# Worst book you've read? (Grenz, for me!)



## CatechumenPatrick

What is the worst book you've read recently, or in your lifetime? I have a new most-despised book, taking the place of Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis, Charles Stanley's Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure? and John Wesley: Heroes of the Faith. by C.E. Vulliamy (easily the worst biography I've ever read), at the top of my list. If you've been listening to the White Horse Inn broadcasts (the last three, in my opinion, are their best work yet on the show), one of the books Horton in particular mentions and criticizes is Revisioning Evangelical Theology by Stanley Grenz. I ordered the book from another library last week, and I must say I am utterly disgusted by what I’ve read. The book characterizes much of what is unbiblical and destructive in Christianity today. Grenz shallowly combines aspects of the emergent church, liberalism, German pietism, and early and medieval church mysticism, into one vague and poorly written package. There is little of value in the book, and only on a few occasions does he show himself to be a competent historian. I’ve found the book mainly useful for understanding contemporary Christianity and evangelicalism, even though it was written around 15 years ago. Have any of you read works by Grenz? I hear his 20th-Cnetury Theology with Roger Olson is worth reading.


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## Guido's Brother

The worst I've read recently was William P. Young's the Shack. An awful, awful book. Left Behind was pretty bad too as is anything by Philip Yancey. I only read this junk because I have to.


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## A5pointer

For, error Zane Hodges "Gospel Under Siege" Pure poison.


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## Seb

Dianetics by L Ron Hubbard. I read it before I became a Christian and even then it read like a bunch of psychobabble garbage.


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## DMcFadden

CatechumenPatrick said:


> What is the worst book you've read recently, or in your lifetime? . . . If you've been listening to the White Horse Inn broadcasts (the last three, in my opinion, are their best work yet on the show), one of the books Horton in particular mentions and criticizes is Revisioning Evangelical Theology by Stanley Grenz.



If you did not know, Grenz passed away in 2005. Grenz and Olson have banged the drum pretty loudly for contemporary post-modern tinged Arminianism.


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## danmpem

CatechumenPatrick said:


> What is the worst book you've read recently, or in your lifetime? I have a new most-despised book, taking the place of Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis, Charles Stanley's Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure? and John Wesley: Heroes of the Faith. by C.E. Vulliamy (easily the worst biography I've ever read), at the top of my list. If you've been listening to the White Horse Inn broadcasts (the last three, in my opinion, are their best work yet on the show), one of the books Horton in particular mentions and criticizes is Revisioning Evangelical Theology by Stanley Grenz. I ordered the book from another library last week, and I must say I am utterly disgusted by what I’ve read. The book characterizes much of what is unbiblical and destructive in Christianity today. Grenz shallowly combines aspects of the emergent church, liberalism, German pietism, and early and medieval church mysticism, into one vague and poorly written package. There is little of value in the book, and only on a few occasions does he show himself to be a competent historian. I’ve found the book mainly useful for understanding contemporary Christianity and evangelicalism, even though it was written around 15 years ago. Have any of you read works by Grenz? I hear his 20th-Cnetury Theology with Roger Olson is worth reading.



 When I saw this thread, I immediately thought, "Velvet Elvis!"

And I definitely agree with you about the recent episodes of White Horse Inn.


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## DMcFadden

*ANY* book by Brian McLaren.


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## Blue Tick

_What Love is This_ Dave Hunt...


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## DMcFadden

*Chosen but Free* has to be up there somewhere.

Also *ANY *"book" by Osteen.


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## CalvinandHodges

Hi:

Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, by John Piper.

Well, maybe not the worst, but it is up there in the top 3.
-CH


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## Davidius

_The Final Quest_ by Rick Joyner

_The Normal Christian Life_ by Watchman Nee


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## Blueridge Believer

"Myth of a Christian Nation" by Gregory Boyd. I was about 3/4 the way through the thing and kept thinking 'this dude is strange'. Then I found out he was an open theist.


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## CatechumenPatrick

DMcFadden said:


> *ANY* book by Brian McLaren.



Yes, I'd have to agree, although I have not read any of his works all the way through (for obvious reasons!).


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## Sonoftheday

Ive read like 2 Charles Stanley books. The few biblical truths they did contain were very simple, and overall modern psychology and Man centered biblical exegesis were the focus of his books.


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## Amazing Grace

The Powers That Be... By Walter Wink.


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## DavidinKnoxville

Purpose driven life is a stinker.


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## jawyman

Velvet Elvis, Sex God and Purpose Driven Life. All horrible.


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## Storm

*Book (Author?) Bashing*

"Velvet Elivis" should be taken off "the list." It is a very good book. Rob Bell is so smart that you guys probably think he's messed up. Read it again...slowly...and you'll find some great stuff!

Also, "The Shack" is one of the BEST books I've recently read. Yes, I had a hard time with the idea that God could reveal Himself as a large black woman who bakes...but remember "The Matrix???" Also, what Calvinists often forget is that they're "perfect" theology must work on this earth, in real time and space and with people who are fallen and often live with horrible tragedy.

Greg Boyd is super intelligent and probably is often misunderstood. Most pure Calvinists seem to want to write off anyone who claims to be BOTH Calvinist AND Arminian. Why not recognize the Truth in both???

Just my !

Reactions: Amen 1


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## smhbbag

_The Freedom of the Will_ by Jonathan Edwards

It made angry at God for a solid year. I knew he was right, but hated the truth. I _desperately_ wanted to hang on to my notions of man's autonomy. It was miserable.


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## Hippo

"Battlefield Earth" by L Ron Hubbard, I wasted a week of my life reading that book in the hope it would get better and it just got worse.


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## Hippo

Storm said:


> "Velvet Elivis" should be taken off "the list." It is a very good book. Rob Bell is so smart that you guys probably think he's messed up. Read it again...slowly...and you'll find some great stuff!
> 
> Also, "The Shack" is one of the BEST books I've recently read. Yes, I had a hard time with the idea that God could reveal Himself as a large black woman who bakes...but remember "The Matrix???" Also, what Calvinists often forget is that they're "perfect" theology must work on this earth, in real time and space and with people who are fallen and often live with horrible tragedy.
> 
> Greg Boyd is super intelligent and probably is often misunderstood. Most pure Calvinists seem to want to write off anyone who claims to be BOTH Calvinist AND Arminian. Why not recognize the Truth in both???
> 
> Just my !



A ""pure Calvinist" is a strange concept in itself, you either believe in a sovereign God or you do not. You cannot be both a Calvinist and an Arminian, you can take bits from both and be inconsistent and unbiblical but you cannot be both.

The Arminian gospel (in its pure form) is a false gospel, thank God that most Arminians are not five point Arminians.


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## PuritanCovenanter

The Millenial Maze by Grenz was pretty good. 

As far as bad books go....

So Great a Salvation by Ryrie.....

I had to go out of my way to read it because we were doing critiques on Lordship salvation. Zane Hodges book was terrible also. I was first discipled by guys who were dispensational in thinking so they introduced me to Clarence Larkin's Dispensational truths. I round filed it right away when Larkin said the Church wasn't in the Old Testament and that its birthday was at Pentacost. 

I avoid bad theological books. I don't have enough time to read all the good ones.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

As part of going to a mainline seminary I have read some bad stuff but nothing beats this little gem. 

