Reading and Readers

By: Terence Tan
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  • Summary

  • Every fortnight, I review a Christian book for you. Do you like free ebooks? Every month, I review Faithlife's Free Book of the Month featuring titles like Jim Belcher's "Deep Church", David Jeremiah's "Count It All Joy", Russell Moore's "Tempted and Tried", Skip Heitzig's "Bloodline", Frank D. Macchia's "The Trinity, Practically Speaking" or Pete Hughes' "All Things New". Do you like hot-off-the-presses? Listen to my in-depth review of John Piper's "Providence" or a side-by-side review of Voddie Baucham's "Fault Lines" versus related books. Do you like ancient and over-looked treasures? You don't want to miss my review Jacob Abbott's 200 year old book, "The Young Christian; Or a Familiar Illustration of the Principles of Christian Duty". Whether it's Dru Johnson's commentary on Genesis 1-11 or S. D. Smith's tale-spinning epic, the Reading and Readers Podcast has a book for you.
    Terence Tan
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Episodes
  • How to Think Theologically by Howard Stone and James Duke

    How to Think Theologically by Howard Stone and James Duke
    Sep 29 2024
    Everyone wants to know how to make money, how to lose weight, how to make friends and influence people. But before all that, more importantly, the first thing we got to know is how to think -- and as people who live our lives before God -- specifically, it is knowing how to think theologically.Hi, my name is Terence and I’m your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review “How to Think Theologically” by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke. 142 pages, published by Fortress Press in 2006. 2006 is the second edition. The fourth edition, published in 2023 is available in Amazon Kindle for USD14.99.Reviewing the 2nd not the 4th EditionWhy am I reviewing the 2nd edition and not the 4th edition? Because I got the 2nd edition for free. Even though I was not reviewing books for the past 6 months, I still made sure to get the Logos free book of the month. For June, the free book was “How to Think Theologically”.You might be wondering whether it’s worth listening to a review of the second edition when, if you do read the book you would get the latest edition. In any case, my review is still helpful in your buying, reading, decision.First, whatever is good in the 2nd edition will be in the 4th edition. That is why there is a 4th edition.Second, when you hear all the good things I have to say about today’s book, you might resolve, like I have, to never miss a free book deal. And if you did get the Logos free book for June, this review might just persuade you to read it.I Could Not Help You... Until TodayThe book resonates with me because it describes the one thing I have been trying to excel in all these years.When I was a young Christian I did not know what thinking theologically meant. I knew it was imperative for us to think biblically but what does that mean?I only understood after I read books like Don Carson’s “Showing the Spirit”, a commentary on 1 Corinthian 12-14. That book fundamentally transformed my thinking process.Now, many good books later, I try to bring the Bible to bear in everything, to understand God and his work in myself, the people around me and the world across space and time.If you ask me, “Terence, I want to learn how to think theologically too, can you help? Can you do what you do best and recommend a book?”A few weeks ago, my answer would be, “I wish I had a simple guide for you. Everything I practise, I learnt it the hard way through many books, by many writers, on many diverse issues, over many years. You could read Don Carson’s book but you would learn by observing the master. The master is not explaining what or why or how. He is busy doing the thinking through the Bible on the topic. In Don Carson’s case, thinking through 1 Cor 12-14 on the topic of the Holy Spirit. I wish I have that one book to recommend to you.”And today, I have!Buy this book. Read this book: “How to Think Theologically” by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke.Dynamic DuoHoward Stone is a psychologist, marriage and family therapist, theologian ,and professor emeritus at Texas Christian University. James Duke is Professor of the History of Christianity and the History of Christian Thought at Brite Divinity School.They have put together this concise how-to guide for Christians who never knew they were theologians and don’t know where to start.So let me share my thoughts on the book.Embedded vs. DeliberativeFirst, I found the distinction between embedded theology and deliberative theology to be immensely helpful.This is the way I understand it. Embedded theology is what you grew up with in church; it's the air you breath. It's instinct, reflex, it's how you do the faith.Deliberative theology is questioning your growing up years; it's putting the air you breath into a mass spectrometer. It's inquisitive, reflective, it's asking why you do faith in this way and not that.Deliberative theology is the theology I tend to force unto the people around me. Embedded theology is what they wish we could all do instead.When we make a distinction, we are drawing a line, we are pointing out differences. Sometimes, often times, that leads to quarrels. Other times, making that distinction helps people to reconcile.We recognise that embedded theology is what everyone practises and it is good enough until it isn't. And then deliberative theology becomes necessary. Christians who are able to do deliberative theology within the faith are less likely to deconstruct themselves out of the faith.They are more equipped to handle crisis. In this book, the authors use many real world examples. But two stick out the most.First is the Great Hymnal Controversy. The church wrestles with whether to buy new and different hymnbooks to replace the ones falling to pieces. You can replace this controversy with the one you have in your church.The second crisis moves away from the religious assembly to the personal home. Tom’s mother has terminal cancer and the doctor ...
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    30 mins
  • Portrait of God by Jack Mooring

