Peter Hopkirk. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia. Kodansha, 1994.

From the shores of the Pacific, and to the heights of the Himalayas, Russia will not only dominate the affairs of Asia, but those of Europe also.
   —Count Sergei Witte, Finance Minister under Tsar Nicholas II, (502)

The title of The Great Game comes from a term used by both Russia and England to describe the diplomatic and political machinations of the nineteenth century over political power in central Asia. The origins of the term may be obscure, but it was used certainly by 1860 and made famous in Kipling’s Kim, which was published around the time the Great Game would end in the form it had back then. One could argue that it is still going on today.

Hopkirk does a good job of explaining why Russia has imperial ambitions even today. Russia is somewhat unique in that it has been attacked numerous times by enemies from the East (the Alans, the Huns, the Mongols, the Timurids) and the West (Vikings, Napoleon, and Hitler). By subduing people groups in Central Asia and Eastern Europe Russia would create buffer zones that would provide safety for Russians. Because of the intensity of even small slaving raids from Central Asian khanates, it also may help explain why Russia has always had a much more authoritarian government than most European nations.

It is impossible to summarize the ins and outs of the story told in The Great Game. Basically, after the defeat of Napoleon, Russia realized it needed greater security on its Eastern borders. Except for sparsely-populated Siberia in the north, Russia had little or no influence east of the Caspian Sea. It saw opportunities for trade with the people of Central Asia, but dealings were difficult. The Turkmen and others were more tribal and at least nominally Muslim. From time to time horsemen from the deserts would attack Russian villages for loot and slaves. Indeed, a major justification for Russian annexation of the various Central Asian peoples would be freedom for Russian slaves.

Meanwhile, England wanted to insure the security of its domains in India. They were concerned that Russian expansion might be at the expense of English influence. Hopkirk details the various intrigues and attempts of both sides to try to pre-empt the other and whether by force or treaty pacify the various indigenous groups. Looking at a map, one can see that in the middle is the nation of Afghanistan. Both Russia and England tried various means to either conquer or befriend the Afghans. Neither were ultimately successful, but it does make for some gripping stories of political intrigue and heroism in battle. Hopkirk suggests Russia did not learn from what it observed in the nineteenth century when it tried to annex Afghanistan in the twentieth century.

Hopkirk tries to be evenhanded with his analysis. While there are more records and writings extant from the British and Indian side, he includes the Russian perspective as well. Often the interpretations of certain events differ significantly, but that makes the study of history interesting. Because the book came out in 1994, it sees Russia’s future as a European democracy rather than the oligarchy it has become.

Perhaps most striking in this book are the number of intrepid explorers on both sides. Some returned heroes, other died after being taken captive or succumbing to the elements. The geographic area covered in this book contains some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world between the highest mountains and some of the bleakest deserts. To use the words of Conrad, much of the region back then was “white on the chart.” No one in Russia or India knew what the geography was like. Much of the exploration was done simply to map out the region—of course, with military possibilities in the back of the cartographers’ minds.

The British were concerned about unknown passes or routes through the Pamirs, Himalayas, and Hindu Kush that raiders from the North could use. After all, history tells us that armies attacked India from the north eighteen times, and fifteen of those times the attacks succeeded.

Russia wanted to find ways through rivers and deserts that could be used by its army but also by its traders to establish Russian influence and even build Russian railroads. In some cases the surveys succeeded, at least in making more accurate maps with less “white” or blank areas. In other cases they demonstrated impossibilities. For example, one explorer died in the mountains in the north of India. A monument was actually erected at the location, but Hopkirk tells us that no one from any of the region’s people has even visited or traveled by the location since the 1940s. How remote can you get?

There are numerous fascinating details that even put current issues in perspective. Did you know that the Uighurs actually had an independent country called Kashgaria, named for one its main cities, from 1864 to 1877? Because of its remoteness, Russia was about the only country that treated it as a separate nation. Eventually, the Chinese would re-take the territory.

The British thought that the people of Tibet might enjoy more freedom affiliating with India. While some intrepid explorers from India would reach even Lhasa, they never made much of an impression, and at the time the Dalai Lama was willing to continue accepting Chinese suzerainity.

The three powers of Russia, England, and China would meet at the Afghan frontier. The Pamir Gap, that narrow stretch of Afghanistan that reaches the Chinese border between what today is Pakistan and Tajikistan was an agreed-upon zone that buffered Russia from Britain.

We learn for example the city of Abbottabad in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was eventually tracked down, was named for a British officer, James Abbott, who originally scouted the area. He would eventually go to Khiva and arrange for the freeing a the Russian slaves held there and bring them to Russia. He was unsuccessful, but that led to a second attempt by a Lt. Richmond Shakespear who brought 416 freed Russian slaves to Fort Alexandrovsk on the Caspian sea in 1840.

