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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

22 - Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis, Tim Towsend, 421 pages

In August, I started a list of summer reading books by Al Mohler of Southern Seminary found here:

http://www.albertmohler.com/2014/05/27/ten-books-for-eager-reading-the-2014-summer-reading-list-revised/

To date, I've read 5 of them ("Strange Glory," which I've already written a book review for was the first) but I'm pressing through it. According to Mohler, he says of the list:

"There is also an unapologetic tilt toward a reading list for men in this list."

And the story of Henry Gerecke and his role in the Nuremberg trials defiantly fits into this category. At the conclusion of WWII, there were multiple concessions made to amend the atrocities during the course of the long war. The Nazi regime that was in place was dismantled and it's leadership was taken into prison to wait for their trial. This was the beginning of what has become known as the "Nuremberg trials." Henry Gerecke, a Lutheran United States Army Chaplain, was assigned to the prisoners because he knew German. Throughout the book, it details his life before, during and after his service in the Chaplancy with most of the attention on his role at the Nuremberg trials.
During this unique ministry, Gerecke came into contact with some of the biggest murderers of the war, which presents an interesting theme that surrounds the book. How could these men receive forgiveness for their actions? One such man was Rudolf Hoss, the camp commander for the Auschwitz concentration camp. According to Hoss' testimony, he thought that perhaps 3 million people (Jews, Soviets, invalids, and minorities) lost their lives. But Gerecke's ministry there did not go unnoticed. Four days before his death, he said this:

"My conscience compels me to make the following declaration. In the solitude of my prison cell I have come to the bitter recognition that I have sinned gravely against humanity. As Commandant of Auschwitz I was responsible for carrying out part of the cruel plans of the 'Third Reich' for human destruction. In so doing I have inflicted terrible wounds on humanity. I caused unspeakable suffering for the Polish people in particular. I am to pay for this with my life. May the Lord God forgive one day what I have done."

After the trials, Gerecke was labeled as a "Nazi lover" back in America. But the lack of sympathy escapes one of the biggest theological reasons we, as Christians, have an obligation to men such as these: in basic anthropological theology, the Bible states that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." What makes Hoss better than the next guy according to the mandates of a Holy God? Not much. Please do not take this as an excuse for his actions: the murder of millions of people is never condoned according to the Christian worldview (in fact, just the opposite). But rather, Gerecke had a spirit of helping those who were not able to understand spiritual things come to terms with them no matter what condition they were in. This empathy is one which Christians should universally adopt even in the circumstances that clouded the trials at Nuremberg. This was the main point of the book I think, and a delightful read that stimulated and challenged by own perception of the Christians duty in todays world.

21 - Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk, 208 pages


So I've been recommended "Fight Club" by several different individuals. Even after seeing the movie, I thought I would give it a read to see the differences. And there are some, as is the tendency with books-to-movies.

I wonder if the themes of Fight Club the book and the movie are similar however. To be frank, the movie was very well done in keeping true to the premise of the book. The themes must, therefore, be similar and I think they are. What I think the overall theme of the book is must be the fragility of life and to "seize the day," Carpe Diem. There is a scene in the book (also in the movie) where Tyler Durden pulls a man working at a convince store outside and puts a gun to his head. He asks him why he stopped going to college. He gives some excuse and Tyler threatens him that if he isn't enrolled in school the next time he sees him, he will kill him. While harsh, the point does not go unnoticed: live life like it's your last.

The other major theme revolves around the culture of men in our society. At the beginning of the book, the central character (unnamed in the book) is living in a high rise apartment building full of Ikea furniture (which becomes an obsession for him) and going to seminars for various diseases he doesn't have. The book has an underlying theme that suggests that men have been emasculated in our society. We are now house-keepers, never taking a chance or experiencing something incredible but fine with the microcosm of the mundane. In the most revealing scene arguing for this point, the main character goes to a support group for men with testicular cancer and meets a man who literally has been emasculated due his cancer treatment and now has large fat deposits around his pectoral muscles (in the vernacular, "man-boobs"). This man later dies in efforts for "project mayhem," but the idea is not lost: he seized the day and lived his life to the fullest, for something meaningful. But I'm getting ahead of myself: the main character meets a man named Tyler Durden. Tyler tells the main character one day to hit him as hard as he can. They start fighting and start a "club" called, "Fight Club." This effort is a subtle ploy in the overarching message of the emasculation of men to regain their manhood. Not to say that fighting "makes" you a man per-sey, but rather it is the concept of the return to embodying what a man is.

I'm not sure if this is what the author intended, but I definitely see that as I looked back on this book. I'm not sure if I would recommend this book. It is full of interesting anecdotes that might be considered inappropriate. In this same way, there is a bit of coarse language that makes me apprehensive about a recommendation. 

Friday, September 12, 2014

20 - 1984, George Orwell, 304 pages


1984 is a book about a near-future dystopian world where nothing is secret from the government. The theme of book is an illustration of what can happen in a totalitarian system of government, much like North Korea today.

My impressions from this book are numerous so I will shed some insight onto a few areas that impacted me most. A large part of the book is dedicated to the travails of censorship. Winston Smith, the main protagonist, works in the "Ministry of Truth" which edits newspaper articles whenever the government changes it's mind. For example, the nation Oceania has been at war with Eurasia for years, until the government decided that it was at war with Eastasia. Winston's job is to go through all the previous articles written about the war with Eurasia and change it to Eastasia.  

I particularly enjoyed the ending (so if you haven't read the book and would not like a spoiler.. stop reading!). Winston gets captured by the thought police and gets taken in for "retraining." Here, the antagonist of the story tells Winston that in previous generations, the way to deal with people who did not conform to the government were just imprisoned. Ideologically, this did not correct the thinking of those people, but rather made it fester for years. Under the government in 1984, those who think counter to the government are subjected to torture until they relinquish to thinking that is aligned with the reigning powers. So Winston under goes a torture experience that is an allegory for the Soviet methods. One popular one was the phrase "2+2=5." Apparently, the Soviets used this tactic to convince people that if the government said that 2+2=5, then that is how it is. Orwell also discusses the importance of the "war" efforts that were inherently fictitious. This is interesting because nationalism is a large theme in 1984. The purpose of the war efforts were to convince subjects to rally around an opposing force and thus propagate the reputation of the government. Lastly, the turning point at the end of the book was the denunciation of his love for Julia, an intimate mate whom he met. He was faced with a torture of facing his worst fear (rats) and betrayed her. This was the final straw in his re-education, showing that the one thing that he believed in was no longer important.

Overall, Orwell's book brings about several topics that are applicable in our society today: that of censorship, nationalism, etc. These reappear throughout history and will continue to impact our thoughts into the future.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

19 - Animal Farm, George Orwell, 113 pages

So this year I've read a lot of books that have to do with communism. For some reason, reading about this subject is really quite fascinating. I have been chugging through a book, "The Russian Revolution" since May, and I'm only half-way through but reading that as a preface to Animal Farm has been beneficial. Animal Farm is not strictly about communism per-sey, but Stalinist Communism in particular. It is a political commentary veiled beneath a story about farm animals about the Russian Revolution, the ensuing take over of Communists like Lenin, and the rise of the Stalinist Communism and critique of his policies.


In the story, an old pig named "Old Major" (who represents Karl Marx) gathers the animals to talk about "Animalism" (Communism). After he dies, they chase Mr. Jones, the human caretaker of the animals, off the farm for good. This is symbolic of pre-revolution Russia and Mr. Jones portrays the Tsar, Nicholas, and the concept of democracy. After the revolution, they adopt seven rules of Animalism, the most important is of course, "all animals are equal." Two pigs (the smartest on the farm) incite the revolution and inherit leadership after Mr. Jones is chased off, Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky and Napoleon, Stalin. Things go well on the farm in the months proceeding the revolution: Snowball teaches the animals how to read and write, food is plentiful and in general things are run smoothly. Snowball gathers the animals to announce they are going to build a windmill, which angers Napoleon and he uses the dogs to chase Snowball off. After the regime change, many things go awry. Napoleon changes all the rules to benefit the elite status of the pigs. For example, the most important rule in Napoleon's rule is "all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others." A savage killing spree takes place one meeting to all the animals who have opposed Napoleon (reminiscent of the Red Terror that Stalin enacted that claimed the lives of millions of people). Napoleon decides to funnel all efforts into building the windmill he opposed. Eventually, the pigs start acting like humans, walking on hind legs and drinking alcohol (breaking two of the original seven rules and after changing them to allow the elite pigs the authority to do such things). In the end, the humans and the pigs become indistinguishable.

