Sunday, February 12, 2012

Genuinely free book


So often free book offers turn out to be less than free. And, all-too-frequently, in fine print, near the end of the offer is a line which says
available to US residents only
which really cheeses off this Aussie!
But George Verwer's offer is genuine. I received my copy a few days ago. George wants to get as many people as possible to read Fred Heeren's Show Me God. (I have inserted the link to the Amazon product page, so that you can peruse the book, and also read the mainly positive reviews.)

The book's subtitle is What the Message from Space Is Telling Us About God. In the book, Heeren shares interviews with leading cosmologists and gives his own interpretation of how what they say and what the Bible says about creation can be harmonised.

I thought this short review from an Amazon reader was worth quoting:
I bought this book because I was having some serious doubts about God and Christianity. This amazing book cleared up all those doubts! When I finished reading the book I couldn't believe how clear everything was. There is no way anyone can read this book and be neutral about whethere or not there is a God. It is an amazing book and I highly recommend it for anyone. (Christen Humphries)

To order a copy, head to George's own webpage and follow the instructions.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Loving your "earthly dearest"

C S Lewis

When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.

Insofar as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all.

When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.

Thanks to Justin Taylor for reminding me of this quote from C S Lewis, sums up what Christopher Ash says in Married For God.

Ash challenges us with the thought that the main purpose of marriage is not to meet our needs, nor to stop us from being lonely. But he also says that when we truly put God first, we may find these things as byproducts (or, we may not).

Ash's book has some interesting questions at the end of each chapter. Some of them make you think about the nuts and bolts of the chapter you've just read, while others are designed to stimulate more open-ended thought.

It is a well-chosen book for getting us thinking, in preparation for our Making Good Marriages Better conference with Jim and Lesley Ramsay.