We Are Not Saved

I feel like I should make some clever connection between this book and the discussion which raged about the Shroud of Turin, but nothing occurs to me. A Case for Latter-day Christianity: Evidences for the Restoration of the New Testament's "Mere" Christian Church By: Robert Starling Published: 2019 360 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A broad, and intensive defense of the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). With a special focus on tying that theology to the theology of the early Christian Church. As such it spends a lot of time examining differences between LDS theology and other Christian denominations (things like the Trinity, Grace, The Book of Mormon, etc.) and how those differences look in relation to actual scripture. What authorial biases should I be aware of? Starling has obviously been compiling stuff and working the "Mormons are Christians" beat for a long time. Which is to say he definitely has a dog in the fight. This gives the work a somewhat tendentious tinge. What about my biases? I met Starling at a conference and he asked me to read his book. Outside of that meeting and a follow-up email he sent me there hasn't been any further interaction. So I wouldn't say we were close. I am however pretty close to the topic of "Latter-day Christianity", so that's a pretty big bias. Who should read this book? Anyone who wants to see the comprehensive case for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being the same Church Jesus Christ established in the 1st Century. Specific thoughts: Who is this book for?

In which I mostly talk about the Shroud of Turin. Murray only spends seven pages on the it, so my review is not comprehensive. Actually, never mind. That's what the top sections are for. Taking Religion Seriously By: Charles Murray Published: 2025 152 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Murray's journey from agnosticism to belief, a journey that is largely intellectual rather than spiritual. Because it was largely intellectual, it's also more explicable. This allows Murray to write a different sort of conversion story, one that's more amenable to being mapped out as a straightforward guide with sources and citations. What authorial biases should I be aware of? Murray has been a libertarian thinker for decades, though he's probably best known for The Bell Curve which he co-authored. So Murray is approaching things from a conservative/libertarian milieu. That said, it's a very balanced book. When he provides his sources for a particular idea he also includes sources that are critical of that idea. Who should read this book? I've read a lot of books that fall in this general area. Too many to list (consider The New Testament in Its World, Modern Physics and Ancient Faith and Believe just in the last six months) I would read Murray before reading any of them. It's clear, comprehensive, short, and meaty. Even if you're a raging atheist I would read this book because it's the quickest way to understand your opponents' best arguments. Specific thoughts: The surprising strength of the Shroud of Turin

Back when Rome was just one Italian settlement out of many, but a settlement with a dream! Children of Mars: The Origins of Rome's Empire By: Jeremy Armstrong Published: 2025 288 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The deep history of Rome. What we actually know about its legendary founding, its early rise to prominence, and the shape of its military. Additionally, the development of Roman identity and how that identity interacted with the other elements. What's the author's angle? This belongs to that genre of book which takes recent scholarship and archaeological evidence and uses it to puncture the previous, more simplistic historical view. Who should read this book? Military history buffs, or anyone who's interested in Rome, particularly the period from roughly 8th–3rd centuries BC. Specific thoughts: How video games get Rome wrong

We have a lot of nice things. We're really good at making nice things. We should preserve these nice things. But also nothing lasts forever? The Origins of Efficiency By: Brian Potter Published: 2025 384 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The clever and incremental ways we've vastly increased humanity's ability to make stuff. We're constantly finding ways to build stuff cheaper, faster, and with fewer resources. What's the author's angle? Potter is probably best known for his Substack Construction Physics, which covers infrastructure, manufacturing, and building stuff in general. He also works at the Institute for Progress. Put those two together and you've got someone who's a big fan of material progress, or what is sometimes referred to as a techno-optimist. Who should read this book? If you want some amazing stories of how processes have improved, and a stirring defense of the modern world and all its wonders this is a great book. If you're looking for higher level reflection on what it all means, particularly any sort of caution around progress and efficiency, then this is not the book for you. Potter is definitely an "onward and upward!" kind of guy. He does note that efficiency can't be applied everywhere, and that it's often constrained by other goals, like safety, but he still treats it as being inherently good. What does the book have to say about the future? The book does point out that efficiency has become a "sociotechnical" issue. Particularly in the West, we often make choices to constrain efficiency as part of some broader societal goal. Potter doesn't talk very much about China, but one could imagine that their drive for efficiency is not constrained in the same way and, going forward, this could give them the edge in our ongoing competition. Specific thoughts: Fantastic, awesome, hopeful, and scary

Everything you wanted to know about 1st Century Palestine, but were afraid to ask… The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians By: N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird Published: 2019 992 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An deep dive on the New Testament covering (as the subtitle suggests) the history: Second Temple Judaism against a Greco-Roman background; the literature: the New Testament's genesis, structure, authors and audience; and theology: the religious claims of the book, the doctrine, miracles, and contentions. What's the author's angle? Despite me saying that this is a deep dive, it is also something of a sampler for Wright's other, even more expansive books. Also it's important to note that Wright is very much a believing Christian and while the book is exceptionally scholarly, it's also backgrounded by the idea that Jesus Christ is the Messiah who died for the sins of the world and was gloriously resurrected. Who should read this book? This is a long book, and I ended up deciding to read it, rather than listen to it. As such, it honestly took me several months to get through, so you should certainly take that into account. This should not be construed as saying the book is difficult. It's very accessible, and reads easily. I will say that I learned a lot, but I'm not sure that will be true for everyone. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) don't generally focus on straight down the line Bible scholarship. To the extent that we do deep scholarship in this area it's in search of parallels between early Christianity and LDS Christianity. (For example in 1 Corinthians 15:29 when Paul mentions baptisms for the dead. Something no major denomination does, other than us.) This is all to say that I think LDS individuals might find this book particularly enjoyable, as being somewhat outside of our normal wheelhouse. Specific thoughts: It's both shocking how much New Testament we have and how little we have of everything else

Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart By: Nicholas Carr Published: 2025 272 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? On its surface, this is a fairly typical anti-social media book, though Carr does have some interesting things to say about weaknesses inherent to the medium: content collapse, algorithmic engineering, and hostility generation. All things I'll get to in a bit. What's the author's angle? Carr comes from the Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman school of media criticism. Media have inherent properties that lead to different sorts of communication, and different strengths and weaknesses. Carr, like many, thinks that social media has some particularly salient weaknesses. Who should read this book? When considering whether to read a non-fiction book, one has to consider where it fits with one's various interests. If you're really interested in the negative effects of social media, then I would definitely read this book. If it's one of many interests, but not in your top 5-10, then you can probably skip it. What does the book have to say about the future?

