Books read in 2020 by Dr Orville Boyd Jenkins

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Finished (96)

Andrews, Andy. The Bottom of the Pool: Thinking Beyond Your Boundaries to Achieve Extraordinary Results. Nashville: W Publishing Group (Nelson), 2019. 178p. Bought January 2020 from Amazon. Read 25 January - 2 February 2020. Personal Development

Andrews, Lori B. The Silent Assassin. Westminster, Maryland: Books on Tape, 2007. (An Alexandra Blake Medical Murder mystery.) Audiobook. Borrowed 2 June 2020. Heard 3-6 June 2020. Fiction

Archer, Jeffrey. Cometh the Hour. Westminster, Maryland: Macmilan Audio, 2016. (A spy novel set before the fall of the Berlin Wall.) Audiobook. Borrowed 1 June 2020. Heard 18-29 June 2020. Fiction

Ashford, Bruce and Chris Pappalardo. One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Academic, 2015. 160p. Bought July 2020 on Christianbook. Read 5-27 July 2020. American Politics and Culture (Role of Religion in Society)

Baldacci, David. The Forgotten. NY: Hachette Book Group, 2012. Audiobook. Borrowed 11 August 2020. Heard 28-31 August 2020. Fiction (Murder)

Baldacci, David. The Whole Truth. Westminster, Maryland: Books on Tape, 2008. Audiobook. Borrowed 11 August 2020. Heard 20-27 August 2020. Fiction (Murder)

Barker, Paula etal. Lindsay, A Pictorial History. Lindsay, Oklahoma: Lindsay Chamber of Commerce, no date. 99p. Borrowed June 2020. Read Passim and 13 September 2020. History
Barton, James L. The Unfinished Task of the Christian Church. NY: Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, 1908. 211p. (“Introductory Studies in the Problem of the World's Evangelization”) Received as a gift from a personal library in November 2010. Read in 2011. Read again 20-24 February 2020. Theology (Missiology)

Battaglia, Joe. Unfriended: Finding True Community in a Disconnected Culture. Savage, Minnesota: Broad Street, 2018. 146p. Bought 9 March 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 12 May 2020. Faith and Life

Bauman, Stephan. Break Open the Sky: Saving Our Faith from a Culture of Fear. NY: Multnomah Books, 2015. 205p. (Bauman addresses the rising level of fear and anxiety produced in the United States exhibited in fear of foreigners and people of other religion, and the way in which certain segments of Christian religion have succumbed to the cultural patterns of thought and recrimination, distrust, cynicism and blame. He discusses the factors involved and alternatives, based on his international experience as a faith worker, sharing his encounters with people of many cultures and religious faiths, and shares the stories of others. A refreshing refocus of faith and hope in the Gospel perspective.) Bought 21 December in Arlington, Texas. Read 8-10 January 2020. Church & Culture

Beker, J Christiaan. Heirs of Paul: Their Legacy in the New Testament and the Church Today. Grand Rapids: Wm B Eerdmans, 1991. 146p. (An excellent exegesis of the themes of Paul’s letters in the New Testament and how they have been interpreted by the later Pauline letters of the New Testament canon and the early centuries of Christianity (especially in the West) and into our time through the Middle Ages and Reformation period. Good historical and cultural background and exegesis in context. The author is a professor of biblical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.) Bought July 2020 from Christianbook. Read 14-17 July 2020. Bible (Bible Backgrounds, History)

Berg, Elizabeth. Talk Before Sleep. NY: Random House Audio, 1995. Audiobook. Bought 7 October 2019. Heard 27-28 February 2020. Fiction

Berger, Lee and John Hawks. Almost Human: The Astonishing Tale of Homo naledi and the Discovery that Changed Our Human Story. Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2017. 239p. Bought 9 September 2020 from Amazon. Read 9-13 September 2020. Science (Paleoanthropology)

Bessenecker, Scott A. Living Mission: The Vision and Voices of the New Friars. Downer’s Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2010. 176p. Read 4-6 August 2020. Church & Culture (Theology)

Bliss, Kathleen. The Future of Religion. Hammondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1972. 193p. Bought 10 March 1975 in Dallas, Texas. Previously read twice. Read 3-8 May 2020. Religions

Bohjalian, Chris. The Flight Attendant. NY: Random House Audio, 2018. Audiobook. Borrowed 1 July 2020. Heard 27-29 July 2020. Fiction

