Tag: Bedrock Series

What is Love? by Kyle Borg: A (too?) Brief Look at a Deep Topic

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On May 7, 2023

In Theology/Christian Living

What is Love?What is Love?

by Kyle Borg

DETAILS:
Series: The Bedrock Series 
Publisher: Grassmarket Press
Publication Date: December 20, 2022
Format: Paperback
Length: 135 pg.
Read Date: February 26, 2023

…deep down we know that love isn’t all we need. We also need to love well. We need to love rightly. So who gets to define that? Which voice is worth listening to, and which voices should be ignored? Is philosophy right? Is psychology right? Sociology? Biology? Politics? Economics? Literature? Hollywood? Music? Social media? Porn? Who gets to tell you what love is?

In the midst of these noisy voices, we need a louder voice. We need a voice that can break through the chatter and clearly, authoritatively, conclusively define for us what love is.

What’s What is Love? About?

This is Borg’s attempt to show what the Bible’s authoritative and conclusive definition of love is. He looks and several texts from all over the canon—spending (naturally) a substantial time in 1 Corinthians 13.

It’s a multi-faceted look at love. Borg considers the love of God demonstrated between the persons of the Trinity as well as toward His creation. But he also looks at the love that humans are to show each other as well as that we’re supposed to show to God.

The seventeen chapters are brief (in 135 pages, they have to be), but he doesn’t shy away from going deep into the topic of the chapter.

So, what did I think about What is Love??

There’s a lot of good material here—helpful, persuasive, and Biblical. But…it seemed to miss the intended goal of the book of giving a strong definition for love. Don’t ask me what was missing, but it just felt to me like Borg fell a little short.

I’ve been listening to Borg for a few years now on a couple of podcasts, and really appreciate his insights and explanations for various topics. So I was a little surprised that I didn’t connect with this the way I expected. I halfway expect that he tried to do too much in such a brief book, and if his goal hadn’t been so lofty, he’d have done better.

The writing is clear and concise—it’s as approachable as you could hope for, no matter your age or groundedness in Christian teaching. This seems to be the intent of the books in the Bedrock series, and Borg succeeded there.

I do recommend the book and think readers will benefit from reading it—I did. While I’m not sure Borg delivered the conclusive definition he intended to, he gave a lot of clear teaching on what the Bible says to lead to that definition, and that’s a good enough place to start.

3 Stars

I Have a Confession: The What and Why of The Westminster Confession of Faith by Nathan Eshelman: You Get More than Your Money’s Worth in this Small Book

By

On January 22, 2023

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

I Have a ConfessionI Have a Confession:]
The What and Why of the
Westminster Confession of Faith

by Nathan Eshelman

DETAILS:
Series: The Bedrock Series 
Publisher: Grassmarket Press
Publication Date: December 12, 2022
Format: Paperback
Length: 136 pg. 
Read Date: January 15, 2023

What’s I Have a Confession About?

This is an introduction to the Protestant practice of confessions—specifically The Westminster of Confession of Faith.

Eshelman starts out by describing the need for confessions, and what the ecclesiological landscape in the US is like without them. Chapter two lays out “the pillar of confessionalism”—the Scriptures themselves. It’s those Scriptures that give the warrant (chapter 3) for the development and use of confessions. This is what I expected from the book, and when that ended just a little past the halfway point, I was more than a little surprised.

What comes next is truly impressive—Eshelman gives a quick, yet thorough, review of the English Reformation from Henry VIII to the 1640s and the composition of the Westminster Confession of Faith. Then he gives a very brief overview of the contents of the Confession—chapter by chapter.

So, what did I think about I Have a Confession?

Let me start with a minor and really unimportant point—I really like the look and feel of this book. It’s like a field notebook in size, weight, and feel. It works really well for the series.

I’d intended on kicking off this year by rereading R. Scott Clark’s Recovering the Reformed Confession, but a couple of things derailed that (hopefully by the year’s end), but if I couldn’t get into that work, this is a good replacement.

The design of the series is to provide “clear, concise” works on faith and life from a Reformed perspective. Eshelman gives the reader precisely that—clear and concise. Concise, easy to read, and surprisingly thorough for a book of its size.

I was very impressed with this little book—it was everything I expected and more. I’d quibble with a point or two (a couple of his illustrations made me wonder), but only minor things. This is something I’d pass out to people without a second look—and would encourage anyone looking into the idea of Protestant confessions to give it a read.

4 Stars

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