Year in Review Books, BOOK OF THE YEAR, "Deliver Us From Evil/ Jesus Among Other Gods," Ravi Zacharias

The mark of a truly great book is hating to read the final chapter. My kids bought this double volume Ravi Zacharias book for Christmas last year and it turned out that I hated to read the final chapter of either book. I should pause for a moment to make sure that you understand that these are books that force you to think deeply and will take some time for even the best of readers to work through. It does not retract from them at all in saying this, but rather adds considerably to them because of it.




Deliver Us From Evil

Thomas Nelson Publishers offer this as the synopsis of the book-

"In this compelling volume, Ravi Zacharias examines the mystery of evil. This brilliant writer and gifted teacher traces how secularization has led to a loss of shame, pluralization has led to a loss of reason, and privatization has led to a loss of meaning."

The premise of the book surrounds the challenge to God offered by many- "Why is there evil if the God you espouse is so good?" While we may think that this question only lies in the halls of higher learning, it exists as one of the greatest of heart cries of all of humanity regardless of education. I daresay that ALL have faced this question and, at times, been left floundering for the answer. Zacharias does not flinch in answering the question on many levels- the intellect, the emotions and so on.

Quotes from the book-


"The loneliest moment in life is when you have just experienced that which you thought would deliver the ultimate and it has let you down."

"Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure."

"Shame is to the moral health of a society what pain is to the body."

Whether you are comfortable with explaining the problem of evil or not, this book is HUGE step in getting a better understanding of it.

My copy has been highlighted, written in, considered, meditated on, and will be read again. And again. And again.

Please do yourself a favor and buy this book.


Jesus Among Other Gods




We live in a society that has lost its moral bearing. All gods are given equal footing though this idea is patently untrue. Ravi turns his considerable intellect and experience to the comparison of the major "gods" of this world and demolishes them on their own grounds when compared to the man who hung on a Cross.

Jesus Among Other Gods focuses on the major world religions of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. After all, especially in the world in which we live, the major portion of the population is so biblically ignorant that they are given to thinking that all are equal, and the mantra of the times is that "all paths lead to the same place."

Zacharias posits this as the basis of the book: “Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true, Morally, you can practice anything, so long as you do not claim it to be a 'better' way. Religiously, you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ into it. How does one, to a mood such as this, communicate the message of Jesus Christ, in which Truth and absoluteness are not only assumed, but sustained?"

It is in that apologetic framework that Zacharias excels and makes the complex simple.

To be sure this question is faced from the largest churches in America to the small town church. This book will help settle the conflict of gods in this world, and in your life...if it hasn't been resolved already.


Some quotes from the book-

“The route I have followed is to present a clear difference between Jesus and any other claimant to divinity or prophetic status. I have taken six questions that Jesus answered in a way that none other would have answered.”

“Capturing the beauty of the conversion of the water into wine, the poet Alexander Pope said, "The conscious water saw its Master and blushed." That sublime description could be reworked to explain each one of these miracles. Was it any different in principle for a broken body to mend at the command of its Maker? Was it far-fetched for the Creator of the universe, who fashioned matter out of nothing, to multiply bread for the crowd? Was it not within the power of the One who called all the molecules into existence to interlock them that they might bear His footsteps?”

“Faith in the biblical sense is substantive, based on the knowledge that the One in whom that faith is placed has proven that He is worthy of that trust. In its essence, faith is a confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and in His power, so that even when His power does not serve my end, my confidence in Him remains because of who He is.”


Make sure you buy this one as well, and work through it...it is well worth the time.