[Eng B8] The Case for Faith

[Eng B8] The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity (by Lee Strobel), 2000


Book overview

To knock down what Strobel calls "the Big Eight" roadblocks to faith, he questions experts about them rather than logically bulldozing his way to solutions. The Case for Faith is for those who may be thinking about the claims of the Bible but who are faced with formidable intellectual barriers standing squarely in their path. For Christians, it will deepen their convictions and give them fresh confidence in discussing Christianity with even their most skeptical friends.

The Big eight most convincing arguments against Christian faith:

1. If there's a loving God, why does this pain-wracked world groan under so much suffering and evil?
2. If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they're true?
3. If God is morally pure, how can he sanction the slaughter of innocent children as the Old Testament says he did?
4. If God cares about the people he created, how could he consign so many of them to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn't believe the right things about him?
5. If Jesus is the only way to heaven, then what about the millions of people who have never heard of him?
6. If God really created the universe, why does the evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evolution accounts for life?
7. If God is the ultimate overseer of the church, why has it been rife with hypocrisy and brutality throughout the ages?
8. If I'm still plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian?

Contents:
Introduction: The Challenge of Faith
On the Road to Answers
Objection #1: Since Evil & Suffering Exist, a Loving God Cannot
Objection #2: Since Mircales Contradict Sciences, They Cannot be True
Objection #3: Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn't Needed
Objection #4: God Isn't Worthy of Worship If He Kills Innocence Children
Objection #5: It's Offensive to Claim Jesus is the Only Way to God
Objection #6: A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell
Objection #7: Church History is Littered with Oppression & Violence
Objection #8: I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't be a Christian
Conclusion: The Power of Faith

[Eng A7] The Case for Christ

[Eng A7] The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (by Lee Strobel), 1998


Book overview

The Case for Christ records Lee Strobel's attempt to "determine if there's credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God." The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.

Contents:
Introduction: Reopening the Investigation of a Lifetime
Part I: Examining the Record
Part II: Analyzing Jesus
Part III: Researching the Resurrection
Conclusion: The Verdict of History

[Eng C6] Happiness is a Choice

[Eng C6] Happiness is a Choice: The Symptoms, Causes & Cures of Depression (by Minirth & Meier), 1978
Book overview

Whether depression is felt mildly or acutely, temporarily or persistently, it strikes nearly everyone. Drs. Minirth and Meier believe, however, that the emotional pain of depression can be overcome or altogether avoided. Drawing from their professional training, counseling experience, and biblical knowledge, they provide expert answers to questions such as:

• What are the symptoms of depression?
• What are the primary sources of emotional pain?
• Which personality dynamics lead to depression?
• How should a person deal with anger and anxiety?
• What medical treatments are available for depression?

Happiness Is a Choice explores the complex relationship between spiritual life and psychological health and then spells out basic steps for recovering from depression and maintaining a happy, fulfilling life.

[Eng B5] What's so amazing about Grace

[Eng B5] What's so amazing about Grace (by Philip Yancey), 1997

Book overview

Why? Grace, which to author Yancey means God’s love for the undeserving, i.e. all of humankind, and ungrace are possibly the two forces in most active conflict with each other daily across the world.

Grace for Yancey and many others is the one thing the world cannot provide; seeking it is probably ultimately why most people attend church. In the author’s words, "I rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else." Many active churchgoers could say the same.

Yancey guides us into a clearer understanding of grace by using stories, in much the same way Jesus did. We read stories of both grace and ungrace at work in people's lives. Sadly, it is stories of ungrace that are more prevalent today, the current culture wars painful acknowledgments of ungrace in our lives as Christians in this country. Yancey helps us understand that ungrace is that state of being in which self-righteousness and pride are a result of thinking that we have somehow earned God's approval and may now stand in judgment in his behalf.

On grace avoidance, Yancey notes that the community that made Jesus angriest was the one that he most resembled on the surface: the Pharisees. He obeyed the Torah and quoted and supported leading Pharisees, who were model citizens of their day. Their legalisms He found toxic: for example, their expressions of love for God had evolved into ways of impressing others. Pray, He said, privately without show.

Contents:
Part I: How Sweet the Sound
Part II: Breaking the Cycle of Ungrace
Part III: Scent of Scandal
Part IV: Grace Notes for a Deaf World

[Eng C4] Boundaries

[Eng C4] Boundaries (by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend), 1992

Book overview

• Is your life out of control?
• Do people take advantage of you?
• Do you have trouble saying no?

Christians often focus so much on being loving and unselfish that they forget their own limitations. Have you ever found yourself wondering:

• Can I set limits and still be a loving person?
• What are my legitimate boundaries?
• How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money?
• Why do I feel guilty when I consider setting boundaries?

Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend give you biblically based answers to these and other tough questions, showing you how to set healthy boundaries with parents, spouses, children, friends, coworkers, and even with yourself. It will leave you feeling empowered without guilt or fear.

Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not. Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries help us determine who may touch us, mental boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts, emotional boundaries help us to deal with our own emotions and spiritual boundaries help us to distinguish God's will from our own.

Contents:
Part I: What are Boundaries?
Part II: Boundary Conflicts
Part III: Developing Healthy Boundaries

[Eng C3] God's Power to Change Your Life

[Eng C3] God's Power to Change Your Life (by Rick Warren) 1998, 2006

Book overview

Do you want to get unstuck? Here's now.
Most people can think of different areas in their lives they'd like to change. But actually changing them? That's the problem! The good news is, God is all about changing lives. In this book, Rick Warren gives you practical principles from God's Word for making lifelong changes and equips you with the power to break free from a negative routine.

Contents:

1. The Power to Change Your Life
2. God's Part & My Part in Changing Me
3. Becoming a More Loving Person
4. The Choice to Rejoice!
5. Peaceful Living in an Uptight World
6. Developing Your Patience
7. Putting on a Little Kindness
8. Living the Good Life
9. The One Who Can be Counted On
10. A Gentle Approach
11. Developing Self-Control
12. A Productive Life

All three books are well written. Especially "Shadows of Things to Come" by Rick Joyner, it is an insightful book that talks about the history of the church. More info regarding each book when I have time to write.lol