"What Love is This?" by Dave Hunt

Dave Hunt was a tremendous Bible teacher. He passed away in April of this year (2013). As I read this book, it became clear to me that this man had a passion for the Word of God. The amount of research that went into this book is absolutely astounding. I have read more "technical" theological books that weren't as well-researched and had much shorter bibliographies - and far fewer footnotes. There were literally at least 50 or so footnotes per chapter!

Dave Hunt tackled the sticky problem of Calvinism not in order to start a fight, but to expose the true roots of Calvinism (the Roman Catholic church) and to present the Biblical evidence that shows so strongly against it. After seeing the history of the doctrines of Calvinism, as well as the shockingly evil behaviors and heretical beliefs of a few of it's earliest adherents (John Calvin, Martin Luther, and St. Augustine), one wonders how ANY Bible-believing Christian could call themselves after the name of such heretics.

The sheer volume of verses in the Bible that the Calvinist is forced to re-interpret to fit the points of TULIP should be the first warning. Why not let the Bible speak for itself? Why "wrest" it to say anything? The weakness of the Calvinism framework is clearly exposed. Their web of strange doctrines fails to hold up under scrutiny. Dave Hunt does a SUPERB job of reviewing all 5 points of traditional Calvinism, and demolishing their presuppositions with the plain teaching of Scripture.

He uses HUNDREDS of quotes of prominent Calvinists' own writings in order to accurately represent their beliefs. He also does not shy away from the very tough Scriptures that are favorites of Calvinists to support their views. But, as you can see in this book, even in these tough passages there is NO Biblical support for 5-point Calvinism. This was important to me - because some of these very verses have troubled me for years. Calvinism seemed to lack the ring of truth to me, but these verses were very thorny; and I had no explanation for some of them.

Dave Hunt also took the noble and honorable step of letting some of his Calvinist friends review the early manuscript so they could correct him if he caricatured Calvinism wrongly. He included many of their critiques, and answered them accordingly.

This book is not nearly as technical as "Whosoever Will", which I reviewed here. But the use of Scripture in "What Love is This" was, in my opinion, more compelling than the arguments in "Whosoever Will".

If you have wondered about some of those troubling Bible passages, or if you have not come to a decision about Calvinism, then read Dave Hunt's book. Calvinism will be seen as an atrocious - and blasphemous - heresy.

The only negative is that much of the book is repetitive - because the 5 points of Calvinism are all contingent on each other, so many of the Scriptures and arguments show up in several places. But as a resource, this book is priceless.

I thank God for courageous and godly men like Dave Hunt who teach the Bible with simplicity and power. I pray that God will raise up more men like him.

"Jerusalem Countdown" by John Hagee (Kindle Edition)

Even though this book was written in 2006, the information included is excellent. John Hagee is a very intelligent man, and he writes with great skill as well. (In fact, if you ever come across either of his two Apocalypse Diaries novels - "Devil's Island" or "Avenger of Blood" - make sure you buy them! They are rare to find, and excellent to read!)
The book was not exactly what I thought it would be. I was thinking of Daniel's 70 weeks, where is America in prophecy, etc. Instead, Hagee explains his theological understanding of God's relationship to the Jewish people, from Abraham until Christ returns. I have not read any other book that so clearly tackles this subject. There were just a couple of points that I disagreed with or was unsure of, but the majority of the book was eye-opening to me.
I'll admit it: Jewish people have always been a bit of a mystery in my mind.... I knew that they were chosen by God, I knew that Jesus was a Jew, I knew that God will place the focus back on the Jews in the last days - what I didn't know was how this all fit together in the big picture of God's Word, nor did I understand what my relationship (as a Gentile Christian) to the Jews was. John Hagee explains all this and more in great detail.
One of the most helpful ideas in the book is that divine election applies only to the Jews. The concept of election (the Calvinist doctrine) has been the thorn in the side for many theologians. But, the explanation given by Hagee makes more sense in light of all that the Bible teaches than any other theory I've heard.
Hagee also goes paragraph-by-paragraph through Romans 9-11, which was excellent. These chapters are often ignored, so it was great to hear them explained clearly. (In fact, I had a whole class on the book of Romans in Bible college, but I'm pretty sure that we skimmed over chapters 9-11).
My special thanks goes to my dad for letting me borrow this e-book. I am probably going to buy a print copy of this book to read again, as well as to lend out to others.
If you only read one book of theology/prophecy this year, I recommend this one!

