As school picks back up for the boys, I find myself with a few extra moments of reading time. I will pick up larger books during the week and read them over a period of a few days... a few moments here and a few moments there.

I also like to pick up a book on Sunday afternoon, if time permits, and read through it. I usually try not to start on any book that has more than 100 pages or so on Sunday, though, because I'd like to finish it all in one sitting if at all possible.

I've recently read two such short books and thought I'd share my thoughts on them with you. The first book is How The Bible Was Built by Charles Merrill Smith and James W. Bennett and the second is A Little Primer on Humble Apologetics by James W. Sire.

How The Bible Was Built was discovered by Charles Merrill Smith's widow after his death. He had began the book in order to answer questions his granddaughter had asked him regarding the Bible one day -- Where did the Bible come from? Who wrote it? and so forth. There were several drafts found, where Mr. Smith had wrote and re-wrote the manuscript, but he never got around to getting it published before his death. James W. Bennett, at the request of Mr. Smith's widow picked up the gauntlet, arranged the drafts as much as he could, added a bit of his own thoughts, and published the book in 2005.

Using the analogy of building a house, the book covers the creation of the Bible from its foundation up, with each testament being compared to wings of a house being added to the foundation, and the apocrypha as the passageway that connects the two wings. It also delves into the history of the Councils, and the history of the Church to a small degree.

I learned many things I didn't know before reading this book. For instance, did you know that Deuteronomy was the first book to be considered as holy scripture? It was this book that was discovered by servants of King Josiah, which began the process of reformation in the kingdom of Israel. I learned about the different Councils that took place through the years, and why certain books were considered canonical and others were not. I learned who positioned the books of the Bible in the order they are now, and why. I also learned more about the Apocrypha than I had previously read, and about why the different translations were made.

As a lover of history this book was a perfect short read for me. I've read other larger books on this same topic, but this book was very good at putting it all together in a shorter, more condensed version!

A Little Primer on Humble Apologetics is exactly what it says it is -- a primer. Christian Apologetics has gotten a bad rap on so many levels but it isn't because of the Truth of God's Word. It's because Christians forget who they are who they represent when they try to present God's Truth. When we aren't humble in our apologetics discussions, it becomes more about our intelligence rather than God's supremacy! We must always do our best to remember 1 Peter 3:15, which the Amplified Bible (underlined emphasis is mine) words as, "But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully."

James W. Sire breaks the book up quite well into very good chapters. The first chapter defines exactly what apologetics is and why it is even necessary, covering nine very good points. Persecution of the Church in the early NT period made it necessary for Christians to define and defend what exactly it was they believed in. Many died for their beliefs! However, apologetics isn't just for those who don't believe in Christ, or want to persecute Christians. It can also be used to correct believers who have been taught wrong, or have a misunderstanding of what scripture says, with a humbleness and gentleness of course! The following chapters define some of the limits to apologetics (for some people there will always be a "reasonable doubt"), the context of your apologetics arguments (do you try to persuade emotionally, intellectually, or both), how you might address people depending on the type of group you are in (small, large, one-on-one, etcetera), and some responses you might give to questions folks might ask you.

The final chapter asks the question of whether or not YOU are called to be an apologist "professionally". Yes, of course, we are all called to give a defense of our faith but not every one of us has a call to do that on anything more than a personal level, just as not all of us are called to be Pastors, but we are called to minister to each other. This final chapter lists four special Christian intellectual virtues that you must have in order to be an apologist as a vocation: 1) a passion for truth, 2) a passion for holiness, 3) a passion for consistency, and 4) a passion for others. Dr. Sires also lists several spiritual gifts that are central to apologetics, most notably teaching and evangelism.

My husband and I have both read this little book several times. My husband has underlined and written notes all through it. I love when we find a book like this that we both can glean so much knowledge and useful, pertinent information from!

Have you read any good books lately? Have you written reviews for any of them? I would love to read about them so please leave a comment and let me know where to find out more info about the books you are reading and writing about...

In Christ,

Sallie