Warren Smith brings several of these criticisms to bear in his book Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church. Since Mr. Smith was once part of the New Age movement, it would seem he is amply qualified to discern when New Age ideas are invading the Christian Church. From his background, Mr. Smith draws heavily on the works of several popular New Age gurus and teachers.

Through the fifteen chapters of the book, Mr. Smith attempts to build a case connecting Rick Warren to these popular New Age advocates, most prominently through his relationship with Robert Schuller. Since Robert Schuller has associated himself with New Age teachers and teachings, and since Rick Warren has been deeply influenced by Robert Schuller, he contends, Rick Warren is teaching New Age spirituality.

Mr. Smith claims, “Rick Warren is not the “victim” of any “guilt by association.”” (174) However, the only evidence that Mr. Smith is able to offer is completely circumstantial. He banks on the fact Rick Warren drove from Texas to California in 1979 to attend one of Schuller’s conferences, but there’s no real evidence that what he learned there was New Age spirituality. He aptly notes several times that Robert Schuller is never mentioned in The Purpose-Driven Life. There’s probably a good reason for that; probably he didn’t have much of anything to do with it.

Something Mr. Smith loves to do is take a word or phrase from Rick Warren out of context and claim it comes from New Age thinkers. This method accounts for most of the book. For example, Chapter 7 is all about “What Force Drives Your Life?” He quotes Warren, “What is the driving force of your life?” then goes on to offer similar uses of “driving” and “force” in the New Age writings of Neale Donald Walsch and Maitreya (an anti-Christ). I doubt, however, these were the first men to ever use those words. Mr. Smith completely disregards what Rick Warren is talking about and does make him guilty by association- association of using the same language with no causal connections.

The only really substantive point against Rick Warren Mr. Smith ever makes is on page 75. “The use of overlapping New Age words can create great confusion about what is really being said, and can easily lead to great deception down the line. Specific definitions of words are so very important.” I think Rick Warren could have been more careful in a few specific word uses, however, Mr. Smith should have been more careful to do his research accurately.

Warren Smith is incredibly knowledgeable about New Age teachings. I found his analysis of their material to be similar to my own research in that area. He also makes a convincing case showing Robert Schuller’s involvement with New Age teachings. However, he fails to show how any of that relates at all to Rick Warren. While I’m encouraged that Mr. Smith was saved out of the New Age movement, the way he self-importantly describes his experiences and frequently quotes his previous writings became nauseating. This is a helpful book for understanding the New Age and Robert Schuller, but not Rick Warren. If there is a substantive case against Rick Warren and his “purpose-driven” ministry, it must be found elsewhere.

Lewis considered the earthly life the Shadowlands. In Beyond the Shadowlands Wayne Martindale examines Lewis’s thoughts on the afterlife, on Heaven and Hell. “In thinking about why I have been afraid of going to Heaven or have desired it so little, I have identified seven myths or false ideas I have held about it at one time or another and that Lewis’s thinking has helped dispel.” (16) He also examines six myths about Hell that Lewis brought clarity to.

In Part One (one chapter) of Heaven Dr. Martindale shows how Lewis took on each of the seven myths he once held. These include “Heaven Will Be Boring”, “What! No Sex?”, and “Just a Harp and Crown Trip.” In Part Two (six chapters) he highlights Heaven in the fictional works of Lewis. As he puts it, after demythologizing the misconceptions, Lewis brings clarity by remythologizing the truths of Heaven into his writings.

In Part One (one chapter) of Hell Dr. Martindale shows how Lewis dealt with six common myths about Hell including- “A Good God Wouldn’t Send Anyone to Hell,” “A Physical Hell Would Be Cruel,” and “No One Could Be Happy in Heaven Knowing Some Are in Hell.” In Part Two (five chapters) he highlights Hell in the fictional works of Lewis.

There is also a chapter dealing with the issue of Purgatory in Lewis’s writings followed by an Epilogue. I would say that in the chapter on Purgatory I learned the most about Lewis. I’d assumed that when Lewis mentioned Purgatory he meant in the “Romish” sense (as he put it), but he actually didn’t like Rome’s doctrine.

