C.H.E. Sadaphal's Blog, page 2
December 14, 2017
MORNING AND EVENING by CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
The bottom line: Feel empowered by the Word of God with this awesome collection of powerful daily devotionals.
Arguably, Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the greatest Christian orators to have ever lived. As a Reformed Baptist preacher, he proclaimed the truth of the gospel in England in the 1800s, yet his words still inspire countless Christians of all denominations in the 21st century. The classic Morning and Evening is one example of his lasting and pervasive influence.
With this book, you are gifted with daily devotionals that ignite the heart and stimulate the mind. Each day of the calendar year has two Scripture readings: one for the AM and one for the PM. Each entry has a 1-2 paragraph long exposition of the verse where Spurgeon demonstrates his exegetical prowess. The depth and richness of biblical understanding is something that no contemporary author can match. Spurgeon’s application of the Scripture verses compel the reader to a deeper adoration of Christ, his awe-inspiring thoughts whisk a dormant theological imagination into shape, and his wise counsel tenderly guides those under adversity and strife toward hope.
One can truly experience the inspirational and motivational force of the Holy Spirit moving you through the words of God in this timeless book. Spurgeon brings the Scriptures to life and through beautiful theological reflection, invites you to bask in the overwhelming felt love that comes from having a deep, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
For those seeking an inspiring devotional reader to start and end your day you can do no better; for preachers seeking a spark to ignite their exposition look no further; and for anyone who desires to feel empowered by the Word, then this book is that timeless treasure that you will hold on to and never let go.
Rev. Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
December 7, 2017
CALVIN AND THE BIBLICAL LANGUAGES by JOHN D. CURRID
John Calvin was a father of the Protestant Reformation. He was also called a “Christian Hercules” who wielded a club of the Word of God. This club was earned in diligent pursuit of the “real meaning” of the biblical text, and this meaning could only be obtained by studying the Bible in the language that it was originally received: Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament.
Subsequently, what Calvin and the Biblical Languages will do is give you greater insight into who Calvin was, and how his unparalleled familiarity with these languages was utilized in his legendary ministry.
What you will walk away with is inspiration to fuel your own pursuit of biblical Hebrew and Greek so that you can exposit and exegete like a titan.
For the church (and particularly the Reformed Church), Calvin and the Biblical Languages is timely simply because the linguistic heritage of the Reformation is fading away.
The Bible is the foundation of the Christian faith, but many students (and teachers) of the Bible lack a basic comprehension of the original languages. Without said comprehension, we become lost. With said comprehension, the foundation of our faith grows stronger.
I believe this book will benefit you greatly if you have a sincere interest in preaching and teaching the Bible with richness, depth, and clarity. Indeed, there is only one John Calvin, but at least we can follow in the footsteps of this grand historical figure. I read this book as part of a graduate level seminary course (Introduction to Hebrew) and I think all seminary students and pastors will derive the greatest benefit from this booklet.
Rev. Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
November 2, 2017
THE STRATEGY OF SATAN: HOW TO DETECT AND DEFEAT HIM by WARREN W. WIERSBE
The bottom line: Christians: get equipped and know the path to triumph with this manual of arms.
Satan wants to destroy you, your family, and your church. How does he plan to do it? The Strategy of Satan explains with clarity and precision so that you will be prepared for the battlefield.
By explaining four principle strategies Satan uses and what he seeks to achieve with those strategies, Wiersbe also explains God’s defenses so that you can thwart the enemy’s attack. Overall, this is a sharp and powerful book loaded with Scriptures and full of biting, pithy phrases.
Without a doubt, The Strategy of Satan is intended for all those believers serious about their faith and serious enough to realize that regarding the doctrine of Satan and demons with contempt leads to false security and early defeat.
