Health Issues
Race Against Time
by Stephen Lewis
reviewed by Jim Romahn
“On the ground, where people live and die… the pandemic is hell on earth,” writes Stephen Lewis, the Canadian who serves as special United Nations’ envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. The disease, says Lewis, is sucking the life out of the continent. “The ongoing plight of Africa forces me to perpetual rage,” he writes. “It’s all so unnecessary, so crazy that hundreds of millions of people should be thus abandoned,” he writes. Lewis documents oft-repeated and neglected promises by the United States and Canada and contrasts those with heart-rending stories of people he’s met, such as two grandmothers tending 36 AIDS-orphaned grandchildren. Lewis speaks often about the Millennium Development Goals, which are at the heart of the Miach Challenge (www.micahchallenge.org)—an initiative endorsed by the synod of the Christian Reformed Church. (House of Anansi Press; www.anansi.ca)
Website
HisKidsRadio.net
reviewed by Ron VandenBurg
Hiskidsradio.net is a radio outreach ministry of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich. While HisKidsRadio is also offered throughout the United States on regular local radio stations, my Canadian family accessed its programs on the web radio station. My children enjoyed the “Adventures in Odyssey” and “Chronicles of Narnia” stories, but the website also offers sing-along music and message-based stories that provide great media alternatives for families. I was also very impressed by the quick link and music resource pages, both great starting places for Christian parents to explore other Christian media and Internet options for their children.
ChristianAnswer.net
reviewed by Ray Wiersma
Have you ever had a question about spiritual matters that you were afraid to ask? Packed with information, Christian Answers calls itself “a mega-site providing biblical answers to contemporary questions for all ages.” These answers are offered in 36 languages by people from many denominations. Christian Answers offers information and opinions on everything from movies and video games to sex and relationships. Although it can be a touch too conservative, this website is a comprehensive resource and a great discussion starter for anyone who has questions about issues related to Christianity.
Bibles
The Bible in 90 Days
by Ted Cooper Jr.
reviewed by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema
The Bible in 90 Days provides a plan to help you read the Scriptures from cover to cover in just three months. What many consider a daunting task is broken down into an achievable goal through 88 marked 12-page segments that take approximately 45 minutes each to read. Additional resources, including a curriculum program, a participant’s guide, a listening guide, and The Essential Bible Companion, are available. To contact an online community of Bible in 90 Days participants go to www.biblein90days.com. (Zondervan)
History
What Has Christianity Ever Done for Us?
by Jonathan Hill
reviewed by Wayne Brouwer
This book is fun to read. Surveying developments in thought, science, art, education, and a whole range of day-to-day activities over the past two millennia, Hill shows how the western world and beyond were influenced by Christianity. Hill is a warm and witty tour guide, bringing out delightful obscure facts (such as the origin of corks and champagne) and illuminating well-known events (the American Civil Rights movement). Hill shows that our world is a better place because of the pervasive investment of ideas, passions, and actions that emerged from Jesus’ life and teachings. (InterVarsity)
CD
Early 21st Century Blues
by the Cowboy Junkies
reviewed by Philip Christman
Neither cowboys nor junkies, these veteran Canadian folk-rockers convey a doomy elegance. On their 10th album, they cover folk songs and classic rock—John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Dylan, U2—in the hypnotic dirge-like style that they’ve painstakingly developed over 20 years. Singer Margo Timmins’s voice has never sounded lovelier, and aside from an ill-conceived guest appearance by rapper Rebel on which neither party sounds comfortable, this is a typically compelling Junkies album. (Latent Records)
