Category: Recommended

yep, I recommend this link, article or whatever it is

“The Lightlings” by R.C. Sproul

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

Have you ever wondered why stories have such power to move us? Why children sit mesmerized when they hear a fairy tale, and why people inevitably share their own personal stories when they get together?

Stories move us because we are part of a bigger story, “The Story”. As Christians, we know the beginning and the end of that story, and all its major plot twists and turns. We don’t know exactly how our life story will fit into it, but we have faith that it will.

R.C. Sproul has the gift of storytelling, and has written several stories for children. In The Lightlings, Sproul tells “The Story” by means of an allegory. He casts the world as peopled by lightlings, children of the King of Light. He depicts the fall, and their flight into darkness. He then paints a beautiful picture of a baby full of light, who is to be the Light of the World. This allegory is applied to children well by Sproul’s setting it as a story told to a child wondering why he is afraid of the dark. The answer is a tale told by his grandfather, and then applied to the child’s own circumstances at the end of the book.

The story is beautiful and has numerous points of contact with the true Biblical story of creation, fall and redemption. At the end of the book, several discussion questions are listed with Biblical verses in a “For Parents” section. These points don’t exhaust the allegory but open it up to those who may be more unfamiliar with the Biblical meta-narrative depicted in the tale.

The illustrations by Justin Gerard are stunning. He captures light well, which is necessary in illustrating this particular story. The pictures are attractive to kids of all ages, and depicting the lightlings as fairies helps the story compete with other children’s tales that remain ever popular.

Christian parents must seek to get as many Christian resources as possible into the hands of our children. This book will provide opportunities to discuss the Gospel with children of all ages, particularly those in preschool and elementary school. And if you like this story, Sproul has other allegorical children’s books available as well.

I wish more children’s books today were like The Lightlings. The power of the story is not as often used as it should in capturing the hearts of our children. I cannot recommend this book more highly. If you have children, it is definitely a must have tool for the Christian parent.

Pick up a copy of this book at Amazon.com, Westminster Bookstore or directly from Reformation Trust.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Reformation Trust Publishing for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Get Your Daily e-Bible Reading Plan

~ Bob Hayton ~ 10 Comments

It’s that time of year again. Time to choose your next daily Bible reading plan. But with more and more people turning to e-Bibles on their smart phones or other portable devices, the traditional bookmark style, Bible reading plan’s days may be numbered.

Thankfully, for today’s Bible geeks (a term used for the tech-savvy, Bible aficionado) plenty of digital options are available when it comes to tracking and promoting Bible reading. I have found that having some plan and some tool to track my reading, is a very practical way to encourage me to continue to make Bible reading a priority. I don’t think we have to be slavishly beholden to a Bible reading plan, and not everyone is equally able to read the Bible through in a year. But reading the Bible is one of the best ways to encounter Jesus. So why not do all we can to read as much of the Bible as possible this year?

What follows is a list of some of the e-Bible reading options available. Please jump in and share any tools you are finding helpful that aren’t included here.

YouVersion

YouVersion is a site that uses the appeal of social media to encourage interaction with the Bible. The site lets users submit notes on the Bible, and share Bible verses easily through various social media channels, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The site has a long list of Bible reading plans. I’m interested in trying the Historical plan which goes through the OT according to the order of books in the Hebrew Bible, then goes through the NT books in the order that most scholars believe they were written in.

Youversion lets you track your progress online, or through your mobile phone (or even via RSS). You can share your progress with your social media networks, letting your friends know as you complete each day’s reading plan. This encourages others to be reading the Bible and allows something like Facebook to provide some accountability even, as your friends can see whether or not you are staying current with your reading plan.

Bible Gateway

Bible Gateway seems to be the most popular site for looking up Bible verses online. The site has several Bible reading plans that work with the various versions the site includes. If you’re interested in reading through the new updated NIV 2011 translation, this site is for you. There are also a few additional reading plans somewhat buried in the site. An interesting one is the biographical reading plan focusing on key Bible characters. For a couple plans you can even sign up for email updates with the days’ reading included via email (currently only available for the NIV or KJV).

