1. What is the name & URL of your blog? Why’d you choose that?

The name of my website is Christian Book Notes. It can be found at ChristianBookNotes.com. That name was decided upon because Discerning Reader was already taken. Seriously, though, I realized from the outset of this particular website that I would not be able to keep up with a discernment style review and, quite honestly, did not want to make a name for myself by being super critical of everyone else. I decided shorter reviews with a qualified reason as to why someone should by the book being reviewed would much more feasible in the long run.

2. How’d you get into blogging?

I started two blogs back in 2007 both of which are no longer available. The first one was more theologically minded and was called Deep Thoughts from a Shallow Mind. The second one was started as an evangelistic tool with unbelieving family and friends in mind and was called The Diary of a Seminary Student. I wound up writing on that blog for about two years before I shut it down. The first year or so has since been published in a book by Theocentric Publishing in 2011. And no, I have not finished seminary.

3. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Now that I am about to be 34, I am not sure how to answer this. I am currently not doing anything I thought I would be doing at this time. If I have to answer, however, I would have to say that I want to be content in all things.

4. Do you have a family?

Yes, I have been married to my wonderful bride, Krista, since 27 April 2002. We have been blessed with five wonderful children: Austin (2004), Isaac (2006), Nathanael (2008), Sarah (2009), and Carolyn (2010). Due to some major complications my wife had with pregnancies three and four, we are no longer able (we think!) to have biological children and are praying about adoption though that door does not appear to be open at this time, either.

5. Is Bibilical & Theological studies a hobby or a career aspiration?

It started as a hobby because I did not know anything when I came to Christ. While I do not like the phrase “career aspiration” it is what I want to do the rest of my life in some capacity. I am an ordained pastor of the gospel in the Southern Baptist Convention and am currently looking at planting a church in the inner city of Alorton, IL (think E. St. Louis).

6. Who’s your favorite author? Recommended books?

My favorite author is really not an author. He never wrote a book though he has dozens in print. Martyn Lloyd-Jones has had arguably the most influence on my life and ministry. As for recommended books, I would offer in no particular order:

• Preaching and Preachers by Lloyd-Jones
• Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney, and no, he is not into mystical or speculative spirituality!!!!!
• Respectable Sins and The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges
• Knowing God and The Quest for Godliness by J.I. Packer
• Heaven by Randy Alcorn
• George Muller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer
• The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes

(OK, I could literally list another three dozen at this point)

7. What’s your favorite theological subject / topic?

While I enjoy studying theology (both systematic and biblical), I have found that I tend to drift toward more practical theology. I would say at this point, studying the piety of Reformers and the Puritans have been a great aid to my own understanding of what it means to walk in holiness.

8. What’s your favorite Bible translation?

My favorite Bible translation is the English Standard Version simply because it came out around the time I was saved and was the first Bible I legitimately read from cover to cover. When I study, I tend to use multiple translations.

9. What’s in your CD and/or MP3 player right now?

In my car, I have The Listener’s Bible (NIV) by Max McLean. On my mp3 I have whatever current audiobook I am listening to in order to review it for AudioFile Magazine or a Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon.

10. Where did you go to school? (undergraduate, graduate, etc.)

Undergraduate: SIUE, SWIC, SIUE, MoBap. Explanation: I started at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville and quit to join the Army. Because I never officially dropped, I flunked out. When I finished my contract with the Army, I attended Southwestern Illinois College, a local junior college in order to be able to get back into SIUE. While at SWIC, I was saved, and since I had all of this college money from the Army, I decided to study philosophy when I returned to SIUE. Once I returned there, I came down with a mysterious illness which was later diagnosed as Crohn’s Disease. I ended up flunking out for a second time. I landed at Missouri Baptist University where I finally graduated, at the age of 29, with a Bachelor of Science in Religion.

Graduate: I have studied at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where my goal, though not my priority, is to finish before I die.

11. What is something interesting that most of your readers don’t know about you?

I work at a funeral home where I do everything but embalm.

12. What are some research / writing projects you’re interested in pursuing?

I have had one book published already (see above) and have done some editing work and helps for Randy Alcorn’s latest edition of his booklet entitled Sexual Temptation and Trevin Wax’s first book, Holy Subversion.

