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God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer

Bart D. Ehrman

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In times of questioning and despair, people often quote the Bible to provide answers. Surprisingly, though, the Bible does not have one answer but many "answers" that often contradict one another. Consider these competing explanations for suffering put forth by various biblical writers:

• The prophets: suffering is a punishment for sin
• The book of Job, which offers two different answers: suffering is a test, and you will be rewarded later for passing it; and suffering is beyond comprehension, since we are just human beings and God, after all, is God
• Ecclesiastes: suffering is the nature of things, so just accept it
• All apocalyptic texts in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament: God will eventually make right all that is wrong with the world

For renowned Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is more than a haunting thought. Ehrman's inability to reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of real life led the former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church to reject Christianity.

In God's Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible's contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith—or no faith—to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith

Marcus J. Borg

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World-renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J. Borg shows how we can live passionately as Christians in today's world by practicing the vital elements of Christian faith.

For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices.

Borg reclaims terms and ideas once thought to be the sole province of evangelicals and fundamentalists: he shows that terms such as "born again" have real meaning for all Christians; that the "Kingdom of God" is not a bulwark against secularism but is a means of transforming society into a world that values justice and love; and that the Christian life is essentially about opening one's heart to God and to others.

More Than a Carpenter

Josh McDowell

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Total reviews: 169 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A long review of a short book 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The shortness of this book is both its strength and weakness, but I definitely enjoyed it for what it was.
He attempts to make the argument that science is invalid when investigating something that already happened, or historical events. He says, "The scientific method can be used only to prove repeatable things; it isn't adequate for proving or disproving many questions about a person or history" (page 38). I couldn't possibly disagree more. If we were to adopt McDowell's rather narrow definition of science, then paleontology (the study of the fossil record) should not be considered a science, because fossils aren't "repeatable" (i.e. you can't, and really shouldn't need to, actually see an animal being fossilized to make paleontology possible). Likewise, astronomy, forensic anthropology and archeology should also not be considered sciences, because it is impossible to "repeat" and observe the big bang, or a murder, or an ancient civilization. I consider history (and, in effect, scriptural history) a science because it should require the same sort of evidence seeking as any of the other fields that I mentioned above. A field of study doesn't need to have repeatable results to be considered a science.
I realize that this might just be how we choose to define what "science" is, so I can't really hold this against McDowell. But what I can say is that, even if we adopt his more conservative definition of what the "scientific method" is, I still have quite a few things to say about McDowell's claims. For one, if he's claiming that someone in history literally rose after being dead after three days, then that's something that most definitely can be repeated and observed. He says "based on overwhelming historical evidence Christians believe that Jesus was bodily resurrected in time and space by the supernatural power of God. The difficulties of belief may be great, but the problems inherent in unbelief present even greater difficulties". Difficulties in disbelief are greater than belief? Oh really? Since the dawn of modern science, there has never been a verified instance of anyone rising from the dead, anywhere at any time (There has, however, been many instances of staged deaths). What's more, in claiming that Jesus literally rose from the dead, he's also undermining all of our current knowledge of human anatomy and of modern medicine. So far, there is no known physical mechanism by which a dead corpse can be reanimated. What's more likely: for all the known laws of physics, medicine and general biology to be completely suspended (such would be necessary for a supernatural event such as a real resurrection), or that there was a simple misunderstanding about Jesus' death? Perhaps the writers of the New Testament felt they had to embellish Jesus' story with a few miracles so that he would seem more believable as the messiah - who knows. There as many things that could potentially explain the account of Jesus' resurrection, but claiming that it was due to a supernatural event that defies all that we know about nature is definitely not the most probable answer.
McDowell actually reveals himself to be a young-earth creationist in chapter 9. If you didn't already know, a young-earth creationist Christian is a person who takes the stories of Genesis literally and thus is confident that we can measure the age of the universe by tracing the lineage of mankind all the way back to Adam and Eve. This view implies, among many, many other outrageous things, that during the great flood of Noah, the human population was reduced to only three reproducing couples. In the book, McDowell argues that it's highly unlikely that Jesus was not the Messiah, because God, through the prophecies of the Old Testament, narrows down the possible candidates for Messiahship to a very exclusive set of people, Jesus being one of them. Part of his defense was this: "Noah had three sons, Shem, Japeth, and Ham. Today all of the nations of the world can be traced back to these three men. But in this statement, God effectively eliminated two thirds of them from the line of Messiahship. The Messiah will come through the lineage of Shem." (page 104) Did you catch it? He said today all the nations of the world can be traced back to