In anticipation of the coming church retreat, we have decided to read D.A. Carson's most recent release - Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. In this book, Dr. Carson examines five passages of scripture to help us undersand why God would save us by sending His son to die on a cross.
The book is about 170 pages long and is available for purchase at the book table before or after services. Whether or not you're planning to hear Dr. Carson speak next month, please join us for the reading of Scandalous!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
February Reading
This month's discussion will be on the novel Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. Flannery O'Connor is best known for her short stories, but she also wrote two novels, of which this is the first. It was published in 1952.
Wise Blood is on the short side (about 120 pages), so we hope you will find time to read it before our discussion! The discussion will be held on February 26 at 7:30 pm.
Wise Blood is on the short side (about 120 pages), so we hope you will find time to read it before our discussion! The discussion will be held on February 26 at 7:30 pm.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Spring 2009 - C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy
For February, March, and April 2009 we will be reading C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy beginning with "Out of the Silent Planet" followed by "Perelandra" and "That Hideous Strength".
In OSP, take a look at these elements:
* How does Lewis handle the comparison of the moral natures of the races, both terrestrial and alien? Make a list of the traits of each and see if they fall into patterns. Do you see any relationships between the alien natures? How do the humans look?
* How does Lewis' science fiction compare with the various eras of sci-fi? Does he compare well to Jules Verne? H.G. Wells? Isaac Asimov? Arthur C. Clarke? Robert Heinlein? Are you distracted by some of his scientfic "errors" or were you impressed by his insights for the his era of history?
* How does Lewis compare with the Roddenberry and George Lucas worlds?
* Go over some of Ransom's initial reactions to the aliens of Malacandra and compare them to his latter views of the aliens. Can we learn anything about human sociology from this? try to think of an example of when you were wrong about a person from an initial impression.
* What is Lewis' view of the spiritual vs. physical realms? How do they interact?
* What/who was the most interesting alien character? Why?
* Do you think a 21st century remake could be possible without doing irreparable harm to the storyline, given some of the advances in science?
------ Perelandra ------- Vol. 2
Looking back at Ransom’s time on Malacandra in the previous novel, how do you now see his role unfolding? Was he a part of history unfolding? How about Weston?
Compare Perelandra to Malacandra and Thulcandra. How do these worlds compare? What about their relative ages? How do these worlds compare to what we know about Mars, and Venus and our own Earth?
What are your impressions of the Green Lady? How well does Lewis capture the pre-fallen or unfallen state of grace & nature?
The Green Lady refers to the gaining of knowledge as growing older. Does she fear this? How does the pace of growth affect her view?
What is her relationship with Maledil? How does she accept His will? Describe this.
How does Ransom change over his time on Perelandra?
Looking at the big picture of the siege of Thulcandra and how it has affected or not affected the other worlds we have seen so far, how can you see from Scripture the natural and supernatural battles unfolding?
Is Lewis too enamored with nature? Is he really looking at creation correctly? How well does he capture the unbroken line between the natural and the supernatural on Perelandra as it contrasts with the broken line on Thulcandra?
Go back to the battle with Weston. Compare and contrast with other fights or battles in other novels or in the movies/television.
Is there a relationship between royalty and holiness?
Why did Lewis focus so much on the Green Lady in most of the book? When the King arrives, her role is altered (as a character) a bit. Do you agree? Is she diminished? What does their relationship look like?
In OSP, take a look at these elements:
* How does Lewis handle the comparison of the moral natures of the races, both terrestrial and alien? Make a list of the traits of each and see if they fall into patterns. Do you see any relationships between the alien natures? How do the humans look?
* How does Lewis' science fiction compare with the various eras of sci-fi? Does he compare well to Jules Verne? H.G. Wells? Isaac Asimov? Arthur C. Clarke? Robert Heinlein? Are you distracted by some of his scientfic "errors" or were you impressed by his insights for the his era of history?
* How does Lewis compare with the Roddenberry and George Lucas worlds?
* Go over some of Ransom's initial reactions to the aliens of Malacandra and compare them to his latter views of the aliens. Can we learn anything about human sociology from this? try to think of an example of when you were wrong about a person from an initial impression.
* What is Lewis' view of the spiritual vs. physical realms? How do they interact?
* What/who was the most interesting alien character? Why?
* Do you think a 21st century remake could be possible without doing irreparable harm to the storyline, given some of the advances in science?
------ Perelandra ------- Vol. 2
Looking back at Ransom’s time on Malacandra in the previous novel, how do you now see his role unfolding? Was he a part of history unfolding? How about Weston?
Compare Perelandra to Malacandra and Thulcandra. How do these worlds compare? What about their relative ages? How do these worlds compare to what we know about Mars, and Venus and our own Earth?
What are your impressions of the Green Lady? How well does Lewis capture the pre-fallen or unfallen state of grace & nature?
The Green Lady refers to the gaining of knowledge as growing older. Does she fear this? How does the pace of growth affect her view?
What is her relationship with Maledil? How does she accept His will? Describe this.
How does Ransom change over his time on Perelandra?
Looking at the big picture of the siege of Thulcandra and how it has affected or not affected the other worlds we have seen so far, how can you see from Scripture the natural and supernatural battles unfolding?
