Author(s): Larry Alex Taunton
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Price: $2.99      

2016 Winner of the Gospel Coalition Book Awards

At the time of his death, Christopher Hitchens was the most notorious atheist in the world. And yet, all was not as it seemed. “Nobody is not a divided self, of course,” he once told an interviewer, “but I think it’s rather strong in my case.” Hitchens was a man of many contradictions: a Marxist in youth who longed for acceptance among the social elites; a peacenik who revered the military; a champion of the Left who was nonetheless pro-life, pro-war-on-terror, and after 9/11 something of a neocon; and while he railed against God on stage, he maintained meaningful—though largely hidden from public view—friendships with evangelical Christians like Francis Collins, Douglas Wilson, and the author Larry Alex Taunton.

In The Faith of Christopher Hitchens, Taunton offers a very personal perspective of one of our most interesting and most misunderstood public figures. Writing with genuine compassion and without compromise, Taunton traces Hitchens’s spiritual and intellectual development from his decision as a teenager to reject belief in God to his rise to prominence as one of the so-called “Four Horsemen” of the New Atheism. While Hitchens was, in the minds of many Christians, Public Enemy Number One, away from the lights and the cameras a warm friendship flourished between Hitchens and the author; a friendship that culminated in not one, but two lengthy road trips where, after Hitchens’s diagnosis of esophageal cancer, they studied the Bible together. The Faith of Christopher Hitchens gives us a candid glimpse into the inner life of this intriguing, sometimes maddening, and unexpectedly vulnerable man.

“If everyone in the United States had the same qualities of loyalty and care and concern for others that Larry Taunton had, we’d be living in a much better society than we do.” ~ Christopher Hitchens

Author(s): Stephen Lawhead
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Price: $3.49      

Robin Hood: The Legend Begins Anew

For centuries, the legend of Robin Hood and his band of thieves has captivated the imagination. Now the familiar tale takes on new life, fresh meaning, and an unexpected setting.

Hunted like an animal by Norman invaders, Bran ap Brychan, heir to the throne of Elfael, has abandoned his father’s kingdom and fled to the greenwood. There, in a primeval forest of the Welsh borders, danger surrounds him–for this woodland is a living, breathing entity with mysterious powers and secrets, and Bran must find a way to make it his own if he is to survive.

Steeped in Celtic mythology and the political intrigue of medieval Britain, Stephen R. Lawhead conjures up an ancient past and holds a mirror to contemporary realities. Prepare yourself for an epic tale that dares to shatter everything you thought you knew about Robin Hood.

Author(s): David Jeremiah
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Price: $3.49      

Nothing matters more than the Word.

No devotional has touched Christians’ hearts and minds quite like Daily Light. Now popular pastor David Jeremiah brings his insights to update this beloved classic for today’s reader. Each day of the year, readers will benefit from one of Dr. Jeremiah’s favorite scripture-based devotions. He has paraphrased Scriptures from the NKJV in first and second person so that readers can understand clearly that God’s Word is personally directed to them: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10); “Thanks be to God, who gives you the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:54); “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (James 1:25). Each daily devotion also includes a short prayer from Dr. Jeremiah to guide readers even further into scriptural meditation.

Christians in every generation are called, as Jude put it, to “contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” If we are not to fail in this calling, we must understand what contending for the faith looks like in our day and age. The mainstream cultural air we all breathe celebrates tolerance and pressures us to embrace perceived unity as the highest good. In this climate, any sort of division is seen as hateful and wrong. Yet to humbly explain and demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ to believer and unbeleiver alike is the greatest kindness and the most loving act possible.

The ultimate question about Jesus today is the same as when he walked the earth: is he or is he not who he claimed to be? He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). With the entire Christian faith standing or falling on the validity of such an utterly exclusive and uncompromising claim, doctrine that truly aligns with Jesus will cause division. When we represent our faith honestly, it is simply inevitable: at times we will be at odds with others—friends, relatives, perhaps even other Christians.

Yet we are called to contend—in obedience to and for the sake of the most divisive person in history. And the challenge is to do it in the way Jude describes: as an act of mercy toward those who doubt and those who have been deceived, regardless of whether they claim faith in Christ.

CIA operative Titus Ray is searching for answers.
Meanwhile, an assassin is searching for him.
Learning the truth . . .
Veteran CIA officer Titus Ray–on the run from the Iranian secret police–finds shelter with a group of Iranian Christians in Tehran. While urging Titus to become a believer in Jesus Christ, they manage to smuggle him out of Iran to freedom in Turkey.

Dealing with the past . . .
Returning to the States, he discovers his Iranian mission failed because of political infighting within the Agency. In a hot-tempered outburst, he delivers a scathing indictment against the Deputy Director of Operations, and, as a result, the deputy forces Titus to take a year’s medical leave in Oklahoma.

Facing the future . . .
Before leaving Langley, Titus learns he’s been targeted by a Hezbollah assassin hired by the Iranians. Now, while trying to figure out what it means to be a follower of Christ, he must decide if the Iranian couple he meets in Norman, Oklahoma has ties to the man who’s trying to kill him, and if Nikki Saxon, a local detective with an intriguing past, can be trusted with his secrets.

· Can a man trained to lie and deceive live a life of faith?