Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

HOPE – NF
****

HOPE is thirty-one-year-old NF’s (Nathan Feuerstein) fifth album, and first since 2021’s CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE). NF has built a loyal following that has earned him over 30 billion global streams on music platforms.
Themes on the excellent new album include taking the reins of his life, staying true to himself, faith, overcoming odds, relationships (his mother, wife, child, and a failed relationship), being a lonely soul, being at the top of his game, and running from darkness and depression. There are two guest artists on the album – Cordae and Julie Michaels.
Here are a few brief comments about each song:

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  • More of this review and a review of Sing! Christ Our Hope in Life and Death. Live at the Getty Worship Music Conference by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Friends
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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS


Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play by Bill White with Gordon Dillow. Grand Central Publishing. 309 pages. 2011 
****

I decided to read this book after watching the History Channel Documentary After Jackie, which featured Bill White, Bob Gibson and Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals. White had an incredible career in baseball. He played first base the New York Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1956 to 1969, winning six Gold Glove Awards, and was selected to the All-Star Game five times. After his playing days, he had a second career in the media, including serving as an announcer on New York Yankees games on radio and television from 1971 to 1989. Then, from 1989 to 1994 he served as President of Major League Baseball’s National League. In 2020, White was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
White was born in Paxton, Florida, near the Florida-Alabama border, in 1934. His mother was only 16. His father left town shortly after White was born and played no role in his upbringing or his life. In 1937, White and his mother boarded a train to Warren, Ohio, which he has always considered home.
White was an honor student and graduated second in his high school class of 120 students in 1952. However, until the day his mother died in 2001, despite all his accomplishments in professional baseball and beyond, his mother never quite forgave him for not finishing college.

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BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Providence by John Piper
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading →


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • AI, Man and God. Mathematician, bioethicist and Christian apologist Professor John Lennox is interviewed by John Anderson on the current and future impacts of artificial intelligence technology.

  • What if I Feel Deserted by God? What encouragement would you give to a Christian who feels deserted by God? In this video, Sinclair Ferguson points to a prescription, a remedy, and a great prognosis for Christians.
  • Should You Accommodate an LGBT Person’s Requests? Alan Shlemon writes “There’s no moral principle that elevates relationships to a point where they trump your deeply held beliefs. Therefore, there’s no duty to accommodate every request made by a friend or family member who identifies as LGBT.”
  • Jesus’ Teaching on Marriage and Gender. Many people are rejecting the teaching in Genesis about the boundaries of marriage and gender. But Jesus didn’t reject it. On this episode of the Things Unseen podcast, Sinclair Ferguson shows that Christ’s way is the only way for God’s image-bearers to flourish.

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  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • How Do I Manage My Staff with Humble Confidence? Courtney Moore responds to the question “When managing others, how should I balance the important attribute of confidence (“I know this is what we should do and how we should get there”) with humility (“I need your insight on what we should do or how we should get there”)?”
  • Be a Gospel Signpost with the Work of Your Hands. Hugh Whelchel writes “How has God designed and called you? Do you see your work as a “signpost” to point people to God’s picture story? How can you give others a glimpse of shalom through your work?”
  • Reflections on the Impacts of Teleworking from a Biblical Worldview. Russ Gehrlein writes “I trust that both Christian employers and employees have been confronted with some new thoughts that can be translated into good habits in this hybrid work environment. If we continue to serve our employees, submit to our bosses, and work wholeheartedly for the Lord, we will bless others.”

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My Review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Rated PG-13
***

The third, and possibly final Guardians of the Galaxy film is an entertaining and exciting film about friends willing to risk their lives to save one of their own. The film, which cost $250 million, is once again written and directed by James Gunn, who has left Marvel and is now running DC Comics.
Rocket, voiced by Bradley Cooper is the key figure in this film. We hear a lot about his origin story. As a baby, Rocket is a test subject for the High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, who sees himself as a god-like figure who aims to create a perfect species to live in a perfect society called Counter-Earth. Rocket displays intelligence and aptitude beyond the other animals that have been created and the High Evolutionary wants him back.
The Guardians have established their headquarters on a rebuilt Knowhere. However, they are attacked by Adam Warlock, played by Will Poulter, a genetically-engineered super-being. During the attack, Rocket is seriously injured. He will soon die due to a kill switch that was embedded in him by the High Evolutionary. The Guardians decide that they have to travel to the Orgoscope, headquarters of the High Evolutionary’s company Orgocorp, in hopes of finding an override code to save Rocket. Continue reading →