A story of one Palestinian's fight against brutality, bureaucracy, and bishops. We Belong to the Land: The Story of a Palestinian Israeli Who Lives for Peace and Reconciliation By: Elias Chacour and Mary E. Jensen Published: 1990 212 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An autobiographical account of Chacour's struggles as a Palestinian Christian working to build up his community in Galilee (Ibillin) while under continual pushback from Israeli bureaucracy and internal church politics. What's the author's angle? At the time the book was written Chacour was a Melkite Greek Catholic Priest in the town of Ibillin. (He was later appointed to be the Archbishop of Haifa.) He has worked tirelessly to resolve the Palestinian problem using nonviolent means that emphasize reconciliation and the common background of both people. He pushes for Palestinians to be treated with dignity, but also for them to create dignified institutions. These institutions, particularly the school he founded, take up most of his energy. Who should read this book? As part of my post on Israel and Hamas I asked for books making the pro-Palestinian case. One of my readers recommended this book. It was a good book, but to the extent that it illuminated the problem it did so very obliquely. This is the story of a non-violent Palestinian Christian written over 30 years ago. Certainly it helped my understanding at maybe a 30,000 foot level? But it didn't shed much light on the current crisis. However, if you want the story of someone who took a really "bad hand" and did something truly extraordinary with it, then this is your book. Specific thoughts: If every Palestinian and every Israeli resembled Chacour and his congregation then the problem would be solved.

Asterios Polyp by: David Mazzucchelli The Last Equation of Isaac Severy: A Novel in Clues by: Nova Jacobs The Impossible Fortune: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by: Richard Osman The Moviegoer by: Walker Percy Academy of Outcasts by: Larry Correia

The power of positive thinking and cocaine! The Kid Stays in the Picture By: Robert Evans Published: 1994 432 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? This is the autobiography of Robert Evans. It jumps around a lot, but it's mostly built around his time as head of production for Paramount pictures from basically 1966-1974. Evans had basically zero experience, but by working himself nearly to death he produced such films as: The Godfather, Love Story, Chinatown, and Rosemary's Baby. In the process he saved the studio and became one of the most iconic figures of "New Hollywood". Or to come at it from another angle, imagine Hollywood in its most wheeling and dealing, debauched, and drug-fueled state, that's what this book is about. What's the author's angle? Evans is an obvious narcissist, and it's clear that he has axes to grind, scores to settle, and crimes to explain. But he also has people to thank, stories to embellish, and insights to dispense. This is the author's book in a way that few books are. If Evans had any kind of editor, or even a lawyer look over this book I'm sure he told them to piss off far more often than he listened to them. If you pick it up on audio, Evans did the reading which adds a whole other layer to his stories. Who should read this book? If you enjoy meeting that person at the party, the person who name drops like each name is a bomb and he's over Germany in 1945. The guy who tells one insane story after another, stories so insane you can't believe they're not exaggerated. But it's also possible that they've actually been toned down for legal reasons. If you enjoy outrageous raconteurs, then this is the book for you. Specific thoughts: What does success look like?

Chesterton mostly lost me after Arthur and Alfred, but I feel like I got his point in spite of that. A Short History of England By: G.K. Chesterton Published: 1917 107 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The book is titled the "History of England", but it's really a book about the soul of England. Chesterton examines this soul chronologically from the "Age of Legends" down to the time the book was written, which happened to be the middle of World War I. What's the author's angle? It's Chesterton, so there's obviously a religious angle, and a traditional cultural angle. Even expecting this, I was surprised by how much he missed the old guild system, and other features of medieval life. There's a lot of anti-rich sentiment in the book, but he's also no socialist either. Who should read this book? I don't think it's practical or even wise to read everything Chesterton wrote, but I have a vague goal to read most of what he's written. Even then I'm pretty sure that knowing then what I know now I would have advised myself to skip this book, or at least only read the first few chapters. The big problem is that Chesterton is not dispensing English history (contra the title) he's interpreting it. He assumes you already know a ton of history, and he's just going to tie it together in a new way. I'm sure a highly educated Englishman in 1917 would have had no problem with Chesterton's references, but 100 years on, this poor American was frequently completely lost. Here's an example: It will be apparent, when I deal with that period, that I do not palliate the real unreason in divine right as Filmer and some of the pedantic cavaliers construed it. They professed the impossible ideal of "non-resistance" to any national and legitimate power; though I cannot see that even that was so servile and superstitious as the more modern ideal of "non-resistance" even to a foreign and lawless power. But the seventeenth century was an age of sects, that is of fads; and the Filmerites made a fad of divine right. Who or what is Filmer and the Filmerites? One could look it up (apparently it refers to a 17th century political theorist, Robert Filmer) but you're not going to get any information from the book. This selection, with its two references, is the first and last time the name shows up. I'll tell you what I got out of the book and you can go from there, but as a general matter I wouldn't recommend reading this book. It has all the normal Chesterton witticisms and turns of phrase, but there are easier places to get those.