Plans for October

I recently got a copy of Dethroning Jesus: Exposing Popular Culture's Quest To Unseat The Biblical Christ by Darrell Bock and Daniel Wallace. I've just finished it, and I have to say that It's a great resource for countering the common arguments that are now being tossed around by Muslims, Atheists and other critics of Christianity against the biblical faith. Especially helpful if you're dealing with those who've read works by scholars such as Bart Ehrman, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, etc. I highly recommend it alongside similar titles such as Reinventing Jesus, The Missing Gospels and What Have They Done With Jesus?

Aside from this, I'm also planning to regain my focus on apologetics and outreach geared towards Muslims. To this end, I am planning to continue my video series on Dissecting The Divine Book. I also hope to be able to find time to read more of the Qur'an (English translation, mind you), and maybe crank out a few articles on the topic of Islam as it relates to Christianity.

Finally, I'll be trying to start doing research on "Liberal Christianity" this month. To this end, I'm planning to take a couple of short trips to a nearby United church. I also borrowed a couple of books from the public library: Jesus for the Non-Religious by John Shelby Spong, and With Or Without God by Gretta Vosper, who happens to be the minister of aforementioned United church. The book titles just make you look forward to reading them, don't they? :P Actually, I already had a chance to peruse the first few pages of Vosper's book, and already the interesting stuff is starting to leap off the pages:

Chaos has erupted in the mainline church. Things may still look pretty much the same--the slowly receding congregations, the reverential whispers, the soft light filtered through stained-glass saints--but beneath the veneer of our obligatory "Good morning"s ferments a newly mixed potion for which the church has not prepared itself. Critical thought, has seeped in, mingled with centuries-old formulae for "what we believe," and begun a reaction the likes of which any explosives chemist would be proud.

The Christian Church, as we have built it and known it, has outlived its viability. Less and less vulnerable to religion's absolute and supernatural claims, people are no longer content with its ethereal promises. Evangelical, liberal, and sacramental expressions of Christianity scrabble [I think you meant "scramble" there, Gretta] for relevance in a world that they are, for the most part, ill suited to address. And yet, it is precisely because of the challenges present it today's world that we most need the strength church might be able to offer should it survive the mess in which it currently finds itself. (p. 2)

You could just feel the Liberal worldliness in this quote. Romans 12:2 comes to mind at this point. Lord willing, I may be able to write a critical review for one or both of the books that I checked out. Not at present though, since I'm still bogged down with other work that needs to be accomplished. I will definitely find the time to review these books in the near future, though.