Religion Books

I'm not a huge fan of football...but, when I read this book a year ago, I handed out copies to quite a few people! I just bought another copy for myself because I keep giving them away! I'm sure I'll have to order more.
Read this book.

Joe Eherman has captured what is wrong with sports. This is a must read for all coaches.

I had heard that this was an amazing book from so many people and I was definitely not disappointed - what a great story of what God can do through the life of one man wholly sold out to His glory! Marx is a journalist who grew up as the ball boy for the Baltimore Colts. One larger-than-life figure on that team of the 70s and 80s was Joe Ehrmann whose life took a radical turn when his younger brother passed away from cancer. After years had passed, Marx once again reunited with Ehrmann and was struck by what he found - the flamboyant football star was now a coach and mentor to young men using the game of football to teach about the necessities of life. Ehrmann's life was now invested in the lives of others teaching these young boys how to be men - Building Men for Others is the name of his program, but it's much more than a program or a set of principles, it's a way of life, a way to see others, a way to live that completely transforms others around you. The book was a great read and should be near the top of "must reads" for every father and coach.

It has been such a long time since anything I have read has spoken to me like this book did. The writing itself was run of the mill, usual sports cliches (some parts read like a sports illustrated piece) - but the message is its strength. After reading it, this book would not leave my consciousness. Days later I had to go back and read passages again, Joe Ehrman's "Building Men for Others" concepts invading my thoughts at all hours. Honestly, I do not even know how this book ended up on my bookshelf. One day I needed something to read and found it sitting there. Only hours later I am left dumbfounded, reflecting on who I am and ultimately determining that I could be doing much more with my life and perhaps finding satisfaction I never knew possible. Please read the book, you'll be glad you did.

I purchased this book for my husband for Christmas. My husband does not read books normally, but he loves sports, so I felt this one was fitting. He read it within a week or two and passed it on to a co-worker. It is a book about life, and he actually was quoting from it after he read it. He loved it and wants our boys to read it too.

Child rearing is tough work, as tough or tougher now than ever. Mogul, a psychologist, sought to find a different, healthy approach to managing children and parenthood. She came to Judaism's traditional ways. For much of the book, the theme is simple: given three thousand years of parenthood, what are the lessons of what works? These lessons are presented clearly and helpfully. There's a bit of promoting Judaism in here, but anyone willing to read critically will easily be able to come away with some parenting gold nuggets. As the parent of young adults, I found some things that will even help me with their finishing the entry to adulthood and only the smallest number of ideas with which I disagreed. Highly recommended to prospective parents, those with youngsters, and anyone working with children.

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee is the best parenting book I've ever read. It has a common sense approach and really works. I can hardly wait to read her next book, The Blessing of a B-

Raising a healthy family in today's world is challenging for even the most insightful of parents. The Blessings of a Skinned Knee provides psychological and spiritual wisdom as well as practical guidance and parenting skills to enable every parent to succeed in creating a healthy and happy home. This book belongs on every parent's nightstand!
Amy Hirshberg Lederman [...], author of "To Life! Jewish Reflections on Everyday Living" and "One God, Many Paths: Finding Meaning and Inspiration in Jewish Teachings."

Concepts clearly presented. I looked for curative truths related to children who have everything but are demanding, unhappy and unsuccessful. I found many truths in this book. They were identified as spirituality, family involvement, natural consequences and responsibility, not exclusively. Did I agree with everything? No. For instance: Jewish mother's drive their children toward "success" less than other mothers. This was a book about finding speciality by being responsible. I've already given two books to other family members.

Based on Torah examples she show us how to get involve with our kids, and create a great relation.

I get highly frustrated at people who think their view of the Bible is the ONLY correct one, that EVERYTHING in the Bible is true and the literal "write this down" word from God's mouth. I think that's why I love this book so much -- because in addition to being hilarious, Jacobs points out all sorts of silly, absurd, and random selections from the Bible. And he does so without being offensive or crass or mean -- just presents a passage and then gets to "Huh. So what does this mean?" He consults a variety of spiritual advisors and reads MANY MANY books to help find answers. He presents all sorts of fun trivia tid-bits and potential explainations to try to make sense of the oddness.

