Book report
Almost but not quite as wonderful as a week at the ocean with 11 grandchildren is the day they all depart, leaving us suddenly alone. Then serious reading begins.
In his bestselling book In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, Erik Larson tells the story of William Dodd, a University of Chicago professor who was the first U.S. ambassador to Germany after the Nazis had seized power. His experiences provide intriguing insights into the puzzle of how a cultured, well-educated nation spawned a demonic fascist dictatorship.
In the context of the arrogant self-certainty of some in the evangelical community and the dry rationalism of the new atheists, I've found two resources for inquiring people who want to know what Christians really believe: Why Jesus Matters, by George W. Stroup, a professor of theology, and The Other Jesus: Rejecting a Religion of Fear for the God of Love, by Greg Garrett, novelist, professor of English and a licensed lay preacher.
