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"To God be the glory; great things He has done!"

Lee Strobel's The Case for a Creator

Lee Strobel became an atheist in high school, in large part because of his interpretation of the study of evolution. Questions about origins and other processes could be now be answered by evolution, so God was no longer required to exist. Strobel admits that this idea also attracted him because he wanted to enjoy the cultural climate of the sixties without worrying about a God who would hold him accountable. He also describes having a problem as a child, because he was inquisitive and Sunday school teachers would not answer his questions or help him find the answers he sought. Instead they taught him catechisms he didn't understand, and this was an impediment to his faith.

Later in Strobel's life, he was dismayed when his wife became a Christian, and they dealt with the tension that can exist in an "unequally yoked" marriage. However, Lee decided he was going to investigate the matter. Being a legal-affairs journalist, he researched Christianity for two years, concerning himself with the validity of the evidence behind our claims. The results of his quest are first that he became a Christian, and second that he wrote three books called The Case for Faith, The Case for Christ, and The Case for Easter. More recently, he investigated creation and origins, interviewing believing scientists from physicists to biologists who see in their science evidence of intelligent design in every area of the universe. Why would I recommend the book about these interviews, called The Case for a Creator? First, if you enjoy reading about science and want to know the current findings of science as it relates to your belief in a Creator, this book is for you. Second, even if you're not fascinated with science, you may want to be informed so you can dialogue with nonbelievers struggling to reconcile their understanding of science with the idea of faith. Third, you may not want to read it at all, but it could be a good tool to hand someone else who may be seeking answers.

If you want to pursue this subject further, you may want to pick up a book called Evolution: a Theory in Crisis, by Michael Denton (a molecular biologist). This may strike you as odd, but I recommend this book because it was not written by a Christian; the author is an avowed agnostic. Therefore, this book demonstrates that it doesn't take a believer in the supernatural to discover intelligent design in nature; that discovery may be derived strictly from the science itself. Aside from all of that, Denton's book gives a fascinating look at cells that in itself is worth the reading and will give you a new appreciation for your Creator.

I am also just finishing up The Case for Christ and think it would make an excellent gift for the skeptics in your life. If you don't know any skeptics, you may still be edified. The book will expose you to questions asked by doubters, who say history and other subjects show that Jesus may not have existed at all and if He did He was at most a prophet. Lee's investigative efforts again lead him around the country to talk to scholars in many subject areas, and they present many evidences which support the biblical accounts and show that Jesus was exactly who the bible says He is.

Christopher Catherwood's Christians Muslims and Islamic Rage

Years ago, during the outbreak of the first Gulf War, I wanted to understand the background of Iraq and the Middle East and causes of the conflict. What I learned is that problems in the Middle East are quite complicated and extend far back into history.

More recently I wanted to understand the current terrorist situation and specific causes for it. My recent reading of Catherwood's book helped to clarify much of that. The author outlines some history in an easy-to-understand format, in particular taking us back to the end of the first world war, when the map of the Middle East changed. A major cause of 20^th century Muslim resentment was the end of the Muslim Ottoman Empire after World War I at that time. Catherwood traces movements and people who grew out of that situation, and he demonstrates how Islamic extremists are often more angry about the actions of their own governments than they are about the United States. One example would be Osama bin Laden's fury over the presence of U.S. troops on Saudi soil after the Gulf War of 1991.

Catherwood's explanations are fairly simple and good for a first reading of this topic. His purpose in writing is to explain the situation and then explore the appropriate Christian response. One major problem we face is that because Muslims follow not only a religion for daily life but a religion which is to be used to form governments, they hold the view that the government of the West is Christian.

The author is balanced in his approach to describing who the terrorist extremists are, with a thorough explanation of the categories of beliefs within Islam and a description of the most militant and extremist group. That is the best reason to read this book. It contains much else in the way of helpful information, although I did find that towards the end his writing got less cohesive and easy to follow. His ideas about an appropriate Christian response were not well-explained. Also, his description of problems in India are not up to date, which I discovered through a friend who recently visited a Christian community in India. However, even with these problems, Christians Muslims and Islamic Rage is an excellent read for any Christian or other person seeking to understand the causes and current climate of the extremist Islamic terrorist movement.