The Jesus Inquest

When I was offered the chance to read this book, I jumped at the chance because this is the kind of thing that we are going over in my Sunday School class at church.  Proof for (and against) the resurrection...being able to give an account for what we say we believe by knowing the truth about both sides and being creating a knowledgeable defense when the conversation comes up.  But I have to say...this title went straight over my head.

Charles Foster is a barrister in England (an attorney, for us American's) and he does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the "argument" in the case of the resurrection of Christ.  He gives the non-Christian viewpoint (represented as "x") and follows up with the Christian thought process ("y"), allowing the reader a full understanding of where each side is coming from.  But, for a newbie into this heavy research, he gave so much information in such complex sentences that I felt like I had to re-read each line to fully comprehend all that he said.  Kind of left me flipping thru, reading here and there and ultimately deciding to pass this one onto the leaders in my class to read, digest, and teach back to us in terms I might better understand.

Cover Information:

An unbiased examination and compelling courtroom presentation revealing the undeniable facts of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Intelligent, fair, and remarkably compelling, The Jesus Inquest argues the case both for and against the resurrection of Christ. Point-by-point, Foster, in turn as both barrister X and Y, leaves no theological stone or dissenter's rock unturned as he digs for answers and the truth. In the end he is more convinced that Jesus is real, that He did rise again, and that He lives to offer forgiveness and hope to all who come to Him.

I appreciate his willingness to do such tremendous research and spend his time to give it all out to the public to learn from...just not my kind of book.

**Thomas Nelson provided me this book for review purposes & is allowing me to keep this title once finished. I get no other compensation...other than the chance to fill my heart and soul with an excellent read. :) **

Still Reading...
Bina

Havah: The Story of Eve

I have actually read this book twice now...and both times felt myself experiencing an emotional rollercoaster much like the one Eve travels in Tosca Lee's fictional rendition of her story.  In fact, this reading inspired me to lay out my own heart in regard to how this beautiful creature must have felt at one point, banished from Eden.  To read that, click here to pop over to my main blog.

Opening on the moment breath first enters her lungs, the reader is instantly transported into the perfection that was Eden...and Adam...and an untarnished relationship with the One that is the center of their world.  By the time the author brings us to the big moment of Eve's choice, I felt the beauty of the world that was...and as the scene plays out and the apple is devoured, a small part of me screamed out along with Eve upon the realization of what her choice would mean. 

From the introduction to the final farewell of the mother of all that live, I found my mind captured in a way that made my heart both love and break open for this woman.  She is both the reason we are all here and the reason why we all live under the curse of sin...and yet, she must also have been a woman of great emotion and regret as she moved thru her life, day after day, seperated from the original perfection that was once hers. 

Back Cover Information:

Havah, Adam's chosen name for Eve, recounts her life from a singular vantage point. From having known only blissful innocence, she must struggle through every post-Garden moment. Frustration compounds her plight as she repeatedly attempts to regain her former idyllic existence and repeatedly fails. Havah's life becomes a fight for survival once she and Adam are cast from the Garden, and Lee's poetic prose beautifully depicts the couple's slow surrender to a world tending to destruction. Havah gives birth, raises a brood of children, watches one son kill another, observes disease and death. Yet all the while, she waits for the fulfillment of "the One" (God) who will bring reconciliation and redemption through her seed. Lee's superior storytelling will have readers weeping for all that Havah forfeited by a single damning choice.

I am both moved and inspired by Tosca's ability to weave poetry out of her choice of words and her talent of painting a masterpiece with each and every scene...and I would highly recommend this read for anyone who enjoys Biblical historical fiction.

Still Reading...
Bina