A genuine effort to help Christian teenagers, or anyone, maintain or grow a meaningful relationship with God and fellow...
A motivating, accessible guide for young Christians about developing a strong relationship with God.
In their debut, using sincere, conversational language, Cooley and Wilson describe the average teen’s struggle for faith in the modern world of Facebook and texting. The book naturally divides into four chapters: Friends, Bible, Prayer and Church. Each unit addresses the particular difficulties of finding and holding onto a religious belief system and includes the writers’ personal anecdotes about their own experiences within the Christian faith. At the end of each section, the authors present deceptively simple questions—“What three things do you see in Jesus’ life that are not present in yours?”—followed by a “fuel stop,” which is a list of suggestions for putting faith into practice, such as “find a local church that you look forward to attending and that challenges you to grow in spiritual matters.” The final component of each chapter lists relevant quotes from Scripture for further meditation. The authors discuss how various translations of the Bible use different language choices to make Scripture accessible, and they urge readers to find a version that feels right for them. Cooley and Wilson never treat their young readers condescendingly, and their inviting, straightforward tone might soften even the most jaded readers. Furthermore, the book’s authentic message doesn’t openly advocate trying to change people; instead, it supports a much-needed tolerant attitude toward religion, although there’s a hint of proselytizing. It does, however, recommend standing up for one’s beliefs (a difficult task for any young person) and seeking out those who are like-minded, perhaps steering them along a similar Christian path.
A genuine effort to help Christian teenagers, or anyone, maintain or grow a meaningful relationship with God and fellow Christians.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2012
ISBN: 978-1449761158
Page Count: 108
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: March 25, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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