Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Book Review: Choosing Your Faith by Mark Mittelberg


Which Path of Faith Will You Follow?
By Lauren Yarger
We make choices every day, all of them involving some degree of faith. The direction we take to arrive at the place of faith may vary, but inevitably, we end up choosing which path to follow.

So is the premise for Mark Mittelberg’s thought-provoking book "Choosing Your Faith" (in a World of Spiritual Options) (Tyndale 2008). In language that isn’t condescending or preachy, Mittelberg explores the various options and asks the reader to question each one to get to the bottom of why we believe what we believe. Mittelberg points out how we use logic and faith in every day situations and then asks us to apply the techniques when considering God. It makes good sense.

He points out the various paths we can choose to follow when approaching faith:
• This is my truth—you find your own
• I’ve always believed what I believe
• You’d better believe it!
• I just feel that it’s true
• God told me it’s true
• I’ve got to see it to believe it

Those paths, while offering some understanding, don’t necessarily lead to the faith that will result in salvation. Using practical applications and examples, Mittelberg points out that “feel” doesn’t equal “real,” and sometimes “real” doesn’t equal “good.” The book includes some in-depth analysis of faiths such as Islam, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, Baha’i, Scientism as well as new age movements and popular culture sensations like the book “The Secret.,” all which claim to be the way. Many of these paths fail to reach the promised end when they don’t pass their own or other recognized tests for authenticity.

The author, skilled in apologetics, doesn’t let Christianity off the hook either. He explores its claims and applies the same scrutiny to it as the other faiths. While he does approach the topic from a Christian point of view that non-Christians might find a little unbiased, Mittelberg does challenge the reader to conduct his or her own exploration and to find the core of belief.

"Choosing Your Faith" is an informative read, especially the parts examining other faiths. Find out what path you’re on and possibly how to take a fork in the road.

To purchase this book, click here.



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Daily Inspiration

The Blind Side

Read about the real life mom from "The Blind Side."

Lifeway: http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=169816

Guideposts: http://www.guideposts.com/story/sandra-bullock-blind-side-football?page=0,1

Read Matt Mungle's review of the movie at http://www.buddyhollywood.com/.

Lauren Yarger, Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the 2000 Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists.

Yarger trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Three-Day Training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.

In 2008 she was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She writes reviews of Broadway and off-Broadway theater with a Christian perspective for Reflections in the Light (http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/) and is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection. She also is a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com

She also reviews books for Publisher's Weekly and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She formerly was Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp, a national theater web site bsed in New York and a reviewer for American Theater Web.

She also served as Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. and worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

She is a freelance writer and member of the Drama Desk, The Outer Critics Circle, The American Theater Critics Association, The League of Professional Theatre Women and The CT Critics Circle.

A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger lives with her husband in West Granby, CT and has two adult children.

Copyright Notice

All contents copyright © Lauren Yarger 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. For reprint permission, contact masterworkproductions@yahoo.com.

Scripture from THE MESSAGE Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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