The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller

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From the Publisher

Newsweek called renowned minister Timothy Keller "a C. S. Lewis for the twenty-first century" in a feature on his first book, The Reason for God. In that book, he offered a rational explanation of why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, he uses one of the best-known Christian parables to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation.

Taking his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity, Keller uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.

A very nice treatment of the Prodigal Son - with insights for elder brothers and prodigals alike. Realizing that the real prodigal in the story is God is a valuable lesson.

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(also noted: finished re-listening to "The Silver Chair.")

The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America by Steven Johnson

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Synopsis

Bestselling author Steven Johnson recounts- in dazzling, multidisciplinary fashion-the story of the brilliant man who embodied the relationship between science, religion, and politics for America's Founding Fathers.

This was a striking history - one that illuminated the life of someone who is almost forgotten (though I admit I scored Trivial Pursuit points off of him recently - even before reading the books).

This book covers a convergence of issues in an interesting narrative about the history of science, the history of the American Revolution, and the boundary between faith and science. On top of that, Johnson does a great job drawing the story into our world - the creative synthesis that the internet brings to our world mirrored by Priestley's time with collaborators like Benjamin Franklin and Priestley hanging out in the London coffee house swapping ideas and inspiration.

Highly recommended!

Recent listening - wandering in fantasy worlds. As Alan Jacobs notes in The Narnian, Lewis and Tolkien wrote books that were "long walks," appropriate to writers in Great Britain who thought going for long walks in the country great fun.

For my own memory's sake* - they're all re-listening to radio version of books I've read:

• The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (all Focus on the Family)
• Prince Caspian
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

always rich in devotional content and meaning - wonderful.

• The Lord of the Rings (BBC version)

ditto - the BBC did a wonderful job.

* I found recently that this list/blog is useful, as using this list I determined that I had indeed read DeCandido's third book in his Klingon Empire series. I still might re-read it....