2014 – Justin Daniel

This is a list of the books I read in 2014. All the reviews were written in 2014 and are archived on this site in (roughly) the order I read them in.

Book Reviews 2014

The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, J.R.R Tolkien

September 25, 20192014 / Book ReviewsI actually finished this book last week, but have yet to write a review for it. It seems to be a trend that I procrastinate everything from school work to book reviews, but yet I keep saying: better late than never! This book delves into the fantasy world of Middle Earth where, as most of you know from the polarizing movie trilogy, Frodo is on a quest to destroy the one ring of power in the fires of Mt. Doom. As I said in the last review on the Fellowship of the Ring, the plot synopsis is not necessary because of how intricately tied our culture has become to this story. Much of what I said about the Fellowship applies here: the text is lush and eloquently written. It is almost like enjoying a rich desert that melts in your mouth as you are able to taste the smallest details in the concoction. It really is a pleasant read. But it is not always the most understandable read. Many of the words are archaic in nature and perhaps even a little alienating because of Tolkien’s English heritage. Either way, I was able to fall in love easily with the main characters because of how relatable they are. Frodo has been given this enormous task to deliver the ring to Mt. Doom but the irony here is he is only a halfling. He is not even tall enough to blend in with an orc. But the beauty behind this is no matter how big the task is, not only does he accept it’s challenge but he makes huge strides in finishing his goal; not without the one and only Sam. Sam tries his hardest to protect his master, even if he stumbles a little on the way and does more harm than good. Nevertheless, his courage to put his master’s well-being before his own is admirable, and he does it without compromising the weight of his master’s mission. It would be easy to help Frodo carry the ring, but Frodo has been tasked with this undertaking, not Sam and he cannot interfere no matter how much he might want to when he see’s Frodo’s burden. One more side note: the actor that portrayed Gollum did such a superb job when matching his performance to the standard of the book. It is actually kind of freaky how well he played that out. As I have said before, I understand now how these books have become enshrined in our culture fifty years after they were written. The story is excellent and the detail is impeccable. I look forward to finishing the trilogy this week! [...]

Mao: The Unknown Story, Jung Chang, Jon Halliday

September 24, 20192014 / Book ReviewsThe opening sentence of this book on the 20th Century Chinese communist leader says, “Mao Tse Tung, who for decades held absolute power over the lives of one-quarter of the world’s population, was responsible for well over 70 million deaths in peacetime, more than any other twentieth-century leader.” Chang and Halliday spent over 10 years of research demythologizing the reputation of Mao and casts him in a severe light; one that rivals the atrocities of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as the most-killingest man of the 20th Century, mostly ignorant to Western society. Even as of this week, a portrait of Mao’s was sold for 12 million dollars (http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/a-triumph-for-capitalism-warhols-canvas-of-mao-tse-tung-fetches-76m.1392275521). We hear a lot about the demons of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, but we are less inclined to hear about the magnanimous losses in China. We are even fed that Mao was a good ruler and misunderstand or muckraked to a poor reputation. I will propose that neither of these is true after reading this book. Mao had a lust for power that would never be quenched until he conquered the world. Examples of this can be seen from “the Long March,” where Mao led over 80,000 communist troops all over China, most without shoes or clothing to shelter them from the elements (Mao either rode a horse, mule, or was carried the whole way while the Nationalists pursued and bombed/ambushed them), killing about 70,000 (only 10,000 survived). After he came to power in the 1940’s, he desired an un-rivaled power, using the Soviet Union to help him get weapons technology and produce China’s first atom bomb. In the process, of what now is called, “the Great Leap Forward,” he starved to death over 30 million (some estimate as high as 45 million) Chinese, making them eat leafs and dirt while he exported most of China’s produce to the Soviet union for money to 1) pay back the Soviet Union and 2) develop more militaristic weapons including a navy, air force, and guns. He enacted a policy that created the “backyard furnaces,” where pots, pans, jewelry and anything metal was confiscated and made into a sort of “pig metal” to be used for such endeavors. Of the steel made that year, only 40% of it was able to be made into anything worthwhile. He led numerous purges in order to castigate those who were deemed as “counter-revolutionaries” into a conservative light, giving them the green to be executed or sent away to a work camp in inner Mongolia where few returned from. He was a womanizer, lazy, power hungry among other things and did not care about the people he ruled or how many he would have to kill to become a superpower. On the Great Leap, he said, “Half of China may well have to die.” Finally, in the 1960’s-70’s, he led a campaign called the “Cultural Revolution” where actors, actresses, opera, music, books, writers and the educated elite were all purged in favor of “Maoist” propaganda in the form of what was called “The Red Book:” a series of Mao quotes that nearly everyone was issued. Millions died as a result of these purges as well. As I surveyed this book, something struck me that is applicable to our modern day. Many Americans have been critical of such conflicts as the Korean War, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. But when half of the Korean Penisula was liberated from the communist North in the 1950’s, that became a beacon of freedom and capitalism that prevented the deaths of probably millions of people. When we come to view Vietnam as a huge failure, I think we fail to realize the “good” that such interventions may achieve. While we did not liberate Vietnam as we did South Korea, I think there is a moral responsibility for those who are more fortunate to help those who are unable to speak for themselves. In the same vein, there has been an enormously negative reaction to the intervention in Iraq. But if a killer and a poor leader was ousted to make the lives of millions of people better, was it worth it? In my eyes it is. This is a thought-provoking book: it gives clarity to what freedoms we have in America and how fortunate we are. This is a great read. [...]

Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity, Nancy Pearcey

September 25, 20192014 / Book ReviewsFirst of all, this is a fantastic book. Pearcey asks the question, can a Christian be a politician, businessman, or even a hard working American and still make an impact in our culture as a Christian? Or does one have to be a minister, pastor, or missionary to make a dent in the cultural war? She advocates the adoption of a Christian worldview that is necessary for all Christians. A worldview, she explains, is something that is innate within us. It’s something that we all possess and it contains how we perceive the world. She says, “But the purpose of a worldview is to explain the data of experience-not to deny it. Any philosophical system that fails to offer a plausible account of our sense of personal selfhood should be rejected as inadequate… Only Christianity, with its teaching of a personal Creator, provides an adequate metaphysical explanation of our irreducible experience of personhood. It alone accounts for the raw material of experience within a comprehensive worldview. In the modern world, with its large, impersonal institutions where people are treated as ciphers in the machine, the Christian message is good news indeed.” She teaches that a person who has adopted an evolutionary worldview see’s the world as a dog-eat-dog environment: the process of natural selection has told us that we need to do whatever we can to get ahead even if it means we are morally reprehensible. She says, “The historic Christian conception of morality rests on a cognitive claim about human nature. Its says humans were designed for a purpose – to be conformed to spiritual ideals of holiness and perfection, so that we may live in love with God and our fellow creatures. Moral rules are simply the instructions telling us how to fulfill those ideals… In the Fall we went off the track, but in salvation God puts us back on course and empowers us to resume the journey to developing our full humanity… Under the Darwinian regime, however, the very concept of purpose or teleology has come under attack. For if the world itself was not designed, then there can be no design or purpose for human life either. Morality is reduced to a product of biology- an expression of our subjective desires and impulse, programmed into us by natural selection.” She also dedicates a chapter to discussing what has gone wrong with the Church: her finds correlate with my book review on David F. Wells’ book, “The Courage to be Protestant”. I perhaps have some disagreements with Pearcey here. In almost an afterthought, she says that part of the problem with evangelicalism is rooted in the dismissal of men in the home. In earlier times, men worked out of the home but since the industrial revolution, they go off for many hours to factories and office spaces to work. This has left a gap in the family that has caused a feminization of Evangelicalism. This, combined with the preaching styles of such famous men as George Whitefield, has reduced Christianity to an emotional outpouring instead of a balanced approach of emotion that is under the reign of intellectualism. She says some strange things, almost critical, of men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. But Edwards tried to defend against excessive emotionalism so this argument is confusing. I would recommend Wells’ book in order to understand this dynamic more. Don’t let that chase you away from “Total Truth.” I would say this is almost an essential book for Christians everywhere. [...]

