Open

As of the time of this review, this book is hot off the press and has been a book eagerly anticipated by many. And while the book is not perfect, as I will discuss below, there are a number of things about this critique that make it the best critique of open theism available at present.

Piper and company have assembled an impressive group of mainly Reformed scholars to tackle numerous issues regarding open theism. Almost every chapter is well documented, with numerous and lengthy footnotes accompanying much of the base material. There is a great deal here to ponder and study, and I suspect that many readers who are relatively familiar with the open theism controversy will be struck by the depth in which this book engages fundamental questions of hermeneutics and theological method.

I think there is little doubt that for the average reader, Parts 4 and 5 will be the best parts of the book. In these parts, various authors tackle critical theological and pastoral problems that open theism creates, and these are the kinds of issues that the average reader will most identify with and profit from I suspect. In particular, Wellum's critique of open theism's necessary compromise of the inerrancy of Scripture is outstanding, along with Ware's devastating analysis of how the gospel of Christ is gutted by open theism. The tackling of these critical theological ramifications is the part of this book that I felt was critically missing from Ware's 'God's Lesser Glory' book (which has been generally acknowledged to be the most devastating critique of open theism thus far, and was the book that really delivered the first mortal blow to open theism and got Boyd and company to play defense ever since), so in that respect, this book is an outstanding companion to that book.

The first parts of this book are great and necessary, but are likely to be sections that will take many readers by surprise. It is in these sections that attempts are made to discredit the inconsistent hermeneutic (to put it nicely) of open theism, as well as to discredit the much trumpeted assertion by open theists that historical theism is based on Greek philosophical ideas that are not found in the Bible. In addition, the section on the analogical nature of Scripture and the treatment of anthropomorphisms is likewise outstanding.

The one notable drawback of this book is that Biblical exegesis is not the thrust of this book. There are times when solid exegesis is conducted, but this book is not an exegetical critique of open theism. It's mainly a negative philosophical, methodological, and worldview critique that rightly exposes the mess that open theism is as a matter of scholarship. But someone looking for a sustained emphasis on Biblical exegesis of controversial passages, as well as a Biblical analysis of those many areas of Scripture that contradict open theism may be somewhat dissatisfied by the efforts here. There are other resources that deal with these issues, but it is the one critical area where this book lets open theism off the hook. This is unfortunate because as a result of this, this book, while perhaps the most comprehensive critique of open theism available, still ends up joining all of the other able critiques in doing serious damage to open theism, but not delivering the kind of comprehensive 'shock and awe' that it was capable of.

Nonetheless, for what this book deals with, it is outstanding and perhaps best of all, very current. The thought of Greg Boyd in particular has been in a seemingly constant state of modification and flux in recent years in his attempts to do damage control. His latest neo-molinist concoction gets a great deal of attention in this book where it is demonstrated to be a wholly inadequate solution to the problems his open theist perspective creates across the board. I highly recommend this book and believe that in many ways, it will become the book that open theists feel most compelled to respond to in light of the lucid and cogent arguments it lobs at open theism.

Powerful,respectful dismantling of nebulous Open Theory of Bible interpretation and aberrant Non-evangelical philosophy.

STRENGTHS:

1)Shows how sincere,misguided Christians (Open Theorists) can fall prey to Paul's warning to 'beware idle notions..and hollow,
deceptive philosophies..self-deceit via fine sounding arguments..' They depart from the Word of God and the God of the Word and the True Omniscient/Uncorrectable/Inerrant Jesus with every new Openist publication and pronouncement.

2)Establishes clear,undeniable linkage of Open Theory to Charles Hartshorne's Process Philosophy of Bible interpretation (see Hartshorne's 'Omnipotence & Other Theological Mistakes')
Such unbiblical,Process-like worldview permeates Openist filters
and lensing when doing Theology. See also Boyd's seminal Openist
book 'Trinity & Process' where he attempts a synthesis of Scripture+Hartshornism=Aberrant Hybrid Boydism (a la healthy horse+ill donkey=sterile mule).

3)Demonstrates Boyd's antipathy to his own denomination's Affirmation of Faith regarding Bible teaching of INERRANCY. Boyd is Theology Prof.at Baptist General Conference's Bethel College. BGC official doctrinal position is INERRANT BIBLE.