"Culture Shift" by Albert Mohler

This is the first book I've ever read by Al Mohler, and I immediately liked his style of writing. I'm sure Dr. Mohler is a very intelligent and educated man (no one gets to be the president of a large seminary like the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary by being dull), but his tone is very conversational and down-to-earth.
This book addresses several urgent contemporary issues - ranging from homosexual marriage, to reproductive technology, to natural disasters, to terrorist attacks, and many others. Each chapter is short and to the point. The book is intended to give thoughtful Christians some information to help frame their Christian worldview around some of the more difficult challenges of the world we live in.

Believers today are not short on convictions - but they ARE short on Biblical foundations for them. Mohler encourages us to understand that the Bible DOES speak to the issues of the day, and the Christian is not left defenseless against the increasingly hostile secular society.

There were several chapters that were simply outstanding, but all of them were good. My only criticism is a minor one: The book started and ended fairly abruptly, and there was very little cohesion between the chapters. Basically, it felt as though Dr. Mohler hand-picked a few dozen topics he wished to write about and typed out a few pages on each. Then, he put them together and made a book. Don't get me wrong - this doesn't diminish the power of his writing. Each statement in the book was thoughtfully and carefully articulated. (To read the first chapter, please click here.)

I'm glad that Dr. Mohler tackled these issues. Christians, let's not be afraid to speak our convictions - the world desperately needs to hear the unchanging truth of God's Word.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

"Whosoever Will" by David Allen (editor) and Steve Lemke (editor)

It took me several months to read this book. Partially because it contains some very deep theological information, and my brain could not quite process it all in a quick manner. The other reason is that I got distracted by some other books I wished to read. Needless to say, I am very glad I finished the book - not just because it was taking so long to read. Anyone who is interested in the discussion of salvation as it regards the theological system of Calvinism will find this book to be an invaluable resource.

I love the brutal honesty of this book. The editors state that the official position of the book is neutral. They are neither for nor against Calvinism or Arminianism. They merely wish to contribute to the dialogue with an honest critique of Calvinism from a conservative Biblical and theological perspective. Having said that, the authors of each chapter freely admit that there are inherent problems no matter which theological perspective you are attempting to defend. The only reasonable position to take, then, is the one which does the least damage to the Biblical evidence, the sovereignty of God, and the free will of man. In reading these pages, it is clear that Calvinism (in its traditional sense) is not the best answer.

By far, my favorite chapter is the first one - a sermon transcript from Jerry Vines on John 3:16. (Perhaps I am biased because I am a preacher, not a theologian). But there is not a single chapter in the book which is not thought-provoking and informative. The first part of the book addresses the five points of Calvinism in order. The second part of the book looks at some peripheral (but important) issues. The chapter, "Was Calvin a Calvinist?" was especially interesting. There were also great chapters concerning the public invitation, the existence of evil, and the free will of man.

Any student of theology would do well to read this book, and any Christian who ponders the imponderables of God and salvation should at least attempt to read it.

"Desiring God - Meditations of a Christian Hedonist" by John Piper (Kindle Edition)

John Piper presents a most perplexing theology in his book "Desiring God - Meditations of a Christian Hedonist." The book actually contained very little about desiring God, but it did speak a great deal about desires. The entire contention of the book is that all men desire to be happy, and this desire must come from God. So, the ultimate happiness that man may find is in God Himself. God, on the other hand, has created all things to glorify Himself, and He gets the greatest glory when we are happy in Him. That sounds great on the surface. But other statements just struck me as odd. Among them, that no one does a good deed for any other reason than that it will make them happy. (He actually said this, "...the pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed." - at location 1933-1934 in the Kindle edition). Does that include a soldier diving on a grenade to save his fellow warriors? How much pleasure was expected in that good deed?

The first issue I had with the book is that the first couple of chapters are really an explanation of Piper's form of Calvinism. Apart from my own disagreements with this view of theology, the chapters were not really necessary. (Actually, nearly ALL of the chapters were too long. Much of the content was not related to the theme or title of the book).

