Testing Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible

by John Polkinghorne

The more I read of John Polkinghorne's work, the more I admire his way of thinking and writing.  In this book Polkinghorne applies what he calls his 'bottom-up thinker' approach developed as a scientist to examining the development and content of scripture.  I particularly enjoyed the early chapters where Polkinghorne explains his understanding of the development of religious thinking and divine revelation.  He writes "I believe that the nature of divine revelation is not the mysterious transmission of infallible propositions which are to be accepted without question, but the record of persons and events through which the divine will and nature have been most transparently made known."  Here Polkinghorne articulately states an understanding of inspiration that I have come to understand.  That is just one example of many such gems in this little volume.  Highly recommended.

Kicking at the Darkness: Bruce Cockburn and the Christian Imagination

by Brian J. Walsh

I was introduced to Bruce Cockburn back in 1980 and have been an big fan ever since. In seminary I wrote a paper analyzing the Christian themes in Cockburn's lyrics (to that stage), thus I was curious about what Walsh would do in this book.  What I discovered didn't disappoint, Walsh has written an in-depth look at the Christian themes present in Cockburn's body of work.  I appreciated Walsh's way of weaving images (like dance, light, darkness) together with interpretations of Cockburn's lyrics, creating new insights into Cockburn's songs.  I particularly enjoyed his elaboration on one of my all time favourite Cockburn song's "A Life Story" (which is one of Cockburn's shortest songs lyrically speaking).  I would recommend this book to any fan of Bruce Cockburn's music, or even to non-fans, there is much to ponder in this work.

Dialogue With a Skeptic

by Thomas Howard

Perhaps when it was written (1974) this seemed a witty and creative attempt to explain Christianity, however current skeptics don't sound much like the one voice in this book.  There were parts I thought still had merit, but much of it seemed dated, but not because of cultural references, rather because of the tone of the writing.

Earthy Mysticism: Spirituality for Unspiritual People

by Tex Sample

This book turned out to be quite different than I expected.  Instead of theological ideas being batted around in a theoretical context this book was a collection of personal stories from the life of Tex Sample, all with some kind of spiritual point. The stories were powerful, funny, touching and always memorable. A delightful read in so many ways.