The Lamb and the Fuhrer by Ravi Zacharias - 90 Pages

I often listen to master apologist Ravi Zacharias' podcast  and have been meaning to read a book by him.  This short book, with an interesting title and concept seemed like a good place to start.  I'm not so sure.

The concept of the book (and "Great Conversations" series) is simple but intriguing - "what would the conversation between Jesus and Hitler be like at the Final Judgement?

While there were great apologetical points made during the conversation a few things bothered me:

1.  Zacharias' Arminian perspective is evident in some places, and in my view diminish the glory of God.  For example in a section where Hitler asks Jesus why He didn't just make people love Him, Jesus responds, "It's not enough to command love; it must be wooed" (p.81).  Is this to imply that, among other things, that if someone does not fall in love with Christ, it is because Christ is an incompetent wooer?  This seems to contradict Scriptures like  John 10:14-18, John 6:37 and many others that speak of the sovereign, gracious, irresistible call of the Shepherd to His sheep.  If Jesus had never made me love Him, I wouldn't.

2.  For some reason Bonhoeffer shows up as sort of a prosecutor.  This was interesting but unnecessary.  He is given some of the best lines.

3.  There is just something that feels trite about Jesus arguing with Hitler.  Maybe I'm way off but I can't imagine Hitler (or anyone not reconciled to Christ) being able to keep his underwear clean, let alone verbally contending with, the risen, glorified Christ sitting on His throne of judgement.


I still admire and will continue to learn from Ravi Zacharias and his ministry.  But I don't think I will be recommending this book to many people.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - 128 pages

I grew up fascinated by the 1960 adaptation of H.G. Well's The Time Machine, with it's cheesy effects but interesting plot about a victorian era scientist who travels into the future.  I was surprised by two things when I read the original book: 1. the movie (note: the 1960 version not the abomination-that-shall-not-be named made in 2002) followed the book rather closely and 2. The book really isn't very long.

Written in 1895, the plot follows the unnamed Time Traveller, an eccentric London scientist, as he recounts to his skeptical dinner guests how he constructed a machine that is capable of traveling in the fourth dimension - time.  Traveling thousands of years into the future, the Time Traveller encounters a humanity that has been divided into two deformed mutations of what it once was.  One ilk living in ignorant luxury above ground, being raised as human cattle for the more primitive but powerful subterranean Morlocks.  His time machine stolen by the Morlocks, he eventually escapes with not much more than his life, traveling even further (and foolishly in my opinion...what happens when you run out of time?)  into the future to observe the sunset of life on earth...which apparently involves weird crab-like creatures and lots of moss.

Wells' groundbreaking novella provides thought-provoking speculations about the nature and future of mankind, along with a mildly entertaining adventure.