"Rediscovering God in America" – Book Review

Cover via Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a review of the book, "Rediscovering God in America" by Newt Gingrich, with photography by Callista Gingrich.

I'm not able to give the glowing report I had originally hoped to give.  Here's why.

On page xviii is a statement by Gingrich which is not backed up with a quote from any Founder:

"'True religion' was any religion that cultivates the virtues necessary to the protection of liberty." 

The entire introductory portion of the book seems to support a Deistic foundation rather than a Christian foundation for our country.  Gingrich seems to think that, because the Founders supported religious liberty, then they must have had no specific faith of their own.  Some, of course, did not.  But later in the book one finds many quotes from our Founding Fathers which either directly praise Christian principles as basic, fundamental, vital, etc; or which quote from the Bible.  This belies the image of vague universalism which Gingrich seems to attribute to the Founders as a group.

However, the book does later provide nice religious mini-biographies of earlier American leaders, a good compilation of quotes, and some passable (though hardly stellar) photographs.  Collectively, these do show that faith has historically been welcomed in the public square and in government.  For that reason, this book can be a good addition to a Christian reference library.

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I am required by law to notify you that I received a free copy of the book under review.  However, the book was given to me free and clear by Thomas Nelson before my review was posted, and it remains free to me regardless of whether my review was positive or negative.  Thomas Nelson's instructions to Review Bloggers encourage honest criticism, both positive and negative.  What I have written is my unbiased opinion, and it was not influenced in any way by the receipt of the free book in question.

A Break, an Update, and a Movie

I know, I haven’t been blogging much lately.

Partly it’s one of my usual “dry spells.”  If you’ve been around this blog for long, you’ve seen it happen before.

Partly it’s busy-ness.  The boys are out of school for the summer, of course.  My youngest son has started Little League, and I just finished a week of VBS (working a craft table).  I also went through a recent period of more diligent houseworking, though I’m afraid that’s kind-of fallen by the wayside.  (If you have been reading the blog for any length of time, you won’t be surprised to hear that!)  I’ve promised myself and my husband that I’ll start again on Monday.

That may be a bit problematic, though.  You see, I’ll be having a rather uncomfortable procedure on Thursday the 11th.  A needle biopsy, and one that’s in a difficult-to-reach area that’s going to require a lot of time and discomfort to get to.  And I’ve been told to expect the recovery to be rather painful, too.

Don’t worry too much about the word “biopsy.”  Yes, they’re doing it to rule out anything sinister in those calcifications they found, but the radiologist told me that she’s “over 90% certain” they’re nothing to worry about.  I’m far more concerned about the discomfort than the potential results.  So, if you happen to think of me on the 11th, or even on the night of the 10th, send up a prayer to our Lord for me!  I’m not letting myself dwell on the procedure, but of course it’s on the back of my mind.

On a more positive note, I have an exciting new ministry opportunity opening up for me.  I don’t want to go into much detail yet while it’s still not a definite thing, but it could be a chance to do something I really love, and be a blessing to others at the same time!  But of course it would be a big stretch for me, taking on this kind of responsibility and having others count on me, so I do feel a tad nervous thinking about it.  But the excitement far outweighs the nervousness!

I’ll give you more details when I think I can do so.

Ok, as I hinted in the title, I’m also going to mention a movie.  Now, it would be tempting to tell you how much I enjoyed “Flywheel,” “Facing the Giants,” and “Fireproof,” but I imagine most of my readers already know how wonderful those movies are.  Instead, I’m going to recommend a movie that I had never even heard of until recently.  It’s something my mom bought for my kids a little while ago, and it’s called, “Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog.”

I know, I know, it sounds like a hokey kid-flick.  Well, it IS a kid-flick, but it’s not hokey.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  It portrays a very loving relationship, one in which a son admires and respects and obeys and learns from his father…and his father is well-deserving of this respect.  (What a refreshing change of pace from Hollywood’s norm!) 

The main character, teenager Angus McCormick, finds himself drawing on his father’s wisdom in order to survive the challenge of his life.  In fact, though the title implies that the movie is about the dog, and the dog is important to the plot, the real hero is the son who grew wise from respectfully working beside his father.  

It is mostly believable, uniformly well acted, teaches and models great character qualities, and has no profanity or questionable content.  I recommend this movie to anyone with pre-teens and even younger teens.

And there you have it…proof that I haven’t fallen off the planet!  I hope to be back to writing more soon, and I appreciate all of your prayers!

 

“In the Footsteps of Paul” – A Book Review

I have agreed to participate in the Book Review Blogger Program through Thomas Nelson Publishing.  I recently received my review copy of the beautiful book entitled “In the Footsteps of Paul” by Ken Duncan, and I wanted to share my impressions with you. 

Overall, I would have to say that I enjoyed the book.  The pictures were beautifully composed and executed.  I found myself pleasantly surprised by the lovely landscapes, which were so different from much of my imagination.  I enjoyed looking at the old buildings that Paul himself (and even Christ) once touched, and the roads they once walked.

I also appreciated the quotes from the Bible and from other authors interspersed throughout. 

There is nothing earth-shattering in this book…no new insights that you never had before.  But it does help to give a new perspective to the narratives in the Word.  The photos are certainly far more meaningful than lines on a dry old map of Paul’s journeys.

One improvement I would suggest – an index of the names of the locations, so when we run across a place being mentioned in the Bible, we can easily find it in the book.  It is rather surprising that this was omitted.  I would also have enjoyed a Biblical Reference Index, showing where to find the photos from every place in the Word where they are mentioned.  Perhaps these will be included in the next edition.

If you enjoy beautiful photography and the ability to picture the scenes you read about, you will probably like this book.