Review: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg My rating: 2 of 5 stars [Please note that some of the varnish has been removed from the following opinion, and I think I got down into the wood grain.] Since people are just complicated evolutionary machines, their behaviors can be altered by the laws of cause and effect. Thanks to neurological science, advertisers can now guarantee sales of fruit juice to preconditioned monkeys. Give any primate (or suitable...
Introduction to the New Testament for Bibles International
I wrote the following introduction to the New Testament for Bibles International; it is being translated and placed into Bibles all around the world. The Bible tells one story, because God has one plan for all of history (Isa. 46:9–10; Gal. 4:4–6). The 27 books of the New Testament bring that story to a climax and then explain its significance. The Story The Old Testament was the story of how God created a good world, man plunged it into sin, and God worked through the family of Abraham to...
Introduction to the Old Testament for Bibles International
I wrote the following introduction to the Old Testament for Bibles International; it is being translated and placed into Bibles all around the world. Come back tomorrow for the intro to the New Testament. The Bible tells one story, because God has one plan for all of history (Isa. 46:9–10; Gal. 4:4–6). The 39 books of the Old Testament begin the story but stop just short of the climax. The Story The first five books (Genesis–Deuteronomy) set the foundation for the story. God creates the world...
Introduction to the Bible for Bibles International
I wrote the following introduction for Bibles International; it is being translated and placed at the beginning of Bibles all around the world. Come back tomorrow and the next day for intros to the Old Testament and New Testament. The Bible tells one story. Just one. It’s a long one, and sometimes a complicated one. But it’s just one story. The Bible is the story of what God is doing to glorify Himself by redeeming His fallen creation. That includes four major things to remember: Creation: God...
Review: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Though Gladwell's interpretation of the David and Goliath story leaves a bit to be desired (he reads too much into certain narrative details and fails utterly to place the story in the bigger story of David—and the even bigger story of Jesus), the principle he uncovers in the book seems valid: underdogs have more strength, and "overdogs" have more weaknesses, than we might...