2 Bookshelf Favorites (and a bonus)

 Since I finished the Learn the Bible in 24 Hours study, I've been lagging. I have started the KHouse video playlist on Genesis but can't seem to settle down and focus. While I wait for my brain and body to calm down long enough to start another 24-video session, I've decided to hit my bookshelf.

The first book I am going back through is Core Christianity (What Is Christianity All About?) by Elmer Towns.

❣ Core Christianity is one of the books I would have loved to have back before I committed to Christ. Being raised by a Christian mother but surrounded by many law-driven church people, I had questions. My mother was a sola scriptura Christian. She went to a Holy Roller church because it was the one she'd been raised in but she didn't practice their questionable practices such as "shouting" or speaking in tongues. She didn't even buy the prosperity message they taught. I think she went to that church because she had been raised to attend church and in our little town, the only other choices were more of the same or the Catholic churches. 

My mother's answer to any question was to study the Bible and trust the Word. I was young and didn't read the Bible much. When I got a bit more mature, I was kind of busy learning to enjoy the world. By the time, I got back to my serious questions on Christianity and faith, I struggled a bit.

Core Christianity is one of the books that I think anyone and everyone should read if they are critical of Christianity. I'd love for everyone to pick up a Bible and read it first but I know a lot of people won't. They haven't been witnessed to. This book is a sort of written witnessing tool.

❣ Another bookshelf favorite is Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Church Practices (by Frank Viola and George Barna).

This one answered a lot of questions I'd always wondered about in the back of my mind. You know, the questions that if someone asked, you'd want to know too.  I realize now, I had been wondering about a lot of this stuff back when I was sitting in my mother's church.

How'd did Sunday School start?

Why do the various pastors, priest, bishops, etc. dress the way they do? 

Why do we have a certain order of service? 

Why are most services so formalized? 

Why do the pastors and church "leaders" sit at the front (and in special chairs)? 

Why do we worry so much about wearing our "Sunday best"? 

Why is church and church-going so complicated?

 What I love is that the book touches on so many things that I can (and want to) study further. There is a lot of history and background that I need to look into - not to mention checking it all against the Bible.

❣ This last mention is for a fiction series. It belongs here because it's so well-written and keeps true to the Bible. The series is Chronicles of the Host by D Brian Shafer.

The series (volumes 1-5) is an entertaining account of biblical events from the fall of Lucifer to the coming of the Messiah and the start of the Church. After perusing a similar type of series (I won't name it), Chronicles is such a joy to read because I wasn't having to mentally note the biblical errors.

I once had the entire paperback set and gifted it to a friend. Now I have to try to get another set. I would love to gift a set to my young nephew. 

Anyway, those are some of my favorite books. I will get back to my Bible study but I'm going to be re-reading the first two books on this list while I settle myself down.

Peace

--Free

 

NOTE: I used Amazon links because you will be able to get "sneak peeks" or read samples of the books. I buy my books either at Amazon or Christianbook.com.

Audiobook Mention: Is Atheism Dead?

 Haven't been posting as much while I deal with some health issues. I did want to share that I am listening to a great audiobook. It's "Is Atheism Dead?" by Eric Metaxas.

This book is said to be an answer to the old Time cover asking "Is God Dead?" I have to admit, I have not read that issue so I will need to go look it up at some point.

I don't agree with some of the author's implied beliefs about earth sciences but I do like many of his responses to some basic Atheistic arguments against a Divine Creator.

The author has a really refreshing voice - free of the often annoying and plasticized evangelistic sarcasm. He's not "preachy" or pushy and he doesn't seem to see himself as a sinless example for all mankind. I like that he is "normal" and curious and very much like the average person. His stance is very fact-based and rational. I don't think that any logical and seriously thoughtful Atheist could be offended by his work. They might actually be persuaded to do their own research.

As with any work that cites a lot of information, I like to take notes and go check out the sources for myself. I'm going to have a lot of checking to do when I finish this book. I stopped taking notes after my hand started cramping and will have to do a second listen.

This book looks at a lot of the well-known (and some lesser-known) arguments that are made in an attempt to dispute the idea of a God-created universe. I was aware of and still find hilarious some of these arguments.  

Reading this book and the outlining of some of the sillier anti-Creator arguments, I am a little amazed at how far people will go to deny that there is a Divine Creator. I personally know people who believe in ghosts, UFOs, and out-of-body-travel but laugh at my belief in God and the Bible. They will believe in the supernatural without believing in a supernatural God. They accept UFOs and aliens but not angels and demons. I have heard very intelligent people - who can (and do) spend time studying and breaking down complicated philosophies - who won't study the Bible. They don't think about the Bible as a record of archeology, science, and math. They can only look at the surface and dismiss it as fairytales. But look at the people who follow a religion made up by a science fiction writer who openly admitted his con game.

I remember an acquaintance using the idea of humankind being planted here by extraterrestrials. I joked with the person that God could be seen as the ultimate extraterrestrial. Maybe an outer-terrestrial or over-it-all-terrestrial. That didn't go over well.

The audio version of this book is almost 17 hours long. And it's not a skim-over listen. Like I said, the notetaking has been brutal. I do recommend it. Whether you are an Atheist, a Bible-believing, or of some other religious persuasion, I urge you to always study and question and be able to rationally defend your beliefs. It's my belief that your eternal soul depends on this. As a Christian, I came to my faith on a road of questions and curiosity. I hope that you never stop questioning and being curious.

