Simply Christian

Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Simply Christian covers a wide range of topics relating to the Christian life. It is apologetic and evangelistic but may also serve as a guide to the Christian life in many ways. It is neither scholarly nor basic in its material yet I believe that there is much to be gained from it by the both the scholar and the new Christian.


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Blue Like Jazz

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have been wanting to read this book for awhile but for whatever reason have not gotten around to it until now. I found this book to be a refreshing change of pace, and while I can't say I agree with everything in the book I can defiantly relate to a great deal of it. It is very honest and that is it's strength. At points you might forget you are even reading and feel more like you are just having a conversation with the author. You get the sense by the end of the book that he is a friend that you can't wait to have another conversation with.


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The Openness of God

The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God by Richard Rice

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I would say for the most part I enjoyed this book. Due to the fact that there are five separate authors it was little up and down for me. The basic point of the book is to set out the theological view of God known as Open Theism and convince the reader that they should also believe it to be true. As far describing open theism the book does very well, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. On the other hand I found the arguments to be unconvincing for the most part. I have sympathy with a lot of what they say but I think they take it in the wrong direction in the end. That is just my opinion, others might find it to be very convincing. Anyways, I think is defiantly worth taking the time to read if for no other reason but to make you think bout your beliefs and the beliefs of others.


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Secrets of the Koran

Secrets of the Koran by Don Richardson

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
It was interesting to read this book after having read Building Bridges and seeing how vastly different books on the same subject from a different angle can be. Building Bridges took a much kinder approach to the Koran and Islam whereas Secrets of the Koran's goal is to pretty much rip apart Mohammed, Islam and the Koran. A great part of the reason for the difference is that Building Bridges is designed to help Christians evangelize Muslims and therefore encourages the reader to be very careful about what they say. On the other hand Secrets purpose is tell the real truth about Islam with no sugar coating in light of the positive press that it has received from the liberal media and academics. They both have there weaknesses. Bridges weakness is that it tends to hold the Koran to highly. On the other hand the author of Secrets is at points unnecessarily sarcastic when there is no need to be. Because of that it can cause the reader to be distracted from the real arguments he is making. All in all it is a good book that does well a picking apart Islam. However, I would not recommend it for a Muslim because it would make them defensive because of the sarcasm.


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Cross-Cultural Connections

Cross-Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting in Around the World by Duane Elmer

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
The main focus of Cross-Cultural Connections is to help provide clarity on the difference between something being different and something be morally wrong when entering a new culture. This is not easily done especially when we don't realize how much we assume are right and wrong issues just because they are what we are used to in our own culture. He does this by examining different parts of cultures such as the way they view time. It is quick and easy read with short fast paced Chapters that keeps things interesting. I would definitely recommend anyone entering a new culture to read it as well as anyone who might want help understanding someone that comes from a different culture or background.


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Building Bridges

Building Bridges: Christianity and Islam by Fouad Elias Accad

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a good quick read that is pretty much a method for evangelizing Muslims using the Qur'an to build bridges to Christianity. It does this by using the verses in the Qur'an that agree with the Bible as a starting point to build on. The authors purpose is also to take away all of the offense that we sometimes bring with the Gospel that are not part of it. He does this mostly by shifting vocabulary and avoiding certain topics to start with. Overall I thought it was a good book that at times I felt may have been treading on some dangerous water by taking the chance of elevating the Qur'an to highly, but as you read on in the book the author does make a point to wean Muslims off of the Qur'an.



- Daniel


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Ministering Cross-Culturally

Ministering Cross-Culturally,: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships by Sherwood G. Lingenfelter

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found this book to be very helpful. The main emphasis of the book is that when ministering cross-culturally we need to try and see things from the perspective of those we are ministering instead of assuming they see everything from our perspective. The author states that many things that are different in other cultures we may initially have a reaction that says "that's wrong" when in reality it is only different. We must discern the difference between wrong and different.


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