Bogue, Jeff. 5 Assumptions about God: And Why They Are Wrong. Racine, Wisconsin: BroadStreet, 2016. 122p. Bought 11 June 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 15 September 2020. Theology (Faith and Life)

Box, C J. The Disappeared. Prince Frederick, Maryland: Recorded Books, 2018. Audiobook. Borrowed 1 July 2020. Heard 4-9 August 2020. Fiction (Historical Romance)

Bradford, Barbara Taylor. Heirs of Ravenscar. NY: HarperCollinsAudiobooks, 2007. Audiobook. Bought 7 October 2019. Heard 3-4 February 2020. Fiction (Historical Romance)

Brandman, Michael. Robert B Parker’s Fool Me Twice. Random Audio, 2012. Audiobook. Borrowed 3 March 2020. Heard 4-8 March 2020. Fiction (International Intrigue)

Brantley, Kent & Amber. Called for Life: How Loving Our Neighbor Led Us into the Heart of the Ebola Epidemic. NY: Waterbrook (RandomHouse), 2015. 225p. Bought January 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 25 May - 5 June 2020. Biography (Medicine; Faith & Life)

Bray, John L. The Great Tribulation? Lakeland, Florida: John L Bray Ministry, 1982. 46p. Read 15 December 2020. Theology (Eschatology)

Bray, John L. The Origin of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Teaching. Lakeland, Florida: John L Bray Ministry, 1982. 43p. (Also includes a short report on his campaign in Romania under Communist Rule) Read 24-25 October 2020. Theology (Eschatology)
Bridge, Steven L. Getting The Gospels: Understanding the New Testament Accounts of Jesus’ Life. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 2004. 140p. Bought 17 September 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 16-19 October 2020. Bible Backgrounds
Bridges, Kynan. The Power of Prophetic Prayer: Release Your Destiny. New Kensington, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House, 2016. 223p. Bought December 2019 in Arlington, Texas. Read 1-5 January 2020. Faith and Life

Centennial Committee, Lindsay Community Historical Society. Lindsay History and Heritage. Lindsay, Oklahoma: Lindsay Community Historical Society, 2002. 204p. Borrowed June 2020. Read Passim and 15 September 2020. History

Charles River Editors. Homo Erectus: The History of the Archaic Humans Who Left Africa and Formed the First Hunter-Gatherer Societies. Coppell, Texas: Charles River Editors, 20 September 2020, printed form of the ebook. 45p. (The Charles River Editors write under this collective name, publishing ebooks. Print copies like this one are available, but are a printout of the ebook in Internet format, with small print filling the page. Still, I had plenty of room around and within the text on each page to take my notes, highlight and do my “talk-back” with the authors and write my own thoughts as I processed the information and the story. The printed page is best for me, for the interaction. I plan my own courses in various topics. I choose books for my study in each discipline or topic. As I read, I write notes in the margins, add header notes on the pages, in order to easily use the book for reference later as I continue study in this topic, or review for some question in that field. As I read, I perform critical analysis and process various data I encounter, for later recollection, and develop my own theories. This book is a wonderful and fact-filled summary of all that has been learned up to the minute in paleoanthropology. I bought this the week it was advertised for sale. This book covers the variety of ancient humans found in fossil remains and lines out the reconstructed geography and history in to which Homo erectus falls in the ancient era of humans. This was very readable, though packed with facts and details. It could have used a full careful edit. My book is now edited for some of the syntax errors and other small things I found. This was a very good summary that helped me develop a better and more complete pictures of all the ancient human fossils that have been found up to now. I have studied Paleoanthropology since at least the 1980s in Kenya, with Richard Leaky, whom my wife and I personally knew, and others working in East Africa. This small but packed volume provided a good updated review of what we now know about these ancient humans.) Bought 23 September 2020 from Amazon. Read 23-24 September 2020. Science (Paleoanthropology)

Christian, David. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything. NY/Boston/London: Little Brown & Co, 2018. 357p. (Christian sets out her to line out a big history. This is actually the term for a sub-discipline in history and science that endeavors to find the connection points between all the areas of knowledge we nave. Christian is a specialist in this, and his efforts and focuses have spurred the development of this discipline of Big History. He lays out for us here the full, detailed story of what we know from all the areas of knowledge we know it in a unified perspective from every area of science and knowledge. Fascinating and extremely engaging, this volume is well-written in good flowing English with a mystery writer’s suspense and thrill. He makes sense of the geological history of our earth and places that within the cosmological history as we know it today, and goes through the history of life of earth and the changes that have occurred in the would over the brief historical period of humans. His story of the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment and changes of thought and lifestyle over the last three centuries was especially engrossing.) Bought 28 September 2020 from Amazon. Read 29 September - 1 October 2020. Science (Cosmology, Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, Zoology, Earth Sciences)

