Saturday, January 21, 2012

"Reasons We Believe: 50 Lines of Evidence that Confirm the Christian Faith" by Nathan Busenitz - Kindle Edition

This short book is a perfect starting point for those who have an interest in Christian apologetics, but do not know where to begin. The author has done some thorough research, and the footnotes will provide the reader with many other fine resources for further study and reading.
I applaud Nathan Busenitz for producing a book that has all of the scholarly work presented in an easily-comprehended manner. Even Christians who do not consider themselves "readers" will find this book to be helpful.
The author states that the book can be read straight through (which I did) or used as a topical reference. There are disadvantages and advantages to both approaches. First, the disadvantage to reading it straight through is that many of the items are repetitive. Some of the same verses and facts are used to back different arguments, so you will read them many times.
In my opinion, the disadvantage to reading it topically is that some of the evidences do not hold so powerfully when they are taken by themselves. For instance, one evidence for Christianity is the lives of the many people who have been changed by the Gospel. While this is true, it is not necessarily important evidence in the search for truth - because an atheist could claim that his or her life was changed when he or she denied the existence of God; or a buddhist could claim the same thing, etc. Therefore, a budding apologist may think this a powerful argument if he just read this chapter individually. However, if one were to debate this line of evidence with an intellectual atheist, one would quickly be silenced and confounded.
The greatest advantage to reading the book straight through is to see the CUMULATIVE evidence for Christianity. When approached this way, all of the evidence mounts up to form an impenetrable wall of facts that the atheist, agnostic, or antagonist may beat their head against but never beat down.
It is always encouraging to see that the Christian faith is built upon fact. That is one good reason for all Christians to study apologetics.
5 out of 5 stars!
Many thanks to Bro. Paul Lowe for loaning me this Kindle edition!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

"Certain Jeopardy" by Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky

This book delivers on so many levels - I was floored. The action was great, but the depth of the characters made the book exciting. The story is fairly simple: the U.S. sends a team of elite soldiers to do some reconnaissance in Venezuela. "They" believe that a terrorist group is training extremists there... In actuality, the Venezuelans have captured an American nuclear scientist and want to trade him to the terrorists to help them develop WMDs. The Special Ops team may have to kill the scientist to prevent his knowledge from being used by the wrong people. This creates quite a dilemma for a certain member of the Special Ops team who happens to be a strong Christian - and he is already reeling from the death of an innocent person at the hands of his team.
To put it bluntly, no non-Christian author can write this story because it deals with themes that are uniquely Christian (such as the scenario described above). When you have talented writers with real-life experience in the subject matter, who write for a bigger purpose than just to astound the readers with explosions and action, you cannot go wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised by the over-arching Christian elements to the story. There was at least one scene in the book where the Gospel was clearly presented - and the Christians in the story (with one back-slidden exception) wear the name of Christ well.
But, seriously, the most amazing thing about the book was the way that I immediately had a heart-connection with the characters. They felt like real people going through real problems and displaying real emotion. (Not all of the conflict happens with guns and gadgets... there are other problems - family problems, health problems, etc). I read a lot of books, and let me tell you that few authors have the ability to make characters this real.

In short, I cannot WAIT to start reading "Blaze of Glory"! Struecker and Gansky have made a fan out of me in a BIG way.

A rock-solid 10 out of 10 stars!

"The Knight" by Steven James

Okay, at this point I think it's safe to say that Steven James hasn't learned how to write a bad book. "The Knight" picks up nicely right where "The Rook" left off. In this book, Patrick Bowers deals with some new problems - family problems. He also is faced with evidence that seems to indicate someone very dear to him is the killer he's after.
There were a few minor criticisms. The identity of the killer was unexpected - but at the same time it was very similar to a previous Patrick Bowers story (I won't tell you which one). Also, again dealing with serial killers, there are some scenes in which violence is described. But it comes with the subject matter.
I love the references to Poe and other works of literature, as well as the "side-issues" that enter the books - usually in dialogue between Patrick and his step-daughter. In fact, the character of Tessa becomes even MORE complex in this book (if possible), but she is a fascinating person to read.
I still believe "The Pawn" is my favorite so far, but this story easily holds its own in the series.
I'd give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

Monday, January 2, 2012

"Unveiling the End Times in Our Time" by Adrian Rogers (Kindle Edition)

Adrian Rogers is a man I deeply respect. His Bible teaching was always incredibly clear, and his writing was just as good as his preaching. He had a marvelous preaching voice. He had such a winsome demeanor and a contagious glow about him.
This book is really a commentary on the book of Revelation, but not so much a verse-by-verse as it is a paragraph-by-paragraph. Throughout the entire work, the glory and superiority of Jesus is proclaimed. Due to the nature of the structure of Revelation, Bro. Rogers' book was necessarily repetitive concerning certain ideas - but he always managed to approach similar thoughts in unique and thought-provoking ways. He also alliterated everything, which usually bothers me because of the great lengths preachers will go to find the right matches for the alliterations. Adrian Rogers' alliterations, however, seemed to flow naturally from the text of Scripture, and they were not tiring or distracting at all. He also managed to fill the book with interesting or inspiring stories (some personal, some not) to help illustrate the truth he was expounding.
The greatest characteristic of this book is that it is highly evangelistic. Rarely would a chapter end without an invitation to receive Christ as your Savior if you have not done so. This tells me much about the man behind the book - that he had a heart for soulwinning. And anyone who is a dedicated soul-winner has a great love for the Lord (and for people).
Minor criticisms would concern my disagreement with some of the symbolism that the author interprets from the passages; but since it is possible that he is right and I am wrong, I can't hold it against him! Even though it seemed to be a fairly introductory look at prophecy in Revelation, I did learn some things from the book.
This was a great book from a great man of God who was also a great preacher. Highly recommended!
P.S.  Many thanks to Bro. Paul Lowe for loaning me this Kindle Edition!