(book review) The New Media Frontier

November 19, 2008 · Posted in Books, Reviews, acm · 1 Comment 

Title: The New Media Frontier Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ.
Editors: John Mark Reynolds and Roger Overton.
Publisher: Crossway Publishing
Authors: Multiple
Pages: 254

This book was right up my alley. A book about blogging for Christians. I admit I was really psyched up for this one. I also admit I felt a little let down. It is by no fault of the authors or publishers for my disappointment but rather just the facts of Internet life. The tools and the players on the Internet are constantly evolving, so unfortunately what you write today may not be the latest news in a month or so.

That said, this would still be a great book for someone just starting out with blogging or looking to move forward in their blogging. They start out with a brief history of how we got here and then a little about where they think it is heading. From there they point out a few of the dangers, three biggies and then move right into the basics of blogging.

The chapter entitled Beginner’s Toolbox: Blogging starts you out on the basics such as read first - blog later. Great advice, read blogs lots of them, especially on the subject you want to blog on. Get a good feel for what works and what falls flat. Know why you want to start a blog, a very simple question that you should ask yourself before you start. ( I should have asked myself that one as well, oh well, hindsight!)

They then move on to tools of the trade, blogging software. Whether you want to go for a free blog or spend a few dollars and go with a hosting service and your choice of blogging software. (Psst, WordPress is the way to go!) They even give some advice on choosing your blogs name. It is good advice, a bad name can kill a blog before it even gets started. The next chapter covers pod-casting and video blogging. Two areas of blogging that I shy away from as it puts me out there a little too far. Never the less, they give some solid advice to those looking into that form of blogging as well.

The next section of the book covers many different ways of blogging, from evangelical to politics. They give you a quick breakdown in the subsequent chapters of the many different ways to blog. I will admit that I had a few stumbling blocks here as well. I felt that some advice was being repeated in chapters and there was at least one chapter that felt like an advertisement for the authors blog. He did pass on useful information but his constant referal to his own blog get distracting for me. That is one of the downfalls of multi-authored books. You will sometimes find repetition and there will always be someone that you either don’t agree with or that just makes you want to take a nap.

Final word: This is a good book for beginners. As I stated earlier, if you are just starting out I recommend reading this book before you put yourself out there. If you have been at it for awhile now, nothing in here is really new or going to change your world but it may give you some ideas. I am going to give this book 4 stars out of five. I would have given it five if not for those few qualms I had. They may not be issues for most, especially newbies!
Rating: ★★★★☆

The book The New Media Frontier was provided to me at no cost for review purposes by Crossway books and Active Christian Media.

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(Book Review)Reasons We Believe

September 15, 2008 · Posted in Books, Reviews · Comment 



Title: Reasons We Believe (50 lines of evidence that confirm the Christian faith)
Author: Nathan Busenitz
Publisher: Crossway Books
Pages: 24
Ah yes, now this is more like it. I admit I was a tad afraid after my last attempt at an apologetics book review but after reading the description I just had to read this one!

One of the first things some may notice is that this book will get you nowhere with most “new” atheists; as they generally will not accept the Bible as a legitimate historical document. Then again, most atheists won’t accept anything that doesn’t fit into their narrow world view. The book has 50 lines of evidence that confirm the Christian faith; which, oddly enough, is the subtitle of the book. Most of these lines are references to the Bible; some delve into other texts and may be useful to you when dealing with someone who insists that you are using circular reasoning when you quote from the Bible. (which by the way kills me since they want to quote all their favorite authors but do not want me to use mine)

There are 5 reasons we believe sections; broken down as follows: Reasons we believe in God, Reasons we believe in the Bible (part 1), Reasons we believe in the Bible (part 2), Reasons we believe in Jesus (part 1), and Reasons we believe in Jesus (part 2). They are logically laid out and you can skip around as you please to read the ones that catch your fancy first. As I have mentioned previously, I really like it when authors use Bible references, even more so when they make me work for it, as the author does here. I am inclined towards research so I tend to enjoy it when I am required to look things up for myself. That and I imagine it cuts down on printing costs as well so it is a good thing for both sides!