Practicing Gospel


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## Blueridge Believer

Storm said:


> "Velvet Elivis" should be taken off "the list." It is a very good book. Rob Bell is so smart that you guys probably think he's messed up. Read it again...slowly...and you'll find some great stuff!
> 
> Also, "The Shack" is one of the BEST books I've recently read. Yes, I had a hard time with the idea that God could reveal Himself as a large black woman who bakes...but remember "The Matrix???" Also, what Calvinists often forget is that they're "perfect" theology must work on this earth, in real time and space and with people who are fallen and often live with horrible tragedy.
> 
> Greg Boyd is super intelligent and probably is often misunderstood. Most pure Calvinists seem to want to write off anyone who claims to be BOTH Calvinist AND Arminian. Why not recognize the Truth in both???
> 
> Just my !





No one would deny that Boyd is an intelligent man. He is an open theist though. Open theism is rank heresy of the worst sort. Piper has tried to get the GBC to run the open theists out.


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## Reformed Covenanter

PuritanCovenanter said:


> I avoid bad theological books. I don't have enough time to read all the good ones.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

Daniel Ritchie said:


> PuritanCovenanter said:
> 
> 
> 
> I avoid bad theological books. I don't have enough time to read all the good ones.
Click to expand...


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## ChristopherPaul

_Wild at Heart_ by John Eldridge - Be a man: twist the scriptures, create your own "risky" God who is no longer sovereign and quote a bunch of movies!

_Messy Spirituality_ by Mike Yaconelli - Hey its all good man, look at all the dudes in the bible that screwed up, therefore we can screwup and be okay with it, like Noah got drunk and yeah... so me too!

_Purpose Driven Life _by Rick Warren - This is the purpose of life... oh and here are a handful of scripture verses that make it look like God agrees.

_Desiring God_ by John Piper <ducks>

_Diary of Anne Frank_ - Old school requirement, it was like reading someone's diary from cover to cover, and ... well, that should say it all.

_The Merry Adventuress of Robin Hood_ by Howard Pyle - Very interesting if you are in to seeing what a bunch of drunken lazy men do when they are bored - chapter after chapter after chapter.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Most of the time these days if I am reading a book and it is that bad, I stop wasting my time and refuse to finish it.


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## ChristopherPaul

Oh yeah not to mention all the John Hagee and Benny Hinn books I read way back in the day. I almost forgot about those (blessed repression).


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## Presbyterian Deacon

I'm the librarian at our church, and people frequently "donate" books to be placed in the Library. I review all books before processing them and putting them on the selves. 

Many *never* make it to the shelves. I've read some real bombs, but I think--

Benny Hinn, Good Morning, Holy Spirit, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990)

has got to be the worst book ever written, and not placed in our library.

Also, right up there on the list is:

Stephen A. Macchia, Becoming A Healthy Church (Baker Books, 1999)

and--

Karen Scalf Linamen, Just Hand Over the Chocolate and NoOne Will Get Hurt (Fleming H. Revell, 1999)

Truly a shame that trees are sacrificed to produce paper -- only to print nonsense such as that on!


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## toddpedlar

Storm said:


> "Velvet Elivis" should be taken off "the list." It is a very good book. Rob Bell is so smart that you guys probably think he's messed up. Read it again...slowly...and you'll find some great stuff!



The ratio of useless postmodern tripe to useful content in Bell, McLaren and others of their friends is so high that they're not worth reading. Beyond that, a number of things they say are beyond stupid, and into the heretical. 



> Also, "The Shack" is one of the BEST books I've recently read. Yes, I had a hard time with the idea that God could reveal Himself as a large black woman who bakes...but remember "The Matrix???" Also, what Calvinists often forget is that they're "perfect" theology must work on this earth, in real time and space and with people who are fallen and often live with horrible tragedy.



Perhaps so - but one cannot replace truth with ridiculous blasphemy in order to "make it work".



> Greg Boyd is super intelligent and probably is often misunderstood. Most pure Calvinists seem to want to write off anyone who claims to be BOTH Calvinist AND Arminian. Why not recognize the Truth in both???
> 
> Just my !



Greg Boyd is a heretic who denies God's sovereignty, and whose books ought to be dropped by the boxfull into the latrine. 

I sincerely hope you do not actually subscribe to Boyd's views on God's person and work. Beyond being unconfessional, they are dangerously heretical.


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## Davidius

This is one of the negative consequences of the invention of the printing press.


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## py3ak

Scott Hahn, _Hail, Holy Queen_ and and _The Openness of God_ by Rica, Sanders, Pinnock and Hasker are pretty much tied for most horrible. Of course, there are several books I've started and had to lay aside which might have been worse.


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## CatechumenPatrick

ChristopherPaul said:


> _Wild at Heart_ by John Eldridge - Be a man: twist the scriptures, create your own "risky" God who is no longer sovereign and quote a bunch of movies!
> 
> _Messy Spirituality_ by Mike Yaconelli - Hey its all good man, look at all the dudes in the bible that screwed up, therefore we can screwup and be okay with it, like Noah got drunk and yeah... so me too!
> 
> _Purpose Driven Life _by Rick Warren - This is the purpose of life... oh and here are a handful of scripture verses that make it look like God agrees.



Amen, Amen, and Amen--sadly, these are the three most frequently read books in my fellowship, and in much of American Christianity.


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## D. Paul

God: A Biography| jackmiles.com: Jack Miles Online

What should I have expected from a Jesuit? Very difficult trudging through his morass of blasphemy.

Although I haven't read this (nor do I intend to) check out his new one. Read the excerpts if you can stomach them and his quotes.
Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God| jackmiles.com: Jack Miles Online


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## greenbaggins

_What St. Paul Really Said_, by N.T. Wright

The last two volumes of Westermann's Genesis commentary

_The Call of Grace_, by Norman Shepherd

_The Covenantal Gospel_, by Cornelis van der Waal

_A Faith That Is Never Alone_, edited by Andrew Sandlin

_Women in the Church_, by Grenz and Kjesbo

_The Federal Vision_, by Wilkins and Garner


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## Devin

First off....GREAT topic idea 

BUT, I really haven't read that many bad theological books. As has been said, I just don't have time for them. I do have to admit that I read Left Behind and a few of the sequels. Terrible! Not even worth using for kindling. Not only does it have a terrible theological foundation, but it's simply a boring story.


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## Poimen

greenbaggins said:


> _The Covenantal Gospel_, by Cornelis van der Waal



Well that piqued my interest. Though I certainly wouldn't rank it as my favorite, I am interested as to why you would rank it as one of the worst you have ever read.


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## Ivan

This is an interesting thread. I guess I'm surprised by both ends of the spectrum and find myself in the middle of the road...again. Of course being in the middle of the road makes one more likely to be ran over.


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## Richard King

Well this isn't theological but I still kick myself for reading 
The World According to Garp by John Irving way back in 1978.

And yes Bennie Hinn's Good Morning Holy Spirit haunts me like a stomach flu.


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## greenbaggins

Poimen said:


> greenbaggins said:
> 
> 
> 
> _The Covenantal Gospel_, by Cornelis van der Waal
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well that piqued my interest. Though I certainly wouldn't rank it as my favorite, I am interested as to why you would rank it as one of the worst you have ever read.
Click to expand...


