Before I started into the text of The Truth of the Cross I read the three endorsements that came with it, one by Thomas Schreiner, one by Scott Clark and one by Bruce Waltke. It was Waltke’s that caught my eye when he said, “The Truth of the Cross is the best book on the cross I have read.” A man of Waltke’s age, Christian maturity and status must have read more than a few books on the cross, making this no little statement. Having read the book, I know it was no exaggeration. The best book on the cross I’ve ever read is Frederick Leahy’s The Cross He Bore, a book I’d consider a must-read for any Christian. Could this one be as good, as beautiful as that?

The atheistic literary pantheon is currently comprised of three men: Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. All three men have written bestselling books and all three have published their most recent efforts in the past year. While I have no reason to believe that they have planned their books to coincide thematically or chronologically, their books do resemble each other in several ways. All three men believe that religion is a blight on society and all of them choose to deal most specifically with the evils of Christianity and its adherents. All three believe that religion harms far more than it hurts and all of them are angry and unwilling to be silent about all of this. Of these three, Dawkins is the most influential and we can rightly say that he is currently the most prominent atheist in the world.

In 2000, when she was only twenty-three, Wendy Shalit published A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue, a book in which she argued that the sexual revolution may not have been entirely beneficial for women. She decried the lack of modesty this revolution has brought about and, according to TIME defended “compellingly, shame, privacy, gallantry, and sexual reticence.” Of course many people, and feminists in particular, were disgusted with the book and ruthlessly mocked her.

I found Letter to a Christian Nation a difficult book to read. It is, after all, a book whose purpose is to criticize one of the things I hold most dear—the church of Jesus Christ. While certainly deliberate and measured as these things go, it is still something of a rant against religion in general, Christianity in particular, and, at its narrowest focus, those who call themselves by the name of Christ (and hence, the one they call themselves after).

I typically try to avoid posting book reviews two days in a row (especially after posting both reviews at Discerning Reader), but I wanted to be sure I drew sufficient attention to Richard Phillips’ new book Jesus the Evangelist. I have written about the book once before (link) while reflecting on what I learned from studying the account of Jesus at Jacob’s Well. But that was just one of the many beneficial lessons I drew from the book. So I’m going to post the review here today in the hope that you will also be excited by this book and consider purchasing a copy of it. Many Christians are convinced that Reformed Christians do less than their share of evangelism. A book like this should help prove that there is no theological reason that Reformed Christians should be anywhere but on the front lines of sharing the gospel with others.

As you know by now, Tuesdays are review days over at Discerning Reader. And this week we’ve added five new ones (written by four different reviewers) and two great author interviews. There is a book here for everyone!

I have already posted my review of When Sinners Say “I Do” at the blog, but have a very interesting interview with Dave Harvey that you’ll want to read. I also review Jesus the Evangelist by Richard Phillips, declaring it “biblical exposition at its finest.” It’s a great book and one well worth checking out.

Next up is Leslie Wiggins and her review of Hoping for Something Better, a new title for women by Nancy Guthrie. Leslie says, “I enjoyed this book. Guthrie does a good job of showing how Jesus is better and greater than the other things we women tend to hold onto. Guthrie asks thought-provoking questions for self-evaluation and thinking through the truth presented. I think most adult women will enjoy Hoping for Something Better.”

Meanwhile, Colin Adams reviews Voddie Baucham’s Family Driven Faith. He also interviews Baucham. Of the book Colin says “This apologetic approach, along with the practical suggestions at the end of each chapter, makes Family Driven Faith an excellent 'discussion starter' among parents about marking out their homes as 'God’s territory.' If we take Baucham seriously, it may also be a serious point of departure for church leaders, as they seek to think biblically about the discipleship of children. For Baucham’s central point cannot be easily parried. Scripture does call for parents to take responsibility for training their children in righteousness. The biblical vision for children is not primarily a church driven faith, but a family-driven one.”

From Paul Martin is a review of Graeme Goldsworthy’s According to Plan about which Paul says “those who love Jesus and love to ‘find the road in every text to Him’ will love this book. I highly commend it with this caveat - you will need to read it more than once!”

We’ll be back next Tuesday with more reviews!

A person does not have to be married for long to realize that marriage is a lot more difficult than it may seem. Certainly it is a lot more difficult than God intended for it to be. With the fall into sin came the rise of the self, with the loss of perfection came the dominance of sin. Even the best marriages are now tainted by sin, by selfishness, by a distinct lack of love. Every marriage represents the joining of two sinners. Though they love each other, they fight constantly to love each other as much as they know they should.

When he was just sixteen years old, Edward Beauclerk Maurice signed up with the Hudson’s Bay Company and was sent from his native England to an isolated trading post in the Canadian arctic as one of the Company’s Gentleman Adventurers. A million miles from nowhere, there was no communication with the outside world (beyond the very occasional, very faint radio broadcast) and a ship arrived only once each year. Maurice’s job was to trade with the Inuit people who lived nearby, accepting the furs they brought to him and in turn providing them with the goods they came to want and need: medicine, boats, gasoline, tobacco and guns. Where many of the Gentleman Adventurers took advantage of their clientele, Maurice became enamored with the Inuit lifestyle and became like one of them. They taught him how to track and hunt, to build igloos and to depend on the land to provide. He learned their language and their culture, even taking an Inuit wife.

As you know by now, Tuesdays are review days over at Discerning Reader. And this week, like most weeks, we’ve added four new ones. Two were written by me and two were written by others.

From reviewer Scott Lamb comes a review of a book edited by Tom Nettles and Russell Moore and targetted squarely at Baptists. Scott encourages you to pick up a copy of Why I am a Baptist and to join in the conversation about the importance of getting this subject right. Meanwhile, Colin Adams reviews Dennis Johnson’s Him We Proclaim, a book that teaches the importance of preaching Christ from all of Scripture. “Johnson both defends and promotes Christ centered preaching, and does so apologetically, theoretically and practically.” Colin recommends the book to any preacher.

I wrote reviews of Manhunt, an excellent book that has spent a good bit of time on the New York Times list of bestsellers and a book that would be a great addition to any summer reading list (and a review I also posted here). Finally, I wrote a review of Douglas Wilson’s Letter from a Christian Citizen which is a response to Sam Harris’ bestselling Letter to a Christian Nation. Mr. Wilson was kind enough to allow me to interview him about this book and you can read that interview right here.

Next week we’ll have reviews of Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham (and an interview with the author), Jesus the Evangelist by Richard Phillips and a couple of other titles. Stay tuned!

I began reading Manhunt on the Monday morning of a long weekend. By the end of the day I had accomplished none of the chores and errands I had hoped to scratch off my list, but instead found myself 350 pages into this book. I eventually pried myself away long enough to get some sleep and then promptly finished it up the next morning. Though I am a lover of history, rarely has my attention been held as long and as rapt as with this work of non-fiction.