Discerning truth from lies: eight books

Historical Theology

The Nicene Creed

Kevin DeYoung
Crossway, 96 pages

In seven accessible chapters, Kevin DeYoung explains the history of the Nicene Creed, addressing the past and future errors it helps correct. At the time the creed was penned, the heresies of the day questioned Christ’s divinity. For example, the phrase “very God of very God” challenges Arianism, the belief that Christ didn’t exist until He was begotten of the Father. Thanks, in part, to the success of the Nicene Creed that heresy doesn’t pose as large a threat to the modern Church, but that doesn’t mean we have no need of the creed. Today Christians are more likely to struggle with not knowing what we believe, since right living is often emphasized above right belief. By grounding us in the “faith once delivered to the saints,” the Nicene Creed speaks to this theological shortcoming. Even if it seems tedious to consider the mysteries of why we believe in the Triune nature of God or exactly how the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son,” we do well to keep studying and confessing. —Bekah McCallum

Apologetics

Seeing the Supernatural

Lee Strobel
Zondervan, 320 pages

In his new book, Lee Strobel asks whether it’s possible in our scientific and technological age to be rational and still have faith in a spiritual realm. Strobel answers his question with a definite yes, a yes that relies not only on faith but on hard, objective, quantifiable evidence that shatters modern presuppositions against the supernatural. In addition to documenting scientifically inexplicable miracles from around the world, Strobel considers spiritual encounters that provoke radical transformations in people’s lives that “rational” causes can’t account for. Such is particularly the case with the growing number of Muslims around the world who have visions or vivid dreams of Christ. Strobel’s book is wide-ranging, covering what we can learn from the Bible, deathbed visions, and near-death experiences about the nature of angels, demons, heaven, and hell. Lest his readers should suspect Strobel is too credulous, he ends with a chapter that exposes the incompatibility of spiritualism and the occult with Christianity. —Louis Markos

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here.

Military History

Propaganda Girls

Lisa Rogak
St. Martin’s Press, 240 pages

This history of World War II provides an engaging exploration of the untold story of the women in the Office of Strategic Services’ Morale Operations branch. The book explores deception, ingenuity, and psychological manipulation, showing how intelligence operatives transformed rumors into weapons and used the power of suggestion to undermine enemy morale. Focusing on Elizabeth MacDonald, Barbara Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and the Hollywood legend Marlene Dietrich, Rogak highlights the unsung heroines who crafted black propaganda—false information designed to appear as though it came from within enemy ranks. These women weren’t just forging documents or broadcasting fake news; they were playing literal mind games, exploiting human fears and anxieties. Unlike Allied propaganda, which encouraged patriotism, black propaganda had to feel authentic. The OSS operatives, particularly the women of Morale Operations, excelled at creating plausible lies. In an age when misinformation and disinformation profoundly influence global conflicts, this book serves as a reminder of how strategic storytelling can change the course of history. —John Mac Ghlionn

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here.

Technology

Scrolling Ourselves to Death

Brett McCracken & Ivan Mesa
Crossway, 256 pages

In honor of Neil Postman’s classic Amusing Ourselves to Death, The Gospel Coalition editors Ivan Mesa and Brett McCracken offer a collection of essays that revisit Postman’s warnings about television, applying them to our tech-driven turmoil. TV might have been disorienting and desensi­tizing, but the pathologies of the personal computer, internet, smartphone, and social media are exponentially worse. But Mesa and McCracken offer hope, suggesting we’re not dead yet. The authors apply Postman’s insights first to our current moment, considering what has changed since the dawn of the TV age and what hasn’t. They also dissect the challenges facing Christian preachers, apologists, and laymen, and they offer practical advice for pushing back against our distracted, dystopian age. This book will help Christians who want to be “loving resistance fighters” against soul-­deadening media, and it might also introduce a new generation to Postman’s classic. —Candice Watters

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here. 

