D. Richard Ferguson's Blog, page 10
June 20, 2021
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Writing Style
The writing style of this book involves several elements that my editors would have fits if I used them (such as frequent POV changes within scenes, the many adverbs attached to dialogue tags, and a lot of telling instead of showing). But these techniques don’t seem to bother the thousands of readers who love this book. I found the book boring at many points, but that’s probably due more to my tastes than in anything wrong with the book. My modern attention span requires a little more action.
The book is a retelling of the story of Hosea and Gomer and does a good job of showing the redeeming love of God for Israel, illustrated through Hosea, as exceedingly beautiful. I think the book is worth reading for that alone.
Much of the book is told from the perspective of the Gomer character. The author does a great job of evoking sympathy for her.
WeaknessesThe fact that the Gomer character in the book is a stunning beauty doesn’t really fit the Hosea story very well. In the novel, the man who represents Hosea is first drawn to the prostitute because of her beauty. But the Hosea story teaches that God loved Israel, not because of her great attractiveness, but despite her hideous ugliness. But I suppose a romance with an ugly main character probably wouldn’t sell.
Another complaint is that the story portrays a man as righteous for marrying an unbeliever. I realize this is necessary to produce a retelling of the Hosea story, but I hope it doesn’t encourage the very unwise and sinful practice of “dating evangelism” or worse, marriage evangelism. When Christians get romantically involved with unbelievers in the hopes of converting them, it not only violates God’s clear command in Scripture (2 Cor.6:14, 1 Cor.7:39), but almost always results in a great amount of heartache.
My more substantive complaint about the book is over a statement that occurs around the midpoint of the book when the Hosea character assures the prostitute that “God had nothing to do” with the hardships she had endured. To suggest that is to deny the sovereignty of God and cheapens all our suffering. If God has nothing to do with it, it’s meaningless. Scripture is clear that everything comes from God.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.”
View all my reviews
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June 16, 2021
Rising Danger by Jerusha Agen
Rising Danger: A Thrilling K9 Suspense by Jerusha AgenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Disclaimer: I’m probably not the target audience for this book, as I don’t read romances and I’m not a big fan of dogs.
What I liked:
The author is an excellent wordsmith. Her writing is remarkable, both in the beauty of the prose and the depth of emotion it evokes. And while I don’t read romances, I’m guessing this book has quite a bit more action than a typical romance. It held my interest as well as most best-selling novels, especially toward the end.
Most of all, I loved the way the author honored God throughout the book. She allows the characters who argue against Christianity to make strong, persuasive arguments, then deals with them well.
My favorite line in the book: “God’s best gifts usually come as a surprise, often packaged in problems and trials. They are things we never could have planned ourselves even if we knew we needed them.” For me, it was worth listening to the whole book just for that line.
The narrator of the audiobook is outstanding. Having narrated books myself, I will say, I wish I had a fraction of her skill.
What I didn’t like:
I thought the descriptions of the main character’s attraction to her love interest was a bit overdone. The descriptions of her reactions to seeing him seemed much too frequent to me, and it’s hard for me to imagine a woman could have such extreme responses of attraction toward someone she so dislikes (then again, I know very little about romance writing and even less about female emotions, so take that critique with a grain of salt).
As a pastor, father, and counselor, I didn’t like the fact that it is a story of a romance between a believer and an unbeliever. I realize Christian authors have constraints when dealing with secular publishing houses, so I don’t mean this as a criticism of the author. But since I’m not restrained by the publisher as a reviewer, I’ll say it is my conviction that such relationships are ill-advised and lead to the destruction of the believer’s faith more often than they bring the unbeliever to faith. And even when that does happen, it rarely lasts, as the movement toward God is powered by attraction to the other person, and when that fades, so does the “faith.” I’ve counseled a lot of people in very hard marriages because they thought their relationship with an unbeliever would have a storybook ending. They rarely do. See 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 for God’s attitude toward close relationships with unbelievers.
More significantly, (spoiler alert) I was disappointed with the way a conversion to Christianity was portrayed, as there was no indication that repentance played any role. I got the impression from the story that a person could be saved simply by agreeing to let God be her protector. I believe Scripture is clear about the necessity of repentance for salvation (Acts 17:30, 20:21).
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June 15, 2021
Elect in the Son by Robert Shank
Elect in the Son by Robert ShankMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This volume was written as a companion volume for Shanks earlier work, Life in the Son, which defends the view that true believers can fall away.
Shank’s treatment of election is thorough and well-researched, as he interacts extensively with Calvin, Berkouwer and other Reformed writers. Of the three major views of election; Calvinist (unconditional particular election), Arminian (election based on God’s foreseeing faith) and class election (God chooses the Church as a category unconditionally, but chooses individuals to populate the Church conditionally), Shank defends class election.
While many of his arguments are strong, he fails to deal adequately with the fact that his system places man above God as the ultimate determiner of his destiny. In a few places Shank misunderstands or caricatures Calvin, but mostly his representation of Calvin is helpful as he quotes him at length.
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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lamott has a great balance between instruction and humor. The book is entertaining, funny, and contains a lot of helpful instruction for writers of various levels. I especially liked the chapter on characters. Very helpful.
