1. The Holy War by John Bunyan
This book is a classic. It is written as an allegory, meaning that the people and events in the book stand for other things. The town of Mansoul represents a person within whom spiritual warfare is raging. What I liked best about this book was that it had incredibly perceptive insights into human nature, temptation, and spiritual growth. Most spiritual warfare takes place within our thought life, not in flashy "power encounters." Plus, there aren't many Christian books that talk about characters getting their brains bashed out. Very cool. (This version is easy reading)
Side note: Pilgrim's Progress is supposed to be even better.
2. Lord Foulgrin's Letters by Randy Alcorn
Lord Foulgrin's Letters is a modern-day version of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. It isn't the same story retold, but it is in the same genre: It is a fictional account of letters sent from a senior demon to a junior demon with advise on how to destroy a person's life. While not as sophisticated as Screwtape Letters, Alcorn's book is filled with so many great insights that I have to place it as one of my 10 favorite books I read this year. (I have been told that the sequel, The Ishbane Conspiracy, is also very good.)
In The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel interviews several experts on subjects involving creation, evolution, and how the design of the universe points to a Creator of it all. There is a lot of detail and information, but the way Strobel writes makes it as easy as possible to grasp and understand. Very well done.
4. Jonathan Edwards: A Life, by George Marsden
I deeply enjoyed reading the award winning biography of Jonathan Edwards by Notre Dame historian George Marsden. Jonathan Edwards was an American Puritan who was born lived from 1703-1758. He is widely considered the greatest philosopher and theologian that the Americas have every produced. Put aside everything bad that you have ever heard about the Puritans or Edwards, and get to know and understand him. It would be hard to overestimate how much we can learn from his life, though, and example.
The version I read was called The Shattered Vissage: The Real Face of Atheism, but now the title is just The Real Face of Atheism. The new title is better for Christians who want to know what the book is about, but unfortunately it might turn away some atheists who might this will be a personal attack on atheists. It isn't; but as you read this book you will understand and feel the intellectual and emotional emptiness of life without God. Believers, doubters, atheists, and agnostics, especially those who are philosophically minded, would enjoy this book.
This is a book about parenting teenagers. Like most everything else from Christian Counseling And Education Foundation, I really like it a lot. It resonates well with the philosophy of ministry for our youth group, focusing on the heart and changing teens from the inside out. Recommended for parents and youth workers.
This book about culture and worldview was probably my favorite book I read in 2004. Pearcy shows how our society has split "truth" into two levels which are completely separated. The lower level is the level of fact and science, and the upper level is the level of "faith" and values. According to society, we are free to have whatever faith and values we want, as long as they don't intrude on the lower level of fact and science where we really live. With an amazing amount of Pearcy shows why this split is wrong and the consequences that it is effecting on our society. Lots to think about and very well written. (Also a great section about the assumptions and effects of evolution.)
This small book is an imaginary conversation between Jesus and Buddha. You can read this in a few hours and come away with boat loads of wisdom. Ravi Zacharias, an expert in world religions, shows the deep worldview differences between Jesus' teachings and Buddha's teachings. "Both talked about "self" but one denied it even existed. Both felt the pain of human suffering, but had radically different responses to it. Both addressed our deepest hungers, but on thought of them as hindrances, and the other as a clue to true meaning."
A scholarly work by top evangelical scholars like D.A. Carson, Bruce Ware, and William Lane Craig addressing ways in which many theologians are "reinventing" God. "God is back from cultural exile and being welcomed with open arms. But he's changed quite a bit. He's less threatening, more congenial, more affirming. In fact, many times it appears that God has been remade in our image and likeness." (More advanced. Chapters do not need to be read in order.)
This book is a call by Ravi Zacharias and others for the churches and church leaders to provide the apologetic and worldview teachings that are needed for people to embrace Christ and continue in their beliefs despite a culture that seeks to make Christ's unique truth seem absurd or unimportant. All youth workers and parents should read J. Budziszewski's chapter "Off to College: Can We Keep Them."
