Every month we show what is on our reading table.

This month we added six books and finished them all! New books first:

  1. “Jesus’ Mysterious Space-Time Universe” (76 pages, paperback, 2017) by Gerald Paul Kooyers: After we read “Fourfold Kingdom of God” (239 pages, paperback, 2020) by “Gerald Paul Paul Kooyers” last month and gave it a negative review I thought I would give Kooyers another chance. Unfortunately, there is nothing new in this short book. Maybe because it was written before “Fourfold”? And no, it is not double Paul as I reported last month; that seems to be an Amazon artifact.

 

  1. “The Other Half of Church” (240 pages, paperback, 2020) by Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks: This book was mentioned during Pastor Tim’s (Christ Greenfield Church) The premise of the book is that our brains are wired left half/right half being equivalent to rational/relational or thinking/feeling. Modern church has become mostly left half/rational/thinking as opposed to the opposite. To advance, we need to bring the right half back. I’ve read the first few chapters and am impressed. One of the principal arguments is that we have lost the “joy” of the right half. I agree with that; both personally and for ‘modern’ man.

 

  1. “Moving Beyond Anxiety: 12 Practical Strategies to Renew Your Mind” (192 pages, paperback, 2020) by David Chadwick: I picked this up in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport to read on the trip back from our soon-to-be son-in-law’s graduation from Army Basic Combat Training. It turns out it was written by a couple local to Charlotte. I read through half on the plane, and it is outstanding. Might even be life changing with the chapter on “Casting”.

 

  1. “Odd Magics” (131 pages, paperback, 2022) by Sarah Hoyt: She is a prolific author writing in almost all genres; especially science fiction, fantasy, blogging and more. I read her comments on Instapundit and resonate with her world view. While I am not a short story fan, I thought I would take a chance on these updated fairy tales. And I am glad that I did.

 

  1. “Genesis and the Big Bang” (224 pages, paperback, 1991) by Gerald Schroeder: He is a physicist and a Jewish theologian. In this 1991 book he attempts to reconcile the age of the universe, about 13.8 billion years, according to our current physics knowledge known as the Big Bang Theory and the Biblical (all in the Old Testament book of Genesis) record of “six (or seven) days plus about 5,700 years” calculated by adding the 14 plus 14 plus 14 generations from Adam to Jesus Christ. The insight, that according to Special and General Relativity, time passes differently for different observers, might explain the 13.8B versus six or seven days. I was disappointed though, that he did not quantify the argument. But all in all, a very interesting observation and it is plausible.

 

  1. “Entrepeneur RX” (208 pages, paperback, 2021) by John Shufeldt: A friend of mine is starting medical school and I came across this book and thought of him. Here’s the Amazon intro blurb, “Being a physician is challenging. So is starting your own business. In Entrepreneur Rx, physician and serial entrepreneur, Dr. John Shufeldt, shares time-tested insights and knowledge for building a thriving startup while maintaining your practice.” I’ve read about half the book and have two initial observations: one, the doctor is interesting, impressive and knows his (business) stuff; and two, disappointment that he doesn’t make the case of why a doctor should be entrepreneurial and especially what fields would he benefit the most from that background/knowledge/experience/skill set.

 

  1. “Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe” (576 pages, paperback, 2021) by Stephen C. Meyer: His claim “the data support not just the existence of an intelligent designer of some kind—but the existence of a personal God” based on three scientific revolutions/theories: The Big Bang Theory, The Fine Tuning Observation and Information Coding in DNA. This is a long, detailed book. I hope to get to it soon. I note that there is now a documentary planned. Here are two interviews with the author.
  1. “Intercessory Prayer” (275 pages, paperback, 1996) by Dutch Sheets: I just started reading this. I have read the first two chapters. If the rest is as good, and as documented, this is an OUTSTANDING book on what is intercessory prayer and how to do it. I like his explanation of theology and how he backs each claim with scripture.

 

  1. “Restoring the Christian Family” (320 pages, paperback, 2011) by John Loren and Paula Sandford: I found this buried on my dresser after doing a complete cleaning, i.e., putting aways stacks of clothes. I don’t know where it came from or who bought it. I was intrigued by leafing through it and so it is on the reading list.

 

Not pictured:

  1. “The One Year Bible” with help from the “Lutheran Study Bible“.