The Big Question: Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Science, Faith, and God
Alister McGrath (St. Martin's Press)
There is no shortage of opinions about the relationship between science and religion, but few know the terrain so well as McGrath, the Oxford theologian and frequent New Atheist sparring partner. The Big Question marshals McGrath’s prodigious knowledge of science, theology, history, and currents of New Atheist thought to make the case that these two major ways of apprehending reality are hardly incompatible. “Science and religion are two of the greatest cultural forces in the world,” he writes. “When rightly framed, a mutual conversation can be enriching and invigorating.”
The Gospel and Pluralism Today: Reassessing Lesslie Newbigin in the 21st Century
Edited by Scott W. Sunquist and Amos Yong (IVP Academic)
Lesslie Newbigin was among the most path-breaking missionaries—and mission-minded theologians—of the 20th century. His 1989 classic, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, is a foundational text of the “missional church” movement. It spurred fresh thinking about bringing the gospel to places where Christian beliefs are out of favor or almost wholly unknown. (Newbigin spent decades planting and developing churches in India.) Last year, Fuller Seminary’s School of Intercultural Studies hosted a conference devoted to applying Newbigin’s insights to new missions. The result is this book, which gathers essays from leading theologians and scholars on the future of Christian witness in the West and worldwide.
Matt Mikalatos (Howard Books)
A sky lantern is something like a miniature hot-air balloon. One Saturday, Mikalatos, a writer and director of Cru Portland, discovered one in his driveway, at first thinking it was a piece of trash. Upon examination, the lantern bore a brief, mysterious note: “Love you, Dad. Miss you so much. Steph.” Brokenhearted over the circumstances of the father and daughter’s separation, Mikalatos (who has three daughters of his own) posted an open letter on his blog, responding to Steph the way he hoped her own father might. Sky Lantern is the story of how Mikalatos eventually befriended Steph, and how this unlikely encounter changed everyone involved.
