Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense, by C. Stephen Evans

I appreciated this book by C. Stephen Evans, a Professor from Baylor University. As a Philosopher I at first was apprehensive to read his book. I have not appreciated the work of Philosophers in the past and have often found their work hard to digest and understand, they tend to be a bit lofty and wordy.

But C. Stephen Evans does a great job of writing in words that every layman will understand and be able to digest. He makes very good logical conclusions based on the evidence that he has studied and gathered together for his work.

His main task in writing this book is to talk about “The New Atheism,” as it is being developed in our culture today. Here are the main tenants of his book in his own words;

            “I take it that the major complaint (though not the only one) of the New Atheists about religion is that faith is intellectually baseless. In this book I try to give a clear case that belief in Christian faith still makes sense and thus answer that criticism.” He further states, “So the book answers a major charge of the New Atheists make not by responding to their specific complaints but by showing how a thoughtful Christian might ‘give a reason for the hope’ that faith embodies.”

I believe that he develops his topic well, he addresses many things that we as Christians are facing in our world today and helps develop answers that we can use in talking with friends who doubt Christianity. I took a long time to work through the book, not because it was difficult, but because I was outlining each chapter and framing my own conclusions and arguments (arguments in the good sense) that I could use with those who are living in this modern world of the New Atheism.

I recommend this book to Pastors and lay people alike. I believe that it will become a major book to help us work through how to talk and build relationships with those who are out in the culture today stating that Christianity is archaic and thus dying.

This book makes me almost want to go back to school and study Philosophy, but alas I am a bit to old for that, but not to old to learn something new from a great writer such as C. Stephen Evans.

One Year Later

We are coming up on the one year anniversary of the confrontation between Michael Brown and Officer Wilson. The result of that confrontation was the death of Michael Brown, severe civil unrest and the eventual resignation of Officer Wilson.

What else has happened?

Here are the positives;

1. There has been a hard look at Police Procedures and the need for body camera’s as well as dash cameras.

2. The civil court in Ferguson has been re-vamped and the judge replaced with one that will conduct the affairs of the court in a more non-prejudicial method.

3. The Police Chief of Ferguson has stepped down and the department will go through a revamping under a new Chief.

4. A citizen’s review committee has been put in place to look at any future conflicts between Police and the Public.

Here are the negatives;

1. There is still distrust between the African American Community and the Police Department

2. There is still not a coalition of African American and Anglo Churches coming together for good dialogue and goal setting for giving the community the healing that it needs.

3. Some businesses are still not rebuilt and others have gone out of business because of the lack of customers in lieu of the unrest last summer.

4. There is still a major issue with the personnel racial mix of the police department not mimicking the racial mix of the community.

5. The economy of the City of Ferguson is still facing major hurdles, as people are still “frightened” to come to Ferguson to shop or dine.

6. The Media is still not giving positive coverage to Ferguson and to the efforts of the community to rebuild. They still seem to focus only on the negative in the community.

What concerns me the most as we come up on the anniversary is that there are major plans underway by several groups to stage protests in memory of Michael Brown this next weekend. These protests are designed to disrupt commerce and to also push the police and Ferguson Government into a reactionary mode rather than a protect and serve mode.

I believe that this might be a recipe for a repeat of last years civil unrest. It is also a shame that some of the event organizers are actually inviting “paid civil unrest protestors” to come into the City of Ferguson to supplement their efforts. My question, “Who is paying them and why do they feel they are needed?

So, here are some thoughts about positive actions for the weekend.

1. A peaceful march with signs to allow the community to vent some of their still pent up frustrations with the civic authorities.

2. A call to prayer by the major African American and Anglo Churches in the community.

3. A jobs fair to help people find employment to help alleviate the growing unemployment rate.

4. A push by the Civic authorities to have a booth at the job fair with applications and signing bonuses for African American, Latino and Asian citizens to join the Police Department and help bring more balance to racial mix of the department. There should be a set goal that the community knows about the percentage mix the department is trying to achieve.

5. A community wide work day to help fix, paint, clean and spruce up businesses that were damaged in last years unrest.

6. A candle light vigil with African American and Anglo Pastors taking turns praying, giving short devotionals and mingling with the people of Ferguson

Let us remember the tragic events of last summer, but remember them in a way that will bring healing, unity and new friendships among the people of the community and their civil servants.

The Life and Spirituality of John Newton, A compilation of his personal letters

The story of the life of John Newton is definitely one that every Christian should become familiar with. For a great comprehensive book on the life of John Newton I would recommend you read, "John Newton, from Disgrace to Amazing Grace," by Jonathan Aitken.

This book is a collection of John Newton's personal letters that he was asked to write by a friend who thought that people should hear directly from Newton as to what his life had been like. Bruce Hindmarsh gives us a short introduction to the life of Newton and the reason for these letters to have been written in the first place. But then the rest of the book is a collection of Newton's letters.

To read the letters from John Newton is to find yourself investigating the life of a young man that had it extremely difficult yet found that God had a plan for him and that God's plan would not be stopped short. Newton was to come full circle with his life and serve the Lord Jesus Christ as a fine young man and bring the Gospel to hundreds of people.

I was highly encouraged by these letters and trust that you will be as well.

