Lessons and Notes from Romans

Romans and Hebrews are the two most theological epistles.  One reason this is not surprising is that Romans is the only letter of Paul’s that is not tied in with running a church and/or dealing with particular congregants.  What follows is definitely not an in-depth discussion of Paul’s theology, but an outline with discussion that … [Read more…]

Devin Brown, “A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C.S. Lewis”

As the title advertises, this biography focuses on C.S. Lewis’s spiritual life; its method is largely to quote from Lewis’s own words and letters, and there is not a lot of authorial speculation.  So the book is straightforward and reliable, but there’s not much to surprise anyone already familiar with Lewis’s life and works.  Still … [Read more…]

“Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend” (Ravi Zacharias ed.)

This anthology begins with “Challenges from …” various quarters, such as postmodernism, atheism, eastern religions, and science, followed by sections that are harder to characterize, except that everything in the book is about apologetics.  Not every contribution is great, but overall the book is certainly worthwhile, and received positive reviews from J.P. Moreland and William … [Read more…]

“The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O’Connor” (Sally Fitzgerald ed.)

This is a wonderful collection of letters, and a long but very enjoyable read.  The letters reveal that the famous Georgia author was a charming, funny, sensible woman, very Christian and very Catholic.  They end sadly with her untimely death. I noted that she praised C.S. Lewis’s book on prayer and his Miracles (572).  And there … [Read more…]

Timothy Keller, “Encounters with Jesus”

The author, a Presbyterian pastor in Manhattan, is one of the great living Christian apologists and writers; my sense is that if you want to read one book by him, one that is most foundational in its apologetics, it would be The Reason for God.  The book I discuss on this post is very good, … [Read more…]

C.S. Lewis, “Surprised by Joy” (audiobook)

I had read this book before, so these are just some thoughts on listening later to the audiobook: There is surprisingly little on Christianity per se.  It covers his early life through his conversion, but ends there.  He first became a theist, and the book really focuses on that rather than his becoming a Christian … [Read more…]