New Books – November 2008

Suffering and the Goodness of God, edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Theology in Community series). Biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical engagement with the problem of suffering and evil. Contributors include Walter Kaiser, John Frame, John Feinberg, and others.

Death By Love: Letters from the Cross, by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. In this book, the authors show how the benefits that flow from Jesus Christ’s atoning work on the cross apply to specific real-life challenges and problems. A brilliant presentation of the historic theology of the cross and a defense against reprehensible attacks on it.

Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, by Michael Horton.A reviewer says that “Horton confronts modern evangelicalism in terms of J. Gresham Machen’s challenge to liberalism in the 1920s”. Noted Reformed author Horton says that therapeutic moralism has found a home among evangelicals.

Why the Universe Is the Way It Is, by Hugh Ross. A fascinating discussion of the nature and purpose of our amazing universe in the light of Scripture by an evangelical astronomer.

The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John: An Exploration in Biblical Theology, by Larry R. Helyer. The author introduces us to biblical theology and the issue of the unity of the Bible, and explains two evangelical approaches: dispensationalism and covenant theology. He then turns to three major witnesses of the NT: Jesus, Paul, and John, and finds in them the climax and key to unlocking the biblical message.

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, by Francis Chan. Reviewer Tim Challies says this a “paradigm-shaking book that Christians desperately need to hear”.

Job, by John Piper, illustrated by Christopher Koelle. John Piper’s poetic rendition of the book of Job is now in a beautifully illustrated edition.

The God-Centered Life: Insights from Jonathan Edwards for Today, by Josh Moody. The author says we are surrounded by narcissistic messages from our culture, and we need to listen to a great Bible teacher who can drag us back to reflecting less on ourselves and more on God.

ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version. The long-awaited new study Bible created by 95 evangelical scholars is now available, with 20,000 notes, 200 charts, 200 full color maps, 40 full-color illustrations, and over 50 articles,

God Built, by Steven Farrar (Bold Men of God series). Discovering the providential, yet strange ways of God, in the life of Joseph. Joseph was forged by God, in both the good and bad of life.

Is God on America’s Side? The Surprising Answer and Why It Matters During this Election Season, by Erwin W. Lutzer. This book will not advise you on how to vote in this election, but it will help you represent God’s interests regardless of who wins.

What’s Good About Feeling Bad? Finding Purpose and a Path Through Your Pain, by John C. Thomas and Gary Habermas. Thomas is a counselor, and Habermas is a renowned philosopher/apologist.

Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World, by Carolyn McCulley. As a young woman, the author embraced many of the tenets of our “feminist world”, but a personal encounter with Christ radically changed her life and led her to pursue what it means to live as a redeemed woman.

No One Sees God, by Michael Novak. The dark night of atheists and believers. Peggy Noonan says “this is one of the most lyrical and moving reflections on God I have encountered”.

Heretics for Armchair Theologians, by Justo L. Gonzalez and Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez (Armchair Theologians series). A witty and informative introduction to important early church figures whose teachings were denounced by the church as heresies.

The Overwhelmed Woman’s Guide to Caring for Aging Parents, by Julie-Allyson Ieron. If you live long enough and your parents live long enough, you will need this book. You may not need it today, but you will probably need it tomorrow.

Womanly Dominion (More Than a Gentle and Quiet Spirit), by Mark Chanski. The author says that the Bible teaches a woman to take dominion of her God-assigned role as a wife, mother , and church helper; not in a feminist way, but in a God-glorifying way that speaks volumes about who she is and why God created her.

A Visual History of the English Bible: The Tumultuous Tale of the World’s Bestselling Book, by Donald L. Brake. How the Bible went from the pulpit to the people. From medieval manuscripts to contemporary translations, in a beautiful full color layout, with over 100 illustrations. A memorable journey though royal courts filled with intrigue, rare book shops in search of treasures, and rigorous scholarly debates in the historic battle over the Bible.

Israel: AncientKingdom or Late Invention? edited by Daniel I. Block. A collection of essays by evangelical scholars responding to the radical claims of some that Israel and its history actually began after the Babylonian exile, and that the history of Israel we read about in the Bible is a fictional account.

Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God, by Andrew Wilson. The author exhorts us to emerge ourselves in God’s character, and delve into the depths of his presence. In this book he explores sixty names and descriptions of our Creator.

Assaulted by Joy: The Redemption of a Cynic, by Stephen W. Simpson. Follows the life of self-proclaimed “jerk”—an ordinary guy who is given an extraordinary set of circumstances through which he learned the difference that joy makes in the Christian life.

He Made the Stars Also: What the Bible Says About the Stars, by Stuart Burgess (Creation Points). The author taught engineering design at Cambridge and BristolUniversities in England, and has carried out spacecraft design for the European Space Agency. In this book he examines such topics as starlight and time, how the earth is uniquely designed for life, how the stars and the galaxies are designed to shine starlight on the earth, and others.

Being Christian, by Stephen Arterburn and JohnShore. Exploring where you, God and life connect.

Jonathan Edwards for Armchair Theologians, by James P. Byrd. The author attempts to present “the profound Jonathan Edwards in accessible prose” and Mark Noll says he “brings it off splendidly”. The “Armchair” series is designed to give accurate, concise, and witty overviews of some of the most profound theologians in church history.

Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader, by Joe Hilley. Another new biography of the Republican vice presidential candidate, with a Foreword by Charles Colson. The author has a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary as well as a law degree from Samford.

The Jesus Who Never Lived: Exposing False Christs and Finding the Real Jesus, by H. Wayne House. Distinguishing the Jesus who lived from all those who never walked the earth.

A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards, by George Marsden. Marsden, author of the acclaimed and magisterial large biography of Edwards, presents a new, shorter biography of this many-sided, remarkable man.

The Power of Praying Through the Bible, by Stormie Omartian. Has brand-new prayers to help you start conversation with your heavenly Father.

Reforming or Conforming? Post-Conservative Evangelicals and the Emerging Church, edited by Gary L.W. Johnson and Ronald N Gleason. The authors, who represent the young generation of faithful, classical, evangelicals, view the so-called post-conservative and emergent solutions to our dilemma as a dead-end, and explain why.

Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives, by Peter C. Bouteneff. A scholarly study of how the early church fathers read the creation account in the early chapters of Genesis.

The Bible, Rocks and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth, by Davis A. Young and Ralph F. Stearley. A presentation of the old-earth case by two geologists who also hold to a high view of scripture.

Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by Kenneth Berding. The three views presented are by Walter Kaiser (single meaning, unified referents), Darrell Bock (single meaning, multiple contexts and referents), and Peter Enns (fuller meaning, single goal).

Where’s Your Jesus Now? by Karen Spears Zacharias. In examining how fear erodes our faith, the author affirms that Jesus is far more than many of his fear-driven followers seem to believe.

Look Unto Me: The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon, by Jim Reimann, An expanded and updated version of Charles Spurgeon’s classic, Morning by Morning, with additional application commentary by Jim Reimann.

Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationships, by Carl Medearis.

Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community, by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. Bringing Reformed theology and new ways of doing church together in ways that help church leaders to identify ways of relating a conservative theology to the culture without compromising clearly held principles.

Believing God Day By Day, by Beth Moore. Daily devotions for the entire year.

COMMENTARIES: 1-3 John, by Robert W. Yarbrough (BECNT); Genesis, by Bill T. Arnold (New Cambridge Bible Commentary).

ADULT/FAMILY DVDs: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, starring Ben Stein. Documentary demonstrating the censorship and prejudice against Intelligent Design in the classroom and elsewhere.

CHILDREN’S CDs: The Best Small Town and The Sky’s the Limit, from Focus on the Family (Adventures in Odyssey).

CHILDREN’S BOOKS: This Is No Fairy Tale, by Dale Tolmasoff, with a Foreword by John Piper; Thanks for Thanksgiving, by Julie Markes (ages 3-7); Nighty Night, Noah, by Molly Schaar Idle; Noah and the Flood, God Makes the World, and Jesus and Prayer, by Sophie Piper and Estelle Corke (Bible Story Time).

ADULT FICTION: The Longing, by Beverly Lewis (Courtship of Nellie Fisher #3); Rekindled, Revealed, and Remembered, by Tamera Alexander (Fountain Creek Chronicles #1-3).