(REVIEW) My prime recommendation this month is “The Augustine Way.” Authors Joshua Chatraw and Mark Allen first set the scene by showing that the great thinker grew up in a sinking society not all that unlike our own: highly sexualized and solipsistic, with philosophers viewing Christians with condescension and saying we should self-authenticate our own truths.
Read MoreAaron Lansky, who went looking for Yiddish books as a graduate student and ended up preserving the language and its culture with a collection of 1.5 million volumes, is retiring from the Yiddish Book Center that he founded in Amherst, Mass., in 1980.
Read MoreIn his new book, Ian Johnson features Chinese historians who record the darkest episodes of Communist Party rule. The current president of China, Xi Jinping, calls alternatives to the state-sponsored narrative of Communist rule “historical nihilism.” For Xi, Chinese Communism is “the conclusion of history.”
Read More“Towards Jihad? Muslims and Politics in Postcolonial Mozambique” says that although Muslims in Mozambique have become more active in politics in the post-independence period, they have not moved towards jihad, but that only a small group has done so.
Read MoreReading books about African Americans during the month of February has become an essential practice for promoting empathy, understanding and appreciation for what Blacks have contributed to American society. This is not just true of political, cultural and entertainment figures, but also ones that were central to religion.
Read More(REVIEW) Many Religion Unplugged readers are familiar with the civil rights contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr., and may also know that the organization he led was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Some may be less knowledgeable about what made King a profile in courage.
Read More(REVIEW) The book establishes a sober and compelling framework for living in a changing world for American Christians that deserves to be read and wrestled with for anyone who wants to understand the age we live in.
Read More(OPINION) Last year, I wrote about the troubling findings from American Bible Society’s annual “State of the Bible” report. Every study since 2011 has shown that Bible users accounted for around 50% of American adults. However, in 2022, things changed. There was a sudden 10% decrease in Bible users, indicating that “nearly 26 million Americans reduced or stopped their interaction with Scripture in the past year.”
Read More(REVIEW) Both rightly-named football matches and their American cousins have halftimes. The kind of “football” dominant in the United States is poorly-named because in it only one person on the field, a kicker, uses his feet, and that only at specialized times. In both varieties, though, players at halftime get a short rest and coaches offer rallying words. Books that try to answer why we exist should not have halftimes. Authors should offer a consistent vision.
Read More(REVIEW) “Popcorn With The Pope: A Guide to the Vatican Film List” is a solid primer for those interested in movies and faith beyond summer blockbusters or standard faith-based fare and don’t know where to start. Even Christian cinephiles will likely find it largely redundant.
Read MoreRubel Shelly’s new book, “Male and Female God Created Them: A Biblical Review of LGBTQ+ Claims,” examines same-sex attraction and relationships through the lens of deep and scholarly biblical research. Shelly, a Bible scholar, is the author of dozens of books that dig deep into the Bible to expose and present its teaching.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory,” a new book written by journalist Tim Alberta, provides an extremely detailed recounting of the past four years in American evangelicalism and how large societal events highlighted the increasing blend of religion and far-right politics.
Read MoreTo better understand what author Jon Fosse means to literature and faith, we interviewed Norwegian journalist Øystein Lid. Fosse, who converted to Catholicism a decade ago, recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature and his books are available around the world.
Read MoreNorwegian writer Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Dec. 10, an honor universally praised as much-deserved for a writer who has been one of Europe’s greatest for quite some time. Fosse, a playwright, novelist and poet, hasn’t always been happy, but he’s been prolific. He’s also a Catholic convert.
Read More(REVIEW) In 2023 there were several books released that can help ministers think through recent challenges. While the year was filled with many outstanding publications, I found these five particularly helpful for navigating this cultural moment, and all of these are worth the pastor’s time:
Read More(REVIEW) As Christmas approaches, some U.S. Christians despair that millions who used to go to church no longer do so. “The Great Dechurching” by Jim Davis and Michael Graham shows the decline, which — given cultural pressures plus scandals within churches — is not surprising.
Read More(REVIEW) Books about Christianity, morality and community are nothing new. While the world, especially the West like the United States and Europe, become more secular, there seems to be a cottage industry that continues to churn out books aimed at religious people. Three new titles out in time for the holidays aim to satisfy that audience and convince non-believers why faith should also matter to them.
Read MoreAre memorials the best we can do in the face of injustice? When do laws need to change? These questions and more are what Allisa Charles-Findley has struggled with since 2018. The sister of Harding University alumnus Botham Jean, who was murdered in his apartment by an off-duty police officer, wrestled with the concept of forgiveness — and understanding where justice fits into the equation — after her brother’s death.
Read MoreFrom 1992 to 2021, my book reviews appeared in the magazine I edited, World. Probably about half came from Christian publishers. During the past two years, Discovery Institute has published a monthly OlaskyBooks column that emphasizes secular books. That column will continue, but I still read many religion-based books, and Religion Unplugged has an audience that cares about them, so I’ll report about those here.
Read MoreThe ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is rooted in decades of mistrust and animosity between Jews and Muslims. To get a better understanding of this war and how we got into the present situation, here are seven books about Israel and the region.
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