I don't know if audio books count, but Regina and I recently finished listening to Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis. Wow! I was totally blown away by this book. I can't really explain how, but Lewis has a way of explaining things logically and allegorically that is just amazing. I was so impressed with the arguements in this book that Regina and I agreed that it needs to become a permanent part of our library. I want all of our kids to read this when they get older. Although this book is an attempt to convince athiests and agnostics of the existence of a god and Christ as that God, it gives great apologetic explainations that we can use to bolster our faith and help us defend it.
Being a writer and philosopher by trade, Lewis's arguements center more around arguing for God's existence through that venue, rather than through science. His arguments are still just as logical. His basic premise is that man has always been haunted by the notion of "right and wrong". We have always, in every culture, had a standard for behavior and morality. It is from this foundation that he argues we have been given a conscience by God and it is this conscience that proves His existence. It may seem like a weak arguement coming from me, but you'd have to read the book to hear how eloquantly Lewis makes the case. It is one of the great apologetic works of our time.
One of my favorite parts is his rebuttal to those who try to label Jesus as a "good moral teacher'"and nothing more.
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
One thing I never knew about C.S. Lewis until I read this book, was that he was an ardent athiest from the time he was a young boy until he was 33 years-old. Not only does it become more unlikely for someone to come to Christ as they get older (statistically speaking), but learned people like PhD's who reject Christ usually never convert. They consider religion beneath them. That makes his conversion all the more amazing. In addition, I found it interesting to learn that J.R.R. Tolkien was a close friend of Lewis's and instrumental in his conversion. Tolkien's only regret was that Lewis became Protestant instead of Catholic like himself.
I've read a few of the comments on Amazon.com from athiests and agnostics who are wholely unimpressed with this book. From their own words it sounds like they either came to the book looking to discredit it and not being open to it, were forced to read it by Christian friends who thought it would be some kind of magic pill, or they need concrete scientific evidence and don't give philosolphical arguements any credence. To the Christian, this book is a beautiful expression of everything they've ever believed. To the skeptic whose heart is closed, it's just more Christian nonsense. Nothing new there. Only those who have let their hearts be softened by the prompting of the Holy Spirit will ever really give the arguements a chance.
The library only has a limited assortment of audio books, but they're a great way to get some reading done on the way to and from work. I have so little time to read, this might be a way to plug through some more books every year. My next audio book is "The Case for a Creator", by Lee Strobel. I've read "The Case for Christ" and loved it. Hopefully this one will be as good.
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