Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

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Harry Potter

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HP

Jenni and I just finished listening to the best-selling book series of all time: Harry Potter.

Jim Dale masterfully reads the seven-volume unabridged audiobook. We’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks, and Jim Dale is by far the most gifted reader we’ve ever heard. Incredibly gifted.

The audiobook is 4.8 days long (about 115 hours). We thoroughly enjoyed listening to it on date nights and road trips. We’re sad it’s over.

The series is not without objectionable elements (e.g., the protagonist and his friends tell lies without negative consequences, and some of the language is not appropriate for children’s books), but overall J. K. Rowling’s story is brilliant, creative, intriguing, and entertaining. Its literary quality is not as exquisite as J. R. R. Tolkien or C. S. Lewis, but it isn’t junk food either (cf. Kevin Bauder’s series “The Christian and Fantasy Literature”). (Some of the movies, on the other hand, may qualify as junk food. Don’t judge a book by its movie.)

By the way, this may explain one of my Facebook status updates a couple of months ago:

If I become a professor at a college or seminary, I may suggest a different title than the typical “Professor of New Testament” or “Professor of Systematic Theology.” How about “Professor of Defense against the Dark Arts”?

That’s actually not a bad title. (Cf. my review of Focus on the Family Radio Theatre’s The Screwtape Letters.)

Update:

  1. Follow-up post: “Rebuked about Harry Potter“
  2. Successful Rereading: Maintaining the Magic
  3. Harry Potter Is Filled with Implicit and Explicit Christian Themes
  4. Emotional Intelligence
  5. Exulting in Harry Potter
  6. Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts

You Don’t See This Happen Every Day

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The latest Themelios issue includes articles by both Ray Ortlund and his son Dane.

  1. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. | Pastoral Pensées  Power in Preaching: Delight (2 Corinthians 12:1–10), Part 3 of 3
  2. Dane C. Ortlund | Christocentrism: An Asymmetrical Trinitarianism?

How cool is that? If I were Ray, I’d be filled with gratitude to God! (And he is—he told me this morning.)

  • Ray Ortlund (blog) is pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as Associate Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois from 1989 to 1998, and he has pastored churches in California, Oregon, and Georgia.
  • Dane Ortlund is a a PhD candidate in New Testament at Wheaton College under Doug Moo.

Ten New Book Reviews

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The November 2009 issue of Themelios, which came out this morning, includes ten book reviews I contributed:

1. Review of Barry J. Beitzel, The New Moody Atlas of the Bible. Themelios 34 (2009): 367. [Amazon]

Beitzel

2. Review of Douglas Bond, The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin. Themelios 34 (2009): 409. [Amazon | WTS Books]

3. Review of John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come (ed. C. J. Lovik; illustrated by Mike Wimmer). Themelios 34 (2009): 409–10. [Amazon | WTS Books]

4. Review of Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will: or, How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. Themelios 34 (2009): 451–52. [Amazon | WTS Books]

5. Review of Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion. Themelios 34 (2009): 457–58. [Amazon | WTS Books]

6. Review of C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters: First Ever Full-cast Dramatization of the Diabolical Classic (produced by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre). Themelios 34 (2009): 453–55. [Amazon]

Screwtape

7. Review of The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testamentst (40 vols.) in Logos Bible Software. Themelios 34 (2009): 455–57.

8. Review of Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. Themelios 34 (2009): 452–53. [Amazon | WTS Books]

9. Review of Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith. Themelios 34 (2009): 458. [Amazon | WTS Books]

10. Review of Gregory A. Wills, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859–2009. Themelios 34 (2009): 403–5. [Amazon]

Wills

Logos 4

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My favorite Bible software just got better: Logos Bible Software 4.0 launches today!

If you already use the Libronix Digital Library System, then you’ve probably been using Logos 3. How does Logos 4 improve Logos 3? To name just three …

  1. It syncs with iPhones. If you use a Logos 4 base package (Windows or Mac), you can access most of the your books on your iPhone at no additional charge.
  2. It’s more efficient. It’s more intuitive; it’s much faster (as in Google-search fast); and it can accommodate multiple monitors.
  3. It’s better looking. Here’s a sample screen shot (click to enlarge):

screen

Learn more at Logos.com/4 and the Logos blog. Then if you have more questions (e.g., about upgrading), comment on the Logos blog or contact Logos by email or phone.

Note: There’s one notable hitch in the transition from Logos 3 to Logos 4. If you’ve marked up your books in Logos 3 (e.g., adding notes or highlighting), then those markings will not transfer to Logos 4 right away. But Bob Pritchett, President of Logos Bible Software, assured me last week that markings will transfer from Logos 3 to Logos 4 in about two weeks. New markings in Logos 4 will integrate with old markings in Logos 3. (Logos 3 and Logos 4 can run side by side without any issues.)