More Review Books – More Book Reviewers Needed! Women too!

I have received four new titles for review from Reformation Heritage Books and I would love to give these books away to willing reviewers! All you have to do is write a brief, 1-1.5 page paper (Times Roman, double-spaced) about the book, and the book is yours to keep!

Two of these new titles are especially for women, so I would love to see a couple of gals step forward with a volunteer spirit 🙂  These two books are:

• Life in Jesus: A Memoir of Mary Winslow (edited by Octavius Winslow). Here is the publisher’s description:

Godly people speak long after their deaths, inspiring us and revealing to us lives that are worthy of imitation. Octavius Winslow thus took up the daunting task of writing a memoir of his God-fearing mother, Mary Winslow (1774–1854). He viewed her as a grace-filled example of true spirituality, the antithesis of “religious formalism,” which he called “the bane of the Christian church.” One simple line captures his esteem for her: “How powerful and deathless is the influence of a holy mother!”

Mary Winslow’s letters are a treasure of experimental and practical divinity. Living, vital Christianity is here set before us in undeniable reality, flowing out of the resurrected Christ. We learn, in her words and by her example, how to “deal unceasingly with God as God deals unweariedly with us.”

• Seasons of the Heart: A Year of Devotions from One Generation to Another, compiled by Donna Kelderman (RHB, 2013). And here is a description of this book:

A queen, an educator, a missionary, a pastor’s wife. Some of them single, some married, some widowed, some mothers. All of them, like women today, knew the joys and heartaches of life. But the bond that drew this generation of women together—and connects them to women today—was their heart for God and devotion to Christ. In this year’s worth of devotions, you will find spiritual insights from godly women of the past who, like us, struggled with sin, loneliness, and disappointments yet rejoiced in God’s love, mercy, grace, and providential blessings. Join them in the various seasons of their hearts and find timeless encouragement and wisdom from one generation of women to another.

Authors include Ruth Bryan, Anne Dutton, Isabella Graham, Elizabeth Julia Hasell, Frances Ridley Havergal, Sarah Hawkes, Susan Huntington, Harriet Newell, Katherine Parr, Susannah Spurgeon, Anne Steele, and Mary Winslow.

Then I also have two others of broader scope and interest:

• Building a Godly Home. Volume Two: A Holy Vision for a Happy Marriage, by the Puritan William Gouge, edited and modernized by Scott Brown and Joel R. Beeke (RHB, 2013). Here is the information on this title:

For years, William Gouge’s Domestical Duties has stood as the foremost Puritan treatment of Christian family life. Yet due to its size and antiquated expression, it has become almost unknown among current generations of believers. To help revive the usefulness of this classic book, Scott Brown and Joel R. Beeke divided Gouge’s work into three manageable volumes, updated the language to modern standards, and have given it the title Building a Godly Home.

In the second volume, A Holy Vision for a Happy Marriage, we find detailed counsel about the most important relationship in the family—husband and wife. Gouge carefully addresses what a fit marriage is and the proper way to enter into one. He then discusses the mutual duties married couples share in order for marriage to survive and thrive, as well as the duties specific to men and women respectively. Not only does he give detailed treatment of how these responsibilities are best expressed and too often hindered, but he also provides ample biblical motivation to set us on the right course. Christian husbands and wives will find much encouragement in this book.

• The Holy Spirit and Reformed Spirituality: A Tribute to Geoffrey Thomas, edited by Joel R.Beeke and Derek W.H. Thomas (RHB, 2013). RHB has this to say about this title:

How does God bring His Word into our lives? The answer is: by the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit the Word was revealed and written. By the Spirit the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. By the Spirit the Word roots itself in the hearts of sinners and produces fruit. Calvin recognized long ago that the Holy Spirit is the bond of union between believers and Christ. Jonathan Edwards said that the Spirit is the sum of all Christ bought for His people with His precious blood. How precious then is the Spirit, and how important to know Him and His ways! In this book, a team of pastor-theologians uncover the rich biblical teachings about the work of the Holy Spirit. How was the Spirit involved in the human life of Jesus Christ? What is a spiritual person? How does the Spirit open the mind of sinners to trust in Christ? What does it mean to serve God in the power of the Spirit? How does the Spirit’s sovereign work relate to our responsibility in evangelism? These questions and more are addressed in this book.

If any of these titles are of interest to you, let me know either by comment here, or by email. I will find a way to get it to you asap! If you want more information, visit the links provided here. Thanks!

World’s Oldest, Rarest Biblical Texts to Be Placed Online Through Vatican, Oxford University Project

World’s Oldest, Rarest Biblical Texts to Be Placed Online Through Vatican, Oxford University Project.

This recent news item (posted Dec.4, 2013) caught my attention and I thought it worth mentioning here. It may seem surprising to us Protestants that Rome (i.e., the Roman Catholic Church) would be interested in making the Bible more accessible, but such is in fact the case. The Vatican Library has incredible holdings, including some Protestant treasures (e.g., those books and manuscripts taken out of the University of Heidelberg, Germany during the Thirty Years War!).

In any case, we can be grateful that some of these Biblical riches will be made available to the public and to researchers. Below is a part of the news report. To read the rest, visit the link above. And, if you wish to learn more about the Vatican Library and its digital preservation project, see the video posted at the end of the quote below.

The Vatican Library and Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University have collaborated on a major digitization project to bring some of the world’s oldest and rarest biblical texts online for people around the world to see.

“It’s too dangerous to have unique exemplars of anything in one place,” explained Dr. Leonard Polonsky of the Polonsky Foundation, who funded the $3.3 million project. “Digitizing enables us to secure all of this material and of course make it broadly available. It’s an opportunity you can’t resist.”

The aim is to bring 1.5 million pages of ancient texts, including Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, to the online platform within the next three years. For now, a select few works are available for online viewers, including a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, the first major book printed with moveable metal type in the Western world, CNN reported.

“I envision how useful it will be to scholars and many other interested people,” said Monsignor Cesare Pasini, the prefect of the Vatican Library. “Moreover, I see the common fruit of our labor as a very positive sign of collaboration and sharing that is a trademark of the world of culture.”

The official website for the project notes that the selection process “has been informed by a balance of scholarly and practical concerns,” and has been aided by conservation staff at the Bodleian and Vatican Libraries who have worked with curators to assess the significance of the content and the physical condition of the items.