At times, then, Russia and England appeared to be seeking the same thing: freedom for slaves and commerce in Central Asia. But more often than not there was mistrust. Clearly that was exemplified by the Crimean War, though that conflict was about Turkey and the Caucasus rather than territory to the east.

Eventually, another war would put an end to the Great Game. Japan’s surprise attack on the Russian navy base in Port Arthur (Lüshunkou), China, crippled the Russian Navy, and one other big sea battle rendered it nearly useless. (Could it be that Japan thought it would get similar results when in bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941?)

The Russo-Japanese War effected a blow to Russian expansion in the Far East. For all intents and purposes, the Great Game would end in 1905. However, as we know, there have been more contemporary manifestations with the ambitions of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Soviet Union and NATO allies. As Mark Twain supposedly said, History never repeats itself, but it rhymes.

Michael S. Heiser. The Unseen Realm. Lexham P, 2015.

The Unseen Realm’s subtitle reads Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. However, it is not about angelology or demonology per se. It is no Pigs in the Parlor or Wonders of the Unseen World. The author drops hints that he probably believes in such things, but that is not the overall thesis of the book.

The main idea is very simple. God ruled heaven. In heaven he had and still has a group of heavenly advisors or a council. The Bible does not really explain such things but notes that they exist. For example, we see such a council meeting in the beginning of the Book of Job. The prophet Micaiah, when prophesying before King Ahab, describes a council headed by God (Heiser prefers to use His name, Yahweh). Psalm 82 describes a similar council of “gods.” Heiser notes that sometimes the Hebrew word translated “angels” in most translations as actually elohim, i.e., “gods.” Psalm 8:5 is one instance of this.

He posits that when the Lord created the earth, he set up a similar kind of council on the earth. Adam was to oversee it, but God would be in charge. Genesis 3:8 suggests Adam and Eve knew what God sounded like and had met with Him, but in sinning, Adam changed the nature of the council. The serpent in some form was probably also related in some way to the council—if nothing else that might explain why Eve carried on a perfectly normal conversation with it.

Of course, things got so bad that the Lord decided to send a worldwide flood. That turned out to be only a temporary fix. The tower at Babel was a human-driven attempt to duplicate God’s council. After that, according to Heiser’s interpretation, the Lord changed the language and dispersed the people into seventy nations (see Genesis 10-11:9). The gods of the nations were, therefore, rebellious spirits. The Bible notes in a few places in both testaments that the idols or gods of the gentile nations are demons. See, for example, I Corinthians 10:20 or Deuteronomy 32:17.

Eventually, God called Abraham into a covenant relationship with Him. This was the beginning of the earthly council that has continued since. The Bible in places calls angels sons of God. It also in a few places calls human followers of God sons of God. They are to make up His council on earth when all things are restored. In the meantime, there is a spiritual battle between fallen spirits and the Holy Spirit with the human soul being the main battleground.

Loyalty to God and His Covenant is key. Heiser notes that David was called “a man after God’s own heart” even though he committed some egregious sins that are impossible to bring restoration for. Why? Because David was loyal to God. “Personal failure, even of the worst kind, did not bring the nation into exile. Choosing other gods did” (170). Just as in the best human relationships, faithfulness is key.

While that is a brief and oversimplified summary, there is a lot more. Heiser notes that a number of times God Himself appears in human form in the Old Testament. Indeed, until the second century A.D., many rabbis taught that Yahweh had at least two persons, one “like the son of man.” See, for example, Daniel 7:13-14 or Proverbs 30:4. Jesus claimed He was that person. Matthew 26:63-65 shows us that the High Priest understood this to mean that.

As God seemed to yield the earth to the evil ones in the council especially after the Flood and Babel, that was not His final plan. After all, He promised Abraham that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. If Jesus’ death and resurrection is a type of the Flood (see I Peter 3:18-22), then Pentecost is the beginning of the reversal of Babel. God’s plan will continue until all the world has heard about the salvation offered by him through Jesus, “and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

From this perspective, Heiser sees some real significance in the story of the Nephilim and Rephaim (or giants) in Genesis 6:1-4 and elsewhere or in the promise of I Corinthians 6:3 that believers in God through Jesus will judge angels. It also perhaps takes on some significance to other end times prophecies.

Heiser notes that most of the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures about Jesus are somewhat obscure. Yes, they make sense with 20-20 hindsight, but he notes that rather than being linear, they are more like a mosaic. If they were too explicit, as I Corinthians 2:8 notes, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” God’s opponents would have tried to avoid Jesus’ sacrifice instead of promoting it.

Heiser suspects that Biblical prophecy about the future is not that different. Yes, the Book of Revelation does have a certain order in laying out the seals, vials, and trumpets, but there is still much mystery.

