EVERLASTING FATHER: Rediscovering the First Christmas Gift

Halliday and Young, whose previous collaborations have focused on Jesus Christ as "wonderful counselor" and "mighty God," now turn their attention to Jesus as "everlasting father." This, of course, presents a bit of a theological conundrum, as Jesus is supposed to be God's son. However, the authors draw successfully from the well of Trinitarian theology (a refreshing change of pace for a decidedly evangelical publication) to demonstrate that Jesus is simultaneously father and son. The book, which is arranged into 14 short chapters and could be used as an Advent devotional, is at its best when the authors are doing biblical exegesis. Less successful are the brief interweavings of fiction with the nonfiction; one, for example, is a poor aping of C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters. The nonfiction prose sometimes tries too hard, also. ("If Jesus is the reason for the season, then does Rudolph give a mule ride of a yuletide?" Huh?) (Oct. 15)