Review of The 13th Tribe by Robert Liparulo

It’s been some time since i have read anything which could be called Christian fiction and that was Frank Peretti and Stephen Lawhead, both of which I enjoyed as a teenager so I was very interested to read The 13^th Tribe to see how well the author combined an action book with the Christian faith.

The premise of the book, a 13^th tribe of Israel roaming the earth in punishment for idolatry at the time of the 10 commandments had loads of potential but for me never quite got there.

Thinking back I’m not sure if any of the characters really came alive for me, although at times we delved into their backgrounds I still found them a bit flat, none more so that our hero, Jagger Baird. Having said that I did find his struggle to believe in the goodness of God after his friends were killed in a car crash believable, much more so than him as an action hero.

I have read a few of these ‘ex-soldier wants to be left alone but is forced to use his deadly skill to right a wrong or save his family’ I’m afraid this one fell short in that regard. The hero’s of these books tend to be mean guys who get the job done with no mercy and then switch off the bad guy when they are back in the bosom of their family. This of course would not work with an action hero who was also a Christian, he can’t be mean and merciless and that I think is the weakness of the book.

I suppose I came to this book expecting one thing and was disappointed not to find it. It is certainly well written and the plot, though under developed, was a good one with lots of space left for more books in the series.

I would still recommend this book, as long as you know what you are reading. I’m not going to give anything away about the ending but there is a twist in the tail that the author should probably have resisted unless he is going build on it in future books.

Review of Why God Won't Go Away by Alister McGrath

Alister McGrath is a trusted name with an excellent reputation so right from the start we can have confidence that not only will this be a well written book but a well argued book. That is, of course, if you are a religious person, I’m not sure any one describing themselves as a new atheist would agree. As a Christian I found myself in sympathy with Alister McGrath’s arguments and so this review will be biased in that favour.


Having said that I felt the book was fair and even handed. Richard Dawkins will find many compliments in these pages because Alister McGrath is not afraid to say when he agrees with him, or indeed any of the other new atheism writers.

The book begins with a summary of the rise of new atheism and a look at its ‘personality’. Unfavourable comparisons are made between it and other types of atheism. This is because of the harsh and confrontational tone taken by many of those who call themselves new atheists. They not only do not believe in God or subscribe to religious beliefs; they want to get rid of God and all belief in Him. They are scornful of anyone who professes religious belief as intellectually inferior and of insufficient intelligence to live their lives without the crutch of religion.

McGrath then takes a critical look at the writings of those known as ‘the four horsemen’. That is the four foremost writers and thinkers of the new atheist movement, namely Sam Harris who is extreme to say the least. A quote from his book tells us that killing people with religious beliefs could be considered as self-defence. McGrath does point out that Harris is the most extreme and goes on to critique Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens.

One of the arguments I found most interesting was the idea that the new atheist movement has taken on the characteristics of an extreme religious movement. It brooks no disagreements with its beliefs; it attacks any who do, even from within its own ranks and demands complete unanimity.

Alister McGrath also addresses the accusation that religion leads to violence and that the world has been dragged into many wars over religion. Again, in his fair minded way he admits that many bad things have been done in the name of God but points out that in their attacks the new atheism writers have been selective in the examples they use and jump to unsubstantiated conclusions. They also refuse to concede that any good has ever come from religion or any good deeds done by people of religious faith.

The book is full of well argued point and adds considerably to the debate. We are fortunate to have Alister McGrath in our corner and I would recommend this book.

Book Review

Jolt by Phil Cooke
I received this book from the Booksneeze website. I thought it looked interesting from the description but when it arrived I was initially unsure if it was going to be a book I would enjoy. However I was pleasantly surprised.
The book is mostly aimed at business people, which I am not, but there is plenty in it for anyone.The Jolt is a wake up call in your life that causes you to re-evaluate your situation and decide where you want to go next.
The book has 25 smallish chapters which makes it easy to dip in and out of, the chapters are broken up into five sections. The layout and organisation of the book make it very accessible.
I particularly enjoyed the section called 'Jolt your potential'. Here Cooke challenges us to make sure we are making the most of opportunities and gives clues to look for if you are not.
The book is written from a business standpoint but Cooke uses his Christian faith in examples and biblical principles to back up what he is saying, but it's not a preachy or naggy book, the underlying felling is that he wants it to help. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and would certainly recommend it to business people.