In Boyd's most recent book 'Across the Spectrum', he categorically denies his own denomination's position with his essay titled 'Infallibilist View'. Boyd doesn't realize the definition of INFALLIBLE is 'incapable of error in any matter'.
Boyd is teaching pastor at Woodland Hills Church. His statement of faith says, 'The Bible is Infallible'. Has anyone checked what he means by it? See his essay in 'Across the Spectrum' p.14-21 to see what Gregory Boyd really believes.

Why BGC President Jerry Sheveland and Bethel leadership maintain Boyd on clergy roster/faculty is of concern to many in BGC, who feel integrity would mean resigning in good conscience or public retraction of non-evangelical, Processist teachings that openly defy BGC church and college Affirmation of Faith.

4)Marshalling of Biblical evidence that shows how aberrant and beyond-borderline-heterodox many of Boyd's teachings are.

WEAKNESSES: minimal. These Scriptures would have been nice additions:

John 13:19 "I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe than I am He." Jesus has Exhaustive Definite/Divine Foreknowledge of ALL free futures. Boyd teaches Extensive Indefinite Forecasting or 'Divine Nescience (Ignorance)' along with 'Theo-Repentism' and 'Infinite Intelligence' in place of Evangelical Infinite Awareness-Knowledge-Omnipresent where/when-there/then in ALL dimensions of space-time (LxWxHxPastxPresentxFuture)

Boyd teaches there are Bible errors, using the example of "Jesus' command to his 70(sic)missionaries" about whether to take a staff on their trip. First, Boyd errs: It wasn't the 70, but the 12! Second, a fair reading of the Gospels indicates many mission assignments, each with potentially different itinerary and packing instructions. Luke 22 has Jesus telling them to pack a dagger-knife. Third, one or more accounts may be a composite of several trips while another may be a specific or representative mission. Fourth, this issue has been chewed on since before Augustine's time. Reformers and more recent scholars have put this to bed (see J.Bengel's, Calvin's and Matthew Henry's commentaries as well as Geisler's 'When Critics Ask' and John MacArthur Study Bible notes on Lk.9:3).
Fifth, Jesus was saying: 'carry only what you have with you: sandals on your feet, clothes on your back, staff in hand; don't procure/go get extras or what you don't have now.'(see Greek verbs used for 'take, acquire, procure,obtain,get).

Boyd's 'scholarship' and 'fairness' to the apparent discrepancy
is disingenuous and far from humble, to say the least. It's almost as if he can't help BUT to find errors of fact, history,
narrative rather than see the accounts as complementary or excerptive vs. passing judgment 'the three accounts do disagree and thus cannot in any literal sense be labeled inerrant.'-Spectrum p.19

Such is Boyd's aberrant view of Scripture: BEYOND THE BOUNDS of Evangelical, Essential Historic Christian Theology and contrary to his own denomination's Doctrinal Affirmation for Bethel College and all BGC churches, including Woodland Hills.

This book does an excellent (almost embarrassing expose') job of unmasking Gregory Boyd, Clark Pinnock, John Sanders and Open Theorists as: Christian? Yes. Evangelical? Sorry, no. Not if one takes their public false-teachings and books at face value.
They are certainly free to hold their beliefs. But self-proclaiming they are Evangelical and fomenting openly or subtly for 'change from within' is shown to be an empty claim and lacking integrity. Process theorists don't claim to be Evangelical. Why should Neo-processist theorists?

"By their fruit you shall know them..Test the spirits..Dear children, keep yourselves from idols..Scripture cannot be broken..do not go beyond what is written..are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?"

Buy extra copies and give them to friends & pastors and start group studies about Who the Real Triune God and His nature and attributes are. Be prepared for Bruce Ware's forthcoming book 'God of Greater Glory' which, along with Millard Erickson's
Christian Theology, will get the Bible student closer to the Bible. Openism just gets farther and farther BEYOND THE BOUNDS.

The downsized deity of open theism is a poor substitute for the real God of historic Christianity-as taught by Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox theologians through the centuries. This book offers an important analysis and critique of this sub-Christian view of God. Well researched and fairly presented.

