A compact, upbeat manual for using Christian inspiration to solve problems.
A spiritual guide to overcoming life’s seemingly outsized obstacles.
As the centerpiece of his nonfiction debut, longtime pastor and public speaker Lawson has chosen the biblical figure of King David, which is always a tricky gambit. Although David is one of the most courageous, charismatic figures in the Old Testament, it can also be argued that he’s one of the most self-serving, so using him as a guide to life requires some careful picking and choosing. As this book’s title indicates, Lawson opens his narrative with the signature story of young David’s heroism defeating the Philistine champion Goliath in single combat. In Lawson’s conception, Goliath stands in for all the seemingly unbeatable difficulties of life, and he stresses that such difficulties are not always external. They can take the shape of an “internal list” of “all those things that one has done, things that have been done to us, mistakes we have made, failures, frustrations, and weaknesses,” he says, which combine to form “an impenetrable case for why we are unworthy to do anything for God.” The author’s easily accessible progression of chapters features plenty of self-deprecating humor and pop-culture references, including nods to the movies The Blues Brothers (1980) and The Princess Bride (1987). He uses a series of stories from David’s life to make his case that “giants come in all forms” and to stress that Christians should strive to make themselves ready for God’s grace, which “restores, transforms, and honors,” he says. He likens this inner readiness to the “life of training” that athletes embrace, and his book outlines steps to achieve it. Lawson refreshingly emphasizes introspection and critical self-evaluation as means of personal as well as interpersonal growth (“one of the great things about becoming more self-aware,” he writes, “is that it helps you understand others”). Throughout his straightforwardly optimistic book, he asserts that the point of self-awareness is to “make room” for God’s grace to enter one’s heart.
A compact, upbeat manual for using Christian inspiration to solve problems.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4908-6249-1
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
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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