Bedtime Devotions with Jesus, from Thomas Nelson Publishers

A wonderful devotional guide for you to share with your small children. This book is a hard back edition so that it will withstand some use. The format is 52 weeks of devotions, six a week, Monday through Friday with one for the weekend as well. The scripture is taken out of the International Childrens' Bible, by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

According to my wife the pictures are "cute!" I turned to her for the word because I didn't think you would believe me. The pictures are of a teddy bear in different poses on each page. There is a scripture reference and then a very short devotional thought. The devotions are written by a variety of authors.

The print is good size for a very young reader. The stories will take you a couple of minutes at most to read with your toddler or pre-schooler. then you can spend time praying with them.

It is marketed as a Bedtime Devotions book and I think that is a great application for it.

Take a look, I think you will like what you see and read.

Two Roads Home, by Deborah Raney

The second book in the Chicory Inn series will trace the family crisis of another of the children of the family. Jesse and Corinne have the perfect life, at least as far as Corinne is concerned. Jesse has a great job as a Salesman for a major business and makes good enough money that they have been able to build a nice large home in a great neighborhood on a larger than normal plot of land. They have three little girls who are amazing. Corinne doesn't have to work because of the good money that Jesse makes so she is a stay at home mom.

They love the Tuesday night family dinners at the Chicory Inn where everyone gathers together with mom and dad and the siblings and their families. It is a wonderful life and couldn't be better.

But then the bottom falls out. On a business trip Jesse travels with others from work, one of those being Michaela, a young woman who happens to think Jesse is attractive. Michaela takes to flirting with Jesse and he is not smart enough to see the signs (or is it naive enough?). Bottom line when Michaela starts calling him at home on his days off Jesse realizes that there is a problem. He confronts Michaela at work and she in turn threatens to file a sexual harassment case against him with the State. Jesse's employer calls him in to tell him and things get worse.

The story will revolve around the issue with Michaela and Jesse as well as Jesse coming to terms with a thought he has had for a long time that he would like to pursue becoming a teacher. But if he does that it will change the economic status of the family and they will have to change everything.

The story does not have any real mystery to it. It is a nice story about the trials of one family and how they will deal with them. It is a true, down to earth family story. As such there are good lessons for each of us to learn from the story and to put into play in our lives.

Enjoy!

Lorie's Heart, by Amy Lillard

Another in the Amish life series about Wells Landing, Oklahoma. As the story starts Lorie Kauffman and her family are grieving the death of her father from an accident. Lorie and her step-mother go to the county coroner’s office to identify the body. That is difficult to do, but the more difficult thing is that Lorie notices that her father has a tattoo! That is not something an Amish man should have.

When she tries to ask her step-mother about it she gets no answer and is told to let it go and not ask again. But the tattoo has an attraction that makes her think that it was gotten in memory of her mother, whom she doesn’t really remember because she was so young when her biological mother died.

So, Lorie sets out on a quest. She takes a look at the items the police return to the family that belonged to her father. In his wallet is a drivers license, another no no in the Amish community. But low and behold the license has a different address and a different name than Kauffman. What does that mean, did he have another family somewhere else?

As Lorie works to unravel the mystery she will discover that he father was an honorable man but one with many secrets. She will meet a grandmother she didn’t know she had. She will meet a nice English boy who will turn her head and make her question whether she should marry the Amish boy, Jonah, that she has been dating forever.

Just when I thought I couldn’t find an Amish novel that would offer a new story line and some new twists this one came along. I was very pleased with the story and how it developed. I enjoyed the mystery as well as the struggles a young Amish woman will have.

The story maybe wraps up a bit too nicely, but what did I expect?

I enjoyed the story and think it would be a good discussion book for a church book club to read.

Enjoy!

Fatal Trauma, by Richard Mabry, M.D.

What happens when you are an emergency room doctor whose life's mission is to serve those who are sick and injured but the patient that just came in has a gun totting relative who is threatening to kill everyone if you let his brother die? The first problem is this, the brother is DOA from several gunshots, so how can you save someone who is dead?

That is what Dr. Mark Baker and Nurse Kelly Atkinson faced in the opening scene of this novel. Their solution was interesting but also traumatic for many people. It also sets the stage for the tension throughout the novel. The brothers were part of a drug cartel who will decide that everyone involved in treating the patient and letting him die will also need to die. That puts targets on our two main characters. How will this resolve.

Also, there is a love triangle of sorts, involving Dr. Baker, Nurse Atkinson and another doctor from the hospital. But the question will stand out with, what will happen? Who loves whom and will they get together?

Then add to that the religious aspect of searching happening by Dr. Baker. He accepted Christ at a young age, but he has drifted for years. Nurse Atkinson is not drifting, she has a vibrant faith in God. Others in the story are drifting, lost or walking with Christ. The author takes the theme of salvation, peace in Christ, trust and obedience and weaves them into the story line.

All this to say that the book has lots of good content and things that you can take and talk through with others as you like.

So, why only 4 stars? That's a good question. I guess it's because of all the death, killing and distrust that happens throughout the story. I know that is true human nature, but I guess I just didn't like the drug cartel having the mindset of killing everyone off. I guess I have just gotten to use to the happily ever after scenarios.

This book will definitely have some twists and turns that you won't see coming.

Enjoy!