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Written by Our Reviewer
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Friday, 27 March 2009 |
Murder by Family by Kent WhitakerReviewed By Jennifer Barker
Forgiveness. Love. These two words really should belong in the same sentence. It is difficult to truly love someone if you can’t forgive them and vice versa. So it was true for Kent Whitaker. His life turned upside-down on Dec. 10, 2003, when his wife and son, Tricia and Kevin, were murdered in front of him. He and his other son Bart were shot as well. Kent knew at that very moment he needed to forgive the person who was responsible for this horrific act. Little did he know that this person was his son Bart.  Murder by Family
The road ahead was long and arduous as Kent looked to the Lord for strength and guidance not only in his grief, but also in his decision to forgive. What would possess someone to forgive in such an unspeakable event? “Once I made that decision, God moved. I chose to forgive everyone who was involved in the murders, but it was God who gave me the power to do so. This may be the biggest lesson for all of us: people hurt other people really badly; but since God commands us to forgive, he will give us his supernatural power to do it if we submit ourselves to him.”1 This book is a narrative of that journey. You will cry with Kent as he retells the story of his Absalom coming back to the Savior. You will be inspired to shake off the yoke of bitterness and unforgiveness and choose to follow Jesus in His command to forgive. NOTES 1. Murder by Family by Kent Whitaker, p. 203.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 27 March 2009 )
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Written by Our Reviewer
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Thursday, 23 October 2008 |
A Recovering Fundamentalist Retraces Religious RootsReviewed By Stuart Nachbar
James Alexander’s Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist: Understanding and Responding to Christian Absolutism is a first-hand account of an ordained minister’s personal journey into his religious beliefs. Alexander is a former a Seventies Jesus Freak; the disciples later became part of the Moral Majority during the 1980’s. Three years after his marriage to his current wife Irene, he left the Jesus Freaks and joined a Mennonite congregation. One day he speaks with his Mennonite pastor about the Bible and the pastor responds: “You know, I just can’t believe every word of it is true.”
 Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist
Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist is a timely book, as even fundamentalists are reconsidering their political views in light of economic change in our country. Politicians have tried to use fundamentalist beliefs to try to find voters as well as divide an electorate along so-called moral grounds. However, Alexander points out that moral grounds and Biblical interpretations often change with the times. They are never static, and therefore, they cannot be absolute.
Alexander discusses the concept of the “flat Bible,” meaning that every page of the Bible is as so; absolutists believe that the Bible is accurate and true as a guide to life. However, the author also discusses passages in the Bible that cannot be enforced, such as the premise than those who work on the Sabbath must be put to death. The concept is similar to the Originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. On 60 Minutes, Scalia challenged jurists who label the Constitution as a “living document.” He said that the Constitution represented the thoughts of its 18 century authors, and therefore, it is a “dead document” not meant to change with the times.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 October 2008 )
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Written by Editor
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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
Reviewed By Stuart Nachbar
Pearls Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead by Madeleine Kunin is a primer on women in politics. It is a very well-written work that tells why women have run for office, how they have succeeded, the obstacles they faced, as well as their leadership and legislative styles. It also provides ideas on how women can better help women get elected to office.
 Pearls, Politics and Power
Most interesting was a chapter on the history of female heads of state outside the United States; so much of the world has a lead on us. Egypt had a female pharaoh, Hatshepsut, who ruled 3,480 years ago. Joan of Arc saved France from British dominance during the 15th century, at the age of 19. Five British queens wielded the same powers as a king, up to the end of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1901. Since 1960, 44 women have been elected as the leaders of their country, some by parliamentary governments where the head of state is selected by the legislative branch--which was mostly men—or won the popular vote in a general election. The first country to elect a female prime minister was Sri Lanka, the Philippines are the first nation to elect two.
Kunin served in the Clinton Administration, so she adds her two cents on Hillary Clinton’s prospects in the upcoming election. Clinton, she mentions, is not the first woman to run for president. Twenty one women have sought the office since 1872. Two ran on the Equal Right Rights party in 1872 and 1884, the rest sought the support of Democrats or Republicans, but none came close to winning the nomination. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 April 2008 )
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Written by Webmaster
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Sunday, 04 November 2007 |
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Lauren Smith: Why did you write this book?  Sinking the Ship of State
Lauren Smith: I assume your columns are dead-on serious? Walter Brasch: Many of the columns are humor and biting satire. Even the "serious" columns sometimes have traces of humorous sarcasm. From humor and satire, you can often see the truth more clearly. Lauren Smith: Is your book just a collection of columns? |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 November 2007 )
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Non-Fiction 
