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Fresh Eyes on Famous Bible Sayings: Discovering New Insights in Familiar Passages
What does it mean to “put on the full armor of God”? What does knowing “the kingdom of God is within you” have to do with relationships? How does Jesus’ use of the “Golden Rule” differ from versions of the rule found in other religions? Pastor Doug Newton answers these questions and more using Scripture-reading techniques readers can then use on their own to discover life-changing truths from the Scripture passages they know the most.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2018
349 people are currently reading
625 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 31, 2019
The idea of this book is to take a new look at some of the overly familiar Bible passages. While the author made some good points and did make me think more deeply about the passages, I felt that his reasoning was sometimes iffy for the conclusions he came to. I didn't necessarily agree with some of his conclusions.
To give an example, he (a pastor) feels that people are so busy they are not engaging in church activity like they used to. He stated that the problem of busyness is not addressed in the Bible (though a few examples immediately jumped to my mind). However, he thinks that Jesus' yoke must refer to doing Christian work and so concludes that Christians should engage all their busyness in Christian activity because it results in soul rest even when you are bone tired. While I can see how that benefits a pastor, that's not really what Jesus taught about busyness or rest.
Another line of reasoning is: if God lives in us, then we will feel his joy and peace inside ourselves when we are pleasing him through obedience. So if we feel common depression or discontent, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are obeying God. The problem with this is that we live in a broken world, so doing the right thing doesn't always feel good at the time even if we are pleasing God. Anyway, this isn't a book I will be reading a second time.
To give an example, he (a pastor) feels that people are so busy they are not engaging in church activity like they used to. He stated that the problem of busyness is not addressed in the Bible (though a few examples immediately jumped to my mind). However, he thinks that Jesus' yoke must refer to doing Christian work and so concludes that Christians should engage all their busyness in Christian activity because it results in soul rest even when you are bone tired. While I can see how that benefits a pastor, that's not really what Jesus taught about busyness or rest.
Another line of reasoning is: if God lives in us, then we will feel his joy and peace inside ourselves when we are pleasing him through obedience. So if we feel common depression or discontent, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are obeying God. The problem with this is that we live in a broken world, so doing the right thing doesn't always feel good at the time even if we are pleasing God. Anyway, this isn't a book I will be reading a second time.
March 29, 2019
Awesome Book!
You will learn so much from this book. Absolute joy to read and laugh along the way. I will be reading this again and again.
You will learn so much from this book. Absolute joy to read and laugh along the way. I will be reading this again and again.
August 26, 2018
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway to facilitate the writing of this review. No other compensation was offered or requested.
One of the things about living in a “culturally Christian” nation like the United States is that a majority of people will use sayings derived from Christian sources without thinking very hard about what they originally meant. This includes actual Christian believers. Many times, we assign meanings and never consider other interpretations.
Thus this book by Pastor Newton, looking at some of those familiar phrases once again to find new perspectives. It’s part of his “Fresh Eyes” series that also considers different ways of looking at parables and miracles.
The volume is divided into chapters by saying, with a main section talking about the meaning and what new perspectives can be found on it, “20/20 Focus” with some discussion questions to make the readers think, a short prayer, and “Vision Check”–suggesting in a more metatextual way a passage can be looked at differently and assigning an exercise. This then leads to the author’s website for more thoughts.
It’s a good format for this sort of book. The chapter I found most interesting was the one on “faith moving mountains.” Like many folks, I’ve struggled with the apparent ineffectiveness of prayer in many instances, especially when prayer is the only thing you can do. The author distinguishes between “trust in God”, which is a human capability (and necessary to get any value out of reading Scripture or prayer) and “faith”, which is a gift from God granted in accordance with His will (and thus if your prayer isn’t spontaneously curing cancer, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re praying wrong.)
Pastor Newton scatters stories of how his prayers were answered throughout the text; some might say he’s selectively remembering having especially strong feelings of God’s presence in cases where prayer was successful. Concerningly, there’s a #metoo story where the author remained silent about what happened–but not to worry, because years later the perpetrator came to Jesus, in part inspired by the author’s silence on the matter.
Less good from a reader’s perspective is that three pages in the front are taken up with favorable quotes from other reviews. I’ve already got the book, why do I need more advertisement? It seems especially out of place in a religious book. (And one of the featured chapters is about Jesus’ anger at the commercialization of the Temple!) With that, a long acknowledgements section which is also an autobiography, an overview of the “Fresh Eyes” series and an introduction to the book proper, we’re 10% into the book before we get to the actual meat.
There’s an endnotes section (unlike some other authors, Pastor Newton does proper citations of things other than Scripture) and a bonus chapter from the Parables book.
Worth looking into if you want to consider other perspective on what the Bible has to tell us. Likely to be of very little use to non-believers.
One of the things about living in a “culturally Christian” nation like the United States is that a majority of people will use sayings derived from Christian sources without thinking very hard about what they originally meant. This includes actual Christian believers. Many times, we assign meanings and never consider other interpretations.
