So I am at the library today checking out John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and the librarian at the counter tells me, “I think we have this on video if you would rather see the movie.”

78-year-old Alec Garrard has spent more than 30 years constructing a 1:100 scale model of Herod’s Temple in his back yard. The original temple was built by King Herod the Great between 19 B.C. and A.D. 4 and was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. Garrard’s model measures 20ft by 12 ft and is considered one of the best representations of the historical temple in the world.

“I’ve always loved making models and as I was getting older I started to think about making one big project which would see me through to the end of my life,” Garrard said. “I have an interest in buildings and religion so I thought maybe I could combine the two and I came up with the idea of doing the Temple. I’d seen one or two examples of it in Biblical exhibitions, but I thought they were rubbish and I knew I could do better. I have been working on it for decades but it will never be finished as I’m always finding something new to add.”

Thousands of visitors from all over the world have come to see the model, and Garrard provides them with binoculars so they can see all the details.

Garrard has written a book with information about the temple and detailed photographs of his model: The Splendor Of The Temple: A Pictorial Guide to Herod’s Temple and Its Ceremonies. You can also view a picture gallery of the temple model here.

Related post: Behold the Temple!

In case you didn’t know, The Shack is a novel written by William P. Young that is selling like crazy and has been called everything from “wonderful” to “heretical” (and everything in between). I haven’t read it yet, but I have read quite a few reviews on it, so I thought I would share some links with you in case you were interested in learning more about it. And even though I haven’t read the book myself, here is the link to My Review of The Shack. (Note: I finally got around to reading it. Although there were some good things about the book, I thought the negatives outweighed the positives, and I would have a hard time recommending it.)

Tim Challies has written two reviews for The Shack. You can read his briefer review here or download his 17-page in-depth review here.

That The Shack is a dangerous book should be obvious from this review. The book’s subversive undertones seek to dismantle many aspects of the faith and these are subsequently replaced with doctrine that is just plain wrong. Error abounds. I urge you, the reader, to exercise care in reading and distributing this book. The Shack may be an engaging read but it is one that contains far too much error. Read it only with the utmost care and concern, critically evaluating the book against the unchanging standard of Scripture.

Mr. Dawn Treader reviews Tim Challies’ review and then adds his own thoughts on the book.

These are all valid theological soft spots in the book. Kudos to Challies for exposing them … Still, I found The Shack an interesting read and it challenged me to think about forgiveness more deeply, and for that, I am grateful. I look forward to getting into many great conversations about The Shack, particularly with my non-Christian friends.

Melinda at Stand to Reason offers a mixed review.

You’re going to be surprised. I was. I liked it. It does reveal some things about God well and things I’ve never really seen attempted in literature before. You’re not going to be surprised. I wasn’t. I didn’t like it. I have some serious concerns about it. I can’t recommend it. I can’t condemn it.

And finally, trinity scholar and comic-book artist Fred Sanders offers a mix of reviews from five different perspectives: 1) The Kids-Book Author, 2) The Naive Believer, 3) The Worried Theologian, 4) The Literary Snob, and 5) The Haiku Artist. Here is a sample from the Kids-Book Author review:

Did you like Mack’s Trinity?
Did you like Mack’s persons three?
Did you like how Jesus talked?
Did you like that water walk?

I did not like Mack’s Trinity.
I did not like Mack’s persons three.
I did not like how Jesus talked.
I did not like the water walk.

That Mack in Shack!
That Mack in Shack!
I do not like that Mack in Shack!

Oh, and did I mention My Review of The Shack here? What is your review of The Shack?

    1) He’s a really good player.
    2) He needs to work on his free throws.
    3) It’s too bad he and Kobe couldn’t get along better.

Related post: Okay, here are some real reviews on The Shack

It’s that time of year again. The Christianity Today 2009 Book Awards are in. Here are the top books arranged by category.

• Apologetics/Evangelism – The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism; Timothy Keller (Penguin/Dutton)
• Biblical Studies – Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus; Klyne R. Snodgrass (Eerdmans)
• Christianity and Culture – Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling; Andy Crouch (InterVarsity)
• Christian Living – Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing; Emmanuel Katongole, Chris Rice (InterVarsity)
• The Church/ Pastoral Leadership – Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be); Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck (Moody)
• Fiction – Home: A Novel; Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
• History/Biography – Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ: The Renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America; John G. Turner (University of North Carolina)
• Missions/Global Affairs – Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change; Paul G. Hiebert (Baker Academic)
• Spirituality – The Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life; Kathleen Norris (Penguin/Riverhead)
• Theology/Ethics – People and Place: A Covenant Ecclesiology; Michael S. Horton (Westminster John Knox)

Awards of Merit

• Apologetics/Evangelism – To the Jew First The Case for Jewish Evangelism in Scripture and History; Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser, Editors (Kregel Academic and Professional)
• Biblical Studies – Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry and Writings; Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns, Editors (IVP Academic)
• Christianity and Culture – Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World; John G. Stackhouse Jr. (Oxford)
• Christian Living – Being Well When We’re Ill: Wholeness and Hope in Spite of Infirmity; Marva J. Dawn (Augsburg Fortress)
• The Church/Pastoral Leadership (tie) –
  • Who Stole My Church?: What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century; Gordon MacDonald (Thomas Nelson)
  • Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative; Robert E. Webber (Baker)
• Fiction – The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher; Rob Stennett (Zondervan)
• History/Biography – God and Race in American Politics: A Short History; Mark A. Noll (Princeton)
• Missions/Global Affairs – African Pentecostalism: An Introduction; Ogbu Kalu (Oxford)
• Spirituality – Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers; Eugene H. Peterson (Eerdmans)
• Theology/Ethics – Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church; N. T. Wright (HarperOne)

Did you have a favorite Christian book that you read this past year? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Related posts:

• The Christianity Today 2009 Book Awards
• The Christianity Today 2008 Book Awards
• The Christianity Today 2007 Book Awards

Poor George Bush can’t seem to catch a break with the New York Times. The Times ran a positive article today on Barack Obama’s reading habits and decided to include a negative paragraph on George Bush for contrast. The problem is that Bush is a voracious reader who apparently reads more than Obama. So how do you turn this into a criticism of the President? Bush reads too much! He races through his books while Obama reads more thoughtfully.

Mr. Obama tends to take a magpie approach to reading — ruminating upon writers’ ideas and picking and choosing those that flesh out his vision of the world or open promising new avenues of inquiry. His predecessor, George W. Bush, in contrast, tended to race through books in competitions with Karl Rove (who recently boasted that he beat the president by reading 110 books to Mr. Bush’s 95 in 2006), or passionately embrace an author’s thesis as an idée fixe.

I am glad that George Bush and Barack Obama are both readers. I am sorry the Times chose to criticize Bush for his reading, especially on this his last day of office. Why not lift them both up as great examples for continued learning through reading?

One of the ways I like preparing for Christmas during the Advent season is to read books relating to Christmas and the incarnation. Here are seven of my favorites.

In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church, by Paul L. Maier. Pastor and historian Paul Maier looks at the historical and cultural backgrounds surrounding Christmas, Easter and the Christians of the early church. This is a gorgeous book full of maps, photos and many fascinating facts.

Great Sermons on the Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Christ, edited by Wilbur M. Smith. This is a great collection of sermons. The first volume contains 15 Christmas sermons by 10 different preachers, including messages by Charles Spurgeon, Joseph Parker, Martin Luther, G. Campbell Morgan, Harold Ockenga, and more. (Currently out of print but can be purchased used.)

God With Us: The Miracle of Christmas, by John MacArthur. We have used this as an advent devotional with our children in the past. MacArthur provides brief, informative chapters on Old Testament prophecy, Jesus’ ancestry, the Virgin Birth, Joseph and Mary, the Wise Men, and other Christmas themes. Various sidebars throughout the book explain the origins of common Christmas traditions.

The Risk of Birth, edited by Luci Shaw. This is a wonderful and thought-provoking collection of poems exploring Christ’s birth and the implications of the incarnation. Shaw presents some of her own works along with poems by C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, Eugene Warren, and others. (Currently out of print but can be purchased used.)

Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel: Ancient Sermons and Hymns for Contemporary Christian Inspiration, edited by John D. Witvliet and David Vroege. This collection of 13 Christmas sermons spans nearly 1100 years. Included are messages from Augustine, Jerome, Gregory the Great, John Wycliffe, Thomas à Kempis, and more. This is a great way to dig into some of the sermons of the past dealing with Christmas.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.   This is a great book to read any time of the year, but especially at Christmas. “Always winter, but never Christmas” — that is, until Aslan comes along! Lewis’ ability to capture rich, Christian insight in narrative form is unmatched. Read it with your kids or just enjoy it for yourself.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas, edited by Nancy Guthrie. This is new for me this year, but I am already enjoying it. The book contains Christmas reflections from 22 different writers. There are classic theologians from the past such as Whitefield, Calvin and Edwards, as well as contemporary writers such as Keller, Piper, Alcorn, MacArthur, Schaeffer, Sproul, and Joni Eareckson Tada.

