StephenBarkley.com

Reamde: A Novel © 2011 William Morrow: HarperCollinsPublishers 1044 pages There’s a curious juxtaposition here. Thrillers are, by nature, fast-pace adventure stories. Neal Stephenson’s latest thriller is a 1000+ page behemoth! Stephenson managed to insert deep characterization into his thrill ride in such a way that a 5 minute gun-fight can span 100 gripping pages. [...]

We do not rule, we are ruled. The thing, the world, rules man. Man is a prisoner, a slave of the world, and his rule is illusion. Technology is the power with which the earth grips man and subdues him. And because we rule no more, we lose the ground, and then the earth is [...]

The Politics of Jesus © 1994 Eerdmans 257 pages If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I’ve summarized and reflected on each of the 12 chapters that make up The Politics of Jesus. Since all the details have been covered, I’ll offer a few final thoughts here. The Politics of Jesus was a [...]

There is no such thing as “righteous” violence, as if brutal actions are somehow transformed by calling them aspects of the struggle for justice. Such manipulation is as offensive in progressive circles as are the more nationalistic versions of justification of violence by using patriotic terms. Both sides only succeed in justifying violence. —Daniel L. [...]

Life Is Mostly Edges: A Memoir © 2008 Thomas Nelson xvi+318 pages I judged this book by its cover and it paid off. Before picking up this memoir all I had was a recommendation from a colleague and the beautiful cover to go by. I knew that Miller had written a famous Christian fantasy trilogy, [...]

To see him with the heart is not only to believe in him but little by little to become bearers to each other of his healing life until we become finally healed and whole and alive within ourselves. —Frederick Beuchner, “The Seeing Heart” in Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, 264.

An Introduction to the Old Testament © 1994 (Note: I read and reviewed the first edition. The link above connects to the second.) Zondervan 473 pages While I don’t often read reference books cover-to-cover, I made an exception with this volume. I treated this book as a supplement to my regular Bible reading. Every time [...]

To be homeless the way people like you and me are apt to be homeless is to have homes all over the place but not to be really at home in any of them. —Frederick Beuchner, “The News of the Day” in Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, 250.

  Chapter 12: The War of the Lamb Summary 1972: With our focus on Jesus and Paul, other biblical witnesses have been left out, notably Revelation. Christian social ethics is obsessed with discovering the meaning and direction of history. It turns out this is no easy task because of the plethora of free agents in [...]

As One Devil to Another: A Fiendish Correspondence in the Tradition of C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters © 2012 Tyndale House Publishers xi+192 pages [At the end of this review, you'll have an opportunity to win a copy of the book.] In 1941, The Guardian magazine published a series of letters from Senior Devil [...]