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In the last three weeks I’ve read three Christian thriller/mystery novels causing an excess of heart-pounding chemicals to be injected into my system. But how can I resist when three of my favorite authors all release new novels at the same time?

The best of the three, in my opinion, is Ted Dekker’s new release Adam. While obsessively pursuing a serial killer, FBI behavioral psychologist Daniel Clark has a near death experience. His anti-religious skepticism provides him perfect rationalization for what happened during the 20 minutes he was “dead”. But the personification of evil gives him increasing reason to doubt his atheistic conclusions. This may be Dekker’s best book since Three. And that’s saying a lot - he’s written some good ones in that time. The characters, the pacing, the plot twists, the insights, the scares - everything you’ve come to expect from Dekker, but taken to a new level. If you are a Dekker fan, you won’t want to miss it. Not yet a Dekker fan? Adam is a great place to start.

Randy Singer writes courtroom thrillers that are every bit as good as John Grisham’s. Better, if you prefer your protagonists chaste and sober. In By Reason of Insanity reporter Catherine O’Rourke is following the story of a serial killer when she starts having ghastly visions that reveal details of the crimes. Because of the bizarre way she gains intimate knowledge of the cases, she’s charged with murder, and her high-priced lawyer wants her to plead insanity. Lots of wonderful twists and turns, and I guarantee you won’t guess “who dunnit” before it is revealed. In fact I wondered for a while after reading it if I felt betrayed by the author. There’s no way the reader can see this ending coming. Is that fair? It’s such a fun read that I think I’ll let Singer get away with it this time.

Last and, in my opinion anyway, least of the three is Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer. This is an edgy tale set in the post-apocalyptic U.S. which has been divided into two political units: the totalitarian theocracy of Appalachia where the cowed citizens labor under an odd blend of “big brother” high tech and Amish-style horse and buggy simplicity, and Outside, the atheistic, decadent world beyond the fence where embryonic tinkering produces God-knows-what kinds of quasi-humans. Brouwer masterfully reveals all of this to us one tantalizing bit of information at a time. The plot follows 17-year-old Caitlin, a self-described “freak” as she attempts to evade the Appalachian authorities to get to Outside while struggling with feelings of having been betrayed by her father. I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying and I was annoyed by Brouwer’s (wink-wink) allusion to supposed similarities between Appalachia’s leadership and politically conservative evangelicals of our day. That said, it’s still a worthwhile read from a master.

Social networking for bookworms - what will they think of next?

I heard a story on All Things Considered a while back about how bibliophile websites are connecting readers. here When I finally got around to checking it out recently, I found a world of literary fun and, I must admit, a measure of self indulgence.

At librarything.com you can enter all the books in your library into a list, a virtual library of sorts, and then compare the books you own with what other people out there have entered. Various tools make entering your library easy, then you can find people with similar tastes, read and write reviews, make recommendations, get recommendations, rate books, and use a variety of other tools I’m just begining to explore.

The basic subscription to librarything.com is free. There is a paid version, but I can’t imagine what is lacking in the free site that would make upgrading worthwhile.

If you like books, I’m pretty sure you will like librarything.com.

Bryan Litfin, associate professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute has written a fascinating and helpful book titled Getting to Know the Church Fathers. It slowly dawned on me as I worked my way through this book that the title must have been very deliberately chosen, for it is quite apt. By the time you read any of the brief biographies of these early church fathers (and a couple of mothers as well), you get the feeling that you are somehow connected to them and, more importantly, you have seen a glimpse of their personalities - in short, you are getting to know them. Far from just explaining their theology, Litfin actually introduces us to them. The sensation is not unlike when, at a social event, your friend introduces a newcomer with the words “George here rowed at Chicago too” or “Mary is also a bookstore owner”.

Each of the 10 chapters typically opens with an anecdote or scene from modern life which is then linked to the personage under consideration. For example, Tertullian is introduced through a long excerpt from the actual diary of a 19th century cowboy eating dust on a cattle drive. Here’s how Litfin explains the connection:

Tertullian the cowboy! How can we ever confuse him with some staid, dull theologian again?

After the chapter’s introduction comes a summary of life events and discussion of the context in which the specific historic figure’s theology was shaped. This forms the bulk of each chapter. Litfin then provides his “reflections on” the church father. In keeping with the subtitle of the book, “an Evangelical Introduction”, the reflections segment is a sort of summarizing and synthesis of why this Father is important to evangelicals today.

Litfin follows with “provocative questions” which could serve nicely in a group discussion session making this an excellent book for an adult Sunday School class or book club. Next comes one of this bibliophile’s favorite parts of each chapter, “Good Books to Dig Deeper”, a briefly annotated bibliography. Finally each chapter concludes with excerpts from the writings of the featured Father in the section labeled “a taste of”.

