March is book review month

Now that I've completed my coursework for the orientation seminar at RTS, I need to catch up on the growing stack of books on my desk. Due to the overwhelming response I got to my submissions for review copies in January, I have thirteen books waiting to be reviewed. My goal is to complete all of these reviews by the end of the month. I think I'll get started right now.

Tracking the Ark of the Covenant by Charles Foster

I wanted to extend a word of thanks to the fine folks at Kregel Publications for sending me a copy of Tracking the Ark of the Covenant: By Camel, Foot and Ancient Ford in Search of Antiquity's Greatest Treasure by Charles Foster. You can read more about this book here. Also be sure to check out Charles' website: http://www.charlesfoster.co.uk. I wrote a brief research paper on the Ark of the Covenant while I was at Wheaton College and in the process this became one of my pet subjects. Time permitting, I'll be posting my review during March.

Hope After Betrayal: Healing When Sexual Addiction Invades Your Marriage

I wanted to extend a word of thanks to the fine folks at Kregel Publications for sending me a copy of Hope After Betrayal: Healing When Sexual Addiction Invades Your Marriage by Meg Wilson. I wanted to review this book for several reasons:

1. I would like to review more than just books related to Biblical & Theological studies.
2. Having struggled with pornography addiction in my late teens and early twenties, I have a heart for others who are struggling in this area.
3. I hope to become better equipped to minister to those who may be struggling in this area.
   

You can read more about this book here. Also be sure to check out the website dedicated to the book at: http://www.hopeafterbetrayal.com. Time permitting, I'll be posting my review during March.

Crossroads: Navigating Your Call and Career

I wanted to extend a word of thanks to the fine folks at Crossway Books for sending me a copy of Crossroads: Navigating Your Calling and Career by Colin Creel. You can read more about this book and a brief author bio here. Also be sure to check out Colin's website: http://www.colincreel.com. Time permitting, I'll be posting my review during March.

Bye Bye Vista, Welcome back XP - A few comments...

I finally found enough free time to get my new hard drive installed and reinstall Windows XP. Overall, I'm happy to be back to XP. My data restore was perfect, so no complaints there. Although there's not a whole lot I miss from Vista, the 2 things I miss are:

• Windows sidebar (I like a few of the widgets)
• Improved networking - The TCP/IP stack was rewritten for Vista. That being the case, I noticed that the wireless networking performed very well. I'm a little disappointed with the performance of my wireless NIC in XP.

Other than that, I do almost everything else in Firefox, Logos Bible Software, and Word. Those programs function the same in Vista or XP. I'm not opposed to going to Vista again some day, but I'd want to do it on a new machine that has beefier hardware. Who knows, maybe by that time I'll want to buy a MAC.

What's your life verse?

I'm curious if any of you have specific Bible verses that encourage you, drive you, or really give definition to who you'd like to become with God's help. Ezra 7:9-10 is such a verse for me.

"The good hand of God was upon him, for Ezra set his heart to study the Torah of Yahweh, to practice it, and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel."

How about you?

The Hermeneutics Quiz

Looks like I'm conservative.

You scored between 20 and 52, meaning you're a conservative on The Hermeneutic Scale.

Here's the explanation they gave for "conservative".

First, the conservative hermeneutic group scores 52 or lower. The strength of this view is its emphasis on the authority, ongoing and normative authority, of all of Scripture. It tends to operate with the line many of us learned in Sunday school: "If the Bible says it, that settles it." Such persons let the Bible challenge them with full force. Literal readings lead to rather literal applications. Most of the time.

The problem, of course, is that very few people are completely consistent here. At times one suspects something other than strict interpretation is going on when the conservative is willing to appeal to history to suspend the commandment to observe a Saturday Sabbath, but does not to appeal to history on other issues (e.g., capital punishment or homosexuality).

You can access the quiz here: LINK.

A day in the life of a scribe???

I'm looking for books, articles, etc. related to the day to day life and practice of scribes. So far I've come across a few articles and some odds and ends in books on textual criticism. I'm curious if any of you have come across anything worthwhile in your work and research. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Biblical Studies Blog Carnival XXVII

Kevin A. Wilson has posted the latest Biblical Studies Carnival over at Blue Cord. Be sure to take a look and check out the very best in Biblioblogging for February 2008. You can access it here: LINK.

Chris Brady & The Chris Tilling Interview

Chris Brady over at Targuman, has an interview with Chris Tilling. You can access the interview here: LINK. It's worth a listen.

To RTS Charlotte & Back Again

I apologize for my absence in blogging over the past week. I had the pleasure of traveling down to Charlotte, NC to attend the orientation seminar for the Master of Arts in Religion program at Reformed Theological Seminary. There were 15 of us in attendance. It was a whirlwind introduction to the ins and outs of virtual theological education. I was taken aback by the instant sense of community that seemed to develop amongst the 15 of us. Hopefully we can stay in touch over the next few years. I'm excited to jump into my studies and start knocking out those classes.