New book: Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias

Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias - In 2006, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) held an open forum at the Fox Theater in Atlanta to address the subject: “Has Christianity Failed You?” Tickets were sold for the event and—to the complete surprise of everyone—the event was sold out with a capacity crowd of over 5,000. People lined up offering to buy tickets from folks in line for higher prices. Before the event, an RZIM cameraman walked the streets and asked people if they had rejected the faith they held at one time. One answered that, because of a Christian’s rejection of his gay lifestyle he had done just that. Another answered that she had left her faith because she had fallen into adultery and could never live it down in the church. Others had their own reasons. Some said it was just intellectually untenable in an age of reason. They chose to come to the event to judge if there were adequate answers. It is estimated that for every one person who writes a letter or attends an event, there are one thousand who agree. If the Atlanta crowd was any indication, the question is real and troubling. Why is it that many live with silent doubt, many leaving the “evangelical fold” for something else? Is there something wrong with the message, the communicator, the hearer…or is it all three? It’s time to ask the hard questions of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and why it seems as though God has made it so hard to continue believing. In fact, the son of a prominent U.S. Senator phoned me with that very question. “Why has God made it so hard to believe in Him?” Such skepticism is not just representative of the hostile; it also represents many honest questioners. This book attempts to lay out the response to those within as well as those outside the Christian faith so as to understand what it is we believe and why it is so hard to do so. More to the point: Why it is actually so hard to deny God and still make sense out of life? In the end the answers should be both felt and real, with the added truth that God is nearer than you think. He desires that we sense Him very near to us and not distant. But closeness comes at a cost just as any relationship of love and commitment does.

Book information:

Title: Has Christianity Failed You?

Author: Ravi Zacharias

Call number: 137 ZAC

New book: The End of Reason by Ravi Zacharias

The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists by Ravi Zacharias - When you pray, are you talking to a God who exists? Or is God nothing more than your “imaginary friend,” like a playmate contrived by a lonely and imaginative child?When author Sam Harris attacked Christianity in Letter to a Christian Nation, reviewers called the book “marvelous” and a generation of readers—hundreds of thousands of them—were drawn to his message. Deeply troubled, Dr. Ravi Zacharias knew that he had to respond. In The End of Reason, Zacharias underscores the dependability of the Bible along with his belief in the power and goodness of God. He confidently refutes Harris’s claims that God is nothing more than a figment of one’s imagination and that Christians regularly practice intolerance and hatred around the globe. If you found Sam Harris’s Letter to a Christian Nation compelling, the book you are holding is exactly what you need. Dr. Zacharias exposes “the utter bankruptcy of this worldview.” And if you haven’t read Harris’ book, Ravi’s response remains a powerful, passionate, irrefutably sound set of arguments for Christian thought. The clarity and hope in these pages reach out to readers who know and follow God as well as to those who reject God.

Book information:

Title: The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists

Author: Ravi Zacharias

Call number: 137 ZAC

New book: Martin Luther by Herman Selderhuis

Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography by Herman Selderhuis - Martin Luther is well known for initiating one of the most influential movements in church history--the Reformation. But this fascinating nonconformist, praised as a hero or criticized as a heretic throughout history, was first and foremost a man searching for God. This new biography by leading Reformation scholar Herman Selderhuis digs deep into the heart and mind of Luther, following him on his spiritual journey and revealing the many facets of his powerful personality, from loving husband and father, to serious monk, to feared opponent, to compelling preacher and writer. Selderhuis uses Luther's own words to help us see him as a man of flesh and blood, full of faith and full of faults, with a deep longing to live for God.

Book information: 

Title: Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography

Author: Herman Selderhuis

Call number: 267.3 SEL

New book - The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright

The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright - This text answers the scepticism about the need for a historical understanding of Jesus and shows how this can affect Christian discipleship today. It explores Jesus' preaching, his Messiahship and death, and his self-understanding in relation to God. The book goes on to ask: what does this imply? What should this mean for us? What, in fact, is the mission of the church grounded in this Jesus and this resurrection, to our postmodern world?

Book information: 
Title: The Challenge of Jesus
Author: N.T. Wright
Call number: 132 WRI

New book: The Meal Jesus Gave Us by N.T. Wright

The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion by N.T. Wright - A short, simple and thoroughly biblical explanation of the meaning and purpose of Holy Communion, designed to appeal to all ages. Explains its biblical origins, the different ways in which Christians have understood it over the centuries, and its crucial place in the Christian life today. With questions for reflection or discussion at the end of each chapter. Ideal for complete beginners, and anyone wanting a quick and easy refresher course.

Book information:

Title: The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion

Author: N.T. Wright

Call number: 132 WRI

New book: Theologians You Should Know by Michael Reeves

Theologians You Should Know: An Introduction: From the Apostolic Fathers to the 21st Century by Michael Reeves - Whether you realize it or not, you are the beneficiary of centuries of careful study and reflection on God's Word. The writings and teachings of figures from the past are crucial to what the church believes today. But just like intriguing guests of honor at a dinner party, these theologians can be intimidating to get to know.

Introducing you to the lives and thought of figures such as the Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Karl Barth, and others, this book makes the writings of these significant theologians accessible and approachable--opening up for you the riches of church history and enlarging your vision of God and his plan for the world.

Book information:

Title: Theologians You Should Know: An Introduction: From the Apostolic Fathers to the 21st Century

Author: Michael Reeves

Call number: 267.3 REE

New book: The Story of Reality by Gregory Koukl

The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between by Gregory Koukl - Biblical Christianity is more than just another private religious view. It’s more than just a personal relationship with God or a source of moral teaching.

Christianity is a picture of reality.

It explains why the world is the way it is. When the pieces of this puzzle are properly assembled, we see the big picture clearly. Christianity is a true story of how the world began, why the world is the way it is, what role humans play in the drama, and how all the plotlines of the story are resolved in the end.

In The Story of Reality, best-selling author and host of Stand to Reason, Gregory Koukl, explains the five words that form the narrative backbone of the Christian story. He identifies the most important things that happen in the story in the order they take place:

God

Man

Jesus

Cross

Resurrection

Our story begins with God. He created everything, but something went terribly wrong. So God initiated a rescue plan and entered the world that he had made by becoming like us in Jesus Christ. Jesus saved us from the wrongness in ourselves and in the world through his death on a cross. And how people respond to what he did will determine what their future will be at the final event of history: the resurrection.

If you are already a Christian, this is your story. Do you know it? If you are not a Christian, this is still your story, because it explains the world in a way that nothing else will. It is a true story—the real story behind every other story we hear.

Book information:

Title: The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between

Author: Gregory Koukl

Call number: 130 KOU

New book: The New City Catechism

The New City Catechism - Throughout the history of the church, Christians have used catechisms--collections of questions and answers designed for memorization and recitation--to teach others the core doctrines of the faith. The New City Catechism is a modern-day resource aimed at reintroducing this ancient method of teaching to Christians today.

This short book lays out 52 questions and answers related to God, human nature, sin, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and more. Whether used devotionally, recited orally, or memorized over the course of a year, families, churches, small groups, and Christian schools will treasure this as a valuable tool for teaching the core doctrines of the Christian faith to children and adults alike.

Book information: 

Title: The New City Catechism

Author: The Gospel Coalition

Call number: 130 GOS

New book: This Is Our Time by Trevin Wax

This Is Our Time: Everyday Myths in Light of the Gospel by Trevin Wax - Uncertain. Confused. Overwhelmed.

Many Christians feel bombarded by the messages they hear and the trends they see in our rapidly changing world.

How can we resist being conformed to the pattern of this world? What will faithfulness to Christ look like in these tumultuous times? How can we be true to the gospel in a world where myths and false visions of the world so often prevail?

In This is Our Time, Trevin Wax provides snapshots of twenty-first-century American Life in order to help Christians understand the times. By analyzing our common beliefs and practices (smartphone habits, entertainment intake, and our views of shopping, sex, marriage, politics, and life’s purpose), Trevin helps us see through the myths of society to the hope of the gospel.

As faithful witnesses to Christ, Trevin writes, we must identify the longing behind society’s most cherished myths (what is good, true, beautiful), expose the lie at the heart of these myths (what is false and damaging), and show how the gospel tells a better story – one that exposes the lie but satisfies the deeper longing.

Book information:

Title: This Is Our Time: Everyday Myths in Light of the Gospel

Author: Trevin Wax

Call number: 201 WAX

New book: Missions by Andy Johnson

Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global by Andy Johnson - Every local church should be engaged with global missions, even if most individuals in the church aren't called to go overseas. But what does this engagement actually look like? How can local churches train, send, and support missionaries well? Unpacking principles from the Bible and applying them in the context of real life in a local church, this new book in the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series is filled with practical steps and advice for supporting missionaries, forming international partnerships, sending short-term teams, and engaging with the nations here at home. This book casts a vision for the local church as the engine of world missions--for the joy of all people and the glory of God.

Book information:

Title: Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global

Author: Andy Johnson

Call number: 266 JOH