these three men. This is most definitely not just a historical statement, but a scientific one, i.e. we aren't simply able to use testimonial evidence to prove that statement (actually, even the testimonial evidence is lousy, because while many cultures have "big flood" stories, they don't all agree, and they don't involve animals going into a big arc in pairs). We can take DNA from people around the world to trace the lineage of mankind, and the evidence suggests that we all came from a small population in Africa. Note that when I say "small", I don't mean merely three couples (Shem, Japeth, Ham and their wives), as McDowell believes was the case, but a population of about 15,000 individuals. That may sound like a large number, but it really isn't if you wanted to avoid marrying a relative. A species that is reduced to just three reproducing couples (not to mention that all the fathers are brothers!) has an ice cube's chance in hell of surviving. This is because incest is inevitable once you get to the next generation, and everybody knows what happens when you marry blood relatives.
With that said, I'll concede that if Noah and his sons and their wives had exceptionally good genetic health, they could technically repopulate the earth just between themselves. But even this presents a problem. The genetic variability within the different peoples of the world is much too great for all of us to have descended from just three couples no more than 6000 years ago. 6000 years is the age of the earth, according to young-earth creationists, and this number, I reiterate, was found by tracing the lineage back all the way to Adam and Eve and counting the years. Now, McDowell doesn't specifically say that he believes the earth is only 6000 years old, but I'm betting dollars to donuts that he does. If you take the Bible literally enough to believe that we all came from Noah's three sons, you kind of have to believe in the 6000 year estimate to stay consistent.
McDowell admits that he relies completely on scriptural testimonies to prove his points. Well, so do Muslims, and they have as fervent a belief in their scriptures as any Christian (and they fervently believe that Jesus was not the Son of God). Who's to say which religious scripture is correct? McDowell seems to be going the right direction when he says that there are three ways to prove whether a document is historical accurate: "the bibliographical test, the internal evidence test, and the external evidence test" (page 47). The Bible passes the "bibliographical test", which is really not so hard as long as you have enough people willing to copy it with enough precision. But copying a document that was false to begin with would still produce a false document, no matter how accurate copiers were. What is important is the validity of the original document. Okay, for "internal evidence", he has no trouble yanking out multiple passages from the Bible that he beliefs proves that the Bible is literally the word of God. But how far can you really go by simply quoting from the same text that you want to prove? It would be like saying "I know this book is true because it says so in its pages". In addition, he presents nothing from the Bible that could not have been written by a man 2000 years ago. On the most important test, the "external evidence test" he only has a little more than 2 pages written, and I think I may know why: because no such external evidence exists! McDowell quotes someone who says, "Archeology often provides powerful external evidence [for Christianity]" (page 56) but never actually provides the archeological evidence that he says exists. Unfortunately for McDowell and any other scriptural literalist, no big, wooden arc or any remains of an arc have ever been found, no external records or archeological evidence has ever been found to verify the Exodus, and there is no record of Jesus in any other ancient text other than the Bible. You'd think that if someone really did rise from the dead and perform a whole slew of miracles, a Roman guard or someone - anyone - would have written it down or told someone about it. But the fact of the matter is, no external text describing any aspect of Jesus' allegedly world-altering life has ever been found. He uses the testimony of two friends of John to claim that therefore, ever word that John wrote down about Jesus was absolutely, one-hundred percent true (page 55). Does the testimony of two friends seem like enough evidence to you? It seems to me that the testimony of two enemies of John might be more convincing, because then they wouldn't have any incentive to stick by their buddy.
In addition, to "prove" that the New Testament was actually written by some of Jesus' disciples, he quotes "Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (A.D. 180)" (note the date) who said something along the lines of "Yes, the guy who wrote the Gospel of John was really Jesus' disciple, so his account of Jesus is accurate" (page 55). Okay, now, I don't know much about who actually wrote the New Testament, but does this argument sound convincing to you? Why wasn't there anyone who actually lived at the same time as John to confirm that he was, in fact, Jesus' disciple? Why did we have to wait one hundred years before someone actually confirmed that, yes, indeed there was a first-hand, written account of Jesus' life? I'll give you my speculation: none of Jesus' disciples or any of his acquaintances actually had anything to do with writing the scriptures. They were all written by people who heard about Jesus, but never actually met him or met anyone who knew him personally. (Okay, this isn't just speculation. I've read about it before).
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the scripture is an absolutely, one-hundred percent truthful account of Jesus' life (even though this is highly dubious). So, was Jesus a liar, a lunatic or Lord? I would have to say that Jesus was, at worst, a lunatic, and a best, a well-intentioned lunatic. McDowell quotes J. T. Fisher who said "Here... rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment" referring to Jesus and his life. I will certainly agree that Jesus had a lot of exceptionally wise and profound things to say during his short career on earth, but to claim that he was somehow a perfect, ideal human being with flawless mental health is somewhat of a stretch. He had many moments when he simply lost his temper, or would give bad advice, which would indicate that he's not the flawless son of God, but rather an imperfect leader with good intentions, but was just a little insane (which is really not so unusually for a religious leader):

"Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, `Why are you doing this?' tell him, `The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'" (Mark 11:1-3) (Comment: Jesus never actually returns the colt).
"If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." (Matthew 18:8-9) (Comment: the Christian parent who cut off her child's arms may have unfortunately taken this message to heart).
"On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out
those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts." (Mark 11:15-16)
"Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)
"The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, `May no one ever eat fruit from you again.'" (Mark 11:12-14)
I agree with McDowell that Jesus was, in many ways, an exceptional teacher and leader, but McDowell doesn't stop there. He insists that He also had absolutely flawless mental health. Such is required for the Son of God, after all - and this is how McDowell "proves" that Jesus was more special than any other religious leader in history. However, does a person who curses a fig tree for not giving him fruit seem like a person with flawless mental health to you? There's nothing undeniably special about him that could only be explained by concluding that he's the inerrant Son of God.
McDowell goes on to say "wherever Jesus has been proclaimed, lives have been changed for the good, nations have changed for the better, thieves are made honest, alcoholics are cured, hateful individuals become channels of love, unjust people become just" (page 28). It's funny, because while the US has a much higher percentage of believing Christians than do countries like England, Switzerland and Germany, these European countries have far less crime than the US. This does not in any way prove that Christianity inspires crime, but it does indicate that Christianity does nothing to deter crime, and that anyone who says that it does it sadly mistaken.
McDowell asks, in chapter 5 of his book, "Who Would Die for a Lie?" He suggests that because the apostles of Jesus were willing to be persecuted and die for their belief in Jesus, it could not have been a big lie. These people were serious about what they believed. From this, he concludes that Jesus really must have been the son of God, and that he really must have rose from the dead, etc. I hope that you can see the glaring logical flaw in this argument. It's true that it is difficult to die for a cause that you don't honestly and passionately believe in, but that alone doesn't prove that the cause was true to begin with. This is what McDowell specifically says: "The apostles went through the test of death to substantiate the veracity of what they were proclaiming. I believe I can trust their testimony more than that of most people I meet today, people who aren't willing to walk across the street for what they believe, let alone die for it" (page 70). I suppose now McDowell should become a radical Muslim, because currently, they seem to be the most willing to die for their beliefs. How do we know that in another hundred years, people aren't going to look back and argue that Islam must be the true religion, because so many people were willing to die for it, just like McDowell did to argue for Christianity?
Okay, now for the question "Isn't There Some Other Way?" Did Jesus have to die on the cross to save our sins? Why didn't God just forgive us? Or couldn't he have just sent Jesus down and then let him die of old age? Why did God have to make Jesus' death a violent and bloody one? McDowell goes through a lot of hoops to justify this one: "many people ask the question, `Why couldn't God just forgive?'... People fail to realize that wherever there is forgiveness there's a payment. For example, let's say my daughter breaks a lamp in my home. I'm a loving and forgiving father, so I put her on my lap, and I hug her and say `Don't cry honey. Daddy loves you and forgives you'... who pays for the lamp? The fact is, I do. There's always a price in forgiveness" (page 116). McDowell's cute little analogy doesn't really work, because there's a very important difference between God and himself that he seems to be forgetting. God is all-powerful, but McDowell isn't. Therefore, God can do whatever the heck He wants, while McDowell is stuck with paying for broken lamps. You see, because McDowell isn't all-powerful, he can't magically make a lamp appear out of nowhere. But for God, such things are possible. And since when did God have to pay for anything? The entire universe is His on making, so there's nothing that doesn't already belong to Him. So where exactly does the "payment" for forgiveness come in? More important, isn't God the top man, the biggest of all big cheeses - why does He ever have to do anything? Why is he forced to make Jesus die on the cross in order to redeem the sins of mankind? In order for McDowell's argument to have any validity, he must concede that God is not all-powerful after all, and that even He is confined by a set of rules. But of course, you'll never get McDowell or any true Christian to admit this, because omnipotence is one of God's most important traits. Either God is all-powerful, or He is bound by a set of rules that mandates Him to sacrifice Jesus. You can't have it both ways!
As a final note, I'd like to point out one of McDowell's earlier points. "If Jesus wanted to get people to follow him and believe in him as God, why did he go to the Jewish nation? Why go as a Nazarene carpenter to a country so small in size and population and so thoroughly adhering to the undivided unity of God? Why didn't he go to Egypt or, even more, to Greece, where they believed in various gods and various manifestations of him?" (page 30) If I may paraphrase a bit, he argues that if Jesus really wanted to lie to people about his divinity, then he would have had an easier time at it if he had gone to Greece, where they were much more willing to believe in half-god individuals. If Jesus was truly a con artist only pretending to be the son of God, McDowell argues, then why would he do it the hard way? This is meant to be an argument for Jesus' divinity, but when I read it through the first time, it actually sounded like an argument against Jesus' divinity. I mean, if Jesus really was the Son of God, would it have been better if he had gone to Egypt or Greece, where hundreds of merchants from all over the world go to trade, so that his message would have spread much faster throughout the world?
Doesn't it seem odd that God would decide to send his one true messiah to a small, extremely isolated country in the Middle East, and not to a more accessible country like Greece or Egypt? Sending Jesus to the Middle East ensured that the soul-saving message of Jesus would not reach East Asia for at least 600 years. Doesn't that seem unfair? Christianity would not reach the Philippines until the Spanish brought it over in the 1500s, suggesting that native Filipinos went on living and dying and going to hell (because they most certainly worshipped false idols) even after Jesus supposedly redeemed the world with his message. Remember what Jesus said: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to God the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Isn't it unfair of God to give only some people the secret to salvation (people in the Middle East) while leaving others (such as people in Asia, the Americas and Africa) out of the loop and in the dark for at least another few hundred years?
I found the last chapter of the book very touching, and I'm not being facetious. I'm reminded of the saying: "Nietzsche said that God is dead. Freud said that God is dad". I feel that the reason why McDowell turned to Christianity was because he was in dire need of a solid parental figure to set rules for him. His own, earthly dad was an embarrassment to him, so for guidance he looked to the heavens. He seems to me one of the people who would genuinely be lost if they did not believe that there was a God to guide their every action. However, I think that the majority of people aren't like McDowell and don't need God in order to determine what's right and wrong. Most of us, I believe, eventually grow out of our childish need for parental rule. We do the right thing not because we are told by a celestial parent, but because our own inner convictions tell us to do so. Doesn't that seem like a much better way to live one's life?

