CHRISTIANBOOKS

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The Challenge of Jesus

While many seek out Christian books to simply reinforce their own established ideas, I love to find an author who reveres Scripture, but does not shy away from sharing what is often uncomfortable.

The first portion of the book establishes the case for Christians to pursue the historical exploration of Jesus. I think this illustrates that the book was written in the late 20th century before most Christians saw the value of history and the Bible. Today, it is not foreign to hear preachers using history to illuminate Scripture. I was a bit bored by this justification, but it was logically sound.

China and India are pagan, a word which I deprecate if it is understood to imply inferiority but which if used in a descriptive and respectful sense is very useful. Christianity and Islam are organized religions. They say (or rather their several sects say) that they each not only possess the truth but that all other creeds and rites are wrong. But paganism is not organized: it rarely presents anything like a church united under one head: still more rarely does it condemn or interfere with other religions unless attacked first. Buddhism stands between the two classes. Like Christianity and Islam it professes to teach the only true law, but unlike them it is exceedingly tolerant and many Buddhists also worship Hindu or Chinese gods.

Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices

“Son of Hamas” by Mosab Hasson Yousef is a gripping autobiography of a man who is caught between his own morality and what is expected of him by his community. Mosab is the son of a Hamas leader who is caught and jailed by the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security services). After gaining his trust, the shin bet asks Mosab to work for them, as a double agent, which he did superbly.

My wife and I have slightly different religious beliefs because of our backgrounds, and as a result we faced several issues trying to decide how to teach our children about religion. Our simple solution was to combine our beliefs and let our children decide what worked best for them. The hard part was determining how to go about doing this in a way that would not confuse our children. We ended up opting for a mix of discussion and reading that not only gave our children perspective, but helped them to learn on their own.

Telling Yourself the Truth: Find Your Way Out of Depression, Anxiety, Fear, Anger, and Other Common Problems by Applying the Principles of Misbelief Therapy

While in the military we are required to know how to navigate over land to evade the enemy or to find an objective. We are told how to use existing landmarks, symbols on the map, compass directions and existing trails. This book is a valuable collection of map directions taking us on a trail to a truth based life free from mental ailments and ultimately sin.