Mark Galli’s 131 Christians Everyone Should Know is a great resource highlighting the lives and faith of 131 key people from Christian history. These brief profiles provide historical context, timelines, important quotes and main contributions for each person.

You can also access many of the profiles online at Christianity Today’s Christian History and Biography section. I am finding these profiles helpful as supplementary homeshooling material for our boys.

Media Access for the Next Generation:
    1. Introduction
    2. Immediate Access
    3. Localized Storage
    4. Subscription Services

This series is in response to a comment made by Kathryn on the 5/31 post Buying Music the Old Way. In that post I shared about rummaging through old record stores and even traveling into Canada to track down certain music when I was in college. Kathryn commented:

What does the next generation have that can compare to that? The only thing I really have to look for are sales. I do most of my shopping online now because it’s so much easier. I’ve never had that quest for music experience. This posting makes me question: What will my kids take for granted that takes me time now?

I have some thoughts on how things will be different for the next generation as far as media access, and I would like to spend some time this week reflecting on that. Tomorrow’s post will pick up on the one major difference that will drive the rest – immediate access to the internet at all times and in all places.

Action points:

• Do you have an idea on this topic? Share it in the comments!
• Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe to this blog by email or feed reader.

Links to other posts in the series:   Part 1,   Part 2,   Part 3,   Part 4

Christian writer Madeleine L’Engle died today. A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite books as a child, and I read the whole trilogy (which was later expanded to a quintet). I have also enjoyed L’Engle’s poetry and her reflections on faith and art.

Related articles from Christianity Today:

• A walk through her books with a look at her spiritual pilgrimage
• Interview with L’Engle
• Reflections on good and evil

Lifehack has an interesting article on the importance of reading more slowly for some types of material. Reading fast is not always best. I liked this quote from novelist Zadie Smith comparing the reader of literature to a musician learning a piece of music:

An amateur musician who sits at the piano has a piece of music which is the work made by somebody they don’t know, who they probably couldn’t comprehend entirely, and they have to use their skills to play this piece of music. The greater the skill, the greater the gift that you give the artist and that the artist gives you. That’s the incredibly unfashionable idea of reading. And yet when you practice reading, and you work at a text, it can only give you what you put into it. It’s an old moral, but it’s completely true.

I am reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Silmarrillion” right now, and it is some of the slowest reading I have ever done. I have to work at this text, and it really does feel like I am trying to master a piece of music. But I am enjoying it!

Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy’s new book, Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life, debuted at No. 2 last week on the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover, non-fiction books. As of today, it is now No. 1 on the list. Kevin Jackson of the Christian Post reports:

While Quiet Strength does mention Dungy’s career in the NFL, a major purpose for the content is to highlight the coach’s faith on and off the field. Through it, he hoped to show people that there is more to life than just sports, and that humans need God leading their steps no matter where they are.

“I really wanted to show people you can win all kinds of ways,” explained the Colts head in his memoir. “For your faith to be more important than your job, for your family to be more important than that job … we all know that’s the way it should be … I’m not afraid to say it.”

Tony has a great testimony to share, and it is fantastic to see his book doing so well.

Related articles:

• Tony Dungy: Asking ‘What’ Instead of ‘Why’
• Tony Dungy Speaks about the National Day of Prayer

The organizer of the Jane Austen Festival recently sent thinly disguised copies of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice to 18 different publishers in the form of a “book proposal” called First Impressions. The phony proposal even began with Austen’s famous first sentence: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Seventeen publishers rejected the manuscript. “Thank you for your recent letter and chapters from your book ‘First Impressions’. It seems like a really original and interesting read,” wrote Penguin.

Only one publisher out of the eighteen actually recognized the book.

“Thank-you for sending us the first two chapters of ‘First Impressions’; my first impression on reading these were ones of disbelief and mild annoyance, along, of course, with a moment’s laughter,” wrote back Alex Bowler of Jonathan Cape. “I suggest you reach for your copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which I’d guess lives in close proximity to your typewriter, and make sure that your opening pages don’t too closely mimic that book’s opening.”

