Ron Rhodes

I have never studied the book of Daniel, so I thought now was the time! However, it was very detailed and complex, and what with all the rabbit holes, it took me 90 days. There is just so much information to absorb, that I will probably re-study it in a few years. I like that the book of Daniel, while partially prophetic, is also a history. My rabbit holes were looking up the Kings mentioned in Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach (Amel Marduk), Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus. I read parts show more of books and histories as a refresher for these kings and their place historically. Although a history professor, I'm not real knowledgeable about ancient history (as I don't teach it) and this really helped me to gain some time and perspective. This author did a very good job on explaining every single verse in Daniel. If you are interested in a study of Daniel, this is the one! 293 pages show less

For more than 2,000 years, Christianity has been shaped and reshaped by both its believers and its leaders. Sometimes, change happens in reaction to other faiths and sometimes, that change comes from within. Much like the other major world religions, Christianity and Christians can be categorized and subcategorized based on how they interpret their holy text or texts. There are Baptists, Adventists, Calvinists, Jesuits, and so on. Ron Rhodes’s The Culting of America is a polemical look at show more differing new sects of religion and how they can either shape or threaten modern Christianity.

All things aside, this book reads like propaganda, but all books are propaganda to one degree or another. Rhodes’s concern with the demise of traditional Christianity at the main thrust of the book. He scours American culture for examples of how non-traditional thinking is inculcating mainstream society. Anything trying to rear its little head into his faith is called out and itemized.

Rhodes’s gaze is both wide and meticulous. He chides Hollywood for both not forcefully upholding Christianity and allowing other religious tenets to pervade its movies (including Zen Buddhism in Star Wars and various “New Age” actors and messages). He devotes an entire chapter to the New World Translation of the Bible purportedly done by incompetent scholars and evangelists. After a while, his gentle ranting gets a little tiresome and repetitive. The good thing here is that the text read fairly and after two days I was glad to put it down. An uninspired book. show less

The Bible covers a lot of ground in 66 books. Written over a period of 1600 years, in a variety of genres by multiple human authors, its readers have often puzzled over its meaning in any number of places within its pages. Ron Rhodes is here to help, with his book Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses: Clear Explanations for the Difficult Passages.

Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses is a mini-commentary covering the entire Bible. It tries to focus on just the sorts of questions the average show more church-goer would have. The questions are even pulled from Rhodes' own ministry experience as a traveling speaker. Rhodes does an excellent job of providing succinct and simple answer to most of them.

This book can't cover every issue or every question, but the following list provides a sampling of the sorts of points that are covered in this nice little volume.

- Are the 6 days of Creation 24 hour days?
- What was the mark of Cain?- Who is the “angel of the Lord”?
- How can capital punishment be justified in light of God's command to not murder?
- Should Christians worship on Saturday (the Sabbath) or Sunday?
- What does it mean when the Bible says God “repents”?
- Is Proverbs 22:6 a promise or a principle regarding raising our children?
- What is the new covenant?- What is the abomination that causes desolation?
- Is it wrong to take oaths?- Did Jesus really die on Friday?- Is baptism necessary for salvation?
- Are Christians required to evangelize going house-to-house (or door-to-door)?
- Does God have blood?- Should I be seeking the gift of tongues?
- What is “baptism for the dead”?
- Are Christians permitted to drink wine?
- Does the Bible condone slavery?
- In Tit. 2:13, is Jesus called “God”?- Can a Christian skip church?
- Is James really teaching a person is justified by works?
- How are the elect chosen by God?
- Why are Dan and Ephraim excluded from the list of tribes in Rev. 7?
- If Jesus is the beginning of God's creation, is He then a created being?
- What is Armageddon?

Not everyone puzzles over each question, nor are they equally important. But this is just a smattering of the kinds of issues addressed in Rhodes' book. The book is arranged by Scripture reference, so it can be a handy companion to your personal Bible study. If you are in a passage and have a question or can't understand a verse, try out this book. If your verse isn't listed in the book, check the topical index, in case the question is still answered by the book.

Rhodes' approach seems to be from a conservative, dispensational, creationist position. He will address alternate views often, and tries to be fair to other interpretive viewpoints, but the book is clearly biased by his own theological perspective. Then again, which book written by a human author isn't? Sometimes his answers are given as his personal perspective, as in his treatment of the tongues' question. He lists his reasons for believing tongues have ceased. Other times, as with the question of the “baptism for the dead”, he is content to give a few positions and not really come down on any one view. With other questions, he presents another view and then details problems with that view. Occasionally, he just gives his own perspective and doesn't discuss an alternate view. On a few points, he is very careful in laying out a systematic case for his view, as in his discussion of the differing positions on election (he prefers the Calvinistic position).

Some of Rhodes' questions would only come from a conservative evangelical or even a fundamentalist perspective. That makes the book perhaps more useful to these readers. He explains how Prov. 22:6 isn't a guarantee that one's children will automatically turn out right if we just do the right thing as parents. He shows how “house to house” was a description of teaching being done from home-group to home-group, not a prescribed method for evangelizing. He discusses that the Bible permits moderate drinking, but holds that wine in Bible times was weaker than it is today.

Sometimes I found myself upset with the simplicity of the answers. Other times I was impressed. For someone who is aware of all the above points of controversy, the book may not be as useful. But for many Christians, it will be a great tool for help in understanding Scripture more. So I'm happy to recommend the book.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Harvest House for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

An expanded version of this review is available at CrossFocusedReviews.com, where you can find book excerpts, giveaways, promotional offers, audio reviews and more. show less

This is a very good book for those that want to understand very important tenets of Islam and how they differ from the Christian faith. This book will help Christians discuss their faith with Muslim friends or acquaintances and help counteract many of the false understandings of Christianity that Muslims are taught to believe.