-Dr. Timothy George
Dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University and an executive editor of Christianity Today

Here is a weighty tract for the times, in which a dozen Reformed scholars survey the "open theism" of Pinnock, Sanders, Boyd, and colleagues, and find it a confused, confusing, and unedifying hypothesis that ought to be declared off limits. Some pages are heavy sledding, but the arguing is clear and strong, and the book is essential reading for all who are caught up in this discussion.

-Dr. J. I. Packer
Professor of Theology
Regent College

Table of Contents

Contributors

Foreword
John Piper

Introduction
Justin Taylor

Part 1Historical Influences

1The Rabbis and the Claims of Openness Advocates
Russell Fuller

2Genetic Defects or Accidental Similarities? Orthodoxy and Open Theism and Their Connections to Western Philosophical Traditions
Chad Brand

Part 2Philosophical Presuppositions and Cultural Context

3True Freedom: The Liberty that Scripture Portrays as Worth Having.
Mark R. Talbot

4Why Open Theism Is Flourishing Now
William C. Davis

Part 3Anthropomorphisms, Revelation, and Interpretation

5 Veiled Glory: God's Self-Revelation in Human Likeness-
A Biblical Theology of God's Anthropomorphic Self-Disclosure
A. B. Caneday

6Hellenistic or Hebrew? Open Theism and Reformed Theological Method
Michael S. Horton

Part 4What Is at Stake in the Openness Debate?

7The Inerrancy of Scripture
Stephen J. Wellum

8The Trustworthiness of God and the Foundation of Hope
Paul Kjoss Helseth

9The Gospel of Christ
Bruce A. Ware

Part 5Drawing Boundaries and Conclusions

10When, Why, and for What Should We Draw New Boundaries?
Wayne Grudem

11 Grounds for Dismay: The Error and Injury of Open Theism
John Piper

Bibliography on Open Theism
Justin Taylor

Scripture Index
Person Index
Subject Index

Users love software that they don't have to pay for. But, some software professionals have to make a living creating and maintaining that software. Many companies today grapple with the question, "how to make money with Linux and Open Source?" Some software business leaders are worried about whether Linux and Open Source are impacting business viability of operating systems/environment business. Enterprise business and IT managers are quite happy to see the trend towards software they don't have to pay for. But, most often they do not understand what the implications are and what the fine prints way. Martin Fink has done an excellent job of compiling all the fundamental and essential information on the business aspects of Linux and Open Source software. He clarifies and removes many myths people carry in their minds. Probably this is a "one of its kind" book that brings together the various angles such as the overview of terms, understanding legal lingo, business model aspects, talent management aspects and so on. The book covers the essential technical aspects lucidly and adequately. If you are looking for a deep technical source for Linux and Open Source architectures, there are enough pointers in the book; but, this book is not meant for that purpose. I recommend this book for software engineers who have to understand the business aspects and Enterprise IT/Business Managers who are deploying/planning Linux and Open Source components in their business. The timing of the book is perfect. This book is a good candidate for bringing out update versions as the domain expands and matures. I don't know whether Martin Fink plans to upgrade the book year after year.

I have just finished reading the book "The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source" and wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed it. I am currently passing the book up my chain of command at work...

Linux and Open source is not "just" for geeks anymore. Business is embracing it and needs the guidance this book has to offer. It is the first book I have seen which addresses Linux and open source from a business perspective.

The background on Linux and Open source brings the reader up-to-speed on the key players and culture of the open source community and why it would be considered - staying focussed on facts and data. From this, Martin goes on to discuss the different issues one must address in considering the implementation of this technology in the Enterprise including the real costs and benefits.

Martin lends credibility to this topic as he is currently the VP & CTO at Hewlett-Packard heading its Linux Systems Division. He has to grapple with these issues everyday...

At a conference where Martin was speaking at recently, a senior executive at IBM mentioned that he was giving this book (an HP executive's book) to IBM's customers. Having read the book, I now understand why.

The author is definitely speaking from experience, providing valuable insights and recommmendations. Coming from a person who's been heading the Linux Systems Division of HP for over three years, it's not surprising.