I got a kick out of Dave Zimmerman’s take on Pride & Prejudice over at IVP’s Behind the Books blog.

I am not deriding Pride & Prejudice as a literary work. Trust me, I know whereof I speak: I have dutifully sat through two viewings of the ten-episode production starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I own (by proxy) that production, which means that before I die I’ll probably sit through it again and, let’s face it, again. I also own (by proxy) the 2005 Keira Knightly film which communicates very effectively in two hours what took the Colin Firth version six hours; I think they trimmed about four hours of dancing and kept the story intact.

I have been there too, Dave. God bless you, bro’. I feel your pain.

HT: Thanks to Marcus Goodyear at Goodword Editing for tipping me off to the story and Dave’s article.

The Desiring God $5 book sale has started. I was just over at the site and not only are all the books on sale for $5 each, so are their study guides and Bibles. These guys are going all out! You can even pick up an ESV hardcover, Classic Reference Edition (list $24.99) for just $5.

Update: Well, the ESV hardcover, Classic Reference Edition was on sale for $5 earlier today, but it looks like that offer is no longer available. You can still get the paperback, Life Discovery Edition for $5 though. Also, here’s an update from the Desiring God blog: “If the store is working slowly for you, please consider continuing your order a little later. There’s a rush this morning, but the sale goes through Thursday at midnight so there is plenty of time to get your order in.”

The online sale is two days only – Wednesday and Thursday, June 27 and 28. Click here for book recommendations.

Pastor Mark Roberts is posting a number of excerpts from his new book, Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Roberts studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. As a pastor and New Testament scholar, Roberts wears both hats well in providing this readable and well-reasoned defense of the reliability of the gospel documents.

Here are some of the questions Roberts addresses in his book:

• Can we know what the original Gospel manuscripts really said?
• Did the evangelists know Jesus personally?
• When were the Gospels written?
• What sources did the Gospel writers use?
• Did early Christian oral tradition reliably pass down the truth about Jesus?
• What are the New Testament Gospels?
• What difference does it make that there are four Gospels?
• Are there contradictions in the Gospels?
• If the Gospels are theology, can they be history?
• Do miracles undermine the reliability of the Gospels?
• Do historical sources from the era of the Gospels support their reliability?
• Does archeology support the reliability of the Gospels?
• Did the political agenda of the early church influence the content of the Gospels?
• Why do we have only four Gospels in the Bible?
• Can we trust the Gospels after all?

When I was in college I read a similar book by F.F. Bruce called, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? which greatly increased my understanding and strengthened my confidence in the New Testament texts. Bruce’s book became somewhat of a classic on the topic, and I expect Roberts’ book will help a whole new generation come to grips with the reliability of the Biblical gospels.

Tomorrow and Wednesday (June 27 and 28), all books at the Desiring God online bookstore are on sale for only $5 apiece. I have benefited greatly from John Piper’s writings over the years and would highly recommend his books to you. Here are some of my favorites:

• Desiring God – a classic book on glorifying and enjoying God
• God’s Passion for His Glory – a challenging read but one of the best books I read in the last ten years; Piper helps unfold Jonathan Edwards’ masterful work on why God created the world
• Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood – a comprehensive look at the biblical texts and issues relating to male and female roles in the home, the church and society
• A Godward Life – short, meaningful devotions on a variety of life topics
• A Hunger for God – the best book on fasting I have read
• The Supremacy of God in Preaching – great book on preaching
• Let the Nations Be Glad – great book on missions

Do you have any favorite John Piper books? Feel free to echo any of these recommendations or add some of your own in the comments section.

58% of the U.S. adult population never reads another book after high school. (Church Leader’s Intelligence Report; via Dr. Sam Lamerson)

Can you imagine never reading another book after high school? If you are a book reader, how would your life be different without books? If you do not read books, is there a reason why not? You are reading this, so I know that you are at least a blog reader. What is it about books that keeps you from reading them?