Because it completely repudiates the definitions of covenant given by Witsius, a'Brakel, Turretin, and the WCF, by denying that covenant is an agreement, and saying instead that it is a relationship. Furthermore, according to van der Waal, the covenant is not made with the elect (contra the WLC), and hence does not have an internal/external distinction, but is rather along the lines of Schilder. Van der Waal is a precursor to the Federal Vision, in other words. Barach and Schlissel both say that their doctrine of the covenant is based on him, at least to some extent.


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## N. Eshelman

Anything by 'the Pearls'. 

Crazy.


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## Contra Marcion

_New Age Bible Versions_, by Gail Riplinger. Even my KJV-only friends were embarrassed at this one. Her arguments are silly at best, and shamefully dishonest at worst. Why, one wonders, would anyone seriously read a book on textual issues written by someone with a home economics degree, and who knows neither of the Biblical languages? ( I had to for a class).


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## bookslover

_Grace_ by Lewis Sperry Chafer - a classic dispensationalist tells us grace is. Yuck.

_Prayer - Asking and Receiving_ by John R. Rice - an old-style fundamentalist thinks this is all there is to prayer. Yuck.


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## crhoades

Couple of books by Neil T. Anderson...Bondage Breaker and I can't remember the other one.


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## Ivan

Anybody ever hear of C.S. Lovett?

Hew boy....those were stinkers.


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## Theoretical

"The Saving Life of Christ" by Major W. Ian Thomas - miserable "carnal Christian" sanctification theology - this book really did a number on me.

Ditto for Charles Stanley's works.


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## Timothy William

_Mere Christianity_ by C S Lewis. Lewis was a clever writer, and this book makes some good points and interesting observations, but Lewis ultimately misses the heart of the Christian faith. His "mere Christianity" should be about the Gospel, in its purist form, instead it is Lewis' attempt at ecumenism, with mere Christianity defined roughly as "what all branches of Christianity believe." I made the awful mistake of rereading this book during a theological crisis in my early 20's, as Lewis had been my favourite author as a teenager, and came away thinking that Lewis was very confused as to what the Gospel actually was.

_The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money_ by John Maynard Keynes. I had to read this book, and an earlier work by Keynes, and write an essay on them in 3 days as an undergrad. Quite possibly the worst non-theological book ever written on any topic. Poorly written, containing constant obfuscations and errors of logic, while claiming to do the opposite. In the end, Keynes' economic system just doesn't add up, and he never deals with the stronger arguments of his opponents, which were already well known in 1936. Keynes was a very clever man, and highly articulate in person, but had an awful habit of deliberately convoluted and confusing writing. The 1938 German edition contained some wholehearted praise from Keynes for Hitler's government in the Introduction.


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## danmpem

Storm said:


> "Velvet Elivis" should be taken off "the list." It is a very good book. Rob Bell is so smart that you guys probably think he's messed up. Read it again...slowly...and you'll find some great stuff!
> 
> Also, "The Shack" is one of the BEST books I've recently read. Yes, I had a hard time with the idea that God could reveal Himself as a large black woman who bakes...but remember "The Matrix???" Also, what Calvinists often forget is that they're "perfect" theology must work on this earth, in real time and space and with people who are fallen and often live with horrible tragedy.


Woah! I was just given The Shack tonight. Hmm....interesting.


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## danmpem

There have been more than a couple of books I have enjoyed are listed here. While I can't say that my overall opinion of them will change, the comments here, though, have provoked me to look closer at them. Thank you!


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## jaybird0827

666 by Salem Kirban. I hope that it's long out of print.


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## Reformed Covenanter

Contra Marcion said:


> _New Age Bible Versions_, by Gail Riplinger. Even my KJV-only friends were embarrassed at this one. Her arguments are silly at best, and shamefully dishonest at worst. Why, one wonders, would anyone seriously read a book on textual issues written by someone with a home economics degree, and who knows neither of the Biblical languages? ( I had to for a class).



 That was the first ever Christian book I bought, and the worst I ever read - though I did not realise it at the time.


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## Neopatriarch

Recently, the worst book I've read is the _Book of Mormon_. The number of times it says "it came to pass" is ridiculous.
_
Probability and Statistical Inference_ by Hogg and Tanis was a fairly bad textbook I had to read two semesters ago.


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## Theogenes

I agree with John J. above, "What Love is This?" by Dave Hunt. It infuriated me.


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## Kevin

Theogenes said:


> I agree with John J. above, "What Love is This?" by Dave Hunt. It infuriated me.


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## lwadkins

How about the worst book you ever *tried *to read. I really tried to read Brian McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy" but I just couldn't finish it.


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## lwadkins

Also one of the first books recommended to me after I became Christian. The Bondage Breaker by Niel T. Anderson.


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## Casey

joshua said:


> _A New Kind of Christian_ by Brian McLaren.


_A Generous Orthodoxy_ by Brian McLaren.


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## greenbaggins

Contra Marcion said:


> _New Age Bible Versions_, by Gail Riplinger. Even my KJV-only friends were embarrassed at this one. Her arguments are silly at best, and shamefully dishonest at worst. Why, one wonders, would anyone seriously read a book on textual issues written by someone with a home economics degree, and who knows neither of the Biblical languages? ( I had to for a class).



I totally forgot this book! Great example! I went through the first fifty pages, and documented all the factual errors in her quotations of the modern versions. Constantly, she misrepresented the facts, by saying that "the modern versions say x," when only one of them did, and the rest agreed with the KJV! She made the differences far greater than they actually are. Furthermore, she has no hermeneutical training, and so she misrepresents other differences as well. I had a 13 page document when I was done, ripping her book to shreds. James White has quite adequately answered her as well.


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## Blue Tick

Calvary Chapel Distinctives... 

Calvary's attempt at a systematic theology


Tribulation and the Church 

Eschatological madness


The philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel

Romanism repackaged under evangelical vernacular.


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## Blueridge Believer

jaybird0827 said:


> 666 by Salem Kirban. I hope that it's long out of print.




I've got that book at the house. If you've lost yours I'll be gald to sell you mine.


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## Presbyterian Deacon

bookslover said:


> _Grace_ by Lewis Sperry Chafer - a classic dispensationalist tells us grace is. Yuck.
> 
> _Prayer - Asking and Receiving_ by John R. Rice - an old-style fundamentalist thinks this is all there is to prayer. Yuck.



Another John R. Rice book that nobody needs to waste their time on is:

Predestined For Hell? No!

Reactions: Like 1


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## jaybird0827

Blueridge Baptist said:


> jaybird0827 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 666 by Salem Kirban. I hope that it's long out of print.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've got that book at the house. If you've lost yours I'll be gald to sell you mine.
Click to expand...

 
  

No sir, in that case I would expect you to pay me to take it off your hands.


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## Stephen

PuritanCovenanter said:


> The Millenial Maze by Grenz was pretty good.
> 
> As far as bad books go....
> 
> So Great a Salvation by Ryrie.....
> 
> I had to go out of my way to read it because we were doing critiques on Lordship salvation. Zane Hodges book was terrible also. I was first discipled by guys who were dispensational in thinking so they introduced me to Clarence Larkin's Dispensational truths. I round filed it right away when Larkin said the Church wasn't in the Old Testament and that its birthday was at Pentacost.
> 
> I avoid bad theological books. I don't have enough time to read all the good ones.