    Portrait of God by Jack Mooring
    Sep 15 2024
    It has been said that all of us are theologians. We all have a picture of God in our heads. But is your picture of God correct? Keep listening to find out. Hi, my name is Terence and I’m your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review “Portrait of God: Rediscovering the Attributes of God through the Stories of His People” by Jack Mooring. 224 pages, published by David C. Cook Publishing in August 2024. Available in Amazon Kindle for USD9.99 and in Logos for USD10.79. I received a free review copy but the publisher has no input to my review. ## Systematic Theology Through BiographyToday's book promises to explain the Attributes of God through the lives of Christians. But wait, someone says, “If you really want to know the Attributes of God, you should get a good book on Systematic Theology. The bigger the better.” So grunts the theological egghead. Nope. If the size doesn’t scare people off, the title “Systematic Theology” would. Then someone says, “Just get J.I. Packer’s ‘Knowing God’.” That’s a great book. A classic. But today's book gives us a different way to know God’s attributes and that is through stories. Bible stories have helped children know God. Much of the Bible consists of stories of God and His People. So we could say that today’s book is not inventing a new approach but rather adapts the biblical way of knowing God: through the stories of him interacting with his people. ## Art Class with a Divine SubjectIn this book, Jack Mooring wants us to paint a portrait of God. If this sounds a bit artsy-fartsy to you, maybe it’s because Mooring was an artist. More, accurately, a musician. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he is the former band member with the Grammy Award-nominated group Leeland. Mooring is also the founding pastor of a church, Celebration of Life Church in Nashville. So he is not the typical professional theologian who writes a book on the attributes of God. He is just a passionate Christian who wants everyone to know God. And he takes hold of artistic license to separate himself from the professional theologians. We will do a portrait of God. Using the lives of God's people as the brushstrokes. ## A Brushstroke of JoyConsider this: Whose life do you think best reveals God’s joy? Think of all the great men and women who have served God through the ages. Who would best demonstrate the joy of the Lord? Mooring chooses C.S. Lewis. The chapter starts with Lewis as a young man arriving at Oxford University. But then, the Great War happened. I quote:> The war was a brief but horrific interlude in his life. He saw unbearable things. His closest friend in his company was killed. While raised in a Christian home in Ireland, he’d been brought up on the teachings of the church, but early on he had decided God couldn’t be real. His mother had died when he was only nine years old. He remembered praying that God would save her life, but his desperate request seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.>> His childhood angst at God had turned into full-blown atheism as a young man. And if his journey away from God needed any more help, his traumatic experiences in the war had seared his mind. Later, Mooring writes:> There were cracks in Lewis’s armor. For all his resistance against God, he had a weak spot for joy. Deep joy. The joy that aches in your belly when you see something truly beautiful. You reach for it but can’t grasp it. You try to recreate the same feeling the next day, only to find it missing. This haunted Lewis.>> He began to do what he always did to find answers: He read books and talked deeply with his friends. Famously, one of his friends was J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien and others encouraged Lewis in his search for answers. I quote:> Lewis raised a challenge to his friends: “What separates Christianity from any other myth? After all, there are other stories about a god ‘saving’ his people.”>> His friends responded with an idea that changed his life. “Yes, Christianity is a myth,” they said. “But it is the only true myth.”>> Suddenly, he realized that the Norse mythology he loved was never the real source of the joy he felt. It was God. Every good and beautiful myth was simply pointing to the one true “myth”. The chapter interleaves episodes of Lewis’ life with Mooring’s own comments and reflections. A YouTube video about a ten-million-dollar mountain chalet sends Mooring through a whirlwind of emotions from curiosity, awe, desire and lust, to disappointment, jealousy, embarrassment and resignation. Everybody who has watched an influencer boasting of cars, food or travel knows what Mooring felt. Mooring shows us YouTube-addicts that our desire is a reminder that God is our true desire. Just like C.S. Lewis, we are searching for the real source of joy: God. And that's how every chapter goes. He shares a story then a reflection to bridge the ...
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    31 mins
  • Year 3

    Year 3
    Apr 25 2024

    Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Except I have not been reviewing any books for nearly two months now.

    Have I quit the podcast? No. I am still looking forward to the 100th episode of Reading and Readers. I have a special book in mind for that one. So if I do end this podcast, and I don't have any intention of doing so, I would definitely do it after the 100th episode.

    Why the delay? I used to do a book review every two weeks. That was a crazy pace. I could sustain that pace until my responsibilities elsewhere -- in the office, church and home -- increased. I found myself having to read more books but not books I would later review.

    So I have decided to take the podcast slow. Instead of a sprint, or a jog, it will be stroll or a walk. I will still be downloading the monthly free books from Logos. I will still be on the look out for good books.

    If I see a must-read book, I will read it. If it is a must-share book, then I will review and share my thoughts with everyone.

    This was not how I expected to celebrate the Reading and Reader's third year. However, I am hopeful that once things settle down, I will get back to reading and reviewing Christian books for you. Thank you for your support. Until next time, bye!

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    5 mins
Art Literary History & Criticism Ministry & Evangelism Spirituality
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