Easley Library Bookworms discussion

Here's a link to Crystal's review of one of our popular titles in this area:

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller. www.goodreads.com/review/show/101022217

Lynne's reviewed the same book (see above), and here's the link to that review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/57734369 .

Over the years, I've read a number of worthwhile titles in this area. Here are links to some of the reviews I've written so far of the ones in our collection:
Sex for Christians: The Limits and Liberties of Sexual Living by Lewis B. Smedes. www.goodreads.com/review/show/17314047 .
Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would: A Fresh Christian Approach by Chad W. Thompson. www.goodreads.com/review/show/25473138 .
The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God's Eyes by Rick Warren. www.goodreads.com/review/show/17313066 .
The Great Divorce, by one of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis. www.goodreads.com/review/show/711722338 .
Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton, another personal favorite. www.goodreads.com/review/show/68865397 .

Of course, I've also read and reviewed some that I didn't find as constructive. Here's my take on Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth, which was one of the most influential books popularizing dispensationalist ideas in the previous century: www.goodreads.com/review/show/17336656 .

Our collection has quite a few books both by C. S. Lewis and about him. Here's the link to my review of the latest one I've read in the former group, The Four Loves: www.goodreads.com/review/show/1094479109 .

Recently, I finished the first of two serious theological works by Dietrich Bonhoeffer which I'm reading back-to-back, The Cost of Discipleship. That review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . For nonfiction books I like, my usual default rating is three stars; but I gave this one four.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was reading two books by Dietrich Bonhoeffer back to back. I've now completed the second one, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community, and reviewed it here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . Because this book isn't so well-known as The Cost of Discipleship, going into the read, I didn't expect to rate it as highly; but I wound up getting as much out of it as I did the first one.

A recent comment I made in a discussion in another group brought to mind the book I cited there, the Confessions by St. Augustine, which I read way back in my first year of college. Until yesterday, I'd never reviewed it, but I've now rectified that omission, and my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

My newly-posted review of The Trinity, by Roger E. Olson and Christopher A, Hall, is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . At 156 pages, counting the bibliographical material and the index, this is a short read, and part of a series intended by the publisher (Eerdmans) to explain theological concepts to readers who aren't specialists in theology; but nonetheless, it's not a quick nor a very easy read.

I didn't read With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray all the way through, so my note on it isn't really a review. But my thoughts might still be of some worth to any Easley Library patrons who make use of these review threads, so I'll link to it here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis was one of the first books by that author that I read, back in the early 70s when I first becoming serious about my Christian faith. Even back then, I was impressed with it as an example of intellectually rigorous thinking about faith. My appreciation of it was enhanced by a recent reread; here's the link to the resulting review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

The Practice of the Presence of God, by the 17th-century French monk known as Brother Lawrence, is another book I read long before Goodreads existed (I don't actually recall which one of the many editions I read), but had never gotten around to reviewing until last night. My five-star review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . The book is a very short one (under 100 pages); it won't be of interest to secular readers, but I highly recommend it for all Christian believers.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards was another recent reread of a work originally read decades ago, in this case as a freshman college student. My interest in re-engaging with it was prompted by an ongoing discussion in another group; and I think my greater spiritual maturity at 72 and the additional knowledge I've acquired in the years since allowed me to understand it better this second time. My three-star review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .