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Walking from East to West: God in the Shadows Review

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(More customer reviews)While the Donald Millers of the world have brought new vitality and honesty to writings on the Christian life, others, such as Philip Yancey and Ravi Zacharias, continue to dig deep into the intellectual side of the modern Christian's struggle. This depth makes their writings less accessible, yet so vital for many who are searching for answers.
In this gracious autobiography, Zacharias gives us doses of his trademark apologetics and wisdom, while providing a chronological view of his journey from suicidal teen to world-renowned evangelist. He offers glimpses into his cultural roots in India, along with helpful understanding of the eastern mindset. He shows restraint in his accounts of his family's issues, but he still manages to be honest with faults. He challenges his readers to move beyond their own search for fulfillment into a greater comprehension of who they are created to be.
As a missionary kid, I spent six months in India, experiencing some of the sights that Zacharias grew up around. I savored his anecdotes. This is a thoughtful, inspiring account of what God can do through those who are willing to "live, because he lives." Be patient, soak in the philosophical and theological musings, and see if you aren't nudged by the content of these pages.

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'Outside were stray animals and people, each about some pursuit. Sometimes it was a beggar at the door, sometimes a leprous hand reaching for a handout with a plea for compassion. Life with all its hurts and pains squinted at you, squatted before you, and stared you down daily. This was the street where I grew up.'Ravi Zacharias has lived an extraordinary life. He has walked with great leaders, slept in the villages and homes of the poor, and crossed continents to bring the good news of the gospel to the world.Already a man of two worlds by the time he was twenty, Ravi never dreamed that God would lead him from his birth home in India to Canada and the United States, and eventually to a platform on the world stage. For thirty-three years he has spoken all over the world. He has addressed writers of the peace accord in South Africa, the president's cabinet and parliament in Peru, and military officers at the Lenin Military Academy and the Center for Geopolitical Strategy in Moscow. He has given the keynote address at the National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC, and has spoken twice at the Annual Prayer Breakfast at the United Nations in New York. Walking from East to West is Ravi's life story, a deeply personal journey into his past. Dr. Zacharias invites you back to the southern India of his early childhood, and into his troubled youth in the sophisticated capital city of Delhi. He recalls the importance of a mother's love and his difficult relationship with his father. He tells about his long search for truth in wrestling with Eastern thought and the newer ideas of Christianity, the cry for help in a dark moment when he tried to take his own life---and the dramatic turning point that led to a life lived for Christ. Zacharias recalls his early days as a new convert, what it was like to find a new life in the Western world, and the eventual birth and growth of a worldwide ministry.This is a story about an amazing man. Yet it is also everyone's story about belief---how it begins, how it grows, and the struggles associated with it. Walking from East to West is a heartfelt personal story of one man's discovery that God is the author of our destinies, no matter how dark the shadows that hide the light.

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I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist Review

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(More customer reviews)THE BOOK:
I am an agnostic who is looking for something to believe in. I have searched for years now, and generally am met with lukewarm explanations and radical fundamentalism from both camps. I am not self-righteous or pig-headed enough to categorically dismiss atheist or religious arguments simply because their tone bothered me, but it does get tiresome to be on the receiving end of what is usually more bitterness and dogmatic posturing than any kind of intelligent thought or reason.
Again, I'm talking about atheists as well as religious zealots.
Which is why I enjoyed this book so much.
This is a concise, well-crafted, thoughtful and thought-provoking piece of work. There is real insight to be gleaned from the pages, and although the sum total isn't what any open-minded person would call 100% convincing, it definitely gets much closer than anything else I've discovered.
There is much talk about this book setting up straw men to be knocked down, and although the book does do that on a few occasions, it is by no means what the ultimate premise is based on. In fact, although there were some sketchy arguments and hastily covered bases, and although there were explanations missing and topics omitted, I still felt, on the whole, that it was one of the more successful books I've read from either camp.
The tone (while every once in a while devolving into brief moments of snideness and cockiness) is generally quite intelligent and emotionally removed. There is little here that is bullying or smug, and for that I was grateful. It leant the text, with its vast array of debates and discussions, a snappy and no-nonsense delivery that helped elucidate the more hazily understood, philosophical explanations.
Although, in the end, I wasn't entirely convinced by the book, I was pushed much closer to being convinced than I have yet by any book, religious, atheistic, or otherwise.
THE CRITICS:
In the course of my research, I read the reviews and the comments made by consumers on Amazon.com in order to determine how best to spend my money. I don't want to buy an atheist or christian apologetic book if what I'm going to get is watered down theories and trite cliches.
At this point, I think it would be appropriate to point out that this is, in fact, a forum for discussing the merits of the product, and not the merits of the beliefs or arguments espoused within. I understand that it's hard to remove the deeper values of the work from the work itself, but it can be done. So, if, for instance, if you are an honest consumer, you can point out the cinematic brilliance of films like the Last Temptation of Christ in spite of what that film may or may not say about the religion you may or may not adhere to.
I was dismayed by how many inflammatory and rather pointless criticisms I found for this book. I'd never read it, but I could tell by the tone and stance of the reviews that they were reacting more out of indignation toward the subject matter than out of any knowledge of the text itself. One reviewer scorned the book for being written by David Limbaugh, when the man only wrote the forward. Another person decried the book for being "all about politics," when, as far as I could tell, there wasn't a word about politics, just beliefs or the lack of them.
If you are a critic of christianity, that's fine. Trust me, I understand your point of view. But your clumsily summarized view points and your indignant rebuttals do little to enlighten people who may be interested in buying this book. There are forums in which you can openly discuss and debate these topics, but this is not one of them. This is about saying whether or not the book is worth buying. Instead of doing that, most of you have instead attempted to explain your own beliefs, as if you want to write your own book in response to Christianity, but can't be bothered.
For someone such as myself, looking for intelligent and candid help with the question of Larger Purposes (or their absence), your poorly worded rants and emotional appeals -- especially those of you wearing your rage on your sleeve -- do nothing to help me. For future reference, if you really want to help someone like me understand your points of view, instead of typing out some sloppy summation or more key-worded dismissals (argument from ignorance! straw men!), perhaps you could actually RECOMMEND A DIFFERENT BOOK.
I am always on the lookout for some way to increase my knowledge of the world, and my knowledge of what that world may do to better explain the validity or non-validity of any religion. Unlike many of you, though, I haven't been convinced yet, either way. I read your reviews in the hopes that you may be able to point me down the same path that led to your own enlightenment of absolute certainty, but all most of you did was make vacuous complaints about the book and then insult people who might actually believe or buy it.
So, if you've come online to write a scathing review or to tear apart the praisers of this book, go right ahead. But keep in mind that your own viewpoints -- as right or wrong as they might be -- are less welcome than your criticisms of the actual book in question. And if you DO think you've got it all figured out, and if you DON'T think this book does, you could at least try to share that knowledge by pointing someone like me in the right direction, and by doing that without the same snobbish condecension that you sometimes find in the relgious believers whom you so adamantly decry.

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The Weight of Glory Review

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(More customer reviews)Lewis's shorter works were generally originally composed as speeches or as articles for periodicals. Various sets of them were collected and published in book form both during his life and after his death. Trying to determine what works are in what collections is difficult - most works appear in more than one collection, some works appear under more than one title, and some collections appear under more than one title.
To aid readers, in this review I've listed the works in this collection, with notes indicating other collections they have appeared in.
Table of Contents:
"The Weight of Glory" (1), (2), (3), (4)
"Learning in War-Time" (1), (4), (5)
"Why I am Not a Pacifist" (4), (6), (7)
"Transposition" (1), (2), (3), (4)
"Is Theology Poetry?" (2), (3), (4)
"The Inner Ring" (1), (2), (3), (4)
"Membership" (1), (4), (5)
"On Forgiveness" (4), (5)
"A Slip of the Tongue" (2), (3), (4)
Notes:
(1) The original, 1949 version of this work included only these works. The other works were added in the 1980 edition. Also, the 1949 version was published in the U. K. under the title "Transposition and Other Addresses".
(2) also published in "They Asked for a Paper"
(3) also published in "Screwtape Proposes a Toast and Other Pieces"
(4) also published in "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces"
(5) also published in "Fern-Seed and Elephants and Other Essays"
(6) also published in "Timeless at Heart: Essays on Theology"
(7) also published in "Compelling Reason"
Recommendations:
If you are interested in Lewis's shorter works, my best advice is to get "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", which, as of the time of this writing, is available from Amazon UK but not Amazon US. That collection consists of about 130 short works by Lewis. The works in that collection are mostly, but not exclusively, Christian.
If your interest in Lewis's shorter works is restricted to those on Christianity, and your budget or enthusiasm does not run to "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", then my second-best advice is to get any or all of the following (they don't overlap significantly, and between them they include most of Lewis's shorter Christian writings):
"God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics"*
"The World's Last Night and Other Essays"
"Christian Reflections"
"The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses"
* Be careful - there is a UK Fontana paperback lurking about called "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology" that is substantially shorter than the "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" collection. A full version of "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" was published in the UK under the title "Undeceptions - Essays on Theology and Ethics".

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Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses offer guidance and inspiration in a time of great doubt.These are ardent and lucid sermons that provide a compassionate vision of Christianity.

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Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message Review

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(More customer reviews)I write this mainly in response to the first review of this book. The person's first critique of the book was that Ravi had treated Buddha as a god, whereas he was not nor did he claim to be. Two quotes from the book I think will suffice to show how this misrepresents the ideas expressed in the book, and begs the question, has this person read this book, and if so, how carefully did they read it?
On page 5, Ravi refers to Buddhism as a "non theistic, if not atheistic religion." Again on page 90 in reference to Buddha's stance on allowing women as disciples, Ravi says, "Whatever one may make of all this, we must be clear that in a non-theistic system, which Buddhism is...."
Implicit in both of these statements is the realization that Buddha did not claim divine status, rendering the argument made by the first reviewer inaccurate.
I found the book to be compelling, and the information presented, clearly demonstrated the uniqueness of the message of Christ when contrasted against other prevailing worldviews.
In reference to the comment about Ravi's hypocrisy, I would merely point out the lack of differentiation between an argument and a person. If indeed one man fails to live up to the claims of Christ, which the bible clearly states is impossible for man without divine intervention, the message itself is not compromised. Especially when the inability of man to do so is implicit in the message. The message of Christ stands on its own even in light of the attacks of its critics from all sides, and in light of the failure of His followers. (It should be noted that I am not at all implying that Ravi is a failure.)
First, the first reviewer is basing his/her claim of Dr. Zacharias' hypocrisy on a request in a review that he may never see, responding to a person who included no address to which to mail a check.
Second, The argument is based on a person's obedience to a command; not the validity of the one who gave the command, therefore, the criticism fails to disprove the christian message.
Third, the argument seems to be a verbal smokescreen composed of second-hand doubt to hide behind in order to justify the refusal to come to terms with the personal implications of the christian message being true. I mean this in no way to offend the reviewer.
The book, which I think was excellent, discussed how Jesus' claims are unique, and would not have been made by the founders of any other religion. My personal favorite chapter was entitled "a taste for the soul." In this chapter, Ravi points out how Jesus constantly pointed people to a need that was deeper than their physical hunger, to a spiritual hunger that everyone has. He goes on to say that when Jesus says he is the bread of life he is establishing himself as the source of satisfaction, and is actually positing himself as his message. In other words Jesus doesn't point us to satisfaction; he is our satisfaction. As Ravi points out, other founders of religions offer ways to peace or satisfaction, etc., whereas Jesus says," I am the way."
I have consistently found Ravi's writings to be stimulating reading, engaging both the heart and the mind. I would heartily recommend this book to both Christians who are looking for help in learning to defend their faith, and to nonchristians who may be trying to see if the Christian worldview is indeed an intellectually coherent one. As Ravi points out doubt is often a product of ones background every bit as much as faith often is. So the automatic dismissal of anything supernatural often carries with it as many prejudices and presuppositions as faith is accused of carrying. So to anyone who will come and read objectively, I believe you will find a compelling case that the claims of Christ are intellectually tenable, and healing to the soul.

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In his most important work to date, apologetics scholar and popular speaker Ravi Zacharias shows how the blueprint for life and death itself is found in a true understanding of Jesus.With a simple yet penetrating style, Zacharias uses rich illustrations to celebrate the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives.Jesus Among Other Godscontrasts the truth of Jesus with founders of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, strengthening believers and compelling them to share their faith with our post-modern world.

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The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus Review

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(More customer reviews)This book offers a "Cliff Notes" like approach in that it condenses the work of many leading Christian scholars into an easy to read format. It is a case FOR Christ, not a true courtroom "hear both sides of the issue" book.
Some other reviewers disliked the lack of 2-sided arguments (there are no interviews w/leading atheists and/or Jesus Seminar thinkers). Being that the title is the case FOR Christ, I did not hold this expectation and was not bothered by this. However, as a staunch skeptic who was not raised with a Christian background, I supplied much of the case AGAINST Christ in my own head.
WHAT I LIKED: The book presents a good introduction of Christian scholarship and answers to common objections regarding the historicity of the Gospels--objections which already existed in my own mind. Suggestions for further reading (primary sources by the interview subjects) are included for those who desire a more thorough scholarly approach.
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE: I felt the "re-creation" of Strobel's own search was un-necessary and a bit contrived, as were the comments he interjected when he was interviewing his subjects. Perhaps that is a carry over from his journalism days. I would have prefered a more straightforward interview, but this matter of taste is small and overall I found the book worthwhile despite these stylistic objections.
HOW IT AFFECTED ME: I came to this book as a very skeptical, non-practicing agnostic Jew (who was raised w/a religious education), fresh from my reading CS Lewis' Mere Christianity (which I highly recommend). Book 1 of Lewis, with his logic/philosophy helped me see that the existence of God logically made sense, but I did not yet know *which* version of a monotheistic God was correct--the rest of his book didn't resonate for me on the first reading as it dealt specifically w/Christianity. Strobel's book answered my questions regarding history/fact as it related to the New Testament.
Was The Case for Christ "made" for me in this book? Partially, yes. And partially by Lewis too, which I reread after reading Strobel.
My ultimate conversion came through study of these and other sources, which led me to literally ask God to show himself to me in a way that I would be sure that it was indeed God. I mention this because I believe that for a stubborn skeptic like me, no single source (with the possible exception of the Bible, LOL) would have been able to convince me on its own. Rather, it was a combination of sources/experiences that did so. These included reading the above mentioned books, attending a few church services even while I was still very skeptical, opening myself to the possibility that I had been mistaken in my belief that God didn't matter (if there was even a God to begin with) and literally asking God to let me know him if He was indeed real.
Ultimately, the proof came in a manner that goes beyond scientific verifcation or re-creation. Critics of Christianity and of this and other apologetic works make a good point when they claim God cannot be proved scientifically. I agree. God is beyond science. Scientific or logical methods such as textural criticism, formal logic, archaeology, and so on, can help close the gap in accepting the possibility of God's realness, but ultimately, the gap, at least for me, was completely and finally bridged not by book or proof, but by an experience that cannot be tested scientifically nor recreated in a lab. Skeptics, atheists or agnostics who deep down are married to their viewpoints--no matter what--will likely not budge, and may label the non-testability of my "proof experience" as suspect. I don't begrudge that and would have said the same thing. It had to have it happen to me first-hand before I would believe, and I was able to keep God at bay for years due to my own certainty that this God-stuff was for dummies. I was smart and logical and would have none of that God nonsense. So, this experience came as a big surprise--one that in retrospect was very welcome.
Your mileage in reading this book will vary. If you want to learn something, you can. If you are dead set against learning anything new that might be different from what you already know that you know, it is almost guaranteed that this book will have nothing to offer you. I realize that God's allowing us to come to Him only through our own free will sounds like a cop out and is criticized by non-believers as an all too convenient excuse, but as a former non-believer myself (who was proud of it and who ridiculed that free will stuff too), I say, so be it.

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Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C.S. Lewis Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a compulsive C.S. Lewis collector and, if you're even thinking about buying this book - I'll bet it's not the first volume of Lewis that you'll place upon your shelf, either. His life was so complex, his imagination so expansive and his faith so deep that I find myself drawn toward his often strange and ultimately triumphant life over and over again. I've collected virtually all of his books and nearly all of the main titles written about him over the years. I even own the big 3-volume collection of his letters.
So, why buy this new book if your "Lewis shelf" looks even a little bit like the overflowing Lewis section in my library?
I think there are a couple of reasons that this book is a great new offering: First, most of us are hesitant to purchase, let alone slog all the way through, the big 3-volume set. I'll admit that, while my set of the letters has some turned-down corners here and there - I haven't waded through those volumes cover to cover to cover to ... Well, you get the point.
Second, we love reading letters, don't we? Letters are foundational in the world's great religions. Our revelations come to us, quite often, in the form of epistles. The New Testament books are mostly letters. As a journalist and editor myself for more than 30 years, I've written thousands of letters (now Emails and posted epistles) and I've received, edited and published thousands of readers' letters. I can tell you this - there are few books with the impact of a well-written, well-timed letter.
And, third, Paul F. Ford has pulled into these nearly 400 pages a most intriguing, sometimes troubling and always fascinating thematic collection of "Jack" Lewis' letters concerning "spiritual direction." In a very brief introduction, Ford outlines his choices as falling into three categories: "spiritual companionship" (letters to friends on spiritual matters), "spiritual discipleship" (letters Lewis wrote seeking advice) and "spiritual direction" (letters in which Lewis gave advice).
Ford turns this book into a great choice for seasonal reading - forming a kind of pathway of letter-shaped stepping stones out of Lewis' expansive and, quite often, very messy life. Ford is handing us a book that small groups, including Sunday-morning classes, could divide into chunks for at least a two-month study of Lewis and the spiritual legacy of such letters.
Curiously, HarperOne gives Ford precious little space in this book - or perhaps Ford chose not to step too prominently into the path of readers who are eager to encounter Lewis, rather than the editor. Nevertheless, it's important, especially if you're thinking about buying this book, to realize that you're in the hands of widely acknowledged Lewis scholar.

Ford has feet firmly planted both in Catholic and Protestant worlds. He likes to point out that he was the first Roman Catholic in the doctoral program at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena - and he now is a professor of theology and liturgy at St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California. In his spare time, he rolls out Lewis books that I - among thousands of others - keep picking up and enjoying.
He's the creator of one of my own most-thumbed Lewis volumes, the thick little paperback, "Companion to Narnia." I also recommend that book - if you're jumping into that delightful fantasy realm along with millions of other Americans in this era of Narnian revival.
The important point here is that whatever your religious orientation may be as you think about Lewis - and think about this book and its themes - you're in firm hands here whether you're a newly minted evangelical, a curious mainliner or an active Catholic hoping to stir up your parish's adult education program.
Finally, let me point out a couple of personal "favorites" within this new collection.
I love the final section of the book. It's quite well known now among Lewis fans that he died on the same day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated half a world away. JFK's passing completely eclipsed Lewis' passing in global media. And, oddly enough, reading these letters that Ford has excerpted for us -- notes scattered throughout the months of Lewis' demise - I suspect that Lewis himself wouldn't have cared an iota that his death dropped from the front pages. Oh, Lewis loved the media limelight. But, for Lewis, at the actual point of his death -- his own story already had unfolded. His final letters clearly make the case that he had enjoyed the great adventures of his life and settled matters peaceably as he approached these final days.
There's a 1963 letter to a friend here in which he writes that preparation for death "means stripping off that body which is tormenting you: like taking off a hair-shirt or getting out of a dungeon. What is there to be afraid of?" Amazing. Death as "getting out of a dungeon," penned by a dying master of dungeon lore.
And, then, leaping back into the middle of the book: Some of this may be a revelation to you if you haven't read many contemporary spiritual memoirs (and I'm thinking here of the writings left behind by saints such as Dorothy Day). But, in the heart of the book, you'll find that Lewis' amazing life wasn't constructed as one continuous cruise through mystic inspiration. Quite the contrary! Real saints like Lewis, Day and others admit that spiritual life is full of fumbles, dead ends and silences.
I especially recommend a letter penned in 1948 in which Lewis begins by advising his friend: "I very much doubt if I'm good enough at prayer myself to advise others." And then, as he begins to offer his thoughts, friend to friend, he writes like this: "Of course it is very difficult to keep God only before one for more than a few seconds. Our minds are in ruins before we bring them to Him and the rebuilding is gradual."
This is a hefty little book at nearly 400 pages and perhaps not a typical choice for small groups - but I would urge you not to miss this great and often strange spiritual adventure with our old friend, Jack.

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The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith Review

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I was attracted to read this book because of my familiarity with Peter Hitchens and his brother Christopher Hitchens. Both have become public intellectuals of varying degree. And both, as it turns out, have books being released this summer. I was excited when I got the opportunity to read this book, so provocatively titled "The Rage Against God."
This book is very much a testimonial (and an apologetic as well) of a man's life lived in the rapidly changing Britain (and West) of the post-WWII ear through today. Hitchens description of the Britain of his youth is accurate in the narrative of a nation that has slowly ossified and changed from what was a person living in Great Britain would have known prior to WWI. The public confidence in British institutions has greatly changed (witness the wrangling over Princess Diana's death by Queen Elizabeth II, for example) The relevance of Christian life in public life that was common-place and expected, whether at Christmas time or Easter was unquestioned.Hitchens describes how these touchstones have rapidly disappeared to the point where public pronouncements of religious faith are mocked and shunned to the extent that expression becomes an oddity. Witness the Church Of England abandoning so much of the liturgy that was known prior to WWII by almost all Brits. Today, even Biblical history is rapidly disappearing from public life.
Hitchens goes on to make three counterpoints of common lodestars of what non-believers argue as reasons for abandoning faith: religious faith causes conflict, moral relativism and atheism in nation/states. Finally, Hitchens goes on to debate the arguments of how the alternative to the "Christian" state, i.e. Marxist/Leninist states (such as the Soviet Union) are inherently and inextricably linked to the idea that a Godless state does not lead to 'excesses.' Of course, knowing the backstory of Peter and his brother, Christopher Hitchens as agnostics/atheists made this part far more compelling.
Frankly, I breezed through this book in just a few hours. Yes, it is short (clocking in at around 200 pages), but it is a very interesting and fascinating take on modern life (many of his observations seem undeniable for better or worse). Though this book may be thought of as a Christian testimonial, it is never preachy or judgmental. Rather, it is fascinating and compelling in illustrating why this particular former Trotskyite (!) was compelled to renounce his atheistic ways and find religion.
I really enjoyed this book, almost unexpectedly because I just didn't know what to expect from this book. But, I found myself thinking about my life in a different way, and indeed, it gave me a new perspective about thinking of how contemporary events are shaped.
I look forward to reading his brother's last book as a counterpoint. Indeed, in the marketplace of ideas about faith on both a personal level and on a communal level, this book is a valuable tool.

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Deliver Us From Evil Review

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(More customer reviews)In this thought-provoking book, author and Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias looks at the culture of the modern West, and sees it locked in a crisis that is already producing evil before our eyes. The first part of the book looks at the rise of three interlocking principles: 1) militant secularism, 2) moral relativism-based multiculturalism, and 3) the privatization of religion (demanding a separation of religion from public life). With piercing analysis, Dr. Zacharias examines the heart of the West's problems (mainly the United State's problems), how we got to where we are, and what it means.
This book is definitely one to give you much food for thought. Indeed, some of his statements seem prescient in light of the recent flaps over gay marriage and the Passion movie. I would recommend that all Christians read this book. By the way, when you finish the last chapter of the book, keep reading, the two appendices on the Bible and truth are fascinating and should not be skipped.

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In this compelling volume, Ravi Zacharias examines the mystery of evil. This brilliant writer and gifted teacher traces how secularization has led to a loss of shame, pluralization has led to a loss of reason, and privatization has led to a loss of meaning.

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Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity Review

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(More customer reviews)Greg and Edward Boyd have have given us a great blessing in publishing their correspondence on the nature of Christianity. This book is unique among the many apologetic sorts of books I have read for a few reasons:
1)It's honest. Ed Boyd doesn't go easy on his son about Christianity. The questions are thoughtful, penetrating and genuine, not straw men set up to be easily knocked down. Greg Boyd's answers are equally thoughtful and well stated. He doesn't overwhelm with theological language but does a very good job of explaining difficult ideas in simple language. He honestly admits to uncertainty in places, but does a fine job of showing that uncertainty need not be a serious impediment to genuine faith and rational belief. I have never seen so many difficult questions about Christianity answered so well in so little space.
2)It's intimate. This is a discussion between a father and son who genuinely love and respect one another. It's a model for how important, ultimate issues can be debated in a very constructive manner.
3)It's powerful. Ed Boyd's conversion is more than a mere acceptance of certain religious beliefs. It is a powerful testimony to the power of God to change a human life wonderfully "from the inside out."
Many have objected to parts of Greg Boyd's theology. For example K. Restoule's review here goes so far as to say this isn't really a Christian book because of Boyd's "Open Theism." (See his other books for a more detailed treatment of his theology.) Though I have some questions about this position myself, I think Boyd is a genuine evangelical Christian theologian who is wrestling honestly with how to make the best sense out of the whole Bible's portrayal of God. Restoule's objections are one-sided. There are plenty of places in the Bible where God is portrayed as being shocked (even surprised?) at human behavior. He changes his mind. He is passionate and emotional (if the prophets are to be believed and Jesus is really God incarnate). God doesn't fit in a neat little conceptual box and Greg Boyd is honest about that. He deserves a fairer more open-minded reading than many of his critics give him.
If God is the most powerful being in existence, he can do anything; even limit himself in some respects (not all) with regard to his knowledge of the future. To some people this implies a diminshment of God. If so, it is a self-diminishment--no other being has done it to him--and he is still is the most powerful being in existence--no one else has more foreknowledge than he. So how is God diminished? Is God unable to right any wrong just because he didn't "know" it would happen beforehand (because it wasn't part of reality before it happened)? I don't think so. I think Boyd makes a good point when he suggests that the conception of God that many Christians have may owe itself more to the ancient Greeks than to Christianity (or the Judaism from which it sprang) and biblical teaching.
Greg Boyd is a passionate, whole-hearted Christian with the Highest regard for the Bible. That comes out very clearly in this book. I highly recommend it.

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A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works Review

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(More customer reviews)A C. S. Lewis devotee knows that Lewis died the same day as President Kennedy. Though it's not mentioned in the jacket copy --- and the book includes no introduction --- that forty-year commemoration might have been the catalyst for this new compilation of 366 daily readings drawn from what the publisher calls his (capital-letter) Signature Classics: MERE CHRISTIANITY, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, THE GREAT DIVORCE, THE PROBLEM OF PAIN, MIRACLES and A GRIEF OBSERVED, plus (apparently perceived in some other category) THE WEIGHT OF GLORY and THE ABOLITION OF MAN.
Drawing on this bank, this book provides food for thought more than for devotion. Readers looking for a devotional aid will need to make a conscious leap to apply the material to a personal line of prayer. And yet the presented theological, philosophical and sociological points, all focused by Lewis's Christian worldview, do serve to draw the reader to a keener awareness of God's presence, character and role; his being, creations and relationships.
The one-page selections have been deftly arranged by Patricia Klein, who in times past edited the annual Cahill calendars featuring quotable lines from Lewis and his Inkling cohorts. She has given each reading a clear but not clever title that orients readers going into a selection and grounds them coming out: "Love the Sinner . . .", "The Real Test", "Nice Is Not Enough", and "How Marriage Reconciles."
Her selections are well organized. Each stands on its own, but many, usually from one source, for four or five days at a time thematically build on one another. We spend a week in March, for example, noting the pitfalls of pride (from MERE CHRISTIANITY) before being introduced to "Humility 101" (from THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS).
Although the first SCREWTAPE entry (January 13) includes a paragraph that explains the first-person, demonist voice of this novel, an unwary reader unfamiliar with that book's tongue-in-cheek style can be confused later on. Trying to head off said confusion, Klein has added an italicized tag onto each SCREWTAPE reading (i.e., "Screwtape reveals a powerful tool for distraction").
I personally connected most with Lewis, the man, in his readings from A GRIEF OBSERVED, in which he mourns the death of his wife. But I also connected with Lewis's God in selections from MERE CHRISTIANITY and THE WEIGHT OF GLORY.
The volume is nicely packaged: a ribbon bound into the spine to mark your place, a table of contents on a part-title page at the beginning of each month, three book-end indices. When I turned a page, I first glanced to the bottom, anticipating an occasional date-specific Lewis-biographical event: a book publication, an academic achievement, a family birth or death --- November 22, 1963, "Lewis dies at 5:30 P.M. at The Kilns, one week short of his sixty-fifth birthday. . . "
Most readings are three, four, five times longer than the one I cite below (September 27), which is the shortest in the book. As compiled in A YEAR WITH . . . Lewis only occasionally quotes Scripture and never more aptly than here, speaking of the apostle Peter's seaside conversation with Jesus: "There are questions at issue between Christians to which I do not think we have been told the answer. There are some to which I may never know the answer: if I asked them, even in a better world, I might (for all I know) be answered as a far greater questioner was answered: 'What is that to thee? Follow thou Me.' "
--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

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