I am currently co-writing a book on Scripture Memorization (title yet to be determined) that will be published by BorderStone Press. I was also asked to write a series of books but at this time, I am keeping that idea close to myself until such time that I begin writing it.

A couple other thoughts include death and the urgency of the gospel and the seriousness of sexual immorality.

1.  What is the name & URL of your blog?  Why’d you choose that?

My blog name is Theology for the Road (url – www.craighurst.wordpress.com). I chose the name out of the belief that all theology matters to all of life and that everyone is a theologian (whether a good or bad one). My desire was to show how theology relates to all of life and thus make people less scared of it and desire to study it more on their own.

Over time though, my focus has become more on books and less on original content. So now, I primarily write book reviews and point people to new books or resources the encourage them to read them and grow in their knowledge and understanding of theology. In light of this I am considering changing the name of the blog to Books for the Road or something similar.

2.  How’d you get into blogging?

I started blogging as a way to make myself write. My end desire is to write at least one book someday and I figured that I needed to be writing regularly in order to make that process easier when the time comes. Then I realized that I could use my blog to get review copies of books from publishers and join blog tours so doing that has kind of taken over what I do on my blog.

3.  What do you want to be when you grow up?

From the time I was in high school I wanted to go into ministry full-time. Over the years what I have desired to do in ministry has changed but my desire for it is still as strong as ever. In a perfect world I would like to be teaching and preaching in my church, reading books and writing either articles or books. I would be satisfied doing this part or full-time.

4.  Do you have a family?

I am married to a wonderful and beautiful wife of almost nine years and God has blesses us with three great kids. My wife and I have a desire for adoption and we are in the process of adopting in the states. Katie homeschools the kids and both us have instilled in our kids a love for God, His Word and of course reading!

5.  Is Bibilical & Theological studies a hobby or a career aspiration?

For now it is both.

6.  Who’s your favorite author?  Recommended books?

My favorite authors would include D.A. Carson, Mark Dever, John Calvin, G.K. Beale, Francis Schaeffer,  Alvin Plantinga, Michael Goheen and John Frame. Some of the most formative books I have read that I would recommend are:

1. The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian Worldview
2. Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for  a Reformational Worldview
3. The Glory of in Salvation Through Judgment
4. Institutes of the Christian Religion
5. Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old Fashioned Way
6. A Light to the Nations
7. The Trellis & the Vine

7.  What’s your favorite theological subject / topic?

For the longest time I favored systematic theology until I began to read some on biblical theology, especially books dealing with the format of creation, fall, redemption and consummation. It was this interpretive grid that really turned the light on in my mind about how to better understand Scripture as a whole. I have always been a fan of apologetics and some philosophy as well so I keep up with that also.

At the same time, I try to read a broad spectrum of theology books. I am a jack of all trades and master of   none when it comes to reading and theological concentration in my reading. I try to gain a better grasp of a lot of things as opposed to studying more narrowly.

8.  What’s your favorite Bible translation?

I grew up on the KJV (though my parents used the NIV and NASB). Once I started taking Greek I dropped my KJV for the NASB. Now I use both the NASB and the ESV. I have grown attached to my NASB because I have a lot of notes in it and it is worn from use. I use my ESV Study Bible for study and devotions because I like both the translation and the wealth of notes.

9.  What’s in your CD and/or MP3 player right now?

I grew up in a home where we rarely listened to music so I am late comer when it comes to music. I like a range of Christian artists from Steve Green to Jeremy Camp and Third Day.

10. Where did you go to school?  (undergraduate, graduate, etc.)

I graduated college with a B.A. in Church Ministry from Clearwater Christian College in Clearwater, FL. I will be finishing my M.A. in Theological Studies from Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary in Lansdale, PA. I hope to one day either finish an M.Div. or do a D.Min.

11. What is something interesting that most of your readers don’t know about you?

I can sleep for six hours or less per night and don’t need coffee in the morning to wake me up. I have an unusually high metabolism so I can’t gain weight no matter how much or unhealthy I eat. As much as I love to read (which requires you to sit and usually be inside) I love to do hard manual labor.