Clancy, Tom. SSN. NY: Simon & Schuster Audio, 1996. Audiobook. Bought 7 October 2020. Heard 13 January 2020. Fiction (International Intrigue)

Clark, Mary Higgins. We’ll Meet Again. NY: Simon & Schuster Audio, 1999. Audiobook. Bought 7 October 2019. Heard 13-17 January 2020. Fiction (Murder and Court)

Colum, Padraic. Nordic Gods and Heroes. NY: Dover Publications, 1996. 282p. Bought 17 September 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 23 September - 7 October 2020. Peoples and Cultures (History)

Crump, Léonce B Jr. Renovate: Changing Who You Are By Loving Where You Are. Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2016. 205p. Bought 21 December 2019 in Arlington, Texas. Read 16-17 January 2020. Faith and Life

Dever, Mark. God and Politics: Jesus’ Vision for Society, State and Government. Youngstown, Ohio: 10Publishing, 2016. 57p. Bought 25 June 2020 on christianbook.com. Read 26-28 June 2020. Church and Culture

Doudna, Jennifer A & Samuel H Sternberg. A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution. Boston/NY: Mariner Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 281p. Bought 5 August 2020 from Amazon. Read 1-8 October 2020. Science

Dungan, Myles. How the Irish Won the West. NY: Skyhorse Publishing, 2011. 304p. Bought 28 August 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Read 2-8 February 2020. History (USA)

Evert, Jason. Theology of the Body. Scottsdale, Arizona: Totus Tuus, 2017. 124p. Bought 25 November 2020 from Christianbook. Read 2-3 December 2020. Theology (Theology of Sex, Image of God)

Fahs, Sophia and Dorothy T Spoerl. Beginnings: Earth, Sky, Life, Death. Boston: Beacon Press, 1964. 248p. (This is a revision of a book originally published in 1937 and revised in various editions since that time. It s beginning was two separate books by the two authors here, published in 1937 and 1938. I doubt if it is still being published. This is a fascinating collection of origin stories, in mythical figurative language from ancient cultures of peoples and cultures now passed away, current peoples of the world, the Genesis stories of the Bible, and modern scientific findings and understandings. “Myths, legends, and scientific narratives of how things began -- from a score of ancient and modern cultures, races, and religions.” It was interesting to read the perceptions from 1964, in light of the extensive and enlightening new discoveries since the 1990s and the turn of the century, especially concerning DNA. But the book was very forward looking and on point in most regards. It was entertaining and informative.) Bought 6 January 2019 in a used book store in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas. Read 24-30 April 2020. Science (Philosophy of Science)

Fields, Michelle. Barons of the Beltway: Inside the Princely World of our Washington Elite -- and How to Overthrow Them. NY: Crown Forum, 2016. Bought 11 December 2018. Read 7-18 November 2020. American Politics & Culture (Political Science)

Fleming, Joan. How to Live Dangerously. NY: Detective Book Club, by Walter J Black (Random House, 1970. 137p. Read 5-12 March 2019. Fiction (Murder Mystery)

Gilkey, Langdon. Religion and the Scientific Future: Reflections of Myth, Science and Theology. NY: Harper and Row, 1970. 193p. (Gilkey analyzes the language forms of science, traditional theology (theologies of various faiths) and current western theological models to show how modern science and religious thought have influenced each other. Read my review of this book on my website.) Bought 16 November 1982 in Nairobi, Kenya. Read early on, the again fully in 2005. Reread 20 October 2020. Philosophy (Science and Theology)

Graham, Frank. Holy Island. Cliffside, Rothbury, Northumberland: Butler & Butler, 1987. 32p. (The story of the Isle of Lindisfarne, called Holy Island since the 11th Century.) Bought 28 July 1989 in Bellingham, England. Read 14 September 2020. History

Griffin, WEB and William E Butterworth IV. The Outlaws. NY: Recorded Books, 2011. Audiobook. Bought 29 March 2019. Heard 4-25 February 2020. Fiction (Historical Romance)

