Category: Book review

It seems obligatory these days to begin any discussion of sex and society with autobiography. So here goes. I’m an old, white, heterosexual male who basically doesn’t have a clue when it comes to understanding gender dysphoria. (But I guess the second half of that sentence was redundant with the first half.) That’s why I appreciated psychologist Mark Yarhouse’s book, Understanding Gender Dysphoria, so much.
Continue reading “Understanding Gender Dysphoria”

In the midst of the explosion of Christianity around the world, some strange and unusual expressions of faith are emerging.
Continue reading “Insider Jesus”

Every Christmas and Easter Handel’s Messiah treats us to the greatest hits in the book of Isaiah. We can hardly help but sing along when we read such texts as:
Continue reading “Isaiah’s Greatest Hits”

Reading the New Testament apart from the Old Testament is like having just one good eye. We can function, certainly. But we will lack depth perception and may misinterpret what we see. Objects may be closer or further away than we think. As a result, we may bump into something we shouldn’t have–or miss something we were trying to hit.
Continue reading “Through Old Testament Eyes 2: Misreading Jesus’ Trial”

Many Christians function with half a Bible. When we feel troubled we may go to the Psalms, or when we need an exciting story to keep children entertained we may go to Daniel or Jonah. But that may be about it. We say the whole Bible is authoritative and inspired by God, but sadly the Old Testament remains largely a closed book.
Continue reading “Through Old Testament Eyes 1: Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels”

Dan Simmons pays homage to The Canterbury Tales in Hyperion, his sweeping science fiction classic, by tracing a group of pilgrims who journey to confront the mysterious and godlike entity known as the Shrike. As they travel each one tells his or her tale of why they are compelled to go on this dangerous journey. We even find these long short stories or novellas entitled “The Priest’s Tale,” “The Poet’s Tale,” “The Soldier’s Tale” and so on.
Continue reading “A Sci-Fi Homage to The Canterbury Tales”

What if you had the opportunity to explain the gospel to an alien species? How would you go about it? Where would you start? That is the premise of The Book of Strange New Things, a science fiction novel that explores the ultimate in cross-cultural evangelism. While Peter is perhaps not the most likely person to be chosen for the task, he brings a winsome innocence and willingness to enter into the mental/cultural world of the Oasans. He also brings a certain optimism and faith that you wouldn’t quite categorize as evangelical but is certainly deep and committed.
Continue reading “The Book of Strange New Things”

The Christmas story always bothered me.

It just never made sense. No, not the virgin birth. Not the angels singing to shepherds. Not the star in the sky. Not the wise men.

Continue reading “Why the Christmas Story Bothered Me”

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by David Haddon has sold millions of copies, and is now a Broadway play. The book takes us into the mind of Christopher, a high-functioning autistic fifteen-year-old in contemporary Britain. Inside that mind, behavior that seems so odd if not down-right crazy actually begins to make sense.
Continue reading “The Curious Incident”

I met David Skeel just before the New York Times article came out earlier this month about his friendship with an atheist colleague at the University of Pennsylvania.
Continue reading “Different Questions”