Tag Archives: Books

Announcements, Books

Now for something totally different

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Back in 2010, I wrote a short story for our three little girls, who at the time were 5, 6, and 8 years old.  Little did I realize how much they would enjoy that home-made book.  Here we are, five years later, and they still read it and reference it quite frequently.

It’s a story called “The Princess of Goodweather.”

Yep, there it is.  I’ve said it.  I wrote a story about a princess.  But at the same time, it’s also a story about what’s truly important in choosing a spouse (my girls didn’t ever realize I had some ulterior motives…).  It’s a story that shows it is what is inside that counts, and not what is outside.

There’s humor, there’s a sword fight, there’s a clumsy king who keeps getting hurt (who seems far too much like me…), and there’s a truly egotistical bad guy named Heese Vane.

As a surprise for our children, this book is now published professionally!  (and the cover art was done by them)

Princess of Goodweather (FRONT)

But there’s more!

This year (also as a surprise to our children), I wrote a sequel!  Shhh…don’t tell our kids.  They don’t know yet.

It’s called “Return to Goodweather.”

It’s a story that contains action (more sword-fighting!), intrigue, mystery, redemption, and humor.  It’s also a story that shows the need to put principles into practice.  You get to see love, hospitality, and forgiveness all put into practice.

Plus you get to read about the preacher’s “Killer” beef stew, the use of a frog to remove skunk-stink, and two men who have returned to Goodweather to “make things right.”

These books are fun little reads (Book one is 32 pages, Book two is 104 pages) which we think you’d enjoy.  If you’re looking for some good, clean reading material for your children (or grandchildren), we think these would fit the bill.  They are both written where a third or fourth grader could easily read it, but they’re also quite enjoyable for adults (especially if they’re reading them to children).

These books are now available on our website, or you can purchase them at Amazon.com.

 

Any orders placed this week will be delivered in time for Christmas

Books

The Pentateuch: Its Origin and Authorship

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This week’s additions to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary all have to do with defending the Bible against the skeptics who make claims that it is uninspired and/or severely corrupted.

Back in the late 1800s, it was popular for atheists to go around making claims that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) was full of mistakes and corruptions, and wasn’t even written until many years after Moses was dead.  By this, they tried to prove that it (1) wasn’t from God and that (2) it wasn’t written when/by whom it was claimed.

In response to these speeches, several responses were written by different men from different church backgrounds.  One such response is today’s free offering.  Written by H.L. Hastings, editor of “The Christian” newspaper and the “Anti-Infidel Library,” this booklet contains several solid lines of evidence showing the divine origin of Genesis through Deuteronomy, and also spends a lengthy chapter showing that the claims of mistakes and corruptions are overblown.

Originally printed in April of 1894 as part of the “Anti-Infidel Library,” we present to you

The Pentateuch: Its Origin and Authorship.

Contents

  • The Pentateuch: Its Origin and Authorship
  • Changes in Style and Language
  • Testing the Higher Critics on Shakespeare
  • The German Critics Tested
  • Time Notes and Foot Notes
  • One Independent Witness to the Authenticity and Great Antiquity of the Pentateuch.

As always, if you want to read this book online, just click the link below.  Or you can download it for later reading on your personal electronic device (Kindle, tablet, computer, iPhone, smart phone, etc…)

Enjoy!

The Pentateuch: Its Origin and Authorship (H.L. Hastings)

Books

The Corruptions of the New Testament

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H.L. Hastings was a prolific writer in the late 1800s, with literally millions of his booklets being published.  Most of them dealt with the topic of the reliability and inspiration of the Bible.  He put out a regular publication called “The Christian,” and a series of booklets called “The Anti-Infidel Library.”  Several of these booklets are on list to add to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary in the coming weeks.

But for now, we’d like to present to you his book called “The Corruptions of the New Testament.”  It shows that the claims of the skeptics are completely overblown when it comes to supposed “corruptions” of the New Testament text.

Contents

  • How Old Is The English Bible?.
  • Old Bibles In Other Languages.
  • Uncial And Cursive Manuscripts.
  • Various Readings.
  • The Most Ancient Manuscripts.
  • The Variations In Different Editions.
  • Various Readings In The Sermon On The Mount.
  • The Preservation Of The Manuscripts.
  • No Record Of Apostles’ Death.
  • What, Then, Are Our Conclusions?.
  • Genuine And Spurious Books.
  • Eusebius On The Sacred Canon,
  • The Testimony Of Origen On The Canon.
  • The Muratorian Fragment On The Canon.
  • The Earliest List Of The New Testament Books.
  • The Disputed New Testament Books.
  • The Epistle To The Hebrews.
  • The Conclusion Of The Matter.
  • The Fountain Head.

