St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite days of the year. It's not for the same reason that most like St. Patrick's day, instead it's because of St. Patrick and the impact he had on the world. Patrick left his home in England and went to Ireland to preach Jesus to the people that he earlier lived among as a slave. In short, God did great things with Patrick. You can read a lot more about him over at Mark Driscoll's blog. St. Patrick's Day is all about remembering one of God's faithful servants who spent his life preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.



I would also recommend the book Saint Patrick by Jonathan Rogers. It's a short and easy read. It really hits a the heart of what Patrick's life is all about. It's definitely one that you could read most if not all of in a day or a weekend. 


Take some times today and thank God for the missionaries who spend their lives spreading the good news and love of Jesus Christ around the world. That's a much better way to honor Patrick instead of dressing in green, faking an Irish accent, and talking about leprechauns. I would, however, recommend some corned beef and cabbage, that's some good food.


Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I'll leave you with some of the words of Patrick.


"For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name."

St. Patrick's Confession


"I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three."

St. Patrick's Breastplate

Review of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas

Most of us are familiar with the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Many of us have read, or have at least heard of, his books Life Together and The Cost of Discipleship. But do you really know who Dietrich Bonhoeffer is? Eric Metaxas has written Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy to show us the amazing life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer lived a life in constant pursuit of God's will. He tried to always do what needed to be done when no one else would do it. When in Seminary, Bonhoeffer dared to go against the liberal theology of his professor Adolf von Harnack. He, instead, sought to teach the truths of the Bible and followed instead the theology of Karl Barth. In the 30's and 40's, Bonhoeffer had to make a different kind of stand, but for the same truths. He stood against the Nazi regime and how it wanted to distort and abuse the church. Bonoeffer helped to organize the Confessing Church when the German church allowed the Nazis to take over. He ultimately involved himself in a plot to kill Hitler believing this to be the only course of action to save his country and the countless lives that were being destroyed by Hitler and the Nazis. It is this plot that led to Bonhoeffer's arrest and execution.

Eric Metaxas has done a phenomenal job of telling the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his struggles. While reading this, I was continually amazed at the amount of detail that Metaxas was able to put into this single volume. His work not only covers the life of Bonhoeffer, but gives detailed history of Germany during the life of Bonhoeffer. Metaxas is able to give a much larger glimpse into history. This book is nothing short of fantastic. There is only one negative thing I can say about it. It is thick. It is a big book with a lot to say. It takes a long time to read, BUT it is well worth the time invested in reading this book. I would encourage anyone to read this book. This is an amazing read for anyone who loves history ( especially World War II) or is interested in Dietrich Bonhoeffer himself. It's now out in paperback, and even though it make take you a long time read, you will not regret it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Book that Made Your World by Vishal Mangalwadi

Vishal Mangalwadi sets out on bold mission to show how the Bible has affected the development of Western Civilization in The Book the Made Your World. This is interesting because Mangalwadi is Indian. He does not live in the West. This gives him the ability to compare the development of the Eastern culture (mostly focusing on India) to the development of Western Culture (mostly focusing on Western Europe and America). Through the course of the book he compares how each culture views things like technology, rationality, heroism, education, science, literature and many others. The main thesis of the book that is developed in each chapter is that the West was able to develop faster and in better ways that the East was able to because the West was built on the foundation of the Bible. He explains that since the time of the Reformation the Bible has been available in many languages for all to read and this dissemination of the scriptures exposed the Western World to higher morals which then led to a better rate and level of development. The East, however, was built on the various scriptures of Buddhism, Hinduism, and other Eastern Religions. These scriptures were not available to all and do not hold the same values that the Christian Bible does. Therefore, the West and parts of the East where bible has been introduced are substantially better than the places where Eastern religions have driven the culture.

Mangalwadi has created a strong argument and presented an interesting comparison between the development of the East and the West. As someone who has been exposed and involved in both cultures, he has a unique vantage point to compare the two. The problem is, however, that the premise  that he starts out with is not necessarily the one that he carries through the book. Mangalwadi claims to be writing about how the Bible changed the west, which it did. What he actually writes about is how the Protestant Reformation changed the western world. He rarely jumps into the time between the early church fathers and the late Medeval age. The catalyst of change from his perspective is that the Reformation made the Bible available to the masses in their own language. While I am not a historian, I will agree that this changed the world, but it ignores the fact that the Catholic Church, even with its issues in the end of the Middle Ages, had spread the Bible all over Europe. They had created a Christian culture that is also quantifiably different from the culture of the east. If the church had not spread all over Europe, then having the Bible available in all languages would not have had the immediate impact. The Bible already laid the foundation for culture and then became even stronger after the reformation. It should also be mentioned that with the neglect of the time between the fathers and reformation is also a neglect of the developments of the Eastern Church which, while it did not reach the far east, it still in the East. Lastly, I have a hard time coming to some of the same conclusions that he did. Yes, I agree that the Bible changed the world, but I cannot agree with him that the Bible, and ultimately God, blessed Britain with a global empire and blessed America with the success of capitalism. He seems to attribute these two things to the Bible, and I believe the Bible is not meant for building empires or economies. The Bible changes lives and has influenced many people to go and give their lives to helping others. I believe the stories of people like Mother Teresa, Eric Liddell, and Richard Wurmbrand really show how the Bible has changed the world. Overall, I have to agree with his premise, but disagree with the way that he explains about how the Bible changed the world.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Spending time with Basil

In a previous post, I talked about journaling with the masters. Part of my time journaling with the masters was spent Basil's writings. His writings are fantastic and I gleaned a lot of wisdom from his writings.