George Orwell was a committed Communist who opposed the Stalinist regime. Understanding that Animal Farm is not a critique of Communism but one of Stalin is essential in the underpinning message. But in my own view, this is simply a commentary on what happens, no matter the ideology, when one is given too much power. Under the auspices of Communism, "all people are created equal." It is curious, then, to see the social elite in nations like China and the Soviet union twist this notion to "all people are created equal, but some are created more equal." The rich lifestyles of Communist leaders (see Kim Jong Un) defeats the very nature of what Communism intends to create. It is much like other systems of government that intend one thing but are corrupted by power (see Vladimir Putin and modern day Russia).

Regardless of whether you agree with Orwell about Communism, this is a spot on allegory of the events that took place in Soviet Russia.

18 - Without Remorse, Tom Clancy, 652 pages


Ever since reading Rainbow 6, I was captivated by Clancy's literary style. I was recommended to read "Without Remorse" which chronicles the beginnings of John Kelley, or John Clark, the CIA mastermind behind Rainbow 6. It was a fitting novel to follow up Rainbow because it tells the backstory of the main protagonist.

As we have discussed, some fiction novels do not always have a coherent message behind them: some are purely for entertainment purposes. This novel however, is chock full of subtle political and social messages. Essentially, the novel begins with John Kelley picking up a strange women who joins Kelley on his boat and home. We later find out that she is a prostitute that has escaped her captors who provide her with involuntary drugs. He falls in love with her but she dies when they go to stake out the old stomping grounds. This enrages Kelley and he goes on a rampage to end the lives of her captors. 

At the same time, Vietnam is still raging on in the Pacific. Kelley was a Master Chief Petty Officer with the Seals but has fulfilled his obligations to his country and is living the civilian life. His shadowed past included an operation that put his life in grave danger in the jungles of Vietnam. He trekked through miles of a river to a base deep in enemy territory to rescue a fellow Seal. Sometime in the book after he retired, the CIA approaches Kelley to help guide another team into the same base where the Soviets and North Koreans are holding POW's with vital national security information. 

Right off the bat, there is a signification moral issue that arises in this book: "Is it a moral obligation to right something you know is wrong?" In the case of Kelley's lover, he knows that more women are being held captive by these evil men. When he starts murdering them systematically and rescuing the imprisoned women (dropping them off at nurses house), a moral conflict is raised by those who are informed of the situation: is Kelley justified in exacting vengeance outside of the law when he knows there is evil being committed? Perfectly mirrored by the conflict in Vietnam, as a superior fighting force and a nation with the power to intervene, were we (are we) obligated to engage in foreign war by military intervention when we know there are atrocities happening in the country? 

This interplay between the two stories is quite captivating. The book does a great job between dishing out a fantastic story while interweaving a complex socio-political message underneath. I am sure this will not be the last Clancy book I read!

17 - John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock, Iain Murray, 264 pages

It's about time I start updating my ever growing book list.. again. I've read about 33 books putting me on track for the year, but have yet to write all my reviews.

I read "Servant of the Word and Flock" a couple of months ago but this book still sticks out in my mind. I have long associated with John MacArthur with a kind of spiritual father: it was through his ministry at Grace to You that led to my belated salvation. So I'm very grateful for him and his ministry but also incredibly impacted by his teaching. I took up this book with interest to understand why this man has become so influential in modern day Evangelical Christianity.

That being said, several things stick out right away. Something about reading biographies of great Christian men help spurn on enthusiasm for radically altering your own life's routine. What struck me about Dr. MacArthur was his personal study. Before becoming the pastor of Grace Community Church, he told the elders he needed at least 30 hours a week of preparation time for his sermons. One of the most stunning moments of his career, I think, was the completion of his sermon series on Mark where he preached through the entire New Testament in a 30+ year time period. Obviously this man knows his bible.

Another defining moment in the book was the vast maturation of his radio ministry. Admittedly, this resonates particularly strong with me because I was impacted by the huge resource library available at Grace to You. Apparently, Dr. MacArthur was receiving letters from all over the world about how his sermons helped them in their spiritual life.

There are really many topics I could choose to talk about that make John MacArthur a great man: the building up his church from a few dozen people to over a thousand; the inception of Masters Seminary and it's growth; the focus on international missions, where John took an extended survey of South East Asian Churches in the 70's, among others.

When observing the massive legacy John MacArthur has imprinted on Evangelical Christianity in America, I believe he will be remembered as one of the great theologians of our time. For years he has faithfully built a reputation that is based on the inerrant word of God, the Bible, and has never caved to the pressures of modernity in our ever changing world. I definitely recommend Iain Murray's book to everyone interested in reading about this great man of the faith!