God and Donald Trump, by Stephen E. Strang, Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House Book Group, 2017, 256 pp, $15.50 hardcover.
Introduction
This summer, I had the privilege of reading a pre-release copy of God and Donald Trump, by Stephen E. Strang.[1] Continue reading “God and Donald Trump”
Open, by David Gregory, Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2016, 153 pp, hardcover, ISBN: 978-1496413963
David Gregory’s Open is a delightful, quick read that shares one of the great truths of Christian living in a very accessible way. Continue reading “Open, by David Gregory”
The Bible Tells Me So, by Peter Enns, New York: Harper One, 2014, 267 pp, paperback, ISBN: 978-0062272034.
What do you do when the Bible doesn’t behave? Well, if you follow the lead of Peter Enns, you decide that the Canaanite genocide never happened, that the creation narratives were designed by post-exilic writers to justify and support Israel’s national identity, and that stories of Jesus’ birth in the Gospels were embellished in order to underscore the broader implications of Jesus’ life and work. Continue reading “The Bible Tells Me So, by Peter Enns”
If You Can Keep It : The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty, by Eric Metaxas, New York: Viking, 2016, 267 pp, hardcover, ISBN: 978-1101979983.
If You Can Keep It is an admirable book by renowned author Eric Metaxas. Metaxas is a #1 New York Times best-selling author, best known for biographies of such greats as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and William Wilberforce. Continue reading “If You Can Keep It, by Eric Metaxas”
Believers, Thinkers, and Founders, by Kevin Seamus Hasson New York: Image, 2016, 240 pp, hardcover, ISBN: 978-0307718181.
What is the difference of pledging allegiance to “one nation under God,” versus “one nation under Jesus Christ?” Is liberty, as the framers of the Constitution understood it, possible without an acknowledgment of a divine authority which bestows such liberty? These are just two of the questions that Kevin Seamus Hasson addresses in his 2016 book, Believers, Thinkers, and Founders. Continue reading “Believers, Thinkers, and Founders, by Kevin Seamus Hasson”
Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, by Christopher A. Hall, Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2002, 308 pp, paperback, ISBN: 978-0830826865
A pastor once said to me, “If you want information about God, books written in the last five years are great. But, if you want intimacy with God read books written at least 500 years ago.” Continue reading “Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, by Christopher A. Hall”
Genesis in Space and Time, by Francis Schaeffer, Downers Grove, IL; InterVarsity Press, 1972, 167pp, paperback, ISBN: 978-0877846369
What is the solution to the dilemmas man finds himself faced with? Everywhere one looks, one can observe man at odds with God, with himself, with other men, and with nature. Francis Schaeffer, in his book Genesis in Space and Time
The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind, by Alister McGrath, Downers Grove, IVP Academic, 2010, 210 pp, hardcover, ISBN: 978-0830836758
Alister McGrath is, arguably, one of the keenest intellectuals in Western Christianity today. A former atheist, he is internationally recognized as a historian, biochemist, and theologian, and is the Chair of Theology, Ministry and Education at Kings College in London. In his 2010 book, The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind, McGrath encourages his readers to appreciate the power of Christian theology to engender “a deeper appreciation of the capacity of the gospel to engage with the complexities of the natural world on one hand and the human experience on the other,” while recognizing and respecting the inherent limits to theological inquiry. (12) Continue reading “The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind, by Alister McGrath”
Beloved Mess, by Kimm Crandall, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2016, 160 pp, paperback, ISBN: 978-0801019005
“When we stop stuffing down and hiding our failures, we see that God really does love us just as we are. This is freedom! We are no longer enslaved to our shortcomings. We no longer have to hide in shame.”(67) Continue reading “Beloved Mess, by Kimm Crandall”
Beyond the Jacket 