Peace

--Free

**BOOKS** November December 2021

NOTE: I don't know how often I will update these posts, but I wanted to start sharing books that I find especially good for the Christian reader.

To start off, here are some I have read in the past few months. By the way, I include Amazon links because that's where I get most of my books because they have good and cheap copies available used. You can also find a lot of them at Christianbook.com. All of these are available to listen to for free on my library's audiobook site. Check your library and see if you can find them in audio or ebook format.

• The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between (by Gregory Koukl) I have raved about this to family and friends because of the readability and clarity. I tell people that this is a book for anyone with questions about Christianity or faith in Christianity. The next book is by the same author so you can tell I like his writing style.
  
• Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions (by Gregory Koukl). I found that this one is very useful for someone like me: timid but anxious to share and/or defend my faith. Again, very readable.

• 
  Unparalleled: How Christianity's Uniqueness Makes It Compelling (by Jared C. Wilson). This has become my favorite book to gift to people who are considering Christianity but have questions. 

• Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (by Frank Viola & George Barna). This one is (because I am still listening to my library copy) a bit mindblowing for me. It reinforces many of the personal thoughts I've had about church practices and addresses so many questions - why and what for - but never knew there was a book to delve into the answers.  I added a Preview link to this one on the blog sidebar. I will leave it up for a while so folks can have a peek at the book contents.

I may already have talked about some of these books here before. Never hurts to reiterate.

By the way, some people don't know if their local library has audiobook available. Check via the Overdrive, Libby, and Hoopla apps. Those are the ones used by my library. 

Peace

--Free

**BOOKS** "Hidden Treasures: In the Biblical Text"

This is a post that I was originally only going to publish on Free and Faith. I decided that it's one of those books that could be of interest to everyone - whether Christian or not.

By the way, I am always astonished at people who will devote a lot of time studying secular subjects such as philosophy but never think to look seriously at the Bible. It might surprise even Christians to know how much of human history and secular history is corroborative. I have one acquaintance who, like myself, loves the Matrix movies. He can discuss the philosophies and mythologies of that series until the cows come home. When I once mentioned to him how the Bible runs deeper and is more complex than that work of fiction, he basically snorted at me. It was a friendly snort and done with love but, in his view, the Bible is a simple book of fables. If he only spent a little time exploring the book, it's languages, and its complexities, his mind would be truly blown. He's a very intelligent man and so curious about all things - except the Bible. And that is kind of ignorant.

I have been doing a lot of Bible study for the past couple of years. I have read the Bible many times but I have only recently been going deeper into the study of it. I have some trouble sorting and keeping information straight but I don't mind repeating lessons.

The study I started a while back is one by Chuck Missler - Learn the Bible in 24 Hours, which can be found in video format on a YouTube playlist and on Amazon Prime Video. It can also be found in audiobook form through Audible and via local library media streaming services like Overdrive and Hoopla Digital. I think the last time I mentioned it was when I was posting about my news-fatigue. I kept getting as far as Hour 9 and having to go back to the beginning. I have now ordered the book so that I can make notes as I go through the video lessons.

The Chuck Missler book I wanted to mention to everyone today is called Hidden Treasures: In the Biblical Text. And if you wonder why I study so many lessons by the same teacher, that's because I am very careful who I study under. Not every teacher is godly or has good intentions.

Anyway, this current book is one that I want to recommend to my friend the next time I see him. I have listened to his detailed thoughts on various philosophers and teachings so I want to challenge him to think about things from where I sit. Another Missler book on angels would probably be extremely interesting to students of physics. I was no genius in school but Angels Volume 1: Cosmic Warfare introduced me to quantum physics in an exciting way that I could relate to. Trust me when I tell you that while I had heard of Max Planck, I had no clue before why he won a Nobel. I am forever fascinated now! And my friend will be interested in learning that Missler shows why he believes we live in a digital universe. Wha-??? How Matrix-like is that?

I will do a post on the Angels series another time. Back to Hidden Treasures...

One of the most interesting lessons in this little book gives the reader an assignment to design a genealogy with 14 very specific criteria. Once you attempt to do this and realize how difficult (if at all possible), you are presented with how it was completed in the Person of Christ.

The first of 14 criteria

Another thing I am enjoying about this study is that I get to delve more into the Greek and Aramaic languages and history. I  have been able to study some common world history right alongside that shown in the Bible. It's fascinating stuff.

Like I said, I wanted to post this here because I wanted people who may not be Christian to know about the book. I want to challenge some of you to not just sit back and snort at the idea of a belief in Scripture but to at least know what you are scoffing at. Like any serious thing, the Bible is not something to be glossed over. In order for us Christians to confidently believe in the Gospel, we have to know it. The same goes for those people who may want to deny it. How can you deny what you don't know?

Anyway, I hope that this post encourages more people to study the Bible and the history it comes out of. It won't hurt that you will learn something about world history in the process. I was stunned by how much of the history I learned in school has to do with the history of the faith I profess.

By the way, that challenge to design a genealogy? You will get to study for yourself how all the criteria were met in the genealogy of Christ in the first 11 verses of the (Greek language) Gospel of Matthew.

Peace
--Free

And, instead of music today, I thought this was more appropriate