At its core, the process for this book was maybe a bit more excessive and random than, say, just writing an in-depth scholarly summarization of Biblical literalism would have been. But this is SO much more fun.

I'm going to read this book again just as soon as I can steal it back from my best friend, who tried to take it before I was even done reading it! (She obviously needs to brush up on commandment #8.)

My mom's library book club was reading this book. One day while at her house, I opened it up and read the first 20 pages. I was hooked. The concept alone, of someone deciding to spend an entire year living according to the Bible, was interesting enough. However, the author's subtle sense of humor adds to the enjoyment of the book. It was a very quick and easy read. Unlike some, who would have used this same concept to create a book that slams you with heavy-handed religious lectures, he shares every day successes and failures in his quest. Reading his book actually made me want to be a better person; it made me want to do better at following some of the more mainstream Bible directives such as not lying about anything, doing more to honor your parents, trying to do more good deeds for strangers, etc. I highly recommend this book. I plan on looking up other books by this author.

The author has a very keen sense of humor and did a great job of portraying a complicated subject. I've been a moderate Christian my whole life and I really learned a lot from this book, both about variations of my own religion as well as Judaism. I also just flat out enjoyed reading it. I appreciated his candor in stating his biases and his attempts to overcome them. Most of all I enjoyed his dry wit, it made the book eminently readable. I look forward to going out and getting "Know it All".

I really loved this book, and I'm not just saying that so the author's dad won't flag my review as unhelpful. : ) I appreciate Jacob's efforts to challenge himself by actually living a different life rather than just writing about one. It takes a lot of courage to expand one's worldview and admit that previous viewpoints might have been faulty or at least, ill-considered. At the same time, the year of living biblically allows the author to explore his past - not just his own past, but his familial and ancestral past. This lets the reader feel that she's in on an introspective search that provided meaning and was worthwhile for the author, which I consider a gift.

The book is very funny, and who doesn't love humor? But more than that, it challenged me to open my mind to the benefits of religion. While I won't be embarking on an effort quite like the author's, the book reminded me of the value of thinking about and rethinking my place in the world and how I want to proceed through it.

This book is hilariously funny. That's the good news. The bad news...don't read it unless you are open to other viewpoints. Otherwise, it will make you mad. The author decided to take an entire year and attempt to live all of the Bible in the most literal way possible. As is the Bible, the first two-thirds are devoted to the Old Testament and the latter third to the New. The OT section is great. It's a laugh-a-thon as he tries to live and OT life in modern New York. The funniest sections involve how his wife works around his project. The NT section is not as great, partly because he mixes in too much OT, without concentrating wholly on the NT. The New Testament is about giving one's life to Jesus, but Jacobs never goes that far.
Sadly, Jacobs goes into the project with his own mindsets intact, instead of opening himself up completely to new ideas. Two great examples are the issues of creation and homosexuality. His thinking is basically this, he believes in science and has gay friends, therefore skip that section on the literal interpretation. If he believes that way, fine. But the project was to immerse himself in a literal interpretation. He does cover himself in the end by preaching his view that a cafeteria-style religion is best for everyone. In other words, just take what you like from God's word and discard the rest, a New Age philosophy that denounces any belief in the sacred word. The main problem with his cafeteria belief is that if you take something from the buffet line that he doesn't approve of, then you've gone too far. Isn't that always the way it is- any person with more standards than you is a legalist, ultra-conservative, hyper-fundamentalist and anyone with fewer standards than you is a liberal wack-job.
With all that said, buy the book for a few laughs, but expect some of it to make you mad.

For those without a Kindle this review will have little to offer except to say that this edition comes with a preface by Thomas Merton which for me was a welcome surprise. I usually don't bother with introductions.