Hadaway, Robin Dale. A Survey of World Missions. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2020. 338p. (A competent scholarly study of the mission outreach formats and strategies of Christian faith worldwide. Hadaway presents a competent historical survey with important cultural and strategy analysis in every age of the Christian era. The book is quite readable, but is suitable as a textbook in college or seminary courses of study. While providing incisive analysis of the various strategies and patterns of outreach, Hadaway keeps us focused on the practical level, with many stories of current and past engagement, experiences, testimonials, cultural details and the full range of theological considerations. He references his own extensive experience in unreached cultures and his work as a mission team supervisor, trainer and mentor in various parts of the world. His work demonstrates a mastery of a full range of historians, missiologists, anthropologists, linguists and other specialists in various ages of the Christian era and the volume entails a good view of recent and current approaches in academic and practical theories and strategies of Christian outreach. Hadaway proves himself competent in the dynamics of cross-cultural communication and widely-varying worldviews around the world.) Received as a gift from the author 4 May 2020. Read 7-11 May 2020. Theology (Missiology)

Haley, J Evetts. Focus on the Frontier. Amarillo, Texas: Shamrock Oil & Gas Corporation, 1957. Received June 2019 in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Read 14 December 2020. History

Hanning, Robert and Joan Ferrante, trans & notes. The Lais of Marie de France. Grand Rapids: Labyrinth (BakerAcademic), 1995. 238p. Bought 17 December 2016 in Arlington, Texas. Read 27 October - 3 November 2020. History (Literature, Medieval Period)

Hardy, Darren. The Compound Effect. Philadelphia: Success Books (Perseus), 2010. 172p. Borrowed 27 July 2020. Read 28 July - 2 August 2020. Business

Heintz, Joss. In the Perimeter of Bastogne. (no publication information), 1987. 223p. (This is the story of the huge Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, which turned the tide of World War II and stopped the German advance on the western front. This was the last great thrust of the National Socialist government of Adolph Hitler, throwing 500,000 troop, 100 tanks and 800 planes into the Ardennes area of Belgium, with Bastogne the goal. Primarily one division of US Air Command with some allies and local Belgian partisans held the thrust of the German army to prevent their entry into Bastogne, the center of Allied operations and communication. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945. Most of the villages surrounding the strategic city of Bastogne were destroyed and hundreds of civilians were killed in the fighting or murdered by the elite German SS troops when they would take a town. Towns were taken in turn by the Americans and the Germans over and over in the height of the long battle.) Bought 6 April 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Read 21-24 May 2020. History (USA)

Hiebert, Paul G. Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994. 272p. Bought 3 November 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 4-6 November 2020. Philosophy (Epistemology)

Hipp, Leslie. Will There Be a Millennium As Being Taught Today: Answered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Perryville, Arkansas: Elder Leslie Hipp, 1966. 65p. Received as a gift from the author in 1966 in Perryville, Arkansas. Read at that time and referenced later. Reread 25 October 2020. Theology (Eschatology)

Holt, Victoria. My Enemy the Queen. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest, 1978. 164p Received November 2019 in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Read 18-27 December 2020. Historical Fiction (Medieval Romance)

Köstenberger, Andrew, Ed. Quo Vadis Evangelicalism. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2007. 233p. (Köstenberger presents presidential addresses of Presidents of the Evangelical Society of America, which outline the original concerns and focuses and development over the decades since the society’s early years. He divides the focuses into three eras, 1958-1970, 1971-1999 and 2000-2007. Each of these addresses was also published in theological journals shortly after they were delivered. In an introduction to the series, the editor provides a historical perspective on the founding of the society and overviews personalities involved in the society and its Presidents who are featured here. I learned a lot about names I did not know or that were only vaguely familiar to me. The goals and purposes of the Evangelical Movement and this society became clearer and I learned helpful factors about the dynamics and place of this Evangelical Society in the old Modernist-Fundamentalist controversy.) Bought 9 October 2020 from Christianbook. Read 19-23 November 2020. Theology (Evangelical Movement)

Laing, Stefana Dan. Retrieving History: Memory and Identity Formation in the Early Church. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic 2017. 216p. Bought 9 October 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 14-16 October 2020. History (Church History, Christian Identity in Cultures)

