A Place for Truth

I recently read A Place for Truth which is a compilation of lectures from the Veritas forum.  The subtitle is Leading thinkers explore life's hardest questions.

The subjects that are covered include truth, faith and science, atheism, meaning and humanity, Christian worldview, and social justice.  Each of these lectures offers thought provoking conversations centered on the above topics.

This is not a book that you breeze through from  cover to cover.  In fact, I was challenged to carefully consider and see the arguments being made.   I feel that my discernment skills and compassion for those who will not believe in truth growing.  

I highly recommend this compilation to anyone interested in reason, truth, and intellectual exercise.  

The End of Reason

My recent read was the end of reason by Ravi Zacharias.  In this short book, he exercises his gifting as he engages the work of an atheist who has recently gained media attention. 

In his usual style, Zacharias takes the arguments to their logical conclusion and provides well reasoned rebukes.  He also narrates the potential consequences of the reality of life without God. 

Ideas have consequences.  I feel like I did not critically evaluate ideas as I grew up.  This book is a stellar example of how to engage the marketplace of ideas and why to engage.  This no longer an arena for just career philosophers but touches every aspect of our culture which intersects with our daily lives.  

I recommend this book for those who want to develop an understanding of the issues at hand and the logical conclusons that the ideas of atheism would result in.

Has God Spoken - Yes He Has

I had the opportunity to review Has God Spoken by Hank Hanegraaf for Booksneeze. I did not realize that this was the third in a series. However, this book can stand on its own and one does not need to read the other two to grasp this one.

I must say that I approached this book with much anticipation. I very much feel sharpened by the tools that were provided by Mr. Hanegraaf in the book. His acronyms make it extremely easy to grasp and remember. The first acronym is MAPS – Manuscript evidence, Archaeologist’s spade, Prophetic STARS, and Scriptural LIGHTS. Each letter of the acronym has subacronyms to elaborate the support that the Bible is indeed divinely inspired. In reading this book, you will discover the evidence that God has left us from the Bible and real things such as artifacts to know that He has spoken.

I was intrigued by some of the examples that he gave to illustrate the importance of reading the Bible correctly. Some of these examples challenged me spiritually. I have to go back and restudy them again to see for myself if these common verses have indeed been misused or misinterpreted. I am disappointed, however, in the tone that some of his arguments take with certain high profile individuals. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to others. It would serve as a great tool to supplement your Bible reading. I can see it being useful also for discipling, apologetics, developing discernment, and outreach.