Books Aplenty!
One of the highlights of Reload is the bookstall. The Bookstall is a great opportunity to buy some quality Christian literature to read. There is plenty of variety in the books available, books to challenge the way you think, books that are immensely practical and books that will look impressive on your shelf even if it takes you five years to read them (or indeed open them). This week The Page is reviewing two books which you could potentially buy from the Reload bookstall.
Gospel and Kingdom
Gospel and Kingdom is the first book in the Goldsworthy Trilogy. No it’s not some dodgy Christian Star Wars Trilogy knock off; the Goldsworthy Trilogy is actually a series of three books by Aussie theologian Graeme Goldsworthy. The first book in this series is called Gospel and Kingdom.
Now when I attach hefty labels such as theologian, I don’t want to put off any potential readers. Goldsworthy’s writing style in Gospel and Kingdom is very accessible as he makes an effort to introduce the reader to terms that you might otherwise only hear being bandied about in a Bible college.
Gospel and Kingdom is of particular interest to those who want to figure out how the Old Testament is relevant today. Many of us are quick to agree that of course the Old Testament is still important today! After all “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). But when it comes to actually figuring out what passages from the Old Testament are saying to us today, we are suddenly straining ourselves in order to figure out what that could be.
Gospel and Kingdom describes a model where Old Testament passages are looked at in the context of the whole Bible and it can be seen how this Scripture is “…profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness”.
The final selling point I will touch on is that while this one book is worth the $16.95 that you pay for it, you also get Gospel and Wisdom & The Gospel in Revelation, two other great books for your library. Bargain!
[Lachlan Orr]
Beyond Greed
The word ‘Greed’ isn’t a word that people usually like to identify with. This book challenges us to think about if we are truly worshipping the Lord God or the god of Greed.
Society tempts us to believe that the more money we make, the more successful we are. Jesus says in Matt 19:23 “…it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”. So, we are torn between two conflicting views on money, do we enjoy it now, or wait to receive our riches in heaven?
The two bible passages which this book was based on were Col 3:5, “Greed … is idolatry” and 1 Tim 6:6, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment”. Brian Rosner begins by introducing the concept of greed, and then explains to us what the bible has to say about it. We don’t usually think of Greed as being an idol, but at some stage this has been an issue for each of us.
This book would be good for people to read if they want to know more about what the bible says about greed and/or would like to learn how to better please God with their money. I found this book to be eye-opening, challenging and confrontational without being left with the feeling that money is evil.
There are nine chapters in the book and additional readings from The Briefing. Brian Rosner uses numerous resources in this book including The Times, The Guardian and other Bible-based books. Bible quotes can be located throughout the chapters and help the reader to understand more clearly how our attitude towards money should be.
When you read this book, it makes you think about important questions. Is it OK for a Christian to earn a lot of money? Is there more I could be doing with my money? Is it greedy to invest my money?
After reading this book I was left with an understanding about issues that Australians have with money, but there is not much about issues in other countries around the world. It would be good to think about poverty in the world and how we can help them with our money.
This book reminds the reader about the true riches to which we can look forward.
[Katie Bolton]