The Prophet and the Messiah by Chawkat Moucarry

The Prophet and the Messiah: An Arab Christian's Perspective on Islam and Christianity by Chawkat Moucarry ISBN: 9780830823154 Hardcover: 327 pages Publisher: IVP Books Released: February 2002

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description from Goodeads:
In an age of media distortion and widespread stereotypes, Christians and Muslims need a greater understanding of each other's faith. What do Christians believe about the Bible? What do Muslims believe about the Qur'an? And what do both Christianity and Islam have to say about Jesus and Muhammad?

In this evenhanded and conciliatory book Chawkat Moucarry calls Christians and Muslims to engage in genuine dialogue, urging them to relate to each other with true humility and respect. In a straightforward fashion he describes and compares the central doctrines of Christianity and Islam, explaining key beliefs and debunking common misconceptions.

Christians who read this book will learn much about Islam. Likewise, Muslims who read it will discover why Christians are convinced of the truth of Christianity.


My Review:
The Prophet and the Messiah is a book exploring what Christians and Muslims believe. While it does take points that Christians and Muslims are likely to have conflicts of belief and misunderstandings about, it does not try to convince one side or the other to change those beliefs. It's more an attempt to clear away misunderstandings so that Christians and Muslims can have informed discussions about the other's faith.

While it was interesting and informative, I've read similar information in other books that presented it in a way that I found more useful. I'm not sure if it was the more formal, scholarly tone, but I found myself skimming over much of the material. If you simply want to be informed, then this may be more in-depth that you care to read. If you regularly come in contact with Muslims and want to discuss faith with them in a low-conflict fashion, then this may be helpful.


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: A link to Amazon so you can read an excerpt using Look Inside.

Jesus the Pharisee by Harvey Falk

Jesus the Pharisee by Harvey Falk ISBN-13: 978-0809126774 Trade Paperback: 175 pages Publisher: Paulist Pr Released: July 1985

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
An important and provocative study of the thought of the Pharisees in the time of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth consistently upheld the views of the rabbis of the School of Hillel, and all his criticism was directed at the School of Shammai. Following the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in the First Century, Judaism developed according to the teachings of Hillel.


My Review:
Jesus the Pharisee is a Bible background book, at least for me. The author argues that Jesus was a Pharisee who followed the school of Hillel and that he was criticizing the Pharisees who followed Shammai, who were the dominant group at the time. He went on to argue that Jesus and Paul never meant for their "new religion" to be taught to Jews but were solely missionaries to gentiles. Their intent was to give gentiles a share in the world to come by teaching them to follow the Noahide commandments.

You only need to read the gospels and Paul's letters to realize that Jesus and Paul were primarily focused on the Jews and only then on the gentiles. Much of the book was poorly argued, based more on "it could be" rather than "historical records tell us." However, this book did provide a detailed look at the differences in the teachings of Hillel and Shammai and how Jesus' teachings compared and contrasted to the two prevailing schools of thought at the time. I found this very interesting.

While I did learn a lot from the comparisons of the two schools, the author didn't usually explain how it compared to Jesus' teachings. When he did, the similarities between the two weren't always obvious to me. I suspect there are other books that also cover the differences in the teachings of Hillel and Shammai and compare them to Jesus' teachings in a more focused fashion.


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.

Even Donkeys Speak by Mary McDonald

Even Donkeys Speak by Mary McDonald ISBN: 9781595890535 Trade Paperback: 131 pages Publisher: Gospel for Asia Released: 2007

Source: From Gospel for Asia.

Book Description from GFA website:
This children's book is a collection of stories taken straight from the mission fields of South Asia. As you read these exciting tales of God at work, you and your youngsters will feel as if you are right there with these believers, following the Lord amid the steaming jungles and cold mountain villages of Asia.


My Review:
Even Donkeys Speak is a collection of true stories that are written for children, but they can also be fully appreciated by teens and adults. Each short story is an account of how God is at work in India, from helping a young man learn English (which he struggled with) so he could become a missionary to miraculous healings that led families to follow Christ. Each story is a quick read and gives glory to God. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who'd like to teach their children more about missionary work in India, how God is at work there, and how God can use any situation for His glory.


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: A link to read an excerpt on Amazon using Look Inside.

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand & Philip Yancey ISBN: 0-310-35450-1 Hardcover: 214 pages Publisher: Zondervan Released: January 1981

Source: Bought at a library book sale.

Book Description from Amazon:
Renowned surgeon Dr. Paul Brand and best-selling writer Philip Yancey explore the human body. Join them in a remarkable journey through inner space - a spellbinding world of cells, systems, and chemistry that bears the impress of a still deeper, unseen reality. This book uncovers eternal statements that God has made in the very structure of our bodies, presenting captivating insights into the body of Christ.


My Review:
Fearfully & Wonderfully Made is a Christian devotional-type book. Dr. Brand talks about how the various parts of the body (cells, skeleton, skin, etc.) work and then draws from this insights about us as the "body of Christ." I really appreciated his insights and how he made biology very interesting. Although everyone can enjoy this book, I was also thinking that home-schooled teens might enjoy reading this before studying biology as it'll make the textbooks a lot more understandable. I'd highly recommend 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.

What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? by Nathan MacDonald

What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? by Nathan Macdonald ISBN-13: 9780802862983 Paperback: 156 pages Publisher: Eerdmans Released: November 1, 2008

Source: Bought from Christianbook.com.