I like your new avatar, Randy. Perhaps you could manufacture it and sell it for profit. I would certainly buy one.


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## Stephen

Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.


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## InevitablyReformed

greenbaggins said:


> _What St. Paul Really Said_, by N.T. Wright
> 
> The last two volumes of Westermann's Genesis commentary
> 
> _The Call of Grace_, by Norman Shepherd
> 
> _The Covenantal Gospel_, by Cornelis van der Waal
> 
> _A Faith That Is Never Alone_, edited by Andrew Sandlin
> 
> _Women in the Church_, by Grenz and Kjesbo
> 
> _The Federal Vision_, by Wilkins and Garner



Rev,

I think I know why you put these in here, but worse than _Purpose Driven Lifeor something by Osteen? Given the mass circulation of the Warren, Osteen, Hinn garbage--aren't they far more misleading? I guess what I'm asking is: Are widely circulated Osteen books worse than books by Norman Shepherd that 98 % of people in the world have never and would never pick up? Just curious. Thanks._


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## Blue Tick

> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.


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## Reformed Covenanter

Stephen said:


> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.



 Now that's sarcasm.


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## hollandmin

I was given a copy of _The Believer's Authority_ by Kenneth Hagin peeehuuuu!! This guy is living proof that anyone can get people to follow them

I also read a book by his son called _Executing Basics of Healing_ that one was worse than his fathers, I mean, it stinketh!!!!!


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## Reformed Covenanter

CalvinandHodges said:


> Hi:
> 
> Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, by John Piper.
> 
> Well, maybe not the worst, but it is up there in the top 3.
> -CH



 That is a bit of an extreme statement. Especially as the book is endorsed by RC Sproul and John Macarthur.


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## Reformed Covenanter

Blue Tick said:


> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.
Click to expand...


Hal Lindsay bears a striking resemblance to Joe Stalin.


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## Blue Tick

Daniel Ritchie said:


> Blue Tick said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Hal Lindsay bears a striking resemblance to Joe Stalin.
Click to expand...


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## Grymir

Dick and Jane. Did more to hinder my intellectual development than anything else.

The book of mormon was by far the most boring book I've ever read. Boring!!!! Boring!!! I had to read it because I was working with a bunch of mormons and I wanted to talk to them about their god. Did I say it was boring?


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## Pilgrim's Progeny

The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning Not a reformed book, very fly by the seat of your pants mysticism.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

I almost forgot about Brennan Manning. I thought I had repressed the memory of reading this book, The Ragamuffin Gospel.


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## Ivan

Daniel Ritchie said:


> CalvinandHodges said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi:
> 
> Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, by John Piper.
> 
> Well, maybe not the worst, but it is up there in the top 3.
> -CH
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That is a bit of an extreme statement. Especially as the book is endorsed by RC Sproul and John Macarthur.
Click to expand...


More than a bit.


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## Puritan Sailor

Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament & Contemporary Contexts 
by Joel B. Green and Mark D. Baker

I had to read this for a Christology class. It's basically the newest attempt to deny substitutionary atonement with a post-modern twist. They completely misrepresent covenant theology. Horrible scholarship...


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## MICWARFIELD

jaybird0827 said:


> 666 by Salem Kirban. I hope that it's long out of print.



Amen to that!


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## danmpem

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> I almost forgot about Brennan Manning. I thought I had repressed the memory of reading this book, The Ragamuffin Gospel.



Manning has been recommended to be by some of my Reformed friends. Is he really that bad?


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## Grymir

The absolute worst is Barth, anything by Barth. John Hagee is more interesting than Barth. Probably more biblical too!


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## JohnOwen007

Speaking of boring, what about the _Koran_. Man that just about killed me trying to get through it! Perhaps that's what some want: dead infidels from reading the Koran.


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## Pilgrim's Progeny

Grymir said:


> The absolute worst is Barth, anything by Barth. John Hagee is more interesting than Barth. Probably more biblical too!



Every time I read your posts I hear Rush screaming at me, it is hard to seperate it in my mind, it is like, "Rush, your a ranting calvinist". His inflection is in every post, makes for interesting threads.


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## toddpedlar

danmpem said:


> Backwoods Presbyterian said:
> 
> 
> 
> I almost forgot about Brennan Manning. I thought I had repressed the memory of reading this book, The Ragamuffin Gospel.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Manning has been recommended to be by some of my Reformed friends. Is he really that bad?
Click to expand...


From what I've read of him, yes, yes, and ... yes. He's a Catholic mystical priest, for one thing - that ought to set you on your guard before you hear anything about what he actually writes. He teaches that man is basically good (but flawed), that a key (if not THE) way to reach God is through essentially an Eastern, mystical meditative prayer complete with mantras, and rejects any semblance of an orthodox view concerning the necessity of Christ's shed blood on the cross. He has some shocking views concerning what he would term "liberty" but which is no less than license. 

Don't touch him with a ten-foot pole. He seems to me to be just another "cool" cat that emergent and new agey-mystical folks like. I am surprised to hear that you have "Reformed" people suggesting him to you... I'd talk with them about what they find so attractive, and warn them about picking up "the next new thing."


----------



## Timothy William

I remembered another one - _The Power of Positive Thinking_ by Norman Vincent Peale. My mother made me read it when I was about 15 - apparently my attitude was too negative. While she may have had a point about my attitude, reading that book certainly didn't help. I wasn't a believer at that stage, and wasn't converted until I was 19, but I could already see that the nonsense Peale was peddling wasn't the Gospel, nor did it make any logical sense. Unfortunately the book turned me into more of a cynic than I already was.


----------



## Blue Tick

The Coup de Grace for me. 


Gotta love the cover! Boo!  

Here comes the Boogey Man!


----------



## Devin

Blue Tick said:


> The Coup de Grace for me.
> 
> 
> Gotta love the cover! Boo!
> 
> Here comes the Boogey Man!



Makes you think Sproul is hiding under your bed at night or something.


----------



## staythecourse

*Two books in Highschool*

Books that I should not have read, just not healthy for me at the time, were imposed on me in high school: _ Flowers for Algernon_ and _Catcher in the Rye._ 

I recently had to read some weird books at seminary in my Ethics course, one of which was _Nickel and Dimed_ _(Not getting by in America)_ and Wendell Berry's _Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community: Eight Essays_

Neither were believers and I spent good hard cash for theology and had to read this tripe. One was on being broke in the US and the other was (I guess) Christians have to be communal.


----------



## staythecourse

John, I like the five ominous figures on the cover. One for each point I take it?


----------



## bookslover

Stephen said:


> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.



He needs to keep writing - he's got all those alimony checks to write. He's been married - what? 5 times (at last count)?

Every time Lindsey sets pen to paper he sets the serious study of eschatology back ten years!


----------



## bookslover

Timothy William said:


> _The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money_ by John Maynard Keynes.



I saw the movie version - _National Lampoon's Summer Vacation_.


----------



## Blue Tick

> Makes you think Sproul is hiding under your bed at night or something.










 Yes, indeed.


----------



## No Longer A Libertine

I recollect my mom checking out a copy of "Everybody Poops" when I was three and I found it quite patronizing.


----------



## Beoga

Devin said:


> Makes you think Sproul is hiding under your bed at night or something.



