Proclaimer Blog
For your coffee table…
What's on your coffee table? If you have one, of course. Some worthy travel books and a few battered copies of What Car? Or, to put it another way, when neighbours or friends come round your place, what books do they see? What catches their attention?
I got a sneaky peak this week at a coffee table book that DayOne are producing in the early summer. It's called Evidence for the Bible and is by Clive Anderson and Brian Edwards. It's beautifully presented, and well written. 250 pages of solid coffee table material. I think we are long overdue for this kind of book. Let me tell you why.
- First, there is an increasing amount of archaeology that supports Biblical accounts. As Bible believing Christians, we're not surprised at this, of course. But our friends may be. Presenting the evidence in an attractive, accessible, professional way is a task that is long overdue. Someone who is not a Christian is unlikely to buy this book, but they may happily look at yours. This book can have, in other words, an evangelistic impact.
- Second, as Christians, it is good to reassure ourselves that the evidence for the Bible does exist. It is by faith that we believe the Bible (Hebrews 11.3) not by archaeological digs. However, God in his goodness, strengthens our faith when we see confirmed in the world what we already believe. I've got quite a few books on this sort of subject, but I don't look at them that often – they sit on the shelves with a few thousand others. Interestingly, I have a reproduction of the Cyrus Cylinder on my shelf and that does work in this kind of way. I still marvel at it as I think about Ezra 1. However, I am sure that, if I had a coffee table book, I would look at it all the time and be amazed! This book can have, in other words, a faith-strengthening impact.
Presented as it is, and by its nature, it won't be a snip or steal. But that's fine. It will be priced around the same as other similar books and I think it is a worthy investment. Watch this space for more info. And in the meantime, IKEA will sell you a coffee table for a fiver. Get ready.