Basil was a bishop in Caesarea in the 4th Century AD. He is celebrated by the orthodox church on the 1st of January, which traditionally is said to be the day he died (more about his life can be found here). I think that it is apt that Basil is celebrated at the first of every year because what he wrote about the Christian life would be great for building a New Years resolution.

What I learned from Basil was to find solitude, reject the world's ways, and practice self-control. Basil taught that we will not be able to really focus on God's word if we cannot find solitude. We need to find quiet from time to time so that we can focus on spending time with God and his word. Second, Christians are not to live according to the world's ways. The world has many things to offer, but it cannot offer us the life the God does. Third, we need to have self-control for the times that we do interact with the world. It is inevitable to have to involve yourself with the world, but being self-controlled can keep us from taking the necessities and abusing them.

These three things stuck with me from reading Basil, I hope that they can help you in this new year. I would also encourage you to find a wise person who has gone before to mentor you. They don't have to be living, you can find a good book and learn from those who have gone before. Just find a wise person, listen to what they have to say and apply it.

The Other October 31st Holiday

St. Patrick's Day isn't the only Church holiday that gets overshadowed by other festivities. Today is actually a church holiday. No, not Halloween (even Halloween was originally the eve of All Hallows or All Saints Day celebrated by the Church). Most people treat Halloween as a chance to dress up and scare people, but October 31st is actually celebrated by many Protestants around the world as Reformation Day. On this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This document, even though Luther may not have intended it to, sparked the Refomation of the church in the 16th century. For Protestant Christians, our heritage is traced back to Luther and his teachings.

If you, like me, are apart of the Restoration movement which was started by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. We are connected to Luther. Alexander Campbell was a came out of the Scottish Presbyterian church which owes its heritage to John Knox. Knox was trained in Geneva, Switzerland by Calvin and his teachings. Calvin was influenced by Martin Luther's teachings.

Martin Luther is one of the fathers of Protestant movement, so today when you are dressing up or handing out candy, remember what Martin Luther and others did so long ago to try to make the church a better place. Happy Reformation Day!

Review of Saint Francis by Robert West

From a wild youth to a beloved saint, Francis of Assisi had a very interesting life. Francis was the son of a cloth merchant in the 12th century. He lived a wild life and enjoy the wealth of his family. All of that changed after Francis spent a year as a prisoner of war and the illness that followed. Francis felt to call of God to rebuild his church. Francis began by literally rebuilding the church of San Damiano. From there he inspired thousands in his lifetime through his life of poverty and dedication to God's work. He fought for a simple life and peace in the world while preaching the gospel to anyone who would listen, including animals. Francis is one of the great men of the church, and his legacy has inspired generations of Christians to give all they have to serving God.


Robert West does a fantastic job of retelling the life of Saint Francis. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to explore church history or even to someone who is seriously studying the life of Francis. West walks the fine line of writing to the everyday person and also writing for the student of Church history. While this is not an exhaustive biography, it is a great way to step into the history of the Church and the men and women who have made a great impact. This is a fantastic book and will inspire anyone who reads it to live more like Christ following the example of Saint Francis.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Learning from the past

Like I said in a previous blog, I've been teaching a class with a friend on the "History of Christian Spiritual Practices" which is a long way to say how spiritual disciplines where practiced in different parts of history. It was fun to explore history, and this week, I taught my last class on historical matters (I'm teaching one more, but it's on present day).

I have gained a deeper appreciation for those who have gone before in the faith.  I had the chance to study the time of the early church and the reformation.  Although I was unable to completely due justice to the amount of history I had to cover in one hour, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching and was most moved by what people have done to keep the faith alive and to keep the church pure.

In the early church, men and women risked their lives just to be Christians.  They had to give up a whole way of living just to follow Jesus.  They were not accepted and most of time persecuted by those who did not understand or even hated Christianity.

Oddly enough, the reformation cause Christians to undergo some of the same persecution, but this time it was from the church.  People like Martin Luther tried their hardest to help the church be better.  Luther never intended to leave the church, but help it be what Jesus intended it to be. The church leadership of the day did things that were not moral, and Luther (amongst others) tried to reform the church, eventually he started another church based on the beliefs of scripture.

Although, they were not perfect people, the sought to make the church the best possible.  I am certainly thankful for everyone who has tried to make the church better, because I certainly hope to do the same.

If this interests you, I suggest you go rent (or buy because it's worth it) the movie Luther.  It's a fantastic movie, mostly historical, and very enjoyable.