The book is well written and eloquent, and no big words to stumble on thankfully. There are lot’s of footnotes with reference to more books to add to your reading list. This text was written with the layman in mind and is successful in not going over your head or confusing the reader with philosophical references that make your brain hurt (thank you Nathan).

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has questions about the Christian faith and Christians who want to better defend their beliefs. Yes it’s definitely a 5 star book.
Rating: ★★★★★

The book, Reasons We Believe, was provided to me at no cost by Active Christian Media and Crossway Books for review purposes. To become a reviewer for ACM you may click here.

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(Book review) Reasonable Faith

August 17, 2008 · Posted in Books, Reviews · 1 Comment 

First I would like to apologize to Crossway books and the author, William Lane Craig. I took way too long on this review, I got in way over my head on this one. I should have realized that since it was described as a seminary level text on apologetics. I love apologetics, but once you start getting into philosophy, you tend to lose me. I tried to be fair in this so whenever I got too lost I would look something up and not go on until I understood what was being said. Hence the extra time on the review.

 

That said, this is an awesome book with great arguments for the Christian faith. If you have a background in philosophy then you will have no trouble with this book whatsoever. If you are like me and easily confused by complex theory, then it may take awhile to get through it. Do not let that stop you from reading this book. This book is great for Christians who want to be able to have an answer for their faith. It would be equally good for giving to a non-Christian friend that needs to have some of his doubts answered.

The book’s lay out is easy to work with, giving the arguments first, then practical application, followed by a literature cited or recommended section. The chapters, eight in all, are lengthy, but considering the amount of information he is giving you, that is understandable. The book has 415 pages, all chock full of information.

One of my favorite quotes occurs close to the beginning of the book.

“In a world without a divine lawgiver , there can be no objective right or wrong, only our culturally and personally relative, subjective judgments. This means that it is impossible to condemn war, oppression, or crime as evil. Nor can one praise brotherhood, equality, and love as good. For in a universe without God, good and evil do not exist–there is only the bare valueless fact of existence, and there is no one to say that you are right and I am wrong.”

I think I latched onto this quote partly for the great truth it imparts but also for the fact that it was the first one that I didn’t have to look anything up to understand.

I am giving this book 5 stars, while I had some difficulty with it, it forced me to learn a lot and that is never a bad thing!
Rating: ★★★★★

The book, Reasonable Faith, was provided to me at no cost by Active Christian Media and Crossway Books for review purposes. To become a reviewer for ACM you may click here.

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(Review) Facing Your Final Job Review.

March 10, 2008 · Posted in Books, Reviews, acm · 2 Comments 



Title:Facing Your Final Job Review
Author(s):Woodrow Kroll
Publisher:Crossway Books
Pages:223

What will it be like for you when you are standing at the Judgment seat of Christ? A question to few of us ask, or even know the answer to. Honestly it is not a subject I had considered before. I am now! This book tries to show you not only what it will be like but what will be judged and what our rewards might be. Mr Kroll reminds us that our motives for doing what we do will have an impact as well. Are you doing it for Christ or yourself? Will your works stand up to the fire or be burned up? This is something you should be asking yourself everyday.

The book is Biblically based and well researched. He uses biblical references to show his points, which I appreciated. Many books that I have read in the past have made a few fleeting references to scripture but not really gone to the trouble of explaining them to me. He didn’t use anything out of context or try to confuse the reader with too much scripture.

This is a really good book that makes you do a lot of soul searching. I found a few problems in my life that I had never even realized until now. Honestly, there are some things that I do that I do for me. I thought my motives were pure until I really evaluated them. This one took me a little longer to read than normal, but that’s a good thing. I was taking it all in and I honestly think I did learn something from it. Now I just need to apply it to my life!
Rating: ★★★★★

The book, Facing Your Final Job Review, was provided to me at no cost by Active Christian Media and Crossway for review purposes. To become a reviewer for ACM you may click here.

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