Popular Christian novelist Sigmund Brouwer presents some vignettes from the final week of Christ's life in The Carpenter's Journey: To the Cross and Beyond. In typical J. Countryman style, this gift book is lavishly designed and attractively packaged in a square hardback format. (J. Countryman, $14.99 128p ISBN 1-4041-0114-4; Mar. 11)
Gerald O'Collins, a Catholic biblical scholar who teaches at the Gregorian University in Rome, argues for the historical evidence for Christ's resurrection in Easter Faith: Believing in the Risen Jesus. Its opening chapter can be too general; in the interest of proving that God could have raised Jesus from the dead, O'Collins offers a long detour on God's character and creative ability. However, the meat of the book will be appreciated by those Christians and skeptics who can navigate its weighty historical and apologetic arguments. (Paulist, $12.95 paper 136p ISBN 0-8091-4258-9; Jan.)
