"Freedom's Detective"

 

 The book is "Freedom's Detective" by Charles Lane.

"Freedom’s Detective reveals the untold story of the Reconstruction-era United States Secret Service and their battle against the Ku Klux Klan, through the career of its controversial chief, Hiram C. Whitley"
 

 The main character in the book, Hiram Whitley is a pretty unsavory man, and Lane pulls no punches about the underhanded ways that Whitley used to get what he wanted.

The story is interesting, the tone of the book is pretty matter-of-fact, but still engaging.

Lane has written a couple of other books and they're on my "want to read" list.

If you're a civil war era history buff, this is a good book to add to the collection.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

**Important, since most of my GoodReads friends are Christians - the book includes no sex scenes (in one place there are two people talking about having sex, but nothing graphic)

 

Project Hail Mary

This science fiction book was a nice, quick read.  Nothing too complicated and included plenty of humor.

Andy Weir has written several books, including "The Martian" - I haven't read any of his other books (but they're now on my list.

 The following section is the book description from Amazon:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

 I really enjoyed this book, it was in a rotation between a couple of books that made me have to think, so it was a nice break.

It didn't feel like a typical "save the world" novel, and included a couple of twists that made the book more interesting.

If science fiction is a thing for you, go ahead and read this book.

the Life of God in the Soul of Man

 a Short review, but a review

I sometimes have a difficult time reading the Puritans, this book was one of those times.  Don't get me wrong, it's really good material, it's a book to bring a person from "dead orthodoxy" into a true religion of the heart.

The final section on humility and what that looks like is such a good reminder of the vital spiritual duty of loving your neighbor.

Rejoice and Tremble

 Rejoice and Tremble by Michael Reeves

In this book, (part of the "Union" series) Reeves tells us that he is going to "clear the clouds of confusion and shows that the fear of the Lord is not a negative thing at all, but an intensely delighted wondering at God, our Creator and Redeemer."

 

"Rejoice and Tremble" does prove that the fear of the Lord is not only a positive thing, but a mindset commanded by God.  I remember that one of Messianic prophesies says that even Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1-3).

The first (maybe) one-third of the book is spent telling readers what the fear of the Lord is NOT (I'm not saying that as a bad thing, but a very necessary thing.)

In the next part of the book, the fear of God defined as a "filial fear" and not a "servile fear", and Reeves does a good job of that.

The last part of the book is the most confusing part for me...how to get "there".  Because people are different, the processes and experiences are different, so the "to do list" is different.

 

Why does it matter?

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  We cannot rightly know God unless we rightly fear God.

 

My overall all impression of the book was positive. 

I did get a bit impatient during that first third, since I'm pretty quick to get concepts and I kept thinking "okay, I got it!"

The book is saturated with Scripture and we can get "cold" in our fear of God - "Rejoice and Tremble" is a good reminder of our place in God's kingdom and a call back to the wonder and glory of God.

 

And the verdict is:

 Read this book if you're confused about what the fear of God is, if you feel as thought you once knew but have put filial fear on the back burner, or if you just need a reminder.

Covered and Uncovered: Finding Relevance in Discard Symbols

by Moira Cairns

I think I gave this two stars on Good Reads.

I am hungry for books on head coverings by women, for women and this book is one of the  very few.

However...

In some places, she takes metaphors farther than the Bible seems to in this passage:

Every Christian woman is a symbol of the glory of the church (...)The woman is a symbol of the glory that has been given to the church from God.

A woman's uncovered head while praying for prophesying symbolized a church that goes between God and man in its own strength.

I'm just not seeing that in the passage.  Perhaps if the thought had been fleshed out a bit more.

In other places, she...well, read:

The covered head of a woman also reminds the church that every Christian has the Spirit of God within them -- giving each one glory, power over their enemies, and a Guide to follow.

Say again?

She goes on:

When a woman covers her own had, she reminds herself that she needs to function in whatever capacity God has gifted her in a manner that reflects the authority she is under and that honors the love and humility of Christ.  

The author seems to be saying that a woman can be in any office in the church (pastor, elder) as long as she's wearing a head covering.   

The last part of the paragraph I agree with, but it's not in the passage.  It may be read into the passage from other verses...those should have been cited.

When the men in the church see the covering, they are reminded to be in authority in a manner that reflects and honors the love and humility of Christ.

All in all, this book used too many words to say not very much.