What I read in January, 2019

These are the books I finished in January, 2019.  Some of these books I started in 2018.

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt (Penguin Press, 2018)

This book is one of the most important books in explaining what is happening in society, in particular the American campuses, today.  It examines what has happened on college campuses between 2013-2016 as the iGen has been in school.

The books begins with Three Great Untruths (Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; life is a battle between good people and bad people).  Although these untruths might seem innocuous, they have proven very dangerous, especially on college campuses today.  They illustrate what each of these untruths mean and how they are present among college students today.

In part 3 they examine six possible causes for a culture of safetyism:

rising political polarization and cross-party animosity

rising levels of teen anxiety and depression (with a primary link to “screen time,” especially on cell phones)

changes in parenting practices–removing anything of danger to children

the decline of free play–with teaches social skills

the growth of campus bureacracy

and a rising passion for social justice in response to major national events, combined with changing ideas about what social justice requires.

The book ends with some practical suggestions about how to produce wiser kids, wiser universities and wiser societies.

This is a book that parents and educators should read.

The Prayer That Turns the World Upside Down: The Lord’s Prayer as a Manifesto for Revolution, R. Albert Mohler (Thomas Nelson, 2018)

This book takes up the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer in a very informative and practical way.  If you want to improve your prayer life, there is no better way than to pray the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray.

Overcomer: 8 Ways to Live a Life of Unstoppable Strength, Unmovable Faith, and Unbelievable Power, David Jeremiah (Thomas Nelson, 2018)

Sandwiched between chapters on David (chapter 1) and Jesus Christ (chapter 10) are eight chapters on the armor of God.  The book is full of illustrations.  Preachers will especially enjoy it.