Do you have suggestions for books to read at Christmas? Feel free to share them in the comments section.

Ben Witherington posted a mammoth four-part review of Frank Viola’s Reimagining Church and then invited Frank to respond. The links are below.

Ben’s review:

• Frank Viola’s Reimagining Church– Part One
• Frank Viola’s Reimagining Church– Part Two
• Frank Viola’s Reimagining Church– Part Three
• Frank Viola’s Reimagining Church– Part Four

Frank’s response:

• Reimagining Church– A Frank Response Part One
• Reimagining Church– A Frank Response Part Two

Closing words from Ben and Frank:

• EPILOGUE TO A FRANK DISCUSSION
• A FRANK CODA

Ben has some strong critiques of Frank’s book and doesn’t pull any punches, yet the conversation remains respectful throughout. It is nice to see two Christians treating each other with civility and grace even when they disagree with each other — especially on the internet of all places!

Related post: Ben Witherington critiques Pagan Christianity

Can you tell your life story in six words? Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s famous six-word short story (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”), that’s what SMITH magazine editors Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser asked their online readers in 2006. They have now collected a number of these six-word autobiographies and published them in the book, Not Quite What I Was Planning (notice the number of words in the title).

Here are some examples from the book:

Brought it to a boil, often. (Mario Batali, chef)
Couldn’t cope, so I wrote songs. (Aimee Mann, singer, songwriter)
Maybe you had to be there. (Roy Blount Jr., humorist)
Cursed with cancer. Blessed by friends. (9 year old Hannah Davies)
Struggled with how the mind works. (Steven J. Pinker, psychologist)
Nobody cared, then they did. Why? (Chuck Klosterman, journalist)
Well, I thought it was funny. (Stephen Colbert, comedian)
Revenge is living well, without you. (Joyce Carol Oates, author)
Woke up. Went back to sleep. (Anonymous)
No wife. No kids. No problems. (Rip Riley)
I still make coffee for two. (Zak Nelson)
Yes, you can edit this biography. (Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder)

Here was my first attempt: “God, family, church; Bible, music, books.” Not very creative, too much of a list, but it does capture the main influences in my life.

Next I tried this one: “Met Christ; married Rose; had boys.” This one is more event-oriented. It does capture the three primary events in my life, but it still seemed too cut and dry.

So I finally decided on this: “New creation in Christ – everything changes.” This one is based on my life verse and pretty much sums it all up for me. Christ entered my life and changed everything. Everything good I have in my life I owe to him. He is still changing me day by day, and one day I will stand complete in his presence. It doesn’t get much better than that.

How about you? Feel free to share your six-word autobiography in the comments section. And if you are really brave, you can also submit it to SMITH magazine for the next edition of their book. (I did! You can find it here: Six-Word Memoir by Ray Fowler)

MY LIFE VERSE:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Pastor Jack Hamilton died earlier this summer, and his library is now up for sale. It is some library. The bidding starts at $295,000 if you are interested!

HT: David Heddle at He Lives

Chuck Swindoll’s Insight for Living ministry presents Insight’s Archaeology Handbook: The Key Finds and Why They Matter. This 120-page handbook highlights the top ten archaeological discoveries relating to the Bible. Complete with photographs, the book covers the Temple Mount, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Merneptah Stele, the Tel Dan Inscription, the Sea of Galilee boat and more. You can view a video about the book here.

HT: BiblePlaces Blog

I received Tim Keller’s The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism last night as a late birthday present. I have read many good reviews of this book which provides reasons for faith in God and have been looking forward to reading it. I got a kick out of the opening quote in the book, as did my boys — who are big Star Wars fans themselves.

I find your lack of faith—disturbing. (Darth Vader)

Related posts:

• Star Wars Pumpkins
• Yoda Promotes Small Groups
• Darth Vader Plays a Mean Harmonica
• Jedi Squirrels
• George Lucas Syndrome