Part I brings the reader to a sufficient level of familiarity with Linux, open source, licensing, communities and celebrities. Unless you are fully in touch with the open source world, you will certainly learn useful information in this part.

Part II explains what it means to implement Linux in your operations. No attempt is made to review or benchmark available distributions, and no selection process is presented, only some guidance is provided. This is understandable: Linux can take many shapes and forms and you can even create your own distribution. Because of this diversity, a whole chapter is devoted to standards that make it possible to use multiple distributions. The subject of Total Cost of Ownership is also covered, not in terms of numbers, but in terms of items to consider for calculating a total cost. There is no magic formula here, only an indication of what you should consider and how open source can affect the bottom line. The author then discusses the activity of deploying Linux, considering the issues of migration, coexistence, hardware, support, and training. Here again the author provides essential guidance without covering all the details of such undertaking.

Part III is about how to integrate open source into your organization. This is probably where most of the added value of this book lies. It is really in this part that the author draws from his experience in managing open source in a large organization. He first attempts to provide a functional model for an organization developing software, focusing on enabling an open source process as opposed to a conventional development model. This model may assume a large set of developers and may come out of the blue (it is presented then discussed), but it clearly demonstrates how much of a cultural change it requires to fully reap the benefits from an open source process, and how much other corporate functions such as marketing and HR have to adapt accordingly. Most importantly, this model can boldly be used as a replacement for conventional closed-source development. The author then covers other valuable topics: gated communities, the time value of software and how open source changes the equation and can be used to your advantage, the business models around open source, when to participate or create open source software, and what should be considered when deciding to use open source.

A highly recommended reading for anybody who is considering leveraging the benefits of open source within their organization.

Long overdue "Chicken Soup" collection for teachers. Nearly 400 pages filled with dozens of heartwarming true stories from the "pages of teachers' memories" saturated with wonderful experiences. For anyone who is out there, making a difference everyday, or for those who admire the dedication of those who selflessly give to the millions of children whose lives they affect and forever change.

The joy of teaching, summed up by testimonials of a few. There are not enough books to contain all of the wonder, the magic, the laughter and tears; the many precious gifts of this field of work. "Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul" makes a successful attempt at capturing the essence. Further volumes are certain to follow. This is a five star gem!*****

Teachers have always held a special place in my heart, from my first teachers in nursery school till the present day. This book is great for those who have had a special teacher in their lives, teachers who have been mentors and friends. Get this book, and even better, share it with that special teacher.

Heartwarming....the perfect gift for any teacher or yourself. You will be encouraged by these stories!

This is a very good book! It delves into the details right from the start. I recommend this book to anyone in the data communications field. It can be a bit dry and complex, but the material is complete and after two or so perusals is easy to understand. This book was used in my graduate course for data communications. Excellent book!

I have been using Fred Halsall's book in my computer engineering degree and it has been very useful. This is a dense, fat book that will provide lots of information. It covers the basics, from the essential theory about digital transmission, protocol basics and implementation methods, legacy and wireless LANs, HS LANs, transparent and source routing bridges, packet switching and frame relay networks/protocols, internetworking architectures, protocols and routing algorithms, multiservice broadband networks, TCP/IP and OSI application protocols, data encryption and network security, network management structures like SNMP and CMIP and other stuff. I can complain about some of the excessive use of acronyms that leave some areas of the book much harder to read. I'm talking about hundreds of acronyms here.

Also, Fred's writing is sometimes a bit too dry, sometimes forgetting to give the reader a general idea about the subject, instead of just jumping into all the details. This is something that is better done in other books, especially Andrew Tanenbaum's "Computer Networks". Tanenbaum also shares his sense of humour, which, in a dense volume about telecommunications, ends up refreshing the user. Also, Tanenbaum's dares to share his opinion sometimes, something Halsall seldom does, giving us only the facts and nothing more. But if it's the facts you want, he's good at it.

I found most of the book clear; the section about Huffman data compression for instance, was excellent. I remember having some trouble with the Viterbi EC algorithm, which isn't very well explained. The book also lacks information about some more modern technologies like GSM.

