G. A. Dietrich | Monthly Archive

Archive | December, 2011

Books & Reading for 2012

By G. A. Dietrich on December 30, 2011 in Books

Coming on the heals of reading and reviewing Tony Reinke’s book Lit!, I thought it would be wise to have a game plan going into 2012 for devouring some books. I am not certain how many books I read in the last year—though if I were to guess it would be somewhere around 40-50. I am thinking ambitiously for this next year and I’m hoping to blaze through 75-100. Here is what is going to help me accomplish such a goal:

I am setting a goal of reading 2 biographies a month for the year. I will do this reading primarily at home during the evening hours after dinner. So far I have picked out 15 to read, but just read one of them yesterday and today so I am now down to 14. Biographies are easy to read and don’t tax my mind like reading theology does. Learning from other people and their lives is very rewarding.
I’ll begin work on my dissertation in this next year and that will force me to crank though some material. I will do a good bit of this work during the day while in the office. I figure that I will set aside 2 hours a day for reading. This obviously won’t work for every day, but it gives me something to shoot for.
I am teaching a course this spring on the book of Genesis. Doing so will allow me to keep reading books on narrative, genre, commentaries about Genesis…which will all fuel my dissertation work as well.
Also in the mix I am hoping to throw in some fiction. This is an area I identified I need substantial growth in while reading through Lit! and want to grow in. I’m not sure where I should start so if you have suggestions on what I should tackle first I am all ears.

The number one excuse people have when asked why they don’t read is typically all about time. I am personally going to make time. However, if people just redeem the small amounts of time they do have then they would be shocked at how much they could read. I read something just recently that pointed to a logical statement by John Piper:

Most of us don’t aspire very high in our reading because we don’t feel like there is any hope. But listen to this. Suppose you read about 250 words a minute and that you resolve to devote just 15 minutes a day to serious theological reading to deepen your grasp of biblical truth. In one year (365 days) you would read for 5,475 minutes. Multiply that times 250 words per minute and you get 1,368,750 words per year. Now most books have between 300 and 400 words per page. So if we take 350 words per page and divide that into 1,368,750 words per year, we get 3,910 pages per year. This means that at 250 words a minute, 15 minutes a day, you could read about 20 average sized books a year!

So those of you that think you have no time…start by redeeming 15 minutes of your day then build that to 30 minutes. You’ll be amazed at how many books you’ll be able to get through.

I’ll have a few more things to say about books and reading as we move into the new year. Until then though, figure out where you are going to start using your 15 minutes!

Comments { 5 }

Parking Lot #3 | Guest Post

By G. A. Dietrich on December 30, 2011 in I Can't Park

I guess defining “compact” is subjective? Thanks to my pal Denny Vauters for snagging this one today.

Click to enlarge

Comments { 0 }

Book Review | “Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament”

By G. A. Dietrich on December 25, 2011 in Book Review

In this volume Daniel Wallace edits a series of articles combined to form Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament: Manuscript, Patristic, and Apocryphal Evidence. This work is the first volume in a new series called “Text and Canon of the New Testament,” which Kregel just started. If this first volume is any indication of how this series will serve the academy, I think the series will be very helpful.

The topic and tone of the articles are clearly academic and meant to serve the scholar more so than the pastor or the layman. Those contributing articles are Philip Miller, Matthew Morgan, Adam Messer, Tim Ricchuiti, Brian Wright, and the editor, Daniel Wallace. Coming into this book I was only familiar with Wallace, all of the other men are new to me…likely because most of them were interns for Wallace during their Th.M’s.

I found that I could not improve on Kregel’s explanation of the book:

In recent years popular culture has experienced a revival of interest in the early church and the beginning of the canonizing of Scripture. Extremely critical of the nature of the New Testament canon, however, many writers have suggested that the New Testament authors “interrupted” Jesus and misquoted His message. This scholarly book presents a strong case for the historicity and accuracy of the Bible, refuting the accusation that the Bible is unreliable.

From Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament, students of New Testament and textual criticism will learn how the New Testament was written, compiled, and transmitted. This book is a detailed rebuttal to confident remarks about the inaccuracies indeed the corruption of the New Testament.

Overall I see this book as a help to the academy and to seminarians, however, it is not one that I would direct a typical pastor or laymen to. The terminology and subject are quite advanced and serve a niche.

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.

Comments { 0 }

ESV Translators Debate the Word “Slave”

By G. A. Dietrich on December 24, 2011 in Sunday School, Video

This last week in Sunday School I mentioned a video of the ESV translators debating how the word “slave” (δοῦλος) should be translated. It is interesting to hear the different views talked about in light of how different cultures perceive the understanding of what “slave” should mean. Check the video below for a taste of what I’m talking about.

Comments { 0 }

Parking Lot #2 | Guest Post

By G. A. Dietrich on December 22, 2011 in I Can't Park

This guest post for today’s “parking lot” installment comes from my father-in-law. He snapped this while in Virginia Beach. Obviously the best part of this picture is written on the pavement.

Comments { 1 }

New Blog Feature | “Parking Lot”

By G. A. Dietrich on December 16, 2011 in I Can't Park

I’m starting a new feature on the blog calling “Parking Lot.” We’ve probably all seen those people that struggle to get their car between the lines. Many times it is a lack of care and other times it is a lack of care of others parked around them.

So today I submit to you the first of many “Parking “Lot” pictures.

Names are always withheld to protect the guilty.

Comments { 4 }

NLT Christmas Giveaway

By G. A. Dietrich on December 8, 2011 in Giveaway

Tyndale is hosting what looks to be a great giveaway this Christmas season. What a better way to get the Word and resources than free! Check them out over at their Facebook page.

Comments { 0 }

Book Review | “John MacArthur” by Iain Murray

By G. A. Dietrich on December 5, 2011 in Book Review

Iain Murray is a wonderful biographer who has captured the lives of men such as Martyn Lloyd-Jones (2 vol) and Jonathan Edwards. In his newest work, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock, Murray presents the life and ministry of MacArthur. This is an interesting project for Murray since the subject of his book is still alive and leading a thriving ministry. Murray recognizes and admits that this biography is by no means complete and MacArthur’s life will one day warrant a complete biography, though he says he is not the one to do it.

As I read through this account of MacArthur’s life there are a few things that standout to me that really characterize MacArthur and his ministry. Murray captures very well that MacArthur’s drive in ministry is unapologetically the Word of God. Since being called by Grace Community Church in 1969 he has consistently set aside 30 hours per week devoted to the study of the Word. This has allowed to preach through the entire New Testament verse by verse (June 2011). These sermons are what make up his commentary series published by Moody Publishers.

Another point that I came away with, though it wasn’t necessarily discussed by Murray, is that MacArthur has surrounded himself with helpful, godly, and capable people. There would be no other way he would be able to write and publish as many books as he has while speaking as much as he does. Much of this credit, Murray says, is due to Grace To You’s Executive Director Phil Johnson who handles most of MacArthur’s book projects.

It is really unimaginable the impact the ministry of John MacArthur has had and what it will continue to have. Through his many years of tape ministry, Grace To You letters, books, and thousands of sermons, he has impacted the life of millions.

This is a book I found enjoyable and easily read. Murray is a great writer and explains life and ministry well. I read the entire book (240 pages) in three separate sittings. I think it is helpful to read biographies in larger chucks if possible. It helps give you a fuller picture of the story (much like Scripture). I do not think you would be disappointed to give some hours over to reading this great work.

Comments { 1 }