The Story of Christianity, Vol II The Reformation to the Present, Justo Gonzalez

September 24, 20192014 / Book ReviewsSo I’ve taken a little break from blogging, but not from reading. I know I’m a little behind in my weekly book reading (the last post was from, yikes, February 23) but I think I will be caught up in nearly a week. This past semester, I took 2 classes on Church History: Part 1, from the inception of the Church to the Reformation, and part 2, from the Reformation to the Present. The text for the class was this book that I read, not in a week, but over the course of eight weeks. It still counts right? Church history is so fascinating to me: it is amazing that even after 2,000 years, there is an institution that has gone through trials, even through the fire and nearly broke apart; it was only through the predestined plan of God that it continues to this day and that is nothing less of a miracle. Out of all of Church History, my favorite act in this wild play would have to be the Reformation. I had to write a paper on Martin Luther and it was some of the most enlightening and informative research I have ever done. My favorite line in the scene of the Reformation would have to be Martin Luther’s monologue at the Diet of Worms: Martin posted his 95 thesis’ in protest of the indulgence preachers (preachers who were saying that you had to pay for a certificate that got you into heaven or out of purgatory) and catapulted him into a confrontation with the Pope’s “Papal Bull,” culminating at the Diet of Worms which was a gathering to decide whether Martin would be excommunicated from the Church and given to the Inquisition (which would guarantee death). Here they asked him to recant and he asked for one more day. The next day, he was again asked to recant and he replied, “Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God’s word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me.” Others took part of this momentous occasion, including Ulrich Zwingli and another favorite, John Calvin. After the reformation, Europe erupted into war and uncertainty. Later, those searching for religious freedom from the oppressive Church of England would take a ship across the Atlantic Ocean to a colony in North America, thus beginning American Christianity. One can see how gracious God has been with our own country with the First Great Awakening featuring Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield (it is said that there wasn’t a person in the 19th century American Colonies that had not heard George Whitefield speak), the Second Great Awakening, and the Layman Church Revival. Not all is happy though: with the onset of humanism and the enlightenment, philosophy has been ever near to Christian thought, threatening it’s very existence with the ideals of Deism in the 19th century and existentialism in the 21st century. Today, we are beginning to see the unification of a global society, and with that the ecumenical (one world church) movement take shape as we move further into end times. In any case, I think we as Christians have a responsibility to learn Church History and I recommend this book as a starting point in your studies. [...]

Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship, John MacArthur

September 15, 20192014 / Book ReviewsFamed Pentecostal and televangelist Benny Hinn seems innocent enough. He’s a little coo-key in the way he approaches Christianity: namely by “slaying” people in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, and professing to perform miracles by way of healing’s in his multi-million dollar ministry; but he’s not doing any harm in Christianity is he? Dr. John MacArthur of Grace Church in his book, “Strange Fire,” (released in October 2013) would disagree. Not only would he disagree, but he would argue that the entire Charismatic movement is the single greatest threat to Christianity in the 21st Century. He speaks about false prophets like Tod Bently, who, during the Lake-Land Revivals, was “told” by the Holy Spirit to physically injure his attendee’s in order to heal them. He actually punched an elderly woman in the face; he punched a man with colon cancer so hard he nearly died from his ruptured colon. Some would say these are “fringe” Charismatics. However, Dr. MacArthur powerfully and expertly exposes the Charismatic movement for what it is: blatant blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. During the great awakening of Jonathan Edward’s time, many were focused on the experiential phenomena of the Holy Spirit’s workings. He therefore wrote a sermon entitled, “The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God.” In it, he explains that “the legitimacy of a revival could not be determined on the basis of emotional responses.” He uses 1 John 1:4 to urge his listeners to “test the Spirits,” to say that not all that seems to be Godly is from God. Dr. MacArthur uses this blueprint to ask the question, “Does the modern Charismatic movement represent a true work of the Holy Spirit?” This represents Part I of his book: Part II is about the various doctrines Charismatics are clearly confused on, including: speaking in tongues, miracles and healings, the office of Apostle and Prophets, and prophecies. Part III then shows the true work of the Holy Spirit. Most interestingly, the appendix of the book has a series of quotes from highly regarded Church Fathers such as John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin and others that deny the continuation of the Apostolic gifts. This book is fascinating and I highly recommend it: it contains a mini systematic theology course on pneumatology and soteriology, it exposes the fallacies in the Charismatic movement by using scripture, and it answers tough questions like the exposition of 1 Corinthians 13 (what is the perfect, teleion?). Most shockingly, Dr. MacArthur ends the book with a plea to the “Calvinist Charismatics” (Check out this sermon to see how Calvin denied the continuation of the Apostolic sign gifts and therefore it is rather hypocritical to be a “Charismatic Calvinist” http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/TM13-4/calvins-critique-of-charismatic-calvinists-steve-lawson) and influential Continuists like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, and Wayne Grudem to stop giving theological backing to men like Benny Hinn and Tod Bently, but to use their blessed ministries and position to call out false prophets and teachers that are blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This is a sobering book and if you have questions on the legitimacy of the sign gifts or are confused on the Continuist/Cessationist position, I urge you to read it. [...]