Just bought some new books to read

I already have a bookshelf full of unread books.  I don’t know why, but tonight, I went to browse around the bookstore and was driven to pick up a few more to add to my collection of unread books.  I hope I can justify my purchase.  Here’s what I bought and why I got them:

Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible by Bart Ehrman (HarperOne, 2009)

• I’ve been listening to some of Ehrman’s debates he’s had with evangelical scholars.  He does make an interesting case for the gospel’s discrepancies. I’ve heard from some that reading this book may cause you to lose your grip on the inerrancy of the bible. My New Testament text in seminary was written by Ehrman so I’m prepared to test the deeper waters of critical scholarship a little further to see if I fall off the deep-end. (Already in my collection of unread books are titles written by Spong, Pagels, and Crossan). I may need to carry a life-preserver before I jump into this one. 😉

The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah (IVP, 2009)

• I’ve read a little of The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins and really liked it.  I suspect this book’s thrust is along similar lines so I anticipate this book to challenge traditional perspectives of western Christianity.

Life After Church: God’s Call to Disillusioned Christians by Brian Sanders (IVP, 2007)

• This book was completely unknown to me but I want to begin reaching out to the disenfranchised generations of unchurched people and I’m not sure how and where to begin.  Understanding their cultural worldview, and why they’ve been turned off by church and/or Christians is crucial to doing effective ministry in our postmodern age.