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Welcome to StephenBarkley.com. This is where I post all the stuff I've been thinking, praying, speaking, and writing about. Thanks for reading.
A Handbook of Contemporary Theology: Tracing trends & discerning directions in today’s theological landscape © 1992 BridgePoint: Victor Books 394 pages Have you ever had a religious discussion with someone that made you feel uneasy? Perhaps the logic of their position seemed to make sense, but you could sense something was fundamentally different from what [...]
The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb © 2009 W. W. Norton & Company 224 pages I couldn’t resist ordering this once I read the cover: The first book of the bible graphically depicted! NOTHING LEFT OUT! I taught through Genesis a few years ago, and realized just what “nothing left out” would mean! [...]
The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession (P.S.) © 2005 Harper Perennial 298 pages I’m afraid my journey with Coelho is over. I was intrigued by The Alchemist, even though it smacked of neo-gnosticism. Veronica Decides to Die had such a twisted premise, I could overlook the philosophy. The Devil and Miss Prym, again, was such [...]
Israel’s Sacred Songs: a Study of Dominant Themes © 1966 The Seabury Press 242 pages This book introduces readers the ways that Israel used cultural idioms from the surrounding nations to describe her God. Since we have a well preserved set of ancient documents from Israel (the Hebrew Scriptures), and little from the surrounding nations, [...]
Saint Francis (Christian Encounters Series) © 2010 Thomas Nelson 233 In Saint Francis, West successfully made life and times of a thirteenth-century saint come alive. I chose to review this book because I didn’t know much about Francis other than a few folktales and the hymn, “All Creatures of Our God and King”. It turns [...]
Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ © 2010 Eerdmans 290 pages Practice Resurrection is Peterson’s meditations on what the church is, according to Ephesians. As you would expect from him, the church is not some nebulous concept but a very practical household—among other metaphors. If you’re stuck with the idea of church [...]
The Curse of the Viking Grave © 1966 (reprint: 1980) McClelland and Stewart 243 pages It’s an old story. An author produces a singular work of genius that receives rave reviews and awards, only to follow it up with a weaker sequel. The Curse of the Viking Grave is not a horrible book. It’s just [...]
Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music © 2009 Scribner (Simon & Schuster, Inc.) 262 pages Ripped is 262 pages of the most compelling music-industry journalism I’ve ever read. I know that’s a big statement, but it’s true. I’ve read my fair share of Rolling Stone and other music ‘zines, and this outclasses them all. [...]
Lost in the Barrens © 1956 M&S Paperback (McClelland & Stewart) © 1989 244 pages This is juvenile fiction at its finest. Mowat used his experience of life in the Barrens of Northern Canada (see: People of the Deer & The Desperate People) to tell an adventure story about a white city-boy and a young [...]
Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend © 2007 Thomas Nelson 360 pages Beyond Opinion is a collection of essays on defending the faith. While Ravi Zacharias only wrote 4 of the chapters (including the introduction and conclusion), almost every other author is a member of his ministry (RZIM). The book is divided into two [...]
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