Speaking of boring, what about the Koran. Man that just about killed me trying to get through it! Perhaps that's what some want: dead infidels from reading the Koran.

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Marty
Ordained Presbyter; Currently Lecturer in Theology
Anglican Church of Australia
(Now finally back! in) Perth, Australia.
"There is nothing so necessary to draw us to repentance as good thoughts of God." (Thomas Manton)

Every time I read your posts I hear Rush screaming at me, it is hard to seperate it in my mind, it is like, "Rush, your a ranting calvinist". His inflection is in every post, makes for interesting threads.

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*

From what I've read of him, yes, yes, and ... yes. He's a Catholic mystical priest, for one thing - that ought to set you on your guard before you hear anything about what he actually writes. He teaches that man is basically good (but flawed), that a key (if not THE) way to reach God is through essentially an Eastern, mystical meditative prayer complete with mantras, and rejects any semblance of an orthodox view concerning the necessity of Christ's shed blood on the cross. He has some shocking views concerning what he would term "liberty" but which is no less than license.

Don't touch him with a ten-foot pole. He seems to me to be just another "cool" cat that emergent and new agey-mystical folks like. I am surprised to hear that you have "Reformed" people suggesting him to you... I'd talk with them about what they find so attractive, and warn them about picking up "the next new thing."

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://inprincipiodeus.solideogloria.com
http://puritanwisdom.blogspot.com

"As God did not at first choose you because you were high, He will not now forsake you because you are low."
John Flavel in Keeping the Heart



Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

I remembered another one - The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. My mother made me read it when I was about 15 - apparently my attitude was too negative. While she may have had a point about my attitude, reading that book certainly didn't help. I wasn't a believer at that stage, and wasn't converted until I was 19, but I could already see that the nonsense Peale was peddling wasn't the Gospel, nor did it make any logical sense. Unfortunately the book turned me into more of a cynic than I already was.

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T W Hopper
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church
Currently between churches since PRC closed here - attending Crossroads Christian Church.
Canberra, Australia.

The Coup de Grace for me.


Gotta love the cover! Boo!

Here comes the Boogey Man!

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John
Member
Christ Presbyterian Church (OPC)
Salt Lake City, Utah
www.christpres.net

Makes you think Sproul is hiding under your bed at night or something.

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Devin Brian
1689er
Attending Trinity Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA.
Vivian, Louisiana, USA

"...If you are not firm in faith,you will not be firm at all." - Isaiah 7:9
"The fall of man is written in too legible characters not to be understood: Those that deny it, by their denying, prove it." - George Whitefield

Books that I should not have read, just not healthy for me at the time, were imposed on me in high school: Flowers for Algernon and Catcher in the Rye.

I recently had to read some weird books at seminary in my Ethics course, one of which was Nickel and Dimed (Not getting by in America) and Wendell Berry's Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community: Eight Essays

Neither were believers and I spent good hard cash for theology and had to read this tripe. One was on being broke in the US and the other was (I guess) Christians have to be communal.

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Bryan Wiley
Layman
Reformed Baptist Church
Louisville, Kentucky

"Seek the Kingdom of God first."

John, I like the five ominous figures on the cover. One for each point I take it?

He needs to keep writing - he's got all those alimony checks to write. He's been married - what? 5 times (at last count)?

Every time Lindsey sets pen to paper he sets the serious study of eschatology back ten years!

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Richard T. Zuelch, M.Div
Ruling Elder, OPC (not currently serving)
Westminster Presbyterian Church, CA (OPC)
www.alexandermaclaren.wordpress.com
www.reiterations.wordpress.com
www.spurgeonswords.wordpress.com

Devout souls do not take offence at the depths and difficulties of God's Word, but are, thereby, drawn to intenser contemplation of them. - Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910)

I saw the movie version - National Lampoon's Summer Vacation.

Yes, indeed.

I recollect my mom checking out a copy of "Everybody Poops" when I was three and I found it quite patronizing.

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:detective:
Travis Speegle
Redeemer Presbyterian, PCA (Waco, Tx)
Pacific Cross Roads, PCA (Los Angeles, CA)


"When it comes to trustworthy theologians one can usually honor the rule of thumb that the deader the better."-Dr. John Hannah, DTS (of all places)

I would be so ecstatic to wake up and Sproul was hiding under my bed (alive)!

