Karl's Reading List

Published by Canongate Books: Great Britain, 2008 (2002). I knew quite a lot about the general plot of this book before I began reading, thanks to reviews about it when it first came out, as well as having seen at least part of the Oscar-winning film version. Life of Pi tells the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, who starts by growing up as the son of a zookeeper in India and choosing to follow three religions simultaneously, and later on ends up adrift in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger. With a plot like that, I knew the book would be somewhat 'quirky', but I wasn't expecting the level of humour, or the level of insight within it. The three religions thing is a bit odd, but then, so is the character of Pi. To him, the three religions of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity all overlap in numerous ways: "Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hin...

Published by Monarch Books: Oxford, UK & Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009. This is the autobiography of Andrew White, a canon in the Church of England and someone who has worked for peace in both Israel/Palestine and Iraq. He is able to have influence in these areas by building relationships with key religious and political leaders from all sides of a conflict, and has been able to bring about various statements seeking peace and reconciliation from often opposing parties. I found this a challenging book to read, partially because of White's focus on peace even at the price of evangelism. It is an important role, and one that he has obviously been called to, but also one that not every individual would be able to achieve. The challenge of pastoring a church in Baghdad (which he did until 2014, after this book's release) is also highlighted, including the balance between security and sacrificial love. When White talks about a particular pastor of the church, and then explains th...

With Richard Schneider. Published by Kingsway Publications: Eastbourne, England, 1982 (1978). This book has been sitting on my shelf for years, waiting to be read. I picked it up half-heartedly two days ago, not really convinced I was going to get very far through it.  I read almost two thirds of the book in a single sitting and have finished it already. It's one of my favourite books this year. Bilquis Sheikh tells her own story of coming to faith while living as a prominent Muslim land-owner in a small village in Pakistan. An encounter with the spiritual world drives her to seek God, initially by reading the Koran, and then (out of curiosity regarding the 'other' texts mentioned in the Koran) reading the Bible. A number of vivid dreams motivate her to seek out answers, and as she continues to act on what she feels is the prompting of God, she befriends some missionaries, learns about the nature of God, and, yes, reaches out to God as her Father. The ongoing excitement tha...

Published by Overseas Missionary Fellowship (IHQ) Ltd: Singapore, 1991. Based on an Indonesian original. The subtitle of this book is Cleopas Lumbantobing, Challenger of Demons, Evangelist, Educator and Peacemaker, and is not only a biography of that individual, but also of Ingwar Ludwig Nommensen, a German missionary (and later Bishop) to the Batak Highlands of North Sumatra, Indonesia in the late 19th century. Cleopas was born the third son of a raja (chief) and was prophesied of by the local batu (witch-doctor) as being someone who was destined to overthrow his father's kingdom, "and the very foundations of Batak tradition...He will lead our people astray into a strange new teaching." (prologue) The batu told Cleopas's father to kill him (thus the title of the book), but instead the raja sent his son and first wife away. When Cleopas grew up he became a Christian through Nommensen's teaching, and for the rest of his life served as a missionary to his own peo...

Published by Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2018 (2014). This is a very well written and interesting book. It tells the life story of Qureshi, raised as a Muslim in the UK, his faith journey, and eventually his conversion to Christianity. The book is written in a style that greatly appeals to my way of thinking; Qureshi debates and seeks logical answers to his questions, engages in apologetics, and - importantly - holds no animosity towards his former religion, despite now disagreeing with the evidence for it. Coming from a Christian perspective, I appreciated the way Qureshi explained Islam and what it holds dear. For example, from Qureshi I learned that " In our culture, dreams are carefully considered because, as a well-known hadith teaches, "The dreams of the faithful are prophetic." In fact, dreams are the only means I know of by which the average Muslim expects to hear directly from God." (page 65). He also is not afraid of pointing out elements within the p...

Published by Hodder & Stoughton: Great Britain, 2007. (1916). This is a classic spy novel, written during World War 1, and involving the on-going conflict greatly within its plot. At the time it was written it was a best seller, and was even read by some of the historical figures of the time, such as the Tsar of Russia! Given the very specific period of its origin, Greenmantle feels quite unique. The war is still somewhat a lark, not yet tarred with the same heaviness it would come to be. Gentlemen spies are able to travel the battlefields without too much problem, and even when difficulties arise are able to get out of them fairly easily. The plot itself centres around a mysterious figure, a possible Islamic prophet, who may be seeking to draw the Muslim world into the conflict on the side of Germany. Our heroes must try to discover the truth of these rumours, and undermine anything that would align such a significant chunk of the world with their enemies. I recommend ...