Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

Forgotten Word by Sam Jane Brown My rating: 2 of 5 stars Zena McGrath is annoyed by her current assignment. As an avowed atheist, she is not particularly interested in investigating the recent spate of deaths in the Vatican. When her investigation takes her to New York and a local group of Satanists, she starts to think maybe, just maybe, there is something spiritual - even demonic - to this particular case, and her role becomes much more than simply solving a murder. I really wanted to like this book, as I’ve always enjoyed the apocalyptic type literature, even when it isn’t particularly accurate or theological. However, the present tense writing - which did really annoy me after a while - and lack of depth just left me unsatisfied. It was an interesting premise, but not quite fleshed out enough for me, especially towards the end. It felt like it was just in a hurry to get done. I was also confused by the on again/off again romance, as I thought that should be resolved too. Per...

Author Ronald Cooke presents the idea of Summa 21 as an updated Christian theology for the 21st century, attempting to reconcile 21st century knowledge, particularly scientific knowledge, with the faith of Christian theology. In this way he hopes to make it both accessible and acceptable to Millenials and generations beyond, as well as provide a framework to integrate new knowledge and discovery without marginalizing the Bible and its teachings. I love the idea of Summa 21, particularly as it relates to acknowledging that science is important, indeed a gift given by God, and that scientists need to also acknowledge that the spiritual world is both real and relevant to their work. I feel that this has been missing and even purposely ignored in a lot of modern science, when really it isn’t a threat but a complement. I have to say I’m not on board with absolutely everything that Cooke presents, particularly about the nature of Jesus and the role of hell,  but I love that he is...