Too Many Books, Too Little Money

I spent a couple of hours at Barnes and Noble last night waiting out a terrible thunder storm. Of course, every time I go to B&N I find more books to buy. The problem is that I don't usually have enough money. At least not if I want my family to have food, clothes, electricity, etc. Nevertheless, I found three great new books that I would like to read. One is the new book by Joe Scarborough, The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America's Promise. I love Morning Joe, and I think Scarborough understands better than almost anyone what it means to be a conservative. His thesis is that the Republican Party has been hijacked by religious ideologues on the Far Right, Neo-conservatives on the issue of foreign policy, and fiscal idiots on the issue of spending. I think he is right on track.

The second book is called the Evolution of God and it is written by Robert Wright. Although I don't share Wright's religious views, I am interested in this book. The book is about two things - first, the necessity of the world's major religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) finding ways to be more hospitable to one another in the light of globalization; and secondly, the importance of reconciling religion and science.

The third book is Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision by NT Wright. Recently, Wright the Bishop of Durham and a noted Anglican NT scholar has been in a debate with John Piper, a not very tolerant Reformed Baptist pastor/scholar over the issue of Paul's understanding of justification. Piper has already written a book, and this is Wright's definitive book on the subject.