What book would you recommend to witness to an agnostic friend?

Question from a reader:

I work with an agnostic. I've shared my faith with her in a very nonconfrontational way for two years now. She's very quick to shoosh me, so I witness more in the gift of mercy and hospitality and less in prophet! Do you have a recommendation for a book that I could give her? She loves history and has a very inquisitive mind. She asks me questions quite often about the Christian "religion." She always has an audio book going in her car and at her desk, so audio would be ideal.

Answer from ...

What books on biblical inerrancy do you recommend?

I hear good things about G.K. Beale’s The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority, and I like other things he's done. There's one by Charles Ryrie titled What You Should Know about Inerrancy that's older than Norman Geisler's book Inerrancy. There’s also a really old one on biblical authority by B.B. Warfield, Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, which was a classic in its day. There's a video series by R.C. Sproul called Hath God Said? The Evangelical Theological Society (www.etsjets.org) believes ...

My 13-year-old son struggles with pornography. What should I do?

Your son desperately needs your help now. He simply can't do this on his own. I highly recommend making an appointment with a Christian counselor immediately.

Giving Comfort to Hurting People

Recommended books and resources for those who are grieving, and advice for those who want to give comfort.

Publishing Advice and Randy’s Recommended Books on Writing

Fiction:  

Stein on Writing by Sol Stein  

Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King  

Scene & Structure (How to Construct Fiction with Scene by Scene Flow, Logic and Readability) by Bickman  

The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling the Christian Novel by Penelope Stokes  

How to Grow a Novel by Sol Stein  

Show, Don’t Tell by William Noble 

Non-Fiction:  

Make Your Own Words Work by Gary Provost  

The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes by Jack M. Bickham  

On Writing Well by William Zinsser  

Writing for Story by Jon Franklin 

Websites:

  Mary Demuth: Live Uncaged

Publishing Advice:

First of ...

What’s So Great About Christianity?

Dinesh D’Souza sent me a prepublication copy of his new book What’s So Great About Christianity. It was released October 16, last week. I found it very interesting.

Stand: An Interview with Crossway Books & Bibles

Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints

This thoughtful series, taken from the Desiring God 2007 National Conference, not only elevates the virtue of godly endurance but bears witness to its power in the Christian life through the exhortations of John Piper, John MacArthur, Jerry Bridges, Randy Alcorn and Helen Roseveare. Available from www.Christianbook.com and www.DesiringGod.org

Crossway Books & Bibles (CBB): Where did the book title originate?

Randy Alcorn (RA): Stand was the title of Desiring God’s 2008 national conference, which featured as speakers the contributors to this book. Stand expresses the idea of ...

If God is Good: Partial Annotated Bibliography

If God Is Good ...
Partial Annotated Bibliography

I research extensively and love doing it. While what follows isn’t comprehensive, it does contain many of the books I read while working on If God is Good. With a few exceptions, including Bart Ehrman’s book God’s Problem, I didn’t include writings by atheists or other books I wouldn’t recommend. I did cite several books containing much I don’t believe, including those promoting Open Theism. But most of the books  I’ve cited here are ones which I found to be at least somewhat good, helpful, and interesting. A number of them are excellent. —Randy Alcorn

How do I respond to my pastor who thinks the Bible is not “necessarily” God’s Word?

My pastor doesn't think the Bible is “necessarily” God's Word. He says the Bible is a record of God's interaction and communication with humanity over centuries and that human culture is intertwined with divine words. He thinks because of such things as patriarchal oppression of women, slavery, etc. the Bible doesn't clearly and purely reflect the mind of God for all eternity. How do I respond to him?

I think you should do what you can to get accurate apologetic information to your pastor that shows the Bible's reliability. The books by Lee Strobel, especially ...

Holiness: The Heart God Purifies

Following is Randy Alcorn’s foreword to Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s book, which Randy highly recommends.