The Genesis Factor

This is a fundamental rule of reading:  A book must be understood on its own terms before it can be evaluated.

The Genesis Factor by David Helm and Jon Dennis attempts to provide a framework by which Genesis and indeed the whole bible can be understood as it is to bible-believing Christians.  The authors do this by taking us slowly through the first three chapters of Genesis and unveiling the truths that may not be noticeable to first-time readers.

I don't really know what I was expecting from this book as it was a bit of an impulse buy but at the end of the day I'm glad it's in my library.  This is a book primarily for people who asking the big questions in life (who am I?  where did I come from?  is there a god?  if he really did create the universe then why does he want to know me?) and what to know what kind of answers the bible has to give.

David and Jon do a good job of breaking down the context and literary style of Genesis so what is left is original meaning.  This is not a scientific book, as Genesis is not a scientific book.  What it does get to is the truth in the text and how Genesis is the start of a complete and consistent message displayed through the whole bible, the focus of which is Jesus.

What I like about this book is that it isn't heavy handed.  The authors aren't trying to shove anything down readers throats.  While they make it clear what they believe, they also relate to other opposing thinkers and theories and encourage readers not to accept every word they say but discover for themselves whether the bible is relevant by reading the entire thing themselves.  They are not trying to convert people, but they are trying to start a conversation and they are providing answers in an easy to read way.

All in all the book flows well, and is an excellent starting place as it contains the full text of the first three chapters of Genesis.  It has definitely opened my eyes as well and enabled me to understand Genesis better.  It just goes to show, you're never done learning.

Four stars.

Just Do Something

"We walk into the future in a God-glorifying confidence, not because the future is known to us but because it is known to God.  And that's all we need to know.  Worry about the future is not simply a character tic, it is the sin of unbelief, an indication that our hearts are not resting on the promises of God."

For me, this quote sums up the book.  Encouraging, admonishing and truthful.  It reminds me of the promises that my God makes to be faithful to me so I can lead a life without fear or anxiety.
Easier said that done, thus this is a book I will have to return to again.

Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung is divided into ten easy to read (if slightly repetitive) chapters.  It is DeYoung mission to deprogram the mindset so many of us have where we wait around seeking God's specific guidance, thinking ourselves to be spiritual, instead of using our God-given minds to get out there and lead godly lives.

DeYoung starts out general and uses scripture to address the actualities of Gods will and how it affects our lives.  He also includes many practical examples of where the problems lay in treating God like a magic 8 ball and culminates in very practical specific advice about two of our trickiest decisions (job seeking and getting married).

By the end of the book readers will have a clear biblical understanding about what it really means to live in God's will and know how to please God with the way we live our lives and make decisions.

There were a couple of negatives, one of them being that the book was quite repetitive but that can be a positiver depending on how you look at it.  Hard-headed readers might need the repetitiveness.

Another issue that I had with the book was that when it came to the end with the practical advice for getting married, it left single women who want to get married but can't find anyone up the creek without a paddle.  DeYoung has lots to say to young men who put off asking out girls or getting married and rests the delay squarely on their shoulders but little to say for women.  The piece of advice I think is missing is that if there is no looming marriage proposal hanging on the horizon, don't just sit around waiting for it.  Go on camps, get involved in ministry, do what you want with the many opportunities you have before you as a single woman and pray that God will either send you a suitable husband or give you satisfaction in Him if singleness is what he has in mind for you.

On the whole though this is a very helpful book.  One that I would recommend everyone read, especially all school leavers/ uni students.  Four stars.

Ransom

Ransom by Lois Duncan is the best book I've read this year (Get it?  Because I've only read to books?  Anyway...)
The thing to remember about Ransom is that it was originally published in 1966 so some of the conversational language does feel a little old fashioned.  If it was in a modern book perhaps you might roll your eyes and sigh, but when you remember when it's set there's something nice and comforting about the language.  I enjoy reading someone say "Oh gosh," instead of "Oh *&%$!".
I think the first chapter of Ransom reveals Lois Duncan's skills as a writer and story teller.  The first chapter is when we are introduced to each of the five character that are kidnapped.  As the focus jumps between characters you don't feel confused but instead you feel as if you know something of all of them.  Within the first few pages they all have a feel about them, you care about them and are interested in them.
Jesse is shy and aloof, Dexter is rude and independent, Glenn is charming and proud, Marianne is feisty and stubborn, and Bruce is kind and trusting.  Already I know I'm going to read to the end.
Ransom is not just the story of a kidnapping.  It's not just a thriller for a thriller's sake.  It's a story about individuals and families and what happens when people with different values and morals are thrust together in a life threatening situation.  There is an unsensationalised truth that runs through the entire story.
I enjoyed reading this story so much because it reminds me of all that reading I did as a young teen and how I fell in love with reading and writing.  I plan now to go back and read all of Lois Duncan's young adult fiction again as in a modern world where almost anything can get published it's nice to remind yourself of what good writing is and get lost in some really excellent stories.
Five stars.