Kindle users, I looked at every Kindle edition of this work and this is without question the best formatted version. The only drawback is the lack of titles for each "book" in the table of contents. Instead they are just numbered; I, II, III, IV, and so on. There are also hyperlinked "footnotes," which I did not notice in other editions.

I apologize to Kindle non-owners, but Amazon has not yet presented away to comment specifically on electronic editions, and many public domain books--classics--are not yet properly formatted for the Kindle (which despite a few hitches is a five star device).

This is not the most attractive edition of St. Augustine's monumental City of God but it is worth getting anyway for the introduction by Etienne Gilson. The translation is quite good and, though it is somewhat abridged, this doesn't pose too great a problem as Bourke has inserted into the text a brief description of the material that he cut out so you can go to an unabridged edition if you choose.

This is an apologetic text in defence of the Chritian faith. In this book, Augustine persuasively informed his audience (readers) regarding the history of creation from the fall of humanity to their redemption provided they recognized him as God of their lives. This is possible only as they abandon all forms of idolatries lest they experience a catatrosphe similar to what led to the fall of Rome. Augustine's concept of the two cities are in contrast to each other, viz, the city of God versus the city of Satan. The former is governed by God, and the later by the Devil that also governs the minds of many un-regenerated. Thus, Augustine appealed, in his 22 volumes that are now in a single volume, to join him "in rendering thanks to God" through this great work! Pastor Moses Oladele Taiwo, Ph.D. Professor of New Testament and Head of the Department of Urban Christian Ministry, New Life Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC 28203. Tel: (704) 334 6884 Ext.106.

It took me about five months of off-and-on reading to slog through City of God--it was time well-spent. Here is one of the rare 1000-page books that not only deserved its length, but could have been longer.

What astounded me about reading St. Augustine was how relevant he is, even after 1600 years. The vast majority of what he discusses throughout this monumental book still matters--only the particulars have changed. In his day, pagans blamed Christians for wars and the collapse of civilization. Rationalists and materialists denied the supernatural, insisting that all religions were the same, and mocked those that believed in it. And Christians themselves, under pressure and guilt from what seemed to be the entire known world, expressed doubts about their faith. Sound familiar? Only the particulars of all these situations have changed--in the broadstrokes, Christianity is still fighting many of the same battles in which Augustine saw combat.

This edition from Penguin Classics (I fully realize that Amazon will post this review on the Modern Library edition and other places that it doesn't belong) is very good. Henry Bettenson's translation is smooth, fast-moving, and heavily footnoted. While I found the footnotes very helpful--especially in the hundreds of places in which Augustine quotes from scripture and other authors, like Virgil and Plotinus--some of them struck me as unnecessary, particularly those criticizing Augustine's etymologies and those pointing out which gods or goddesses are or are not found outside Augustine's work. The most helpful notes were those describing puns or other untranslatable portions of the book.

Like I said, City of God is very heavy reading and a great deal of work to get through, but the reward should outweigh the time it takes to read the book.

Highly recommended.

I read this for a book group I was in, and was rather peeved at being forced to blow so much time on what is essentially useful only to the Classical historian or Scholasticism buff. Realistically, Augustine is just a particularly eloquent proponent of a religious argument we all get in Sunday School at age 10: The things of this world are transitory and passing, but the things of the next world are eternal and more valuable. You can almost hear the monotonous cadence. If what you want is to add to your already-considerable knowledge of the particulars of late Roman civilization, then this is the book for you. If you're in seminary and reading Aquinas, and you're thinking, "I'd certainly like to know more about his major intellectual influences," then this is the book for you. But if what you want is an increased familiarity with the major ideas of Western civilization, then do yourself a favor and go pick up a pair of textbooks: one on ancient history, the other on classical philosophy. Augustine of Hippo will get a few pages in each one, and that's honestly all he's worth. Plowing through the entirety of The City of God for simple philosophical or theological curiosity would be like reading the complete works of Louis Agassiz just to see what scientific racism was like. Both efforts would be fruitful, in one sense, but in another sense you'd have spent an awful lot of time learning about antiquated theories.