12. What are some research / writing projects you’re interested in pursuing?

If I ever get to doing it, there are three books I would love to write someday.

First, I would like to write a gospel centered book on breaking co-dependency in relationships. One of the effects of growing up in an addictive and abusive family was the co-dependency it produced in my life on others. There are a few good books out there on co-dependency but they are either written by non-Christians (though still helpful) or the Christian ones are written by counselors. I want to write one as a Christian who was/is co-dependent.

Second, within the field of apologetics I have always been fascinated by the nature of faith and the different definitions Christians have of it. I want to write a book that deals with the nature of faith in Heb. 11 as a definition and then flesh out the multifaceted nature of it in the lives of the people mentioned throughout the chapter.

Third, I would like to write a book on a harmony of the family line of Jesus from Matthew and Luke. This would trace the life of each person mentioned and draw out the implications of each person’s life for today’s reader.

Fourth, I would like to write a book showing the faithfulness of God throughout Scripture in relation to the promised seed stemming from Gen. 3:15. Adam & Eve believed Cain to be the promised redeemer by virtue of the name they gave him. Of course, whatever hope they had was shot once he killed Able. When we get to Abraham and Sarah once again we see how the promised seed hangs by a thread as Sarah is barren and advanced in years. She was too old to have children but God had other plans and showed himself to be faithful to his promise. Time and time again throughout the Old Testament we see this scenario where the existence of the future family line of Christ hangs by a thread and then God comes through on His promise in a miraculous way. This of course climaxes in Christ, the final fulfillment of the promise, who ironically is born to die and is then raised to life again.

You might notice that there is overlap between my third and fourth book idea. They could be one book but I think the ideas for both could make separate books without too much overlap.

1. The Bible does not put an artificial wedge between history and theology.
2. The biblical story of creation is meant to supplant other ancient creation stories more than imitate them.
3. The opening chapters of Genesis are stylized, but they show no signs of being poetry.
4. This is a seamless strand of history from Adam in Genesis 2 to Abraham in Genesis 12.
5. The genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1 and Luke 3 treat Adam as historical.
6. Paul believed in a historical Adam (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 45-49).
7. The weight of the history of interpretation points to the historicity of Adam.
8. Without a common descent we lose any firm basis for believing that all people regardless of race or ethnicity have the same nature, the same inherent dignity, the same image of God, the same sin problem, and that despite our divisions we are all part of the same family coming from the same parents.
9. Without a historical Adam, Paul’s doctrine of original sin and guilt does not hold together.
10. Without a historical Adam, Paul’s doctrine of the second Adam does not hold together.

I strongly encourage you to read Kevin’s post in its entirety here:  LINK.

HT: Craig Hurst

As an e-Reader, the Kindle beats the iPad. Here are the reasons why:

• Easy on the Eyes: I thought the talk of the Kindle’s natural screen to be overblown until I started using it myself. I quickly realized why my eyes had gotten so tired so fast with the backlit screen of the iPad. The screen of the Kindle is indeed like reading a book page.
• Focused on the Book: The Kindle is an e-reading device, period. It does one thing only, but it does it well. Pick up your Kindle and you lose yourself in the world of reading. The content stands out, not the impressive features of the device. With the iPad, e-reading is just one of the many features, which means that there are any number of distractions from keeping your nose in that eBook.
• Light and Easy: The Kindle is lighter than the iPad. Sometimes, I stand on the bus on the way to work, which means I’ve got to use one hand to hold on to the rail. I wouldn’t be able to hold an iPad with my other hand and easily click the pages. The Kindle’s size and weight make it easy to read anywhere.
• Cost: The iPad costs more than $500 compared to the Kindle at $114 (or $139). That’s not to say the iPad is overpriced. It does have more features, after all. But the Kindle excels at doing one thing – providing a reading platform.

If you’re on the fence as to whether or not you should go the direction of the kindle or the iPad, I highly recommend Trevin’s post to help you narrow down your decision.  You can read the post in its entirety here:  LINK

An intriguing book, quite unlike any other The Marrow of Modern Divinity defies pigeonholing. It was written in the 1600s by an author of whom we know little, yet it proved to be a critically important and controversial theological text.
Penned as dialogue between a minister (Evangelista), a young Christian (Neophytus), a legalist (Nomista) who believes Christianity is a set of rules to be obeyed and Antinomista who thinks it’s okay to sin because God will forgive him anyway, it makes for a wonderfully insightful book that remains tremendously relevant for our world today.
This newly laid out and eagerly awaited edition includes explanatory notes by the famous puritan Thomas Boston, an Introduction by Philip Ryken and an historical Introduction by William Vandoodewaard.

What sold me on the importance of this book was the following recommendation by Sinclair B. Ferguson:

“Anyone who comes to grips with the issues raised in The Marrow of Modern Divinity will almost certainly grow by leaps and bounds in understanding three things: the grace of God, the Christian life, and the very nature of the gospel itself. I personally owe it a huge debt. Despite their mild-mannered appearance, these pages contain a powerful piece of propaganda. Read them with great care!”

I deeply respect and appreciate Dr. Ferguson and quite honestly, any book to which he owes a huge debt should be moved to the top of my reading list. With that in mind, I’ll be going along for the ride and reading through The Marrow of Modern Divinity in 2011 and will strive to be an active commenter on The Marrow Project as it unfolds.  While the book retails for $29.99, many booksellers have it available for less than $20.  As of the date of this post, the best prices I found were:

• Monergism Books – $17.99
• Amazon.com – $19.33
• Westminster Bookstore – $21.59

I am excited to see a collaborative blogging project like this come together.  Hats off to the team at The Marrow Project for putting forth the effort to launch the web site and create the reading guide.  Be sure to visit www.themarrow.org and consider participating in their 52 week blogging adventure.

1. What is the name & URL of your blog? Why’d you choose that?

• Pastoral Musings @ pastoralmusings.com.  I chose that because I’m a pastor and I originally intended to record my simple thoughts on the blog.  Over the last few months I’ve also been invited to contribute to the King James Only Debate Blog @ kjvodebate.wordpress.com and have begun another team blog called Fundamentally Changed @ fundamentallychanged.wordpress.com.

2. How’d you get into blogging?

• I saw that others were doing it, thought I might have something to say occasionally that might encourage someone, and it has gone from there.

3. What do you want to be when you grow up?

• A good Christian, father, and pastor.

4. Do you have a family?

• Yes.  I have a wife, Tonya, to whom I have been married for eighteen years, and two precious children who we were blessed to adopt, and were blessed that we could adopt siblings.  They are Titus Luke (3) and Abigail Ruth (4).

5. Is Bibilical & Theological studies a hobby or a career aspiration?

• No answer.

6. Who’s your favorite author? Recommended books?

• The Pleasures of God and Desiring God by John Piper.   In addition, I would add Portraits of God by Coppedge.

7. What’s your favorite theological subject / topic?

• Doxology.

8. What’s your favorite Bible translation?

• I grew up KJV only.  I still love and use the KJV primarily.  I have recently come to love, appreciate, and enjoy the ESV.

9. What’s in your CD and/or MP3 player right now?

• A great mixture. Some country, bluegrass, Casting Crowns, Kingdom Heirs, John Piper, John MacArthur, Mark Driscoll, and some courses from Covenant Seminary.

10. Where did you go to school? (undergraduate, graduate, etc.)

• I have only fifteen hours of any kind of formal education after high school.  I strive hard to read and learn. I read widely, and I read seriously.

11. What is something interesting that most of your readers don’t know about you?

• I am shepherd/pastor to two small country churches, preach six times weekly, and love it.

12. What are some research / writing projects you’re interested in pursuing?

• I am deeply interested in the Genesis debate.  If I were to write, however, I would write some simple doctrinal studies in a systematic form for the churches and preachers in the circles where I minister.  There is a great need to move beyond some of the more extreme fundamentalist attitudes that I see in my particular area and I would love to be able to help folks do that.  Of course, I am deeply interested in the KJVO debate as well as historic fundamentalism and have begun blogging about that.  Apologetics is also something that interests me and I find myself reading about quite often.

1. What is the name & URL of your blog? Why’d you choose that?

The name of my blog is Scripture Zealot at www.scripturezealot.com. Romans 12:11 says to never be lacking in zeal. Over the last few years my zeal for getting to know God through Scripture has increased exponentially so I came up with the name with those ideas in mind. I love reading the Bible and reading about the Bible. There’s so much I want to learn and learning through reading is worship for me.

2. How’d you get into blogging?

I spent a lot of time on the Internet and not much time at all reading Christian related material which wasn’t right so I started looking around. I found a Christian message board or two but was dissatisfied. Then I found various Christian blogs and found what I was looking for. When I started reading commentaries I decided to start my own blog so I could write about what I’m learning, have a place to collect quotes and links and hopefully lead people to some good resources I come across.

3. What do you want to be when you grow up?

A wise old man who isn’t wise in his own eyes.

4. Do you have a family?

I’m happily married and we have two very lucky cats.

5. Is Bibilical & Theological studies a hobby or a career aspiration?

It’s definitely a hobby for me but I’d call it more than a hobby. I was born in 1964 and didn’t start really getting serious about studying the Bible until a few years ago even though I’ve been a Christian for 25 years and have always been very serious about my relationship with God. My interest in finding refuge in God has increased as chronic suffering has gotten much worse from various conditions.

6. Who’s your favorite author? Recommended books?

I can’t say I have a favorite. I haven’t read more than two or three books of any one author. Some of my favorites are A.W. Tozer, Gordon Fee, J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul and D.A. Carson. The latter may become my favorite. I’m reading his commentary on John right now, I’ve read two of his books, A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers and Exegetical Fallacies along with some papers and articles and I have two of his books on my list–How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: An Exposition of Matthew5-10.

One fairly unknown book I would recommend is The Lord by Romano Guardini. He was a Catholic scholar and the book goes through who Christ is from the beginning to the new heavens and the new earth. Other than some things about Mary the mother of Jesus and John the Baptist that I don’t agree with it’s a great book.

7. What’s your favorite theological subject / topic?

They would simply be Jesus, Prayer, Suffering and God’s Sovereignty/Providence. The latter two overlap quite a bit of course.

8. What’s your favorite Bible translation?

The HCSB because of its use of traditional theological terms but less archaic language than many others. The NLT comes in a close second even though it’s very different. The NRSV was my primary translation for three years until earlier this year and the NIV was my main translation for about 20 years before that.

9. What’s in your CD and/or MP3 player right now?

Mostly orchestral music from the Romantic period and electronic music–both ambient for sleep and some with beats–along with a bit of big band and New Flamenco. I like music without vocals so I can read or sleep while listening.

10. Where did you go to school? (undergraduate, graduate, etc.)

I had a full music scholarship to a major university but couldn’t keep up the required grade point average and then dropped out. I don’t have fond memories of that.

11. What is something interesting that most of your readers don’t know
about you?

I brew my own beer along with a friend. With my bad back and chronic fatigue there’s no way I could do it by myself. I can’t say I enjoy the process but it’s nice to brew beer where you make up your own recipe and drink high quality beer at a lower cost. I don’t drink very much of course so we only brew a few times a year between the two of us and give some away. I also roast my own coffee. (I have too many hobbies) even though ironically I can’t handle very much caffeine. My afternoon cup along with reviewing memorized Scripture is a nice time of the day. The flavors that God put in those things are amazing.

12. What are some research / writing projects you’re interested in pursuing?

In 2010 I’m going to start educating myself more on the Old Testament. We’re studying Ecclesiastes in our small group Bible study right now. I love that book.

I can’t get enough of the Sermon on the Mount. We studied that in our small group Bible study and want to keep studying that. I read D. Martin Lloyd-Jones’ exposition of it which was great, Stott’s which was kind of like cliff notes for the former and a little one by Oswald Chambers in addition to France’s commentary on Matthew and other bits and pieces here and there. I mentioned that I’d like to get Carson’s book on it and may look for others. I’m familiar with Betz but it’s very expensive.

I want to study Colossians as in-depth as I can and possibly write a Bible study for use in small groups. I love Colossians.