To read this book, simply click the link below, or you can download it to save for later reading.  Enjoy!

The Corruptions of the New Testament (H.L. Hasting)

Books

The Divinity of Jesus Christ

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The newest book in the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary is by Edward Scribner Ames, and was originally published in 1911.  It is a series of sermons all about Jesus Christ.

Special thanks goes to Stephen Scaggs who volunteered to proofread this one and took the time to find each Bible quotation and list the verse references (which are now included as footnotes).  Originally, the references weren’t given.

The sermons are as follows:

  1. The Divinity of Christ
  2. The Empirical View of Jesus
  3. Why I am Not a Unitarian
  4. The Friendship of Jesus
  5. The Reincarnation of Jesus
  6. Two or Three and Christ

As always, just click the link below to read this book online, or right-click it to download to your computer for later use.

The Divinity of Christ (Edward Scribner Ames)

Thank you!

Books

The Oliphant-Smith Debate

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In 1929, in Shawnee, Oklahoma (just 10 miles from The Cobb Six Headquarters), there was a debate held between W.L. Oliphant (Christian) and Charles Smith (atheist).  The propositions were:

  1. “There is a Supreme Being (God, Creator).”
  • Affirmative: W. L. OLIPHANT.
  • Negative: CHARLES SMITH.

 

  1. “Atheism is Beneficial to the Race, and is most conductive to Morality of any Theory Known to Man.”
  • Affirmative: CHARLES SMITH.
  • Negative: W. L. OLIPHANT.

 

  1. “All Things Exist as the Result of Evolution, Directed by no Intelligence.”
  • Affirmative: CHARLES SMITH.
  • Negative: W. L. OLIPHANT.

This book is available in print from us or from Amazon, but it is also being made freely available in a digital form as part of the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary.

To read the book online, just click the link below.  Or, if you want to download it to your computer/tablet/smartphone/whatever for later reading, simply right-click on the link below and “save target as…”

Oliphant-Smith Debate (1929)

Books

Why I Left …

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In 1949, a series of sermons were preached by different gospel preachers, all of whom had left something (usually a denomination) to become part of the church of the Bible.  This series was all about the topic: “Why I Left…”  After each lecture is a biographical sketch of the speaker.

  1. Why I Left the Christian Church (Floyd A. Decker)
  2. Why I Left The Presbyterian Church (Horace W. Busby)
  3. Why I Left The Baptist Church (Grover Stevens)
  4. Why I Left The Methodist Church (Claude B. Holcomb)
  5. Why I Left the Nazarene Church (Waymon D. Miller)
  6. Why I Left The Lutheran Church (Claude A. Guild)
  7. Why I Left the World (Luther Blackmon)
  8. Why I Left the Catholic Church (Joe Malone)
  9. Why I Left The Anti-Class Position (L.W. Hayhurst)

This is the latest addition to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary

To read this book online, simply click the link below.  Or, if you want to save it to your computer, just right-click on the link and “save target as.”

Why I Left

Books

A Baptist Biography of Alexander Campbell

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For those interested in the Restoration Movement, here’s a unique read that you’ve probably never seen.

In 1892, a Baptist “pastor” from Denver, CO, gave a series of sermons about “Seven Great Lights.”  That is, about seven religious figures in history that he thought were worthy of emulating.

Surprisingly, one of the men he chose was Alexander Campbell.

This is a short bio (just ten pages), but it’s interesting to see how he was viewed by at least one Baptist preacher.

We hope you enjoy it!

To read, simply click the link below (or right-click and save it for later reading).

Seven Great Lights (Campbell Bio)

Books

The Eldership

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One of the important parts of the early church, according to the Bible, was having trustworthy, godly men to serve as shepherds, overseers, bishops, elders.  All these names refer to the same office in the church.

The apostle Paul, along with Barnabas, made sure to ordain elders in each congregation that they had established and built up.  Timothy was given instructions on what to look for in a man who desired to be an elder.  Titus was left in Crete to ordain elders in each congregation.  Peter himself was even an elder in the church.

