Having grown up in a church that sang only hymns, this book was a treasure to me! Not only did I have the beautiful words to the hymn songs but they came with the musical notes so I could play these songs on the piano! Morgan also includes a history of the songs and their authors! Not being a history buff, I was surprised to find Morgan's short 1 page histories fascinating! I couldn't put the book down. The stories behind the songs gave the songs themselves greater meaning. Knowing how difficult life was for some of the authors gave me a greater appreciation for God and I could see the authors intent in worshipping and writing the song.
I also really enjoyed the histories of hymns in general. I feel like hymns are a lost beauty - a lost form of poetry and worship that is fading away in our culture. Sadly, if more people read books like this, they might see the deeper value in hymns as opposed to current day music. Many hymns include a different theology and a deeper theology. Remember people back in the old days were way smarter theology wise and started college at 13, so many of them had a deep grasp on spiritual things. Instead of just singing Jesus songs of joy or watered down Jesus songs of today, these hymns have a true deep deep meaning. Even if you cant sing these hymns or know the tunes, I found myself reading the words to the songs as a worship to God. I didn't need to know the melody to appreciate the words. I loved this book and look forward to reading Book 1 and 2 also! I'm sad to hear this will be the last of the hymn books from this author.
Disclaimer: I gave my honest review. I received this book from the publisher but a positive review was not required
Tyndale By David Teems
Tyndale is the story of how the Bible came to be translated into the English language. Teems seeks to take readers on a historically true account of The Great William Tyndale. This story includes other notable names like John Firth, Thomas Poyntz, the Catholic Thomas More, Martin Luther, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Henry Philips, the Judas of the story. This is the story of the Catholic Church and Thomas More's blood-thirsty hunting down and martyrdom of one of the greatest men in church history, William Tyndale.
Teems seeks to leave legendary stories out of his work and focus on the accounts that can be classified as factual. The story is of enormous importance and for that alone, I cannot recommend this book higher. Every Christian needs to know this story and must read this book or a book on Tyndale's story. Tyndale's story shows us what sets apart men from boys and Christian living from selfish living. This is what a man should be - a man of the truest deepest character. The story is epic, poetic, sad but also joyful. It is one of the greatest stories in all of Christian history.
That being said, I had trouble with Teems' writing. Some may find that he's impartial - admiring Tyndale but also his arch-enemy Thomas More, but I found the pro-More pre-king Henry VIII and pro-King James I of England perspective sickening. The author seems to be Anglican/Church of England-biased. As an appreciator of what William Tyndale did for all Christianity, More in contrast was on the other side - the perverted, blood-lusting, evil, sick, enemy with no class whatsoever. He is the guy who tortured people in his own backyard. He's the guy who lusted and received immese joy over watching people burn to death. He's the guy described as writing "the greatest heap of nasty language that perhaps was ever put together". More's writings are filled with uncontrollable evil and rage as he curses and "throws fecal material" at his opponents. I cannot grasp in the slightest, the author's admiration of Thomas More.
Teems writes "[Thomas More] culd not call William Tyndale enough names or curse him with more conviction. He could not write enough words or burn enough "heretics" to make [the Reformation] stop. He could not torment enough offenders in his own backyward." Yet Teems somehow writes "what is truly great about Thomas More - the depth of his belief, or his literary contribution, his peculiar intelligence, the martyrdom he suffered..." I find none of this admirable. William Tyndale kills him as a human being. Thomas More will be burning in hell while the men he burned will be comforted in heaven. I don't understand the author's love of "the bad guys" in this book. This is not Robert DeNiro in the movie "Heat", where you like the "bad guys" better than the "good guys".
Also, the author spends SOOO much time looking into the lives of people who are fairly irrelevant to the story. The first half of the book is painfully slow. Only later, as Tyndale is being hunted down by the Catholic Church, does the story pick up. I'm sure readers can find a much better written account of Tyndale's story, but if not, not matter what, all Christians must know this story.
Disclaimer: I gave my honest review. I received this book from the publisher but a positive review was not required
Teems seeks to leave legendary stories out of his work and focus on the accounts that can be classified as factual. The story is of enormous importance and for that alone, I cannot recommend this book higher. Every Christian needs to know this story and must read this book or a book on Tyndale's story. Tyndale's story shows us what sets apart men from boys and Christian living from selfish living. This is what a man should be - a man of the truest deepest character. The story is epic, poetic, sad but also joyful. It is one of the greatest stories in all of Christian history.
That being said, I had trouble with Teems' writing. Some may find that he's impartial - admiring Tyndale but also his arch-enemy Thomas More, but I found the pro-More pre-king Henry VIII and pro-King James I of England perspective sickening. The author seems to be Anglican/Church of England-biased. As an appreciator of what William Tyndale did for all Christianity, More in contrast was on the other side - the perverted, blood-lusting, evil, sick, enemy with no class whatsoever. He is the guy who tortured people in his own backyard. He's the guy who lusted and received immese joy over watching people burn to death. He's the guy described as writing "the greatest heap of nasty language that perhaps was ever put together". More's writings are filled with uncontrollable evil and rage as he curses and "throws fecal material" at his opponents. I cannot grasp in the slightest, the author's admiration of Thomas More.
Teems writes "[Thomas More] culd not call William Tyndale enough names or curse him with more conviction. He could not write enough words or burn enough "heretics" to make [the Reformation] stop. He could not torment enough offenders in his own backyward." Yet Teems somehow writes "what is truly great about Thomas More - the depth of his belief, or his literary contribution, his peculiar intelligence, the martyrdom he suffered..." I find none of this admirable. William Tyndale kills him as a human being. Thomas More will be burning in hell while the men he burned will be comforted in heaven. I don't understand the author's love of "the bad guys" in this book. This is not Robert DeNiro in the movie "Heat", where you like the "bad guys" better than the "good guys".
Also, the author spends SOOO much time looking into the lives of people who are fairly irrelevant to the story. The first half of the book is painfully slow. Only later, as Tyndale is being hunted down by the Catholic Church, does the story pick up. I'm sure readers can find a much better written account of Tyndale's story, but if not, not matter what, all Christians must know this story.
Disclaimer: I gave my honest review. I received this book from the publisher but a positive review was not required
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)