Books I Read in 2024

Awards

• Book of the Year: Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections
• Surprise of the Year: Jason Lisle, Fractals
• Worst of the Year: Daniel Taylor, Death Comes for the Deconstructionist.

Non-Fiction Categories

• Weight: Did the book ask and answer the most germane questions about an important topic?
• Research: Did the writer demonstrate a thorough command of the subject?
• Style: Did the theme, vocabulary, and composition represent an enduring standard?
• Logic: Did the book model logic in definitions, formatting, and focus?
• Affections: Was some truth presented powerfully to the affections?

Scoring

0 The book was notable for lacking this category repeatedly.
1 The book dipped into this category at times.
2 The book consistently demonstrated this category.

NON-FICTION	W	R	S	L	A	Score
Lisle, Jason. Fractals. 2021. 216 pp. Author’s point: Mathematics and specifically the Mandelbrot Set contain a secret, infinite, and beautiful code that represents the mind of the Trinity. My evaluation: As I am eager to find signs that point me in the direction of infinity and scents that excite my spiritual curiosity and imagination, the Mandelbrot Set inspires me with the spiritual hope to see God. The effect of this book was similar to The Divine Comedy.	2	2	2	2	2	10
Dann, Robert. Father of Faith Missions: The Life of Anthony Norris Groves. 2004. 606 pp. Author’s point: God placed true spirituality in Groves stirring both the Brethren and the Faith Missions movement. My evaluation: The spirituality of Groves, Pfander, Arulappan, Rhenius, and others in this far-ranging historical account both inspires and raises a diverse array of questions to be pondered and prayers to be prayed.	2	2	2	2	2	10
Mason, Charlotte. Ourselves. 1905. 210 pp. Author’s point: Each child must be guided to form virtue as a habit in his thoughts, feelings, and words. My evaluation: Though sometimes Pelagian, Mason consistently sees common temptations and ways of escape for the improvement of character.	2	1	2	1	1	7

Herodotus. The History. Ca 420 BC. 716 pp. Audio Author’s point: Important things must be recorded in the history of the Greek world for the instruction of future generations and honor of those who performed well. My evaluation: Men can reach amazing heights and even lower depths.	2	2	2	2	0	8
Epstein, David. Range. 2021. 368 pp. Audio Author’s point: Broad studies and disciplines are more effective and profitable than narrowly focused training. My evaluation: Every proponent of classical education smiles neatly at the stream of evidences in this book for a broad approach to study, learning, and life.	1	2	2	2	1	8
Josephus. The Jewish War. Audio Author’s point: The destruction of the Jewish people by the Romans roughly 40 years after Jesus Christ was the inevitable consequence of their unfaithfulness to God and libertarian tendencies. My evaluation: These terrible events sound often like other ancient histories and match repeatedly with Jesus’ description in the Olivet Discourse.	2	2	2	2	1	9
Brown, Daniel. The Boys in the Boat. Audio Author’s point: An unlikely group of young men pass every other team one by one to win the Olympic gold in rowing in 1936. My evaluation: This thrilling story sets two different lessons alternately before my mind: the value of character and the folly of exalting sports and any earthly pursuit to achieve lasting happiness.	1	2	1	1	1	6
Marsden, George. Jonathan Edwards. 2003. 640 pp. Audio. Summary: Edwards had an amazing mind, but his eccentricities marred his overall effectiveness. My evaluation: Marsden does not support Edwards’ religion the way Murray does.	2	2	1	1	1	7

