Is Man a Myth? asks the title of one of Mr. Tumnus's books. It was apparently an open question in Narnia during the Long Winter, and it has become so again for us. In Mere Humanity, Donald T. Williams plumbs the writings of three beloved Twentieth-Century authors to find answers that still resonate in the Twenty-First. Chesterton, Lewis, and Tolkien explain in their expositions and incarnate in their fiction a robust biblical doctrine of man that gives us a firm place to stand against the various forms of reductionism that dominate our thinking about human nature today.

It has been eighty years since C.S. Lewis wrote his major apologetics works. They came out during World War II. The world has changed radically since then. His arguments are still valid, but that validity might not be as obvious as it used to be.

It is not enough then for us just to parrot Lewis. We need to understand him so we can emulate him. We need to know his arguments and their strengths and weaknesses. We need to know how they can be nuanced to be more effective with today's audience. We need to learn from Lewis's methods and approach. And we need to understand his proper role as a role model: Lewis's job is to teach us how to do our own apologetic in our own voice for our own generation. The purpose of this book is to help him do just that.

Why Luke? Luke was not, like the other three Evangelists, an eyewitness. He gives us, not a personal memoir, but a researched study that encompasses input from many eyewitnesses, undoubtedly interviewed as he met them on his travels with the Apostle Paul. We go to Matthew for Jewish background, Mark for narrative punch, John for pondered profundity. Luke gives us a unified synthesis of all three, put together with a scholar's eye and written in prose that, even in translation, sings the song of redemption with heart-piercing poignancy.

What does the church need to hear right now? We need what we always need: to get back to the Gospel. That means getting back to Jesus. That means getting back to an accurate vision of who He is. And there can be no better way of doing that than engaging afresh with this Gospel that so insistently asks the eminently pertinent question: What manner of man is this?

Deeper Magic reveals the foundation of Lewis' thought--the theological underpinnings that gave his prose so much power. If you have been moved by the writing of Lewis, this book will help you understand why.

When New Testament writers mention God's pledge to grant his Holy Spirit, their words depict more than just a simple promise to make available his comfort. Rather, they describe a nonrefundable down payment on all the blessings of heaven and a commitment that God will never abandon us until he has completed his work in our lives. In 'The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit', Donald T. Williams presents a comprehensive study of the Holy Spirit, helping readers answer their most pressing questions about the Holy Spirit, including: Is the Holy Spirit working today? How can I recognize gifts of the Holy Spirit in my life? What about speaking in tongues? How do I know my life is sealed by the Holy Spirit? How can I identify true assurance of salvation from the Holy Spirit? With its readable style, chapter summaries, ideas for practical application, and questions for further reading, this book is an excellent guide for serious personal or group study of the Holy Spirit. If you are considering serious study of the Holy Spirit - at any level - start with this book.

Some of the questions asked and answered in THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S SURVIVAL GUIDE are You claim the Bible is inspired because it says it is, right (2 Tim. 3:16)? Isn't that circular reasoning? You claim the Bible was inspired, but there was no inspired list of which books that is true of. So how can we know which ones to trust? With so many different copies of manuscripts that have 400,000+ variants (errors), how can we even know what the Bible says? Why can't the people who wrote the four Gospels get their story straight? Didn' t the Council of Nicaea just arbitrarily pick the books for the Bible that they agreed with and suppress all the rest with political power? People used to believe in miracles because they didn't understand science. Don't we know better than that now? That a man rose from the dead takes a lot of believing. How could you ever have enough evidence for a belief like that?. Science has proved that human beings evolved over millions of years rather than being created in six days. Why are you still clinging to ancient myths? Just because the Bible is true for you, why does that make it true for me? How can you base your modern life on a book that was written for a primitive culture? Doesn' t the Bible support genocide?. Doesn't the Bible support racism?. Doesn't the Bible support slavery? Doesn't the Bible support homophobia?. Doesn't the Bible support the oppression and abuse of women?. There are so many religions, all sincerely seeking the same goal. What makes you Christians so arrogant that you think yours is the only way?. What about those who have never heard the Gospel?. If God is a God of love, why did he let my loved one die?. How can it be just for God to impose an infinite punishment (Hell forever) for finite sins? These questions will be asked and answered with reasonable, rational, Scriptural answers.

Donald T. Williams learned a lot about the Christian worldview from Francis Schaeffer and CS Lewis, but it was actually Tolkien who first showed him that such a thing exists and is an essential component of maturing faith. Not only do explicitly Christian themes underlie the plot structure of The Lord of the Rings, but in essays such as On Fairie Stories Tolkien shows that he did not only believe the Gospel on Sunday but treated it as true of the rest of the week and used his commitment to that truth as the key to further insights in his work as a student of literature. You can do that? Williams thought as a young man not yet exposed to any Christian who was a serious thinker. I want to do that His hope is that his readers will catch that same vision from this book. An Encouraging Thought elucidates the ways in which Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are informed by and communicate to a biblical worldview. This book will help readers appreciate the ways in which a biblical worldview reports Tolkien's work, to the end that their faith may be confirmed in strength, focused in understanding, deepened in joy, and honed in its ability to communicate the Gospel.

There is probably nothing in the Christian life which is more advocated and less attempted, more urged and less understood or more praised and less practiced than prayer....The prayer Jesus gave was a model payer His disciples could use....You will find it a powerful reshaper of your priorities in both praying and living....And the place to begin is to take up the position of a disciple of Jesus, praying, 'Lord, teach me to pray.' - from the Introduction Donald Williams is a graduate of Taylor University, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the University of Georgia where he earned a Ph.D. in Medieval and Renaissance Literature. An ordained minister of the Evangelical Free Church in America, Dr. Williams currently serves as Professor of English and Director of the School of Arts and Sciences at Toccoa Falls College.

