The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian

The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised As Freedom by David Kupelian

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a disturbing look at how our society has slowly been changing due to the marketing tactics of a few choice groups trying to implement their agenda on American culture. Some of the issues addressed were gay rights, change in education, a sex-crazed culture and abortion rights. The book was quite explicit in the strategies used. The chapter on abortion was very straight-forward on what exactly happens during an abortion. Made me want to immediately go out and do whatever I can to stop the hideousness that is abortion. I realize this is a touchy issue and for many people it has to do with the issue of a woman's rights to her own body. It's hard for me to accept that it has anything to do with her body when it's a baby inside being torn limb from limb or being burned alive. Ultimately it comes down to not believing that it is a human inside her womb. I am of the belief that is a human that is inside the womb and this human is being murdered during abortion. This book shares this view.

The media is often slanted toward whatever view they believe is right, regardless of what is actual fact. Our American society is becoming more and more corrupt and we need to wake up and see the lies that are being fed to us.

"We all know, deep down, right from wrong. We're self-contained truth machines if only we'd pay attention. It's only our pride, our willfulness to have our own way, to be the god of our own lives, to rationalize our compulsions and sins - and the inevitable denial of truth that follows - that disconnects us from it."

"But in far too many pulpits across America...Christianity is presented in such a shallow way that it doesn't require a love of truth - which is tantamount to a love of Him. This dumbed-down version of Christianity doesn't require honest introspection or courage or self-denial or patience. The only ingredient it needs is a guilty person who's sick of feeling guilty, wants relief, wants to feel better about himself, or desires an insurance policy to keep him out of hell."

"The compartmentalization and trivialization of Christianity into a mantra of belief - but separated from works, from obedience to God's laws, and even more fundamentally, separated from basic honesty, integrity, love of truth, and true repentance - has ushered in a generation of shallow, ineffectual, and invisible Christians."



*I got this book through inter-library loan

Muscular Faith by Ben Patterson

Muscular Faith: How to Strengthen Your Heart, Soul, and Mind for the Only Challenge That Matters by Ben Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fighting the good fight, finishing well, these are themes of this book. The author discusses having a faith that is strong, the agon or fight that we are in, the good hard that is this life.

I had a hard time getting into it, but then the chapters started flowing much better. Having joy through suffering, a wow! feeling when beholding God, these are some of the chapters the author takes us through.

"The great gospel mystery is not that bad things sometimes happen to good people but that such a good and gracious thing has happened to bad people, guilty and broken people, who have discovered God's amazing love to be just that - amazing."

He counters nominal Christianity, just living life without really growing in our faith, without really understanding what salvation is.

Recommended reading for Christians looking to bolster their faith, a shot in the arm so to speak for continuing on in the fight.


*I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my review.

Why Church Matters by Joshua Harris

Why Church Matters: Discovering Your Place in the Family of God by Joshua Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Short and sweet, this book cuts through to the heart of the matter - why being a part of a local church (not just the Universal church) is important in the life of the Christian. The author points out several reasons why being part of a local church is important, including because of the importance that God placed on the church and our need for other believers in living out the Christian life. We are not meant to live this life as Christ-followers on our own but as part of a greater community.

How God views the church, as seen in Ephesians, is how we are to view the church. He views the church as His bride and His body.

The author also takes us through key things to look for when looking for a local church to commit to. Obviously, no church is perfect, but there are important things to consider before joining, most highly their view of God's Word. He then also takes us through ways that we can make Sundays more meaningful and not just another day of the week.


"...the church was actually God's idea - not some plan or program invented by humans. In fact, the church is the only institution God promised to sustain forever."

"...the local church is the key to spiritual health and growth for a Christian."

"...a wholehearted relationship with a local church is God's loving plan for me and for every other follower of Christ."

"The church is the vehicle that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people."

"Through the local church we take part in His eternal plan to rescue men and women from their sin and totally transform their lives. This is the mission of the church. It's our duty, our calling, and our privilege."

"The church community is where we learn to love God and others; where we are strengthened and transformed by truth from the Word; where we're taught to pray, to worship, and to serve; where we can be most certain that we're investing our time and abilities for eternity; where we can grow in our roles as friends, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. The church is earth's single best place - God's specially designed place - to start over, to grow and to change for the glory of God."

"The greatest motivation we could ever find for being passionately committed to the Church is that Jesus is passionately committed to the Church."


"Our assurance of salvation must include a changed life. Confidence that we've truly been saved shouldn't rest on an emotional experience or a prayer we prayed during an altar call years ago. 'I don't care how much you cry during singing or preaching,' Mark Dever states. 'If you do not live a life marked by love toward others, the Bible has no encouragement for you to think that you're a Christian. None.'"

"The local church is the place where our new life in Christ is lived out and proven. 'Joining a church won't save you,' Dever states emphatically. 'It's only the death of Christ that saves you. He alone is our righteousness. But if He really is our righteousness, if we really love He who we have not seen, it will show itself by us loving those that we do see.'"


Thought-provoking and cutting right to the heart and core, this was an excellent book on the importance of the local church in the life of the believer.


*This book was provided to me by the publisher as part of the LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.


*Previously published as Stop Dating the Church!

