A Few More Books to Check Out…

It’s been a while – yikes! A year! – since I posted about some of the books I’ve been reading. So here are a few that you might want to check out:

The Hidden Hand by J. Sidlow Baxter – One of my favourites, and a book I’ve read many times. I enjoyed it once again. It’s a mystery/romance written by a Christian preacher, so if that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will. A little preachy at times, but overall a great novel by someone who knows his material (see below). I’m always sorry to get to the last page. More about The Hidden Hand here.

J. Sidlow Baxter: A Heart Awake by E. A. Johnston – So here’s the mystery. The Hidden Hand is supposedly loosely based on a true story. So – what is the true story? Well, after quite a bit of research I suspected that it was the story of the author himself. So I finally got my hands on his biography, thanks to some birthday money, and confirmed my suspicions. And also whet my appetite to read more biographies.

For the Glory: The Untold and Inspiring Story of Eric Liddell, Hero of Chariots of Fire by Duncan Hamilton – Of the books on today’s list, I give this one 5 stars along with The Hidden Hand. I don’t think the author is a believer, but he writes with great respect about the life of Eric Liddell, with a special focus on his life as a missionary in China, and the end of his life in a Japanese prison camp. Highly recommended.

The Bible among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature? by John N. Oswalt – Quite a variety of books here, I see! This one is a discussion of the Old Testament in the light of what we know of ancient Middle Eastern religion. That might sound rather academic, and in a way it is. But the author presents a compelling case that, despite superficial similarities, the worship of Yahweh in Israel was so drastically different from the religions around it that it’s hard to imagine how it could have (humanly speaking) come into existence. If you’ve read books like The Other Worldview his observations will make even more sense. Although I would have some theological differences with the author, his observations from history and interactions with other scholars are fascinating and insightful.