Hi all – just letting you know that I’m taking a break from my usual Blogging routine for 2 or 3 weeks. There will still be some posts, but not as many. Some have been ‘pre-recorded,’ so to speak – scheduled in advance and will automatically post when the correct time arrives. So there will still be some posts over the coming 2 or 3 weeks. So taking a break – be back in a few weeks.
This is a post I’m putting up at all my Blogs, even though that particular Blog may be unaffected due to scheduled posting, etc. Blog posts may be down a little at the moment and that for the last week or so. I have been ill with various illnesses and complaints for the last several weeks, so I have now decided to take the next week off from most Blogging activities in an attempt to rest and recover – if I can while still actually doing my very physically demanding actual job in the real world. I hope to return to Blogging full time in about a week’s time.
The link below is to an article that looks at how you can encourage your kids to read during the holiday break.
For more visit:
http://theconversation.com/preventing-your-kids-summer-reading-slide-34361
Just a small note to let my readers know that I will soon be returning to this Blog and my other Blogs after a short break. I took a couple of days off and went on a short trip, then returned home to scenes of a major storm and more damage around the place, with no electricity for a short period. Also when I went away I forgot to pack the power lead for my lap top.
I had originally not planned any breaks from Blogging, so a series of events has led to my breaking from posting.
Let me just take this opportunity to thank all of the visitors to my Blog(s) – except the spammers of course. Thankfully the majority of spam is removed without having to check it over. I would love for the real comments to be posted without having to check them first, however there is still a lot of spam that makes it through and that needs to be separated from the good stuff.
It is time for me to take a break from Blogging and I have chosen to take my break while on annual leave from work, which will allow me to do a number of things – get healthier, get some rest, hopefully travel a little at some point, read some books, etc. It will also give my regular visitors a chance to have a break from my ramblings and carry on. There is plenty of content to look at in the archives though, so feel free to browse those while I take my 2 week hiatus.
So thanks again and feel free to leave some thoughts and comments along the way. Have a great couple of weeks 🙂
Just a quick note – I’m taking a break for a few days. Be back on the weekend.
Thanks.
I have decided post a weekly update of my reading progress. I did post an update of what I was reading back in April, so this won’t be the first post of this kind. This will however be the first of regular weekly updates on my reading progress.
Some of the books below have been on the list since April, with very little progress due to a holiday break and a general break in reading activity over the last month or so. This is all set to change as I again get my head into a book or two.
My Current Reading List:
I have been reading ‘The Reformers and Their Stepchildren,’ by Leonard Verduin, in the last week or so. It is not the first time that I have read this book, having read it some time ago – probably 10 years ago now I would say.
This is a book that I would recommend to any believer, but particularly to a Reformed believer, whether he be Paedobaptist or Baptist. Verduin seeks to analyse the Reformation and the relationship between the Reformers and their ‘stepchildren’ from a Biblical standpoint, rather than any particular denominational standpoint. Though he does defend the stepchildren, he does so only when they are in line with Scriptural teaching on the point being discussed within that particular chapter.
Who are the stepchildren? The stepchildren or the ‘second front,’ as Verduin also describes them, are those believers who sought a complete reforming of the church. In fact, it may be fair to say that these believers sought a complete break from the Romish church, and a new church built on the teachings of Scripture and modelled on the New Testament church alone.
The frustration for these nonconformist believers was that the reform movement only went so far and did not result in the complete renewal that they desired and that the situation required.
Thus far I have read only the first two chapters of the book and once again I am finding it a very worthwhile read. I find myself in substantial agreement with the position of many of the stepchildren and with Verduin. With as much respect as I have for the Reformers, such as John Calvin, Martin Luther and John Knox, I too would have found myself frustrated at the level of reform achieved by them (though they were better men than I). A complete break and renewal would have been the way forward I believe.
The first two chapters deal with the joint secular-religious church-state that was set up at both the time of Constantine and then at the Reformation in the various Protestant nations that embraced the Reformation. They deal with the all-embracing religion that was constructed in such centres as Geneva and the ‘unified’ approach to it, as well as the reaction of the stepchildren and their withdrawal from it.
This book is as close to a must read for believers as there is I think – especially of the Reformed persuasion.
My copy of the book (paperback) is by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and was printed in 1964.
At the BookShelf 