Book Review: Unveiling the Kings of Israel ~ David Down

I have always been fascinated with archaeology.  When I saw David Down's books, Unveiling the Kings of Israel and Unwrapping the Pharaohs, I knew they were two book I just had to read.  In fact, I had signed up to review this particular book, but ended up purchasing it before the free copy arrived.  Since I enjoyed it so much, I'm grateful to now have one for our library and another to give as my Dad's Christmas gift; he'll love it!

I'm not an archaeologist; just someone who loves to read about it and look at pictures.  Of course, I'd love to visit those intriguing dig sites, but that remains to be decided at some future date.  Based on Biblical dates, this book leads you from the flood through Jesus Christ; God's renewed promise to Abraham to the Ultimate King, Jesus.  It adds historical elements of culture and geography to the what we read in the Bible.

While, I don't have firsthand knowledge of archaeological "pre-set" dates, Mr. Down presents a clear argument for Biblical accuracy in dates.  Apparently, commonly accepted dates for different eras in ancient history have been based on shaky Egyptian chronology.  This timeline needs to be reduced by centuries for an accurate history based on Biblical dates and ongoing archaeological discoveries.  The next book on my agenda to read is Unwrapping the Pharaohs, in which David Downs is sure to expand on this information.  I can't wait to get started!

Book Review: How Do We Know the Bible Is True? ~ Ken Ham & Bodie Hodge

One of the reasons we opted to homeschool our children was to instill in them the significance and truth of God's Word.  We didn't want them continuously exposed to the theory of evolution without seeing the flip side of the coin.  Evolution is taught as a fact in most schools, when it is nothing more than a theory; a theory that takes more faith to believe in than the Biblical account of creation.

Creation and apologetics are a passion in our family.  We want not only to read God's Word, but be able to defend it; that others would come to see who our Creator and Savior really is.  When I saw "How Do We Know the Bible is True?" available, it was one of those books that stood out.  Knowing what Ken Ham stands for Biblically, I knew this would be a book worth reading.

In fact, Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge are more editor than chief authors.  They both have chapters included, but there are actually 28 chapters/articles written by multiple studied pastors/scholars.  Each chapter focuses on different aspects of the Bible, such as the history, authors, archaeological evidences, inspiration of God, interpretation, inerrancy of scripture, and questions that non-believers and Christian leaders alike would bring up to question regarding it's accuracy/authenticity.

There are a couple chapters written by Jason Lisle that are very informative but had me feeling like I needed to spend more time on his presentation to wrap my mind around his thought processes.  We actually have his book, The Ultimate Proof of Creation, but I have yet to read it through.  He was at our church last winter and hearing him speak helped with understanding his writing style.

This is a wonderfully put together book with solid answers based on a literal God-inspired Scripture.  The various authors come from the same viewpoint, making the topics flow smoothly and giving the reader a lot to hold dear (and share)!