We have some books left over from last weekend’s regional meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, and the publishers have generously said that we can give away some of those books here. So every Wednesday, I’ll be announcing a new book giveaway. Scroll down to find out how to enter.

This week we’re giving away two books from Zondervan: For Calvinism by Michael Horton and Against Calvinism by Roger Olson. And, since I’m too lazy to mail two packages, I’ll be picking one person to win both books. Here’s the publisher’s description.

The system of theology known as Calvinism has been immensely influential for the past five hundred years, but it is often encountered negatively as a fatalistic belief system that confines human freedom and renders human action and choice irrelevant. Taking us beyond the caricatures, Michael Horton invites us to explore the teachings of Calvinism, also commonly known as Reformed theology, by showing us how it is biblical and God-centered, leading us to live our lives for the glory of God. Horton explores the historical roots of Calvinism, walking readers through the distinctive known as the “Five Points,” and encouraging us to consider its rich resources for faith and practice in the 21st Century. As a companion to Roger Olson’s Against Calvinism, readers will be able to compare contrasting perspectives and form their own opinions on the merits and weaknesses of Calvinism.

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You’re a heretic. That’s a powerful claim. One with the ability to destroy. And like all weapons of mass destruction, it should be used with extreme caution.

That’s the message of a piece Justin Holcomb wrote last week on the nature of heresy and why we need to be more careful with our labels in online discussions.

There has been a lot of talk about heresy thrown around on the Internet lately.

The frequency and volume of the accusations suggest that some Christians may have lost a sense of the gravity of the charge of heresy. The time has come to call for a strong dose of humility, restraint, and a clear and informed definition of orthodoxy and heresy.

He goes on to argue that “heresy” is a loaded word that should be used with great caution, but that it’s a word we shouldn’t just eliminate entirely. And he offers some good thoughts for defining heresy.

Go read the whole article. And if you’re looking for more information on “heresy,” check out my series on What Is “Heresy” and Who Is a Heretic? In that series, I explored a number of different ways people try to define heresy:

• What’s Your Favorite Heresy?
• Why Is It Popular to Be a Heretic?

If you’re a regular reader, you know that I’ve had to put my regular Flotsam & Jetsam posts on hold for a while. I’m hoping to pick those back up again in the next few weeks, but that will depend on how quickly I take care of some other projects I’m working on.

In the meantime, I still run across quite a few interesting blog posts and resources that I don’t want you to miss out on. Instead of offering a regular roundup of links, which takes a while to put together, I’ll occasionally highlight a post that I think is worth reading. And I’ll include the tag “random reading” in the title so you can quickly identify them in your feed reader or email.

I won’t post these very often, since the whole point of taking a break from Flotsam & Jetsam was to create space for other things. But a few times a week, I’ll try to highlight one of the more interesting posts I’ve run across. Feel free to email suggestions if you see something you think is particularly noteworthy.