Tag: Tyndale

If we aren't talking to one another anymore, it means we stand little chance of understanding one another.

Book Review | Why I’m Still a Christian by Justin Brierley

I’m always intrigued to know how people (especially adults) decide to become a Christian. I’m equally intrigued to understand why Christians, in this age of doubt and deconstruction, maintain their belief in Jesus. I’m intrigued, but many of the arguments for and against faith are built on false logic. (“Christians still sin, so God can’t be real” – which is the doctrinal equivalent of throwing the baby out with the bathwater). Others are expressed in academic terms I find difficult to relate to.

Why I’m Still a Christian is built on over fifteen years of dialogue with Christians and atheists of all persuasions on his weekly radio show-turned podcast, Unbelievable. Brierley is also widely read, in that he quotes from books by mainstream Christin apologists such as C. S. Lewis and Lee Stobel, but also from nonChristian and atheist authors, who often make the case for Jesus even more powerfully than Brierley can.

This is the strength of the book.

While it is Brierley’s personal testimony and rationale for Christianity, it’s also based on extensive personal research, reading the works of many of the big thinkers about faith over the last two millennia.

Brierley discusses some big issues on contemporary science and how they can be interpreted to support or even prove the idea of a Creator: entropy, the Big Bang theory (it’s not just a TV show), the multiverse. He also points to some things that are perhaps easier to understand as proof: mathematics, gravity, and morality:

The belief that humans are created free, equal, and with inherent dignity only makes sense if there is a God.

And:

If atheism is true, then there is no ultimate right or wrong.

What stood out most to me, especially in the section on science, is that many of the new discoveries are pointing towards God, not away from Him (which is  contrary to much of what I was taught in school). It reminds me of the importance of thinking and questioning matters of faith so we can have robust conversations on

Recommended for those who enjoy the topic of apologetics, and anyone looking for sound, reasoned and readable information that examines some of the central debates around the Christian faith from both points of view.

Thanks to Tyndale Elevate and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Justin Brierley

Justin Brierley has been working in radio, podcasting, and video for two decades. He co-hosts the Re-Enchanting podcast for Seen & Unseen and is a well-known speaker and broadcaster. Justin founded the popular Unbelievable? faith debate show, and has also hosted the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. Justin’s first book, ‘Unbelievable?: Why, after Ten Years of Talking with Atheists, I’m Still a Christian’ (SPCK), was published in 2017. His latest book is ‘The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God’ (Tyndale House Publishers). Justin and his family live in Surrey, UK.

Find Justin Brierley online at:

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About Why I’m Still a Christian

A compelling and intriguing discussion of why believing in God makes the most sense of human existence and our purpose on earth by one of the most respected Christian thinkers of our time.
“Highly readable survey of the reasons for Christian faith. Not just an academic exercise, Justin has respectfully engaged many thoughtful atheists and sceptics over years, which is always a test for a believer. The book is therefore very personal―it explains how his own faith has emerged while working through the challenges he has received.” ―Timothy Keller

Why I'm Still a ChristianPopular radio host and podcaster, Justin Brierley, has been creating and facilitating constructive conversations about faith for more than two decades. He is an expert in Christian apologetics and has had a ringside seat as believers and nonbelievers alike have debated Christianity. Surprisingly, Justin has come out on the other side of these debates more convinced than ever of the truth of Jesus’ claims―and the power of good conversations.

With this book, you get to watch Justin as he engages with the most unlikely of conversation partners―from Richard Dawkins to Philip Pullman―on the subject of faith. You’ll understand why Justin, after hearing the strongest objections to the Christian faith and religion, is still a Christian. For him, God makes sense of human existence, the inherent value of human life, and our ultimate purpose on earth.

With this book, you’ll explore tough questions, with Justin Brierley as your guide:

  • Why would God allow suffering?
  • Are Christianity and the existence of God compatible with science?
  • Is there any evidence for the resurrection?
  • And much more.

Discover the reasons to believe.

This book is a revised and updated edition of the Unbelievable book published in 2017, with a new chapter on deconstruction.

Find Why I’m Still a Christian online at:

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Book Review | The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M White

One of the things I love about great historical fiction is the power it has to shine a light on our own time. The Collector of Burned Books is an exemplary example of this principle, illustrating the importance of critical thinking, of being able to understand (and even argue) both sides of an argument in order to fully satisfy ourselves that we understand right and wrong … and how to spot the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Anyway, that is getting off track.

The Collector of Burned Backs is set in Paris, France, in the German occupation of 1940. Corrine Bastin is a professor of German literature at the Sorbonne university … and a spy, hiding coded messages in the books in the Library of Banned Books next door to her apartment. Christian Bauer is a German officer, sent to Paris to catalogue and “relocate” the contents of Parisian libraries – especially the contents of the infamous Library of Burned Books.

It’s obvious from the beginning that Christian is a booklover who values ideas over politics. But he’s also booklover who wears a Nazi uniform, which makes him the enemy as far as Corrine is concerned.

It’s also obvious Christian will have to walk a fine line, appeasing his Nazi masters while still following his own conscience. (To be fair, Corrine and every other Parisian has the same problem – especially those who are secretly working against the Nazis, as Corrine is).

The story started solidly although perhaps a little slowly, although there was an underlying tension that kept me reading. I didn’t have to wait long. At around the one- third mark, we discover Christian’s secret, one that makes all his actions clear. From that point on, the book is simply un-put-downable as Christian and Corrine navigate occupied Paris.

The Collector of Burned Backs is compelling fiction. The characters are intelligent people with integrity, stuck in a difficult situation not of their own choosing. The writing took me straight to World War Two Paris. The plot and pacing is excellent, resulting in a thought-provoking and challenging story.

There’s also a fun link back to some of Roseanna M White’s previous novels.

The writing is a study in the importance of free thought vs indoctrination, and the perils of an education system that prioritises the latter in the name of “truth” which is not God’s truth. It’s a mirror on modern life as we consider how easy it can be to support the right ideas for the wrong reasons – or worse, supporting the wrong ideas for the right reasons.

Let him who has ears to hear …

Recommended for historical fiction lovers, especially those who appreciate robust debate about difficult issues.

Thanks to Tyndale and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Roseanna M White

Roseanna M WhiteRoseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna has a slew of historical novels available, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. She lives with her family in West Virginia.

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About The Collector of Burned Books

In this gripping World War II historical about the power of words, two people form an unlikely friendship amid the Nazi occupation in Paris and fight to preserve the truth that enemies of freedom long to destroy.

Paris, 1940. Ever since the Nazi Party began burning books, German writers exiled for their opinions or heritage have been taking up residence in Paris. There they opened a library meant to celebrate the freedom of ideas and gathered every book on the banned list . . . and even incognito versions of the forbidden books that were smuggled back into Germany.

For the last six years, Corinne Bastien has been reading those books and making that library a second home. But when the German army takes possession of Paris, she loses access to the library and all the secrets she’d hidden there. Secrets the Allies will need if they have any hope of liberating the city she calls home.

Christian Bauer may be German, but he never wanted anything to do with the Nazi Party—he is a professor, one who’s done his best to protect his family as well as the books that were a threat to Nazi ideals. But when Goebbels sends him to Paris to handle the “relocation” of France’s libraries, he’s forced into an army uniform and given a rank he doesn’t want. In Paris, he tries to protect whoever and whatever he can from the madness of the Party and preserve the ideas that Germans will need again when that madness is over, and maybe find a lost piece of his heart.

Find The Collector of Burned Books online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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