RE:Views

Welcome to a new column. Here you will find in each issue either a review, or several reviews of either a book, a movie or something. Our goal is to encourage the good, warn of the bad. But because we're such positive thinkers we decided to start with some brief reviews of some resources we depend on. For the most part the folks who produce these materials are all committed to a Reformed world and life view. We can't vouch for the absolute purity of anything but the Word, but the resources that follow try to stand upon that Word.

CredendalAgenda, edited by Doug Wilson, published six times a year. Doug is the founder of the Association of Classical Christian Schools, New Saint Andrews College and the Logos School in Moscow, Idaho. He is also the pastor of Community Evangelical Fellowship, and a monthly columnist in Tabletalk. He is both a friend and a hero of mine.

C/A is a grown up version of Every Thought Captive. It is what we aspire to be. It's bigger, better looking, and filled with keen insights, and outstanding rhetoric. Like ETC this magazine looks at a different theme each issue and addresses that theme from a number of angles. In the last few years they have covered everything from marriage to the forgotten history of black soldiers of the confederacy to the folly of eastern Orthodoxy. These are good folks smart, zealous, and biting. And it's free. Call 1-800- 488-2034 for a sample copy, or if you're already persuaded, to sign up.

Tabletalk Magazine, edited by R. C. Sproul Jr. Perhaps the most important thing here is that the editor is terribly good looking. Tabletalk is really two magazines. Half the magazine is devoted to daily studies. This year we will take our readers through Exodus with Matthew Henry as our guide. We call these "studies" because they are significantly more substantial than what you get in most 'devotionals". The other half of the magazine looks at a particular theme each month. We ask the best and the brightest of Reformed thinkers to write for us each month. We cover Evangelicalism in January, forgiveness in February, poverty in March, Islam in April, and the Ascension in May. We also have regular monthly columns on culture from Doug Wilson, reviews, and insights from our Puritan fathers. You can receive a free sample by calling 1-800-435- 4343.

The Mars Hill Tapes are unusual, but very good. Ken Myers is the host and producer of this audio tape "magazine" that comes out six times a year. Ken provides interviews with leading thinkers on a host of cultural issues of interest to Christians. The format is akin to Radio Hanoi's (that's my nickname for National Public Radio) All Things Considered, but with sound content. (Ken spent several years as a producer and correspondent for NPR). Mars Hill and Ken have interviewed novelists, composers, geneticists, theologians, experts on every field imaginable. Each tape is from sixty to ninety minutes long. This is an outstanding resource for understanding the wisdom of this age. You can receive a sample tape, and a catalogue of their materials by calling 1-800-331-6407

Chronicles Magazine is not so well known, but is also an outstanding magazine. It comes out monthly from the Rockford Institute, a think tank in Illinois committed to classical conservatism. The magazine's subtitle is "The journal of American Culture." Though by no means monolithicaly Reformed, or even Christian, the folks who write for the magazine have wisdom. Contributors include Sam Francis, Michael Hill (mentioned in our Leviathan column this issue), Harold O.J. Brown, and the editor, Tom Fleming. Chronicles is not your typical political magazine, but addresses underlying issues that often get overlooked in our PC, soundbyte age. And it does so in a way that won't insult your intelligence. Recent issues have included "The American Empire," "The Supreme Court vs. the Bill of Rights" and "Multiculturalism and Education." I don't know if they send out samples, but for more info you can call the Rockford Institute at (815) 964-5053.

There are, of course, many more fine magazines out there for you to read. We may, in a future issue, take the time to list some more. And we'd be happy to consider others that you know about that we may have missed. Happy reading.