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a world far different from the one we thought we knew: Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom. The Coming of Global Christianity

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

In a memorable passage from the movie Apollo Thirteen, a military man in the tense Houston control room shares with a political figure his premonition that the tragedy unfolding before them will be *the* catastrophic moment for the space program. Mission control flight chief Gene Kranz overhears their conversation and addresses it: ‘With all due respect, gentleman, I believe this will be our finest hour.’ The scene could stand in for the hand-wringing that often accompanies the apparent demise of the Western church when it comes to prognosticating on its fate over against the perceived adversaries of secularism and post-modernism. Philip Jenkins reminds us that, when viewed through a wide-screen lens, the immediacy of threat often yields to a broad panorama of opportunity. Continue Reading »

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Turn left and hit the gas: Mark Martin, NASCAR For Dummies

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

My boss once jokingly told that’s what NASCAR is about: turn left and hit the gas.

Then I went to the Alllstate 400 at the Brickyard and now I’ve read Mark Martin’s Nascar for Dummies. It’s looking a little more complicated than fast left turns. Continue Reading »

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upward mobility: Sam Moore, American By Choice. The Remarkable Fulfillment of an Immigrant’s Dream

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

Rags to riches tales are an American phenomenon. From inside the system, it is easy to think that a lot of hard work, a good idea, and a little luck are all it takes for the down-and-out to pull themselves up any number of ladders, and that this is obvious everywhere. You only have to live beyond these shores for a little while to realize that this scenario is a quintessential chunk of Americana. Class, rigid economies, and 7th-grade decisions for a trade or university are strong brakes on the possibilities of moving up or even, for that matter, sideways. Continue Reading »

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the birth of apocalyptic literature in Jerusalem’s ashes: William R. Millar, Isaiah 24-27 and the Origin of Apocalyptic (Harvard Semitic Monographs, No. 11.)

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

This revised doctoral dissertation is useful principally for the material it draws together into one place and for its methodology, which attempts to develop a relative chronology of the evolution of apocalyptic and then to place Isaiah 24-27 at the proper place on that scale. Continue Reading »

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Is Isaiah also among the wise?: J. William Whedbee, Isaiah and Wisdom

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

In five well-balanced chapters, the author opens up the important question about the extent to which the prophet Isaiah—and thus the book that bears his name—was influenced by the strain of Israelite reflection that scholars call ‘wisdom’. In setting forth his apology and objectives, Whedbee recognizes the danger of explaining the prophets systematically based upon a narrow selection of texts. For some time, scholars drove a deep wedge between the ‘prophet’s word’ and the ‘sage’s counsel’. Continue Reading »

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You can *do* this German thing!: Pimsleur German I Comprehensive CDs, Second Edition

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

Pimsleur Language Programs products are among the best-selling audio language courses available. ‘Organic learning’ seeks to approximate the conditions in which ordinary language-learning takes place. The process is almost entirely aural, supplemented only minimally-or at the student’s discretion, not at all-by reference to reading lessons after each half-hour lesson. Continue Reading »

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Every bit as good as Pimsleur German I: Pimsleur Language Programs, German II, 3rd Ed. (Comp.) [CD]

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

Pimsleur Language Programs products are among the best-selling audio language courses available. `Organic learning’ seeks to approximate the conditions in which ordinary language-learning takes place. The process is almost entirely aural, supplemented only minimally-or at the student’s discretion, not at all-by reference to reading lessons after each half-hour lesson. Continue Reading »

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Just add persistence and stir until ready: Pimsleur Language Programs, German III

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

Pimsleur Language Programs products are among the best-selling audio language courses available. `Organic learning’ seeks to approximate the conditions in which ordinary language-learning takes place. The process is almost entirely aural, supplemented only minimally-or at the student’s discretion, not at all-by reference to reading lessons after each half-hour lesson. Continue Reading »

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That’ll preach: Arthur T. Jones, Four words for tough times. Have faith in God (Sermons and study guides)

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

Good African-American preaching is a deeply satisfying art form. Just don’t go telling Rev. Dr. Art Jones that. For him it’s a deadly serious enterprise. Continue Reading »

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grief on ice: Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (Penguin Classics)

September 8, 2007 by David Baer

Forget everything you’ve heard about its obscene girth (1444 pages in my edition). Throw away the popular notion that it’s an impenetrable Russian monster where every character has four different names. You may have other issues that separate you from the epic tale Tolstoy set during Napoleon’s early nineteenth-century invasion of Russia. Whatever they are, get over them already and read this great story, considered by some to be the finest novel ever written. Continue Reading »

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