What Your Counselor Never Told You

by William Backus (Bethany House, 2000)

Psychologist William Backus has been offering help in finding self-control, freedom from worry, and healing in Christ for years. His most recent work, subtitled "Seven Secrets Revealed: Conquer the Power of Sin in Your Life," again focuses the reader away from the symptoms to the root of the struggle. Backus carefully insists that life's troubles are often caused not by psychological illness, but by sin. He then leads the reader through a study of the Seven Deadly Sins, highlighted by a thorough, introspective test to reveal the hidden sins rooted in our lives.

Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin

by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. (Eerdmans, 1995)

Is it possible to be thoroughly theological and delightful at the same time? Readers of philosopher Cornelius Plantinga will discover it certainly is. He contends that we must stop mumbling about sin and understand its clear and destructive implications.

We cannot preach ...