Tom Parks

The Root of the Righteous is a favorite among fans of Tozer. In every chapter-each fewer than five pages-his penetrating wisdom will help you cultivate a pure heart, a full spirit, and a life that bears fruit, all as you abide in God.

The poems and photographs in this book portray not only a state but a state of mind. For several decades, the author traveled the backroads and crossroads of South Carolina, observing and experiencing the thoughts and feelings of its disparate people - at times gracious, sometimes troublesome, occasionally alarming and regretful, always deeply engrained, and never negotiable. In these pages, you will see how love and hate and ignorance and gentility do a strange, awesome dance together, in a place where time and change must wait. Like other states, South Carolina boasts its share of official totems: its state song, state bird, nickname, beverage, fish, pet, and other fond frivolities. But after reading this collection of thoughts and images from times past and present, the reader will realize that every state, like this one, must have clearly adopted schizophrenia as its official condition: "a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perceptions and inappropriate actions and feelings." That's the kind of condition that only a volume of poems and accompanying photographs can handle: raw, in depth, stark, and cushioned with affection. This book takes the reader on an intellectual journey of the state of things in years past, beginning in the soft and insouciant foothills of the Upcountry to the preening, portentous politicians, who populate the lake-laden Midlands, and finally to the languid and languorous Lowcountry. If it's true, as they say, that life is mostly a collection of memories, then this slim volume offers its readers a profundity of historical insight, revelation, and--ultimately--truth.

The poems and photographs in this book portray not only a state but a state of mind. For several decades, the author traveled the backroads and crossroads of South Carolina, observing and experiencing the thoughts and feelings of its disparate people - at times gracious, sometimes troublesome, occasionally alarming and regretful, always deeply engrained, and never negotiable. In these pages, you will see how love and hate and ignorance and gentility do a strange, awesome dance together, in a place where time and change must wait. Like other states, South Carolina boasts its share of official totems: its state song, state bird, nickname, beverage, fish, pet, and other fond frivolities. But after reading this collection of thoughts and images from times past and present, the reader will realize that every state, like this one, must have clearly adopted schizophrenia as its official condition: "a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perceptions and inappropriate actions and feelings." That's the kind of condition that only a volume of poems and accompanying photographs can handle: raw, in depth, stark, and cushioned with affection. This book takes the reader on an intellectual journey of the state of things in years past, beginning in the soft and insouciant foothills of the Upcountry to the preening, portentous politicians, who populate the lake-laden Midlands, and finally to the languid and languorous Lowcountry. If it's true, as they say, that life is mostly a collection of memories, then this slim volume offers its readers a profundity of historical insight, revelation, and--ultimately--truth.

The issue of baptism has troubled Protestants for centuries. Should infants be baptized before their faith is conscious, or does God command the baptism of babies whose parents have been baptized? Popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight makes a biblical case for infant baptism, exploring its history, meaning, and practice and showing that infant baptism is the most historic Christian way of forming children into the faith. He explains that the church's practice of infant baptism developed straight from the Bible and argues that it must begin with the family and then extend to the church. Baptism is not just an individual profession of faith: it takes a family and a church community to nurture a child into faith over time. McKnight explains infant baptism for readers coming from a tradition that baptizes adults only, and he counters criticisms that fail to consider the role of families in the formation of faith. The book includes a foreword by Todd Hunter and an afterword by Gerald McDermott.

Written by John Owen, one of the best known of the Puritans. In The Mortification of Sin, John Owen insisted on the importance of the Christian dealing effectively with their sinful tendencies and attitudes. He believed that God, through his Word and Spirit, had provided the guidelines and the power for this to be achieved. Owen effectively dismisses various excuses for not engaging in self scrutiny and yet avoids the current trend of self absorption. In so doing he provides principles to help believers live lives of holiness. As with all of Owen's writings, continues to be widely read and greatly appreciated to this day.