What are you reading right now?

Moiraine said:
Let me know how it goes.
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I'm about 75% of the way through The Shadow Rising now which has so far been my favorite of the series. I think it's done one of the better jobs of balancing out the different major story lines and has developed Perrin into being my favorite character.

I have also really enjoyed the dive into the intimate relationships. For example, I think Rand really likes Elayne and what she stands for, but seems to be interested in Min too because things feel easier with her, and I even get the feeling that Aviendha will somehow join the fray. Plus, Perrin/Faile are just great together - they both make you want to rip your hair out but then they find a way to be remarkably charming.

 
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Enhance said:
I'm about 75% of the way through The Shadow Rising now which has so far been my favorite of the series. I think it's done one of the better jobs of balancing out the different major story lines and has developed Perrin into being my favorite character.

I have also really enjoyed the dive into the intimate relationships. For example, I think Rand really likes Elayne and what she stands for, but seems to be interested in Min too because things feel easier with her, and I even get the feeling that Aviendha will somehow join the fray. Plus, Perrin/Faile are just great together - they both make you want to rip your hair out but then they find a way to be remarkably charming.
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That's my favorite in the series (think I already mentioned that). 

 
Moiraine said:
That's my favorite in the series (think I already mentioned that). 
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Yep! You did. That's what made me think to mention something here. I'm really enjoying it so far. I just finished...

the chapter where Siuan gets stilled. That was a crazy freakin' whirlwind of events.

 
TGHusker said:
Agree - there were these 'political' generals who had very little knowledge of how to lead strategically.  Petty jealousy between generals, some were overly cautious (scared to fight I think) - so many blown opportunities of not 'finishing' off the victory and allowing the southern armies to escape.  Good thing Grant had Sherman, Sheridan, & McPherson and a couple of others.
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You sure you are not reading a list of Nebraska counties?

And yes I know why the counties were named such.

 
I'm starting Lord of the Rings for probably the 10th time. After that, I'll probably start A Song of Ice and Fire, once I get far enough away from the ending of the TV series. 

 
I just finished Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. Kinda weird for King since it's not supernatural/horror but just a crime novel. It was good though. Starting the sequel, Finders Keepers, today

 
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This is a very interesting read.  Written by a historian from a non-Christian perspective or at least from a historical perspective and not a Christian apologist perspective.   If you have read any NT Wright books (NT is a 1st century theological historian and theologian) this book will give a 'secular' perspective to what NT tells us from an theological perspective.  

Here is a very good review on Amazon:

 
5.0 out of 5 stars The Secular Case for Christianity
November 14, 2019

Format: Kindle Edition


Tom Holland's Dominion is not a book written by a Christian apologist. In the early chapters, he repeatedly makes assumptions that any unbelieving academic would make about the bible. Starting with the Old Testament, he repeats typical source criticism theories on the Old Testament and throughout the book assumes some of Paul's letters were not original to him.

Note: I would encourage anyone that wants to hear the academic case for the historicity of scripture (and the New Testament in particular) to read NT Wright's Christian Origins series - especially the New Testament and the People of God and Jesus and the Victory of God. Tom Holland, if you are reading this, I would recommend you read those as well.

Further, at times, I find his criticism of the actions and behaviors of various Christians (and the church as a whole) to be overly focused on the negative at times.

But.... in some ways, it is his lack of Christian piety and apologetic leanings that makes this book so convincing. It is an outsider noticing something that I have been trying to convince insiders of: Christianity has done wonderful things for the world.

The way he tells the story is to take the world of the first century and to show how slowly but surely over the centuries, Christian reflections, debates, and reformations shaped the thoughts of a whole society. Many of the things that we just call 'progress' Holland makes clear were not progress but Christian convictions made into culture, norms and laws.