Church & State

Heaven Help Us

John Kasich
Zondervan, 240 pages

John Kasich ran for president in 2016 as a Bush-style compassionate conservative, but the Republican Party wanted something else: Donald Trump. In this book, the ex-Ohio governor continues to promote his philosophy, offering short profiles of 15 individuals and their faith-based communities. The stories Kasich tells are, in and of themselves, indeed praiseworthy. But they are sandwiched between an introduction and conclusion that fail to appreciate the nature of the moment we are in. Kasich wants faith to be a unifying force at a time when many see it as political and divisive. He suggests that Christian works of mercy are an antidote to the Church’s negative brand image around elections and culture wars, but in reality, Christian good works don’t stop the Church’s political enemies from leveling political attacks. Catholic Charities and the Little Sisters of the Poor cared for the aged and indigent but still had to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect basic religious liberties. And too often Kasich writes of a generic, warm-fuzzy “faith” rather than delving in the deeper “why” that motivates each ministry. —Daniel R. Suhr

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here. 

Public Affairs

Who Is Government?

Michael Lewis
Riverhead Books, 272 pages

Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and The Big Short, has long been a master at exposing the human element behind seemingly opaque institutions. In Who Is Government?, he focuses on the federal government—not as an abstract powerhouse but as a group of individuals whose dedication often goes unnoticed. This collection, largely derived from a Washington Post series, is a collaborative effort, featuring essays from writers like Dave Eggers, John Lanchester, and Sarah Vowell. Through various gripping narratives, Lewis and his team of contributors shed light on the hidden world of public servants who quietly, diligently, and often thanklessly keep the country running. The book aims to dismantle the stereotype of the faceless, sluggish bureaucrat and replace it with portraits of real people—often brilliant and self-effacing—whose work sustains critical aspects of American life. For the most part, it succeeds, but one could critique the book for painting an overly optimistic picture of the U.S. bureaucracy. Lewis might dismantle the caricature of the lazy, indifferent bureaucrat, but the inefficiencies, redundancies, and inertia that plague many federal agencies don’t get enough attention. —J.M.G.

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here. 

Gender & Sexuality

The Body God Gives

Robert S. Smith
Lexham Academic, 450 pages

Tackling transgender theory requires both intellectual sophistication and pastoral sensitivity—a balance few achieve. Pastor-theologian Robert S. Smith rises to the challenge. Smith provides a comprehensive survey of the gender-­identity literature. Next, he turns to Scripture to examine what the opening chapters of Genesis, the life of Jesus, and the teachings about the new creation have to offer to the contemporary debates over transgender theory. Smith admits the value of distinguishing between sex and gender, but argues that gender makes no sense when divorced from biological sex. How can “masculinity” or “femininity” have meaning apart from the bodies they originate in? Smith covers a lot of territory in this important work. In fact, I think he covers a bit too much, occasionally veering into exegetical tangents that, while insightful, stray from the book’s core argument: that human beings must discern and live according to the meaning God has embedded in their sexed bodies. Though mapping the path we’ve taken toward gender confusion is somewhat depressing, it matters—and Smith’s work will have tremendous value for any Christian leader or educator who wants to get quickly up to speed on the fundamentals. —James R. Wood

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here.

Fiction

Half-Truths

Carol Baldwin
Monarch Educational Services, 314 pages

For most Americans living today, it’s hard to believe that fewer than 100 years ago, schools, restaurants, buses, and movie theaters were segregated based on the color of skin. Set in 1950s North Carolina where slavery is a thing of the past but racial segregation and ­discrimination is not, Half-Truths tells the coming-of-age story of a girl named Katie. Desperate to go to college and become a journalist, Katie leaves her family’s farm to live with her wealthy grandparents in Charlotte. She hopes they’ll be willing to pay her way through university, but she quickly discovers all is not what it seems in their home. Katie finds herself caught between her future dreams and her desire to know the truth about her family. As the aspiring journalist jots down her observations and tells her story in her own words, readers are drawn into Katie’s struggles to understand her world. Although this book deals with touchy subjects like racial discrimination and adultery, the topics are handled with care and there is no inappropriate content. —Charissa Garcia