You have to love a story where the main character runs off to grad school a staunch feminist agnostic only to return home years later as a born-again evangelical Christian. You might guess that such a transformation would take place in an environment saturated with evangelical Christians, but could you ever imagine such a thing taking place in the halls of academia? Such is the story of Surprised by Oxford. It is the account of one woman’s journey to Christ in an academic setting.

I enjoyed reading this book. I had the pleasure of reading it on my Kindle Touch
and found myself unable to put it down. I’d end up having to step out for an appointment and would let the kindle read to me while I drove.

Mrs. Webber writes with a witty and engaging style. She pulls the reader in with her vivid description of senses and feelings that one would expect of a master in story telling. She recalls events in detail and brings the reader along on her personal journey to faith in Christ.

I was greatly encouraged by this book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading a personal account of spiritual transformation.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Lottie was back in America for less than a year, she sailed for China again in November of 1877. However the time she had spent in America was time enough for her to renew some sort of contact with Crawford Toy. [1]  Toy was a language professor who she new well from her days at the Albemarle Female Institute. He was now a professor at the newly formed Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Some suppose that he possibly proposed marriage to Lottie during the early days of the Civil War, but the war had intervened.[2]

A flurry of letters were exchanged between Toy and Lottie once she was back on Chinese soil and momentarily it seemed as though Lottie Moon and Crawford Toy would be married. However, a stark theological difference appeared to be in the way. Toy had embraced Darwinian Evolution and this seemed at odds with Lottie’s understanding of the Scriptures. Lottie sought to understand things from Toy’s perspective and read the books he sent her; however, she could not be reconciled to Toy’s beliefs.[3] For Lottie, Toy’s liberalism, especially his non-historical view of Genesis was a deal breaker and the wedding never took place.[4] With her sister Edmonia back in the United States and her marriage plans cancelled, Lottie Moon had cut all ties to the Western World and fully immersed herself in mission work.[5]

Before Lottie had returned to the United States it was apparent that there was tension on the mission field.  T. P. Crawford and James Boardman Hartwell were both assigned to the Tengchow district and were at odds with one another over business issues and mission policy. Crawford had business dealing with natives from Hartwell’s church and made demands for the church to discipline its member. However, Hartwell’s church insisted on censuring Crawford instead and a feud between the two men and their churches ensued. [6]

Lottie walked a fine line between the rival missionaries and did a great deal to keep the peace on the mission field. Possibly unaware of the extent Crawford’s private business, Lottie was, “loyal to Crawford.”[7] She would invoke the wrath of Hartwell later when she moved into his China residence after it had been vacant for some time while he was on an indefinite furlough in America. Despite the difficult situation, Miss Moon kept the peace by remaining maintaining her membership at Crawford’s church while also supporting Hartwell’s North Street congregation.[8]

Somewhere in the middle of the opposition between Crawford and Hartwell was the issue of paying native pastors. Crawford was vehemently in opposition to natives receiving funds from the Mission Board. He would later write and deliver a paper entitled, “The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Employment of the Native Assistants.”[9] This issue would eventually cause Hartwell to break ranks with the Foreign Mission Board, accusing the board of being unscriptural; he would make his appeal for missionaries to be supported by churches alone. At a time when unity was much needed, Crawford became an active force for schism within the denomination as well as its mission board.[10]

Miss Moon began an earnest inquiry into the Chinese culture and developed her own sense of missionary strategy. One element of particular interest was the issue of dressing like the culture. Other mission agencies were shaving heads and dawning authentic Chinese garb with much success, while others close to Lottie were critical of Chinese dress.[11] Lottie would eventually navigate a position that would allow for her to dress like the Chinese and embrace their culture as long as it was not contrary to the Scriptures.[12]

I really like this book. 101 Bible Adventures is a great devotional type book for younger children to read with their parents and older children to read on their own. The format is well thought through and leads readers on a journey through 101 stories of the Bible.

My favorite aspect about the book is that it that the stories come straight from the scriptures (New Living Translation). Each section also includes a brief introduction setting up the story, a key verse, a single frame cartoon related to the story, and most importantly a “Now What” section that ties the story into everyday life for the reader. I find the cover and art work especially appealing to younger boys.

Overall I really like the book. It suits the audience it is targeted to well. The stories are within normal attention spans, the artwork is neatly done, and the packaging is done in a way that isn’t off-putting to girls, but is engaging to boys. I’m reading it to my children and looking forward to the day when my son can read through it on his own.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their Tyndale Blog Network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 32,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 12 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.