One of his earliest books was Desiring God with the provocative subtitle of “meditations of a christian hedonist.” For those not familiar with the word – a hedonist is someone who pursues pleasure – as such the title seems antithetical to how many Christians (and non-Christians) perceive the Christian faith. Yet within the pages of this book one finds not a call to shallow living but a call to deeper living and a vision of a faith that stretches farther and deeper than many of us had previously imagined. Piper is extremely orthodox and conservative (in an evangelical fashion) theologically but his writings push readers to imagine and understand their traditional faith in deeper (not necessarily new) ways.

It took me several years to read John Piper’s Desiring God…and I am a fairly avaricious reader. The first several times I tried I threw the book down in disgust due to Piper’s heavily deterministic, predestinatory, Calvinistic/Augistinian bent, but at last I struggled through and found that he had much worthwhile to say even if his ideas in this one area were disturbing to me. But even from here, it would be another year or two until I finished this hefty volume – not because of its sheer length but because of its content. So many books are filled with fluff essentially regurgitating the same statements in different guises – each page of Piper’s Desiring God is filled with challenging, convicting, uplifting, need-to-think-this-over content…there is no fluff. This means that I would only read a few pages each day – there was just so much to chew on.

Whether you are a Christian or not I would recommend John Piper’s Desiring God. He does a great job at laying out an exciting vision of the Christian life.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Let’s take a look at a few of the BSF’s many features:

• New English Translation (NET) – A brand new translation of the Old and New Testaments from the original manuscripts. The NET is readable and yet precise, but what really makes the translation stand apart is the 70k+/- footnotes that are throughout the text. These footnotes are not commentary on the text but rather explain the translators decisions, especially on controversial verses. They offer deep insight into the original texts and are an amazing aid to the bible student or translator.
• Book Commentaries - Contemporary commentaries written by sincere bible students/scholars are freely available on the BSF website. While there is great value in the two thousand years of commentary we have on Scripture, these commentaries offer an additional perspective including the latest manuscript and archaeological evidence, contemporary illustrations and applications, and so on while maintaining fidelity to the Scriptures.
• The Theology Program (TTP) – An extensive theological training program meant for churches to utilize in training lay individuals in theology. The course is indepth, practical, and understandable. Its meant to help those who want to push on in their theological understanding but cannot afford the expense or time commitments of a college education at this juncture in their lives.

These are only a few of so many wonderful things you will find at the BSF. I insist, you must visit!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The first book I read by Ted Dekker was Thr3e, which I enjoyed thoroughly from start to end. But then it felt like Dekker hit a dry spell. I read House which he had co-authored with Frank Peretti[1. Peretti is probably my favorite fiction writer, especially in the Christian genre. He, however, also disappointed me first with Monster and then with House.] and it disappointed thoroughly. House seemed to lack real story (as most horror does) and focused on an extremely fragmented narrative.[2. By this I mean the book is told in small segments, swapping back and forth between characters, times, places, etc. This is fine when done in moderation (e.g. one chapter about one character, the next about another), but when it becomes pervasive it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I consider it an artificial method of creating a driving thriller. Instead of real substance one breaks up the story in a way that feels "fast-paced" but if placed in order would simply feel simplistic and dull.]

After that it was Showdown and Saint (The Paradise Series), both of which I found somewhat boring – probably due to the imaginative storyline which felt just a bit too fantastical for my tastes. I picked up Obsessed but never was obsessed with it and haven’t finished it yet (not sure if I will). I’d heard good things about his Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, and White) but have avoided them out of my distaste for The Paradise Novels.

I stopped by the library recently and picked up two of his latest – Skin and Adam. I read Skin first. I was solidly disappointed yet again. I was tempted to just return Adam without even a second glance. I’m not trying to say Dekker’s books where awful – they weren’t – they were okay, good, average. They just weren’t great and I have a reading list a mile long. I decided to give it a try anyways – a few pages, then put it aside. Dekker grabbed me in the first several pages and wouldn’t let me go. Wow! By the end Charity had joined me and we were reading the story together. We both agreed that it was his most mature work to date. In fact, I would consider it a masterpiece in its genre.

Synopsis:

Daniel Clark works for the FBI and is hunting down a mysterious serial killer known only as “Eve” for taking innocent women and murdering them via a lethal biological injection. Clark has been hard on Eve’s trail for a long time and has lost his marriage over his obsession to catch Eve. Now it seems that Clark is finally getting close, but Eve outsmarts him again – shooting him in the head and killing him. Miraculously, Clark is resuscitated, but not without losing his memory of the killer’s face. The key to capturing this devious criminal is locked in his damaged mind.

Okay, so the storyline isn’t perhaps all that different from any number of other crime thrillers, or for that matter many of Dekker’s other stories – but the execution is flawless. Dekker interweaves the current narrative of the serial killer chase with fictitious newspaper articles written after the case describing the evolution of Alex Price (Eve) from a man into a killer.