I am close to finishing up Letter to A Christian Nation by Sam Harris. So far it is has seemed pretty shallow to me. I am wanting to read Wilson's response to Harris to see if Wilson's response is any good.

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Brian Vandenburg
Member of Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Vancouver, WA
"The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God."-Westminster Confession of Faith

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Dan Pemberton
Vacaville, CA

Member, First Baptist Church San Luis Obispo
Formerly ABUSA (We left, so I guess that makes us American Baptists Unleashed!)

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Timothy Johnson
First United Presbyterian of Moline
PCUSA (Yea, I know)
Theology/Philosophy Sunday School Teacher
Davenport, IA

I agree with Davidius, that the Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee could be the worse book ever written.

One that is worse, is ANYTHING by Andrew Murray.

The worse book I read by a Reformed author would have to be John MacArthur's Saved Without a Doubt. It was really compact, and because of that it gave some very weak, packaged answers to the hard passages that Conditional Security people use. I just couldn't get interested in this book, not sure if it was the writing style.

At the public library by my house I read some pretty bad books in the Christianity section. As a new convert I didn't understand that there were such things as liberal Christians. So I ended up reading a lot of books and coming away confused. One was an attack on the Bible, in the Christianity section. The other was about Aliens, Mexico and Christianity(odd book).

Thankfully now I have a good website to poke around on and pick up on who are the good authors.

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Andrew C.
IFB
LBCF 1689

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Benjamin P. Glaser, M. Div, Licentiate, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
Member Fairmount ARP Church
Pittsburgh, PA

Deo Vindice

Yes, he is. I have met Manning, been to several of his conferences, and have read several of his books. He is a former papist priest, who is now married, but is still Roman Catholic. He speaks at papist conferences and is well received by liberals and some evangelicals. He denies justification by faith alone and is a very liberal Roman Catholic in advocating tolerance toward homosexuality. He has neo-orthodox leanings and is associated with many left-winged "evangelicals" like Tony Campolo and Ron Sider. I wonder how reformed someone is who would recommend Manning. I would caution people to stay clear of his teachings.

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Stephen Welch
PCA Teaching Elder
Nova Scotia :cheers:

I believe, if he is still married, he is currently living with his third wife. He is trice an adulterer and has no connection to a church.

Keep repressing that memory. It will do your soul good.

What is the worst book I have ever read? There were so many.
Does Anyone remember the Joshua books by Joseph Girzone?
Bad, very bad.
But the worst book I tried to get through is When God was taken captive by Willard Aldritch. Totally Arminian, he says we are able to obey the Gospel; he has never heard of Total Depravity, Orgininal Sin and quite possibly the book of Romans.

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Diane
God is Good and we're not.
All Saints Episcopal
Anchorage, AK

Him and Schuller were great buddies. Peale was an RCA minister, who had influence on many of the RCA ministers of his generation, and was a regular speaker at conferences for the Unity cult in Kansas City. If you read his material (if you don't vomit) he is heavily into Religious Science and some of the teaching that effected the Fillmores who founded Unity School of "Christianiy" headquarted in Lee's Summitt, Missouri. Now we know why the RCA has fallen into apostacy.

Lincoln Money Martyred. A conspiracy buff had me read it to open my eyes to the truth. Authored by R.E. Search (I'm serious). Some guy delves into the National Archives and discovers our money system is secretly run by a hand full of Jews, and when Lincoln found out they killed him. His main proof was a ghost that appeared in the last chapter to fill in the blanks of his research.

The second was The Trail of Blood by JM Caroll. The Landmark Baptist account of history.

The third is The New Testament Church by Bill Downing, a Reformed Baptist pastor in the San Jose CA area. It's also a Landmark Baptist type historical account of how the Baptists have survived pure through out the ages in the form of the Paulatians, Bogomils, etc...

The fourth was Hal Lindsay's The Road To Holocaust which blames Christianity and Christian Reconstruction specifically for the killing and future killing of innocent Jews.

Then there are the works of Bonhoeffer, which I don't like because I don't understand them and I've tried to.

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Tim Vaughan
Member, Redeemer Presbyterian, OPC,
Santa Maria
California

I am sure that, in terms of impact, you are quite right. I was only referring to books I had actually read. I haven't read (and will not read!) the ones you have mentioned. As Martin Snyder said, I don't even have enough time to read all the good books.

