Recommended reading #3

[Is God To Blame? by Boyd – Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Beecher Stowe – Speeches and Sermons of Martin Luther King Jr.]

Is God To Blame? By Gregory Boyd

I’ve read several of Boyd’s books, and this is the clearest and most concise of his on the subject of God and suffering. This might be the best book on why God allows so much pain in his world that I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a ton of them.

Though I’m not entirely convinced of the “Open View,” to which he ascribes, I love the way this guy thinks and writes. To a hyper-Calvinist, Boyd is a heretic. To me, he thinks outside the box and explains things in a biblical and intellectually provocative way.

Here’s taste of some of my favorite controversial quotes of his:

• A creation which includes free agents capable of love cannot be one in which God can guarantee his will is always done.

• Amidst the sea of ambiguity we swim in, we must not rely on our own “knowledge of good and evil” to figure out what God is like and what he is up to.
  

• The cross reveals that God is so sovereign he doesn’t need to ensure he will always get his own way.

• If God were to revoke our freedom every time we used it in evil ways, we wouldn’t be truly free.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriett Beecher Stowe

I’ve been listening to audio books lately, and this is my absolute favorite so far, both for its timeless message and the reading performance by Richard Allen. I recommend the audio by Allen in the highest of terms. I was mesmerized not only by the story and message of the book, by his use of the vernacular and doing it in all the voices of the characters is an absolute masterpiece. So, think about going to the library and checking out the CD version. But in regard to Stowe’s story, it has been said that when Lincoln met her he greeted her with, “So you’re the little lady that wrote the book that made this great war!” I think her two purposes were to expose the evil atrocities of slavery and to preach the Gospel! It’s an amazing book, and I highly recommend that you get the CDs and listen to it on the way to work or wherever.

The Landmark Speeches and Sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Previously, I had only heard pieces of King’s speeches and sermons on the radio. I am now convinced that he was one of the greatest orators and personalities in the 20th Century. I could go on and on about him and these captivating messages of his, but do yourself a favor and check these out from your library and be prepared to be moved by what this great man preached to his (and every) generation.