Laurie, Greg and Ellen Vaughn. Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an unlikely Generation and How He Can Do it Again Today. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2018. 266p. (This is a history of the Hippie Movement in California and the accompanying Jesus Movement and the alternative Christian movements and churches that arose in the 1960s and 1970s. Laurie writes in the third person, assisted by professional writer and journalist Ellen Vaughn. But this is his story and an insider history of the movement from Laurie, who dropped out but was dissatisfied and came to Christ in this Jesus Movement. Laurie was one of those who were associated with a local church, rather than a commune or small group identity. Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa became a center of welcome and discipleship for hippies who became Christian. The national association of Calvary Chapels developed out of this local congregation led by Chuck Smith and his wife. Laurie himself started a similar congregation called Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California. I learned many names I never knew who were associated with the Jesus Movement and these two pivotal churches. I also learned of others I did know but had no idea they had come out of this movement. Very well-written. It was satisfying to have this detailed but flowing story of that period again and gain some new perspectives on that era of my life.) Bought 11 June 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 5-14 December 2020. Church and Culture (History, American Politics & Culture)

McManus, Erwin Raphael. The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life. Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press 2017. 210p. Bought 12 August 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 10-13 October 2020. Faith and Life

McLaren, Brian D. Why Did Jesus, Moses, he Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World. NY: Jericho Books (Hachette, 2012. 276p. Read 21-24 October 2020. Faith and Life (Bible, Theology of Religions)

Van de Walle, Bernie A. Rethinking Holiness: A Theological Introduction. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2017. 176p. Bought 9 October 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 26 October 2020. Theology (Faith & Life, Moral Philosophy)

Hipp, Leslie. Will There Be a Millennium As Being Taught Today: Answered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Perryville, Arkansas: Elder Leslie Hipp, 1966. 65p. Received as a gift from the author in 1966 in Perryville, Arkansas. Read at that time and referenced later. Reread 25 October 2020. Theology (Eschatology)

Innes, Hammond. North Star. NY: Detective Book Club, by Walter J Black (Random House, 1970. 212p. Read 1-18 April 2020. Fiction (Murder Mystery)

Krusen, Cristobal. They Were Christians: The Inspiring Faith of Men and Women Who Changed the World. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2016. 214p. Bought 20 March 2018 in Cedar Hill, Texas. Read 5-7 January 2020. Biography

Kuykendall, Alexandra. Loving My Actual Christmas: An Experiment in Relishing the Season. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2017. 137p. Bought 9 March 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 27-29 March 2020. Faith and Life

Lainati, Chiara Augusta. Saint Clare of Assisi. Santa Maria degli Angeli, Italy: Edizioni Porziuncola, 1994. 112p. Bought 17 September 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 8-10 October 2020. Faith and Life (Spiritual Disciplines)

Laing, Stefana Dan. Retrieving History: Memory and Identity Formation in the Early Church. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic 2017. 216p. Bought 9 October 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 14-16 October 2020. History (Church History, Christian Identity in Cultures)

L'Amour, Louis. Sackett. Toronto/NY: Bantam Books, 1989. 131p. Received in Lindsay, Oklahoma in August 2019. Read 29 February - 4 March 2020. Fiction (Western)

Lamoureux, Denis O. Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes! Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016. 186p. (A Christian professor presents a testimonial biography of his experience of learning the truth about evolution. He explains the process of how he discovered the the extensive scientific information and evidence about it. The author is a PhD in Theology and a PhD in Biology and is a professor of Science and Religion at the University of Alberta. He details the thrilling discovery of the Bible’s worldview when he read it with a view to seeing what it actually said when his reading was not preconditioned by the expectations of modern empirical science. He explains how the biblical testimony and the modern scientific worldview with all its empirical findings about our fascinating world jointly testify to the concept of evolution and God’s loving involvement with his creation.) Read 8-11 February 2020. Church & Culture

Leston, Stephen. The Bible in World History: Putting Scripture into a Global Context. Urichsville, Ohio: Barbour Books, 2011. 274p. Bought July 2020 from Christianbook. Read 8-13 July 2020. Bible Backgrounds

Luceno, James. Catalyst (Rogue One). Prince Frederick, Maryland: Recorded Books, 2016. Audiobook. Borrowed 28 August 2020. Heard 4 September - 7 October 2020. Sci Fi/Fantasy

