“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances.”
(As You Like It 2.7.139-141)
“I Have Finished My Course”: Interviews of Eighteen Retired Ministers
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Review of Alex DiPrima’s ‘Spurgeon: A Life’
Body
“DiPrima’s account is faithful to history, not speaking where God has not spoken, while reminding his readers of God’s sovereignty in saving sinners and enabling the work of ministry.” - Acton
Book Review: Elisabeth Elliot, a Life
Body
“n Elisabeth Elliot: A Life, Lucy S. R. Austen harmonizes Elisabeth’s public writing with the journals and letters Austen had access to, which I feel is the strength of this book.” - P&D
The Risky Upside of Missionary Biographies
Reposted from Rooted Thinking
Eighteen-year-old Sarah Hall curled up in her New England home, her legs tucked beneath her voluminous 1700’s skirt.1 Neither the chill of the room nor the hardness of the wooden chair distracted her from her book. She barely noticed her younger brothers and sisters as they noisily went about their business in the common room. The hardbound volume, stiff with newness, recounted the life of the recently deceased missionary Samuel Mills.
The Power of Biography
Body
“The power of human greatness (and, by extension, reading about it) comes from the fruitfulness of the imago Dei, and Christian understandings of biography repeat the theme of the imago Dei shining forth the abundant goodness of its Maker.” - Davenant Institute
Herman Bavinck’s Balancing Act, and Ours
Body
“As a new biography shows, the Dutch Reformed theologian was adept at navigating perennial tensions of Christ and culture.” - CToday
“Isaacson’s narrative...genuinely helped me understand the history and the current state of the technological world I live in.”
Body
On The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson… “Somehow some writers of biography end up sounding trite, both in their relating of their subjects’ stories and in the lessons they draw from them.” - Mark Ward
How David Brooks Meandered Toward God
Body
“The New York Times columnist hasn’t become a Christian of the ‘Protestant evangelical variety,’ but his latest book offers a fine example of spiritual autobiography.” - Christianity Today
Panosian: A Story of God's Gracious Providence
Body
“Dr. Ed Panosian has dedicated his life to the study and teaching of world history. Yet, his own astounding story is relatively unknown.” - Amazon
Review - Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography
Quite rightly, in view of the historical and spiritual importance of the Reformation, there have been a spate of books about Martin Luther; this year, and indeed last week, being the five hundredth anniversary of the event that sparked the movement into flame — the nailing of Luther’s 95 theses onto the church door at Wittenberg on October 31st, 1517.
The author of the present book, Herman Selderhuis, has distinguished himself with his work on John Calvin, including a study of Calvin’s Theology of the Psalms and The Calvin Handbook. He has also written a similar biography to this on John Calvin.
The first thing I want to say about this biography of Luther is that it is very well written. Selderhuis has a plain, pithy and subtly tongue-in-cheek style that really makes the material flow. The second thing I would say is that this is not biography lurching into hagiography. The book presents the Reformer as a very flawed but endlessly fascinating individual. Luther was, for example, proud (179) and stubborn (181).