Uglies

Let me take a deep breath before I begin so this review doesn't turn into a long boring rant about everything I was disappointed with (yes, I'm sorry to say there was much disappointment).

Okay, so as I have mentioned in a previous post I had heard good things about the Uglies series and so downloaded the sample on my eReader and loved it.  I was so frustrated I couldn't start reading the rest right away, but I quickly went on Booko to find the cheapest print copy and order it ASAP.  The first few chapters sets up an intriging dystopian world where everyone is born ugly.  At the age of twelve they leave their Pretty parents and live in boarding schools to wait for the day they turn sixteen and get the 'operation' and go to live in what's known as NewPrettyTown.
The book follows Tally as she deals with her best friend Peris getting the operation before she does.  She misses him so much and he didn't write to her like he promised so she sneaks into NewPrettyTown to see him.

What ensues is a wonderful adventure as Tally tries to reach him, only to suspect he doesn't really want to see her, and then has to escape in a terrific way, setting off fire alarms and jumping of a roof with a bungee jacket on.  On her escape Tally discovers another Ugly girl trying to get away.  So, at the end of this sample I was left with so many questions... what has happened to Peris? Will him and Tally eve be friends again?  What will happen to Tally for causing such a scene?  Who is this new girl and why is she trying to get into NewPrettyTown?

And then the book goes on for a while of Tally and her new friend (Shay) just hanging out.   First fifteen pages good, next hundred and fifty.... boring as bat poo.  I'm sorry to say it but I couldn't help myself feeling like I was watching some low budget pre-teen attempt at drama on the ABC.  It wasn't until I got a third of the way through the book that something interesting happened.  And even that wasn't all that interesting.
The last hundred pages or so to get better, and the last fifteen or twenty are very good.  But everything in the middle is just absolute rubbish.

I hate to say that it feels thrown together and not thought through, because for all I know the author spent a lot of time sweating through all the details and polishing it to perfection.  But I just can't see it.  Every plot twist or major decision seems forced. There are moments that just don't make any sense.  For example, Tally all of a sudden feels sick at one point when she sees how many trees have been chopped down.  But why?  She doesn't ever show a strong love of nature preceding this and it doesn't fit in with her supposedly shallow character that just cares about being pretty.  There's lots of little moments like that.

The thing I really hate about this book is that a romance is thrown in just for good measure.  It's very forced and completely unbelievable.  If at the end of the series these two people end up together it will be ridiculous.  You'll know what I mean if you read it.

I could go on and on with all the things I didn't like but will stop and just say that mostly I didn't.  But what did I like about it?  The idea behind the whole world is very good, and I actually liked the ending.  But the ending is only a couple of pages long.  So, I like the premise, I like the start and I like the end.  But you can pretty much chuck out everything in between.

In the back of my book there was also the first chapter of Pretties and of Leviathan.  After reading both of those I have pretty much decided I will never read Scott Westerfeld again.  Sorry Scott.  Perhaps younger readers will have a better time with these books, I really didn't.

One star.

January Reading

This month's fiction novel of choice will be Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.  I downloaded the first chapter sample of this one on my Kindle app a few months ago and was instantly gripped.  I put off buying it for a while because I knew I had too much else to read, but then a couple of weeks ago I ordered it and as soon as it arrived I knew it was going to the top of the pile.  I love distopian fiction, especially when done well and I have good feelings about this one.

This month's other fiction novel of choice will be Ransom by Lois Duncan.  That's right, I'm reading four books this month but they're all reasonably small so I think it's a reasonable take.  This book in particular I've been wanting to read for years.  I've read all the rest of Lois Duncan's books and I even started this one when I was thirteen... on the day we were moving from America back to Australia.  I was reading on the front stoop when some friends came by and wanted to play so I left my book by the door and went off.  When I came back the book was gone.  I couldn't find it at any book stores in Australia and back then you didn't really buy books online.  But, now I do.  So I did.

