Every month we show what is on our reading table.

This month we only added two books. Too much personal and business activity going on. Birthdays, homecomings, graduations, two possible offers on commercial property, stabilizing our most recent purchase…

  1. “Flatland” (96 pages, paperback, 1992) by Edward Abbott:

“This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years [originally written in 1884]. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square, a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland,”

We took an hour and half “seminar” at Christ Greenfield church given by Prof. Trey Cox. Is this the explanation for spooky voices speaking from the spirit world?

  1. “Sealed Orders” (406 pages, paperback, 2018) (412 pages, paperback, 2017) by Alaric Bond: I read and reviewed the first nine books in this British Naval Fiction series; “His Majesty’s Ship”, “The Jackass Frigate”, “True Colors”, “Cut and Run”, “The Patriot’s Fate” and “The Torrid Zone”, “The Scent of Corruption” and “HMS Prometheus”, “The Blackstrap Station” and “Honour Bound”. I give them high marks. Now that I read the first ten stories in the series, I like it even more. And these last four; ‘Scent’, ‘Prometheus’, “Blackstrap” and “Honour Bound” show a new levels of plot complexity and character development.

Still in work:

  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. “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. “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.

Not pictured:

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

And we deleted “Intercessory Prayer” (275 pages, paperback, 1996) by Dutch Sheets and “Restoring the Christian Family” (320 pages, paperback, 2011) by John Loren and Paula Sandford. We’re just not going to finish these. Sometimes that happens.

We spent the past month at three birthdays including my cousin Willie’s 90th, Tyger homecoming from Basic Training and the Army School of Music, Jon’s graduation from USC with a Master in Business, two possible offers on commercial property (36 bed assisted living facility in Bakersfield and a 37,000 sq ft vacant gym on 6 acres in Gilbert for church purposes), and stabilizing The Historic Gold Spot in Phoenix that closed on 28 April 2022.