Recommended for everyone, a lighthearted look at the Tao and a simpler way of living through the eyes of my favorite bear. My husband lives the Tao of Pooh. If you're having trouble understanding the Tao, or having a hard time relating to that duck that seems to let the world roll off his back, this book puts everything into perspective. There's no denying the fun in this book; the beautiful, flowing, clear writing style is classic A.A. Milne Pooh, and demonstrates what a perfect example this bear is for the concepts of the Tao.

When I first heard about this book, I thought the guy who told me about it was being funny. He said that a book on Taoism, explained via Winnie the Pooh had changed his life. I laughed, but decided to get it anyways.

This book turned out to be way better than I had imagined. In a way it seems contrary to common sense, but in all the best ways. It challenged me to re-think how I thought of myself and life.

The more I read about Taoism, the more impressed I get with anyone who is able to explain it in an intelligible form. Benjamin Hoff did an amazing job, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone. So much so that I have already bought 3 books for family and friends already.

The best description I have seen of Taosim so far, and all with a cuddly little teddy bear... Um... A manly cuddly little teddy bear *caugh*

This was a good quick read. Very peaceful, entertaining, and it kept me reading until the end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interersted in eastern religion.

Apparently, Taoism is about lazy, bitter Westerners superficially embracing Eastern mysticism in order to boost their own egos - and then cashing in on a beloved childhood icon to make a quick buck.

Hoff does a reasonable job of using actual quotations from Pooh to illustrate various simple points, but his depiction of Taoism ends up being a collection of empty mantras that have no relationship to real life, where people frequently have both aspirations and problems. Do you want to work towards a career where you can make a difference for people? Hoff's answer is "don't strive - just be". Upset about global inequality and mass starvation? "Cottlestone Pie".

Hoff blatantly misreads Pooh to tell us that knowledge and science bring nothing but trouble - as he puts it, discovering things only leads to more questions, so what's the point? He even rants against jogging and tennis. Better to remain ignorant and immobile - although complaining bitterly seems to be an acceptable activity.

People. It is a beautiful spring day today. The sun is shining, a warm breeze is caressing, the clouds are puffy cotton, the squirrels are scurrying and the birds are chirping. (Which is o.k. as long as they don't fly overhead!). Your Metamorpho decided to take his pen and pad to the ol' babbling brook to get into the reflective mood to write this next review. I sat down against an old oak tree and started to write. However, it was so peaceful I started to doze off. In the middle of envisioning Sondra the Seerest doing her latest belly dance, I felt a furry hand tugging at my white linen cuff.

"Wake up Mr. Metamorpho, wake up!" a voice said. I blinked my eyes open to find Pooh there, face full of honey.

"Oh it's you Pooh," I said with surprise. "Funny you should be here. I was just going to write about you."

"You were?" he said with eyes wide open. "Why?"

"Well, because I'm here writing a review of Benjamin Hoff's book called 'The Tao of Pooh', which is about you."

"It is?" he asked. "Wow!"

"No, Tao Pooh", I corrected.

"What is Tao Mr. Metamorpho?" he asked with a puzzled look.

"Well, I think it is one of the great teachings of China. A philosopy of sorts. Mr. Hoff equates this with how you are. An uncarved block, as he puts it."

"He thinks I'm a blockhead?" Pooh said, as a lone tear started to form.

"No no Pooh. Even though you are a bear of simple brain, Mr. Hoff explains that you are not stupid, but representative of the simplicity one needs to lead a calm and natural life. Go with the flow, if you will."

"That sounds better," he smiled.

"Sure does. The concept of Tao is very interesting, but, essentially the belief is that there is constant evolution in the world. In other words, there is a natural balance in nature and the universe. It is the concept that total harmony will be achieved by letting things be, to run their own course, if you will."

