Night (1958, 2006) by Elie Wiesel, Book Review

Have you read Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning (1946) or Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl (1947)? If you have, then Night will be a good read too. It's a good read because it shows the level of human depravity and the sacredness of life. When Elie was a teenager, he and his family were taken from their home to one of the most horrible places in the memories of Jewish history, the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. The Holocaust. Nazi Genocide. Mass murder. Infants are being tossed into the furnace. "It is obvious that the war which Hitler and his accomplices waged was not only against Jewish men, women, and children," writes Elie, "but also against Jewish religion, Jewish culture, Jewish tradition, and therefore Jewish memory."

Night is both a fascinating read into the human psychology and theology of suffering but also a horrifying read (especially if you can somewhat imagine what you read) into the face of evil and devilish ideological systems. "Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never." But then again, it is a story—or a memoir—of hope and faith too. Read it!

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #TheHolocaust #HolocaustSurvivor #ElieWiesel #Suffering #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

Perhaps you're interested to read my short summary review of Victor Frankl's Man’s Search for Meaning, CLICK HERE

To read my other book reviews/summaries, CLICK HERE

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Very Short Reviews of Michael Green's The Message of Matthew & Larry Chouinard's Matthew NIV Commentary (Why and How to Use Bible Commentary)

 The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven (1988, 2000) by Michael Green

& Matthew: The College Press NIV Commentary (1997) by Larry Chouinard

I’ve finished 198 episodes of Bible study on the Gospel according to Matthew (check it out here: http://bit.ly/LegasiSpotify) in the Malaysian language and these two commentaries are very instrumental in helping me to think contextually about some difficult passages in this precious book. I’m biased but I truly believe that the Gospel according to Matthew is perhaps one of the most important books of the New Testament next to the Epistles to the Romans and Hebrews. In it, we have the fullest account of the birth, life, teaching, miracles, death, resurrection, divinity, and humanity of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. It is an excellent continuation after we read and study the Old Testament because the Jewishness of Matthew can be best understood in this context. As the saying attributed to Augustine of Hippo: “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” Matthew revealed the long-awaited Messiah foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament and expanded by the apostles in the New Testament. Matthew, in short, helps us to see the unity of God’s revelation from beginning to end.

As I have hinted earlier, Matthew is a very Jewish Gospel. This can be a challenging task for interpretation a.k.a. hermeneutics and many like myself - especially my earliest podcast episodes, I realized - probably have missed the mark. Perhaps errors, hopefully not heresies. Yes, getting so familiar with the Old Testament is a great advantage for Biblical backgrounds and theological truths (as another saying goes, “Scripture interprets Scripture”) but we also need to know the historical insights, textual research, and cultural understandings to bridge the gap between the world of Scripture and our world today. This is where good Bible commentaries are needed. My go-to commentary is always from The Bible Speaks Today series by Inter-Varsity Press. The Message of Matthew (323 pages), the late Dr. Michael Green is the expositor and author. I love this series because each book is characterized by a threefold ideal, namely, 1) To expound the biblical text with accuracy, 2) To relate it to contemporary life, and 3) to be readable. Dr. Green is faithful to these ideals. Plus, he has a vast knowledge of Jewish customs and manners and derives many practical applications from the texts. Larry Chouinard’s Matthew (512 pages), however, was unique in the sense that it is thorough and detailed without being too technical and academic. The Greek words are not distract-full and the footnotes are just essential. Sweet!

Let me end with a word of caution: Don’t read or depend on Bible commentaries more than the Bible itself. Don’t go to it first or second or third… go to the Bible first. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, authors of a classic book, How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, give excellent advice: “You do not begin your Bible study with a commentary… You go to the commentary after you have done your own work; the reason you eventually consult a commentary is to find answers to the content questions that have arisen in your own study.” When I prepare for Bible study, I make sure I’ve read the entire book (e.g. Matthew) first. I read from at least 2 to 3 translations such as ESV, NIV, NLT, AVB, and TB. Then, I meditate on the passage or chapter that I’m working on and come out with rough outlines. I will refer to cross-references, if any, and check by memory for connections. Usually, I have the big picture before I go with the details. Only afterward I will consult commentaries and other tools for second opinion, expertise, verification, correction, background, insights, and wisdom. But if I don’t have the clue (which rarely happens), I will go straight to commentary on the particular verse(s). Good Bible commentaries, if used wisely and properly, will add value to your personal Bible study, teaching, preaching, and even - thinking.

Tip: You can also read (and buy) pocket-size Bible commentaries like William Barclay's The New Daily Study Bible series or Tom Wright's For Everyone series or Warren Wiersbe's BE Series or my favorite, J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts series as any normal books. These are easy to read. Read them at your leisure and fill the well of your knowledge. They can be handy if you needed them!

Note: D. A. Carson’s Matthew: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John MacArthur’s sermon series on Matthew, and David Pawson's Unlocking the Bible overview also have been valuable resources for me. Thank you, gentlemen!

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #BibleCommentary #TheGospelOfMatthew #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my other reviews on Bible commentary, CLICK HERE

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Hitler (2012) by A. N. Wilson, Book Review

Hitler (2012) by A. N. Wilson

What's good about this book? Two things: it is a short biography (190 pages) and easy to read. But what's bad about it? Well, Adolf Hitler is a complex and perplex figure, a short biography will surely somehow reduce rich historical stories into some oversimplified ones (probably that's why I love the large volume of Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs. One of the finest biographies). Having said that, I enjoyed reading this book as a whole. I always wonder why and how Hitler rise to power from unimpressive failed-artist to der Führer ("the leader") of German. This book - briefly - explained it.

Hitler was born on 20th April 1889 in a city named Braunau am Inn in the country of Austria. His family moved around some, living a short while in Germany and then back to Austria. Hitler did not have a happy childhood. Both his parents died fairly young and many of his brothers and sisters died as well. He came from a broken family, very few good relationships, and an average (almost to untalented, physically weak) man. But he had few abilities and it was these which carried him along. Wilson writes, "Chief and greatest of his gifts was the capacity to speak in public, a gift which had laid dormant throughout his tongue-tied youth." Along with that, he also has a "skill at political manipulation" and a "taste for violence." After he joined the Nazi he was elected Chancellor of Germany, and then after a few years only, he became the Dictator. To the Germans, at first, he was thought of as the saviour ✔

Hitler was responsible for some of the most horrible crimes committed in human history, namely, the Holocaust and ethnic cleansing. He hated Jewish people and wanted to exterminate them from Germany. He forced Jewish people to go to concentration camps where about 6 million Jews were killed during World War II. It was the dark history of European anti-Semitism. He also had other people and races he didn't like killed including handicapped people. He became more violent, and thus created more enemies. At the end of his life, he has no peace and he died as a failure. Nowadays, if you think evil, you'll think of Hitler. A false saviour ✖

[Ps: Mein Kampf ("My Struggle") is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Adolf Hitler. A bible for the Nazis. This is the only complete book that he wrote. It is filled with anti-Semitism, meaning "hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group." It was the most prevalent sentiment in Europe during his time. In 2016, Mein Kampf became a best-seller. And guess what? Our own Popular Malaysia Bookstore is selling many copies of this book... My question is this: Why Popular intentionally print Mein Kampf, Hitler's book? And why Popular desire to sell to the masses? (If Popular just sells the book, no problem. But why purposefully print it under Popular?)] 😏😒😑

#ServeToLead #1Book1Week #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain #LeadersAreReaders #AdolfHitler #Biography

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