Editorial Review:

Josh McDowell's timeless examination of the true nature of Christ and his impact on our lives is one of the best-selling Christian books ever (more than eight million copies in print worldwide!). Written by a former skeptic of Christianity, it is a hard-hitting book for those who doubt Jesus' deity and his purpose.

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Sunflower, The: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness

Simon Wiesenthal

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While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Simon Wiesenthal was taken one day from his work detail to the bedside of a dying member of the SS. Haunted by the crimes in which he had participated, the soldier wanted to confess to--and obtain absolution from--a Jew.

This unusual encounter and the moral dilemma it posed raise fundamental questions about the limits and possibilities of forgiveness. Must we, can we forgive the repentant criminal? Can we forgive crimes committed against others? What do we owe the victims?

Thirty-five years after the Holocaust, Wiesenthal asked leading intellectuals what they would have done in his place. Collected into one volume, their responses became a classic of Holocaust literature and a touchstone of interfaith dialogue. This revised edition of The Sunflower includes 46 responses (ten from the original volume) from prominent theologians, political leaders, writers, jurists, psychiatrists, human rights activists, Holocaust survivors, and victims of attempted genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, China and Tibet. Their answers reflect the teachings of their diverse beliefs--Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, secular, and agnostic--and remind us that Wiesenthal's question is not limited to events of the past.

Often surprising and always thought-provoking, The Sunflower will challenge you to define your beliefs about justice, compassion, and human responsibility.