Among the many things that Christianity changed according to Holland were:
- The concept that being weak and lowly did not make you less of a person (in fact maybe made you more of a person) than being rich and powerful

- The formation of universal human rights
- The ending of slavery
- The concept of caring for the poor as a primary responsibility of those in power
- Ending widespread infanticide
- Ending human sacrifice
- Building the first universities
- Seeing the world as one that progresses (rather than being in unending cycles)

And many many other aspects of humanity that seem 'self evident' to us were not actually self evident at all but simply Christian assumptions that almost everyone now holds.

One of the very interesting observations from Holland is that even many of the people that view themselves as 'secular' or even 'anti-Christian' hold deeply Christian assumptions about the ways that society should be structured and the things that society should care about. Consider this quote from Holland as he discusses modern liberal views on race and sexuality writes,

"That every human being possessed an equal dignity was not remotely self-evident a truth. A Roman would have laughed at it. To campaign against discrimination on the grounds of gender or sexuality, however, was to depend on large numbers of people sharing in a common assumption: that everyone possessed an inherent worth. The origins of this principle-as Nietzsche had so contemptuously pointed out-lay not in the French Revolution, nor in the Declaration of Independence, nor in the Enlightenment, but in the Bible."

The fact that such ideas are 'self evident' testify to how thoroughly Christianity has changed the way that Western Society thinks.

Before I close, I should repeat my warning at the beginning. If you are a Christian do not read this book to get an apologetic work defending your faith. Holland's work is at times biting in its criticism of Christian origins and Christian behaviors through the centuries. But the discerning reader can learn something very good and very important from this work.

The thing I kept thinking as I read this book was how dangerous it is that people want to undermine and remove the Spiritual foundation that our society was built on. As we look back over the past 150 years and we see the terrors inflicted by anti-Christian philosophies such as National Socialism and Communism this should be seen as a window into what could happen if Christianity were to fade from the world's scene. It shows how the law of Christ - one that Holland, quoting Paul in Galatians 5:14, states is to love your neighbor - has acted over and over to protect the poor, the weak, and the minority. And it shows how if that law were to be revoked what unspeakable losses would come to humanity.

As I have written in the past, I do not think that Christianity is fading from the world's scene. Not globally. Not in the USA. And based on the thrust of this book, even non-Christians should be thankful for that and pray that it never does.
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Here are three books I've read over the past few months: 

shopping

"Tin Cup Dreams: A Long Shot Makes It on the PGA Tour" by Michael D'Antonio.  It's about Esteban Toledo, a Mexican golfer who grew up in a little shack next to a Mexican country club.  As a kid he found misc discarded golf clubs in the canal next to his house, taught himself to golf, and eventually made it on to the PGA.  One of the best sports books I've ever read.  

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"The Devil in the White City" about H. H. Holmes, a pharmacist serial killer who lured his victims to their deaths in his elaborately constructed "Murder Castle" during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

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"These are God's People".   An excellent overview of the bible from a historical perspective.  

 
NUance said:
Here are three books I've read over the past few months: 

shopping

"Tin Cup Dreams: A Long Shot Makes It on the PGA Tour" by Michael D'Antonio.  It's about Esteban Toledo, a Mexican golfer who grew up in a little shack next to a Mexican country club.  As a kid he found misc discarded golf clubs in the canal next to his house, taught himself to golf, and eventually made it on to the PGA.  One of the best sports books I've ever read.  

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"The Devil in the White City" about H. H. Holmes, a pharmacist serial killer who lured his victims to their deaths in his elaborately constructed "Murder Castle" during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

View attachment 16370

"These are God's People".   An excellent overview of the bible from a historical perspective.  
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I've seen the first 2 books at our local 'used book' store.  I may have to pick them up if you think they are pretty good.  The 3rd looks interesting as well.

 
BUMP...What is everyone reading now these days?

I am just starting the 3rd and final book in the Cresent City Trilogy by Sarah Maas. 

Has anyone read the Stormlight Archives series?  Thinking about going with that or The Empyrean series.   

 
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