I would be so ecstatic to wake up and Sproul was hiding under my bed (alive)!

I am close to finishing up Letter to A Christian Nation by Sam Harris. So far it is has seemed pretty shallow to me. I am wanting to read Wilson's response to Harris to see if Wilson's response is any good.


----------



## danmpem

Devin said:


> Blue Tick said:
> 
> 
> 
> The Coup de Grace for me.
> 
> 
> Gotta love the cover! Boo!
> 
> Here comes the Boogey Man!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Makes you think Sproul is hiding under your bed at night or something.
Click to expand...


----------



## Grymir

Devin said:


> Blue Tick said:
> 
> 
> 
> The Coup de Grace for me.
> 
> 
> Gotta love the cover! Boo!
> 
> Here comes the Boogey Man!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Makes you think Sproul is hiding under your bed at night or something.
Click to expand...


----------



## christianyouth

I agree with Davidius, that the Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee could be the worse book ever written. 

One that is worse, is ANYTHING by Andrew Murray.

The worse book I read by a Reformed author would have to be John MacArthur's _Saved Without a Doubt_. It was really compact, and because of that it gave some very weak, packaged answers to the hard passages that Conditional Security people use. I just couldn't get interested in this book, not sure if it was the writing style.

At the public library by my house I read some pretty bad books in the Christianity section. As a new convert I didn't understand that there were such things as liberal Christians. So I ended up reading a lot of books and coming away confused. One was an attack on the Bible, in the Christianity section. The other was about Aliens, Mexico and Christianity(odd book). 

Thankfully now I have a good website to poke around on and pick up on who are the good authors.


----------



## Backwoods Presbyterian

bookslover said:


> Timothy William said:
> 
> 
> 
> _The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money_ by John Maynard Keynes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I saw the movie version - _National Lampoon's Summer Vacation_.
Click to expand...


----------



## Stephen

danmpem said:


> Backwoods Presbyterian said:
> 
> 
> 
> I almost forgot about Brennan Manning. I thought I had repressed the memory of reading this book, The Ragamuffin Gospel.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Manning has been recommended to be by some of my Reformed friends. Is he really that bad?
Click to expand...



Yes, he is. I have met Manning, been to several of his conferences, and have read several of his books. He is a former papist priest, who is now married, but is still Roman Catholic. He speaks at papist conferences and is well received by liberals and some evangelicals. He denies justification by faith alone and is a very liberal Roman Catholic in advocating tolerance toward homosexuality. He has neo-orthodox leanings and is associated with many left-winged "evangelicals" like Tony Campolo and Ron Sider. I wonder how reformed someone is who would recommend Manning. I would caution people to stay clear of his teachings.


----------



## Stephen

bookslover said:


> Stephen said:
> 
> 
> 
> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> He needs to keep writing - he's got all those alimony checks to write. He's been married - what? 5 times (at last count)?
> 
> Every time Lindsey sets pen to paper he sets the serious study of eschatology back ten years!
Click to expand...


I believe, if he is still married, he is currently living with his third wife. He is trice an adulterer and has no connection to a church.


----------



## Stephen

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> I almost forgot about Brennan Manning. I thought I had repressed the memory of reading this book, The Ragamuffin Gospel.



Keep repressing that memory. It will do your soul good.


----------



## LadyCalvinist

What is the worst book I have ever read? There were so many. 
Does Anyone remember the _Joshua _ books by Joseph Girzone? 
Bad, very bad.
But the worst book I tried to get through is _When God was taken captive _by Willard Aldritch. Totally Arminian, he says we are able to obey the Gospel;  he has never heard of Total Depravity, Orgininal Sin and quite possibly the book of Romans.


----------



## Stephen

Timothy William said:


> I remembered another one - _The Power of Positive Thinking_ by Norman Vincent Peale. My mother made me read it when I was about 15 - apparently my attitude was too negative. While she may have had a point about my attitude, reading that book certainly didn't help. I wasn't a believer at that stage, and wasn't converted until I was 19, but I could already see that the nonsense Peale was peddling wasn't the Gospel, nor did it make any logical sense. Unfortunately the book turned me into more of a cynic than I already was.




Him and Schuller were great buddies. Peale was an RCA minister, who had influence on many of the RCA ministers of his generation, and was a regular speaker at conferences for the Unity cult in Kansas City. If you read his material (if you don't vomit) he is heavily into Religious Science and some of the teaching that effected the Fillmores who founded Unity School of "Christianiy" headquarted in Lee's Summitt, Missouri. Now we know why the RCA has fallen into apostacy.


----------



## TimV

Lincoln Money Martyred. A conspiracy buff had me read it to open my eyes to the truth. Authored by R.E. Search (I'm serious). Some guy delves into the National Archives and discovers our money system is secretly run by a hand full of Jews, and when Lincoln found out they killed him. His main proof was a ghost that appeared in the last chapter to fill in the blanks of his research.

The second was The Trail of Blood by JM Caroll. The Landmark Baptist account of history.

The third is The New Testament Church by Bill Downing, a Reformed Baptist pastor in the San Jose CA area. It's also a Landmark Baptist type historical account of how the Baptists have survived pure through out the ages in the form of the Paulatians, Bogomils, etc...

The fourth was Hal Lindsay's The Road To Holocaust which blames Christianity and Christian Reconstruction specifically for the killing and future killing of innocent Jews.

Then there are the works of Bonhoeffer, which I don't like because I don't understand them and I've tried to.


----------



## greenbaggins

InevitablyReformed said:


> greenbaggins said:
> 
> 
> 
> _What St. Paul Really Said_, by N.T. Wright
> 
> The last two volumes of Westermann's Genesis commentary
> 
> _The Call of Grace_, by Norman Shepherd
> 
> _The Covenantal Gospel_, by Cornelis van der Waal
> 
> _A Faith That Is Never Alone_, edited by Andrew Sandlin
> 
> _Women in the Church_, by Grenz and Kjesbo
> 
> _The Federal Vision_, by Wilkins and Garner
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rev,
> 
> I think I know why you put these in here, but worse than _Purpose Driven Lifeor something by Osteen? Given the mass circulation of the Warren, Osteen, Hinn garbage--aren't they far more misleading? I guess what I'm asking is: Are widely circulated Osteen books worse than books by Norman Shepherd that 98 % of people in the world have never and would never pick up? Just curious. Thanks._
Click to expand...

_

I am sure that, in terms of impact, you are quite right. I was only referring to books I had actually read. I haven't read (and will not read!) the ones you have mentioned. As Martin Snyder said, I don't even have enough time to read all the good books._


----------



## jaybird0827

Ivan said:


> Anybody ever hear of C.S. Lovett?
> 
> Hew boy....those were stinkers.


 
Yeah, Dealing with the Devil. That was my first clue that all is not well with Christian bookstores. In the mid-70's mind you. I don't think I read more than 20 or 30 pages before I tore it up. Yeah, I know, that many???


----------



## lwadkins

greenbaggins said:


> I am sure that, in terms of impact, you are quite right. I was only referring to books I had actually read. I haven't read (and will not read!) the ones you have mentioned. As Martin Snyder said, I don't even have enough time to read all the good books.



Amen to that, and I can't read with the intensity that I once did. I must be getting old.


