Reasons to believe

Today's Christian authors address questions of faith

REVIEWS BY HOWARD SHIRLEY

Easter is a time of faith. For some, that faith is unquestioned. But for others, for whom the act of faith brings questions of its own, four new books provide reasons to believe, offering thoughtful answers worth considering.


In the beginning

In What Jesus Meant and What Paul Meant, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Garry Wills brought a historian's eye to Christianity's most important figures—the Messiah on whom the faith is built, and the saint who wrote most of the New Testament. In What the Gospels Meant, Wills trains that scholarly eye on the gospels—who wrote them, when they were written and why. Wills is no slave to tradition; he is more than ready to question whether the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are really the work of their assigned namesakes, and whether certain passages were inserted by later editors. But at the same time, he is no self-appointed skeptic out to cast aside the whole if one account differs from another. Instead, Wills shows how the four gospels are the results of independent writers with varied though harmonious goals, each highlighting aspects of Christ's life, death and resurrection to emphasize specific themes important to the faith.

As with his earlier books, Wills' scholarship in What the Gospels Meant is impeccable, placing the gospels within their original cultural and religious context. That scholarship is rounded out by Wills' exceptional writing skills, creating a book that offers profound spiritual and historical insight in an accessible and intriguing format.


Thinking things through

Where Garry Wills primarily writes for the thoughtful believer, Timothy Keller writes for the thoughtful skeptic. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism is an answer to the recent polemics from atheist authors such as Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great), Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Samuel Harris (Letter to a Christian Nation), though it is hardly in the same vein. This is no reactionary screed, but a thoughtful, probing and erudite examination of the Christian faith.

Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, answers skeptics with understanding, compassion and compelling logic. He deftly refutes the arguments of Hitchens et. al, revealing their underlying fallacies, while encouraging the reader to examine his or her own assumptions for similar false premises. Yet throughout The Reason for God, Keller never resorts to smugness or presents his views as necessarily infallible—a refreshing approach in a world so often divided by unfounded claims of certainty.

The publisher compares Keller to the great Christian writer and thinker C.S. Lewis; the comparison is apt. Like Lewis, Keller offers clarity of thought in an engaging, readable style. And like Lewis, Keller calls readers—believers and skeptics alike—to an active examination of their own motivations, purpose and faith. The believer will find as much to challenge his understanding of God as will the skeptic—and both will leave the book the richer for it.


Responsible religion

Christian authors Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz believe more skeptics might be willing to search for the truth if only some Christians would get out of the way. In I'm Fine With God . . . It's Christians I Can't Stand: Getting Past the Religious Garbage in the Search for Spiritual Truth, Bickel and Jantz (who are also co-authors of the Christianity 101 series) express their frustration with how Christianity has become entangled in side issues such as politics, science, "judgmentalism" and more. These issues, they argue convincingly (and with more than a touch of humor), are harmful to Christians and nonbelievers alike, and have little basis in Scripture. Just as Christ didn't hold back when confronting the hypocritical legalists, Bickel and Jantz don't hold back either. They pull no punches, excoriating everyone from proponents of the "prosperity gospel" to Christian media that tries to cover abysmal artistic efforts under a faith-friendly veneer.

Bickel and Jantz challenge believers to return to the true fundamentals of the faith—love for God, love for others and a life that mirrors the compassionate, forgiving spirit of Christ. Their book isn't likely to win friends among dogmatists. But as a call to Christians to make their actions reflect the true character of Christ, I'm Fine With God . . . is a fine book.

    I'm Fine With God . . . It's Christians I Can't Stand: Getting Past the Religious Garbage in the Search for Spiritual Truth
    By Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz
    Harvest House, $13.99
    250 pages, ISBN 9780736921978

    Buy or borrow this book!

    Support your local independent bookseller

    Find it in a WorldCat library

    Compare prices at major online bookstores

Personal views

After years of skepticism, Jon Spayde came to Christianity because of alcohol. Left with no will of his own to combat his desire for liquor, Spayde turned his will over to a higher power—and in the process, discovered Christ. This life change led Spayde to talk with Christians from across the spectrum of the faith, to learn how each had come to relate to God. How to Believe: Teachers and Seekers Show the Way to a Modern, Life-Changing Faith offers interviews with ordinary (and not so ordinary) Christians—including retired bishops, hospice workers, ministers, former executives and others who have found or are seeking the path to religion. Some are on the very fringes of the faith; some are solidly in its traditional center. All have varied understandings of Christ and His meaning to the believer.

Spayde is a gifted writer and interviewer, with an openness that allows him to approach disparate believers whom more traditional Christian writers might have ignored. No reader will likely end up agreeing with every person who shared their thoughts with Spayde. But the insight into the diversity of faith is worth a look, and the result is a challenge to consider the meaning of your own faith—a challenge worthy of the Easter season.


Howard Shirley is a Christian writer and author based in Franklin, Tennessee. His web-site is howardshirley.com.



Novelists take on Biblical topics

BY KATHLEEN SMITH

Countless readers have been intrigued and inspired by the captivating narratives of the bestseller of all time, the Bible. If those stories have left you wanting to learn more about its ancient heroes, these authors entertain Biblical curiosity by delving deeper into the lives of memorable characters through their own imaginings and a behind-the-scenes approach to scripture.


The Road to Cana by Anne Rice. This historical novel is the second in Rice's narrative imagining of the life of Christ—the first, Christ the Lord, became a surprise bestseller for the Vampire Chronicles author. As a maturing Jesus begins his ministry, he must struggle with temptation and the responsibilities of his divine powers. 


The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy. Inspired by the story of the fierce Hebrew heroine and prophetess, this novel follows Deborah in her encounters with a particular Israelite warrior and her resolution to bring military triumph to her people. Etzioni-Halevy has imagined the lives of Biblical characters such as Ruth and Hannah in previous works.


John: A Novel by Niall Williams. A fictional portrayal of the last years of John, Williams' story explores the exiled Christian community on the island of Patmos. In his hope to preserve the message of love before his own death and the extermination of Christianity, the aging apostle records his encounters with Jesus amid the turmoil of the Roman Empire in the first century.


© 2008 ProMotion, inc.