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July 2022 MBR The Christian Studies Shelf

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Aug 3, 2022, 1:21:28 AM8/3/22
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Bible Conversation Cards
Ink & Willow
c/o WaterBrook
10807 New Allegiance Drive, Suite 500, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
www.waterbrookmultnomah.com
9780593235270, $19.95, Card Deck, 100pp

https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Conversation-Cards-Memorize-Explore/dp/0593235274

Synopsis: "Bible Conversation Cards: 100 Verses to Memorize and Explore with Your Family" from Ink & Willow is a colorful, interactive card set that walks you through 100 Bible verses to help families establish a firm foundation in God's Word. The front of each card features a single verse to memorize. The back offers three discussion questions, in progressing levels of complexity, to make Scripture accessible to kids of all ages and encourage familes to go beyond simply memorizing verses.

The Bible verses are grouped into five themes that will help families foster conversation around:

Who is God?
Who is Jesus?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Who am I in Christ?
How do I grow in Christ?

Packaged in a durable box, and with category tab dividers for easy reference, these sturdy conversation cards are the ideal companion for family dinners, devotionals, or road trips.

Critique: Of special appeal and highly recommended to parents and Sunday School teachers throughout the Christian community wanting to introduce themselves. their children, or their students to the Bible, "Bible Conversation Cards: 100 Verses to Memorize and Explore with Your Family" is an extraordinary, fun and effective way to proceed.

Editorial Note: Ink & Willow products infuse contemplation and inspiration into the regular spiritual practice of creative-minded Christians, wherever they are in their faith journey. Each thoughtfully curated gift product is based in biblical truth and sparks a reminder of how God reveals beauty in the midst of our ordinary.

God, Who On Earth Are You?
Stephen McCarthy
Christian Alternative
c/o John Hunt Publishing
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781789049435, $15.95, 152pp

https://www.amazon.com/God-Who-Earth-Are-You/dp/1789049431

Synopsis: The mysterious 'Other' that many of us sense and that Christianity (drawing on the life of Jesus) calls God, is the starting point of "God, Who On Earth Are You?: Mystery and Meaning in Christianity Today" by Stephen McCarthy.

But, the Christian Churches are no longer conveying the wonder of the Christian mystery, the challenging nature of Jesus' message for the world but also God's deep, merciful love for us and the invitation into a relationship with him through prayer or through other spiritual practices including pilgrimage. Church teaching has become tired and routine. It should be fundamentally renewed and their institutional structures reformed for today's world.

The final chapters comprising "God, Who On Earth Are You?" consider how Christians should engage with the seemingly intractable problems ranging from environmental destruction, to the inhuman exploitation of many people, and the obscene levels of inequality, that so universally characterize society today.

An autobiographical thread runs through the text as the McCarthy, a committed Catholic Christian, draws on experiences and vignettes from his own life. The final conclusion is one of hope; God will not abandon us or his world, though we do not know how the future will unfold.

Critique: Inspired and inspiring, "God, Who On Earth Are You?: Mystery and Meaning in Christianity Today" is exceptionally well written, thoughtful and thought-provoking -- making it unreservedly recommended reading for all members of the Christian community regardless of denominational affiliations. It should be noted for the personal reading list of clergy, theologians seminary students, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "God, Who On Earth Are You?: Mystery and Meaning in Christianity today" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99).

Editorial Note: Currently residing in Schrassig, Luxembourg, Stephen McCarthy is a 'Cradle Catholic' who studied physics in Oxford and then moved on to development economics. Taking early retirement to deepen his understanding of theology and spirituality, he walked the Camino de Santiago and followed the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius.

Jesus and the Bicameral Brain: Knowing and Being
James P. Danaher
Paragon House
3600 Labore Road, Suite 1, St. Paul, MN 55110-4144
https://www.paragonhouse.com/wp
9781557789471, $19.95, PB, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Bicameral-Brain-Knowing-Being/dp/1557789479

Synopsis: According to philosophy, theologist, and academician James P. Danaher, it is time to rethink the gospel. When the church of five hundred years ago started selling indulgences, it was time to rethink the gospel. Jesus repeatedly says "follow me" and his words instruct us concerning how to do that. Unfortunately, his words also put us at odds with the world, so we invent doctrines that are merely things to believe in order to find ways around his words. When today's Christianity is reduced to a gospel of material prosperity and the service of political issues like abortion and homosexuality, it is time to rethink the gospel and rediscover Jesus' words.

