The Evangelical Universalist Forum

What books are our members reading? Post updates freely! {g}

Just finished Ken Wilber’s ‘Grace and Grit’ really made me ponder new ways of looking at things and I also cried like a child.

I also started his ‘A Theory of Everything’ though that is a hard slog for me. :confused:

Also am reading Just Joey, about the greatest Isle of Man TT Motorcycle road racer. Great.

Recently finished this excellent read… The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins

Yep, I too thought it was a great read.

“Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News”

amazon.com/Sinners-Hands-Lo … 1601429517

Feser takes the reader through classical proofs from Aquinas, Augustine, Aristotle, Leibniz, and Plontinus. He answers all the modern objections to the classical proofs and shows that they all miss the mark or are misconceptions. He’s a Catholic Thomist and doesn’t claim a probable conclusion for the arguments but develops them as demonstrative proofs. He believes in Christ because of History and admits that the philosophical proofs just lead to Theism. As an atheist philosophy professor he use to shoot down the classical arguments in his classes based on all the common objections. He then dug deeper into the literature of these Theistic men and saw the objections were all weak and don’t even touch on what the philosophers actually said or believed. He then rejected his atheism. Here’s what leading philosophers (including Stephen Davis and J.P. Moreland) say about the book:

“A watershed book. Feser has completely severed the intellectual legs upon which modern atheism had hoped to stand.”
– Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

“A powerful and important book. The concluding chapter, where Feser replies to possible objections to his arguments, is a gem; it alone is worth the price of this excellent work.”
–Stephen T. Davis, Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College

“Edward Feser is widely recognized as a top scholar in the history of philosophy in general, and in Thomistic and Aristotelian philosophy in particular. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in natural theology. I happily and highly recommend it.”
– J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Biola University

“Refutes with devastating effect the standard objections to theistic proofs, from David Hume to the New Atheists.”
–Robert C. Koons, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin

Five Proofs of the Existence of God Paperback by Edward Feser

Here’s an interview with Feser on the book:

Well, I went to the open Mosque day recently - near my house. They gave me a packet, of propaganda material to read. I have read the Koran version they gave before. So now I am reading Muhammad - A Short Biography and Islam - Top 50 Questions.

Now, mind you - I have no intention, of converting to Islam. But I like to read, what they say. And see how they present things. :slight_smile:

“Good Morning, Holy Spirit”, by Benny Hinn

Free online here:

mafiadoc.com/good-morning-holy- … 0e371.html

"It was three days before Christmas 1973. The sun was still rising on that cold, misty Toronto morning.

Suddenly He was there. The Holy Spirit entered my room. He was as real to me that morning as the book you are holding in your hand is to you.

For the next eight hours I had an incredible experience with the Holy Spirit. It changed the course of my life. Tears of wonder and joy coursed down my cheeks as I opened the Scriptures and He gave me the answers to my questions.

It seemed that my room had been lifted into the hemisphere of heaven. And I wanted to stay there forever. I had just turned twenty-one, and this visitation was the best birthday or Christmas present I had ever received.

Just down the hall were my mother and dad. They would never possibly understand what was happening to their Benny. In fact, had they known what I was experiencing, it could have been the breaking point in a family that was already on the verge of shattering. For nearly two years—since the day I gave my life to Jesus— there was virtually no communication between my parents and me. It was horrible. As the son of an immigrant family from Israel, I had humiliated the household by breaking tradition. Nothing else in my life had been this devastating.

… At that moment I felt, as the Word describes it, “peace. . . which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). Jim had told me about the miracles that took place in Miss Kuhlman’s meetings. But I had no idea what I was about to witness in the next three hours. People who were deaf suddenly could hear. A woman got up out of her wheelchair. There were testimonies of healings for tumors, arthritis, headaches, and more. Even her severest critics have acknowledged the genuine healings that took place in her meetings. The service was long, but it seemed like a fleeting moment. Never in my life had I been so moved and touched by God’s power."

amazon.com/Good-Morning-Hol … 0785261265

You are so intelligent! How do you let Benny hinn fool you?!

The question to ask is this. Are there DEGREES, of the gift of healing - and other Charamastic gifts? If NOT, then why do folks like Benny Hinn, Peter Popoff, etc., - ALWAYS show EVERYONE getting healed immediately? And folks with the gift of healing - in Pentecostal churches - DON’T always succeed or have INSTANTANEOUS healings? If folks asked the RIGHT questions and PRAYED for guidance…then perhaps they might have the gift of knowledge, from the Holy Spirit. Or wisdom from God.

In MANY ways, the tribulation and the Zombie Apocalypse - are more realistic. :wink:

“Surprised by the Power of the Spirit” by Jack Deere

amazon.com/Surprised-Power- … B003TFE1QW

“What caused a former Dallas Seminary professor to believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are being given today? What convinced someone skeptical about miracles that God still speaks and heals? A dramatic change took place in Jack Deere’s life when he took a fresh look at the Scriptures. He discovered that his cherished arguments against miraculous gifts were based more on prejudice and a lack of personal experience than on the Bible. As soon as Deere became a seeker instead of a skeptic, the Holy Spirit revealed himself in new and surprising ways. In Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, Jack Deere provides a strong biblical defense for the Spirit’s speaking and healing ministries today. He also describes several reliable cases of people who were miraculously healed or who heard God speak in an unmistakable way. Finally, he gives sound advice for using spiritual gifts in the church. Written in popular style-with the care of a scholar but the passion of personal experience-this book is a vital resource for people on both sides of the debate about miraculous gifts.”

Jeremiah White’s, The Restoration of All things (1712)

Link: mercyuponall.org/wp-content/ … things.pdf

Jeremiah White (1629–1707), was a 17th-century Nonconformist minister and Puritan chaplain to Oliver Cromwell. White defended the doctrines of predestination, election and rebrobation, but these were understood in such a way, that the sanctification and salvation of the elect will be to the benefit of the reprobate, leading to the final happiness of all human beings.

Additional Text Archive: mercyuponall.org/pdfs-click-to-download/

I’m reading “The False Prophet” and “Islam in the End Times” by Ellis Skolfield. He has the Historicist/Ammilneum view of Revelation and he connects events in Daniel to The Dome of the Rock and to Israel 1948 & 1967 by mathematical calculations. IMO these calculations of a dozen prophecies are pretty precise and impressive and he goes into the background of each of these. He feels we are at the end of this age and in the little season at the end of the milleneum where Satan has been released. You can see him on YouTube or download his info at Beholdthebeast.com or at Fish House Publishing.

Accepted in the Father’s Love by Mathew Simon

Universalist book with a full-preterist perspective.

Re reading Neil Peart’s ‘Ghost Rider.’ Story of a man on top of the world who lost his 19 year old daughter and his wife within the same year… To different circumstances. Very moving. Though it does seem redundant in some ways, it also shows me how I may be redundant if I went through the same thing. The fragile nature of life and existence and reality…

Good book.

Along those lines, I just finished ‘Descent’ by Tim Johnston. An excellent novel. Many religious themes throughout. In the style of Cormac McCarthy.

Ahh. Will have to look into that. The fragile nature of life and existence and reality! :laughing:

Thanks Bro. Are you doing well? :smiley:

As well as can be in Mesa Az visiting in-laws! Actually a nice vacation.

Gosh the weather must be much better than where I am at… Sunshine? :laughing:

Yep!

Just have fun my friend. Enjoy. We will talk soon. Tell me of any exotic foods :laughing:

Love ya and safety,

Chad