There are only so many times one can read a crime thriller. They pretty much have the same narrative structure and storyline – bad guy kills people, bad guy gets caught. Flesh it out and you have your story. So how does one separate oneself from the masses? Dekker does it (and rightly so) by asking deeply philosophical (and theological) questions via his narrative[3. He does this in some of his other novels, but generally I have found the execution flawed with the exception of Thr3e and Adam.], specifically, “What is it that causes an individual to become a serial killer? Is one born as such or bred as such? Can a good man become a bad one?” This questions can be asked in a heavy-handed manner that demands a certain pathway be followed and fails to truly explore the questions and accept the unanswered dimensions, but Dekker succeeds in asking these questions in a way that feels real and authentic.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a thrilling read, Adam is a great place to look. I have read few books that have grabbed me in such a firm way – and that I look back on with deep thoughts. I think the question of the darkest edges of humanity (e.g. serial killers) fascinates us because we believe at some point that it gives us insight into the whole of humanity. We want to understand how we can aberrate so far – we want to find an answer. Dekker encourages us to search our souls for the right answers.[4. This book is not a pure criminal thriller. If you want to get an idea of the secret twist (which makes the story even more frightening) click here, it'll take you to a book referenced in the novel that is tightly intertwined with the plot - but warning - its a spoiler!]

Related posts:

1. Boneman’s Daughters (Ted Dekker). Ted Dekker has written some excellent books. Adam is my...
2. Desiring God (John Piper). John Piper is one of the great theological minds of...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

On Medication & Side Effects:

I do not want to discount the real concern that there are potential side effects from consuming medications that interact with our minds. Unlike many of our other organs which we understand to a great degree, the brain still resides as a major mystery and our treatments for aberrations in this mysterious and fascinating organ are far more primitive than any of us would desire. On the other hand, I’d like to share a few observations in my personal battle in deciding to consume medications:

• The damage from mental aberrations is certain, the damage from medications is small (or unknown). Peter D. Kramer in his book Against Depression
  writes, “In the aged brain, strokes cause more injury than they do in the young brain, and so do infections, blood clots, inflammation, low blood sugar, seizures–you name it. Prior exposure to stress (and to stress hormones) is the critical factor in this age-related vulnerability. More stress in the past makes an animal more brittle in old age. Both neurons and their protectors, glial cells, are at risk.” “Much of the damage done by stress hormones is to the stress-response system itself. The brain is a complex communications network, one cell reaching out to another. In the face of stress hormones, neurons lose connective wiring. In particular, cells in the hippocampus shed receptors for incoming messages about stress. The hippocampal cells also lose dendrites, the branches that connect a neuron to neighboring cells and transmit outgoing messages. Like overwhelmed people who withdraw from social contact, overwhelmed neurons in the hippocampus become isolated.” (pg. 117) Point being, while there may be unknown long-term side-effects to taking a medication there is no doubt about the health effects of untreated aberrations on the human mind.
• We have a certain fear of losing ourselves through medication. We ask ourselves, “are we just druggies, in need of a fix to make ourselves feel good?” We ponder whether there is not some good side to our illness.[1. I don't want to tackle this question in too much depth, but let me briefly summarize my position. There are lessons that can be learned while undergoing a challenge of any form - physiological, mental, familiar, economic - but these lessons are pain that is utilized by God for good, they are not in themselves good. In the Scriptures we do not find Jesus (the incarnation of God) saying to those who asked for healing, "I'm sorry. Its better for you be ill. I won't heal you." No, we find him bringing hope and healing. There is more than enough pain in this world, more than enough challenges, lets not purposely embrace unnecessary challenges - lets heal where we can and depend on the grace of God throughout.] We fear that society would lose a certain portion of itself without those who mentally struggle. We ask what would have history been like if individuals like Martin Luther, Picasso, van Gogh, Kierkegaard, George Fox, and so many others of our great minds had not suffered?[2. Peter Kramer tackles this topic extensively in Against Depression
  , a book that while to all appearances on the disorder of depression has more to do with fighting the cultural value we have given depression (and can be extended logically to other disorders).] This is the question, but we are simply asking it the same way. One does not lose depth without disorder. When one removes the disorder one finds greater ability to tap and manage depth. The disorder disables the individuals, removing capacity to innovate, it does not add to it.
• Yet, there is still a concern about the medication. There is no doubt that medication can affect us in ways we do not expect – in fact covering over portions of what we consider our personality. Sometimes the side effects are the exact opposite (though only in a very small minority) of what is expected – instead of relieving depression or anxiety it increases it. This is why I suggest the involvement of a community in the process is essential. At the most basic one’s psychiatrist, but preferrably including friends and family. These individuals can objectively help you understand the effects of the medication on your daily behavior and assist in determining whether the medication is allowing the real you to shine out or masking it (the latter is marginal, but possible).
• We assume that medical illness is a choice we face in isolation, but it is not. While we assume that refusing treatment is solely our suffering we cannot underestimate the impact of our suffering on others. The lack of energy we feel translates into a lack of energy for friends and family. The sudden bouts of rage we battle flies out at the most uncomfortable times – at work, with our wives or children. Our illness is real and affects those around us. If our worldview is twisted, we impart this twisted worldview to those we interact with to some extent. We must recognize the extent of others suffering.
• We oftentimes assume that our suffering isn’t that bad. We are resilient people in many senses. Many of us operate on a decently functional level without medication. Especially as adults we learns methods of coping with our foibles. But there is a great difference between functionally nominally well and functioning to one’s true human potential.[3. When I speak to "true human potential" I do not mean the actual perfection of mankind. I do not want to embark on a theology lesson, but it is my firm belief that we are beyond hope in (via natural means) redeeming our broken selves (and thus in need of a more than natural (supernatural) escape). When I speak of "true human potential" I mean a level of functioning which we as broken humans can embrace. It is not the full escape, but it is better than. The individual with clotted heart may need stints, this will make life better - allowing him to act to his "full potential" as opposed to without stints. At the same time the individual still is not "whole" in the sense of having a perfect heart.] Some of us have been suffering for so long that we don’t know what it is like to be free. Even after a short while in the grip of a mental illness it feels natural, as if this is the way things should be. Yet I have experienced (and proudly bear witness to) becoming more myself (and it is the self I strove for but could not be) when accepting and receiving treatment.

