(EXCERPT) Several explanations for the seemingly sudden appearance of “The Book of Mormon” in 1829 (first published in 1830) have been put forth by both historians and apologists alike. Each holds some value to its advocates while displaying obvious inconsistencies and unexplained features. Significant new evidence necessitates the revision of all such theories.
Read MoreMany across the world will celebrate Earth Day on Monday, which marks the 54th anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. The theme for Earth Day 2024 is the fight against plastic, aiming to increase awareness of the issue of pollution around the globe and its harmful effects on the environment.
Read MoreLifeWise Academy founder Joel Penton was on Bluetooth, driving a vibrant red and yellow school bus fashioned into a camper, heading from Ohio with his wife and five school-age children to the newest academy sites in Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia.
Read MoreStructured around an academic year of teaching law, the book explores monthly themes such as "Where is the Line Between Wrong and Evil?" and draws on experiences and legal case studies to discuss empathy in disagreement, trust across differences and challenging assumptions. The book is relevant for everyday community interactions during election years and beyond.
Read MoreScripture engagement among American adults is at its lowest point in the 14 years the American Bible Society has commissioned the annual State of the Bible report, researchers said in releasing the first chapter of the 2024 report. Well over half — 57 percent, or 151 million — of American adults are Bible Disengaged, based on a 15-question metric.
Read MoreEvery year at Passover we are commanded to imagine ourselves leaving Egypt — Joel Silverstein painted himself into the picture. In “The Brighton Beach Bible” — an art book with narrative commentary — Silverstein envisions the boardwalks and abandoned attractions of his childhood in Brooklyn as the staging ground for the Exodus and 40 years in the wilderness.
Read More“We must fight Christian nationalism. It’s what fueled Jan. 6 and the pews in our churches, every Sunday, are filled with them.” That isn’t the only time I’ve heard that ominous warning offered up by an earnest, well-weaning pastor, non-profit leader or Christian influencer. It’s shaped by a narrative repeated often by the press, echoed in a seemingly unlimited new genre of books and accepted as gospel even by many people of faith.
Read MoreChristians are divided on how to address this growing issue. One camp sees this as a problem — something that needs to be solved by helping people get married. The other sees the problem as the privileging of marriage — and that it’s the church that needs to adapt to reflect such societal changes. Here’s what some books are saying about the issue.
Read More(EXCERPT) Scholars have noted the similarities between the secular turn in our modern world and the ancient pagan one. In his new book, “Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World life the Early Church,” Stephen Presley considers how the early church engaged a pagan world and what we can learn from them. Here is an excerpt from the book.
Read More(ANALYSIS) “Judaism Is About Love” is a new book that thoroughly and poetically shatters the misconception that the God of the Hebrew Bible is about law, while the God of the New Testament is about love. As a result, it creates healthy parameters for disagreement between Jewish and Christian believers.
Read More(REVIEW) Carrie Sheffield is an accomplished Harvard-trained journalist and political commentator, but even though she’s written elsewhere about being raised by an abusive self-proclaimed Mormon prophet, I doubt that most of her fans and followers are aware of just how brutal her story really is. This remarkable memoir illuminates some of our most pressing social challenges with forthrightness, grace, and hope that can be missing in other memoirs often fueled by resentment and anger.
Read More(REVIEW) It’s a shame that “Solo Planet” has such a ho-hum subtitle: “How Singles Help the Church Recover Our Calling.” It should be: “An Intrepid Reporter Surveys Christian Singles on Six Continents during a Whirlwind 17-month Tour.” Which is what Anna Broadway did. Having already written one book on singles, this 40-something single evangelical woman noticed that most literature on the topic came from an English-speaking, American perspective.
Read More(EXCERPT) Mark David Hall’s new book, “Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism: Why Christian Nationalism is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church,” shows that Christian nationalism does not, as its critics claim, pose “an existential threat to American democracy and the Christian church in the United States.” As well, it critiques the handful of Americans who advocate for Christian nationalism.
Read More(REVIEW) How big a threat is “Christian nationalism?” Fear of Donald Trump increased the revenues of big media companies in 2016, and fear of “Christian nationalism” in 2024 is helping the sale of books screaming about it.
Read More(EXCERPT) My purpose in writing “Motorhome Prophecies” is to help bring others out of isolation. To let them know that "death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). My father prophesied my death if I left his cult. I internalized those curses, and as a result, suffered many close scrapes with the demons of mental illness. But to quote author Linda Schubert, “While my failures were ‘legendary,’ the love of God was even more legendary.”
Read MoreFollowing allegations John MacArthur failed to protect victims of child abuse, publishers have declined to publish MacArthur’s new book, “The War on Children,” an employee at Grace to You confirmed. According to a still-available post on Google Books, “The War on Children: Providing Refuge for Your Children in a Hostile World,” was set to be published in 2022 by Thomas Nelson.
Read MoreTrying to recover from under an avalanche of legal bills, former President Donald Trump said that he’s selling Bibles as he embarks on another White House run. “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible,” he said in a video posted to Truth Social.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The American novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson has accumulated numerous literary prizes, among them the 2005 Pulitzer, but also honors in religion. Her new non-fiction book “Reading Genesis” wrestles with the grand themes and thorny issues raised in the Bible’s first book. It’s a climactic testament at the twilight of a distinguished life and career.
Read MoreIn the “The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church,” Sarah McCammon, a national political correspondent for NPR, shares — with a sometimes visceral honesty — the everyday currency of childhood in an evangelical subculture in which the Bible was the ultimate authority.
Read More(EXCERPT) Whenever we pivot in life, freedom from fear requires either a colossal ego or a colossal God. Ego leads us to grab what is not ours. The path to contentment starts with faith in God. In this sequel to “Lament for a Father,” Marvin Olasky first describes his journey from Judaism to atheism to Marxism to Christ and then his adventures in evangelical, conservative, compassionate, and journalistic circles.
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