Note: According to the US Census Bureau, 27 percent of U.S. adults age 25 and over had a college degree in 2003. I am assuming that all 27% of them read at least one book after high school. (It’s hard to get through college without reading a book.) I wonder how many of them have read at least one book since graduating from college?

Related post: Thieves of Their Own Imaginations

The Christianity Today 2007 Book Awards are in. Here are the top books arranged by category.

• Apologetics/Evangelism – The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief; by Francis S. Collins (Free Press)
• Biblical Studies – Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony; by Richard Bauckham (Eerdmans)
• Christianity and Culture – The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World, by Miroslav Volf (Eerdmans)
• Christian Living – Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?; by Philip Yancey (Zondervan)
• The Church/ Pastoral Leadership – Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples; by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger (B&H Publishing)
• Fiction – Dwelling Places; by Vinita Hampton Wright (HarperSanFrancisco)
• History/Biography – Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War; by Harry S. Stout (Viking)
• Missions/Global Affairs – The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative; by Christopher J. H. Wright (IVP Academic)
• Spirituality – The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life; by Robert E. Webber (Baker Books)
• Theology/Ethics – The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity; by Stephen N. Williams (Baker Academic)

Awards of Merit:

• Apologetics/Evangelism – Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense; by N. T. Wright (HarperSanFrancisco)
• Biblical Studies – The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made; by Mark Dever (Crossway)
• Christianity and Culture (tie) –
  • Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical’s Inside View of White Christianity; by Edward Gilbreath (IVP Books)
  • Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church; by James K. A. Smith (Baker Academic)
• Christian Living (tie) –
  • The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship; by Dallas Willard (HarperSanFrancisco)
  • Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God; by Mark Galli (Baker Books)
• The Church/Pastoral Leadership – Why Church Matters: Worship, Ministry and Mission in Practice; by Jonathan R. Wilson (Brazos)
• Fiction – Winter Birds; by Jamie Langston Turner (Bethany House)
• History/Biography – A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan; by Michael Kazin (Knopf)
• Missions/Global Affairs – The New Faces of Christianity: Believing in the Bible in the Global South; by Philip Jenkins (Oxford)
• Spirituality – Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading; by Eugene H. Peterson (Eerdmans)
• Theology/ Ethics – Evil and the Justice of God; by N. T. Wright (IVP Books)

So, have you read any of these? What are your thoughts?

Related posts:

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

Howard Berger, makeup effects and creature designer for the first Narnia film, as well as for the upcoming Prince Caspian movie, discusses the creatures of Narnia in the April 17 posting over at the Narnia blog. 

The story of Prince Caspian takes place 1500 Narnia years after the events of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  So, it was important to reflect these changes for the new movie.

We wanted to take another pass at what the Narnians would be like if they had become more wild in their appearance, seeing how they have been living in hiding within the forests all these centuries. What if they were all different age groups, sizes and races? We felt that the Narnians in the first film were all in their thirties.

What types of creatures can we expect to see in Prince Caspian?

In PRINCE CASPIAN, we have heavy set fauns, old age fauns, female dwarves, centaurs and their families. The minotaurs are now on the side of good. A new hag, a werewolf and the satyrs are back, but all newly redesigned to be more animal-like than the prior movie.

And of course the world of Prince Caspian would not be complete without a great Trumpkin the Dwarf.

I think in every film there is one character you fall in love with. The first movie had Mr. Tumnus, played by the great James McAvoy. This time it is Peter Dinklage who plays Trumpkin the Dwarf. The character is so wonderfully written, and once you see Peter as Trumpkin, he becomes alive and real. We gave Trumpkin his look, but Peter gave him his heart, and the collaboration brings to life a new and interesting addition to this rich world.

If you have not yet read the book Prince Caspian, don’t wait for the movie. The Narnia books are simply some of the best books ever written for children and adults. Go out and buy the whole set or check them out at the library. You will not be disappointed.

Click here for more Narnia and Caspian related posts.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.