Nothing But the Truth by Brian H. Edwards

Nothing But the Truth by Brian H. Edwards ISBN-13: 9780852346143 Trade Paperback: 512 pages Publisher: Evangelical Press Released: 1993; March 2006

Source: Bought from a store.

Book Description, Modified from Christianbook.com:
Edwards sets out to describe the history, authority, and accuracy of the Bible in plain, straightforward language designed for the non-expert. Fully revised and updated, Nothing But the Truth covers a wide range of vital issues including "Who are the critics of the Bible and what are they saying?", "What is meant by 'inspiration'?", "How can we properly understand the Bible?", "When was it written and how did our English Bible come to us?", "Where does archaeology reveal Bible accuracy?", and "What about those supposed errors and contradictions?"


My Review:
Nothing But the Truth examines how the Bible came to be and various ways we can know the Bible is accurate. This book was written in an easy-to-follow style and is well-researched. It provided in-depth answers on the various topics without getting exhaustive with the amount of information presented. If you're curious about these aspects of the Bible or want to learn how to respond to critics of the Bible, this would be a good book to read. I'd recommend it to every Christian. However, there are thinner books--like "More Than a Carpenter"--for those only wanting an introduction to the topic.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Mad Mary by Liz Curtis Higgs

Mad Mary by Liz Curtis Higgs ISBN-13: 9781578565436 Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: WaterBrook Press Released: May 18, 2004

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Discover the Gospel truth about the most myth-understood woman of the New Testament. Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? An adulteress? The wife of Jesus? An ancient goddess? Liz Curtis Higgs combines heartfelt contemporary fiction with extensive biblical research to bring to life the real Mary Magdalene of the Bible.


My Review:
Mad Mary started with a modernized Biblical fiction story and ended with a study on the historical Mary Magdalene. I believe the fictional part has now also been published separately as a novella, "Mercy Like Sunlight." The author took the biblical story of Mary Magdalene and set it in the modern world to help readers better understand what her life might have been like. I liked her modernized biblical stories in her "Bad Girls" books, and I liked this one, too.

The second half of the book looked at what we really do know about Mary Magdalene based on the Bible's account rather than myths. I already realized that people tended to lump a bunch of Marys into one when they were actually different people, but it was interesting to learn how that happened. I was a bit disappointed that the quotes were mainly from other books about Mary and commentaries; I would have liked to know where some of the cultural information originally came from, but that information wasn't given. The study on what we can learn from her life made some good points.

I liked this book and appreciate what it was trying to do, but I think I was more emotionally touched by her two "Bad Girls" books.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Ex-Muslim by Naeem Fazal

Ex-Muslim by Naeem Fazal ISBN-13: 9781400206070 Trade Paperback: 237 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers Released: June 10, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher through BookLook.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Moving from Kuwait to Charleston, South Carolina, had been an adventure. Surrendering his life to Jesus Christ was actual treason. In this riveting memoir, Fazal describes how God used extraordinary means to bring a young, underachieving, Muslim immigrant through Desert Storm, across the oceans, into college, and ultimately to pastor a Christian church in North Carolina.

No character flaw, no distance, no cultural chasm is too great for Jesus to reach across. Fazal is candid about his shortcomings, practical about the challenges of cross-cultural engagement, and ultimately inspiring that God is capable of far more than we have grown to expect.


My Review:
Ex-Muslim is a memoir of a Muslim who moved from Kuwait to America, became a Christian, and later became a pastor of a Christian church. His actual conversion story is only a very brief part of the story. Most of the story was about what God has been doing in his life and family's life before and after that event.

This book is not an attempt to argue theology--his conversion was based on a supernatural experience, and the other conversions in the book were also clearly God's doing. It's about how God can bring the most unexpected people to follow him and use anybody who is willing to be used for his purposes. If you're looking for affirmation that God can use you, too, or if you like books about God at work in people's lives, then you'll probably enjoy this book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.