Craig Hazen’s Five Sacred Crossings: Truly Novel

For sheer awkwardness, there’s not much to compare with the moment when a friend hands you a book and says, “Here, this is my first novel, I hope you enjoy it.” That happened to me this January.

I was lucky, though: the friend was Craig Hazen, and the book was Five Sacred Crossings: A Novel Approach to a Reasonable Faith. This is a good book, a good idea carried out well.

"Five Sacred Crossings" could easily be to apologetics what CS Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" is to spiritual warfare. This book lays out the case for Christianity in the most engaging and entertaining story - a real page turner that will have you on the edge of your seat. The book deals with the exploration of spirituality by a group of college kids - and very accurately depicts their points of view - all within espionage & action.

Vietnam veteran Michael Jernigan heard the blast from his apartment. The next day the headlines screamed, "Accidental blast Uncovers Local Islamic Terror Cell." Jernigan was filling in for a faculty member on maternity leave. The college students began asking questions concerning the terrorist. One student asked the profound question, "Why do they want to kill us?" Dr. Jernigan is a follower of Jesus Christ but does not call himself a Christian. He determines to spend the next few weeks discussing religions stickiest questions.

Wow!

In an increasingly pluralistic culture where one concept of truth is considered as good as another, Christianity is coming under fire for being “intolerant” and “exclusive.” Even those who profess faith in Jesus Christ are sometimes reluctant to declare that their belief contains the “only” truth.

Dr. Michael Jernigan, a former Vietnam veteran, was teaching a class in comparative religions. The students asked some difficult questions such as: Why Muslim Extremists want to kill Americans. Jernigan uses a parable to explain that we must “empty our cup in order to brew fresh tea.” We must leave behind misconceptions in order to open ourselves to new ideas.

I was given the opportunity to preview the book and I was quite impressed. In fact, I read the entire book in one night! The author, Dr. Craig Hazen, is the director of the apologetics program at Biola University (my school). He has written a book that fulfills the need for a modern-day Christian apologetic told through a delightful story. I recommend this book for every person interested in seeking truth; I strongly recommend it for those who may be a bit intimidated by apologetics but still want to "get their feet wet" in the important area of defending the faith.

“Brilliant” 5 stars

Dr. Hazen is a director of a Christian apologetics department. Christian apologetics is a “Christian discipline that offers reasons for believing the core gospel message and the biblical view of the world.” Though Dr. Hazen is obviously very knowledgeable about Christian apologetics, he is able to write a beautiful, simple, enjoyable novel about Christianity’s principals.

Have I mentioned how much I love reading? I got lucky with two really good books in a row this time. Five Sacred Crossings: A Novel Approach to a Reasonable Faith was a bit of a surprise to me. The book covers several different worldviews plus its a novel, a darn good novel. I found it hard to put it down once I started reading it. From the books site:

Professor Michael Jernigan, a Christian, is teaching a religions course at community college. A local, barely halted act of religious terrorism throws a teeth–on–edge relevancy into the class discussions.

http://deenasbooks.blogspot.com/2008/03/five-sacred-crossings-by-craig-j...

Had I read this book first, The Shack might have gotten a less enthusiastic reception! While I still stand by that review, I think "Five Sacred Crossings" is the book EVERYONE should be talking about.