"I ran a course once, along with Kanga and Roo," he said smiling.

"Well, it's not exactly like that," I said. "You see Pooh, he believes in yin and yang. Two energies that, although opposite, are complimentary and needed for harmony. This applies to many facets of life."

"Maybe I should ask owl," he said.

"Well, you could," I said. "But he makes a distinction here between knowledge and true wisdom. The answers don't lie in a book per se, they just are, within yourself, if you are aware of the interconnectivity of all things in the universe."

"You mean I am?" he said with surprise.

"Mr. Hoff seems to thinks so. And I wouldn't apply this to any of your friends. Rabbit never slows himself down long enough to recognize the simple pleasures of life," I said. "Eeyore, well, you know Eeyore, he brays over things he can't control. And Piglet, although very small, is uncertain and afraid to take action."

"I'm hungry. Do you have a jar of honey with you?" he asked.

"No, but I have this," and I handed him a honey graham cracker. "There is much more to this philosophy, but the main thing is that the only constant in the universe is change. If you war against it you will only produce unnatural and artificial results, which could produce much unhappiness because it goes against the natural rythmn and flow of life."

"I don't think I am unhappy Mr. Metamorpho," he said.

"No Pooh, you aren't," I smiled. "You are a living, breathing, stuffed example of Tao."

"Well, Mr. Metamorpho, I'm not stuffed yet. No honey, huh?"

"No, Pooh. But, I have no doubt that you will find it. Tao provides beary nice things for those who follow the path."

"Thanks Mr. Metamorpho. Speaking of path, I should go find Christopher Robin. He should be home about now," he said and then sauntered off.

And people, if you have read this so far, you will know I will take full advantage of the deus ex machina (a popular method in Greece) to tell you that when I woke up, I remembered this meeting word for word, and wrote it here for your amazement. Now, let me get back to my daydream of Sondra. It was a very pleasurable experience, but I wished she would stop fluttering those stupid silk scarfs in my face. The things one puts up with for love. I tell ya.

For the child in all of us -- Metamorpho

I enjoyed this more than any other book written on the subject! To me the author appeard to be very well studied on the subject with great insight of a more realistic view, but yet a very profound spiritual perspective. This book resonated with my own beliefs about 2012. It truly gives hope for a new and positive outcome instead of the doom/gloom in all other books I have read in the past. Good read for anyone wanting to explore the spritual effects of what 2012 is really about.

I read a friend's copy of this book and subsequently sent a copy to my son who is in law school. I found it enlightening and hopeful. I am an artist and a therapist and am familiar with many of the concepts of the various writings.

We live in a rapidly changing time. We all can value coming more from our hearts than our heads in our relationships with each other and with ourselves. The answer is in staying in alignment with Source and returning to this alignment as quickly as we can realize we have strayed away.

According to the Abraham work (Abraham-Hicks), briefly mentioned in this book, our emotions are key to knowing of our alignment with Source or the lack of it.

I am hopeful for what 2012 will bring, possibly the dawning of a new age - of kindness, love and consideration for all.

May you be at peace.

Carol Suter, Psy.D.

Tami Simon, Publisher at Sounds True has put together an inspired collection of thinkers related to 2012. I would love to be at a round-table discussion with this group of people related to the future of our planet.

It's a good book to imagine what might happen (or might not happen) on December 21, 2012. I believe this is one of the most serious books about the topic, and it is not a catastrophic one. Most of the essays are good enough and explain the situation from different points of view, except for Cornnie McLaurhlin's, who obviously knows nothing about the Maya topic. She only tries to tie her business and political theories and arguments with year 2012 without any logical bond to the 2012 prophesies. Her essay, although good, clearly belongs to a very different kind of book. The rest of the essays explain the Mayan Cosmo vision, prophesies and possible interpretations, among other cultural believes that converge in the happening of something really important to Humans on 2012. I do recommend this book.

