mgpcpastor's blog

Koorong’s latest catalogue weighs in at a substantial 48 pages.
It comes accompanied by an A5 size Bible catalogue of 32 pages (#18). Apparently if you need a Bible Koorong have over 240 from which you can choose (including New Testaments and a few popular presentations like the Manga Bible).
So, what stands out this time?
Last time I did this there were books that I don’t own that I’d like, books I do own that I’d recommend and loopy stuff.
It’s a bit harder this time around.
Stuff I don’t own.
I mentioned ‘Remembering ’59’ (pg 11) and ‘The Reason for God’ (pg 24) before.
1536 – The Year that Changed Henry VIII (pg 2) by Suzannah Lipscomb advances the theory that Henry VIII positively transformed England by the break from the church of Rome. I would have thought that Henry wanted to claim the Pope’s authority and change little else. May be worth a look.
That’s about it. Nothing else really stands out.
Stuff I recommend.
Prodigal God (pg 4) is still there.
Do Hard Things (pg 48) by Alex and Brett Harris is written as a challenge for teenagers by teenagers to live for the glory of God.
Other titles by John Macarthur, Jerry Bridges and John Piper you can find for yourselves.

The other stuff.
Well, 200+ different Bibles overwhelms a lot of comment.
Who buys them? The NIV True Images Bible: “is the only NIV Bible specifically for teen girls aged 13-16.” You see the the NIV FaithGirlz! Bible; the NIV Expressions Of Me For Girls Bible; and the NIV Soul Surfer Bible are for girls aged 8-12.
Another Bible contained in the large catalogue is the CEV Poverty And Justice Bible. The comments I made about the Green Letter Bible apply here. While I agree that there is much in the Bible which speaks of God’s compassion toward the oppressed, I continue to feel reservations about Bibles that choose to emphasise something other than the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as their central emphasis.
The cover contains the book Multiple Blessings by Jon and Kate Gosselin, parents of twins and sextuplets (eight in all). They feature on a reality tv program called Jon and Kate plus 8. Sadly, as their website aludes, their marriage relationship is presently suffering. Hopefully a season out of the public’s gaze may help them through what is an unbelievabley demanding circumstance. Perhaps, given their current circumstances, a sympathetic publisher or retailer may not have carried the book until their situation is more stable.
Four pages are given over to Hillsong Conference Speakers. Prosperity Gospel alert! The Houstons and the Osteens together. Maybe out best life involves having more money.
Among the DVDs the title ‘Lay It Down’ looks clearly inspired by the movie series that began with ‘The Fast and the Furious’. If you’re a committed rev-head (a rev-head who has made a committment?) then this is apparently for you.

But it seems the grand prize this catalogue again goes to the fiction section.
Vampires (of all things) have been invading popular romantic fiction of late. (Twilight, anyone?) So ‘Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy #1: Field of Blood’ seems intent on bringing the trend to Christian audiences. Except that they are ‘a group of undead beings’. Author Eric Wilson is serious about the whole thing. Here’s an online interview.

Christian vampire fiction. It certainly defies parody, doesn’t it?