Orthodoxy

G. K. Chesterton

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Christianity Vol. 2 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

While Chesterton dedicates this book to his mother, he claims that George Slythe Street is the books inspiration and creator. That is, G.S. Street was one of many critics to present an opinion about Chesterton's Heretics, and happened to have presented the opinion to which Chesterton responded. When on the first page Chesterton states that it was incautious of Street to provoke an individual that is all too ready to write books, and in the final sentence of the first chapter claims that he would write Street another book if he needed clarification with regard to a topic only touched upon by Chesterton, it quickly becomes clear that Orthodoxy is yet another shining example of Chesterton's mirth applied to frequently solemn subject matter. Orthodoxy, as Chesterton appears to agree, is, however, the appropriate conclusion to the work he began with Heretics. If Heretics presented all that is wrong, Orthodoxy can rightly be seen as presenting the standard by which Chesterton deemed such philosophies heretical. To truly appreciate either of the aforementioned titles, both should be read as if they were a singular work.

In Orthodoxy, Chesterton does justify his position maintained throughout Heretics in a manner as uniform as he might have been able to conjure. Throughout the work Chesterton utilizes his own experiences and thoughts to illustrate and, perhaps, demonstrate his seemingly inevitable arrive at truth. At times it almost seems as if Chesterton slips into irrelevant stream of thought tangents but never fails to reconcile his intended point, illuminating the necessity of what might have otherwise seemed entirely unnecessary. In fact, Chesterton masterfully builds what he claimed is not a properly thorough defense of Christianity into what might be one of the most poignant apologetic works ever. He does so in a way that makes Orthodoxy read like a suspense novel in that the entire effort bears its timeless fruit in the last few pages, if not in the last sentence, after supplying almost innumerable pieces of information that appeared just unrelated enough to ensure that the final piece would act as a blazing beacon of a keystone. While Chesterton might have failed to present that tangible evidence, that scientific process by which the claims of Christianity can be undoubtedly proved, he clearly and boldly presented that proof which every Christian exists for; the proof that every Christian can verify, albeit not as gracefully. While Chesterton's The Everlasting Man might be the work that he is best known for, Heretics and, especially, Orthodoxy are magnificent demonstrations of Chesterton's ability to cast light on the eventual obvious reality and significance of everything.

Editorial Review:

"G. K. Chesterton routinely ignites more ideas per page than any Christian author of the twentieth century, with the possible exception of C. S. Lewis. Chesterton sometimes overstates, often maddens, and invariably provokes a new and better way of seeing things. In this book, he offers us new ways of seeing the greatest things of all: divine things of the gospel." -John G. Stackhouse, Jr.

What is God?

Etan Boritzer

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Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

great way to explain and teach about God 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

What is God is a beautiful book teaching about all beliefs in a non-judgmental and informative book. This worked well for us to teach our kids about all religions while leaving it open for them to decide what they believe.

poor syntax & too broad 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The 3 stars is for effort - I love that someone attempted to write this book for children, giving an overview of many different religious traditions and that they're all good, and that God is whatever you believe it to be. The problem, besides poor grammatical structure that makes the story difficult to follow (was this edited at all?), is that rather than just sticking to religions and including earth-based / pagan beliefs as one of those, the author goes off on her theory as if it is the truth. She doesn't seem to see that her God (everyone & everything) is also just another belief system like the others. I was disappointed & won't be giving the book as a gift like I had planned, but may attempt to write my own -- it is a much needed book!

Editorial Review:

The depth of meaning here defies easy description. Through Boritzer's clear text and Marantz's vivid and humorous illustrations, the reader does, in fact, receive an answer to the question, What is God? Full-color illustrations.

Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

Jerry Bridges

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A Great Study on God's Sovereignty 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book teaches believers how to traverse of the of the greatest hurdles in any Christian's life--trusting God in the midst of suffering and adversity.

Bridges shows how a loving God works for our good. God controls circumstances, people, nature, and all of the other things that affect our lives. That does not mean that we are not responsible to pray and work for what we believe to be the correct course of events in our lives; it simply means that if our initial plan is in some way thwarted, we should submit to God in full knowledge that what He has brought about is ultimately for our good, as difficult as it may seem for us to believe that when we are in the midst of adversity.

This is a great study on the sovereignty of God--you don't necessarily have to be in the midst of any great trial to get a lot out of this book. The book is written in a warm, assuring style, and reads as though it was written by a wise uncle doing his best to give you guidance and comfort.

Editorial Review:

Jerry Bridges shares with readers the scope of God’s power, and through this they can know Him better and trust Him more—even when unjust things happen.

Normal Christian Life

Nee, Watchman

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Avoid the May 29, 2008 paper back edition 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Avoid the May 29, 2008 Paperback, buy the Mass Market Paperback. A poor edition of a classic book, most of the notes were removed, and some explanations aren't there either, the book has been mutilated.