He notes, for example, that Revelation 16:16 says that gentile armies that attack Jerusalem in the last days will assemble “at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” Many people see this as Megiddo, now an archaeological site north of Jerusalem. The problem is that the Hebrew prefix ʽar or har means “mountain” and Megiddo is in a valley and a plain (see, for example, Zechariah 12:11).

Heiser has another explanation which makes more sense if we accept his thesis about the gentile gods and lords. If nothing else, he gives us insight into what typical Jewish beliefs about the unseen world were at the time the New Testament was being written—and what believers can look forward to as the story of the last days is being written.

Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all.…
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:14-15, 24-25)

Alexander McCall Smith. The Great Hippopotamus Hotel. Pantheon 2024. No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.

For those who are fans of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency stories, The Great Hippopotamus Hotel will fit in comfortably. In some ways, indeed, the stories of Precious Ramotswe and her Botswanan detective agency are comfort food, like Mma Potokwane’s fruit cakes.

As is typical of these stories, there are actually two plots, one a mystery to solve, the other one simply a problem to deal with.

First, a customer of Speedy Motors has asked Mr. J. L. B. Maketone to import a fancy Italian sports car for him. This is something Mr. M can do well, except that the customer does not want his wife to find out about it. There is a farcical element to this story, with the car taking the place of an illicit girlfriend or boyfriend.

The mystery hinted in the title has taken place at the Great Hippopotamus Hotel. This rural resort has suddenly had a number of strange occurences including scorpions and snakes in different rooms and some guests getting food poisoning. One such event might be simply a accident that could happen anywhere, but with a number coming in succession, it looks like it could be sabotage. Indeed, when Mma Ramotswe goes to the hotel to make inquiries, she comes down with some food poisoning herself.

Since she is laid up for five days, her agency partner Grace Makutsi takes over. Readers understand what that can mean. Grace is perceptive in many ways, but has no sense of what impression she makes on others. Readers are tempted to say, “Grace, shut up!” or “Mma Makutsi, don’t do that!” The author has a great sense of irony; Grace has no idea what irony is. As is also often the case with Grace, her old nemesis Violet Sephoto seems to lurk in the background, another factor that may distort her vision. And I believe few people would anticipate the plot twist that sends the investigation in a wholly different direction.

Still, with the help of some new friends and old friends, the two ladies are able to solve the problem and settle any messes that may have been made along the way. Once again, readers cannot help but smile.

Derek Dunnagan. The Nazarene. Word and Spirit, 2024.

Readers can probably guess from the title that The Nazarene is about Jesus of Nazareth. It is a novel, so it is a fictionalized but respectful account not unlike the film Jesus of Nazareth or The Chosen series.

What makes this story distinctive is its points of view. The story is narrated in the third person but from the perspective of many different people who encountered Jesus such as many of His disciples, the rabbi Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and even Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate. It is as much their story as His story.

Much of the action focuses on John the Baptist and his followers like Andrew and John the Apostle who would become followers of Jesus. We see, then, some things told from John’s perspective and questions that John’s ministry raises about Jesus. For example, John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God. What exactly did that mean? People discuss this. What do the religious authorities like Nicodemus, Gamaliel, and Caiaphas think about John? What are Herod’s and Pilate’s political concerns?

This is very thoughtful and tries to use story telling to give us an idea of the Jewish, Roman, and Hellenistic cultures at the time of Jesus. For example, we see how Pilate has to learn the hard way how strict the Jews are about idolatry in Jerusalem. This is not in the Bible, but we know the basic story from secular history. We also see, for example, how Pilate’s wife takes dreams seriously.

To give an idea of the story, we see things from the perspective of three different members of the Sanhedrin: Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and the High Priest Caiaphas. Each shows a different perspective and curiosity about both Jesus and John the Baptist. We also are reminded of the differences between the Sadducees and Pharisees.

Nicodemus is initially skeptical, but then he witnesses a miracle that Jesus performed and hears about another one. These are not miracles recorded in the Bible, they are fiction, but we know that when Nicodemus meets with Jesus he tells Him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2)

Now up to that point in the Gospel of John only one miracle has been described, the changing of the water into wine at Cana, which may not have even been observed by people who were at the wedding feast. So we know that Jesus must have performed some miracles not recorded that Nicodemus witnessed or knew about from reliable sources. We know that shortly before the meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus was teaching in the Temple. It is easy to imagine Jesus performing one of His signs there. It likely did not happen exactly the way Dunnagan describes it, but it sets the scene well.

The discussion with Nicodemus, on the other hand, is more or less word for word from John’s Gospel, with the addition of a couple more quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures.