The excellent introduction contains an explanation of who the church fathers were and discusses several fallacies concerning them. In answering the question “why study the church fathers” the author not only invites us to plunge into the pages of his book, but to embark on a fascinating exploration of our spiritual ancestors. Litfin provides a brief time line and a map in the introduction, but I would have liked to have seen more visual materials included within each chapter. Reproductions of bits of manuscripts, artwork from the period, and graphical presentation of related data might have counteracted the occasional tendency to doze off during my late-night readings.

This book is very approachable by the lay reader who knows little about Church history. Dr. Litfin has succeeded in helping us “realize that the opening actors in the Christian drama were flesh-and-blood people who lived their lives in God’s presence just as we do today.”

Celebrated Christian fiction authors Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller will be signing copies of their latest joint effort in our store starting at 7pm, Friday Dec. 14th. The first book in their new series has just been released and is titled A Daughter’s Inheritance.

Cousins Amanda, Sophie, and Fanny Broadmoor are as close as sisters, but when their grandfather dies, the terms of his will just might destroy their bond. Seventeen-year-old Fanny has never put much stock in the conventions of society. In fact, she has given her heart to Michael, the family boat-keeper. But when she receives a surprising inheritance, she discovers just how oppressive society can be… and that she may be trusting the wrong people.

Dare she follow her heart and risk going against her family? What if she loses everything she’s ever known? It all comes down to one choice: What does Fanny Broadmoor want her legacy to be?

Author Information:

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels. She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. Tracie and her family live in Belgrade, Montana.

Judith Miller is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her bestselling novels. Judy and her husband make their home in Topeka, Kansas.

A newspaper editor just asked me about challenges facing Christian bookstores. Here’s how I responded:

Christian bookstores face many challenges. Yes, we have to compete with huge online merchants and big box stores who can sell near or below our cost. But we can compete with them by offering amazing customer service, the chance to see the book before buying, the ability to have the book right now, and the personal touch of someone who cares about the customer as a human being made in the image of God.

The thing that is hardest for any bookstore is the decline in recent years of the popularity of reading as a pastime or for enrichment or education. The public in general is reading less, but it seems the trend may be strongest among Christians. We may do a pretty good job of loving God with all our heart, soul and strength, but the injunction is to also love Him with all our mind. In his seminal book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Mark Noll laments that “The scandal of the evangelical mind, is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” I am concerned not just that Christians are reading less, but that what they are reading, and what publishers are offering tends to be too focused on the individual and not enough focused on God. We buy books that purport to help us with our marriage, with our finances, and with raising Godly kids; all well and good, but if we aren’t first striving to see God in all his glory, making our lives look pretty is at best of fleeting significance. Even many books about “following God” miss the point, or at least obscure it. The subject of “following God” turns out to be “me”, the one doing the following, and not the one worthy of being followed. People would do better to read books about God’s attributes and his Glory; the “following” would become second nature (literally, the new man not the old). A good rule of thumb might be to read two books about God’s character to every one book of Christian self-help. The self-help books would have much more of an impact in the context of our greater understanding who God is.

Christian bookstores face many challenges, yes, but we also have wonderful opportunities! Signs of Life is intentionally located in the heart of a thriving business district in downtown Lawrence. We showcase many products that could appeal to anyone walking down the street. Our focus is on quality. Every day, people stop in to buy our fine note cards, quality leather journals, great literature, exquisite artwork, or sample our wonderful espresso drinks. Each time they do, they are experiencing Christian hospitality. They get the idea that Christians care about the life of the mind. They see alternatives to the dark and nihilistic art and literature that the world has to offer. They say to themselves, “huh, maybe I was wrong about Christians and Christianity. Maybe I should check it out.” That’s the great opportunity we have at Signs of Life.

They say people are reading less these days. Maybe we need to go back to basics like the monk in this clip who has apparently called in tech support to help him with this new-fangled thing called a “book”.

Michael Behe has written an important book. Again.

You may recall him as the Lehigh University Biochemistry Professor who shocked the scientific community by claiming, in his book Darwin’s Black Box, that certain aspects of the cell are “irreducibly complex” Irreducible complexity implies that a component could not have evolved from something less complex because the less complex entity would not have been functional and thus would not have afforded the organism the advantage it needed to survive as “the fittest”.

Now, 10 years later, Behe gives us The Edge of Evolution. In this fascinating book, Behe advances the claim that there is conclusive evidence that Darwinian evolution (random mutation + survival of the fittest) can produce only tiny changes in organisms - nowhere near what is necessary to go from primordial goo straight through to homo sapiens as Darwinists insist must have happened. He finds the design inference inescapable.

Much of the book is devoted to detailed consideration of malaria. Decades have passed since the discovery of DNA, giving us opportunity to observe the results of several billion billion births of malarial organisms. During that time, malaria has been under intense evolutionary pressure due to the drugs humans have thrown at it. It has developed resistance to only those drugs it can do so through trivial changes. If resistance to a given drug requires multiple simultaneous mutations, it becomes a virtual statistical impossibility. Since mammals, for example, reproduce at a much slower rate than microbes, there have not been enough generations since the beginning of life on earth to produce anywhere near the amount of mutations the Darwinists require.

