So i just finished watchin the Colts hold off the Steelers and the Chiefs blow off a chance at overtime with the Chargers, but i still have one more game to watch from last week (Giants/Eagles) and i’m holding off my picks and results from last week until i see who’s won… I was right about last night’s game though, looks like it was a great game… too bad i don’t have the NFL Network at home and i don’t have a DVR or anything like that set up at work where i do have NFL Network courtesy of the new Sky Angel…

Anyway, i’m clearly way behind on just about everything this week as i’ve been absorbed in the stress and frustration of a pressing situation that i’ll not discuss here… let’s see if i can catch up on some of this stuff that’s hanging over my head while i have a moment to breathe… first off… some books that i’ve read and meant to write about…

BOOKS: SINS OF THE PAST
to the tune of Saint and Sinner – Derek Webb

Sinner
by Ted Dekker

number one on the docket is the first book i’ve ever read from the pen of Ted Dekker… i know that seems amazing, but i’d just never gotten around to digging into any of his books and then, the notion of this 10-book series really seemed a bit too much of a commitment for me to settle down with, especially since i wasn’t certain that it would work out…

Now, having read Sinner, i want to dive into the rest of the series… unfortunately i only have one of the other books in my possession (Showdown) and there’s always the pressure of making time to read them… if you’re anything like i was, though, skeptical of the commitment or whatever, i have to say that even though this is technically part of a larger story, it’s self-contained enough to make it a thrilling tale in and of itself… I had no problems whatsoever staying with the story for the whole 400 or so pages… and, though some broader themes were addressed and some “historical events” were referenced, i didn’t feel out of place at all as i navigated the take…

having said all that, Sinner is a wonderfully-paced adventure with a twinge of reality despite some extraordinary circumstances… it offers readers an escape with a fantastical while still exploring circumstances and events that ring ominously true… and on top of all that, it reads somewhat like a parable, artfully driving home a number of points without once delving into the territory of being too preachy… a definite recommended read, but be forewarned, it’s going to open up a world to you that will lead to a number of other books that you’ll really want to read…

BOOKS: BACK ON THE BUS
to the tune of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon

Schooled
by Gordon Korman

What? a Kid’s book? Heck yeah… when i was younger, my favorite author was Beverly Cleary, but when i got a liitle older, i discovered the world of Bruno and Boots and beyond that, the world of author Gordon Korman… since i’ve been recently reinspired to read more consistently, and since i stumbled across this book at a school book fair, i’ve also begun revisiting these books and remembering why i was immediately drawn to the books…

Schooled is new to me, but it tells the tale of a young boy raised as a hippie transplanted into the scary world of eighth grade in a public jr. high school… immediately the outcast because he’s pretty clueless about the ways of the world, he’s elected to the position of class president as a prank… the story unfolds with a series of unexpected events and hilarity… i really enjoyed the multiple perspectives from with the book was written and the narrative was highly entertaining…

Also, as i’ve mentioned in a previous entry, some of the points made really translate well to broader scopes… so, though it is intended for younger audiences, i’ll still give it a thumb’s up because, it’s enjoyable and a quick read…

BOOKS: FAITH OF THE ELECT
to the tune of Faith – Jason Upton

The Faith of Barack Obama
by Stephen Mansfield

As hard as this is going to be, i’m going to try really hard to review the book, The Faith of Barack Obama, and not the faith of Barack Obama… it’s somewhat difficult simply because that’s the main topic of the book and there are so many ideas and insights presented that are certainly worth addressing… including a quote from Obama himself that mentions his need for religion to be a vessel to help him achieve greater levels of success, or Mansfield’s impressions of Trinity United Church of Christ – “This is not just a church; this is a cultural phenomenon”…

I did find it a rather challenging book to read, because i could never quite figure out from which direction Mansfield was coming or to which conclusion he was headed… It seemed almost like a book bi-polar in nature, one chapter devoted to the defense of the Black Liberation Theology, the perspective from which Obama was mentored, followed by a chapter that seemed almost derisive of Obama’s sincerity and intentions… i’m fine with a balanced point of view, but this seemed to bounce between the extremes rather quickly before landing in the lap of Obama like a toy poodle begging for a treat…

one side note: I’m interested in reading the counterpart book dedicated to George W Bush, because i expect that the tone of that book was much more positive towards President Bush than what was referenced here.

What i found most compelling about this book was the references to Obama as a postmodern candidate and a mention that McCain was something of a last chance to infuse the values of a generation that fought for and helped establish this nation as the more traditional religious views are being fazed out in a sense, replaced by what Obama refers to as a civil religion… and it occurred to me, though Mansfield never states it directly, that when our nation elects a president these days, that it’s more than just a political viewpoint or a set of policies that we’re voting for… it seems that we’re actually voting for someone who represents our theological and philosophical views… and that’s kind of a troubling thought, to be perfectly honest…

If nothing else, the book does clear up some details of Obama’s upbringing and some of his faith-based views which are rather eye-opening… and it’s worth reading to get a closer look at our new president elect…

GOODBYE

goodnight… football tomorrow…

peace… love… bdg…