Bound Together by Chris Brauns

Individuality is something desired by many, especially in the United States. We want to be judged by our own choices and make our own path. When someone else's choices negatively affect us we want to be disassociated with that person. In Bound Together, Chris Brauns wants to show that we are not isolated, but are bound together.

The phrase Chris uses throughout the book is the ‘principle of the rope,’ meaning that we are tied to each other, or bound to each other. He starts out by explaining how Adam’s sin binds us together. Because of Adam’s sin, Chris writes, we have a corrupt nature and that the pain and suffering we experience today was, “predicated on Adam’s failure in the garden.” Chris is quick to point out though, that this is not the end, nor the only rope. We are also bound together because of Christ.

Altared: The True Story of a She, a He, and How They Both Got Too Worked Up About We by Claire and Eli

Ring by spring. That seemed to be the motto of the Christian University I attended, and I saw this played out more than once. And it wasn’t just that college. It seems that many churches, regardless of the denomination, strongly push marriage, even to those who are not in a romantic relationship. While the churches encouragement toward marriage can be good, it also has the ability to be too forceful and Christians may feel pressured to marry earlier than they otherwise might.

This idea is deconstructed in Altared by Eli and Claire (both pseudonyms). They are not saying that marriage is bad, however they believe an unnecessary amount of focus in put on marriage by the church. While marriage is good and is biblical, churches sometimes make it feel like a commandment. Instead of encouraging singles to practice discipleship and serving, the stereotypical ‘singles’ class feels like dating prep class. Eli and Claire use the story of their relationship to illustrate how this over emphasis on marriage hurt their relationship. They also take time to look at what they find the Bible says about marriage, as well as looking at other Christian writers say about marriage. All in all it reads as part story and part devotional/bible study.

Captive in Iran - A Review

Occasionally you may hear a news story about religious persecution around the world. A church being burned, rights for certain religions lost, or people being arrested or killed for their belief. But the news just reports the occurrence. Rarely do they seem to show the whole story of persecution. While the persecution is a terrible thing, there are sometimes glimmers of hope.

Maryam Rostampour and Marzieyeh Amirizadeh are two friends who lived together in Iran. Though they each grew up in an Islamic household, they never believed themselves to be followers of Islam, instead becoming Christians. They knew that rejecting Islam in Iran could be dangerous, yet they willing shared their faith with people who asked. In 2009 they were arrested and eventually made their way to Evin Prison in Tehran, which has a history of torture and executions. In all they spent 259 days in Evin Prison merely because they were seen handing out some Bibles.

God's Not Dead by Rice Broocks

It seems like attacks against Christianity are growing more direct and reaching an ever widening audience. At the same time, it is rare to hear a solid defense to the attacks. Usually defense’s offered seem shallow, or they don’t hit as wide an audience. This is what prompted Rice Broocks to write God’s Not Dead. This is his attempt to answer Atheisms charge.

The book is roughly divided into two sections. The first section is focused more on faith and science, with Broocks arguing that Christianity is not incompatible with science. This focus is heaviest in chapter 4 and 5, which are about creation and God’s creation of mankind. Early chapters also cover topics such as the presence of evil and faith versus reason. The second half of the book focuses mostly on the accuracy of the Bible, which includes looking at historical proof for the texts.

A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr

Errol Stone is a nobody. An orphan and a drunkard, he does odd jobs so that he can buy more ale. He has no dreams or aspirations, and seems to be the stereotypical hero found in fantasy stories, as well as being somewhat of a stereotypical hero in Christian themed fiction. Fantasy stories seem filed with heroes who come from lowly backgrounds. From Luke Skywalker to Bilbo Baggins, they hardly seem heroic when they start off. While this can lead to a strong transformation in the hero, not much seems to be done to differentiate Errol from other similar heroes at first. The drunkenness is a common character trait I’ve seen in Christian fiction, as a way to make the character flawed. The character can then fight against this flaw, and if/when the beat it, we can see them as true heroes. There isn’t much new to this flaw either, and sometimes it comes off as gimmicky and unnecessary space is given to it.

Oscar Predictions 2013

This year I made an effort to catch as many nominees as I could. Compared to past years, I feel that I did pretty well, especially in some of the major categories. Here are my picks for who I think will win, and who I think should win. I’m not including every category, only the ones I’m most interested in. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

Fearless by Eric Blehm

The SEALS are the United States’ elite military force. Those who enlist undergo intense training for their missions. SEAL Team SIX especially has received much attention after the raid which resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden. But that is not their only story.

Adam Brown was a member of SEAL Team SIX before the raid. He grew up as a young boy in Arkansas and was a person who never backed down. He’s the kid who jumped off of roofs and who jumped off a bridge from a moving vehicle as a teenager. Adam was also the kid who refused to take off his life vest when boating with friends because he promised his parents he wouldn’t. Loyalty was something Adam held close. But, as he grew older, that loyalty began to be overshadowed by darkness. He fell into the wrong crowd and his life spiraled in addiction, and then to jail.