That last piece illustrates a recurring image or theme in The Nazarene. Jesus very skillfully quotes and cites Scriptures to make His point and justify most of His actions. Yet the more religious Jews like Gamaliel wonder how He learned them since He seems not to have studied under any particular rabbi or school. When asked, Jesus says in so many words that the Scriptures speak for themselves and if people can read, they can learn what they have to say.

The main question The Nazarene asks is simply “Who is Jesus?” The answer is not in theological terms but the author lets Jesus, His actions and words, and the observations of many witnesses tell us. Jesus still asks the question, “Who do you say that I am?” (See Mark 8:29.)

The fact that the novel ends not with the death and resurrection of Jesus, but only about a third of the way through His ministry, tells us that that is what the author is trying to do. This is what people saw and heard and said. Who did they think He was? Who do you think He is? Read and discover for yourselves.

N.B. There is a fifties bestseller by Sholem Asch also called The Nazarene about the life of Jesus as told from a Jewish perspective. I recall reading his Moses and The Apostle (about St. Paul). Both books made quite an impression on me. I still recall Moses even though I read it about sixty years ago. Reading this has got me curious about taking a look at Asch’s Nazarene.

Donna Andrews. Rockin’ Around the Chickadee. Minotaur, 2024.

Rockin’ Around the Chickadee is the latest in the author’s Meg Langslow mystery series. This resembles Owl Be Home for Christmas in many ways. It takes place at the Caerphilly Inn and Convention Center in the Virginia foothills. The murder victim is attending a convention there and no one likes his offensive personality, so potentially some 200 suspects could need to be investigated.

This time the convention less than a week before Christmas is the Presumed Innocent convention: a meeting for people who have been or claim to have been wrongly convicted of crimes along with lawyers and other activists seeking to exonerate them. We meet a number of different people including the recently-freed Ezekiel, a man incarcerated for nearly fifty years when DNA evidence absolves him; Amber, a woman who admits she killed her abusive husband in self-defense but an enthusiastic prosecutor threw the book at her; an aunt and niece trying to get their sister and mother free from what they say is an unjust murder rap; and two high school friends who are trying to exonerate a third friend who has been in prison for a number of years.

This reviewer remembers hearing a testimony of a man who was imprisoned for over seventeen years for a murder he did not commit. Now free, he admits that he had committed some crimes and was at the crime scene because he was selling drugs, something he did not want to admit in court. He would say that he probably deserved imprisonment, just not for the crime he was accused of. Ezekiel in this story says something similar. He has reformed and is ready to begin a new life with whatever time he has left.

Also attending the convention are a few hard-core law-and-order types including people whose online names are Godfrey Nelson and Scooperino. Their web sites attack people, including some at the convention, who they believe got away with murder or other serious crimes. Nelson, a.k.a. the Gadfly, alienates just about everyone at the convention including Ezekiel’s service dog, Ruth. It is no surprise to the reader that Nelson ends up murdered about a third of the way through the book.

What complicates things is that the Gadfly’s body is discovered on Meg’s property. Her cousin Festus is a lawyer who specializes in defense of those accused of serious crimes and is leading one of the seminars at the convention. Her scientist grandfather operates a DNA lab, and her father is a coroner. Both also are participating in the convention. It seems as though someone may be trying to make them look guilty since the Gadfly opposes what they have been doing.

While he is there, Ezekiel gets recruited for a choir that will be singing Christmas songs at the convention. And Kevin, a Langslow cousin who is the computer guru, has not only been recruited to analyze security videos at the inn and in the Langslow neighborhood but has developed a crush on Amber.

There is lot of action as the police chief and various Langslow relatives help out in the investigation. Even her teenage twin sons contribute in a way that they get excited about. Unlike Owl Be Home for Christmas, there is no blizzard, just a routine snowfall that typifies so many tales that take place at Christmastime. Like most of the Donna Andrews mysteries, the story is told with a sense of humor and enthusiasm.

Chickadees do appear in the story but are not terribly significant other than the fact that the person who discovers the body has gone out to refill a bird feeder that attracts chickadees. In that sense the tale is more like Lark! The Herald Angels Sing rather than Terns of Endearment. There are no actual larks in the former, just a person who may be named Lark, while in the latter there is a tern that does contribute to the plot. As usual, what little this story says about birds is accurate. Ms. Andrews knows her ornithology.

One minor caveat: Some readers may be bothered by a minor character who is involved in the occult. This person does not really contribute much to the story but her behavior could be considered disturbing. The tale may not be for everyone.

Miyoku Chu. Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds. Walker and Co., 2006.

Songbird Journeys presents much of the latest research on songbird migration in an accessible format. The focus is on the Americas and on songbirds, so there is a lot about Bobolinks and little about hawks or terns. Readers may see this as an update on earlier works by James Baird and others. And we were due for an update.

