WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?

Name: WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?
ISBN: 978-1483409405

by Chris Conrad ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2014

Yes, Jesus had to die, but not for the reason Christians have traditionally been led to believe, according to this insightful theology book.

Geologist Conrad leads an expedition through key events in the Old Testament to show that God pointed to his plan for the world’s salvation from the beginning of time. Often, Christians are taught that Jesus died to pay the penalty for human sin that began in the Garden of Eden, but the author says it’s misguided to focus on the disobedience that resulted in sin. “[S]in isn’t just an action; it begins in the mind with a corrupt concept of what God is like,” he writes. Adam and Eve breached God’s trust, and it was this lack of trust in a good God, not the disobedience itself, that was the problem, Conrad believes. It’s not mere theological hairsplitting, and he makes the case that God wants to preserve rather than limit our freedom. Conrad credits Dr. Graham Maxwell as the source of many of the ideas contained in the book and calls his view of why Jesus died the Great Controversy-Demonstration Model, which he uses to present Jesus’ death as the greatest example of the lengths to which God will go to demonstrate how much he loves the world and desires a relationship with everyone in it. Conrad says it’s important to understand that God isn’t “an executioner.” The Romans, he believes, were kinder and more compassionate than the Jews, who followed God. “Is it any wonder that today the secular and nonchurched can be nicer people than those who go to church and have a harsh picture of God?” he asks. It’s a great question. Despite occasional typos, the writing is intelligent and accessible, and some complex theology is explained well. Several examples of the Great Controversy-Demonstration Model are dry reading, but the book would still be ideal for discussion in a Sunday school class or Bible study.

Fresh thoughts about a question the world never tires of asking.

Pub Date: June 9, 2014

ISBN: 978-1483409405

Page Count: 236

Publisher: Lulu

Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2022

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION

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THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
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THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.