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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.
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 [...]
Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons © 2006 Harper Collins: HarperOne xvi+303 pages Buechner’s writing is just plan beautiful. At times it has the potential to take your breath away. He combines deep spiritual insight—something only acquired through years of living with God—with a poet’s flair for prose. Secrets in the Dark is [...]
Peace Be with You: Monastic Wisdom for a Terror-Filled World © 2011 Thomas Nelson 276 pages In the wake of 9/11, David Carlson sought answers. He knew “something was missing” in our response to the tragedy, but he wasn’t quite sure what. This question led him to monasteries and retreat centres across America where he [...]
Revelations of Divine Love © 1966 Trans. Clifton Wolters Penguin 213 pages The scribe who put the words of Mother Julian to paper offered a warning: I pray God almighty that this book shall fall only into the hands of those who intend to be his lovers, and who are willing to submit to the [...]
Contemplative Prayer © 1969 Image: Doubleday 116 pages Merton is one godly man. I’ve read many books on prayer that have left a vague aftertaste of unlived academia. Contemplative Prayer, on the other hand, is a book of personal experience informed by a brilliant mind. This is not a book for beginners. It would have [...]
Judas and Jesus: Amazing Grace for the Wounded Soul ©2005 Cascade Books: Wipf & Stock Publishers 130 pages Judas has become more of an expression than a person. To call someone a “Judas” is to name them a betrayer. No one in the Gospels plays a more villainous role than Judas. But, is he beyond [...]
The Sacred Meal: The Ancient Practices Series © 2009 Thomas Nelson 149 pages I can’t believe it. I just finished reading an entire book on the Lord’s Supper and heard virtually nothing about Jesus’ death. Seriously, think about it: And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave [...]
The Imitation of Christ © 1910 First Published c. 1418 284 pages I first read the Imitation when I was feeling especially spiritual in high school. I went to my local Christian book store with a few dollars to spend and found an abridged paperback version of it in the reduced bin. What a disaster! [...]
The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical © 2006 Zondervan 367 pages Most Christians I know fall into two broad categories. The younger type of Christian (along with the older young-in-the-faith type) tend to be more idealistic and less jaded. The more … let’s call them “mature”, trade a bit of that idealistic fire [...]
After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters © 2010 HarperOne: Harper Collins 307 pages Good things happen when you mash different subjects together (just search for “mashup” on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean). In Wright’s latest book for the public audience, he’s mashed up three topics: New Testament ethics Christian virtue Non-Christian ethics [...]
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