Mardus, Elaine. Man With a Microscope: Elie Metchnikoff. NY: Julian Messner, 1968. 223p. (This is a biography of the Russian scientist who became known as the Father of Epidemiology. Gaining his PhD in Science, Elie Metchnikoff had been interested in the microscopic living things in the world around us since childhood. He attended university classes on his own while still in high school then excelled in science subjects. Growing up in Tsarist Russia with ongoing upheavals that led him to Germany, Italy and France to study and work. Elie lived through the Great War, known now as World War I, making discoveries that revolutionized health care and medicine worldwide, finally becoming a fellow of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, working personally with Louis Pasteur and other world-level researchers and healers. This was a well-written story with excitement and energy. Filled with history and medical information, it read like a suspense novel. A wonderful find in a used book store, a cull from a school library originally, published in 1968.) Bought 6 January 2019 in a used book store in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas. Read 16-17 May 2020. Biography (Science, Medicine)

Markos, Louis. Atheism on Trial: Refuting the Modern Arguments Against God. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2018. 286p. (Markos goes through the history of thought (primarily western thought, but draws on eastern sources as well) to present an apologetic for the existence of an ultimate divinity/creator. He is highly conversant with the traditional philosophical and theological sources as well as the current scientific and naturalistic concepts of our era. Using a Socratic dialogical format here, his discussion is entertaining and well as intellectually challenging. His logic is solid in most places. I felt some of his arguments were weak. One general weakness I perceived is that he “converts” the ancient Greek concepts of “god” from the philosophers Plato and Aristotle into a more Hebraic dynamic personality than it seems to me these ancient thinkers had in mind. He garners them and other ancient Mediterranean philosophers as allies in his theistic concepts. He surely is aware of the different concept the term theos had for these Greeks than it represented in the Septuagint, the ancient Hebrew translation of their scriptures into Greek in he pre-Christian era. But if so, he held back from a full conceptual description, or full disclosure of their concepts of theos, but referred to “God” indiscriminately when reference them as witnesses for his theistic perspective. But he takes the Platonic and Aristotelian opposition to the ancient page mythical gods as equivalent to a theistic defense of a Creator God. Even though they rejected the plurality of divinity, neither Plato nor his student Aristotle proposed a living personal God like the biblical concept. “Theos” was a reference term for a realm or principle. In Aristotle, what he called theos was even less substantial than Plato. They two great thinkers were, in terms of their own society, the atheists, rejecting the gods. Socrates, the teacher of Plato, was even put to death as an atheist, because he taught that the gods of the ancient myths were not real divinities. But in general, Markos’ arguments make sense. As I noted earlier though, his logic seems weaker in some area than others.) Read 18-22 September 2020. Philosophy

McKinley, Rick. Faith for This Moment: Navigating a Polarized World as the People of God. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2018. 182p. Read 1-3 May 2020. Church & Culture (Theology)

McKinley, Rick, Chris Seay and Greg Holder. Advent Conspiracy: Making Christmas Meaningful (Again). Nashville: Zondervan, 2018. 168p. Bought 9 March 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 12-15 March 2020. Faith and Life

McManus, Erwin Raphael. The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life. Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press 2017. 210p. Bought 12 August 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 10-13 October 2020. Faith and Life

McLaren, Brian D. Why Did Jesus, Moses, he Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World. NY: Jericho Books (Hachette, 2012. 276p. Read 21-24 October 2020. Faith and Life (Bible, Theology of Religions)

Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Gene: An Intimate History. NY: Scribners, 2016. 594p. Bought 12 January 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Read 18-30 January 2020. Science

Okholm, Dennis. Dangerous Passions, Deadly Sins: Learning from the Psychology of the Ancient Monks. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press (Baker), 2014. 230p. Bought July 2020 from Christianbook. Read 15-18 September 2020. Faith and Life (Spiritual Disciplines)

Parnell, Jonathan. Never Settle for Normal: The Proven Path to Significance and Happiness. NY: Multnomah (Penguin), 2017. 151p. Bought 11 June 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 15 June 2020. Faith and Life

Pelikan, Jaroslav. Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures Through the Ages. NY: Viking (Penguin), 2005. 274p. Bought 24 June 2019 in Arlington, Texas. Read 11-15 January 2020. Bible (History, Religions)

Pentecost, Hugh. Time of Terror. NY: Detective Book Club, by Walter J Black (Random House, 1970. 124pp. Read 18-21 April 2020. Fiction (Int’l Intrigue)

Proud, J Keith. Great Northern Saints: The Story of the Early Church in Northumbria. Middleton-in-Teesdale, UK: Discovery Guides, Ltd, 1983. (An excellent history of the outreach of the Celtic then the Saxon Church to the pagan peoples around it in the region of Northumbria over the centuries. Great personal profiles and historical narrative, very readable.) Bought 28 July 1898 in Bellingham, England. A portion read before. Read 20-24 July 2020. History