While this book is obviously focused on the works of C.S. Lewis, it felt more like a book on Heaven and Hell with a helpful friend pointing out the details and enriching perspectives (Lewis through Martindale). Extensive knowledge of Lewis’s works are not required since Martindale sets up each work through summary and reflection. When I picked it up I was afraid that it would be merely a collection of Lewis quotes- that would be easier to read in his books. Quite the contrary, Martindale’s created an independent work that brings Lewis back to life for a delightful interview on what really amounts to the good and evil around us. In relation to the growing collection of volumes written on the life and works of C.S. Lewis, Beyond the Shadowlands will long remain as an incredibly significant contribution to our understanding of Lewis.

“What we need today, in a fragmented world, is a whole faith of the head, heart and hands, with each dimension feeding and sustaining the others.” (16) Dr. Hollinger begins by painting a picture of what we experience too often- fragmented people living fragmented lives. This sets the stage for looking at each area of Christian life individually.

There are two chapters on each the head, the heart and the hands. The first explains the Biblical foundation for the element and its implications for our lives. The second examines how the element is often distorted, either by neglect or by over-emphasis. Dr. Hollinger then presents the three elements integrated in three chapters. The first examines a number of Old and New Testament passages that make a case for the necessity of all three elements working together. The next chapter draws from non-Biblical examples of this model found in education, social psychology, and philosophy. The final chapter examines the implications of integration for our lives, and the challenges we must overcome.

At the very least, Dr. Hollinger is incredibly thorough. Had I written this book (which I did have in mind before this came along), I would not have been able to cover each element to the great detail that Dr. Hollinger does. The reason is that I tend to favor the mind, and therefore couldn’t cover the heart and hands well. What makes this book good is that the presentation of each element is balanced.

What makes this book great, though, is how well Dr. Hollinger explains the relationships between these elements in the Christian life. “Our minds cannot be brought into harmony with God’s designs and truth without hearts that are near to God and actions that reflect God’s ways. Our hearts cannot experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit without knowledge of God to guide us and without actions that reflect the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And our actions of both proclamation and presence will wither without a theology to guide them and a heart to drive and sustain them. Head, heart and hands together. That is the paradigm from God’s Word.” (158)

Head, Heart & Hands is indispensable reading for those who wish to live a complete life completely surrendered to Christ. It should be required for every disciple of Christ who seeks to live to His glory.

Growing up in a Baptist church, I knew very little about Reformed theology. When I started attending a “Reformed” church my only concern was how dogmatically they might teach Calvinism- which in my mind had something to do with TULIP and God forcing people to believe in Him. I have no doubt that many others have seen Reformed theology in a similar light. In What is Reformed Theology? Dr. R.C. Sproul attempts to distill the doctrines of the reformers into a simple and accessible format, and correct many of the misunderstandings many of us have had of it.

Dr. Sproul begins in the introduction affirming that what is being discussed is not a Reformed religion, but more appropriately Reformed theology. It is “not merely a religion without theology. It is driven first and foremost by its understanding of the character of God.” (20)

The book is divided into two parts. The first consists of five chapters on the foundations of Reformed theology- 1) Centered on God 2) Based on God’s Word Alone 3) Committed to Faith Alone 4) Devoted to Prophet, Priest, and King 5) Nicknamed Covenant Theology.

Part two is Dr. Sproul’s explanation of what is commonly known as TULIP- 6) Humanity’s Radical Corruption 7) God’s Sovereign Choice 8) Christ’s Purposeful Atonement 9) The Spirit’s Effective Call 10) God’s Preservation of the Saints.

Throughout the book Dr. Sproul draws Reformed theology up against Roman Catholicism and Pelagius, periodically against Dispensationalism, and at a couple of points against Lutheranism. This is often helpful in order to more fully understand the Reformed position, but I suspect at some points the opposing views are short changed and dismissed without a fair hearing.

This is not a book defending Reformed theology. Anyone who reads this hoping that it is will be rather disappointed. It is more accurately a description of Reformed theology. The Westminster Confession and Reformed thinkers are cited almost as much, if not as much, as the Bible. Many points of Reformed theology that are described are not argued for, though he does take up arguments for and/or against a few doctrines.

As a descriptive work it’s fairly well done. However, I’m afraid there is a limited audience who will appreciate this book. Those educated and trained in theology will likely find the book simplistic. Those who aren’t may find it hard to follow. Dr. Sproul goes into some great explanations of terms like justification, but in the process he uses other terms that he doesn’t even bother to define. There is a glossary, however it only contains foreign (Latin and Greek) words that he uses. A more substantive glossary would have been very helpful for this book.