In general, this is a very competent title, and a great resource to the student or the computer professional. Be sure to check Andrew S. Tanenbaum's "Computer Networks", since you might prefer it to this title, or, the perfect choice, get both. (I have them both and some subjects are a lot better in one book, and others are a lot better in the other title).

Excellent book. I have read first edition (1992) and now it is one of my best reference at the university where I teach.

I am going to buy this last edition to keep updated.

In general, I don't love short story collections. I will make an exception for this book. This is a series of stories about women and their road trips (a subject that is near and dear to my own heart). My favorite story is the second one in the book about a chica and her 62 Saab. Definitely worth the read and this one will stay in my permanent collection.

I picked up this book for inspiration on a book I am working on about travel experiences and haven't been able to put it down. It's about time someone put a book out there on women's road trip experiences -- these experiences have been sadly neglected. Each personal account is well written and unique. Women of all races and ages are represented here and some stories are sad and some are uplifting. It's a great anthology! Reading it made me want to jump on the road and take a trip myself!

Amazing compilation of stories of women finding themselves at every fork in "the road" imaginable. Take note of the story written by Alexandria Madero. Touching, funny, compelling and honest. It doesn't get much better than this.

Steve Sjogren is a voice of leadership in evangelism. This is evangelism we can all do! Here is real,Spirit empowered evangelism that the world will notice. It leaves a smile on my face and a song in my heart. That the world may hear...

Steve Sjogren always hits the bullseye. I have met him and can tell you that he lives what he teaches. This book's premise has already been proven in the real world. That is what sets Steve apart from other writers. Buy it now.

"Irresistible Evangelism" should be required reading for anyone who's serious (or wants to be serious) about introducing others to Jesus Christ. I think of it as the lab manual for being a "real" Christian.

This book blows away a lot of the myths about cookie-cutter approaches to evangelism. It presents a low-risk, high-grace approach to being a follower of Christ and telling others the good news. It helped me realize just how easy and natural it can be to share my faith.

If you've ever talked with someone about their faith, only to feel later as if you'd turned them off by being a bit pushy, this book may be helpful. If you've ever felt ineffective because you wanted to talk to someone about God, but didn't know how to bring up the subject naturally, "Irresistible Evangelism" reveals some great ideas. If you've ever found it difficult to balance your desire to be obedient to God by telling others about Christ against your desire to be sensitive to those who are uncomfortable even using the word "God" - this book offers some fresh insights. It has helped me to "naturally blend the Great Commandment and the Great Commission".

This is the first book I've ever read that I wanted to cut out pages and laminate them so I could carry them around in my pocket. It really is that practical - and relevant!

I was inspired by every chapter. Every time I picked up the book I was encourged. My attitude toward my work has greatly improved and I am now excited to go to work as God gave my job and I now have a renewed passion for my work. This is a great book!!

First, let me comment on the fantastic cover. The bright colors and sharp design alone kept me returning to the content. :)

There is nothing complicated about this book. It's a simple read -- Dr. Jeremiah's style is casual and encouraging, not at all intimidating as you might think a book written by a Bible scholar would be. It is practical and down-to-earth, but also exciting and stimulating. It cheers the reader on like a football coach on the day of the championship. And at the end I was ready to run off the sidelines and on to victory! I recommend this book to everyone who desires a fuller, more passionate life.

If you have found your spiritual life to have grown stale; if you have reached that dreaded plateu, David Jeremiah's latest book will infuse you with a hunger to live more passionately for the God who loves you and sent His Son to die for you.

I have read other books by Jeremiah in the past, and while doctrinally sound, seemed to lack a bite to them. This book, however is written with a free and easy style that draws the reader further into the core of the subject.

You'll be inspired by the fresh anedotes and stories that permeate Life Wide Open and you'll be challenged by the Scriptural application that can and should motivate you to greater service for the King.

We all should live for God not because we have to or because we want rewards or because its better than the alternative. Those are all valid reasons, but the core of our faith should a unrequitting love for the Savior, who loved us enough to die for us on the cross.

I would urge you to take some time and read this book. And I applaud Dr. Jeremiah for inspiring newfound passion in believers through his latest work and study.