The “core” of the book is the first 90 or so pages. There, Wiersbe explains four targets (your mind, body, will and heart) that Satan has, the weapon he uses for attack, and his distinct purpose for the target. Each of the four targets is described against the backdrop of an Old Testament figure who had an encounter with Satan. The book then proceeds with strategies for living by faith (with a Biblical “test” to ascertain if it is God’s will or the devil’s), how to not provide the devil with opportunities, how to spot Satan in church, and an analysis of the Christian in the full armor of God.
What reader should be aware of is that the chapter on Job (“The Destroyer”) gives a great analysis of why suffering exists in the Christian life. Indeed, this will not answer provide all possible explanations, but I believe it will be tremendously helpful for those believers enduring tough times of hardship and seek to know, “Why me?” Knowing what role Satan plays in suffering is remarkably helpful.
In my personal opinion, Wiersbe has a very piercing writing style and he has the uncanny ability to speak volumes without using many words. So although this book is relatively short (162 pages) it overflows with practical wisdom and Bible insights. As a pastor, I must recommend this book to all Christians because no one is immune from the attacks of the enemy. People perish because of a lack of knowledge and The Strategy of Satan provides you with that and more.
Rev. Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
October 5, 2017
YOUR MIND MATTERS by JOHN STOTT
The bottom line: A timeless book with a timely message: mindless faith is not Christian faith.
Your Mind Matters is a book that resulted from a lecture given by the late Rev. John Stott in 1972. The topic was the place of the mind in the Christian life, and the content was as relevant then as it is now. Resultantly, what this sharp and powerful book does is illuminate how, in an age of anti-intellectualism, knowledge of God and His Word is foundational to the Christian, the Christian walk, and the vitality of genuine Christian communities. As the author persuasively argues, the relentless focus on subjective personal experience leads to “spiritual superficiality” and zeal without knowledge (also known as fanaticism). The author makes a rock-solid biblical case that engages the mind and the heart—that zeal is always directed by knowledge and the illumination of the Holy Spirit does not persuade regardless of the facts but involves a comprehensive attention to the evidence.
Sequentially, the book describes the dangers of “Mindless Christianity,” why rationalism is a crucial component of our humanity, the Scriptural emphasis on knowledge, wisdom and understanding, and finally, how to act on that knowledge and build up God’s people. This book packs a mighty punch in less than 100 pages and Stott manages to say much in very few words.
Your Mind Matters is powerful, inspirational and motivational call to action for Christians—especially apologists and communicators—to engage their minds in order to reach the minds of other believers. This intellectual engagement demands an absolute loyalty to the biblical gospel, an unshakeable trust in the Holy Spirit, and a deep understanding of modern alternatives to the gospel. In my humble opinion, a must-read and must-have book in an age of anti-intellectualism, pluralism and subjective truth.
Rev. Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
September 20, 2017
WHAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD KNOW (#WCSK) VOLUME FOUR EPISODE ONE: PROPHECY AND SPECIAL REVELATION
September 14, 2017
HOW BIBLICAL LANGUAGES WORK by SILZER AND FINLEY
The bottom line: A basic intro to the mechanics of Hebrew/Greek, not the languages themselves.
The basic thrust of this book is that if you understand truths about language in general, then you will better learn the biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek. This “big picture” approach is designed to make your life as a beginning learner of the biblical languages easier. In my humble opinion, this book was a useful guide and provided a beneficial set of tools to accelerate my proficiency in Hebrew. At the very least, readers will have a better understanding of how language works in general.
There is some information in the book that is very basic (like the discussion of nouns, verbs, and phrases) but the explication of semantics (the study of the meaning of language), the nonliteral aspects of meaning (e.g., metaphors, idioms, and ambiguous language) and discourse patterns (groups of words that are considered to be a unit) equips you make better interpretive sense than the mere words on paper. The final chapter of the book describes the three different types of learning styles (visual, auditory, tactile) with an assessment to help you discern which way you learn best. This is the chapter will empower you to know the practical strategies you can employ to make your time studying the most productive.
