Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Essentials for Life by Marcia Ford, and Honest Review

Summary: 'Essentials for Life' is intended to be a devotional on the basics of Christianity, the fundamentals of the faith if you will, and is meant to help you figure out what you truly believe on these issues.

Theological and Faith Issues: Personally, I mostly agreed with everything in this book. The author was rather neutral on denominations, instead sticking to the Bible and comparing that with what she taught. There was nothing wild or off-base, maybe a few minor things I disagreed with, but nothing huge.

Writing Style and Message: The cover states that this book discusses and reviews major beliefs of the Christian faith, and it does that, in a way. One problem in tackling such a challenge is that, as the author states, it is immensely vast. This book was simply too short to address all these issues correctly, giving them a two page overview instead. What you'll learn when reading this devotional is that these issues exist, and that they are important, but you won't learn how to really defend them, which is something I was hoping for. Each chapter basically tells you to learn more about the belief discussed. There are a few pointers at the end, but not enough for a christian to become grounded on. Though this isn't that great with the shortness of it, it is a good devotional. You just need to read other books, or better yet, the Bible, to really get a grip on the standards the author writes about.
As for her style, I liked it. Friendly, and easy to understand, it gives the book an advantage in that many types of people can read it and learn.

Product Make: The pages are glossy and not boring. I had an issue with the cover though, as the flap simply won't stay shut, but flips out. I don't know why that is.

All in all, this is a pretty good devotional. I'll give it four stars, but I would say there are better out there.

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