Now I See 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

When I was 9 years old I got my first pair of glasses and was amazed by the detail and clarity of my new vision. What was once green blobs atop brown cylinders became gorgeous, complex trees in their full, leafy glory. In a similar way, thanks to Nee, I see the details and wholeness of God's greatest gift to us, His Son.

Watchman Nee makes Paul's Letter to the Romans accessible and applicable. I have been a Christian for many years and participated in many Bible/Christian studies. Nevertheless, I did not grasp the fullness of the Cross. The Normal Christian Life explains in everyday terms the many benefits of Christ's sacrifice for us and how to walk in Him. Please read this book and share it with others. It is a life refiner.

Editorial Review:

This classic work unfolds the path of faith and presents the eternal purpose of God in simple terms.

Theology Of The Body For Beginners

Christopher West

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Tragic Quasi-Theology of the Body 1 out of 5 stars.
15 of 40 people found this review helpful.

As an academic theologian, I was intrigued when this book was not only being passed around among my friends and students but was recommended as one of the finest explications on the body, gender, and sexual intimacy as seen through the writings of John Paul II. It is not. And I say this not as a critic of those with conservative Christian beliefs (I am one), I say this because what West teaches in this volume is so sadly misdirected. In fact, I shared an outline of this book with a number of colleagues who gasped just as I did. "Surely," one said, "this guy doesn't have a degree in theology." And that was it. To the trained reader, this book falls apart not long after one begins to read it. West needs a theological mentor.

In a word (a fuller exploration is impossible), West thinks our society has become "Gnostic" and so flees from this heresy into the arms of a materialism ('monism') with an application to sex that we haven't seen since the 1960s. A colleague linked it to ancient near east pagan fertility religions. West exploits our understanding of marriage and misconstrues the place of sexual intimacy within it. For West, sex is no longer a gift from God, it is a "participation" in divine life -- on a parallel to how one participates with God in sacramental worship (e.g. the eucharist). Therefore to have sex (within marriage) is to gain some access to divine reality that one does not gain elsewhere. And with this surprising announcement, West thinks that the church will not only protect the sanctity of sex but recharge marital sex with all the exciting goodness God planned for it. There is a lot more, but this is the gist of it.

The book ends -- really, it is a major part of the book -- with an angry screed against any form of contraception. The ethical and medical arguments are considered, but the theological conclusions are utterly irresponsible. To use contraception is to reap the most severe criticisms. It is to deny any relationship with God, to void one's marriage, and to sin in the most profound sense. Of course, Natural Planning is the only option offered.

There are a lot of solid orthodox books of sexuality, the intimacy of persons, marriage, and the relationship of sexual life to marriage. One will find solid Catholic works on the relationship of marriage to sacramental life. But this is not one of them.

I couldn't help thinking that the outrageous, pop-theology style of West is one of the things that make people want to read him. Surely Christian theology, even bright laity like West, can do better than this. At least we should stop recommending him to our friends.

Editorial Review:

According to Pope John Paul II, if we live according to the true meaning of our sexuality, we "fulfill the very meaning of [our] being and existence." The human body is a "theology" because it is meant to be a sign of God's own life and love in the world. With clarity and precision, Christopher West unpacks John Paul II's Theology of the Body, translating it into a language everyone can understand.

Theology of the Body for Beginners explores the profound interconnections between sex and the deepest questions of human existence, including:

What is the meaning of life?
Why did God create us male and female?
How do we attain true happiness on earth?
What kind of joys await us in heaven?
Why is there evil in the world and how do we overcome it?
How can we experience the love we long for in the depth of our hearts?

The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way

Peterson, Eugene H.

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Having already written Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places and Eat This Book as the first two volumes of his five-book series on spiritual theology, Eugene Peterson continues his theological conversation with the church in The Jesus Way. Here he considers all the ways that Jesus is the Way compared to the distorted ways the modern American church has chosen to follow. Arguing that the way Jesus leads and the way we follow are symbiotic, Peterson begins with an extensive study of how the ways of those who came before Christ -- Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah of Jerusalem, and Isaiah of the Exile -- revealed and prepared the "way of the Lord" that became complete in Jesus. He then challenges the ways of the contemporary American church, showing in stark relief how what we have chosen to focus on -- consumerism, celebrity, charisma, and so on -- obliterates what is unique in the Jesus way. A stunning analysis of the gap between the personal Jesus and the impersonal modern church, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way is sure to engender debate and to inspire a movement back to the true way of Christ.