Scott Freeman

What I’ve Read: Catching Up

It’s been a few weeks since I talked about what I’ve been reading. So, I thought I would give a cursory overview of what I’ve been looking at lately (all books available on the left sidebar):

The Judges by Elie Wiesel–I had high hopes for this book, written by the highly lauded Wiesel and an intriguing premise. A freak snowstorm has forced an Israeli-bound plane to land in remote Connecticut. Five of those passengers are provided shelter by a man who imprisons them in his home and forces them to take stock of their lives. One of them must die for the secrets they each harbor. However, it never pays off and gets mired down quickly. However, there is one excerpt that stuck with me:

“Rejecting violence and hatred demands more strength and more courage than yielding to them! Killing is easy; any fool or degenerate can do it. But giving meaning to life is a complex challenge of a quite different order.”

Grade: C+

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman–Ehh. Grade: C

The Road by Cormac Mccarthy–I devoured this book in a single night. The imagery of a post-apocalyptic world is at turns frightening, brutal and ultimately redemptive. A father and a son try to survive in a world devastated by the violence of men. Mccarthy captures the despair, longing and hope in a world that is stripped of humanity.
Grade: A

Tempting Faith by David Kuo–This book is a must read for anyone who has ever believed that politics and government can do the job of the Kingdom. Kuo writes as someone who placed his faith in America and, more narrowly the GOP, to be the voice of God. Ultimately, he realizes that the hope of Christ is found, not in fallen powers, but in Christ Himself. Kuo writes of his loss of innocence in the political process and his disillusionment with those involved in the political machine without being vindictive or judgmental. That is a fine line to maintain.
Grade: A-

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay–Not typically the book I would read, I caught the audio version of this on my drive to Arkansas over Christmas. It’s the story of a serial killer who only kills other serial killers. The book, mostly told from Dexter’s perspective, never portrays Dexter as a good guy. Instead, it delves into the psyche of a man driven to do unspeakable things while operating under the delusion that it can be justified if it is done on the “deserving.” A riveting read.
Grade: B

The Messiah of Morris Avenue by Tony Hendra–It’s been almost 20 years since I read Joseph Girzone’s modern day Christ incarnation story, Joshua. At the time, it was a revelation of the character and person of Christ and how He would be rejected yet again in today’s world. In retrospect, Girzone’s rendering is almost quaint. Hendra’s is anything but. He envisions an America sometime in the next decade that has become a theocracy. The Christian Right now enforces their morality on all people even going so far as to ban shampoo commercials to prevent lust. War as propagated to speed the eschaton. In the midst of this conversion by coercion, steps a young man named Jose, who begins to speak of love, peace and caring for the least of these. This is a fantastic look at how America might respond to the message of Christ today.
Grade: B+

The Evangelical Universalist by Gregory MacDonald–The mark of a great book, to me, is one that stretches me and makes me rethink long entrenched beliefs. This is one of those books. Another mark of a great book is one that I have to prepare myself for. Yet, I’m still not sure if I am fully prepared for the implications that MacDonald lays out for us. He is a described hopeful dogmatic universalist. No matter where you fall in your understanding of the love of God this book is a must read. Gregory MacDonald is a pseudonym of a prominent evangelical writer. The subject matter is too volatile for him to use his real name. I’ll be talking more about this later. Yet, if Calvinism and Arminianism, with all of their flaws and shortcomings are a part of the discussion, can’t we have the spiritual foresight to look at all possible renderings of the love of God? I say we must.
Grade–A

Letters to a Young Evangelical by Tony Campolo–When I first became a Christ-follower I was given a little gold covered book entitled “Now That I Am A Christian.” If I was just now becoming a disciple of Christ, this is the book I would want. Campolo touches on the things that a young believer should be aware of.
Grade–A

Anybody read any of these titles? If not, what are you reading right now?