Obviously Darwinists will find this book challenging to their beliefs. However, many supporters of intelligent design will too, since Behe offers convincing evidence for the veracity of common descent. But this may win him an audience among the Darwinists: here’s an obviously brilliant guy who accepts two of the three tenents of their faith (common descent and natural selection). He just has this flakey idea that a designer, not random mutation, is necessary to create the complexity and diversity of life as we know it.

Please read this book. Or at least, read a more lengthy review of it such as the one offered by Fritz Ward here.

Here are a couple of interesting books we just got in. Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, by Scott Bader-Saye and The Dawkins Delusion? by Alister and Joanna McGrath.

What one word would you say best defines The West today? Wealth? Power? Sex? Bader-Saye makes a good argument for considering Fear to be the culture-defining word for our postmodern society. We fear everything from terrorist attacks to not buying the right brand of deodorant to protect us from embarrassment. Parents are much more likely to say “be careful” than “be good” as their children go out to play. And many churches fear losing membership above fear of displeasing God. Yet scripture admonishes “fear not”. Drawing on everything from pop culture to Aristotle, Bader-Saye points out flaws in who we fear, how we fear and what we fear. Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear shows the link between love and fear, and points us toward replacing inappropriate phobias with courage and appropriate fear.

Science populizer Richard Dawkins’s recent harangue against what he calls “died-in-the-wool faithheads” The God Delusion, has been a runaway bestseller since its publication last fall. At his recent public appearance here at the University of Kansas, I’m told he ranted for an hour about the idiocy of religion, paralleling the content of his book. Fellow Oxford biology PhD Alister McGrath, joined by his wife, psychology of religion professor Joanna Collicutt McGrath, have written The Dawkins Delusion?, a short, readable, informative book to counter The God Delusion. To rebut Dawkins point by point, claim the McGraths, would produce a long, boring, piece of tedium. Instead they take a few of Dawkins’s more risible points and demonstrate that his diatribe represents an indefensible abandonment of his much-cherished rationality. This is an excellent antidote for anyone tempted to place faith in The God Delusion.

Signs of Life is featuring povitica in our coffee shop again this Easter. Povitica (pronounced something like poh va teet’ sa) is the traditional dessert bread of Eastern Europe. Each is hand rolled by third-generation bakers locally so it is fresh for our customers. It is available in several flavors, but the most popular are the traditional black walnut and the scrumptious cream cheese. We offer Povitica by the loaf in an attractive gift box. You can take it home to enjoy with your Easter meal or give povitica as a gift to family and friends. We also have povitica by the slice in our cafe so you can come in and savor it with your favorite latte, chai, or juice.

For Christians, last month’s Ash Wednesday marked the start of the Lenten Season, a 40-day period (excluding Sundays) for fasting, solemnity, and personal introspection in preparation for Holy Week. Christians from various traditions—Protestant, Orthodox, Evangelical, Roman Catholic, Anglican—have long used this period to consider their own mortality and the seriousness of sin, as well as the forgiveness of God as offered in the Gospel. It is also a common occurrence for laymen and clergy alike to use the period to rededicate oneself to a disciplined spiritual life, reforming or recommitting certain habits to aid one’s contemplation of God’s words during this time. Along this note, several textual aids are available to the individual or group desiring direction during Lent, as well as several classic texts addressing themes appropriate to the season.

In the past couple of decades, there have been many texts published concerning the Spiritual Disciplines, but several titles have stood the test of time. Richard Foster’s classic work, A Celebration of Discipline, is lauded by many as one of the best treatises on the importance of the core spiritual disciplines. In the book, Foster outlines 12 disciplines under three broad categories: the Inward Disciplines, the Outward Disciplines, and the Corporate Disciplines. Thus habits like meditation, prayer, simplicity, service, confession, and worship are put in the context of personal, familial, civic, and communal life, giving the book a certain pastoral completeness.

Other titles in this category include Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life and John Calvin’s classic reader, Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life. For those looking for books treating individual disciplines, John Piper’s book on fasting, Hunger for God is very good. Also, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Meditating on the Word is a small treatise for those looking to grow in this important discipline.

Finally, the use of prayer books in lay life is an increasingly popular activity these days, especially during intensely devotional seasons like Lent. Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer has served a central role in Western directed prayer for over three centuries. Additionally, the Valley of Vision is an excellent compilation of Puritan prayers published by Banner of Truth. Finally, Phyllis Tickle has compiled a three-book series of directed prayer and praise for individuals and groups called The Divine Hours. The three book series contains Prayers for Springtime, Prayers for Summertime, and Prayers for Autumn/Winter, respectively.