If one believes that they know the gospel, the spiritual journey to which Jesus calls us comes to an end. The words of Jesus are always addressing what goes beyond our knowing but not beyond our experience. Jesus' words cannot be formed into doctrines and theologies. They are living words meant to take root at the core of our being and lead us through this spiritual journey that is the gospel. Neurologists have shown that the brains' right hemisphere relates more to intuition while the left is related to language and logic.

In 2009, Iain McGilchrist's groundbreaking work, "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World", revealed the enormous differences between the knowing left-brain, and the right-brain which opens us to what is beyond our knowing. With the publication of "Jesus and the Bicameral Brain: Knowing and Being", Danaher uses the bicameral brain model to help explain the spiritual journey to which Jesus calls us.

The gospel is not something to know but something to be, but the words of Jesus are never compatible with the left-brain's knowing that we have inherited from the world. Jesus' words are meant to be experienced from that level of consciousness that takes us beyond what we know in order to experience the transformative journey that is the gospel.

Critique: Erudite, challenging, insightful, iconoclastic, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Jesus and the Bicameral Brain: Knowing and Being" will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in Christian Philosophy & Theology. While very highly recommended for inclusion into seminary, college, and university library Philosophy & Theology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, clergy, seminary students, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Jesus and the Bicameral Brain: Knowing and Being" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.95).

Editorial Note: James P. Danaher is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and past head of the Philosophy Department at Nyack College, New York. This is his ninth book about Jesus and the Gospels.

New Testament Readings & Devotionals, Volume 1
C.M.H. Koenig, compiler
C.M.H. Koenig Books
www.cmhkoenigbooks.net
9781956475265, $24.99 HC / 9781956475241, $14.99 PB / $6.99 Kindle, 226pp

https://www.amazon.com/New-Testament-Readings-Devotionals-1/dp/1956475265

Having whetted the Biblical scholar's appetite for better understanding the Bible by pairing readings and interpretations that pique the mind, C.M.H. Koenig moves his compilation skills to the New Testament with the first book in this series, New Testament Readings & Devotionals.

Here, the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are reviewed, analyzing their powerful messages from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As in the previous Old Testament volumes, selected passages from these books are accompanied by insights and reflections by Biblical scholars Robert Hawker, Charles H. Spurgeon, and Octavius Winslow. The readings combine devotionals with much food for thought, but unlike the Old Testament books, points from Psalms are not included. The intent is to profile the intentions and good works of God.

Most of the selected Biblical passages are one-liners, such as Matthew 11:28's "Come to me." Spurgeon, the commentator for this promise, delves into the "cry of the Christian religion, 'come'" and explores the promise of the call to lead a spiritual life. Footnotes to each devotional cross-reference other books of the Bible, which lends to further discussion among Christian Bible students. The result is a methodical blend of history and analysis. It creates the perfect format for daily devotionals which are succinct in presentation and full-flavored in analytical prowess, accessible to scholars and lay readers alike.

Old Testament Readings & Devotionals, Volume 11
C.M.H. Koenig, compiler
C.M.H. Koenig Books
www.cmhkoenigbooks.net
9781956475234, $15.99 HC / 9781956475210, $8.99 PB / $3.99 Kindle, 92pp

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Testament-Readings-Devotionals-11/dp/1956475230

Old Testament Readings & Devotionals, Volume 11 features the books of Ezra, Esther, Nehemiah, and Malachi, and follows the building of Jerusalem and the historical and spiritual events that affected the Jewish people and the evolution of the Middle East. God's love for his people is explored through Old Testament quotes from these books and accompanying analysis and interpretation by Robert Hawker, Charles H. Spurgeon, and Octavius Winslow, who accompany readings from these books with reflections on God's word.

As a daily devotional that adds to the other analytical revelations compiled by C.M.H. Koenig, this 11th volume continues to represent a fine inspection of both history and scripture. The passages and their accompanying considerations link Biblical events with the intention and word of God, offering both interpretations that pique the mind and inspections designed to prompt reader reflection and self-analysis.

Koenig is particularly adept at adding the kinds of commentary that turn Biblical puzzles into understandable representations of God's purpose and will. This makes for an accessible study that will attract scholars of the Bible, reaching beyond this specialty audience to engage and educate ordinary thinking Christians, as well.

The selected readings are enhanced by the in-depth commentaries, which offer far more connection than the passages alone would create. The result is a study in Biblical history and interpretation that should be required reading for any Christian student, whether they be Biblical scholars or thinking followers.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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Midwest Book Review
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