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Brief comments on three books that I have read recently:

Original Sin: A Cultural History
Alan Jacobs
HarperOne, 2008
My Rating: ****

Who would have thought that a book on original sin would be so delightful? Jacobs makes a case for the unpopular doctrine by exploring the history surrounding its inception and development. Original Sin is filled with stories and personalities – from ancient Greece to modern cinema (Hellboy, for example!). One could almost imagine this book as a documentary, in which the stories and snapshots flow together.

“Pelagianism is a creed for heroes, but Augustine’s emphasis on original sin and the consequent absolute dependence of every one of us on the grace of God gives hope to the waverer, the backslider, the slacker, the putz, the schlemiel. We’re all in the same boat…” (54)

Notes from UndergroundNotes from Underground
Fyodor Dostoevsky (translated by Boris Jakim)
Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2009
My Rating: ***

Speaking of sin… Fyodor Dostoevsky’s masterpiece, Notes from the Underground, is now available with a new translation from Boris Jakim. (I had not read Underground before now, so I cannot compare translations.) If you’re looking to read some Dostoevksy, you might start here with this brief story (118 pages) before you dive into The Brothers Karamazov or Crime and Punishment.

Notes from the Underground provide an unflinching portrayal of the mystery and depravity of the human heart. Within these pages, Dostoevsky deflates society’s “myth of progress,” shows how people selfishly “play the victim,” and exposes the emptiness of sexual immorality. Also running throughout the narrative is the protagonist’s fear of insignificance and man’s persistent ingratitude.

 

James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman (American Reformed Biographies)James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman
Thomas J. Nettles
P&R, 2009
My Rating: *** 1/2

Southern Seminary’s sesquicentennial year saw the release of three important books concerning the seminary: Greg Wills’ masterful Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859-2009, James Slatton’s biography of William Whitsitt, The Man and the Controversy, and Thomas Nettles’ new biography of Southern’s founder, James P. Boyce.

Drawing upon financial records, personal letters, public speeches, sermons and committee reports, Nettles pieces together the life of Boyce in a way that illustrates the founder’s devotion to Scripture and education, as well as his tireless efforts to sustain the seminary financially. Nettles also includes two lengthy chapters that outline and summarize Boyce’s systematic theology.

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