World View: Seeking Grace and Truth in our Common Life by Marvin Olasky

How could our world be different if Christians were recognized for not only speaking the truth, but also demonstrating mercy?

What would our lives be like if we reacted to our common culture with not just biblical facts, but also grace and compassion?

For more than 25 years, Marvin Olasky has offered this kind of viewpoint in his columns as the Editor-in-Chief of World Magazine, the leading news magazine written with a Christian perspective. In this collection of far-ranging columns, Olasky's commentary on world events and affairs, as well as his own personal interactions, encourages readers to respond with both grace and truth in every encounter.

A leading voice for standing for biblical truth in the public square, Olasky also believes Christians should incorporate the biblical virtues of humility, kindness, and mercy in all of life. His call for biblical values to include both truth and mercy makes his voice stand out in a world that often falsely divides those goals and settles for a poor imitation of the robust Christianity described in Scripture. 

World View is an excellent collection of columns written by Marvin Olasky of World Magazine. I read World Magazine regularly when I lived at my parents' house as they had a subscription, and I always had the greatest appreciation for Marvin Olasky's honesty, wit, and truth found in his columns. This book is easy to read and very thought provoking in its challenge to Christians in today's society. Olasky is very convicting in his challenges to Christians on how to act both in truth and grace when our beliefs and values are challenged and mocked by culture. This collection of columns is separated into five sections. The first is the Basics, going over living as a Christian in society and be able to set a good example in our actions and still treat others with love. The second section is about Changes, and it is a series of columns about how values and worldviews of changed in today's society and how to face that as a Christian. Section 3 is about Institutions, and it goes over different institutions, such as marriage, education, government, and politics and how Christians should respond. Section 4 is about causes, and it discusses important issues such as racial tension, immigration, and environmental issues. The last section concludes the book and draws everything together about how Christians should respond and act in today's society. Overall, I found this book to be practical, and I liked the column feel to the book. There were some minor spelling errors, but otherwise I thought it was well written.
I received this eBook from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for an honest review. 

Learn more, read a sample, and purchase a copy.

Marvin Olasky is editor-in-chief of "World News Group," a distinguished chair in journalism and public policy at Patrick Henry College, and the author of more than twenty books, including "Compassionate Conservatism" and "The Tragedy of American Compassion." He and his wife, Susan, have four sons and five grandchildren.

Find out more about Marvin at http://stores.newgrowthpress.com.

Imperfect Justice by Cara Putman

 

To the world it seems obvious: Kaylene Adams killed her daughter and then killed herself. Attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story: Kaylene would never hurt anyone and was looking for a way out of a controlling, abusive relationship. Her death shakes Emilie’s belief that she can make a difference for women in violent marriages. Self-doubt plagues her as she struggles to continue her work in the wake of the tragedy.

Reid Billings thought he knew his sister—right up until he learned how she died. He discovers a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would support an uncle instead of the father in a custody case, but Kaylene’s letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him.

Thrown together in the race to save Kaylene’s surviving daughter, Emilie and Reid pursue the constantly evasive truth. If they can hang on to hope together, can they save a young girl—and find a future for themselves in the process?

Imperfect Justice by Cara Putman is the second novel in the Hidden Justice series, following Beyond Justice. The first novel follows Hayden's story, while this novel follows Emilie, her roommate. The plot of this novel was well written and contains moments of suspense, danger, reflection, and romance. The first few chapters were a little confusing because the story jumped from a few months previous to present time without much warning, but after that it was easier to follow. The narrative was primarily third person from either Emilie or Reid's point of view, but Emilie also has a stalker that has been following her since Beyond Justice, and there are a few short chapters from his perspective, without letting the reader in on who he is. I appreciated the intrigue and suspense created by this, but I was able to figure out by about halfway through the novel who the stalker was. While I could understand how Emilie had not figured it out yet since she did not have this inside information and was busy with a separate case, it did create some anxiety for me as the reader wondering when she would finally figure it out.

I liked both Reid and Emilie as main characters, and I appreciated the inside look into their thoughts and feelings, but I did wish there was a little more delving into Reid's personality in comparison to what was revealed about Emilie. And while I liked the ending of the story, I thought that the conclusion of what Emilie had been feeling and experiencing seemed flat and almost unrealistic...hopefully this will continue to be pursued as a background piece in future novels. Overall, I enjoyed the suspense in this novel, and I look to reading the rest of the Hidden Justice series.

I received this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.