Reisinger, John. Tablets of Stone. 2004, 150 pp. Read with Caleb. Author’s point: The 10 Commandments are not an adequate summary of the duties of someone under the New Covenant. My evaluation: Covenant Theology cannot recover from the replacement of the OT law by the Law of Christ. If the laws are changed, then it cannot be the same covenant under a new and better administration.	1	2	1	2	1	7
Wylie, James. The History of the Waldenses. 1860?, reprint 2012, 206 pages. 1st reading 2020. With family 2024. Author’s point: The Waldenses modeled Christian tenacity and manly fortitude in their perseverance and suffering for hundreds of years. My evaluation: It is difficult to tell whether the heart is stirred more by the length of time throughout which these villages persevered or the intensity of the sufferings they endured.	2	2	2	2	2	10
Kim Phuc Phan Thi, Ashley Wiersma, Fire Road. 2017. 317 pages. Audio Author’s point: The little girl who was bombed with napalm in 1972 lived a gripping, terrifying life, and ultimately followed Jesus Christ with inspiring devotion. My evaluation: The fire bomb is only a piece of her pain and hardships all of which made her conversion to Christianity, perseverance as a Baptist, and evangelism of her family more compelling.	2	2	1	2	2	9
Benge, Dustin, Nate Pickowicz. The American Puritans. 2020. 224 pages. Audio Author’s point: American culture and history was shaped by spiritual giants during the 18th and 19th centuries. My evaluation: As this is the fourth history of the Puritans I have read in the last 12 months, their spirituality stands out and draws me. Audio.	2	2	2	1	1	8

Dice, Mark. Hollywood Propaganda. Author’s point: The industry that creates the movies, music, and television shows is indisputably controlled by a single mindset that opposes America, traditional family values, and individual economic liberty. My evaluation: It cannot be denied that holiness, manhood, femininity, honesty, hard work, and in short, Christianity itself stands in complete opposition to the productions of the film, TV, and music industries.	2	2	1	2	1	8
Doddridge, Philip. The Hymns of Doddridge. 2010 reprint from 1766. ed. Ashworth 375 Hymns based on verses that Doddridge was preaching from. Often inspiring, but not at the level of Watts or Herbert.	1	2	2	2	2	9
Spencer, Robert. The Palestinian Delusion. 2019. 304 pages. Audio Author’s point: The history of Israel and the wars of the Middle East in the last 75 years are all stemming from Islamic hatred and Jihad. My evaluation: The ethnicity, nationality, history, and even lives of the people living in Gaza and the West Bank are tools used by Islam to destroy the Jewish state first and Jews second.	2	2	2	2	1	9
Watts. Isaac. Logic. 1724, reprint 2006. 353 pages. Author’s point: Good thinking requires hard work so let’s study it carefully beginning with definition and including many lists of rules for thinking. My evaluation: Still profitable after first reading it in 2008. Logic is a highly practical field of study, not a cold abstract realm for philosophers. The best part of this book are the lists of directions for ideas, definitions, fallacies, clear thinking, and preparing speeches.	2	2	2	2	2	10
Sowell, Thomas. Vision of the Anointed. 1995. 320 pp. Audio. Summary: Some people believe they are above others and therefore their unique gifting and insight allows them to shape the world. My evaluation: Clear description of progressivism.	2	2	2	2	0	8
Spencer, Robert. The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran. 2009, 260 pp. Audio Author’s point: Infidel’s will approach Islam much more realistically if they understand what the Koran teaches. My evaluation: The Koran presents political domination achieved by violence to set up the history’s most legalistic religion.	2	2	2	2	1	9
Ten Boom, Corrie. The Hiding Place. 1971, 242 pp. With family Author’s point: The Ten Boom family suffered greatly when the Nazi’s began WWII, and yet grace triumphed. My evaluation: It is one of the great triumphs of grace in church history to see divine love, forgiveness, and self-denial in the lives of Corrie and her family.	2	2	2	2	2	10
Edwards, Jonathan. Religious Affections. 1746, reprinted and abridged 1999, 319 pp. Author’s point: True faith in Jesus is seen by a lifestyle of practical obedience to His laws and 11 other marks. My evaluation: As a Christian and a pastor, the new birth and a lifestyle of obedience to the laws of Christ need to have a higher place in my prayers, evangelism, and preaching. His outline: 10 proofs that Affections are a part of true faith 12 insufficient evidences of godly Affections 12 evidences of holy Affections 5 arguments that obedience is the best proof	2	2	2	2	2	10
Spencer, Robert. Arab Winter. 288 pages. 2014. Audio Author’s point: Islam is not only driven to conquer the world militarily, but there are numerous examples of Muslims doing this through terror. My evaluation: He’s right.	2	2	2	2	0	8