MICO is a complete implementation of CORBA which complies with the CORBA standard. It is freely available in source and binary formats and it has been ported to a number of environments. Because it is available in source format, you can readily port MICO to a new environment.

MICO does the business. You can use it for real applicatiions and not just as a toy. Even if you are committed to using a commercial package, I'd suggest getting hold of MICO as being the cheapest and easiest way of checking that your application and chosen ORB can interoperate with another CORBA ORB.

This package is the latest physical distribution of the MICO package. I am always a little cynical about publishers who bring out a second edition of a book under a different title and that is the case here. The book is an expanded and updated edition of "MICO is CORBA" by the same authors.

But that should not be seen as a strong criticism. MICO is a great product and this book does contain significant information that is not in the online documentation. Of course, as is normally the case with this type of product, there are now newer versions of the software than on the enclosed CD-ROM but the code in this package works just fine. Serious users will expect to download the latest software from the official MICO web site as well.

The book assumes that you know C++ and it does contain a small intoroducton to CORBA. However, do not imagine that this is a tutorial to designing and developing CORBA systems. You will want a copy of something like "Advanced CORBA programming with C++" by Henning and Vinoski at your side as you develop your application.

This is the second time I've purchased the Mico book/cd by Puder and Romer. The book covers installation { I've tried all but the AIX without trouble }, has a brief over-view of CORBA concepts, and does a quick run through of how to use CORBA and MICO in specific. It then walks through more code and explanation with some of the 'core' services one uses with CORBA. With a 195 page book do not expect a lot of hand holding. Enough information is provided for a self-starter to start climbing up the ladder of knowledge. Make sure you have at least a working knowledge of C++. On the other hand the sheer simplicity of CORBA makes the ladder a rather short one. Other than that, this is the most dog-eared book I have on CORBA! { Clienter/Server Programming with Java and Corba is the 2nd }

Outstanding reference! A true "must have" for any looking to delve into the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) method of developing distributed applications.

After one has learned the basics of lockpicking... how a lock is made and what are the basic tools for lockpicking... (from Steve Hampton's _Secrets of Lock Picking) one soon finds out that not every lock pops open in 30 seconds or less. Now it is time to progress to the next level of lockpicking. In this book the rea-der will learn some new tools such as a road runner rim tension wrench and a monkey twisted-wedge diamond pick. Then it's on to tackle multiple row pin tumbler locks, key disc tumbler locks, even electronic key locks.

To master all of the locks mentioned in this book will take tons of practice but Hampton will show the way. However this book is only the sophomore level. There is more to learn.

Excellent book filled with some of the highest security locks currently made - and exactly how the author picked them. Ever wanted to know how to pick a medico? This book will tell you how. The author plainly has an incredible amount of experience which he happily shares with the reader.

Once I had the great pleasure to borrow this book from a friend. The author details how he defeated the security of the highest security locks currently in existance, including Medico, Everest, and a Primus (used extensively by the US government for high security areas). The author's long experience as a locksmith, as well as focus and clairity of mind gained through the use of meditation makes him among best alive today. The writing is clear and concise, but be forwarned - this book is not suitable for those who know nothing about picking locks.

I tried to make myself read this book, but it didn't say much. Mainly a list of open source projects for a given topic. For example, templating engines, then proceeds to explain each one. This goes on for the entire book. Most of this information is available on the web for free. I wouldn't recommend this book.

This book is perfect for anyone wanting an introduction to the capabilities of Open Source software. It is EVEN BETTER to help convince management on using Open Source. It clearly shows how to quickly setup a free, fast and reliable enterprise platform for your development team without spending thousands of dollars!

If you want to have a professional level enterprise platform for you or your development team this book is for you! Using the book and the Companion website you can use all of the most popular open-source tools to build a single, integrated platform.

I would definitely recommend this book to developers or enterprises that need to build applications with limited resources.

Having been the commercial app server developer for years (using Weblogic, JRun and Websphere), I was unaware of the capabilities of todays opensource app server. The capabilites and performance of opensource app servers like JBoss are well illusted in this book.

This book also introduces the reader to a variety of opensource API's. Most of these API's are supported by Jakarta or Sourceforge projects.

As it's name suggests, if you need opensource knowledge, start with this toolkit.