This book is full of details and information that I found myself dragging through. It was, however, interesting and makes a person think about what could possibly be true about 2012. It was hard for me to get through it, though, because of all the details. They are, however, necessary to affirm what the author is telling us about the future and the year 2012. Even though it has a lot of facts to study, there is enough general comments about those facts, to not make the book become impossible to understand.

This book is well written! I came to understand what God is saying to me personally, as my reading progressed I just could not put this book down.
My spiritual walk with God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit has gotten closer; my thanks to the authors...

God loves us intimately each and every day! Amen!

Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, Member Book UPDATED
Fabulous updated version of the very popular Bible study by H. Blakcaby and others. Nice to have it updated to the 21st century. well worth your buy.

This is a wonderful and enlightening workbook for how to discover God's will for your life and the necessary action steps to pursue that discovery.

Blackaby's style is easy to read, easy to follow and the content provides a roadmap for a journey worth taking. This is a must read for those looking for meaning and purpose in their lives.

If you are looking for a book that will bring you closer on your walk with God, this is it. I've done a plethora of Bible studies, each claiming that it is the answer to all of your questions and that it can fix your life. This one lives up to the claims that it doesn't make! It is written simply and straightforward, which puts it high on my list. This book, if done the way the authors intended and if you are truly trying to get closer in your walk, can open your eyes to what God wanted you and I to experience with Him.

20+ printings pretty much validates the importance of this workbook. As essential in 2008 as it was when first published. If you Christian leaders out there are not using this as a basic teaching tool, you have missed the boat and have done a disservice to your life groups. The first 11 Units are pretty much intact; the 12th Unit is a rewrite with more focus on spouse and family. But get your hands on the original Unit 12 and include that material as well. It's that important. Suggestion: take your time with this workbook. We took over a year to complete it, meeting weekly. Warning: the sweetness of Henry Blackaby's writing will make you weep.

While it is disappointing that there still has to be a "Cathilic Version" of the Bible, it is encouraging that Bible scholars of all Christian denominations are increasingly working from original languages rather than only Latin or Greek (e.g. the Vulgate)translations. This edition, especially because of the expanded footnotes, gives everyone a greater understanding of the inspired Word of God.

[[ASIN:0529064847 The New American Bible for Catholics: With Revised New Testament and Revised Book of Psalms] are great and are being enjoyed by many.

The New American Bible for Catholics: With Revised New Testament and Revised Book of PsalmsExcellent book for adult formation classes.

I wanted to get a bible for my daughter that would be interesting and at the same time easy to read and not difficult to understand.I believe The New American Bible is all that plus at a great bargain price.

Three Bibles, The Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, The Jerusalem Bible (1966) and the New American Bible (1970 edition) are approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Holy See for use in U.S. Catholic Churches. The New American Bible is the work of Catholic scholars and some non-catholic scholars in rendering the ancient text.
The introductions to each chapter are very informative and there are many footnotes explaining the text. Any controversy concerning the various editions of the New American Bible are a subject to be resolved by the Holy See and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

This book was shipped within the next 5 days. Service was excellent. The book was exactly what I was looking for. The book was in perfect condition and has been a great asset to my BIB102 class.

I had recently been looking for a Study Bible that would be challenging and faith affirming to my walk. I made the mistake of purchasing the Apolgetics Study Bible and found myself questioning how Christianity could possibly survive when fodder like that is what we are presenting to a non-Christian world. When I was directed towards this study bible I found that finally there are biblical scholars who deeply care about what a text actually means, not so much about conforming the text to pre-conceived ideas. So far my reading has been enjoyable and enlightening and I'm looking forward to continuing my study. I highly recommend this study bible.

Although the notes are thorough, the text is separated from the commentary in a way that makes reading scripture easy and functional. The many special inserts are informative and probative.