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


Songs of Surrender – U2 
***

U2’s first album since 2017’s Songs of Experience reimagines forty songs from the band’s catalog (only 1981’s October and 2009’s No Line on the Horizon have no songs represented here). The album, which runs nearly three hours, is connected to Bono’s excellent 2022 memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story (read my review of that book here), whose forty chapters are titled after U2 songs. The new album has a different selection of songs, curated by The Edge, with twelve of the songs differing from the Bono book chapters.
The album was The Edge’s COVID lockdown project. He is the album’s primary producer, with a few others, notably Bob Ezrin, assisting. The Edge compiled the songs and the project is arranged into individual band member volumes. The Edge, who also handles lead vocals on four songs, has stated that Songs of Surrender was made with the awareness that most people listen to their music through earbuds now.
The songs really are reimagined, they are not just unplugged versions. In the liner notes, The Edge writes “Once we surrendered our reverence for the original version, each song started to open up to a new authentic voice of this time. Some of the songs feature rewritten lyrics. For example, “Walk On” is written in light of the Ukraine war. “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, replaces “One man betrayed by a kiss”, with “One boy never will be kissed”. The song arrangements are mostly intimate and acoustic, frequently replacing Edge’s electric guitars with quiet keyboards. The Edge, playing numerous instruments, Bono’s voice and the lyrics are in the forefront here. Many of the tracks feature no rhythm section at all, leaving bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. to apparently sit them out.

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  • More of this review and a review of My Ideal: A Tribute to Chet Baker Sings by Amos Lee
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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan. Simon & Schuster. 338 pages. 2022
** ½

This is an interesting book, beginning with the title (which doesn’t really tell you anything about the book), and the cover (Little Richard, Eddie Cochran and the little-known Alis Lesley “the female Elvis”). The book, which Dylan began working on in 2010, before he was presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, features sixty-six short chapters about songs recorded by other artists, ranging from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Little Richard, to the Eagles, Santana, Willie Nelson, the Who, and Dion. The song selection seems odd – just four by women, many that I’d never heard of, with the highest percentage being songs released in the 1950’s, with nine being released in 1956 when Dylan was fifteen years old. Dylan never says why he selected the songs, whether they are favorites, songs that influenced him, etc. There is no introduction to the book. Instead, Dylan goes right into a chapter on “Detroit City”, a 1963 hit by Bobby Bare. Many have compared Dylan’s writing in the book to his Theme Time Radio Hour satellite radio show he hosted from 2006 to 2009.
Each chapter includes photographs – nearly 150 are included, but none have captions, leading the reader to guess at times why the photo is included. Dylan writes a rambling riff/essay based on the lyrics of the song, and then adds comments about the artist.

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BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Providence by John Piper
I’M CURRENTLY READING….
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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Is Work a Blessing or a Curse? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “Can you tell me whether our work today is a blessing or a curse? Much of our work seems to be cursed, based on Genesis 3. But a lot of our work also seems to be a God-given blessing, according to Ecclesiastes. According to the Bible, is my nine-to-five job a blessing, or is it a curse?”
  • Mere Christians: David Platt. On this episode of the Mere Christians podcast, Jordan Raynor visits with David Platt about six steps to following Jesus fully at work.
  • Called to Lead. My book Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the Workplace is available in both a paperback and Kindle edition. Read a free sample (Introduction through Chapter 2).
  • How to Work Well When Your Children Are Sick. Fernie Cosgrove shares a few things she’s learned about managing work when a child is sick.

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  • More links to interesting articles
  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • My Review of The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation (Second Edition) by Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor and R. Robert Creech
  • Quotes from the book You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News by Kelly Kapic

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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


Only The Strong Survive – Bruce Springsteen
***

Only the Strong Survive is Bruce Springsteen’s 21st studio album and second covers album, following 2006’s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. The 15-song album was made during the COVID lockdown during “off hours” (Springsteen, co-producer Ron Aniello and engineer Rob Lebret called themselves “The Night Shift” due to their working hours). On the album, the 73-year-old Springsteen covers a selection of his favorite – many of them obscure – soul songs. Springsteen actually tossed out the first album he completed, and ended up with Only The Strong Survive, which is listed as Covers Vol. 1, giving the impression we’ll hear more songs at a later date.

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  • More of this review
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Beautiful Day by U2

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