What About Them Psychologists/Counselors?

There is a fear of psychologists/counselors that permeates many and especially amongst those who would consider themselves Evangelical Christians (of which I consider myself a constituent). The fears are not entirely unfounded. There have been individuals who have seen a counselor/psychologist who provided bad advice and have changed their lives for the worse because of this advice[4. Probably one of the most ready examples to Christians is recommendations to divorce a spouse.]. But I would suggest that we need not fear the psychologist (or counselor) but instead the uncritical thinking and lack of contextual support that allows illegitimate beliefs to grow. In my opinion, a counselor is an individual to dialogue with about our lives and whom we allow to speak honestly and openly with us about the issues they see in our lives.[5. With Larry Crabb (Soul Talk: The Language God Longs for Us to Speak), it would be my hope that eventually this sort of "soul care" could be performed by one another. Unfortunately, at this juncture, too often this help is not available and those around us (including ourselves) are not able/willing to enter into the required depth of dialogue.] When we give someone permission to explore our life and philosophy this does not mean we give them permission to determine our beliefs. We can and should critically evaluate each suggestion for its truthfulness. Additionally, I would suggest that counseling becomes much safer when one uses it as a primary means of exposing the difficulties in ones life but then also utilizes a secondary support system to give you context to the recommendations and issues raised. While many people are not prepared to provide the depth of inquiry and feedback that a counselor can, many of them are willing to discuss with you individual subjects which the psychologist raises. Thus the danger of psychology is not that there may be false beliefs but that we uncritically and without contextual relational support accept such beliefs. No individual has perfect knowledge, every encounter is a mixture of truth and error, this is true even for professionals. We must be willing to battle for truth on our turf, not simply accept the pronouncements of others. That said, having someone challenge our belief system can help us revise and strengthen our belief systems in ways that allow us to live better lives.[6. When I speak of better lives I mean in many ways - less painful, less stressful, etc. But to me the ultimate depiction of a better life is the ability to love and know God and one another despite circumstances. Everything else is frosting on the cake.]

Are We Willing to See Ourselves?

When it really comes down to it, my argument is not so much particularly for psychological medications and treatment – but for the willingness to explore ourselves, and not solely internally. You can sit down and talk with a psychiatrist and a psychologist without taking medication and without accepting their advice. But perhaps it is worthwhile to ask the question? To open ourselves to the possibility? To ask someone else, “Do you hurt this way every day? Do you feel this anxious? Do you have this much trouble sleeping?” So often we assume our suffering is normative, when it is anything but.

Please feel free to give me some feedback on this post. I know this post has been much more ideological than many others I have posted but I want to engage you in discussion about this. I am at much risk of mixing truth with error as any other fallible human being. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why God said after creating everything else “good” that “it is not good for man to be alone.”[7. In an ultimate theological sense, even the community of mankind is not enough. We can do better by working together, but we still find ourselves to fall short. Extra-natural inspiration and revelation is needed (I could just say "supernatural" but this word is beaten to death like a horse and connotes all sorts of wishy-washy sentamentalism that so many reject without considering the underlying import of the word. By changing words I am not changing the meaning but simply attempting to force us to process those things with which we have become so comfortable (or uncomfortable).)]

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.