done.: what most religions don't tell you about the Bible

I am constantly on the lookout for books to read on my Kindle.  I have to confess, that I am extremely frugal, so on a regular basis I scour the Amazon Kindle store looking for free or inexpensive books to download.  I have found some very enjoyable books over the last 9 months since I bought my Kindle.

There are a couple genres of books that I look to download.  I have recently gotten back into reading fiction.  Brad Thor and his Scot Harvath series is my current favorite.  I have also enjoyed the Dan Brown books.  Occasionally, I read some conservative politics.  The one genre that I tend to gravitate towards is books about the Christian religion and spirituality.

Even though I am not active in a church these days, I still am on the lookout for good books on the Christian faith.  I gravitate towards books that really dig deep and make you think, and consequently grow.  That is why I was intrigued when I saw the book done.: what most religions don't tell you about the Bible by Cary Schmidt.

I have to say that I was pretty disappointed in the book overall.  I was hopeful that the author would delve deeper into the Bible and provide me with something deeper.  Instead, I felt like I was reading something more like an expanded Bible tract delivering a simple salvation message.  It really did not provide me with anything new or thought provoking.

The author says there are basically two religions with a lot of variations among the two.  There are those that fall in the "DO" category. These religions provide you with a list of activities that you need to do to "earn" your salvation before God.  Then there is the "DONE" religion, which emphasizes the finished work of Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation to reconcile yourself to God.

Usually, I can find something about a book that I like.  The message itself was fine, as there is always something to like about the gospel message of salvation.  The delivery of the message left something to be desired.  The author constantly addressed the reader as "friend," as in "Friend, do you know where you will spend eternity?"  It got a bit annoying after a while.

To be honest, I actually considered putting the book aside and begin reading something else.  The good thing is it is a relatively short book.  Thankfully, it was one of those free books that I found on Amazon.  I would have been really disappointed had I spent money on it.  On a positive note, it would be a decent book for a new believer or seeker, but not for somebody looking for something a little deeper. 

Shrouded in Silence

I like a lot of different types of books.  In the past, I would primarily read books on Christian theology or living, or books about other religions and philosophy.  Fiction was not something that I read a lot of, though I have been working some more of that genre into my reading.

The type of fiction that I usually gravitate to are books that have a lot of actions.  I have really been reading a lot of Brad Thor and his Scot Harvath series.  I also like to read books that have some basis in fact and teach you something while reading a fictional work.  An example of which would be works like Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and The Lost Symbol.  Books like those cause you to think while enjoying a piece of fiction.

During one of my many visits to Amazon.com to search for new books to add to my Kindle, I came across a book by Robert Wise that I thought looked interesting.  The book is entitled Shrouded in Silence, and is the story of husband and wife biblical scholars Jack and Michelle Townsend and their quest to find the original ending to the Gospel of Mark.

One would not think that the scholarly pursuit of studying ancient biblical documents would lead to an adventure tale, but in this case it does.  The Townsends follow clues through the streets of Rome in pursuit of their quest.  Eventually, they are dealing with dangers from an anti-American terrorist group and one of their rivals in the study of ancient documents.  They survive gun fights and explosions while exploring historic Roman sites.

While I did enjoy the book and the story line, it definitely did not live up to the hopes that I had for it when I downloaded the book.  There was a lot of dialog in the book, primarily between the main couple.  As you were reading the book, it became all too clear the direction the author was taking some of the characters.  The ending of the book wound up being all too predictable.

Shrouded in Silence was one of the several books that I have found for my Kindle that I was able to download from Amazon for free or a very reduced price.  Currently, it can be downloaded for the normal Amazon Kindle price of $9.99.  The book is one of the reasons I frequently search for free books on Amazon, a book I enjoyed reading for free, but I would have been disappointed had I bought it at full price.