I also liked Lamott’s take on writer’s block. She suggests it’s not a blockage. Rather, it’s simply emptiness. When ideas stop flowing it’s because the well is dry and the solution is to fill it back up. Stop writing and start observing.
Her ABCD… tip for writing short stories is also a useful guide.
The narrator does an outstanding job. She captures to tone of the book perfectly.
I am a conservative Christian, so I didn’t enjoy the frequent obscenities and profanities or the crude sexual humor.
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June 14, 2021
When Jesus Wept (The Jerusalem Chronicles #1) by Bodie Thoene
When Jesus Wept by Bodie Thoene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Too often, biblical historical fiction does little more than borrow some biblical characters for a story that could have happened concurrently with biblical events, and that intersects with biblical events at points. I believe writers in this genre should strive for more than that. The biblical events are recorded for a reason–to teach us something. Our stories should strive to use the emotional power of story to make those points vivid in the reader’s heart. In my judgment, Bodie Thoene accomplishes that at several points in When Jesus Wept.
The prose is excellent and the scenes imaginative. And the ongoing vine metaphor is rich with insights.
The story itself, however, moves a bit slowly for my taste. It’s a long way from being a page-turner, at least for me.
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Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers by John Owen
Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers by John Owen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A classic work on how to kill sin by the Spirit based on Romans 8:13.
Synopsis
A sin is “mortified” (killed) by a habitual weakening of it, constant fighting against it (understanding the danger and the ways it tends to get success against you) and then in gaining frequent success (so the sin isn’t disrupting his peace or hindering his duty).
A sin is especially problematic if it is inveterate (so frequent that it no longer startles the conscience), or finds acceptance or toleration in the heart, or if you claim God will show mercy in this one area because of faithfulness in other areas, or if there is frequent failure in that area, or if the only motive for avoiding the sin is punishment, or if this sin has withstood God’s chastisement.
How to kill a sin:
* Displace the sin with the corresponding virtue.
* Make sure there isn’t disobedience in other areas (God sometimes allows weakness in one area because of disobedience or neglect in other areas).
* Get a clear sense of the guilt, danger, and evil of the sin and “load” the conscience with the sense of guilt
* Load your conscience with the guilt of it (by letting the law do its work, and by considering the grace this sin is done in the face of.
* Get a constant longing, breathing after deliverance from the power of the sin.
* When there is a natural predisposition toward that sin, realize that increases guilt, and that it puts you in greater danger requiring greater watchfulness.
* Beat your body and make it your slave by things like fasting and watching
* Be alert to the things that excite sinful desires.
* Rise mightily against the first actings of your sin
* Think much of the excellency of the majesty of God
* After sinning, speak no peace to your heart until God speaks it
* Think more about Christ and the cross than about the sin and expect help from Him.
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June 12, 2021
The Death of Heroes
Hero stories are out of fashion these days, and there’s a reason.
For centuries, storytellers have spun tails of inspiring heroes who achieve great things. They were men and women of integrity, strength, valor, selflessness, shrewdness, and perseverance. But in the last several decades, heroes have given way to anti-heroes. The protagonists of modern stories are deeply flawed, conflicted, compromisers. The only way we know they are “heroes” is they are slightly better than the villains. Tony Stark is a sarcastic, self-aggrandizing playboy who insults everyone he talks to. Wolverine is an angry, vengeful, brute. The formerly brave, idealist, heroic Luke Skywalker became … well, let’s not even talk about what they did to that character.
Making Heroes RelatableWhy did they do that to poor Luke? Why take one of the iconic heroes of a generation and turn him into a weak, self-obsessed, bitter, angry coward?
It’s all done in the name of relatability. Classic heroes like Superman are just too … good to suit our culture. No one is like that. It’s unrealistic. We want heroes we can relate to. Someone we can imagine being. We don’t want a hero that leaves us in the moral dust. We want to be able to picture ourselves doing the amazing things the main character is doing.
The Christian Market: True HeroesMarketing expert Thomas Umstattd offers interesting advice to novelists. He suggests writing classic heroes if you are marketing your book to Christians, and flawed, antiheroes if your target audience is unbelievers. The differences in the way those two demographics spend their entertainment dollars is telling.
Why do Christians prefer ideal heroes? It is because we believe in and aspire to the ideal. Bravery, selflessness, integrity, and self-sacrifice devoid of selfish motives are not farfetched, fairytale concepts. They are the way God created humanity to be. It’s the way the one perfect human, Jesus Christ, lived (and still lives). It is the image to which all believers aspire because God has promised to conform us to that image (Romans 8:29).
Why do Christian parents want their children to read stories with classic heroes? Because they believe in high, biblical ideals. Christlike morality. And they want their children to aspire to that kind of greatness.
The Secular Market: Heroes Like MeThe unbelieving world, on the other hand, rebels against that ideal. The impact of postmodernism over the past several decades has dulled society’s ability to even think in terms of right and wrong, good and evil. The notion that there is no ideal and there are no absolutes—no true “good guys” or “bad guys,” and that all morality is in the eye of the beholder has corrupted classic storytelling. If everyone determines his own morality, then who is to say the bad guy is bad for doing what, for him, seems best?