With continued improvements in radio technology, batteries, radar, and satellite communication, scientists have been able to track even small songbirds on their migrations. Still, much of what we know comes from the dogged observers who track birds across state and international boundaries in all kinds of habitat. The book narrates the adventures of such heroes as Bill Cochran, Richard Graber, and Sidney Gathreaux.

Mostly Songbird Journeys is a fascinating account of numerous Nearctic passerines and their movements. Although the book begins by describing observers on oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, much of the book opens up possibilities for bird observers all over North America—where to go, how to report sightings, and how to predict a “fallout.” The book also brings us up to date on the latest studies on how migrating birds navigate, a far more sophisticated combination of methods than previously believed.

It demonstrates that the smallest migratory warbler in its own way is as tough as any raptor as it runs it biannual migratory gauntlet. It also details recent studies of how territories in wintering grounds (somewhat akin to nesting territories) affect survival rates and how such habitats in the Caribbean and Latin America need to be protected. While there is more about birds that winter in the tropics or South America, it also details the movements of winter finches.

For bird observers, the best feature of this book may be its lists of books and online resources. While we know that some web sites are ephemeral, the book gives good places to start, especially Internet addresses with weather radar postings for reading flocks of “angels.” The color plates by Evan Barbour closely resemble the work of Roger Tory Peterson.

Songbird Journeys tells of the feeding, predation, and impressive survival of songbirds on their annual long distance journeys. Thorough and readable, this little volume is impressive in its storytelling and its scope of information, but the birds it describes are the most impressive of all. (Note to fall hawk watchers—read this and you will see that “dickey birds” can be pretty cool, too!)

Jeff Kinley. As It Was in the Days of Noah. Harvest Prophecy, 2022.

The title of As It Was in the Days of Noah comes from one of Jesus’ prophecies about the end times:

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27)

This book is worth taking a look at though I would preface my review with a couple of caveats. The author is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and represents the typical end-times prophecy interpretation of what Christianity Today once called the Dallas-Moody Axis. It teaches cessation and pre-tribulation rapture. In other words, God no longer (or very rarely) does miracles any more, and Christians are going to be removed from the earth before the antichrist begins his reign. Your reviewer is skeptical about both of these things.

Another time Jesus compared the last days to Noah was in Matthew 24:36-39:

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…”

Now the book says that this is distinct from the rapture (138), yet this passage goes on to describe what is generally seen as being the rapture:

Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:40-42)

Notice that this is addressed to believers, the “day your Lord is coming,” and back in verse 29 this is described as happening “after the tribulation of those days.” After means “after,” not before. The Greek is no different. And verse 40 begins with then, which also suggests something happening no earlier.

In the long run this is a minor quibble, but the problem could be that some Christians in those days fall away because they see the antichrist and experience the tribulation but are not prepared for it. I suppose it would be nice if I were wrong, but the pre-tribulation rapture seems to be wishful thinking.

Having said all that, the main thesis of the book does make sense. The worldwide flood was a disaster, the greatest disaster the world has experienced in its history. Human behavior was so bad that God saw fit to only save eight people from the deluge. Now the Bible does not say too much about what was so evil about the times, but a few hints are dropped.

Indeed, I give Kinley credit for discussing the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6 less dogmatically than he deals with future prophecy:

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)

There are several different interpretations as to who or what the Nephilim were. The term is also used to describe the Canaanite and Philistine giants like Goliath. At any rate, they were evil. Genesis goes on to say:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:5-8)

There is, then, some hint of the wickedness to include sexual immorality along with general defiance of God. Kinley notes at least two Talmudic interpretations say that the sins of that time included the sin of Sodom.

In Luke 17 after Jesus compares the time of His return to the days of Noah, He then compares it to Sodom:

Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:28-30)

So Jesus saw some kind of connection between Noah and Sodom here.

So does Kinley, and this is the strength of his thesis. He details different behaviors that the Bible calls sin that we see in our world today: Yes, it includes adultery, sodomy, rape, and other sexual sins but also violence, lawlessness, atheism, idolatry, false religion, terrorism, and greed to name a few. In other words, our world is looking more and more as though it might have the potential of being continually evil as it was in Noah’s time. It is a warning worth heeding, regardless of when Jesus will return.

There is a tension in end times prophecies. In the same teaching in Matthew 24, Jesus tells us two things that seem to contradict:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. (Matthew 24:21-25)

The church in the latter days will be strong and vigorous, able to finally reach the entire world with the true story of salvation through Jesus Christ. At the same time, it appears, that even the elect, the chosen believers, will be greatly oppressed.

Prophecy tends to focus on one or the other, on the evil in the last days or the gospel finally reaching everyone “and then the end will come.” Pre-tribulation dispensationalists tend to see the pessimism of the end times. No doubt it will be bad. There is sometimes a sense of giving up. “Let’s get raptured out of here and let the end-times Jews figure things out. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

No, let us pray as Jesus instructed us. Let us be alert. Let us finally “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation…” (Mark 16:15). Jesus is our ultimate Ark. Let us “be strong and of good courage,” looking forward to His coming—not as a mere escape, but to declare and experience His glory.