Book Description from Amazon:
What food did the ancient Israelites really eat and how much of it did they consume? This seemingly simple question yields an incredibly complex answer. Nathan MacDonald sifts through five main types of evidence relevant to this diet examination: the biblical text, archaeological data, comparative evidence from the ancient world, comparative evidence from modern anthropological research, and modern scientific knowledge of geography and nutrition.

MacDonald opens by examining biblical descriptions of the land of Israel and the Israelite diet, considering the context of ancient rhetoric and theology. In section two he delves into archaeological finds from Iron Age Israel. The difficult problem of exploring the adequacy of the ancient Israelite diet is tackled in section three where MacDonald points out the impossibility of definitive conclusions on this question. The final section is an evaluation of the variety and healthiness of the diet. He also reflects here on claims made by popular contemporary biblical diets and analyzes a number of books calling for a return to biblical eating.


My Review:
What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? is a Bible backgrounds book focused on what an average person in Israel ate during the Iron Age. The book is written in an scholarly style. If you want a fast read that shows the foods mentioned in the Bible and how they were used, you'll probably find "Food at the Time of the Bible" by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh a more useful book. However, if you want an idea of how healthy the average person's diet was at that time, this book will help.

The author places the Israelite occupation of the land (from Judges until the Babylonian Exile) during the Iron Age, so he focused on the archaeological evidence from the Iron Age. However, I agree with the group that thinks the evidence shows that the Israelites entered the land much earlier. I still found the information interesting, and he sometimes gave information about Bronze Age findings.

He also believes that the Old Testament is not a reliable historical record due to later politically- or theologically-motivated editing. I also don't agree with this, but it didn't seem to significantly affect his conclusions about what the Israelites ate based on the Biblical record.

As stated in the book description, he examined the following areas: the biblical text, archaeological data, comparative evidence from the ancient world, comparative evidence from modern anthropological research, and modern scientific knowledge of geography and nutrition. The information in this book is useful if you want to know as accurately as possible what the average person in Israel ate during the Iron Ages and how healthful it was.


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.

Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin & Roy Blizzards, Jr.

Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus, Revised Edition by David Bivin & Roy Blizzards, Jr. ISBN-13: 9781560435501 Trade Paperback: 130 pages Publisher: Destiny Image Publishing Released: October 1, 1994

Source: Bought online.

Book Description, My Take:
We've been told that Jesus would have spoken Greek and Aramaic and that the gospels were originally written in Greek. But there is strong evidence that Jesus taught mainly in Hebrew, that Hebrew was the common language of the people, and that some of the gospels are actually Greek translations of teachings originally written down in Hebrew.

Hebrew idioms were translated word-for-word into the Greek--which doesn't use these idioms--and then into English. They now confuse modern audiences. Many of Jesus seemingly obscure sayings suddenly make sense when you realize the meaning behind these Hebrew idioms and phrases.


My Review:
Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus is a Bible study or Bible backgrounds book. The main part of the book was an argument that Hebrew, not Aramaic, was the "common language" of the Jewish people and the language that Jesus mainly taught in. The authors examined the problems with the Aramaic and Greek theories. They then talked about modern linguistic research and evidence outside the Bible and in the gospels for Hebrew being the everyday language of Jews in Israel.

Then they discussed some passages in the gospels where understanding the original meaning of the Hebrew idiom helps us to understand what Jesus meant. Many of these examples gave new or deeper insight into the passages. Others, I could see that their suggestions could be correct, but I wasn't completely convinced that their interpretations were more likely or enlightening than the usual ones. In any case, I found these sections very interesting and well worth reading.

The entire book was easy-to-read and -follow. I'd recommend this book to people who enjoy word studies or Bible background 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.


Excerpt: A link to Amazon so you can use the Look Inside feature.

All the Apostles of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer

All the Apostles of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer ISBN: 0-310-28011-7 Trade Paperback: 284 pages Publisher: Zondervan Released: 1972

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
All the Apostles of the Bible includes the twelve apostles of Jesus, Jesus himself as the 'Chief Apostle,' Paul, James the Lord's brother, Matthias, Andronicus, Barnabas, Epaphroditus, Silas, Timothy, Junias, and Apollos. Dr. Herbert Lockyer examines the biblical record to uncover fascinating truths about each apostle's family, character, personality, ministry, the unique aspect of his service to God, and his call into the ministry.


My Review:
All the Apostles of the Bible is a Bible reference book focused on the apostles of the New Testament. The whole book reads a lot like a sermon, with quotes from songs and other people and with attempts to find "how to apply this to our lives" points in addition to the basic information.

The first 33 pages were a general overview of the type of person that Jesus chose and the time they spent with him. Next came the in-depth looks at each apostle using the information found in the Bible along with some speculation about those whom little was said. You could get this information by reading the gospels and Acts. It included anyone referred to as apostles, not just "the 12 disciples." The last 14 pages were brief overviews of the more likely legends about each apostle's work and death after the Biblical record about them ends. It covered about 2 people on each page, so the information in this section was pretty limited.

If you're looking for a quick reference book to see what the Bible says about the different apostles, then this book will work. Personally, I don't think I'll find it highly useful, though, since I'll have to sift through the sermon to find the facts.


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.