----------



## FenderPriest

I saw a couple people list _Desiring God_ by Piper as the worst, or near worst, book they ever read. Could you guys explain that? Thanks!


----------



## caddy

DMcFadden said:


> *Chosen but Free* has to be up there somewhere.
> 
> Also *ANY *"book" by Osteen.


 
I would agree...but there are some useful quotes of the church father's in Chosen but Free ! Alas, my dog chewed it up. God's providence I imagine.

Also anything by John Eldredge. I could barely stomach "Wild at Heart."


----------



## caddy

No Longer A Libertine said:


> I recollect my mom checking out a copy of "Everybody Poops" when I was three and I found it quite patronizing.


 

LOL


----------



## caddy

Timothy William said:


> I remembered another one - _The Power of Positive Thinking_ by Norman Vincent Peale. My mother made me read it when I was about 15 - apparently my attitude was too negative. While she may have had a point about my attitude, reading that book certainly didn't help. I wasn't a believer at that stage, and wasn't converted until I was 19, but I could already see that the nonsense Peale was peddling wasn't the Gospel, nor did it make any logical sense. Unfortunately the book turned me into more of a cynic than I already was.


 
I think Peale's book blazed a trail in the Christian _Self Help _Genre_._

_*** Which reminds me of a scene from blazing saddles **** ( can of beans, not worms )_


----------



## Pilgrim's Progeny

caddy said:


> Timothy William said:
> 
> 
> 
> I remembered another one - _The Power of Positive Thinking_ by Norman Vincent Peale. My mother made me read it when I was about 15 - apparently my attitude was too negative. While she may have had a point about my attitude, reading that book certainly didn't help. I wasn't a believer at that stage, and wasn't converted until I was 19, but I could already see that the nonsense Peale was peddling wasn't the Gospel, nor did it make any logical sense. Unfortunately the book turned me into more of a cynic than I already was.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think Peale's book blazed a trail in the Christian _Self Help _Genre_._
> 
> _*** Which reminds me of a scene from blazing saddles **** ( can of beans, not worms )_
Click to expand...


They have a clip on You tube, type in Blazing Saddles, top of the list


----------



## PuritanCovenanter

greenbaggins said:


> Contra Marcion said:
> 
> 
> 
> _New Age Bible Versions_, by Gail Riplinger. Even my KJV-only friends were embarrassed at this one. Her arguments are silly at best, and shamefully dishonest at worst. Why, one wonders, would anyone seriously read a book on textual issues written by someone with a home economics degree, and who knows neither of the Biblical languages? ( I had to for a class).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I totally forgot this book! Great example! I went through the first fifty pages, and documented all the factual errors in her quotations of the modern versions. Constantly, she misrepresented the facts, by saying that "the modern versions say x," when only one of them did, and the rest agreed with the KJV! She made the differences far greater than they actually are. Furthermore, she has no hermeneutical training, and so she misrepresents other differences as well. I had a 13 page document when I was done, ripping her book to shreds. James White has quite adequately answered her as well.
Click to expand...


Remember Peter Ruckman...... I have a commentary that was given to me by someone on the book of Exodus. It isn't a commentary on the book per se. It is a critique of everyone else's views on the book. LOL

This guy has to know he is a liar concerning manuscript history.


----------



## PuritanCovenanter

jaybird0827 said:


> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> 
> Anybody ever hear of C.S. Lovett?
> 
> Hew boy....those were stinkers.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, Dealing with the Devil. That was my first clue that all is not well with Christian bookstores. In the mid-70's mind you. I don't think I read more than 20 or 30 pages before I tore it up. Yeah, I know, that many???
Click to expand...


Remember His book... Help Lord, The Devil wants me fat! 


Dealing with the Devil and that one were big when I was in the Navy many moons ago.


----------



## DMcFadden

Stephen said:


> bookslover said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Stephen said:
> 
> 
> 
> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> He needs to keep writing - he's got all those alimony checks to write. He's been married - what? 5 times (at last count)?
> 
> Every time Lindsey sets pen to paper he sets the serious study of eschatology back ten years!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I believe, if he is still married, he is currently living with his third wife. He is trice an adulterer and has no connection to a church.
Click to expand...


???

Is it three? I came across part of his bio on the internet. Is it inaccurate?

Jan - Second wife, worked together in Campus Crusade (mother of his three grown children).

Kim - Third wife (on back cover of Planet Earth - 2000; sister of author Johanna Michaelsen)

JoLyn, Fourth wife????, a member of Tetelestai and in a Bible class taught by Lindsey when she was evidently "discovered" by Hal.


----------



## DMcFadden

Stephen said:


> bookslover said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Stephen said:
> 
> 
> 
> Late Great Planet Earth by that greatest scholar of all time, Hal Lindsey.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> He needs to keep writing - he's got all those alimony checks to write. He's been married - what? 5 times (at last count)?
> 
> Every time Lindsey sets pen to paper he sets the serious study of eschatology back ten years!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I believe, if he is still married, he is currently living with his third wife. He is trice an adulterer and has no connection to a church.
Click to expand...


???

Is it three? I came across this bio on the internet.

Converted after first marriage broke up.

Jan - Second wife, worked together in Campus Crusade (mother of his three grown children).

Kim - Third wife (on back cover of Planet Earth - 2000; sister of author Johanna Michaelsen)

JoLyn, Fourth wife????, a member of Tetelestai and in a Bible class taught by Lindsey when she was evidently "discovered" by Hal.


----------



## Stephen

DMcFadden said:


> Stephen said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> bookslover said:
> 
> 
> 
> He needs to keep writing - he's got all those alimony checks to write. He's been married - what? 5 times (at last count)?
> 
> Every time Lindsey sets pen to paper he sets the serious study of eschatology back ten years!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I believe, if he is still married, he is currently living with his third wife. He is trice an adulterer and has no connection to a church.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> ???
> 
> Is it three? I came across part of his bio on the internet. Is it inaccurate?
> 
> Jan - Second wife, worked together in Campus Crusade (mother of his three grown children).
> 
> Kim - Third wife (on back cover of Planet Earth - 2000; sister of author Johanna Michaelsen)
> 
> JoLyn, Fourth wife????, a member of Tetelestai and in a Bible class taught by Lindsey when she was evidently "discovered" by Hal.
Click to expand...


Really? I was not aware that he was married a fourth time. So much for church discipline.


----------



## DMcFadden

Stephen said:


> DMcFadden said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Stephen said:
> 
> 
> 
> I believe, if he is still married, he is currently living with his third wife. He is trice an adulterer and has no connection to a church.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ???
> 
> Is it three? I came across part of his bio on the internet. Is it inaccurate?
> 
> Jan - Second wife, worked together in Campus Crusade (mother of his three grown children).
> 
> Kim - Third wife (on back cover of Planet Earth - 2000; sister of author Johanna Michaelsen)
> 
> JoLyn, Fourth wife????, a member of Tetelestai and in a Bible class taught by Lindsey when she was evidently "discovered" by Hal.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Really? I was not aware that he was married a fourth time. So much for church discipline.
Click to expand...


You only need to be a "one woman" man when you are an elder. Hal is a celebrity.  And, by the way, I don't KNOW that he is married 4 times, merely that some bio information on the Internet mentions his fourth wife???