Better than Feeling Good About YourselfAll people want to feel good about themselves. If the best character in a story is a whole lot like me, with the same mixed motives, weaknesses, and moral flaws I have, I can imagine myself like him—good, because I’m slightly better than the bad guys around me.
But there is a better way to feel good about oneself. When a skilled storyteller crafts an imagine of ideal humanity that inspires noble desires, and God assures us that he has predestined us to become conformed to that glorious image, we can feel good about what we are becoming, rather than about what we are.
Better yet, we can become lost in wonder in our enjoyment of the ideal Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. And instead of working so hard to feel good about ourselves, we can feel good about him, because feeling good about God feels better than feeling good about oneself.
The Heroes in Walk with the WindIt was after this model that the characters in the Walk with the Wind novel series were designed. Each character is strong in one or more key Christian virtues. It is my prayer that in reading these books, children and adults alike will be inspired to rise to new heights in their pursuit of the glorious image of Christ for which they were created.
For information about book 1, Escape from Paradise, click here. And for book 2, At War with the Wind: the Fight for Abigail (due out June 29), click here.
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May 27, 2021
Escape from Paradise: Interpreting the Allegory (Chapters 7-10)
There are no new points of analogy in chapter seven.
Chapter 8The Desire for the Little one’s ApprovalAdam’s desire for the little ones’ approval represents our desire to be respected by the world. Especially, in our culture, in the academic/scientific community. We can’t stand the thought that smart people would laugh at us or think of us as primitive or foolish. We want to be respected. Very often, Christian writers compromise faithfulness to God’s Word in order to be taken seriously by the academic world.
But it should be no surprise to us that the world thinks us foolish. They think the same thing about God. The cross is foolishness to them. The wisest, most beautiful act of salvation God ever performed is, in their eyes, a dumb idea.
We can win the world’s favor, or we can have God’s favor—but not both.
Chapter 9The Eye SalveThe eye-salve represents naturalism (the belief that only the physical world exists).
Later in the story Adam discovers that the salve gives him great near vision, but terrible distance vision. People who think only physical things exist can see what’s right in front of their faces (this physical world) but are utterly blind to everything else. In the words of 2 Peter 1:9 “they have become nearsighted and blind.”
Chapter 10There are no new points of analogy in chapter ten.
Chapter 8 QuestionsEXCERPT
“Fruit is outlawed in the high country,” Alexander said.“Outlawed? Why? How do they live without eating?” -p.77
QUESTION 1:
Sometimes it seems like satisfaction would be impossible without the pleasure of some enticing sin. In moments like that, how could Isaiah 55:1—2 and Psalm 63:3 help you?
QUESTION 2:
How could Proverbs 5:3—4 help you?
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May 19, 2021
Escape from Paradise: Interpreting the Allegory (chapters 5-6)
This is the discussion page for chapters 3-4 of the novel, Escape from Paradise.
1) The WindThe wind represents the Holy Spirit. Both the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” are also the words for “wind” or “breath.”
Of the three persons in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the one who is described in terms of greatest nearness to us. We picture the Father as being in heaven, Jesus as the bridge between earth and heaven, and the Holy Spirit all around us, inside us as the personal delivery system of all the Father and Son give us.
The wind is invisible yet has awesome power. And through his unseen pressure, he guides us.
2) The PlantsWhen Adam attempts to go in the direction the wind is pressing him, he meets the resistance of the foliage. Those plants represent the world’s efforts to counteract the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guides us one way, and the world pushes against that and makes it difficult.
EXCERPT:
Nothing he did mattered. He couldn’t imagine anything he could ever do would matter. His efforts to save the city from disintegration had been futile. He had no idea where he was from, and he had nowhere to go. It wasn’t only this world that was half-real—he had become part of this empty place and his very life lacked substance. … He might as well have lived no life at all. -p.59QUESTION 1:
In what ways are unbelievers’ thinking and the way of life empty/futile? See 1 Peter 1:18; Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:17—19.
QUESTION 2:
Why is it so important that we understand the worthlessness and emptiness of our former way of life? See Romans 6:21—22. Compare Exodus 3:7 with their later memory in Numbers 11:5.
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April 28, 2021
Escape from Paradise: Interpreting the Allegory (chapters 3-4)
This is the discussion page for chapters 3-4 of the novel, Escape from Paradise.
WARNING: Lots of spoilers. It is recommended you finish the novel before joining the discussion if you are planning on reading the book. If you are not planning on reading it, you are still welcome in the discussion. It is not necessary to have read the book to benefit from the Bible study questions.
Each weekday I will post a Bible study question related to the passages of Scripture I was trying to teach in the story. Please don’t hesitate to post your answers in the discussion. Your point of view may be just what someone else needs to make it click.
Before I explain the meanings from chapter 3, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Any ideas on what the following parts of the story mean in the allegory?
1) The Collapsing City2) The Sending of Kailyn 3) Receiving a New Name4) The Assignment RoomThe post Escape from Paradise: Interpreting the Allegory (chapters 3-4) appeared first on D. Richard Ferguson.
