I'm playing catch-up on "reviewing" a few faith-building books I've read in recent months. I recommend all three, depending on where you and your family are on your faith journey.
Blessed Are the Bored in Spirit by Mark Hart
Mark Hart is a former Catholic youth minister, self-proclaimed Bible geek, and vice president of LIFE TEEN...and a recovering cultural Catholic who was just going through the motions in his younger years. Blessed Are the Bored in Spirit: A Young Catholic's Search For Meaning is a short (less than 150 pages), light, and humorous look at the temptations, attitudes, and obstacles that keep teens and adults lukewarm in their faith. If you've heard Hart speak (as in this video we shared at LIFT this past year), you've got some idea of the tone and level of this book. I recommend it for teens, young adults, and family discussions.
Jesus Shock by Peter Kreeft
The title and cover of Peter Kreeft's 176-page Jesus Shock make you wonder if it's by that Peter Kreeft. It is. Kreeft is a professor of philosophy, lecturer, and author of countless books on theology, philosophy, history, and apologetics -- but Jesus Shock is the result of asking God, "What do You want me to write?" The answer, he says, was "Me." Kreeft asks questions of his readers to help them probe their knowledge of and attitude toward Jesus, and uses Scripture to show how the Incarnation, the God-Man, the Word of God and Savior of the World, is everything we long for and anything but boring. This a somewhat deeper and more academic read that Mark Hart's book, and more clever than humorous, but still very accessible for adults and motivated teens. It's a good book for self-reflection or discussion.
The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis
And now for something completely different: The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis is a collection of beloved homilies, lectures, and essays by the great writer and apologist, on topics as diverse as the problems with pacifism, why study of the liberal arts matters, the challenge of forgiveness, the incoherence of a strictly scientific worldview, what membership means (and what it should mean), and more. These individual pieces are not directly related to each other, except by authorship, but they present a picture of Lewis's Christian outlook and concerns about the direction of modern culture that have stood the test of time and are perhaps more relevant today than ever. If you enjoy Lewis's writings beyond the Narnia series, or if you want to dig more deeply into Christianity in the modern world, brew some coffee, get comfortable, and enjoy. This book is great for personal reflection and deeper discussion, especially if you like stretching your intellectual muscles a bit!
Labels: apologetics, books, C.S. Lewis, Catholicism, conversion, evangelization, faith, Jesus, work
Jesus Shock by Peter Kreeft