I've read the books of today's leading atheists--Hitchens, Harris and Dawkins. I've read their books and know all about their reasons for hating Christianity and despising the very idea of God. They've all sold millions of books and have all traveled the world with their message that God and His followers are what's most wrong with the world. But I don't know that anyone of them ever sounded so irrational and so ignorant as Chris Hedges (and, if you've read their books, you'll know that this is saying something!).

Candice Watters' professor just about blew her mind. "I was sitting in class learning about all the ways our country was slipping from its constitutional foundations. And in a moment of exasperation, I raised my hand and called out, 'So what's the solution?'" It wasn't what she expected. Her professor told her to get married, to have babies, and to do government (and in that order, too). Here she was, in grad school pursuing a master's so she could head to Washington and fight for the traditional family. Yet here she was told that she was going about it all wrong. It all comes down to math. "The people who form families, who raise children and send them into the next generation, are the ones who will influence where our government and culture go in the future." The conversation soon turned in a different direction, but she was changed; she was transfixed. She began to believe that she, too, could and should be married.

There are some people who will probably read no further than the title of Red Letter Christians, the latest offering from Tony Campolo. The reference to Red Letters will no doubt convince people, even before they read the book, that it is a defense of ignoring the black letters of the Bible (which is to say, most of the Bible) in favor of the red words (the words actually spoken by Jesus). While I, too, am somewhat uncomfortable with the term, it is only fair to allow Campolo to define it before passing judgment!

"A group of us who are speakers and authors and who share an evangelical theology got together and confessed that we have a hard time applying the label [Evangelical] to ourselves anymore. Among those who gathered were Brian McLaren, Richard Rohr and Jim Wallis. They settled on the name "Red Letter Christians" as an alternative to evangelical. "In adopting the name, we are saying that we are committed to living out the things that Jesus taught."

Perhaps no area of discernment is more difficult and more controversial than the Christian's engagement with culture. Are we to be cultural gluttons, immersing ourselves in the culture around us so we can speak to it from the perspective of first-hand experience? Are we to be cultural anorexics, avoiding culture altogether lest it corrupt us? Or are we to take some middle ground where we appreciate aspects of it while rejecting others? In Hollywood Worldviews, filmmaker and screenwriter Brian Godawa (To End All Wars) weighs in on the task of "Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment." While looking at movies he seeks to "help the viewer discern those ideas that drive the story to its destination and how they influence us to live our lives--to understand the story behind the story."

Inside Narnia was one of the many books published in advance of the most recent movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The book has proved a success, going through six printings since its release in 2005. In the book Devin Brown, a Lewis scholar and aficionado, offered a detailed look into the world of Narnia, digging far beyond the surface, and exploring this magical world. As I had just read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe with my children, I decided to read this as a commentary of sorts, to see what I had missed and what I would want to look for the next time I read the book. I learned more than I would have thought possible. Reading Inside Narnia greatly enhanced my understanding of C.S. Lewis, of the stories he wrote, and of the worlds he created.

The most surprising thing about Culture Shift is that it is Dr. Albert Mohler's first book. Though he has been a contributor to edited volumes and though he is a very prolific writer, this book represents his first solo effort. Published by Multnomah and set to his store shelves on January 15, Culture Shift is a book that engages current issues with Scripture's timeless truths. It teaches Christians how they should think about such issues. Dr. Mohler is one of the church's foremost cultural commentators and is well-qualified to write such a book. Through his blog, through his radio program and through his media appearances, he has proven that he can combine theological acumen with spiritual discernment as he addresses the issues that affect the church in our culture.

I have a particular interest in books that seek to give us categories through which we can understand this strange new world that is being built around us through the internet. The sheer pervasiveness of the internet has allowed it to impact our lives so deeply and so profoundly and I’m not sure that many of us really understand this. One person seeking to bring sense to it is David Weinberger, a writer, teacher and marketing consultant. In Everything is Miscellaneous he offers a tour of the new digital disorder that is happening as we move from a physical to a digital world.

Where have all the grown-ups gone? It's a question that has perplexed me. Why is it that young people these days seem unwilling, or perhaps unable, to grow up? What is so attractive about youth, about perpetual adolescence, that is so attractive? My wife and I have discussed these things at length, trying to understand why so many of the young people we know (young people who are really not so young anymore) seem stuck. They are working on second or third college degrees; they are living at home with mom and dad, even into their thirties; they are looking at marriage only in their late twenties or early thirties. What is happening? When I was young I could hardly wait to pass through my teenage years so I could live life as an adult and in so doing I think I followed generations before me. What has happened since?

Thabiti Anyabwile's new book is one where the title really says it all: "The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity." This is a book that traces the sad decline of the broad stream of African American theology from its orthodox past to its increasingly unorthodox, irrelevant present. The book makes what is, to my knowledge, a unique contribution to the study of African American theology. "What should be studied as the most central characteristic of the church--its theology--has been for the most part neglected by scholarly research and writing.

I was raised as part of a Christian tradition that did not place a lot of emphasis on the religious component of the Christmas season. Christmas was a time for family and for friends and for being grateful for all the blessings given us by God, but did not include a lot of distinctly Christian traditions. It is with some interest, then, that I read of advent and the traditions of other people around the Christmas season.