I purchased this book as required by a graduate level seminary course (Introduction to Hebrew). As a student that has referenced many other self-study Hebrew books, I can sincerely say How Biblical Languages Work enabled me to not only learn and speak Hebrew with greater ease, but it also gave me a practical guide to navigate Hebrew with clarity. I recommend it for any serious Bible student seeking to learn Hebrew or Greek for the purpose of reading the OT/NT in the original languages.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
August 19, 2017
WHAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD KNOW (#WCSK) VOLUME ZERO EPISODE SIX: IS FAITH COMPATIBLE WITH SCIENCE?
There are even books such as Jerry Coyne’s Faith vs. Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible (2015), in which science is championed as virtuous and religion is degraded as venomous. As the common argument goes, science is a reliable method to ascertain what is true by making claims based on testable facts and empirical study. Hence, science is objective and can be trusted to tell us what is really true—in fact, a healthy dose of skepticism fuels scientific growth and more rigorous explanations. Religion, on the other hand, makes unreliable claims based on “faith,” untestable speculations, or revelation. Hence, religion is subjective and cannot be trusted to tell us what is really true. Here, “just believing” blindly is regarded as a virtue, and skepticism is fervently suppressed. In other words, science is a sensible step into the light of day, while faith is a blind leap into a dark abyss. Cognizant of how this confrontation has been constructed, two burning questions become immediately obvious: (1) “What happens when we encounter a part of reality that cannot be tested or that science may never explain?” and (2) “What happens when religion makes claims that are verifiable and based on reliable facts?”
July 27, 2017
PSALMS: INTERPRETATION by JAMES L. MAYS
The bottom line: A concrete commentary that illuminates and inspires Bible students, teachers and preachers.
Psalms is the only book of the Bible addressed to God (everything else goes in the opposite direction) and is the book Martin Luther called the “little Bible.” The point is that the book is special and warrants exceptional attention. Developing a commentary is therefore no easy task yet Mays does a fine job in Psalms Interpretation .
Consequently, the reader gets a well-balanced commentary that focuses on larger themes and big ideas. What animates the book is the fundamental idea that properly understanding one Psalm not only involves recognizing its individual “anatomy” but also how the different parts relate to the Psalter as a whole. Hence, the author does a fine job of exploring the depths of individual Psalms and highlighting its particular context while also “zooming out” and connecting each unit to the grand narrative.
Psalms Interpretation begins with an introduction that clarifies the importance of the Psalms, their anatomy, history and types; their theology, and how to use the commentary. The introduction sets the stage and equips you with a map to navigate the Psalms in general. The book then proceeds sequentially through all 150 Psalms. Generally speaking, in my opinion the author provides an even treatment of each Psalm with more notable pearls of wisdom and exposition for Psalms that are more well-known (e.g., 23 and 51). In a few instances, you are left wanting more such as in the case of Psalm 110, the Psalm quoted most in the New Testament.
As a Bible teacher and a preacher, I certainly found the book to contain many more pearls for teaching as opposed to preaching. Still, on many occasions I have leaned upon Mays for sharp, meaningful points that have served as the main ideas for an assortment of sermons.
I have read over a dozen other books in the Interpretation Series and the series in general is very solid. As with the other books in the series, this is not a word-for-word technical commentary. Ultimately, Psalms Interpretation is easy to get through and written on a very accessible level. Recommended for seminarians, preaches, teachers or anyone serious about their Bible study.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
July 6, 2017
DEFEATING DARWINISM by PHILLIP E. JOHNSON
The bottom line: A plain language, common-sense approach that places a wedge between Darwinian macroevolution and science.
Defeating Darwinism accomplishes exactly what it aims to do: give a “high-school education in how to think about evolution.” And how does the author persuade the reader to think? That there is absolutely nothing venomous about science, but there are some catastrophic problems with Darwin’s theory of macroevolution by natural selection. Hence, without using overly technical language or referring to advanced concepts, the author succeeds in placing “a wedge” in the log of “scientific materialism.”