Suffice it to say, the eldership is an important biblical topic.

And that’s why today’s “THANK YOU” post contains another free book–this time on the subject of elders.

The Eldership, by M.M. Davis, was originally published in 1912, and was reprinted a few times after that.  Even though it is over a hundred years old, it is still full of plain Bible teaching on this subject.  And it’s not really all that long, either, so don’t think you’re going to have to trudge through some extended dissertation on this, that, or the other.

It has been completely reformatted and proofread (special thanks to Jerry Sturgill for his assistance in those areas), so it looks really pretty on your PC, tablet, iPad, or whatever other device you have.

Enjoy!  Just click on the link below to download it.

Davis. MM – The Eldership

Books

Book Review – The Life of the Apostle Paul (by Barbara Dowell)

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Who was the apostle Paul?  What was there about his hometown that made him perfectly suited to be the great apostle to the Gentiles?  These questions and many more are answered throughout the brand-new book, The Life of the Apostle Paul.

DowellCover

Packed with background information on the people and places that Paul interacted with, this book helps you to see Paul’s life and travels with a much better focus.  From the background of cities like Tyre, Jerusalem, and Rome to understanding the character of men like Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, The Life of the Apostle Paul helps you to know them like the Christians of the first century would have known them.

The author, Barbara Dowell, has been a dedicated Christian, a diligent Bible student, and an enthusiastic Bible teacher for over five decades.  Her husband, Jerry, is an elder in the church of Christ that meets in McLoud, OK.

This book is the culmination of years of studying, and was used to teach a ladies’ Bible class, though the information is useful for personal study as well.

We highly recommend this 156-page book, which is available exclusively on Amazon.com for just $9.99 (or $2.99 on Kindle).  Click here to get your own copy!

Here is the first customer review on Amazon:

This book puts the life of Paul (as shown in the Bible) in chronological order, and fills in the details with historical backgrounds of the places he visited and the people he interacted with. Several historical details were included in this book that I was not aware of, and which makes it much easier to identify with the great apostle’s life. This book is an excellent addition to my library.

Articles, Books

Friday Freebie

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Last week’s Friday Freebie was so well-received that we’ve decided to do it again (and we might even make this a regular feature).

Today’s special freebie is…

The Sabbath or the Lord’s Day, Which?
By D.R. Dungan.

David Roberts Dungan was a preacher/teacher/writer in the late 1800s/early 1900s.  His book on Hermeneutics is still the standard on Biblical Interpretation in most preaching schools and Christian colleges.  His novel On the Rock was reprinted several times and was that generation’s Muscle and a Shovel.

Today’s free book was written to answer the question about whether the church is commanded to meet on the Sabbath or the first day of the week.  Dungan approaches the topic with a level head and an open Bible, and deals with every claim that the Sabbath-keepers produced.  When you finish this book, you will have no doubt as to the answer to the question: The Sabbath or the Lord’s Day?

Just like all of our other books, this one has undergone updating in spelling, correction of typos, and a complete reformatting to make it much easier on the eyes.  We hope you will find it useful.

Chapters

 

PART ONE:

  1. The Statement of the Question.
  2. Reasons for Keeping the Sabbath Examined Upon the Hypothesis of a Pre-Mosaic Requirement
  3. To Whom was the Law of the Sabbath Given?
  4. Was the Law of the Sabbath Perpetuated in Christ?
  5. Is the Decalogue Yet Binding?
  6. The Law, of Which the Sabbath was a Part, was Done Away in Christ.
  7. The Conclusion of Part First: The Law Containing the Sabbath Having Passed Away, The Sabbath Itself has no More Claim upon Christians than any other Feature of the Law Given to Israel at Mt. Sinai.

PART TWO:

  1. The Source of Knowledge.
  2. The View Entertained by Christians in General.
  3. Unfair Methods of Advancing the Cause of the Sabbath, and of Opposing the Lord’s Day.
  4. History Shows that the Lord’s Day, or First Day of the Week, has been Regarded as a Sacred Day in All Ages of the Church.
  5. The Teaching of the Scriptures Respecting the Day on Which Christians Should Meet for Worship.
  6. How the Apostles Understood the Subject of the Lord’s Day.

Download it by clicking here (or right-clicking here and choosing “save link as”): Dungan – Sabbath or Lords Day