by Dr. Douglas Groothuis
Books not to read unless you have to read them to warn other people about them:
1. Any book making specific predictions about the return of Christ, the rise of Anti-Christ, and so on. I was given a book in New Orleans (I couldn't run away) called Barack Obama is Satan. It was self-published, of course. As much as I disliked Obama, this was over the top and I threw it out.
2. Any word-faith book: Kenneth Copland, Kenneth Hagin, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, etc., ad nauseum.
3. Any get-rich-quick book (see #2).
4. Any book claiming to transcend the right-left divide in politics. They are always left-wing—as in the socialist writings of Jim Wallis (not to name names).
5. Any hipster memoir, such as the egregious, Blue Like Jazz. I hope people have forgotten about this.
6. Books against apologetics. They are always wrong, as in No Argument for God and The End of Apologetics (which I reviewed for The Christian Research Journal).
7. Books claiming to find secrets in the Bible never before understood.
8. Books claiming that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
9. Books claiming that Jesus went to India. I refuted these claims (and they are often just recycled) in Jesus in an Age of Controversy, as did Ron Rhodes in The Counterfeit Christ of the New Age.
10. Any books on the occult, astrology, or magic. These are not just wrong, they are dangerous. See Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Acts 19; Revelation 22:15.
11. Most political candidate biographies. They are not written by the candidates and are usually self-promoting fluff (or worse).
12. Pornographic writings. You should know why. You don't have to taste garbage to know that it is garbage. See the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:27-32.
13. Another basic overview of C. S. Lewis's apologetics. It is better to read C. S. Lewis himself. Specialized books on Lewis are another story. Many of these are excellent, such as Alasdair McGrath’s work.
I have been checking this blog the last few days and only today did I see this new blog post. Times are a'strange indeed.
Thank You Dr. Groothuis - this is wise counsel. This post should be mandatory reading for any college freshman (Christian) on the Summer before they start.
It’s interesting, when our daughter went to Covenant College 2002-2005 “Blue Like Jazz,” was mandatory reading for a class. In fairness, many other good books were recommended as well.