Dr. Gene Edward Veith recommends a book about Bach and Frederick the Great. Having read it, I immediately sought approval to acquire it for the library.
“Because that’s bad.”
We live in frightening times.
That’s not a new thought for me, but it struck me with fresh force today, while listening to Michael Medved’s radio program.
He was discussing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would, according to many conservatives, place anyone who publicly expressed opposition to the homosexual agenda in jeopardy of prosecution, in the case that some unbalanced listener should commit an act of violence against a homosexual (or transgender, to keep up with changes in the law) afterwards.
Anyone who says that’s alarmist talk wasn’t listening to Medved’s callers today. Most of them believed that it was right to punish people for their thoughts, if those thoughts incited them to crimes.
But one caller in particular, a young lesbian who said she’d been raised by a lesbian couple, went farther. She stated matter-of-factly that, of course, people who disapproved of homosexuality should be prosecuted just for their opinion. “Because that’s bad.”
Doubtless she’s the product of a public school, as she knows no history. She doesn’t realize that her view is identical—not in detail but in principle—to that of medieval popes and 17th Century Puritans. She’s missed entirely the great compromise that was reached by people who were (then) known as “liberals” in the 18th Century—that people should not be punished for their opinions. If you hold or express an opinion the government doesn’t like, it cannot touch you. If, however, that opinion drives you to commit a crime, you are punished, but not for the thought. For the action alone. The government has an interest in what you do. Your soul is a matter between you and God.
It was a compromise Christians came to love, because it rendered unto Caesar what was Caesar’s, and to God what was God’s.
That compromise may be broken soon.
True Detectives, by Jonathan Kellerman
Writing a successful series character can (or so they tell me) be a trial (albeit a profitable one) for an author. There’s an inherent problem with series characters. Generally in fiction, one of an author’s chief purposes is to dramatize personal change. A character grows through his experiences in the story. He makes difficult and costly choices and grows a bit as a human being. This gives the story a point, and satisfies the reader.
But series characters can’t have life-changing experiences with every story. Nobody changes that much in their lifetime, and if they did, they’d soon cease to be the characters readers have fallen in love with.
So series authors like to stretch themselves now and then. Sometimes they’ll write one-offs. And sometimes they’ll create new series characters.
Jonathan Kellerman, author of the Alex Delaware psychological mysteries, has chosen the second course with his latest in paperback, True Detectives. He’s taken two characters he introduced in his last Alex Delaware book and given them their own story. In my opinion, they’re worth the trouble. Continue reading True Detectives, by Jonathan Kellerman
Redemptive
Take note of this new book, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. It’s an essay collection on the Christian use of words in writing, speaking, and singing. No doubt the more bloggers who understand and practice the teaching in this book, the better, more God-honoring the blogscape will be. Here’s one endorsement:
“Solomon tells us, ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits’ (Prov. 18:21). Words kill and words give life; they’re either poison or fruit. They have massive potential for both good and evil. They have the power to either build up or tear down. The contributors to this volume understand this well, and they show, in both theologically deep and practically down-to-earth ways, how the church must be marked by redemptive speech. They show how the sweetness and strength of the gospel-the sweetness of grace, the strength of truth-should flavor everything we say. John Piper asks, ‘What would the world be like-the home, the church, the school, the public square-if words were used the way Jesus used them?’ Read this book and find out.” Tullian Tchividjian, Pastor, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church; author, Unfashionable
(FTC Note: Despite this glowing post, I have not been materially compensated in any way by Crossway or the editors and writers of this wonderful book. A PDF is available for free to anyone through Desiring God Ministries. I heartily recommend the staff at the FTC read this book along with the Bible and surrender to Christ.)
“The West Oversea Experiment”
I missed this while I was off in Minot, and it was only brought to my attention a couple days ago. Our friend Dr. Gene Edward Veith posted this entry on his blog on Sept. 28, asking his readers to go buy West Oversea and drive my Amazon ranking up (in spite of what Phil posted below, I have to admit I do check my status occasionally).
Much thanks to Dr. Veith for this support.
Live Q&A with Randy Alcorn
Author Randy Alcorn will be online Thursday at 2:00 p.m. eastern to discuss his new book, If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering & Evil. I heard him talking about the book last week on Moody’s Prime Time America, and it sounds like a good one. Is it as good as the books Ravi Zacharias has done on the same subject? I don’t know, but it sounds like a good book on its own.
Did anyone join the live Q&A with Bruce Wilkinson the other day?
“Goddess Unmasked”
Remember what they told you in college about the Mother Goddess, and how all the ancient religions worshiped her, and how modern wiccans are actually carrying on her timeless cult? Remember those eminent theologians who complained that the Christian church had covered up the essential femininity of God?
Balderdash, says Philip G. Davis, in the new book, Goddess Unmasked, reviewed here at The American Spectator Online by the always readable Hal G. P. Colebatch.
(Colebatch, by the way, is an e-mail friend of mine. He’s co-written a book for Baen Books, and allowed me to read the beginning of an unfinished mystery he’s working on. I really look forward to reading the whole thing in print someday.)
More Calvin
Marvin Olasky addresses Calvin on the Christian meaning of public life.
Oh, You Wrote a Book?
Published author Andy Crouch posted a letter he wrote to soon-to-be-published author Adam McHugh, saying it’s great that your book is coming out, but don’t think anyone will care about it for a while.
“What will be a big deal,” he writes, “hopefully, over the coming months, are individual letters, emails, conversations and even (we hope!) reviews from grateful readers. This is what makes it worth doing, in my opinion—the amazing chance to meet people for whom your words were genuinely, even dramatically, helpful.”
And avoid your book’s Amazon ranking. It’s pointless.
“Looking for the Kingdom in Oslo”
New post at Mere Comments.