Questioning Evangelism

Title: Questioning Evangelism
Author: Randy Newman
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Kregel Publications; Student/Stdy Gde edition (February 1, 2004)
ISBN-10: 082543324x

I first heard about Questioning Evangelism by listening to it's author, Randy Newman, discuss it at the Gospel Coalition. Newman works for Campus Crusade in Washington, DC.

You can download the talk right here, or through the Gospel Coalition's page on iTunes, which is how I heard it. And quite honestly, you can get the best parts of the book simply by listening to that podcast.

Questioning Evangelism sounds like a title from a liberal attacking evangelism. But, instead, it's about evangelism through asking questions. As an academic, I really liked the premise. Imagine Socratic questioning as an evangelism strategy.

The book is divided into 3 parts:

• Part 1 (chapters 1-3) is about evangelism through questioning.
• Part 2 (chapters 4-10) is about the types of questions that non-Christians use to avoid or attack Christianity. These include questions such as: "Why does God allow evil?" "Aren't Christians homophobic?" "Why are so many Christians a bunch of hypocrites?"
  
• Part 3 (chapters 11-13) is about our motivations for evangelism.

The pros of the book:
I really like the idea of using Socratic questioning (I don't think Newman ever uses the term Socratic). I think this method is especially suited for people who, like Newman, work with college students.

I also liked how Newman frequently discussed his own personal failures in evangelism--from missed opportunities to saying something stupid.

The weaknesses of the book:
To truly use Socratic questioning in evangelism, the evangelist needs to be pretty intelligent and an excellent critical thinker. To makeup for this, Newman provides several stock questions, such as: "Really?" "How do you know that?" Or, if the person asks one of the questions in Part 2, "Why do you think...?"

I think these stock questions can work for those people who have never really thought about their beliefs and would be shocked their ideas weren't immediately affirmed. And, according to Newman, most people fit that description.

Recommendation:
I like Newman's ideas. But, you really can get the best parts of the book simply by listening to his Gospel Coalition talk. I obtained the book through interlibrary loan, and I'm glad I did. It was worth the time I spent reading it, but it's not the kind of book I'd keep on my shelf and look back to over and over.

Preaching the Old Testament

Title: Preaching the Old Testament
Editor: Gibson, Scott M.
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Baker Books (October 1, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0801066239

My local library actually has a good religious studies section. And it was while browsing there that I came across Preaching the Old Testament. The book is edited by Scott M. Gibson, with each chapter chapter written by a different expert. The entire collection is dedicated to the eminent Old Testament scholar and teacher, Walter Kaiser.

In general, the book is aimed at helping preachers understand how to interpret and apply the Old Testament. The book isn't really about how to preach as much as it is about how to prepare to preach.

The pros of the book:
The chapters are written by scholars; yet the chapters are clear and concise. Of course, since each chapter is written by a different scholar, some writers stand out more than others. I especially liked "Preaching the Old Testament Narratives" by Jeffrey D. Arthurs.

The cons of the book:
The second chapter (after a short chapter 1) is about the important of being an expert in biblical Hebrew. I certainly understand how that chapter fits into the context of the whole book, and the chapter's thesis does undergird the concepts throughout the book. But, it seemed odd to me to begin the book by telling preachers who never learned Hebrew, or those who long ago forgot their Hebrew, that their exegesis is weak unless they have a strong understand of biblical Hebrew. If this were intended as a seminary text, I would understand the emphasis as encouraging students to develop and maintain their language skills. But, since this is not intended as a textbook, the chapter seemed to be a strange starting point.

Recommendation:
If a relatively short, straight-forward book about interpreting and applying Old Testament genres seems interesting to you, this might well be a good choice. I enjoyed the book, and I found it easy to read. Nothing in the book seemed ground-breaking, but the book was intended more to reinforce the significance and relevance of preaching from the Old Testament. I think the contributors succeeded in that goal.

How to write a great book review

I just came across this interesting post about "How to write a great book review."

Why did I start this blog?

I'm not actually an avid reader. But I know I should read more good, Christian books. I need to read more about theology, Christian living, evangelism, etc. When I do read such books, they often help me; some have changed my life.

But, because I'm not someone who reads a book a week, I need to be especially judicious in what I do read. I don't want to waste time reading a book with minimal theology, or worse. I don't want to waste my time reading a book with fine, but superficial or elementary, theology.

I want to read books that will impact my faith, that will help me grow closer to God, that will change the way I live out my faith, and that will change the way my living faith impacts the world around me.

I want to read good, Christian books.

The only problem is, it's not easy to know which books to read.

There are some great book reviewers out there, already. Tim Challies is pillar in that regard.

But, even with as much as he reads and reviews, he doesn't cover everything. So, my goal isn't to compete with Challies or any other Christian reviewers. Instead, my goal is to add to their valuable work.

How will I choose what to review? Unlike most similar reviewers, I am not going to limit myself to just new books. Limiting the reviews to new books is great for avid readers who are up-to-date. I, on the other hand, know there's great stuff out there I've never even heard of. So, I am going to incorporate books that might be on interest to people like me.

And there are some great books I won't even bother to review. John Piper's Desiring God would be an example. That is an awesome book that I would strongly recommend to every Christian. But, there are so many great reviews of that book, and it is so well-established as a modern classic, that there's nothing I can add of value.

And, ultimately, this review blog is here to be of value.