A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf

This book is the love story of Esther from the Bible.  I so enjoy reading Bible stories made into fiction as, even though a lot of details have to be fabricated, it makes the story come vividly to life.  This story is written mostly from the perspective of Esther (though not in first person), and it was very interesting to read about what some of her feelings might have been to be chosen out of all the beautiful women in the king's harem to be his queen, and what her life of luxury might have been like.

There were a few places where this book deviated from the true story written about in the Bible.  One small example is that, in the book, Esther confronted Haman at the first banquet she invited him and the king to, instead of at the second banquet.  Another change that was baffling to me was the author's naming of the king, Ahaseurus.  Growing up I knew him as King Xerxes.  After very minimal research I found that this is the English equivalent of the name Xerxes, which is Greek.  However, I was baffled further by this because in the book, the king's brother is named Xerxes.  So I'm not quite sure how she got to naming this family as such.  One other change I will mention is that the king gave Haman his royal seal when he went away to lead a military battle, and Haman took this opportunity to issue a decree to have all Jews slaughtered by a certain date, signed with the king's seal, without his knowledge.  In the Bible the king is fully aware of Haman's evil plot, though he doesn't know which people group Haman wants to destroy, only that they refuse to obey the king's laws.  Because the author made the king very noble and compassionate in the novel, I suppose she couldn't have him agreeing to the slaughter of an entire people group.

I loved reading along and imagining all the details I never really thought about when reading this story in the Bible, even though I know they are just what one author fabricated.  Things such as the preparations that went on to beautify the women in the harem, the king's and queen's possible feelings for each other, Haman's jealousy, the assassination plot foiled by Mordecai, and the circumstances and feelings surrounding Esther's uninvited entrance to the king's court.  Overall this is a very well-written, entertaining read.

The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher

I received this book free from booksneeze.com to review.  It is from the Ancient Practices Series, which includes topics such as tithing and fasting, and in this book, Communion.  I recently participated in a Bible study which briefly covered the Last Supper and it so intrigued me that I was very excited to read this book and get more in depth with the significance of modern day communion and how it relates to the Last Supper and ancient Passover.  This book attempted to explain why we take Communion and how it brings us closer to God, went over a brief history of it, and touched on the debate about whether the bread and wine really becomes Jesus' body and blood.  I found the book, quite frankly, disturbing.

This book, purporting to speak of Christ's resurrection and how we are to remember the sacrifice He made, describes some events that were very unsettling to me, and barely speaks about the fact that Christ rose after He died.  There was also very little Bible references, and some of what she said seemed to be even antithetical to Christianity.

Gallagher explains a few Communion experiences she had of feeling nearness to God akin to reaching a higher plane as in Buddhist meditation.  She talks of one time when she celebrated Ramadan with some Islamics, and participated in their standing up, falling to their knees, leaning forward, pressing their foreheads to the floor, rising to their knees and then repeating it.  She says "It was amazing.  It was the most bodily prayer I have ever experienced.  The closest thing I had done to it was during yoga."   Embracing another religion in such a way and feeling 'fed' after speaks to me of an 'all roads lead to heaven' belief, which clearly goes against the Bible.  But besides that, for all this wonder she supposedly experienced then, there is no mention of God or how she felt His presence or drew nearer to Him.  It was simply a feel-good experience.

She also states that "at the altar, we are invited into what Jesus called heaven."  She seems to imply that the bread and wine we partake of have special powers: "I see nothing wrong in the desire for magic; it's who we are" and that the Communion wafer "points to what has been and what can be but also opens your eyes to what is right now.  This will put you in the role of prophet."

Sentences like that left me feeling very disturbed and made me very turned off from the content of this book.

On This Day in Christian History by Robert J. Morgan

This is a dated yearly devotional.  Each date tells a shortened version of a story of a saint, martyr or hero.  I chose to read it all at once instead of stretched out over a year, but will probably do it as a daily thing another time.  I would say it wasn't devotional material as in growing closer to God, but it definitely contained interesting stories, inspiration, and appalling tales of Christians who were tortured yet never recanted, or conversely, how some carried out horrendous acts in the name of Christ.  It was very interesting to me, but wouldn't really be to anyone not interested in history, particularly church history, as the title makes obvious.  If I were to summarize, I would say the majority of stories were of martyrs and popes.

I felt that the author did a good job of staying neutral, denominationally speaking.  Each date has a relevant verse at the bottom, so it's decidedly Christian.  But the author mostly just states facts, shining light particularly on the good.

I enjoyed this book and learned a whole lot.  But it was hard to keep things straight in my head.  The way he organized the book was that each day of the year had something significant pertaining to a certain story on that date.  For example, the birth of a man who would become pope or preacher, a convening of church leaders, the date of an imprisonment or execution, etc.  So it was definitely not in chronological order.  I would like to someday figure out a way to read them in order so that I can get the facts and important events straight in my mind and better know about my heritage and history as a Christian.