The Enclave by Karen Hancock

The Enclave by Karen Hancock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Awesome! One of my favorite books is Arena by Karen Hancock. I haven't read her other books as I have lost interest in fantasy books overall. But this book is not in the genre of fantasy but more of a medical thriller/sci-fi mix. A genetics research base is the setting and the main characters discover all is not necessarily above-board at this research company. The ensuing discovery unfolds fantastically. Sci-fi in the sense that some of the book is not likely feasible or realistic but mostly a great suspense book.

*I owned this book

Black Widow and the Sandman Blog Tour

Black Widow and the Sandman by L.L. Reaper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was interested in reading this book because my favorite genre is medical thrillers dealing with plagues and toxins. So the premise intrigued me. The toxin/plague ended up being more a background in the book rather than the main storyline. I was turned off by a lot of swearing and sexual language in the book, but the story was interesting enough for me to keep reading. Two mercenaries are thrown together reluctantly to try to find who is behind this plague killing children in Cuba and to find a cure. It was interesting getting a look into the characters and their thoughts and feelings in spite of them being criminals. Seeing them as human and not just killers, finding out their soft spots.

It started picking up in suspense towards the end and I finished the book quickly at that point. I think the swearing and sexual language could have been much less. It was a bit much and didn't really add to the story but detracted from it. Overall, it was a good mystery novel and I thought the characters were developed pretty well.


*I received this book free from the author for a blog tour through Pump Up Your Book promotions

Domesticated Jesus by Harry Lee Kraus

Domesticated Jesus by Harry L. Kraus Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent book and timely reminder of how often we make Jesus small in our lives instead of viewing Him as He truly is. When we worry we are making Jesus small, not trusting that He can handle the issue. When we wallow in guilt, we make Him not big enough to forgive us of our sins. Our anger at not having our expectations met is domesticating Jesus and trying to control our own lives instead of letting Him have the control.
Another aspect of this book that rang true for me was the reminder that salvation is not just about saying a prayer or going forward during an altar call. Truly trusting in Christ to save us results in a changed life.
The author is a medical doctor and as such related the ABC's of resuscitation into the ABC's of growth in the Christian life. A is for acknowledge our need - we cannot do this on our own. B is for believe - trust that God is in control and believe His Word and C for communion. Communing with God, growing in our knowledge of Him.
quotes from the book:
"It is a problem compounded by promoting a gospel of a domesticated Savior, a Jesus who exists only to wash my sins away and not take his rightful place as Lord and King."
"I'm sure we all know 'Christians' like Bob. They may or may not go to church on Sunday, but they live the way they want to live the rest of the week. They've taken the offer of salvation, believing that if they've prayed a simple prayer, they're 'in'. Nothing dethrones the idea that they are now 'saved'. Jesus exists for them simply to forgive their sins and to facilitate whatever life they want to live, free of eternal damnation. Imagine a Jesus domesticated, wearing an apron, following us around with a magic mop to wipe away any sin.
"Jesus isn't invited to participate beyond offering a fire escape."
"How can we treat with contempt that which was paid at extreme cost?"
"We're back to the realization that our salvation is only by grace, and it is only in relying on Christ's strength, not ours, in the realization of our weakness and the provision of his grace that we can live a life in victory over sin that threatens to enslave us."

"We domesticate Christ anytime we resist the transformation of our hearts that he desires. We're thankful for the ticket out of hell, but we're not 'all in' when it comes to following Christ in acts of sacrifice and love. In effect we're saying, 'off limits' to the promptings of his Spirit.
"Do I welcome Christ into my life for the benefit of salvation but wince when he nudges me toward personal sacrifice or service? Am I satisfied with forgiveness but hesitant to share the good news with others so as not to offend? Is this not akin to fencing in the Creator of Heaven and Earth?"

*I owned this book

DNF: Desiring God by John Piper

Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper


I just could not get through this book! It was provided to me free from the publisher for review, so I really tried to get through it. This was my first time reading something by John Piper and I really thought it would be interesting. But I found it dry and boring. The footnotes were distracting and I just wasn't getting where he was going with the material. I found myself not wanting to pick it up to read it but feeling obligated to since it was given to me for review. Finally I just decided life is too short and there are too many other books out there for me to read to waste my time with one that just wasn't grabbing my attention. I am putting it back on the shelf to maybe give it a try at a future date. There is just no desire to read it right now (pardon the pun :-).

*I received this book free from the publisher.

White Sleeper by David Fett/Stephen Langford PUYB Blog Tour

White Sleeper by David R. Fett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was quite the page-turner. A disgraced doctor with the CDC and an FBI agent are on the trail of a white supremacist who has teamed up with a terrorist cell. They have to find him before he completes his mission. Some families in Arkansas become ill from several different diseases after they are part of a church group's trip to New York. Realizing that these were test runs to see what was most effective, Dr. Richards and Paula Mushari try to find the sleeper cell before he can spread the disease nationwide.
The book details what led Ben to become a white supremacist and his desire for revenge on the US government. As well as the downfall of Dr. Richards's career due to his alcoholism and this being his last chance to salvage what is left of his career in the medical field.
Medical thrillers are my favorite genre and this book was a quick, easy and suspenseful read. The ending left it with the possibility of there being future novels involving these characters. I enjoyed this book. The premise was great and chillingly realistic!! This could actually happen. Will be interested to see if these authors put out more novels.

*I received this book free from the author as part of the Pump Up Your Book blog tour.