Raybon, Patricia and Alana. Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace. Nashville: W Publishing (Thomas Nelson), 2015. 242p. Bought 9 August 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 7-18 August 2020. Religions

Reich, David. Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past. NY: Vintage Books (Penguin), 2018. 335p. Bought 31 July 2020 fromAmazon. Read 19-27 August 2020. Science (DNA: Genetics, Genomics)

Relient K. The Complex Infrastructure Known as the Female Mind: According to Relient K. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004. Bought 9 March 2020. Read 6-7 August 2020. American Politics and Culture (Social Roles)

Rothman, Stephen. The Paradox of Evolution: The Strange Relationship Between Natural Selection and Reproduction. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2015. 248p. Bought 6 January 2019 in Mansfield, Texas. Read 23-27 February 2020. Science (Philosophy of Science)

Shirley, Craig. Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan. Nashville: Nelson Books, 2015. 408p. (An analysis of the post-presidential years and changing perception of Ronald Reagan in that period.) Bought 8 June 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Read 16-25 March 2020. Biography (History)

Stanley, Andy. Making Vision Stick. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. 74p. Read 25 January 2020. Personal Development

Stone, Bryan. Evangelism after Pluralism: The Ethics of Christian Witness. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2018. 151p. Bought 11 June 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 16-18 June 2020. Church and Culture

Tabor, James D. Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity. NY/London: Simon & Schuster, 2012. 291p. (Tabor is a Bible historian and has been a university professor for 30 years at the time of writing this book. At that time he was the chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has written previous books on the life and teachings of Jesus. He has spent his life studying the New Testament texts and the early years of the Christian faith. In this title he explores the interpretation of the role and significance of Jesus Christ in the Jewish community that accepted him as Messiah and in the Gentile and Diaspora communities that were developed by Paul the Apostle. He attempts to reconstruct Paul’s life event timeline and teachings with Paul’s primary letters a the reference point, and looks for clues in the other New Testament writings like Acts and the later letters and Gospels. He takes a historical analytical approach, to any a foundation of the general worldview concepts of the Hebrews and the Jews at the time of Christ, then a similar summary of the pagan Greco-Roman worldview and society in the Roman Empire. He portrays the conflicts between the Hellenistic Jews and Palestinian Jews, and between the three different categories of people who followed Jesus the Christ: the Jews, the God-fearer Gentiles that arose in Antioch and were the subject of a vision of Peter, and the new pagan converts to Christ in Paul's concerted missions as a result of his personal visions. His historical sequencing helps clarify the often murky concept among modern Christians from the hit and miss approach out of historical context and sequence, and in regard to the centuries of development in a basically Pauline format of Roman legal penal concepts of justice and guilt, compared with the Hebrew concept of relationship-based societal justice in the Covenant context. This was a pleasant and satisfying read and enlightening, even exciting review of the scenario of the early dynamics among the followers of Jesus from the various ethnic communities and cultures of his era.) Bought 1 March 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 18-23 April 2020. Bible (Peoples and Cultures/Religions)

Luceno, James. Catsalyst (Rogue One). Prince Frederick, Maryland: Recorded Books, 2016. Audiobook. Borrowed 28 August 2020. Heard 4- September 2020. Fiction

Mayer, Catherine. Born to Be King: Prince Charles on Planet Windsor. NY: Henry Holt & C, 2015. 258p. Bought 7 September 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Read 18 June - 8 December 2020. Biography

Mouw, Richard J. Adventures in Evangelical Civility: A Lifelong Quest for Common Ground. Grand Rapids: BrazosPress, 2016. 241p. (A theological autobiography. Mouw tells his story in terms of the educational events and theological questions over the period of his career. He recounts the topics he studied, professors he studied under and colleagues he learned from and with, theological questions being dealt with in the developing evangelical movement that started in 1948, and his congenial attempts to foster ecumenical cooperation, fellowship and discussion of differences among theological and academic movements with American and international Christianity.) Bought 8 June 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Read 16-25 March 2020. Autobiography (History)

Niequist, Aaron. The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning. NY: Waterbrook (Penguin Random House), 2018. 199p. Bought 12 August 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 5-7 September 2020. Faith and Life

