I just finished reading two terrific books and thought I’d pass along their titles, with a recommendation. Both are in the genre of Christian apologetics. In fact, they are kind of manuals for understanding the Christian story of reality and providing support for why that reality makes sense.
The first is entitled The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How it Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between. The author is Gregory Koukl. You’ll have to agree with me that that’s quite a lead-in!
It’s a short 177 pages long, divided into five sections and twenty-five brief, readable chapters. It also has about twenty-five pages of footnotes which I found enjoyable.
I’m a fast reader but chose to take my time. Why? Because nearly every paragraph resonates. Some sentences really lent themselves to pondering, not because they were difficult to decipher (as some theological or philosophical works are inclined to do) but because they present us with fertile material. I read the book with two lenses: From the perspective of one who is well-versed in Christian thinking and from one who is skeptical and searching. I found fertile territory for both.
It covers a lot of ground and I mean a whole lot of ground. While immensely rewarding, I found he did not adequately address two questions I continue to have. Well, one and a half. Anyway, a few simple phrases jumped off the page the other morning and I said to Diane, “wow, I think it took me three whole blogs on the real point of learning to cover what this guy said in a paragraph.” Sort of puts my job here in jeopardy. 🙂
The second book is by one of my favorite authors, Tim Keller, a man familiar to many Christians and someone who is frequently compared with the great C.S. Lewis. He pastors a large church in the middle of New York City and has spent his career coming alongside people of every belief. I’ve probably read at least six or eight of his books and can testify to his very positive impact on my journey and that of a number of people I know. I’ve joked that if I get to have some dinners, each with a handful of people, in the next life, I’d hope that one of those dinners would include Lewis, Keller and Dallas Willard.
Recently, Keller published a great book entitled, The Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism. A terrific read. However, he realized it actually needed a prequel, so he just published, Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical. A quick glance at these titles would seem to suggest they are basically the same thing. They’re not. My reference, here, is to the second one although they’re both terrific.
Yes, there’s some overlap but the two work in tandem. Making Sense is 254 pages long with another 70 pages of dense footnotes. While the notes can be daunting, they show the tremendous amount of background thinking and support that went into the body of the work. Like all of Keller’s writings, his prose is very accessible to lay readers, while full of remarkable depth. I found myself slowly making my way through, underlining and reflecting. Just as with The Story of Reality, it is full of great insights and clearly helpful to both experienced Christians and those who are searching or want to learn a bit more about this controversial faith system.
Finally, I just started reading Jonathan Edwards: A Life, by George Marsden. It came up as highly recommended by a couple of Christian leaders. It’s been on my back burner for awhile. This does not fall into the category of the two books above. If you’re unfamiliar with Jonathan Edwards, he was an early 18th century Christian pastor and theologian. In fact, he’s often described as the greatest theologian America has ever produced. He comes out of the Reformed/Puritan tradition and had a greater impact on the development of Christianity in America than any other individual in our history.
Unlike Keller or Koukl or most contemporary authors, Edwards writings are extremely dense. The biographer, so far, is doing a good job of making the writings accessible but it promises to be a plodding exercise to manage the whole thing. 500 pages of very small font and 100 pages of footnotes. I remember introducing my brand new AP American History students to his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” as their first primary source document and as an introduction to colonial New England. They had to read it in the old English which was like deciphering code. Wish me luck. I am not recommending this book!
Happy Reading, if you’re so inclined!
bradlichtman 