Haykin, Michael. Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands. 2022. 135 pages. Author’s point: Modern Baptists need to speak about their love for Christ at the Lord’s Table with the kinds of terms used by older Baptists. My evaluation: The love for Christ that His chief servants had among the Baptists of the 1600-1700’s inspires and shames me, and yet these great Christians seemed to surpass us with their zeal in preaching, prayer, and singing as well as their devotion at the Lord’s Table. Their faith was exceptional, but I am not convinced that certain words used to describe the Lord’s Table will produce that today—though such words may help!	1	1	1	1	2	6
Edwards, Jonathan. Charity and Its Fruits. Sermons preached in 1738, published in 1852, and 2005. 368 pages. Author’s point: To preserve the state of the revival, we must turn our hearts to true Christian love. My evaluation: Christian love deserves a careful, prolonged treatment like these 16 sermons complete with lists and questions. The chapter on Anger (9) cuts and heals, and Heaven (16) thrills.	2	2	2	2	2	10
Piper, John. Come, Lord Jesus. 2023 303 pp. Summary: The Second Coming will reveal and display Jesus Christ wonderfully. My evaluation: Ironically, the book does not stir the heart to look for Christ because the author spends little or no time on some of the best passages (Matt. 24-25 and Rev. 19-20), entirely neglects the Millennium, Heaven, and the Lake of Fire, and does not believe that Christ can come today.	1	1	2	1	1	6

Tonjes, Eric. Either Way, We’ll Be All Right. 2021, 224 pp. Audio. Summary: Think much about God and His plan for the world when you are suffering. My evaluation: The scattered insights on living in a sinful world were often forgotten when he took swings several times at dispensationalism, premillennialism, and cultural holiness.

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Fiction Categories

• Biblical: Did the author honor Scriptural truth or a Christian worldview even if unwittingly?
• Creative: Did the author grip the imagination by inventing characters, situations, or other aspects of reality?
• Style: Did the theme, vocabulary, and composition represent an enduring standard?
• Credible: Were the characters, plot turns, and relationships believable?
• Affections: Was some truth presented powerfully to the affections?

Scoring

0 The book was notable for lacking this category repeatedly.
1 The book dipped into this category at times.
2 The book consistently demonstrated this category.

FICTION	B	C	S	C	A	Score
Taylor, Daniel. Death Comes for the Deconstructionist. 2014. 199 pp. With Amy. Recommended by Piper. Summary: When Taylor deconstructs deconstructionism, he is a sure-footed and gallant knight on a great errand. Those passages were not only insightful, but fun. His critique hits home when his hero is an inveterate postmodern loser in part because he followed deconstructionism. Clever and memorable. Evaluation: But when he mixes in multicultural claptrap, when he paints fundamentalists as perverted child molesters (the other part of why the hero is a loser), and when he pours unfiltered stream of consciousness rambling onto his innocent readers through his hero, his imagination jars with his intellect.	1	0	1	1	1	4
Austen, Jane. Lady Susan. With Amy. Summary: A devil in a dress manipulates everyone in her circle to gain her own way. Evaluation: The secret schemes the heart invents to achieve its own ends while still being seen as a good person are uncovered memorably in this last Austen work.	2	1	2	1	2	8
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. 1945, 141 pp. With Family Summary: A farm is taken over by animals and run in a highly authoritarian way until misery and poverty are more prevalent than dung. Evaluation: Socialism deserves to be mocked, but also hated, and this short story helps the soul do both.	2	2	2	2	1	9
Tolkien, J. R. R. Lord of the Rings. With Family. Summary: 10th reading of this story. Lively sense of hope this time. Greatest novel ever.	2	2	2	2	2	10
Charles Dickens, David Copperfield. With Amy Summary: A young man grows from very hard beginnings to a successful man. My evaluation: An interminable example of some good themes spoiled by a story without a conflict or a climax. No retribution for the villains, and no rebuke from the hero. Clever characters who do very few interesting things. Cut, cut, cut—very much like Hugo. It is easier to believe in Narnia than a man would court and marry like David Copperfield.	1	1	1	1	1	5