ESV Online

My version of choice is the ESV, and I love the ESV Study Bible. Now the ESV Online incorporates the Study Bible notes and also includes two different versions of the complete Bible in audio format, easily accessible right from the viewing page. I enjoy reading along as I hear the audio version playing. The ESV Online lets you add your own notes and highlight passages in various colors, too. I just wish the History of Salvation in the OT article was referenced in the SB notes for each OT passage it covers, however.

The ESV Online has several reading plans as well as some devotionals. The Daily Light on the Daily Path devotional seems quite unique, and might be great for family devotions. It’s a classic that I had never heard of.

Bible.Org

Bible.org offers five different reading plans which launch in the new beta version of a Net Bible reader. The Net Bible notes are some of the most comprehensive available, and great for studying. What’s nice about the beta Net Bible reader is that you can instantly see the Hebrew or Greek for the passage and relevant articles from Bible.org regarding that passage. You also have the option of adding your own notes to share with other readers (or store for personal reference). It also includes an audio version of the Bible (but probably not for Greek or Hebrew!).

Olive Tree Bible Software

You may already be an Olive Tree junkie. Olive Tree Bible Software has carved out a niche in the mobile devices market, offering arguably the best Bible software for smart phones and other portable devices. A few reading plans are available for free Olive Tree, as well as additional devotional books.

Blue Letter Bible

You might not be into the whole e-Bible thing, however. You might just want the old-fashioned, tried and true, bookmark Bible reading plan. Don’t despair. Blue Letter Bible can help. They have a wide selection of Bible reading plans available as .pdf downloads, which can then be printed on actual paper and kept as a bookmark in your very own, leather-bound Bible! Chronological, historical, canonical and blended plans are available, as is a 2 year plan to read through the Bible at a slower pace.

Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plans

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention what may be the most popular Bible reading plan around, the Discipleship Journal reading plan from NavPress. This popular plan lets you read through the Bible in four different locations. One reading starts in Genesis, another in Psalms, another in Matthew, and the last one in Acts. It ensures variety and keeps one from being bogged down in the genealogies or Tabernacle details too much. Plus it only has readings for the first 25 days of the month, allowing for extra study, for those who stay on track, or for catch up days, for those who need the extra help (and motivation to stay on the plan). You can see a sample of the plan here (in .PDF), or you can order 25 copies of the plan (in good old bookmark format) from NavPress, and pass the others out at your church. There is also a Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Journal available to complement this plan.

DJ also has a book-at-a-time reading plan (preview here) which provides variety by having two reading tracks and alternating between Old and New Testament books. A simpler plan for those newer to Bible reading is also available (preview here). It covers the New Testament by having 5 minute readings, 5 days a week.

New Sponsor: The Theological Research Exchange Network

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

The Theological Research Exchange NetworkThis being a thankful time of year and all, I wanted to express my appreciation to the Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) for placing an advertisement on my site. I have heard of this service before and thought I’d make everyone aware of it.

TREN “is a library of over 10,000 theological thesis/dissertation titles representing research from as many as 70 different institutions”. Dissertations are available from over 125 institutions and conference papers are available from the following national conferences:

  • Evangelical Theological Society (1,129 papers)
  • American Society of Church History (150 papers)
  • Society for Pentecostal Studies (75 papers)
  • North American Patristic Society (20 papers)
  • American Catholic Historical Association (14 papers)

TREN now offers an edocs service where you can find, purchase and download dissertations online. Many papers are offered for free too.

If you are doing theological research, or even if you are just looking for an elusive dissertation to help with some particular study of yours, the Theological Research Exchange Network will definitely be worth looking into.

To check out TREN, and also to help ensure their continued sponsorship of Fundamentally Reformed, please click their advertisement at the top of my sidebar (or the logo above). Thanks!

