Thursday, March 25, 2010

On the Shelf...

About a week ago, I finished Dallas Willard's "Knowing Christ Today." Willard is never an easy read for me but maybe that's just me. Yet I find his thinking strengthens my brain muscles which can get flabby from internet speed reading and magazines.

Willard helps us see that faith and reason are not contradictory. Although I don't think of Willard as an apologist, at least in the category of William Lane Craig and others, his arguments concerning Christ are lucid and convincing.

But don't conclude that this book is all about apologetics. It's more and as always I recommend Willard's books to be on your shelf.

I'm also reading, Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit, by Charles Swindoll. It was one of my wife's books that she had read and I confiscated it! Who can't be inspired by Swindoll's imagery! Here's an example where Swindoll tells about Paul's visit to Athens: "Between the furrowed lines on the faces of the brilliant and thoughtful intellectuals...Paul could read messages of confusion and despair. As the churning subsided, a sermon began to brew within him." Wow. I can see it! There is a very helpful chapter for preachers in this book, "Preaching as Paul Preached."

As we're studying Romans right now on Wednesdays, I've found myself reading two helpful commentaries. One by Cranfield called simply, Romans and another by Leon Morris mostly accessed via Google Books, The Epistle to the Romans.

Happy reading!

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