Although the main theme of the book (that man should find his ultimate happiness in God) is fine with me, I was amazed at the way Piper harshly condemned the performance of the Christian disciplines out of the sense of duty. He contends that it leads to legalism (even though telling Christians to pursue their own pleasures can lead to other things, as well). However, he goes on to recommend doing the "duty" anyway, in the case of a Christian who has no joy! (location 5267, Kindle edition) Basically, Piper is caught in a balancing act that is not sustainable.

For one thing, he kept reiterating that we are commanded to delight in the Lord! ("...the pursuit of pleasure is not just tolerable; it is mandatory..." - location 1871-1872, Kindle edition) But this is highly destructive to his own argument. After all, if it is mandatory, then we have a "duty" to pursue pleasure.....but Piper says that it should not be out of a sense of duty... Um...so why the command to do it? If true worship is made void when performed out of duty, why does God keep telling us (and Piper keep reminding us) that we are commanded to seek happiness in worship?

Also, he said at location 2131: "Joy in ministry is a duty." This is astounding in light of his demeaning statements against worship and service out of a sense of "duty"! So, JOY in ministry is a duty, but the ministry itself is not? He condemns the thought of Christian duty, yet says we have a duty to be joyful....

There are other problems I had with the book, not just the Calvinism and the holes in the arguments. But it is not necessary to state them all here. In short, this book was disappointing. I should have realized that I wouldn't like it after reading his chapter on "Christian hedonism" in his book "Brothers, We are Not Professionals" (which is a great book; I highly recommend it for ministry leaders). In "Desiring God," he overstated his Calvinism and understated the serious Biblical and theological problems with his view.

I received this e-book free from the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

"23 Minutes in Hell" by Bill Wiese

"23 Minutes in Hell" is a combination of non-fiction narrative and Biblical reference. The author, Bill Wiese, relates in the first part of the book his own personal experience of what he believes is his journey to Hell. He states emphatically that it was not a mere "vision" in the sense that it may be considered a psychological experience only. He maintains that God took his physical body to hell (although he does admit that God must have diminished the full force and effect of Hell for him to experience).
In the story, Wiese gives very specific details concerning the look, smell, and atmosphere of Hell. He makes note of particular feelings and thoughts he had. While relating the story, Wiese also scatters numerous Bible references throughout the first few chapters. He claims these passages were only known to him AFTER his journey - when he made an intense study of the information God's Word gives to us about Hell.
The latter part of the book is a survey of some Biblical information regarding Hell. There are some excellent appendices that are useful for quickly finding a Scripture reference.
First, I will offer my literary criticism. The book, which may be considered an "easy read" despite the tough subject matter, was written in a straight-forward and simple manner. Sentence structure was not complex, and the information was not given in a sensational way. This is perfectly understandable when you consider that the author never claims to be a "writer", and that he is supposedly telling this story as it happened. So, from the literary standpoint, it is an unimpressive book.
Second, I give you my personal opinion of the matter. There are two strong pieces of evidence in the book that tend to persuade me that it is truthful as written. 1. The weak literary contribution. As I mentioned, Wiese does not pour on the intense hair-raising, edge-of-your-seat suspense that you might expect. Now, if I were going to invent a story about a trip to Hell, I would probably go over the top - knowing that people would EXPECT Hell to be quite sensational. The fact that Wiese fails to do this suggests to me that he is presenting the facts as a witness to actual events, and anyone who has ever read historical narrative knows that eye-witness reports tend to be fairly bland. 2. The appeal to Scripture. Bill Wiese repeatedly states throughout the book that preference is given to God's Word on the matter. He compels the reader to study the Bible for themselves and reach their own conclusion. In fact, he even goes so far as to say that if the ONLY result of the book was to make people read their Bibles to attempt to invalidate his story, then the book has accomplished its objective. He points people to God's Word. Furthermore, I could find no portion of his story that violated any doctrine of Hell given in Scripture.
While it may seem unbelievable, I do believe God can and will do extraordinary things to reach people with the Gospel and to glorify His own Name. He may even send someone (a Christian, no less) to Hell for 23 minutes. I recommend this book.