A systematic breakdown of apocalyptic prophecies in the Bible.
A concise, comprehensive study of the Christian doctrine of the Second Coming.
Baker (In Search of Truth, 2017) offers her readers a detailed overview of New Testament and Old Testament writings about the End Times and the Advent. She grounds the first part of her study with an examination of the various covenants made between God and others in the Hebrew Bible (including Abraham, Noah, Moses, among others) and the nature of concepts that have arisen from those covenants. Her clarifications of covenant theology and dispensation theologies, for example, are uniformly clear and well-done. She lays out key Old Testament sections, particularly the prophecies in the Book of Daniel, in an accessible manner, and how they relate to the End Times. She follows this thread through the New Testament and the writings of the early Church Fathers; along the way, she not only discusses relevant quotations in approachable terms, she also ends chapters with discussion and study questions to make the material more applicable to readers’ lives. The book also doesn’t avoid central problems with Christian eschatology, such as the fact that many Christians have been wrong about the imminence of the Messiah’s return throughout history. Jesus’ statements in the Gospels are often interpreted to mean that he thought that the Kingdom of Heaven would manifest itself in the world rather quickly. As Baker notes, “The apostles believed in Jesus’s imminent return in their lifetime,” and Christian writers and others have predicted specific dates for the End Times ever since—always erroneously, obviously. Baker circumvents the obvious conclusion—that the End Times aren’t going to happen, full stop—with a faith-oriented conception of Christians as being perpetually watchful and ready, as they were warned that the final days would come as “a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Overall, her work makes for some bracing reading.
A systematic breakdown of apocalyptic prophecies in the Bible.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-973605-95-9
Page Count: 210
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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