What I enjoyed most about Defeating Darwinism is that it takes a step back from the often-heated debates between creationists and evolutionists. For proper orientation, it clarifies terms and equips you to detect deceptive arguments that are often made. The book also looks at the external factors persuading the Darwinian worldview. What the reader is left with is a better understanding of the creationist-evolutionist debate in general, as well as the presupposed scientific truth claims of Darwinism that are in fact quite unscientific. Examples include the philosophical assumption of Darwinism that all of reality can be explained by natural explanations (Where’s the proof for that?) and faith in an idea that cannot be tested (no one lives long enough to see monkeys turn into humans). Even in those cases where proof is offered (e.g. The Beak of the Finch) for evolution, Johnson reveals that such is evidence against an argument that no one is making. The bulk of the scientific critique happens in the chapter called, “A Real Education in Evolution” where the author highlights the deficiencies of the fossil record and shines a light on the evolutionist’s worst fear: describing the specific mechanism of evolution, the supposed cause of all of the diversity in nature.
This book is a very quick and easy read; in fact, it moves along like a warm friend talking you through things over coffee in your living room. The main argument of the text ends before page 100. The final two chapters (“Modernism” and “Stepping of the Reservation”), respectively, describe the cultural developments in the 20th century that have shaped the modernist worldview and how creationists can approach Darwinism in the midst of a culture that can be hostile to the Bible.
I highly recommend Defeating Darwinism to anyone who would like to explore the objections to Darwinism without drowning in technical gobbledygook.
Indeed, this book will equip you to “defeat Darwinism” by learning the truth best—that is, by learning the objections to that truth. I think anyone with a genuine interest in objective Truth (with a capital ‘T’) will derive value from this worthwhile selection from Phillip E. Johnson.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
June 29, 2017
THE DEVIL’S DELUSION by DAVID BERLINSKI
The bottom line: Satan fibs and says, “There is no God.” The book exposes this lie for what it is and why the modern delusion (scientific atheism) is so unstable.
Don’t be put off-balance by the title of my review; this book does not use strictly “religious” or “Bible-based” arguments to poke holes in scientific atheism. Rather, it employs science, logic, philosophy and a healthy dose of common sense to poignantly illustrate that many of the scientific claims of atheism are quite unscientific. This, of course, comes from a man who is by no means anti-science. He just happens to believe that the great theories of science are not equipped to provide a reliable roadmap to navigate all of human experience.
In the end, what you walk away with after reading The Devil’s Delusion is a biting and sarcastic deflation of a puffed-up worldview less God.
The author of The Devil’s Delusion, David Berlinski, is an ivy-League educated Ph.D (Princeton, philosophy) and was also a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University. (He is also a self-described “secular Jew.”) Generally speaking, his book provides a strategic, point/counter-point/point style argument that questions the validity of scientific analysis when it extends itself beyond answering, “How?” He elucidates that science is silent about God (i.e., gravity and random mutations have no opinion on the matter), and in many cases when science does overreach, the results can be monstrous.
In each chapter Berlinksi exposes the scientific pretensions that support the atheistic worldview. He interacts with some big ideas (e.g. morality, cosmology, fine-tuning of the universe, and Darwinian macroevolution by natural selection) and a large chuck of his arguments are constructed in response to notable atheists (e.g. Weinberg, Dennett, Harris, Hitchens). Because of this approach, the author can spend a paragraph or two with one idea (e.g. those from Pinker) while spending entire chapters scrutinizing the works of others (e.g. Richard Dawkins).
The author has a very sharp writing style that makes this book very quick and enjoyable to read. He has the unique ability to say much by writing very little. His execution is swift and his frequent use of piercing quips and acerbity left a smile on my face after turning every page.
In the end, The Devil’s Delusion takes a rational approach to challenge the pretensions held by those who have unyielding faith in scientific atheism. This makes theistic thought not only defensible, but a logical alternative after a scrupulous analysis of the alternatives.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
