StephenBarkley.com

Bach’s always been one of my favourite composers. When I stumbled across a two-volume work on Bach by Schweitzer, I couldn’t resist. In the Second Volume, Schweitzer offered some good comments on the role of various arts in the artist. Every artistic idea is complex in quality until the moment when it finds definite expression. [...]

The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962 © 2006 Fantagraphics Books 325 pages Schulz penned 17,897 daily comic strips. Fantagraphics is doing the world a great service by collecting and publishing the entire run in a series of books. Here are a few of the things that I loved about this volume: Schroeder’s on the cover. The piano [...]

For a while in North American Christendom you had to sport a goatee to be a youth pastor. That trend has been eclipsed by the soul-patch. True, they’ve been trendy for a while now, but in lieu of any other way to trim your facial hair, they’re still tagging along. Klosterman’s latest book is fantastic. [...]

Tithing: Test Me in This (The Ancient Practices Series) © 2010 Thomas Nelson 156 pages Tithing is the story of 11 different people or couples who find that ancient practice to be an important part of their spiritual lives. The strength of this book lies in the diversity of its subjects. You’ll find everyone from [...]

The Final Empire (Mistborn, Book 1) © 2006 Tor 657 pages After reading Sanderson’s treatment of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, I knew I had to read more. Fortunately, The Owl Pen (my local second hand bookstore in Bracebridge, Ontario) had a used paperback in stock. The Final Empire (or: Mistborn) is a story with [...]

Chesterton’s got a knack for hiding truth in humour. In one of his first novels, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, he worte this dialogue about an absurd joker who was about to become king. ‘He is a man, I think,’ he said, ‘who cares for nothing but a joke. He is a dangerous man.’ Lambert [...]

Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim © 2009 Alfred A. Knopf 268 pages Angel Time is the story of an assassin who repents and teams up with an angel to do God’s work at various times in history. Rice envisions a number of books for this new character. Here a disclaimer before I continue: [...]

Here’s a line from Klosterman’s Eating the Dinosaur. He’s speaking about the lunacy of David Koresh: Anyone who reads every line of the Bible as non-metaphoric text has limited credibility.

This chapter transitions us from what we don’t know to what are overwhelmed with. As much as Paul assumes most of Jesus’ life, he makes explicit the significance of his death as a key part of the substance of Gospel. . . .

Love Alone Is Credible © 1963 (German Edition) Trans. D. C. Schindler © 2004 Ignatius 153 pages Logic looks for a place where it can pull everything together. That place can not be found in creation—even in the creation of humans. It can only be found in the revelation of God. The center of God’s [...]