Marvelous little Knox Bio

“The Life of John Knox,” written by an unknown author (I couldn’t find his name anywhere in the publication) is a fantastic little volume. In this work there are several scenes in Knox’s life that are unavailable in other biographies, most notably his encounters with Mary, Queen of Scots.

Myself being on a bit of a Knox bent lately, when I heard about Attic Books’ republication of a long forgotten work, I was interested right away. Of course the book can be somewhat difficult to read at times, but not nearly enough to have no idea what the author is trying to convey. At times, the specificity is quite helpful, and the thoughtfulness of his writings is much appreciated.

The book does hammer away at the Roman Catholicism of Knox’s day (and for good reason), so do not be shocked at some of the author’s bold statements in this regard; intertwined with this are the leaders of that day, political and otherwise, who were generally evil people in search of power and affluence. This power and affluence could in many ways be granted by the corrupt Roman church, which in many ways helped to give rise to the Reformation.

Knox’s encounters with Mary, Queen of Scots are marvelously portrayed in the book. Also, her character is unveiled as a duplicitous and unworthy Queen, oftentimes herself lying and going back on her word to the detriment of the people under her leadership. If you are interested in a small Knox biography, this perhaps may not be the first to read (for that I would recommend Wilson’s “For Kirk and Covenant”), but it is great for looking into those points of Knox’s life that you are left hanging in the other biographies. Highly recommended.

I would like to thank New Leaf Publishers and Attic Books for the complimentary review copy of this wonderful book.

"The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards," by Dr. Steven Lawson

"The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards," a biography by Dr. Steven Lawson, is an interesting yet somewhat frustrating read. On the one hand, Lawson lists many of Edwards' resolutions and explains their beauty and discipline, citing much of Edwards' own diary for how he wrestled with them throughout his life. On the other hand, the biography comes off as hagiographic, painting Edwards in a slightly less-than-believable light. The humanity of Edwards, for the most part, seems to shine through the quotes present, and not much at all through Lawson's commentary on them.

The book, for the most part, is organized around Edwards’ famous resolutions, those pithy charges of self-accountability. Brilliant insights and penetrating declarations line the resolutions, and you cannot help but feel the gravity of Edwards’ desire for personal holiness. The resolutions, coupled with Edwards’ diary entries speak much of his personal life, struggles, and victories.

Perhaps this book is better categorized as a commentary than a biography. But it is a decent commentary, with its share of insights. Yet, desiring to meet with Edwards himself as I read, I felt more like I was at his funeral, where only nice things are said, and we don't get the full, sympathetic picture.

I'd like to thank Reformation Trust Publishing for this complimentary review copy of "The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards," and look forward to forthcoming volumes in the series.

Knox, Great Man of Weakness

Douglas Bond brings us the latest in Reformation Trust’s “Long Line of Godly Men” series; a biography of John Knox entitled The Mighty Weakness of John Knox. Bond uses the first quarter of the book to set out a brief outline of Knox’s life, making mention of important events and dates, while using the remainder of the book to explain notable events in finer detail, and Knox’s theology in general.

While the book is quite short and merely meant as an introduction to Knox and his influence on the church and Scotland, Bond does quite well in his short treatment. While I would have liked more of a traditional biography, I believe this particular series does not intend to contain strictly biographical sketches. Bond mentions most of the key events in Knox’s life: his time as a bodyguard, his encounters with Mary Queen of Scots, his denunciations of Bloody Mary, and some of his travels to Geneva and Frankfurt. But each of these events is mentioned with such brevity that we really do not get much of an impression of the man. We get more of a blur.

Bond spends most of his time on Knox’s theological views and influence in the church, and that is where the strong point of this book lies. Numerous quotes are offered from Knox himself that really help the reader to understand Knox and his desperation in trying to recover the integrity and majesty of Christ’s Kirk in not only Scotland, but around the world. I would like to thank Reformation Trust Publishing for this complimentary reading copy.

"J.R.R. Tolkien," by Mark Horne

“J.R.R. Tolkien”, by Mark Horne, is a new biography of Tolkien that acts more as an introduction to Tolkien rather than a full biography. Although coming in at 130 pages, this short work is quite a nice overview of Tolkien’s life. This book genuinely makes one want to read not only Tolkien’s work, but also fuller biographies of his life.

Horne’s emphasis throughout his biography was Tolkien’s desire to create stories that would not only stand the test of time, but would inspire and radiate beauty to his readers. Tolkien, very much a perfectionist, held himself very strictly to this standard, and was extremely hesitant to release any of his writings. Were it not for some of his students, his wife, or friends like C.S. Lewis, we might not have The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. These people did not simply supply encouragement, but also pushed Tolkien to share his work with the public.

While Horne shows us Tolkien as academic and Tolkien as fantasy-writer, he also shows us the adventurous years of his youth, such as Tolkien hijacking a bus and driving it through Oxford.

Despite its brevity, this biography does what all good biographies should do: give the reader a desire to delve into the person’s work. I’d like to thank Thomas Nelson for this complimentary book to review.

Galileo, Ecclesiocentrist

“Galileo,” by Mitch Stokes, is an eye-opening biography. Galileo, commonly assumed to be a warrior of science, is said to have stood up valiantly against the church’s hatred of such, and comes out the martyr. This is of course a sorely misrepresented picture of Galileo.

Galileo lived an era dominated by a pagan view of the cosmos, namely, the Aristotelian view. Such a view holds that the cosmos is divided into two sections: the imperfect, below-the-moon area, where moth and rust destroy and change occurs; and the perfect, that which is outside of the orbit of the moon and is immovable (other than the planets, the “wanderers”). And of course, the main characteristic of the Aristotelian model is geocentrism, the idea that the earth is the center of the universe. Galileo, however, was a proponent of the Copernican model of heliocentrism, but was not as dogmatic as many think in our day.

Stokes unveils the fact that Galileo was much more for the church than against it. Throughout his life, he clearly established that his view was simply a theory, and that he was in no way attempting to subvert the church’s authority or challenge church doctrine. In a very powerful letter near the end his life, Galileo states that “the falsity of the Copernican system must not on any account be doubted, especially by us Catholics, who have the irrefragable authority of Holy Scripture interpreted by the greatest masters of theology, whose agreement renders us certain of the stability of the earth and the mobility of the sun around it” (174). Now, this could be taken to be tongue-in-cheek, but we really have no reason to assume this the case, because it is in line with his approach to the subject throughout his life. Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to review this great book.