Tapscott, Ken. The Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address and the Constitution of the United States of America. Dallas: Judge Ken Tapscott Campaign, 2008. Received as a gift 2009. Read 4 December 2020. American Politics & Culture (Political Science)

Tetlow, Joseph A. Always Discerning: An Ignatian Spirituality for the New Millennium. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2016. 247p. Bought 1 March 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 7-9 September 2020. Faith and Life (Spiritual Disciplines: Discernment)

Van de Walle, Bernie A. Rethinking Holiness: A Theological Introduction. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2017. 176p. Bought 9 October 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 26 October 2020. Theology (Faith & Life, Moral Philosophy)

Vidu, Adonis. Atonement, Law, and Justice: The Cross in Historical and Cultural Contexts. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2014. 286p. Bought 28 October 2018 from Christianbook.com. Read 5-15 June 2020. Philosophy (Theology)

Wallace, RaNelle and Curtis Taylor. The Burning Within. Carson City, Nevada: Gold Leaf Press, 1994. 342p. Received June 2019 in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Read 16-18 December 2020. Biography (Inspiration)

Warren, Elizabeth. This Fight is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class. NY: Macmillan Audio, 2017. Audiobook. Borrowed March 2020. Heard 19-23 May 2020. American Politics & Culture (Political Science)

Wex, Michael. Just say nu: Yiddish for Every Occasion. NY: St Martin’s Press, 2007. 304p. Bought 13 November 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Read 11-19 February 2020. Linguistics

Whyte, Donald. Scottish Surnames and Families. NY: Barnes and Noble, 1996. 312p. Bought 17 January 2002 in Richmond, Virginia. Portions read previously. Read fully again 13-15 May 2020. Peoples and Cultures

Wilkinson, Bruce. Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance. NY: Multnomah (Penguin), 2001. 126p. Bought 11 June 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 15-16 June 2020. Faith and Life

Wills, Garry. The Rosary: Prayer Comes Around. NY: Viking, 2005. 189p. Read 15 December 2020. Theology (Prayer, Mysticism)

Wilson, Andrew. Spirit and Sacrament: An Invitation to Eucharismatic Worship. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018. 140p. (A practical and theological review of the full approach to Christian worship including eucharistic and liturgical practices centered on the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist) and baptism and the expression of charismatic gifts and celebration in the church. A good theology of worship and theology of spiritual gifts. Wilson is a British Reformed charismatic pastor. He deftly presents a strong historical perspective over the 20 centuries of Christian history for the presence and continuation of spiritual gifts and the centrality of celebration and joy in Christian worship. He provides an excellent hermeneutical study of the role and character of spiritual gifts (the charismata). He begins the study with a perspective on the concepts entailed in the related words in Greek from the same root, which we know in English as grace, also used for the concept of gift, thanksgiving and joy, all culminating in celebration.) Bought 21 December 2019 in Arlington, Texas. Read 27-29 February 2020. Theology (Charismata)

Wright, J Leitch Jr. Creeks and Seminoles: The Destruction and Regeneration of the Muscogulge People. Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press, 1986. 383p. (This professor reconstructs the cultural and ethnic story of all the southeastern US Native Peoples associated with what came to be known as the Creek Nation. He paints the landscape of the complex ethnic interactions of many different peoples speaking various languages and how they related to the Muskogee people proper. The story develops the historical portrait of how under pressure form the various European powers, these people were pressed into a colonial model of political identity and social structure generally referred to by the two regional names Seminole (from the Spanish word cimaron, cimmaron) and Creek, which developed from the European perception of the Southeastern area of these Native peoples crisscrossed with so many waterways, vital to their traditional life. This is an excellent, detailed and readable story of the complex ins and outs of the US government trying to place people in easy categories and impose terms and titles upon them to make it easy to manage them. Especially in the Jacksonian era of military pressure and land expropriation in the southeast, the US wanted to label all peoples with a variety of language and culture backgrounds by their two European names, either Creeks or Seminoles. He provides extensive details through the personal stories of the individuals and families involved, including the various stages of the Removal Trek from 1832 to the 1850s. The author lays out in good detail also the interaction of the various European powers in the southeastern states territories of what became the United States, French Spain, Britain, and their interaction with Cuba, the Bahamas and other Caribbean territories with which the southeastern peoples had contacts and relatives.) Bought 29 September 2020 in Dallas, Texas. 27 August - 4 September 2020. Peoples and Cultures (History)

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