----------



## Stephen

DMcFadden said:


> Stephen said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DMcFadden said:
> 
> 
> 
> ???
> 
> Is it three? I came across part of his bio on the internet. Is it inaccurate?
> 
> Jan - Second wife, worked together in Campus Crusade (mother of his three grown children).
> 
> Kim - Third wife (on back cover of Planet Earth - 2000; sister of author Johanna Michaelsen)
> 
> JoLyn, Fourth wife????, a member of Tetelestai and in a Bible class taught by Lindsey when she was evidently "discovered" by Hal.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Really? I was not aware that he was married a fourth time. So much for church discipline.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> You only need to be a "one woman" man when you are an elder. Hal is a celebrity.  And, by the way, I don't KNOW that he is married 4 times, merely that some bio information on the Internet mentions his fourth wife???
Click to expand...


It is a consolation that he has only had one at a time


----------



## Vonnie Dee

The worst book I have ever read was "A Divine Revelation of Hell" or something like that. Mary Baxter said that she left her body and spent time in Hell so that she could come and tell us about it (for just $9.99). Her trip to hell was so profitable, she took another trip. This one was to heaven. I ordered it from CBD for a book club that I belonged to at the time.  I didn't take her second trip with her though.


----------



## matthew11v25

christianyouth said:


> I agree with Davidius, that the Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee could be the worse book ever written.
> 
> One that is worse, is ANYTHING by Andrew Murray.



serious???


----------



## jaybird0827

PuritanCovenanter said:


> jaybird0827 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> 
> Anybody ever hear of C.S. Lovett?
> 
> Hew boy....those were stinkers.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, Dealing with the Devil. That was my first clue that all is not well with Christian bookstores. In the mid-70's mind you. I don't think I read more than 20 or 30 pages before I tore it up. Yeah, I know, that many???
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Remember His book... Help Lord, The Devil wants me fat!
> 
> 
> Dealing with the Devil and that one were big when I was in the Navy many moons ago.
Click to expand...

 
Help Lord, The Devil wants me fat!

I didn't know he wrote THAT. Figures.


----------



## Ivan

jaybird0827 said:


> PuritanCovenanter said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> jaybird0827 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, Dealing with the Devil. That was my first clue that all is not well with Christian bookstores. In the mid-70's mind you. I don't think I read more than 20 or 30 pages before I tore it up. Yeah, I know, that many???
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Remember His book... Help Lord, The Devil wants me fat!
> 
> 
> Dealing with the Devil and that one were big when I was in the Navy many moons ago.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Help Lord, The Devil wants me fat!
> 
> I didn't know he wrote THAT. Figures.
Click to expand...


I can't remember the title of the book I read in late 60's, but it was something like _Evangelism Made Easy_. The book tells how to manipulate people in making a decision for Christ. It actually gave step-by-step instructions on every little thing to do. I'd been a Christian for only a few years but I knew even at the time is was horrible.


----------



## PuritanCovenanter

Vonnie Dee said:


> The worst book I have ever read was "A Divine Revelation of Hell" or something like that. Mary Baxter said that she left her body and spent time in Hell so that she could come and tell us about it (for just $9.99). Her trip to hell was so profitable, she took another trip. This one was to heaven. I ordered it from CBD for a book club that I belonged to at the time.  I didn't take her second trip with her though.




Isn't that the book where hell is shaped in the form of a body of a man?


----------



## Calvin'scuz

ANYTHING by Joyce Meyer or Kenneth Copeland.


----------



## KMK

Guido's Brother said:


> The worst I've read recently was William P. Young's the Shack. An awful, awful book.



Yuck. I had to read it because a parishoner asked my opinion. It was poorly written and very confusing? What exactly is the author's intention? I really don't understand what all the hoopla is about.


----------



## puritan lad

The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzaro. The ultimate work for the modern "therapy gospel".


----------



## kvanlaan

_Your Best Life Now_. Before I come under discipline for this lapse in judgment, I want to say that I started it, couldn't bear it, and burnt it in my front yard. Needless to say, the smoke didn't rise skyward...


----------



## christianyouth

I hate to say it, but after finishing _Vintage Jesus_ by Mark Driscoll, this has to be in my top 4.


----------



## JM

The last couple of books by Stuart Woods, what happened to this guy? His stories are always over the top and ridiculous, but his last book was pure drivel.


----------



## KMK

kvanlaan said:


> _Your Best Life Now_. Before I come under discipline for this lapse in judgment, I want to say that I started it, couldn't bear it, and burnt it in my front yard. Needless to say, the smoke didn't rise skyward...


----------



## ReformedSinner

I've read the "Search for the Historical Jesus" guys and I have to say they are a complete waste of time.


----------



## Cotton Mather

1. Dispensatonalism Today-Charles Ryrie
2. The Holy Spirit- Charles Ryrie
3. A New Kind of Christian- Brian McLaren
4. Who Needs Theology?- Roger Olsen and Stan Grenz
5. God's Blueprint For the Church- Kenneth Good

I attended an undergraduate institution where all of these books were required readings at one point or another. Ryrie's books consitute my top choices. His Childish grammar, bad syntax, historical revision, logical fallacies, hermeneutical gymnastics, and strawman argumentation put him at the top of the list.


----------



## caddy

kvanlaan said:


> _Your Best Life Now_. Before I come under discipline for this lapse in judgment, I want to say that I started it, couldn't bear it, and burnt it in my front yard. *Needless to say, the smoke didn't rise skyward..*.


 
LOL


----------



## queenknitter

christianyouth said:


> One that is worse, is ANYTHING by Andrew Murray.



OH! I had to commiserate with you on this one. UGHUGHUGH!! 

I have a love-hate relationship with bad books. I tend to groan my way through them, but I can't put them down. It's like a literary MST3K.

Andrew Murray is pretty stinky.

And those _Left Behind_ books were pivotal in making me see dispensationalism for what it's worth. I threw away my adherence to that system when I threw the last book in a truck stop trash can.

But right now, the worst book I've read in the recent past is _Changed Into His Image_ by Jim Berg. Long story, but that is one bad book! 

C


----------



## FenderPriest

A few months ago I started reading Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse. I had to stop reading it about 1/3 way through due to horrible content. I liked the story, and the themes, but the content was too sexually explicit for me to wade through anymore. So, it's the worst book I've read recently... on the whole, I avoid bad books.


----------



## moral necessity

A Cry In The Wilderness - Keith Green
The Christian's Secret Of A Happy Life - Hannah Whitall Smith
Charles Finney On Faith


----------



## servantofmosthigh

John Eldridge's _Wild At Heart_.
While the wider Reformed and Conservative audience deride and lampoon Eldridge's book, what the wider Reformed and Conservative audience do not know are the seminary scholars and theologians who were the ones laying the bad doctrinal seeds. In many cases, bad doctrine doesn't start with the author or pastor, but starts with the seminary professor. And in Eldridge's case, and in the case for _Wild At Heart_, this would be a former GGBTS and Fuller Seminary professor, James William McClendon. His 3-volume _Systematic Theology_, in my opinion, is a must-read for pastors, scholars, and serious laymen who want to understand the premise and arguments from "the other side."

James William McClendon is also the doctrinal founder to shape and influence Brian McLaren. McClendon's work also shaped Grenz to change his theology. (Any work by Stanley Grenz prior to 1993 are solid works. But starting in 1993, Grenz's theology started following McClendon's line of thought).