Is Lewis too enamored with nature? Is he really looking at creation correctly? How well does he capture the unbroken line between the natural and the supernatural on Perelandra as it contrasts with the broken line on Thulcandra?
Go back to the battle with Weston. Compare and contrast with other fights or battles in other novels or in the movies/television.
Is there a relationship between royalty and holiness?
Why did Lewis focus so much on the Green Lady in most of the book? When the King arrives, her role is altered (as a character) a bit. Do you agree? Is she diminished? What does their relationship look like?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
January 2009 non-fiction title - Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian, finished this work in 2005. With our new president being a great fan of Abraham Lincoln, I thought that we could learn a lot from this look back at an aspect of his administration that was not as well known by most students of history. It is as much a study of personalities and of the interaction of individuals as it is of the concept of leadership itself. Choose one chapter on part I, and then proceed to part II, since this is such a long book for a book club. Upon request, we can re-visit this in the summer.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Citylife Bookclub December 2008 - "Bring Your Own Fiction"
For December 2008 we will be reading on our own. Choose a work of fiction, something with a redemptive theme, and read that for this month. If you want to share your choice or comment on one, go right ahead. {January 2009 will be a non-fiction month}
Thursday, November 13, 2008
"The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller
In reading “The Prodigal God” by Dr. Timothy Keller, I was repeatedly struck with the notion of how important this work is for the life of the church right now. The passage in Luke 15 that it is based on has been misunderstood and misapplied by preachers and readers in the West for several centuries. While there is a great deal of comfort available to us from the notion that the outwardly reckless younger brother, often known as the Prodigal son, there is much, much to be learned from the other two main characters in the parable.
It is the father that lavishes an extravagant love and a forgiveness upon BOTH brothers, who BOTH need his love. It is the elder brother who also needs to repent of his own set of sins which are just as heinous. The elder brother is just as lost as the younger, though in a very different way. The sins of the elder brother are harder to see and in some ways are not all that different from the younger brother’s sins. Both suffer from a deep selfishness, and both show great disrespect to their father. In terms of “outward sins” the younger brother comes across as more fallen, but both come across as needing the father’s love and forgiveness.
The lesson we learn from the father’s love for the elder brother, as well as the direct implication of Christ’s love for His church as the TRUE elder brother, the one we all need, is a large part of the message of this work.
We need to learn to repent of our righteousness as well as our sinfulness, and in opening up this parable to the reader and sharing a lifetime of work and insight, Dr. Keller has given us all an excellent tool to use in our own lives and one that we can give to others, without reservation.
Dr. Keller uses culturally relevant illustrations, and information gleaned from scholars such as Clowney, Luther, Edwards, Lewis, and Lovelace to bolster his work. This is book that all of us can benefit from no matter where we are in our walk with the Lord. This may become a classic work along the lines of “Mere Christianity”, “Knowing God”, and “The Practice of the Presence of God”. [from my review on Amazon.com]
It is the father that lavishes an extravagant love and a forgiveness upon BOTH brothers, who BOTH need his love. It is the elder brother who also needs to repent of his own set of sins which are just as heinous. The elder brother is just as lost as the younger, though in a very different way. The sins of the elder brother are harder to see and in some ways are not all that different from the younger brother’s sins. Both suffer from a deep selfishness, and both show great disrespect to their father. In terms of “outward sins” the younger brother comes across as more fallen, but both come across as needing the father’s love and forgiveness.
The lesson we learn from the father’s love for the elder brother, as well as the direct implication of Christ’s love for His church as the TRUE elder brother, the one we all need, is a large part of the message of this work.
We need to learn to repent of our righteousness as well as our sinfulness, and in opening up this parable to the reader and sharing a lifetime of work and insight, Dr. Keller has given us all an excellent tool to use in our own lives and one that we can give to others, without reservation.
Dr. Keller uses culturally relevant illustrations, and information gleaned from scholars such as Clowney, Luther, Edwards, Lewis, and Lovelace to bolster his work. This is book that all of us can benefit from no matter where we are in our walk with the Lord. This may become a classic work along the lines of “Mere Christianity”, “Knowing God”, and “The Practice of the Presence of God”. [from my review on Amazon.com]
Monday, September 29, 2008
October 2008 Title - non-fiction
October 2008: "The Dust of Death: A Critique of the Establishment and the Counter Culture and the Proposal for a Third Way" by Os Guinness
The decade of the sixties brought about the biggest cultural/historical change since the era of the American industrial revolution in the 19th century. As a nation, our values and foci changed as never before or since. Some change was very bad, as with the Sexual revolution, and some was very good, as with the end of American political blindness to racism and racist laws on the books.So, how did the generational shift(s) take place from the Pre-1960's Eisenhower generation to the Vietnam War era into the post-Nixon years? To understand the transitional decade of the sixties, this is a key work. It's not as well-known, or as "seminal" yet Os Guinness has a gift (from his L'Abri years and his missions work for understanding cultural and philosophical thought patterns and how they flow through history. Some of you won't be able to put this one down. Some of you will wade through this one like a Nor'Easter. We have hit a second month in a row with a non-fiction work, so we'll probably have 1-2 fiction works to close out 2008.
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