The Spirit Made Me Do It

Difficult life lessons learned the hard way made simpler via God's way

Would have, could have, should have were all I could come up with after I finally got around to reading the Bible midway through my fifty-eighth year of life. Being a retired English teacher, I have read my share of fine novels, short stories, plays, poems and letters over the years, each with its premise, lesson or moral. But the Bible, the most important literary work of all. I had deliberately avoided. I reasoned that not knowing would somehow diminish my accountability for the flaws of my imperfect existence. Ignorance was almost bliss for a while.

This cop out was working just fine for me until life threw me a succession of 140 mph fast and curve balls. I got beamed something fierce, but it knocked some much needed sense into me. Yes, there was a weighty price for my knowledgeable ignorance, but I believe I know that I'm better for it. So, look at me now....spreading the good news in the only humble way I know how. Who would have ever thought? The Holy Spirit? Only God knows.

I do hope that you enjoy reading these verses and consider them heaven sent as I certainly do. It's the only way I can account for something or someone, God Almighty. The Spirit Made Me Do It.

That's right. Take it all in. Let it sink in deep, as deep as it can possibly go. Relax. Don't be offended. I come highly recommended. Full-bodied righteous indignation with a twist of the times, past and present you can't resist. Comes with some risks, so guzzle or sip. F_ _ _ with people if f_ _ _ you must, but then don't b_ _ _ _ when things go bust. Things you do leave their tracks, lead back to you, and then bite you back ferociously. I'm a Scorpio, an erectile, venomous, crazy eight star child who up to now shunned the limelight but was forced out of the shadows by a man-sized dirty job worthy of Hercules, who though a fine myth, was unavailable so I had to step up like a real man and get the job done. Waste deep in a s_ _ _storm of deceit, betrayal, drugs, rap music, porn's deviant sex, scandal, greed, envy, anger, revenge, madness, corruption, and incarceration, I had to wade through some midlife crisis mess I wouldn't wish on anyone. But by the grace of God, I've gotten a handle on it and have not let go of His hand. After writing The Devil Made Me Do It Too, can I expunge the painful past and with a clean slate and conscience embrace the present and enjoy the future? I'm still a work in progress and plan or hope to come to an artful end worthy of my Father. Things you do leave their tracks, lead back to you, and then bite you back ferociously. Better keep my eyes open, tail up poised at the ready with a venomous sting, and God by my side. He's the only one I trust.

Why Luke? Luke was not, like the other three Evangelists, an eyewitness. He gives us, not a personal memoir, but a researched study that encompasses input from many eyewitnesses, undoubtedly interviewed as he met them on his travels with the Apostle Paul. We go to Matthew for Jewish background, Mark for narrative punch, John for pondered profundity. Luke gives us a unified synthesis of all three, put together with a scholar's eye and written in prose that, even in translation, sings the song of redemption with heart-piercing poignancy.

What does the church need to hear right now? We need what we always need: to get back to the Gospel. That means getting back to Jesus. That means getting back to an accurate vision of who He is. And there can be no better way of doing that than engaging afresh with this Gospel that so insistently asks the eminently pertinent question: What manner of man is this?

That's right. Take it all in. Let it sink in deep, as deep as it can possibly go. Relax. Don't be offended. I come highly recommended. Full-bodied righteous indignation with a twist of the times, past and present you can't resist. Comes with some risks, so guzzle or sip. F_ _ _ with people if f_ _ _ you must, but then don't b_ _ _ _ when things go bust. Things you do leave their tracks, lead back to you, and then bite you back ferociously. I'm a Scorpio, an erectile, venomous, crazy eight star child who up to now shunned the limelight but was forced out of the shadows by a man-sized dirty job worthy of Hercules, who though a fine myth, was unavailable so I had to step up like a real man and get the job done. Waste deep in a s_ _ _storm of deceit, betrayal, drugs, rap music, porn's deviant sex, scandal, greed, envy, anger, revenge, madness, corruption, and incarceration, I had to wade through some midlife crisis mess I wouldn't wish on anyone. But by the grace of God, I've gotten a handle on it and have not let go of His hand. After writing The Devil Made Me Do It Too, can I expunge the painful past and with a clean slate and conscience embrace the present and enjoy the future? I'm still a work in progress and plan or hope to come to an artful end worthy of my Father. Things you do leave their tracks, lead back to you, and then bite you back ferociously. Better keep my eyes open, tail up poised at the ready with a venomous sting, and God by my side. He's the only one I trust.

The Spirit Made Me Do It

Difficult life lessons learned the hard way made simpler via God's way

Would have, could have, should have were all I could come up with after I finally got around to reading the Bible midway through my fifty-eighth year of life. Being a retired English teacher, I have read my share of fine novels, short stories, plays, poems and letters over the years, each with its premise, lesson or moral. But the Bible, the most important literary work of all. I had deliberately avoided. I reasoned that not knowing would somehow diminish my accountability for the flaws of my imperfect existence. Ignorance was almost bliss for a while.

This cop out was working just fine for me until life threw me a succession of 140 mph fast and curve balls. I got beamed something fierce, but it knocked some much needed sense into me. Yes, there was a weighty price for my knowledgeable ignorance, but I believe I know that I'm better for it. So, look at me now....spreading the good news in the only humble way I know how. Who would have ever thought? The Holy Spirit? Only God knows.

I do hope that you enjoy reading these verses and consider them heaven sent as I certainly do. It's the only way I can account for something or someone, God Almighty. The Spirit Made Me Do It.