Christian Books

I read books suggested by Christianity Today concerning the
state of the religion in America today.  It is a frequent topic.
My interest was sparked by the (temporary) popularity of
Rob Bell's "Love Wins."  I gave that a separate review in this
blog, entitled: "Love Wins; Jesus Loses."  Enough said.

My interest is now due to the tremulous state of my present
denomination in the bigger picture.  The Episcopal Church
is busily progressing itself into extinction.  An excuse offered
by its leaders is that it is simply sharing the decline of all major
denominations, for a host of reasons.

"Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe," by Mark Driscoll
and Gerry Breshears, is a pure, unapologetic dissertation on
orthodox Christianity.  This is bedrock theology, in language
we can understand.

"What We Believe and Why," by George Byron Koch, is an
offbeat, unedited attempt to find the areas of common ground
among all Christians.  Then he hopes that we can agree to
disagree about that which divides us, and get on with the
important job of spreading the good news.

"Bad Religion:  How We Became a Nation of Heretics," by
Ross Douthat,  reviews the history of Christianity in the past
century or so, played against cultural and political upheavals.
He concludes, unsurprisingly, that we have to get back to basics.

"The Searchers," by Joseph Loconte, is a charming and poignant
story of those who are looking for godly love in all the wrong
places.  He advocates meeting them where they are and leading
them to see the light that Christianity offers.

"One Nation Without God?" by David Aikman begs the
question as to whether the U.S.A, is a Christian nation.  Instead,
he traces the religious influence throughout our history.  Like
the other authors, he offers hope for rediscovery of our
Christian legacy.