A Birthday Present

I finished this book about a week ago, but I figured that I would put up a review due to the fact that it's John Calvin's 500th birthday today! I think I'll try to have a brew to John Calvin tonight! Here's to you, Johnny!

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As I grew up watching basketball I noticed that the most prominent players seemed to have been given nicknames in the form of "The ______". We have "The Dream", "The Glide", "The Worm". Portrait of Calvin is a brief look at the man simply remembered as "The Theologian".For many years, a reference to "The Theologian" was widely recognized as a reference the reformer who had such a fervor for truth. Few men in history have had the combination of drive, passion, intellect, and humility that formed John Calvin. On the day when one of the most prolific, influential writers and pastors of the last millenia died, May 27, 1564, his burial was not followed by tens of thousands of Europeans. Instead, his request was granted and he was buried in an unmarked grave, the final push in pointing towards Jesus Christ rather than John Calvin.

This is not a summary of the Institutes or even of his theology but simply a look at who Calvin was: a man like you and me. We live in an age where it is so easy to take people and turn them into a symbol or set of ideas. As Parker brings us through Calvin's academic upbringing, conversion, battles with the local government, and even love life, a man emerges different from "the angry predestination guy" that is more or less the light he is portrayed in on his 500th birthday.

He was a man saved by grace who worked extremely hard in both reforming the church and the city in which he lived, Geneva. He was a man who made many friends along with many enemies as he sought to live out God's will in Geneva. His reverence for the Scriptures have inspired countless theologians. Few writers in history have shared the lasting power that Calvin has. Though his nickname (The Theologian) is known to fewer people today on his birthday, as time goes by, we see that it is a name deserved more with each passing day.

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze

As I finished the last pages of River Town by Peter Hessler I couldn't help but being surprised at what I was feeling. Here I was, at 2 in the morning in northern Minnesota, yet I wanted to savor the last pages slowly. That simply because as I came to the end of the book, I knew that I had to leave China. I knew as I left the ancient rivers and mountains, that the adventure of two years in the far east with close friends and was coming to an end.

What words come to mind when trying to sum up River Town? The first two that come are simply beautiful and peaceful. River Town is a serene book written about one man's experience as a teacher in China in the Peace Corps. The book documents every learning point, every major experience, every akward moment w/ the students (and the Communist party), and every moment of growth in understanding.

As Peter Hessler weaves the rich history of one of the oldest remaining civilizations into his story, the reader starts to understand how deeply the past (especially the past century) has affected the life and perspective of every individual Chinese. Through Hessler's lens we begin to see a people- a proud people with an exciting future still scarred deeply by a painful past.

Nowhere is the tension of China's past and future, of history and progress, more evident than in one of the key themes of the book: The Three Gorges Dam. The controversy of the dam so well-documented throughout the world is nearly unbeknownst to the people actually being affected by the dam. As people are removed from homes and thousand-year-old landmarks, like the White Crane Ridge, are wiped from history, we are faced with the realization that the Chinese are regularly faced with difficult decisions and sacrifices that Americans have never dreamed of making.

Most of all, River Town is a trip to a different world. Since I've been back from China for the last two years, I have longed to go back- to see the countryside, to learn the language. As I lived vicariously through Hessler I found that in a real way I was seeing the countryside, that I was experiencing the joys and frustrations of learning the language, and more than that, I was getting to know China and it's people. This is a very beautifully and well-written book. If you've ever dreamed of walking the Chinese countryside, pick River Town up and prepare for the trip of a lifetime.