And the Lord said…But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. (Numbers 14:20-21 KJV)

Kristin Hannah. The Nightingale. St. Martin’s, 2015.

Very few books bring tears to my eyes. The Nightingale did. I mentioned in a 2012 blog that it happened once when I read an O’Neill play. Except for works by Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, or Dickens, it has not happened since.

The title is a word play. The family around which the novel runs is named Rossignol, which is French for nightingale. But Nightingale also becomes the code name for an operative in the French Resistance during World War II.

It takes a while for the story to unfold. While there are a handful of chapters set in 1995, most of the story takes place over the course of the war in France, beginning in 1940 with the fall of Paris and ending in 1945 with the fall of Germany. We learn of the lives of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle Rossignol, with some action from their widowed father.

Isabelle is single and living for much of the tale in Paris or hiding in the French countryside as part of the Resistance. Vianne is married with a young daughter Sophie. Her husband Antoine joined the French army and we soon discover that he has been captured and placed in a Prisoner of War Camp.

Soon after the fall of Paris, Vianne’s rural village of Carriveau is taken over the by the Germans. Her house becomes a place where German officers are quartered. The first officer is an army captain who is a gentleman. He is apologetic, even, but acknowledges the vagaries of war that lead to such things. He occasionally helps Vianne’s family with getting food as rationing has made things hard throughout France. This reminds us that many German soldiers were ordinary family men like most soldiers in most wars.

However, when that captain disappears, probably in an act of war, he is replaced by an SS officer. He is a true believing Nazi, a cruel Nietzschean.

Without going into too much detail, the two sisters both help others survive what might otherwise be certain death. Isabelle is truly an activist, but Vianne also does what she can in the context of her village. Even their alcoholic father dries out enough to work in the Resistance.

The Nightingale can be hard for some to read because it tells of a very difficult time. However, without trying to spoil things, there are some acts of real bravery, not only from the “official” Resistance, but from ordinary people doing ordinarily decent things that could—and in some cases do—get them into trouble with the authorities and with the possibility of execution or being sent to a concentration camp. This sense of dread hangs over the whole book and all the French characters.

Without going into too much detail, first there is just the attempt to survive rationing and German rule. Then they come after foreign-born Jews. Vianne’s best friend and neighbor is Jewish, but it turns out she was born in Romania, though she grew up in France and is a French citizen. Her husband is also fighting in the army and presumed captured. Some time later they come after other Jews including Jewish children. What can Vianne do to help?

While most of the action takes place in Paris or Carriveau, the tale has scope. The chapters set in 1995 take place mostly in Oregon in the United States. Apparently one of the sisters has come to live in America. Although there are hints, we do not know for sure which sister it is until near the end. Some chapters take place in other rural areas in France, in the Pyrenees, and in Spain. A couple of chapters take place in German concentration camps.

And it all comes together so that readers may weep at the outcome as I did. I reread the last chapter, it was so moving. The last time I did something like that was ten years ago with The Known World.

Life is hard. Some lives are harder than others, but character counts. The Nightingale reminds those of us who have led relatively easy lives to do what we can with what situations God has given us to ennoble even the obscure or mundane.

P.S. As a side note, I have been waiting for a long time for someone to write the pro-life equivalent of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It has not happened yet, and The Nightingale is not that book though the philosophy of the SS officer is not unlike that expressed in Roe vs. Wade. Nevertheless The Nightingale is very much a pro-life book, especially considering the challenges that many people in the story face simply to stay alive.

Lora R. Strong. Granite and Gloss. LR Strong, 2024.

For a shorter review click on the following:
Granite & Gloss by L.R. Strong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recall when Twilight was released. I was teaching high school English, and girls who were readers—and even a few who were not—loved the book. I recall reading an article analyzing why the novel and its sequels were so popular, especially with teenaged girls.

Its conclusion was that the heroine Bella was a smart, strong girl, but Edward was physically stronger and, hence, a protector, but he was also tender and considerate of her. He truly cared for her. In spite of certain behaviors because he was a vampire, he was an ideal lover and the Bella-Edward relationship was nearly perfect. And isn’t that what we all are looking for?

Granite and Gloss has no vampires. If one were to categorize it, one would call it a survival story/romance. But its effect is not unlike that of the Twilight stories: an intelligent, strong female protagonist meets a physical “hunk” who protects and cares for her.