Book Review

I found out about the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze programme through Chris Kidd. Basically, they send you a book which you get to keep in exchange for writing a review of the book on your blog. The first book I received from them was The Jesus Inquest by Charles Foster. This book is an investigation into the ressurection of Jesus. Charles Foster is a lawyer and approaches the book as if it were a court case with two lawyers arguing the facts. The two protaganists are named X, who is the sceptic and tries to disprove the ressurection and Y who wants to prove it, or at least support it.
The first thing I noticed is that the writing style is very relaxed and easy to get along with. There is a slight irreverence to his tone which is quite enjoyable and certainly helps with the tremendous amount of detail which brings me to the second thing I noticed. Foster has written what can only be described as an exhaustive study of the subject. For me he shed light on many of the facts surrounding the death and ressurection of Jesus as well as introducing me to many facts and therories I had never heard of before. The arguments are well balanced. X tended to begin a subject i.e. the burial and go through all the reasons why it did not happen as the Bible describes it to have happened then having rested his case Y takes over and seeks to address and dismantle all of X's points which he tended to do very well.
The down side of the amount of detail is that it can make it at times a tiring (though never tiresome) read as fact after fact and argument after argument is thrown at you, though to be fair to Foster I am not sure how else he could have done it. The book has very good appendicies and the the bibliography and notes at the back attest to how well researched this book is.
The brief epilogue leaves you wondering on which side of the debate Foster falls as he leaves all decisions to the reader, my feeling was that he was at the very least sympathetic to Y if not firmly on his side.
A terrific book highly reccomended.

New Year

I have been ispired by reading other blogs to make a few resolutions for the coming year. Despite the fact that i always do this then don't keep them I get this annual optimisitc feeling that all my failings can be sorted out by being resolute at this time of year. Unfortunately they are nothing dramatic, no confession of sins just my usual desire to do things a bit better!

1. I am going to read the whole Bible this year using the Murray McCheyne plan. This will let me read the OT once and the NT and Psalms twice. This is my perennial failure, I have read Genesis and Exodus and occasionaly a bit further lots of times but I'm going to try again.

2. Although its appropriate for the Bible to be first the rest are in no particular order which is why filing is next. I realised last year after another day long tidy and organise of my office that I am not a tidy person. It seems like I should have realised this before then but there you are. I am going to try to file stuff and put stuff away more regularly this year.

3. Chris Kidd in his resolutions says he is going to read 60 books this year. I think that is an impressive amount but not one I will emulate I think. I do love reading so my resolution is to read 30 Christian books this year as well as the other novels tec I will also read. I found I read a lot more before I had kids but on balance having the kids is worth missing out on a few books!

I have read a few books recently that I thought I might review. This one, Red Moon Rising was the most recent. It has been out for a while so perhaps most people who are interested in it will have read it already. I had heard of Pete Greig and the 24/7 prayer movement but not much more than that. However, I heard Pete speak at the Youthwork conference in November 2009 and I was quite blown away by something he said. So when I saw the book in the shop at the conference I thought I would give it a go.
I was not dissapointed. I enjoyed this book very much. Although he is the central chatector of the 24/7 story we are given a real sense that this is a story about something God has done and is still doing. Pete Greig does not try to put himself forward or make himself out to be more than someone God has used.
The stories are fantastic and inspiring and the feeling throughout is that these people are ordinary Christians with a desire to see God do something and being surprised when he does!
The whole 24/7 ethos play, pray and obey is illustrated so well in the story of 24/7 on Ibitha where young missionaries go to the island and show God's love to the clubbers by dancing with them, caring for them, healing them and loving them to such and extent that a documentary was made about them and journalists from the UK wrote articles about them. The impact of this movement is global and it is having an effect wherever it is. A great book highly reccomended.

Hungary no more

Two years ago I tok a team of young people from my church to Hungary to do holiday clubs for SU Hungary. We went as part of SU England and Wales Frontline teams. We had a fabulous time and I think we all benefited from it. Well we have done it again, but without me, I had decided not to go away overnight for the first year of Ben's life but the yp were keen to go so off they went without me. It seems weird and hearing how they are getting on has made me wish I could be there. I don't doubt I have made the right descision and the group we have sent are well able to handle what needs to be done out there, but it's a good time. I look forward to going next year. Sometime, way in the future I would like to see my boys doing something like this, whether or not it is with me remains to be seen!