HBC Library

 

Recently purchased resources:

God's Undertaker - Has science buried God?

Author: John C Lennox

If we are to believe many modern commentators, science has squeezed God into a corner, killed and then buried him with its all-embracing explanations. Atheism, we are told, is the only intellectually tenable position, and any attempt to reintroduce God is likely to impede the progress of science. In this stimulating and thought-provoking book, John Lennox invites us to consider such claims very carefully.

Is it really true, he asks, that everything in science points towards athiesm? Could it be possible that theism sits more comfortably with science than athiesm? Has science buried God or not? God's undertaker is an invaluable contribution to the debate about science's relationship to religion.

210 pages.

About the author: John C Lennox MA PhD DPhil Dsc is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College. He has debated Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens and lectured in many universities around the world. He is particularly interested in the interface of science, philosophy and theology.

Professor Lennox was a guest speaker here at Howick Baptist on 27 February 2011.

 

God and Stephen Hawking - Whose Design Is It Anyway

Author: John C Lennox

"It is a grandiose claim to have banished God. With such a lot at stake we surely need to ask Hawking to produce evidence to establish his claim. Do his arguments really stand up to close scrutiny? I think we have a right to know."

The Grand Design, by eminent scientist Stephen Hawking, is the latest blockbusting contribution to the "New Athiest" debate,  and claims that the laws of physics themselves brought the universe into being, rather than God. In this swift and forthright reply, John Lennox, Oxford mathematician and author of God's undertaker, takes a closer look at Hawking's logic.

In lively, layman's terms, Lennox guides us through the key points in Hawking's arguments - with clear explanations of the latest scientific and philosophical methods and theories - and demonstrates that far from disproving a Creator God, they make his existence seem all the more probable.

96 pages.

  

 Concise Theology - a guide to Historic Christian Beliefs

Author: J I Packer

This is a book that explains the essentials of theology in a style and length that busy readers can appreciate. J.I. Packer, noted theologian and author of Knowing God, offers 94 concise studies. Each focuses on a unique facet of our great God and his wonderful plan for us. Each study is just a couple of pages long with plenty of scripture references on every page. In these chapters you will find what Packer calls the "permanent essentials of Christianity." The essentials are expressed so that you can both understand and appreciate the greatness of God.

 

The Meaning of the Millennium  (Four Views)

Edited by Robert G. Clouse

 

Since the first century, Christians have agreed that Christ will return. But since that time there has been so many disagreements. How will Christ return? When will he return? What sort of Kingdom will he establish? What is the meaning of the millennium? These questions persist today.

Professor Robert Clouse has brought together four proponents of the the four major millennial views; each view has had  both a long history and a host of Christian adherents throughout the years. George Eldon Ladd presents historic premillennialism, Herman A. Hoyt writes on Dispensational premillennialism. Loraine Boettner discusses the postmillenial view and Anthony A Hoekema describes the amillennial position.After each major essay, the other three writers respond from the perspective of their own view. This classic book, then is a debate among key Christian scholars that has helped students of the bible gain a clear perspective on the different ways we understand the meaning of the millennium.

 

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

John Piper and Justin Taylor

 

Most Christians readily rationalize away God's role in personal and human suffering. In an effort to protect God's moral nature and his being the source of only that which is good, an understanding of his sovereignty is diminished as well as the glory he derives when we recognize his victory over all that is evil. John Piper and Justin Taylor have collaborated with a number of other writers to communicate a refreshing perspective on Suffering and the Sovereignty of God...This is a book that grows out of practical experience and applies Scripture to a realistic world where we all live.

- Jerry Rankin, President, Southern Baptist International Mission Board, USA.

 

 

When People Are Big And God Is Small

Edward T Welch

The Fear of Man can be summarized this way: We replace God with people. Instead of a biblically guided fear of the Lord, we fear others.
This 'Fear of Man' goes by other names too such as: peer pressure and people pleasing. It can involve the tendency to hold other people in awe, to be controlled and mastered by other people, to depend on them for what God alone can give.
The book is divided into two sections Part One: How and why we Fear Others. (People will see me, reject me, physically hurt me; the world wants me to fear people)
Part Two: Overcoming the Fear of Others (Know the Fear of the Lord, Grow in the Fear of the Lord, Biblically Examine Your Felt Needs, Know Your Real Needs, Delight In God's Will For Us, Love Your Enemies and Your Neighbours, Love Your Brothers and Sisters, The Conclusion of the Matter: Fear God and Keep His Commandments)
 

 

 

The Pilgrim's Progress (In Modern English)

John Bunyan

 

The Pilgrim's progress has been called "the greatest allegory ever written." It is the story of every Christian - from the first stirrings of the Holy Spirit beckoning us to follow Christ to our final arrival in the Celestial City of God.

Children read it for the excitement of the story; eager believers are challenged and trained by its invaluable teaching; Bible students and scholars alike read it for its depth of doctrine.

The Pilgrim's progress is a Christian Classic!

 

The Trellis And The Vine

Colin Marshall and Tony Payne

The following description is taken from Challies.com

The Trellis and the Vine is a metaphor Colin Marshall and Tony Payne use to introduce a mind-shift in ministry that they insist will change everything. That is no small claim. A trellis, of course, is a structure that is used to support, to hold up, a vine. In this metaphor the trellis refers to the administrative work within a church, those tasks that, though important, are not actually directly related to discipling people. Vine work, on the other hand, is those tasks of working with the vine, drawing people into the kingdom through evangelism and then training them to grow in their knowledge of God and their obedience to him. As the authors say, "The basic work of any Christian ministry is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of God's Spirit, and to see people converted, changed and grow to maturity in that gospel." The problem, though, is that trellis work tends to take over from vine work. Perhaps it's because trellis work is easier and less threatening; perhaps the trellis work looks more impressive. But for one reason or another, many Christians, and pastors in particular, soon find themselves consumed with trellis work, leaving them little time and attention for the vine. "Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that in many churches, maintaining and improving the trellis constantly takes over from tending the vine."

Continue reading review at Challies.com