapted version of a book, but Bunyan's version is difficult for most people. My son and I first borrowed this version from the library a few years ago. He has talked about it so many times since then (he is ten now), that I just purchased it for him. He even insisted on giving a copy of it to one of his best friends for his birthday. It's a book full of wisdom. I can't imagine a person seeking wisdom would be disappointed in this book.

I have been read and read this book since I was a small child. It is one of the best books I have ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone. I bought a book for myself as well as a friend to have to read to my children when I have them. This book brings back wonderful memories of my childhood.