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Dear Reader,
Some things are certain: death, taxes, and Bart Ehrman arguing that Christianity isn’t true.
Though his most recent book, Love Thy Stranger, is supposed to be about how the teachings of Jesus transformed the ethics of Western culture, it’s really an anti-Christian apologetic. Ehrman has written the same book again with a new cover.
Yet Ehrman’s book raises some awkward questions for Christianity’s critics.
For example, I think he’s correct that altruism arose in the West because of “Jesus’s distinctive teachings about what it means to love others.” But that doesn’t mesh with his assertion that “Christian leaders adjusted Jesus’s teachings . . . almost always softening them for public consumption.”
Altruistic love for strangers is counterproductive for a social minority fighting for survival. Why would early Christians modify some teachings of Jesus but cling to something so countercultural? It simply doesn’t make sense and Ehrman doesn’t explore the tension.
Though he doesn’t believe Christianity is true, Ehrman is right that Christianity changed the world for the better. In my review, I argue that “Jesus transformed the world because he’s actually the Son of God, he rose from the dead on the third day, and the triune God is still at work in this world.” Christianity did make the world a better place, precisely because it’s true.
Happy Reading!
Andrew Spencer
Associate Editor
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New from TGC
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Book Review
Andrew Spencer
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“Reading Ehrman is often like watching three-card monte—you have to pay close attention to see where the sleight of hand comes in. He never admits that the problem might be that he’s forcing his definition on the text and that, even if we don’t assume the inerrancy of the Gospels, they should still be read as literary wholes.” Read the review.
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Book Review
Kelly Keller
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“As Butler and Johnson model how to delight in good stories as a way to enjoy the best story—the gospel—they also give parents excellent recommendations for building their home library. ‘Stories Woven in Silver’ helps families see how fiction can point children to the gospel and reinforce a love for God’s truth.” Read the review.
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Book Review
Louis Markos
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Book Review
John Starke
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Links for the Reading Life
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Iaon Marc Jones, “I Devoured Classic Novels as a Teenager. In a World of Distractions, Can I Relearn How to Read Them?” (The Guardian)
“Screens have altered the way we read. They promote a shallower reading experience, encourage skimming and scanning. Reading on screen has undermined reading in general. And our dependence on screens has led to a form of text fatigue. Kate McLoughlin, a professor of English literature at the University of Oxford, says that we read more than ever, just not books. ‘There’s a huge amount of reading going on: social media posts, blogs, below-the-line comments, text messages, emails and the utterances of AI.’”
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Andrew Spencer, “Summer Reading Recommendations for Your Kids” (The Gospel Coalition)
“As a parent of voracious readers, I’ve regularly faced the challenge of helping my kids find good books. It’s often fine to read the latest popular series, even if the stories won’t stand the test of time. However, I also want my kids to read the sort of books they’ll want to share with their own kids.”
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Collin Hansen and Alister McGrath, “C. S. Lewis, the New Atheists, and the Failure to Disprove God with Alister McGrath” (Gospelbound)
“Alister McGrath remembers life as an atheist back in the late 1960s. He believed only what could be proven to be true. And he judged religious believers for trusting in an irrational fantasy. Looking back, though, he can see an emotional basis for what he thought were purely rational conclusions. He didn’t want God to exist, because God would threaten his freedom.”
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Trevin Wax, “20 Years of Collecting Prayers from Church History: An Annotated Guide” (The Gospel Coalition)
“In the first church I served as a pastor, we had a nicely designed prayer room just off the foyer near the entrance, and every week I compiled materials for a simple daily office for the men and women (mainly older, seasoned saints) who would frequent that room. By adding ancient prayers to my routine, I felt those words becoming mine. Ever since, I’ve been perusing prayer books and marking the most moving and glorious prayers from saints and martyrs of the past.”
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The Gospel Coalition
8520 Allison Pointe Boulevard, Suite 220, Indianapolis, IN, 46250
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