For me, and I suspect others from similar backgrounds, What is Reformed Theology? is helpful in bringing to bear the big picture of Reformed theology, as well as the history of the doctrines. R.C. Sproul is enjoyable and informative, as he usually is. I recommend this book to anyone seeking to understand Reformed theology, though, they will likely need to look elsewhere to be persuaded of it if they’re not already.

It’s not about whether you buy bonded leather or genuine leather binding. We believe that the Bible is the inspired (or as 2 Timothy 3:16 would say- expired) Words of God. It’s the text before us that matters, and specifically how that text is translated. With so many translations today most Christians have no idea why one version might be better than another. As Dr. Ryken suggests, we typically decide on a translation based on its readability, not its accuracy.

Choosing a Bible is a 30-page booklet adapted from Dr. Ryken’s The Word of God in English. The basic purpose of the booklet is to argue against dynamic equivalence (hereafter DE) translations and for essentially literal (EL) translations. DE is based on the idea that whenever the original text may be unclear to the average reader, the text “should be translated in terms of an equivalent rather than literally.” (7) This is usually referred to as “thought-for-thought” as opposed to “word-for-word.”

Dr. Ryken offers five reasons why DE is not a good method for translation. 1) Translators take liberties with the text that we would not usually take with other documents. 2) DE destabilizes the text by bringing into question the reliability of the translation. 3) DE gives us what the Bible “means” to the translator instead of what the Bible says. 4) We expect to read what the author intended us to read when we read a translation; however, DE often fails to meet this expectation. 5) It is logically and linguistically impossible to separate the thoughts in the Bible from the words in the Bible.

In contrast, 10 reasons why EL can be trusted are offered. These are mostly the opposite of why DE can’t be trusted. Additionally, EL doesn’t mix commentary with translation, it preserves theological precision, and it preserves the dignity and beauty of the original text.

Being only 30 pages, this is not an exhaustive treatment of the translation debate. However, Dr. Ryken’s concise writing is clear, precise, and persuasive. Naturally much of the arguments could be expanded, but for it’s size I don’t know of any other resource of this excellent quality. I can think of a few theologically liberal friends I’d like to give this to for them to chew on.

A few weeks ago, while I was in one of my favorite bookstores, a guy made a comment about how the Holy Spirit has been forgotten in contemporary Christianity. I replied by suggesting that we haven’t forgotten Him, so much as we have misunderstood Him. Whether we misunderstand or forget Him altogether, it’s clear that we don’t have a robust understanding of the Holy Spirit, or the Trinity in general.

Bruce Ware’s Father, Son, & Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, & Relevance, seeks to provide us with the robust understanding we lack. The brief 158 page book is an adaptation from a series of lectures Dr. Ware gave at a conference in 2004 and is broken down into six chapters.

Chapter One addresses the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity. ”Would God have chosen to reveal himself to us as the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, unless he knew that this would be important to our understanding of him and our faith?” (13) Chapter Two claims to be an historical overview of the doctrine, though it’s really more of an analysis of the Biblical evidence for the Trinity.

Chapters Three through Five are each on a different person of the Godhead. Each chapter describes the unique roles of each person, how they relate to one another, and what relevance each person’s roles has for our lives.

The final chapter, six, concludes with ten “lessons for our lives and ministries from the relationships and roles of the triune God.” (132) Since we are made in God’s image, we must start with understanding of God in order to understand ourselves. The applications include living in community, the harmony of unity, the importance of authority and submission within our families and churches, how to pray, and how to worship.

The book is a very easy read, though it is far from simple. I still think James R. White’s The Forgotten Trinity is the best book available in regards to the Biblical basis of the doctrine. However, Dr. Ware’s is the best I’ve seen that explains the roles of each person and how the doctrine should apply to how we live. For instance, “Here in the Trinity… we see hierarchy without hubris, authority with no oppression, submission that is not servile, and love that pervades every aspect of the divine life.” (157)

If you’re questioning the Biblical basis of the doctrine, go read James White. If you are seeking a deeper understanding of the Trinity and the relevance the nature of God has in your life, Dr. Ware’s book is a must read. I know of no other book that explains these profound truths with such clarity and warmth while maintaining their depth and weight.