Tarina Gloss is an up-and-coming young artist. She is petite but wiry. Besides creating paintings and sculptures, she loves animals and regularly jogs. Her father is a Silicon Valley CEO. She admits that some of her success is due to who her father is. Still, she is to meet with one of the richest men in Silicon Valley, Douglas McCavent, to discuss a statue for the courtyard of his California office (his company has offices all over the world).

Meanwhile, Jake Granite is an ex-cop private contractor. He spends a lot of time at the gym and also is a big fan of parkour. His law enforcement background concerned organized crime. The company he is working for has been hired to help infiltrate and break up an international crime ring whose leader is called Pharaoh. They think they have enough evidence to arrest Pharaoh if they can locate him. Word is that he is also going to be at McCavent’s offices at the same time Tarina is there.

Tarina arrives at her appointment with McCavent while Jake is surveilling the office. However, McCavent’s bodyguards abduct Tarina. Jake witnesses this and tries to intervene. The two of them are outnumbered, bound, and taken by car to an airplane. Immediately, then, there is lots of action and mystery. What is going on? Is this businessman Pharaoh? Why has Tarina been kidnapped? It’s not as if McCavent needs any ransom money…

Things get even more complicated as the plane crashes somewhere in a snowy mountain forest and Jake and Tarina are the only surivivors. Here is where the story gets interesting and different.

Jake is street-smart. He admits he could survive on the streets if he has to, but survive in a wilderness? Still, he can build fires and otherwise knows how to keep warm.

Tarina has two very distinctive traits. One is that she has a strong gift of discernment of spirits (see I Corinthians 12:10 KJV). She can sense things about people and has learned to rely on the Holy Spirit’s direction. The second could be considered a blessing or a white elephant. She has synesthesia.

As an English teacher, I knew the term synesthesia as a figure of speech when one uses one sense to describe something perceived by a different sense. For example, in Sara Teasdale’s poem “There Shall Come Soft Rains,” a line describes “swallows circling with their shimmering sound.”

Now shimmering is something perceived by sight but here the word is used to describe a sound. If you know what swallows sound like as they twitter, and often are seen flying over water, the adjective makes sense. The twittering sound is quickly uttered as swallows constantly change direction, not unlike the way sunlight shimmers on the water’s surface. It is an unusual combination, but it gets us to see things in a different and clever way.

However, there is also a psychological condition known as synesthesia, in which a person perceives things using a different sense. Most commonly, the person perceives sounds or the sense of touch in terms of color. That describes Tarina. For example, when a wintery wind begins to blow, she calls it a scarlet wind.

This is where things go in an unexpected direction. Yes, this is a survival story. The two protagonists do manage to not only survive the crash but finally escape the snowy forest. But it turns into a real psychological tale as well.

Jake is tough and cynical. I recall reading years ago that it is hard to bear witness to policemen and journalists because both occupations are used to people lying. Still, because Jake has dealt with drug addicts and criminals and their children, he recognizes that synesthesia usually results from some kind of trauma.

Tarina has been raised in a very good home with great parents. However, she was adopted at the age of two, and naturally has no memory of what might have happened before then.

Without going into too much detail, Jake is able to help Tarina begin to see her “gift” in a new way and understand a little bit more about why she reacts in unusual ways to things that do not upset most people. At the same time, Tarina begins to help Jake face up to his own hardness, cynicism, and internal pain. Yes, this is a survival story, but the main plot of the story has to do with mental health rather than physical health.

Without going into too much detail it becomes clear that McCavent reminds us of Jeffrey Epstein. Because he is killed in the plane crash, it is not entirely clear why Tarina was abducted. After all, she was not some anonymous prostitute or trafficked child, and people knew whom she was going to see. Since Granite and Gloss is to be the first in a series, perhaps we will learn more about that mystery in a future book. In the meantime enjoy the unusual survival tale and the more unusual psychological and spiritual adventure.

B. R. Aychi and Dave Coles. Living Fire: Advancing God’s Kingdom in Challenging Places. Beyond, 2024.

I have mentioned before about a friend who would share articles he had copied and then highlighted in yellow the parts he thought were especially important. Occasionally he would share one that he said he wanted to dunk the whole piece into a bucket of yellow ink. Living Fire is like that.

Over the years, we have shared a number of books on the spread of the gospel in places that traditionally have resisted followers of Jesus. That includes such books as Bhojpuri Breakthrough, A Wind in the House of Islam, and Cabbages in the Desert. This book, though having some of the same themes, is different. The other books tend to be mostly testimonies, telling the reader what has been happening. This book tells more about how they did it.

As in the last two books mentioned above, the authors have to be somewhat circumspect about the locations where the work has been taking place. It clearly is somewhere in East Africa and involves connections with people practicing any of three religions: Christianity, Islam, and tribal animism. While some specifics may differ depending on which group is being encountered, the method is similar in each instance. And, to no one surprise, it is based on the biblical pattern we see Jesus employ.