This month's non-fiction book of choice is Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung.  I'm a big advocator of Tim Challies, and when mentioning this to a friend I was recommended Kevin DeYoung. So, when I was at Koorong I picked up the only book of his they had in stock.  Partly because of the recommendation, and partly because the subject matter was so appealing to me.  I know in principle that the only revelations God promises to us is what is already in his word and that I can't expect and mystic signs telling me what to do with my life, but putting that understanding into practice is often difficult.  My hope for this book is that it will offer practical advice and biblical encouragement for making good decisions in the light of the freedom we have in Christ.

This month's second non-fiction book of choice is The Genesis Factor by David R Helm and Jon M Dennis. It's been a topic floating in my mind for ages that I wish I had more reliable information on.  I'm hoping that this book will make me feel more informed and help me to better understand my faith.

Revelation: Apocalypse Now and Then Review

I've never read through Revelation on my own before, and the talks I've heard on the book in the past have never really stuck with me.  But there's something mysterious and controversial about this book of the bible that calls me to it and makes me want to uncover all its many secrets.  I'd had my eye on this commentary by Paul Barnett for a while, after reading one of his other books on Mark (click here for a short review/opinion).  Revelation: Apocalypse Now and Then is a part of an "evolving series committed to brevity, and academic integrity for busy people" says the blurb on the back.  I couldn't think of a more apt description for the book, and indeed the series as a whole.

On days when I had only a small window of time to do my reading I was able to complete one short section in 10-15 mins, including reading the bible passage.  But, the writing flows as such that on days when I had an hour or so to spare I was able to comfortably keep reading without needing to look up at the clock at all (impressive for a commentary I would say).

My main goal in reading this book was to have the mysterious codes deciphered for me so I could potentially read through the book on my own again in the future and find it fruitful.  This, I feel the book has achieved for me.  In clear and succinct language it presented me with reference points for the codes used by John and also cultural background that influenced the imagery throughout the book.  I now know (for example) that the number seven is code for God and eternal perfection, while the "sea beast" is symbolic of the Roman emperor and his government.  These are things I never knew before.

Beyond just this though, Paul Barnett does a wonderful job of illuminating truths in the text.  Let me share a couple of my favourites with you:
Upon reading through the section Revelation 4:9-11 Dr Barnett makes the comment "Worship is the expression of agreement by the people of God about the truth of God."  What a simple and wonderful statement.  It has spoken volumes into my prayer life.  When we express to our God that he is worthy to receive glory and honor and power and so on and so forth, we are not simply pandering to his ego, but acknowledging essential truths about the creator of the universe, and are thus worshiping and bringing glory to him by stating such truths and agreeing with them.  Epic.

If I was to say anything negative about this book is that it doesn't have any study questions as suggested on the back cover.  Very disappointing.  I really found the study questions helpful in the book on Mark and was looking forward to having them again.  I don't know whether they were left out on purpose due to the difficulty of the subject matter or if they were just over looked (I wouldn't be surprised as I have come across numerous grammatical and spelling errors that I thought were quite obvious and should have been picked up in editing.)

Also, I found that a few of the sections less than illuminating and more just rehashing in almost the exact same words as the passage.  I guess this is because the author thought they were fairly self explanatory, but to me they weren't.

Summing up:
An easy four and a half stars.  While I was disappointed about the lack of study questions but the book clearly stands on it's own without them.  To quote J.I. Packer, "Revelation is a complex piece of writing that has mystified many, and it is no small achievement to write a simple commentary on it that dispels the fog.  Dr Barnett, however, has done just this."  I couldn't agree with him more.  Dr Barnett is more than qualified to write such a commentary and his vast knowledge of Roman culture and the apocalyptic writing style is communicated simply and effectively.  This is one of those books you fill with scribbled notes and highlighter marks, then put on the best shelf to be pulled out whenever anyone so much as mentions the book of Revelation at a dinner party.  Oh, and it's not too long either (a two inch think commentary on Revelation would be rather daunting.)

A Study in Scarlet

In addition to my two books for this month I have been doing some reading on the Kindle app on my phone while I rock my daughter to sleep.  I've managed to get through the first of the 'Sherlock Holmes" novels, A Study in Scarlet.  I won't do a proper review because Arthur Conan Doyle's work is too long established as classic for my opinion to be of any great consequence, but I will say this:  how good is it?!?!?!

No, really.  I so often struggle with the 'classics' because they're so much more wordier and heavier than modern novels.  As a rule they seem much more content to plod along at a slower pace.  Not so with good ol' Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson!  It's just so witty and light and entertaining and mysterious and fascinating.  I splurged and spent a whole 99 cents to get the complete works.  Make no mistake, I will get through them all. 

Four very happy stars!