The Bible commentaries are written from a liberal theological perspective. It is obvious that the authors believe the Bible is just a product of ancient myths and storytelling. They disbelieve miracles and explain away prophecy by assigning late dates to the books. The notes put forth theories that are based upon opinion and conjecture rather than solid textual evidence. More a work of anti-Christian and anti-Jewish propaganda than a balanced, scholarly work. Also, while it is not a bad translation, the NRSV does have some gender-neutrality inserted into it. All in all, I cannot recommend this study Bible. It reads like skeptics and non-believers wrote it. Instead, I would recommend the NIV Study Bible or NKJV Study Bible.

I find this Bible to be an excellent resource although like everything in life it has a few minor flaws. As to the Bible text, it is complete in content and easy to read, clear and understandable. As to the commentary it is unbiased from any denominational point of view, excellent in informational content and historical fact although a bit repetitive with repeated readings. All in all an excellent resource!

Minister Robert M. Wright (Th.M.,D.M.)
Host "Instrument of Grace" ZKING 100.9 FM British Virgin Islands

With the style and intresting character of A Case For Christ, but with a different perspective and objective. I am glad I bought this book.

I was thinking of getting this book so I did what I always do, I went straight to the 1 star reviews. In reading those, I've decided I DEFINITELY won't waste my money on this book, so thanks for that. But in reading the reviews I was reminded by something I was told by a guy who left seminary school. He was a gay bartender and worked at the restaurant next door. A group of my co-workers and I went to the bar and naturally, a lively convo kicked up and the topic came up. We asked why he left seminary school, he was 'out' when he decided he wanted to go, so it wasn't anything about him being a homosexual that made him leave. He said that he realized that there was no point in him being there because the people who are gonna get it, will and the people who aren't going to get it will NEVER get it, no matter what you say or do. I'm sharing this because I think it needs to be put out there. If you're waiting for SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE about FAITH, you've already set yourself up for failure. It's faith! Faith is something you have when there is no reason to, that's why it's faith. If you're only willing to believe in Christ because you don't have a choice, there's evidence of his resurrection that irrefutable, you're not believing in Christ, you're believing in the scientific method. I have issues with the Bible and the bloody history of my faith but I still believe in the message and live my life accordingly. I don't try to sell people on Christianity, I figure my light will attract those it's meant to attract. I hope this makes sense.

3 July 2008 - This book is the link from The Case for Christ to The Case for a Creator. He hits several points on why faith is so important but he dwells to long on the evolutionist argument which draws from his beautiful point by point analysis of why there is an intelligent reason to have faith. Strobel masterfully handles evolutionist argument in The Case for a Creator which I read first and turned me on to The Case for... series.

I picked up this book as it was recommended to me by a discussion partner. She gave it high marks and I was looking forward to seeing what it said. Unfortunately, I learned by the beginning of Chapter 2 that Mr. Strobel is not, in fact, a scholar worthy of the name. Rather he makes claims for which he can provide no valid citation, and in what can only be described as great arrogance, cites himself in other situations.

If Mr. Strobel wishes this book to be considered an objective, scholarly investigation than I will hold him to such standards. He fails. Miserably.

The premise of the book "The Case for Faith" seems to be an exploration of Biblical Christianity through its better-known proponents by a curious and impartial skeptic. Of course, that is not the case and it is only a dishonest marketing ploy to call it a journalistic investigation and a laughable ruse to say it is the toughest objections. There is an intentional and cleverly fashioned flow in the book through a sequence of interviews by a (supposedly skeptical) journalist in a deliberate progression. These interviews are used to persuade under the illusion of investigation as the author posed questions in a manner that could be dismantled by a clever apologist. Any of Strobel's questions of the apologists' theories are short and feeble, they are strawmen. If you are a believer and want to feel more reassured, then you might find it here provided you don't apply critical thought. Also, if you are a believer - ask yourself if you want to support an author and marketing staff that distorts truth for gain. If you are not a believer, you would have to lack the ability to realize fallacious arguments and strawmen to be persuaded.