I enjoy writing brief book reviews for Faith Today Magazine, published by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

The May/June, 2018 issue, has my review of Mark Clark’s, The Problem of God: Answering a Skeptic’s Challenges to Christianity (Zondervan, 2017). You can read that review online here.

Clark pastors the Vancouver-based Village Church, a growing multi-site church focused on reaching skeptics. Clark was raised a skeptic and claims he still is. He addresses ten major questions skeptics raise against Christianity, including:

The Problem of Science

The Problem of God’s Existence

The Problem of the Bible

The Problem of Evil and Suffering

The Problem of Hell

The Problem of Sex

The Problem of Hypocrisy

The book is a quick read, and while some chapters are stronger than others, it is a good resource for Christians who seek help navigating the challenges to faith they face.

I’ve enjoyed reading and reviewing several books by John G. Stackhouse, Jr., professor at Crandall University (Moncton, NB). He excels in simplifying complex subjects for his readers, and Why You’re Here: Ethics for the Real World (Oxford University Press, 2017) is an excellent example. My review is published in the latest issue of Faith Today Magazine (July/August, 2018). You can read the review online here.

Stackhouse organizes the book as follows:

Introduction

Part I Our (Permanent) Human Calling: Make Shalom

1. The Basic Calling of Humanity

2. Human Vocation: All of Us, Some of Us, Each of Us

Part II Our (Temporary) Christian Calling: Make Disciples

3. The Basic Calling of the Church

4. The Christian Vocation: All of Us, Some of Us, Each of Us

Part III Responding to the Call of Jesus

5. Principles for the Normal

6. Facing the Borderline

7.Faith, Hope, and Liberty

8. Making the Best of It

9. Behaving in Public

Conclusion: Final Formulas

The best “take away” for me was Stackhouse’s warning for Christians to avoid adopting an “all or nothing” stance when working for change in the wider culture. Stackhouse says every human has the calling to make shalom in this world, and while Christians share that calling, they also have a more direct calling that only they can fulfill. He provides wise counsel for Christians who want to make a difference, but aren’t quite sure where to start, and how to proceed. This is an excellent book for small groups and book club discussions.

Currently I am reading Elmer John Thiessen’s The Scandal of Evangelism: A Biblical Study of the Ethics of Evangelism (Cascade Books, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2018). A review will appear in a future issue of Faith Today.