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Rev. Lane Keister
Teaching Elder, PCA, North Dakota (working out of bounds in a CRC and an RCA church)
http://greenbaggins.wordpress.com
http://brahmsgreenglove.blogspot.com
http://accenttranslation.blogspot.com
Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Yeah, Dealing with the Devil. That was my first clue that all is not well with Christian bookstores. In the mid-70's mind you. I don't think I read more than 20 or 30 pages before I tore it up. Yeah, I know, that many???

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~Jay~
Husband of ENS, father of J II. | Indian Trail, NC
disabled - cancer
Communicant Member, Precentor | Presbyterian Reformed Church of Charlotte, NC | Presbyterian Reformed Church

zzzzzz ...

Amen to that, and I can't read with the intensity that I once did. I must be getting old.

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How often have you wondered why Christ should set His heart upon such a one as you! --Octavius Winslow

Lon Wadkins (Jesup, Iowa)
New Covenant Fellowship, OPC
Independence, Iowa

I saw a couple people list Desiring God by Piper as the worst, or near worst, book they ever read. Could you guys explain that? Thanks!

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Jacob
Sovereign Grace Ministries
Covenant Fellowship Church
WTS M.A.R. in Theology student
West Chester, PA

"Grace renews nature; glory perfects grace." ~ John Owen
"Grace tried is better than grace, and more than grace. It is glory in its infancy." ~ John Flavel
Blog - The Strasbourg Inn

I would agree...but there are some useful quotes of the church father's in Chosen but Free ! Alas, my dog chewed it up. God's providence I imagine.

Also anything by John Eldredge. I could barely stomach "Wild at Heart."

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~ Steven Bradford ~
Member Covenant Presbyterian, Chattanooga, TN

LOL

I think Peale's book blazed a trail in the Christian Self Help Genre.

*** Which reminds me of a scene from blazing saddles **** ( can of beans, not worms )

They have a clip on You tube, type in Blazing Saddles, top of the list

Remember Peter Ruckman...... I have a commentary that was given to me by someone on the book of Exodus. It isn't a commentary on the book per se. It is a critique of everyone else's views on the book. LOL

This guy has to know he is a liar concerning manuscript history.

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Norseman Moderator

R. Martin Snyder
1689er
http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/puritancovenanter/

"Our object should not be to have scripture on our side but to be on the side of scripture; and however dear any sentiment may have become by being long entertained, so soon as it is seen to be contrary to the Bible, we must be prepared to abandon it without hesitation."
William Symington

Click to get:Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Remember His book... Help Lord, The Devil wants me fat!


Dealing with the Devil and that one were big when I was in the Navy many moons ago.

???

Is it three? I came across part of his bio on the internet. Is it inaccurate?

Jan - Second wife, worked together in Campus Crusade (mother of his three grown children).

Kim - Third wife (on back cover of Planet Earth - 2000; sister of author Johanna Michaelsen)

JoLyn, Fourth wife????, a member of Tetelestai and in a Bible class taught by Lindsey when she was evidently "discovered" by Hal.

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Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

???

Is it three? I came across this bio on the internet.

Converted after first marriage broke up.

Jan - Second wife, worked together in Campus Crusade (mother of his three grown children).

Kim - Third wife (on back cover of Planet Earth - 2000; sister of author Johanna Michaelsen)

JoLyn, Fourth wife????, a member of Tetelestai and in a Bible class taught by Lindsey when she was evidently "discovered" by Hal.

Really? I was not aware that he was married a fourth time. So much for church discipline.

You only need to be a "one woman" man when you are an elder. Hal is a celebrity. And, by the way, I don't KNOW that he is married 4 times, merely that some bio information on the Internet mentions his fourth wife???

It is a consolation that he has only had one at a time

The worst book I have ever read was "A Divine Revelation of Hell" or something like that. Mary Baxter said that she left her body and spent time in Hell so that she could come and tell us about it (for just $9.99). Her trip to hell was so profitable, she took another trip. This one was to heaven. I ordered it from CBD for a book club that I belonged to at the time. I didn't take her second trip with her though.

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Evon Taylor
Community Bible Church
Swansea, Il

serious???

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Matthew Morales (Husband to Rachel)
Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Santa Rosa, CA)

"...But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." Isaiah 66:2b (ESV)

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face"-William Cowper