----------



## annmarie

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

Such a disappointing read. It made the Proverbs 31 woman seem so unattainable for a Christian woman.


----------



## danmpem

KMK said:


> Guido's Brother said:
> 
> 
> 
> The worst I've read recently was William P. Young's the Shack. An awful, awful book.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yuck. I had to read it because a parishoner asked my opinion. It was poorly written and very confusing? What exactly is the author's intention? I really don't understand what all the hoopla is about.
Click to expand...


I just finished reading it. Besides Pilgrim's Progress, it is the only Christian fiction book I've ever read. I don't think it would have been half as bad if Young (or Mac) wasn't claiming that the story was true.


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## servantofmosthigh

servantofmosthigh said:


> John Eldridge's _Wild At Heart_.
> While the wider Reformed and Conservative audience deride and lampoon Eldridge's book, what the wider Reformed and Conservative audience do not know are the seminary scholars and theologians who were the ones laying the bad doctrinal seeds. In many cases, bad doctrine doesn't start with the author or pastor, but starts with the seminary professor. And in Eldridge's case, and in the case for _Wild At Heart_, this would be a former GGBTS and Fuller Seminary professor, James William McClendon. His 3-volume _Systematic Theology_, in my opinion, is a must-read for pastors, scholars, and serious laymen who want to understand the premise and arguments from "the other side."
> 
> James William McClendon is also the doctrinal founder to shape and influence Brian McLaren. McClendon's work also shaped Grenz to change his theology. (Any work by Stanley Grenz prior to 1993 are solid works. But starting in 1993, Grenz's theology started following McClendon's line of thought).



I should also further note that McClendon is the prelude to the Emergent Movement. Even Justin Taylor mentions in _Reclaiming The Center_ that McClendon is the theologian while McLaren is the pastor of the Emergent Movement.

This is why I mentioned in another post that bad doctrine is never isolated. If you trace it back by 20 years, what you may discover is that there is a common founding link that McLaren, Grenz, Emerging Movement, Eldridge, Risk-Taking God, Nancey Murphy, etc. all birthed from - and that fatherly link is McClendon.


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## danmpem

servantofmosthigh said:


> servantofmosthigh said:
> 
> 
> 
> John Eldridge's _Wild At Heart_.
> While the wider Reformed and Conservative audience deride and lampoon Eldridge's book, what the wider Reformed and Conservative audience do not know are the seminary scholars and theologians who were the ones laying the bad doctrinal seeds. In many cases, bad doctrine doesn't start with the author or pastor, but starts with the seminary professor. And in Eldridge's case, and in the case for _Wild At Heart_, this would be a former GGBTS and Fuller Seminary professor, James William McClendon. His 3-volume _Systematic Theology_, in my opinion, is a must-read for pastors, scholars, and serious laymen who want to understand the premise and arguments from "the other side."
> 
> James William McClendon is also the doctrinal founder to shape and influence Brian McLaren. McClendon's work also shaped Grenz to change his theology. (Any work by Stanley Grenz prior to 1993 are solid works. But starting in 1993, Grenz's theology started following McClendon's line of thought).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I should also further note that McClendon is the prelude to the Emergent Movement. Even Justin Taylor mentions in _Reclaiming The Center_ that McClendon is the theologian while McLaren is the pastor of the Emergent Movement.
> 
> This is why I mentioned in another post that bad doctrine is never isolated. If you trace it back by 20 years, what you may discover is that there is a common founding link that McLaren, Grenz, Emerging Movement, Eldridge, Risk-Taking God, Nancey Murphy, etc. all birthed from - and that fatherly link is McClendon.
Click to expand...


 This is interesting. I'm going to read into this further.


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## Marrow Man

I know that this is an old thread, but I just have to add my 

Anything by Henri Nouwen is awful. Actually, I'd only read _Wounded Healer_ until about a month ago. Then I had to read _Life of the Beloved_ for a class. When I finished, I told my wife that it was probably the worst book I've ever read.

And speaking of Grenz, I'm currently reading through his systematic theology (_Theology for the Community of God_) which isn't awful, but is quite spotty in more than a few places.

And dare I raise the name Leonard Sweet???


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## cornopean

CatechumenPatrick said:


> What is the worst book you've read recently, or in your lifetime?


anything by Lewis Smedes.


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## Roldan

"Essays on the Resurrection" by Sam Frost (Full Preterist book) 

"What love is this" Dave Hunt

"Systematic Theology" Wayne Grudem


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## panta dokimazete

KMK said:


> Guido's Brother said:
> 
> 
> 
> The worst I've read recently was William P. Young's the Shack. An awful, awful book.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yuck. I had to read it because a parishoner asked my opinion. It was poorly written and very confusing? What exactly is the author's intention? I really don't understand what all the hoopla is about.
Click to expand...


Challies did an extended review - give it to anyone that asks so you don't have to read it...


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## DMcFadden

Smedes was one of my profs in seminary. He was an artful, elegant, artistic author and preacher. Frankly, he drove me nuts as a prof. (Plus he didn't like my writing style one bit).


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## DMcFadden

Roldan said:


> "Essays on the Resurrection" by Sam Frost (Full Preterist book)
> 
> "What love is this" Dave Hunt
> 
> "Systematic Theology" Wayne Grudem



Hunt? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grudem? NO WAY!!!!!!!! I love a writer who tries to ground his theology in exegesis rather than abstract philosophy. One need not agree with all of his conclusions to appreciate the accomplishment of presenting essentially sound theology for a mass audience (250,000 copies in print). He has done almost as significant a job of popularizing as Sproul.


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## caddy

annmarie said:


> Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge
> 
> Such a disappointing read. It made the Proverbs 31 woman seem so unattainable for a Christian woman.


 


joshua said:


> I have to agree with Mr. Shin and Miss Ann concerning Eldredge.


 
Here here! Eldredge is horrible! I have ONLY read _Wild at Heart_. I couldn't stomach reading anything else by him. Life's too short and there are too many good books out there to waste time on stuff like this. I read it knowing it was going to be bad. I needed to be able to write an informed review to a freind.  




This one hits it on the head:
http://www.churchofthegoodshepherd.info/WAHcritique.htm

Others:

http://www.csu.ruf.org/News/NewsStory.aspx?guid=1fd15ff3-ef28-458d-8f2d-1e316a70bae3

http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/reviews/john_eldredges_wild_at_heart_a/


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## caddy

JM said:


> .


 
Great avatar by the way JM!








http://webpages.charter.net/caddy/dostoevsky.jpg


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## Roldan

DMcFadden said:


> Roldan said:
> 
> 
> 
> "Essays on the Resurrection" by Sam Frost (Full Preterist book)
> 
> "What love is this" Dave Hunt
> 
> "Systematic Theology" Wayne Grudem
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hunt? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> Grudem? NO WAY!!!!!!!! I love a writer who tries to ground his theology in exegesis rather than abstract philosophy. One need not agree with all of his conclusions to appreciate the accomplishment of presenting essentially sound theology for a mass audience (250,000 copies in print). He has done almost as significant a job of popularizing as Sproul.
Click to expand...


Actually I felt like I wasted my time in reading his systematic but I guess we would have to disagree.


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