Thus this book by Pastor Newton, looking at some of those familiar phrases once again to find new perspectives. It’s part of his “Fresh Eyes” series that also considers different ways of looking at parables and miracles.
The volume is divided into chapters by saying, with a main section talking about the meaning and what new perspectives can be found on it, “20/20 Focus” with some discussion questions to make the readers think, a short prayer, and “Vision Check”–suggesting in a more metatextual way a passage can be looked at differently and assigning an exercise. This then leads to the author’s website for more thoughts.
It’s a good format for this sort of book. The chapter I found most interesting was the one on “faith moving mountains.” Like many folks, I’ve struggled with the apparent ineffectiveness of prayer in many instances, especially when prayer is the only thing you can do. The author distinguishes between “trust in God”, which is a human capability (and necessary to get any value out of reading Scripture or prayer) and “faith”, which is a gift from God granted in accordance with His will (and thus if your prayer isn’t spontaneously curing cancer, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re praying wrong.)
Pastor Newton scatters stories of how his prayers were answered throughout the text; some might say he’s selectively remembering having especially strong feelings of God’s presence in cases where prayer was successful. Concerningly, there’s a #metoo story where the author remained silent about what happened–but not to worry, because years later the perpetrator came to Jesus, in part inspired by the author’s silence on the matter.
Less good from a reader’s perspective is that three pages in the front are taken up with favorable quotes from other reviews. I’ve already got the book, why do I need more advertisement? It seems especially out of place in a religious book. (And one of the featured chapters is about Jesus’ anger at the commercialization of the Temple!) With that, a long acknowledgements section which is also an autobiography, an overview of the “Fresh Eyes” series and an introduction to the book proper, we’re 10% into the book before we get to the actual meat.
There’s an endnotes section (unlike some other authors, Pastor Newton does proper citations of things other than Scripture) and a bonus chapter from the Parables book.
Worth looking into if you want to consider other perspective on what the Bible has to tell us. Likely to be of very little use to non-believers.
March 17, 2019
Fresh eyes will give you perspective about the Bible, faith and life.
I love books that have me laughing, crying, sighing because that means it’s connecting with me on a deeper level. The Bible had become stale because I thought I had seen and heard everything there was to know about these “common” passages. Man, was I happy to be wrong! I entered a new stage of wonder and prayer, not because pastor Doug revealed “keys or steps to mysteries” but because he took me right back to the basics.
I love books that have me laughing, crying, sighing because that means it’s connecting with me on a deeper level. The Bible had become stale because I thought I had seen and heard everything there was to know about these “common” passages. Man, was I happy to be wrong! I entered a new stage of wonder and prayer, not because pastor Doug revealed “keys or steps to mysteries” but because he took me right back to the basics.
August 18, 2020
Pastor Doug has a way of turning Scripture passages upside-down, inside-out, and topsy-turvy to discover new and unexpected meanings in verses that many of us have known from childhood (perhaps memorized in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School), so that we can find fresh new inspiration within the Word of God.
This series is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
This series is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
August 24, 2020
Eyes wide open
I never looked at some of these scriptures the way this author had me look at them. It actually have me fresh eyes to see them in a different and more spiritual context.
I never looked at some of these scriptures the way this author had me look at them. It actually have me fresh eyes to see them in a different and more spiritual context.
September 27, 2018
Won in a goodreads giveaway. It was definitely not my favorite bible study that I have done, but it wasn't bad in general.
January 9, 2019
Really enjoyed diffing into various Bible sayings I have heard all of my life and discovering new perspectives or ideas I hadn’t thought of before.
January 14, 2019
I found that this book provided a refreshing look at some well known bIble stories and left me marvelling at the richness of God’s written word
March 11, 2019
Excellent
I thoroughly enjoy how Mr. Newton challenges my thinking and encourages me to look at familiar Bible passages with new perspective.
I thoroughly enjoy how Mr. Newton challenges my thinking and encourages me to look at familiar Bible passages with new perspective.
June 13, 2019
Very interesting insights. The author gives the reader lots to think about and study.
June 27, 2019
Love these books
Appreciate all the insights and way these books open up ways to read scripture. Worth your time. Worth me re-reading.
Appreciate all the insights and way these books open up ways to read scripture. Worth your time. Worth me re-reading.
October 20, 2019
Guidance
Biblically based advice. Good scripture references without taking the text out of context. Recommend for anyone wishing to strengthen their spiritual walk.
Biblically based advice. Good scripture references without taking the text out of context. Recommend for anyone wishing to strengthen their spiritual walk.
November 28, 2019
Good Info
Enjoyed reading...gleaned a few good ideas and a couple great ones! Keep up the good work, Doug Newton!! Thank you.
Enjoyed reading...gleaned a few good ideas and a couple great ones! Keep up the good work, Doug Newton!! Thank you.
July 19, 2020
Enjoyed the way it was written. Looking at famous scriptures and trying to bring out fresh insights to ponder. Sound and refreshing
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews