Books...

Our pastor loves to read. Below are his current books of choice posted here for those looking for something new to read.

Philip Yancey
What Good is God?
In search of a faith that matters

Get this book. It is available through your favourite bookstore or amazon.ca and likely also through your public library. (The Toronto Public Library has 27 copies.) Yancey, the best-selling author of Where is God When it Hurts? and What's so Amazing about Grace, has written an honest and hopeful book that recounts ten memorable occasions in various places around the world where Yancey was invited to speak.

In each part of the book Yancey tells "the story behind the story" of each location and then recounts what he said during the speaking engagement. There is drama: Yancey and his wife Janet were in Mumbai, India when terrorists from Pakistan attacked ten different sites in the city. There are wonderful reminders that encourage and inspire: Yancey talks to Joanna Flanders-Thomas about the work she does in one of South Africa's most violent prisons. She says to him, "Well, of course, Philip, God was already present in the prison. I just had to make him visible."

There are parts of the story that will cause you to shake your head in disbelief at some of the ungodly things that Christians do. But at the end your faith will be strengthened through the witness of Philip Yancey's faith and the faith of those whose stories he shares.

The Rage Against God: how atheism led me to faith by Peter Hitchens

Perhaps you knew that Christopher Hitchens, author of the best seller, God is not Great, had a brother named Peter. There is nothing odd about anyone having a brother. However, Peter Hitchens, who once embraced that atheism that has made his brother famous, is a Christian. He also is an author and The Rage Against God tells the story of how he turned his back on the faith of his boyhood and then as a young adult came to realize God was real and was calling him to faith once again.

The book is not what you might expect. While Christopher is mentioned, he is not the primary focus. Instead Peter Hitchens is concerned that Western society is turning its back on the Christian faith and in so doing is denying the foundation of that society.

This is a quick read. Peter Hitchens keeps the reader's interest. What he is saying is worth a look.

Do you enjoy historical fiction? How about murder mysteries? Pastor Bill discovered a new author this summer. C. J. Sansom earned a Ph. D. in history and worked as a lawyer before becoming a full-time author. So far he has written four books whose main character is Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer in Tudor England. Start with the first book in the series, Dissolution.

Remember, by using amazon.ca links from Blythwood's website, Blythwood receives the benefit at no extra cost to you.

You will enjoy fresh, lively writing and sharp, critical thinking in the pages of Books & Culture: A Christian Review. Compelling personality profiles, interviews, film analysis, and book reviews will challenge your friends to analyze critical issues and ideas from an informed evangelical perspective.

Get into the Word with Bible Study Magazine, a brand new print magazine! Six times a year, Bible Study Magazine will deliver tools and methods for Bible study, as well as insights from respected voices in the church and biblical scholarship.

Sojourners - publisher of a monthly magazine of the same name - is a voice and vision for social change. Founded in 1971 as a faith-based organization, Sojourners provides an alternative perspective on faith, politics, and culture through its magazine.