Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day

Rating:
Summary: Serious, but entertaining.
Review: **** Take a brief glance at the television news or open the paper and you know that life is not a party. It's filled with serious issues that are made more so by the fact that most people don't take life seriously. Using contemporary and historical examples, the problem is explained in detail and then the answers are equally provided. From CS Lewis to Star Trek to the American Revolution come images to make the issues relevant to the reader. Unlike many books of this sort, Serious Times, though as the name implies, is just that, serious, it is in no way dry or boring. I would call it entertaining, however, the author might take exception to that, so I will settle for informative and easily comprehendable. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

Rating:
Summary: Serious reading for serious times
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I picked up the book just a few days prior to Christmas and completed it last evening. It is book that any serious minded Christian will want to read. I was impressed by the review of history and how it has impacted on our the philosophy of our current culture which covers the first half of the book.
The second half of the book was worth the price of the book alone. White divides this half of the book into four parts: deepening our souls; developing our minds, answering the call and aligning with the church. For me personally, the chapters on the soul and our minds were particularly helpful. White reminds us that our spiritual self is key to rest of our lives. We are to radically seek the face of God by developing in ourselves a "rule" of spiritual devotion that will form a foundation in our souls. The chapter on the mind was a reminder that the life of the mind is also important to our spiritual development. White challenges us with the idea that Christians need to be able to dialogue intelligently with our culture. An encouragement to hearty reading and serious reflection form the foundation of this chapter.
I found this book by James Emery White to be well worth the time investment and plan to make this book one that I return to often. It may be helpful for some of you to hear the author speak about this book. Check out this interview at http://www.strradio.org/current/111404.m3u.

Rating:
Summary: Serious times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day
Review: This is a must read book for any christian living in this present age, longing for more, longing to reach out and make a difference. Knowing all the while time is short and something is wrong. Indeed very very wrong with a culture that seeks to ignore and ultimately abolish God. I highly recommend.