“The Narnia Code: C.S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens” by Michael Ward

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1414339658?ie=UTF8&tag=fundamerefo0d-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1414339658Do you remember when you first read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis? Many people, like me, trace their love of fantasy fiction back to that moment. As I gobbled up each of the seven books of the Chronicles of Narnia series, I entered a world of knights, chivalry, valor, magic and wonder — that awakened in me a fresh wonder at the divine influence in all of life.

As I went on to other fantasy tales, largely by Christian authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen Lawhead, I encountered more intricate worlds and elaborate tales than what I found in Narnia. But the overt symbolism in the first Narnian tale, hinted at so much more beneath the surface of the Narnia tales. Reading Lewis’ space trilogy I once again encountered symbolism that I couldn’t quite grasp, but that was alluring and powerful nonetheless.

So a few years ago, when I learned of a new book by Michael Ward entitled Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis, I was captivated and just had to get it. That scholarly tome, whose hardback edition boasted 347 pages and almost 60 pages of endnotes, was a delight to work through. Bit by bit, Ward shared the thrill of his discovery — the long sought after, unifying key to the Narnia stories. It was a bit of a chore to go through all the scholarly citations, but along the way I learned a great deal about all of Lewis’ works, not just the Narnian chronicles.

Now, however, the fruit of Ward’s scholarly research is available for a wider, general market audience. Based on an earlier documentary/DVD, Tyndale House has published an accessible paperback entitled The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens.

I was able to pick up this smaller book from Tyndale. It’s only 191 pages with an easy to read font. To be sure, some of the finer points from Planet Narnia don’t find their way into the condensed edition. Still, one will find all the joy (and significance) of Ward’s discovery, a fascinating explanation of the pre-Copernican planetary model, and a detailed exposition of each Narnian chronicle according to the new insights gained from Ward’s study. The interested reader could certainly move on from The Narnia Code to Planet Narnia if he or she so chose, but most will be satisfied by the tale as told in the smaller work.

I don’t want to ruin the book by explaining in detail all of Ward’s discoveries. I will just note that he finds a planetary connection between Lewis the scholar’s appreciation for the pre-Copernican view of the planets as influencing mankind in various ways, and Lewis the author’s intricate method of creating a unique atmosphere that permeates each of his seven Narnian tales.

I can say this, however, you will be convinced by Ward’s discovery. And it will give new life to the Chronicles of Narnia. You’ll never read them the same way again. And Christ’s glory will be seen anew in all its wonder, illuminated in many small yet wonderful ways by Lewis’ intricate crafting of these wildly popular stories.

Before I close, let me recommend you see a short video clip of Michael Ward explaining his vision for The Narnia Code. I highly recommend the work. You can pick up a copy at Amazon with any Christmas money you’re itching to spend.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Dating Christ’s Birth: November 18 or December 25?

~ Bob Hayton ~ 11 Comments

I just finished reading an essay by Paul Maier on the date of the birth of Jesus Christ. The essay is entitled “The Date of the Nativity and the Chronology of Jesus’ Life” and was a chapter in the book Chronos, Kairos, Christos:
Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan edited by E. Jerry Vardaman and Edwin M. Yamauchi (Eisenbrauns, 1989), now out of print. [HT: Justin Taylor]

Maier has written many popular level books bringing various Biblical stories to life. Click on the image above to see his book on the first Christmas which details many historical and archaeological details you may be unfamiliar with. Be sure to search inside the book, to explore it more fully. It promises to be a fascinating book.

Anyway, Maier writes as a scholar who also isn’t too keen on defending Luke’s Quirinius mention and some other historical details in the New Testament. Nevertheless, he reviews the data and concludes that November/December 5 B.C. is the most likely date for Christ’s birth. At the end of the essay he brings to bear the earliest and most specific reckoning of Christ’s birth in the church fathers. Clement of Alexandria pegs the month and day of Jesus’ birth to our November 18. Given some of the evidence Maier marshals, that date may well be preferred to December 25, which came about later. Still, one month and 7 days is not far from the mark!

The essay is an interesting read, but no matter what day you celebrate Christ’s birth on (the Orthodox still celebrate January 6th as his birth), be sure to spend some time celebrating and worshiping our Lord this Christmas.