James Matichuk

All shall be saved

Revisado: 07-08-21

If I didn't agree with Hart here, I would find him somewhat arrogant and off-putting. He repeatedly calls internalist belief in eternal conscious torment, logically incoherent and morally repugnant. At a different time in my life I may have thrown up my hands in frustration, though I do think Hart handles well Christian hope and the meaning of God's goodness. Hart articulates a universalist view that posits that the fires hell are less about punishment and more about purgation. He leans heavily on the Eastern Christian tradition, especially Maximus the Confessor.

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A parenting book for those who have faith shifted

Revisado: 03-29-20

This is a great book on parenting for anyone who, like me, has moved from a more conservative evangelical faith to a more progressive expression. Brandt has a similar faith shift and journey, albeit from a Taiwanese background. highly recommend this.

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An introduction to quaker spirituality.

Revisado: 03-20-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This book explores the "sacramental" nature of silence in the Quaker tradition. J. Brent Bill explores the nature of holy silence, and the Quaker's peculiar dispensation of it, and he commends the practice of deep, expectant communal silence.

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A Hard but hopeful story

Revisado: 03-20-20

The past few years have had an uptick of hate crimes. White Nationalist demonstrations have made the news, and with it a fresh crop of Holocaust deniers (or minimizers). While the injustice and horror of Nazi's attempted extermination of the Jews is hard to listen to, hearing these stories remains important. We need to honor their memory.

Eva's story is the story of young Austrian Jew, who emigrates with her family (her mother, father and brother) to the Netherlands to avoid Nazi occupation after the Nazi's had marched into Vienna. While there, she lived on the same block as Anne Frank. When the Nazi's took over the Netherlands, they began to stockpile food and prepare for the worst. That came when her brother (and Anne Frank's sister) was scheduled to go into a work camp. The family split up and went into hiding. They remained in hiding for a couple years, before they were betrayed by a double agent, captured and sent to Auschwitz Birkenau. This is the story of Eva in her youth, in the concertation camp, and her eventual freedom.

Eva Schloss is the post-humous step sister of Anne Frank. Her mother married Otto Frank in 1953. I knew this piece of trivia when I picked up the book and thus figured out that her mother and her survive the camps. Her father and brother weren't so lucky.

I appreciated hearing about Eva's time in the camps. It is not a cheery story, but Eva's character through out is somewhat indomitable. She survived the camps because she never gave up hope (and even helped save her mother from the gas chamber (through the intervention of their cousin who worked as a nurse in the hospital ward).

Hard Story but an important story. May we never forget.

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Not perfect but faithful

Revisado: 03-05-20

I grew up in an Evangelicalism which lauded Billy Graham as a premier Christian witness. My estimation of Graham has cooled somewhat, with the rise of Franklin Graham in BGEA, and the apparent drift into partisanship (again) in his later years. Plus the Nixon tapes, and Grahams private antisemitism belied a darker version of the evangelist than his carefully coifed public image, as a Christian statesman and person of integrity. Treatments of Graham in the media, either lionize him as a man of faith or dismiss him for the deep contradictions in his character, his politics, his anti-intellectualism, and his youthful war hawkishness.

Wacker's biography steers a path between hagiography and a takedown. Looking at the public record of 'Billy,' he explores 'scenes' from the evangelists life, from his early days as a fundamentalist, to his latter years. Wacker explores the impact of the man, in his crusades, in his social and political advocacy, in his genuine care and warm charisma, in founding Christianity Today and calling for the Lausanne conference, in his many trips abroad, and his magnanimous inclusive spirit.

Wacker is a friendly critic. As a fellow Evangelical, though one on the Evangelical Left, he once wrote Graham a letter (while he was a divinity student) criticizing the evangelist for his support for the Vietnam war. In these pages he gives Graham a fair assessment for his evolving (and slightly ahead of his evangelical peers') view's on race, while detailing some his political blind spots, his ecumenism, and his advocacy for nuclear disarmament (post 1978). He details places where his public words and persona differed from his practice (e.g. when he promised politicians on both sides of the aisle their support while privately campaigning for one over the other). While Graham identified as a life long democrat, Wacker places his political views right of center (with an evangelical commitment to pro-life causes and traditional marriage). He does criticize Graham for being slightly proud, seeking the limelight and celebrity acquaintances, etc., but this is balanced by Graham's disarming presence and genuine care for others.

Wacker's account of Graham reignited some of my appreciation of Graham, warts and all. There are definitely episodes that tarnish his reputation (Nixon!, Vietnam), but on the whole he remained a person of integrity, in his financial and moral dealings. Not perfect, but faithful.

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this line says a headline is optional but it isn't

Revisado: 01-17-20

this was free offering for my audible membership. I haven't watched or listen to the Moth story slams so I didnt real know who this was. But I really enjoyed. Wade tells heart warming and occasionally gross stories about growing up and breaking into the industry

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A must read for a theology of resistance!

Revisado: 10-22-19

Robyn is a thoughtful theologian. As a 'Queer, Transgender, White passing Latinx,' Robyn is well aware of both what it means to be marginalized and what it means to have privilege. In these pages, they advocate theology of resistance, from the margins, not the center, and self-care. While Robyn is a theologian who is well-versed in continental philosophy, this is not an exercise in abstract theology. They share their story here.

Additionally, there is a 'Coda' with Ree Belle's poetry (on the audiobook, Ree Belle reads her own poetry) and a conversation between Robyn and Ree about activism and identity that is worth the price of admission.

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great refugee stories

Revisado: 09-20-19

A series of short stories about vietnamese refugees. Engaging story telling and varied. I liked it

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one of the best audio books I've listened to

Revisado: 09-18-19

Gladwell's has done it again. sometimes I listen to an audiobook and it makes me wish I got a hard copy or ebook instead. the production value of this ebook is amazing, engaging and easy to follow. I learned a lot about talking to strangers, trust and mistrust and got some new perspective on the Sandra Bland, Jerry Sandusky, and Brock Turner cases.

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I love mary oliver so much

Revisado: 09-12-19

mary oliver reading some of her beloved poems, including "wild geese." This is a treat!

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