Because of the tribalism and ethnic identities with different religions, many times people find themselves going into areas inhabited by traditional enemies. The Christian workers often confess that they have to overcome prejudice and other barriers. One admitted:

I realized I had been wrong in my prejudice toward them—that they all had hard hearts. Instead, I saw softness and welcoming attitudes, and I deeply felt God’s love for them. I realized, “These people don’t belong outside God’s kingdom. God loves them, and they need to come into his kingdom.” (163)

Unlike what had become almost a standard in the Western church,

We never used a monologue strategy with an eloquent preacher delivering sermons. Instead, the authority of God’s word and the working of the Holy Spirit, through the group discovery process, proved very powerful…[we] had a pattern of group discussion in Bible study rather than relying on one person as the teacher or “answer man.” (221)

One key strategy, one which commonly appears in the Book of Acts, is that they try to minister to families rather than individuals. Yes, sometimes there is persecution, but even here the workers keep a positive outlook—“God often uses persecution to weed out nominal believers” (348).

When people embrace Jesus, and especially if they have been baptized, “We help them understand that their identity has changed, so their lifestyle has to change as well” (443). From my observation, the main reason here in the West that people are reluctant to follow Jesus is that they know they would have to change. Of course, that is precisely what repentance means.

They also recognize the importance of Acts 15:1-38, the “Jerusalem Council.” The early Christians, who were all Jewish, were not always sure how to handle Gentile converts. This passage describes how they settled the matter. So it is with converts from non-Christian cultures today. Some behavior like fornication and idolatry is non-negotiable, they must go. But other customs and traditions may not have to be completely discarded but simply modified to align with God’s will. Romans 12 also provides some valuable instructions and guidelines for living the Christian life with others.

Many cultural elements can be redeemed and continue. The essential change takes place in a person’s heart and allegiance. (658)

A disciples’ central motivation is the love of Jesus. This love motivates obedience, not law, obligation or a change in religion.” (747)

One movement leader notes, “When we don’t pray, we’re just working. But when we pray, God works” (576) In the specific network author Aychi works with there are over 700 groups of intercessors.

“When we share the good news with families, we don’t ask them to join a new religion. We invite them to start a new relationship—a relationship with Jesus.” (622)

So it goes.

In other words, this book is not so much a “what” but a “how to.” This is what they have seen that works. Because it is based on biblical instructions and patterns, the basic approach could work for anyone. I suspect that Western believers working in Western countries could adapt this with very minor modifications. Indeed, from what I have read of the Alpha Course in some European countries, a similar approach to spreading the gospel and church life is already working in less exotic places.

We don’t say much about other peoples’ prophets or their beliefs. We speak only about Christ, salvation, and the Bible. Through this strategy, God has given us many new disciples. (650)

A key scripture is Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Notice what one of the leaders says about that:

If we don’t teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded, their group can function as a club, but not as an ekklesia—a biblical church…Jesus didn’t say “Teach them everything I have taught you,” but “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” The disciple making process must include teaching believers to obey all the Lord’s commands. They don’t know all his commands at first, but they make a faith commitment to follow Jesus wherever he leads, obeying each of his commands as they learn them. Knowledge without obedience is useless. (1021)

Making disciples means an obedience-based approach opposed to a knowledge-based approach.

For some groups they have what they call a “Saul to Paul” strategy. They intentionlly focus on devout religious leaders. They are respected, and many times when they learn about Jesus, they follow. They already understand a supernatural commitment.

They say they see miracles and deliverance ministry about sixty percent of the time when they begin to minister in a new location. Signs can get people’s attention, but studying the Bible shows more about the nature and truth of God.

Disciple making is not an individualistic goal; we do this together. When we cultivate relationships, we see much better outcomes. (1653)

People need to feel, “This is our Jesus, who has come to save us,” not, “this is their Jesus whom they’re trying to coerce me to accept.” (1276)

Living Fire repeatedly notes that Jesus’ method was not so much formal training for a ministerial position, but observation and study in order to make disciples who themselves become disciple makers. God sets apart leaders not based so much on education but how they live the Christian life, share the word, and are willing to do so. “The word of God is our central authority, and obedience to Scripture shapes everything we do” (1384).

There is a lot more to learn here. This review barely touched on leadership, but finding and making leaders is important for any church to grow. They also emphasize “a plurality of leaders,” not just a single pastor serving alone.

The steps enumerated in this book are relatively simple. Anyone can work from such an outline. Indeed, in the context of an oral culture which is typical of many of the places here, listening and sharing can be as effective as reading.

I would encourage anyone interested in church growth to check out this book. It is practical, biblical, and experience shows that it works.

N.B. We have received a pre-publication review copy of this book. Its release date is January 15, 2025. Parenthetical references are Kindle locations, not page numbers.