Spencerport Bible Church Library--Newsletter Column April 2007

Library News - April 2007

Getting to know the Church Library--part 3: Biography and History

Last time, I mentioned that one of the purposes of reading fiction is to experience life or history through other people's perspectives. This is even more true when reading a biography or a history book, since the events described really happened. There are three sections of the library that are resources in this area.

The biography section contains about 100 books. Some of the classics included here are:

Born Again, by Charles Colson. He worked for President Nixon in the Watergate era and later founded Prison Fellowship.
God's Smuggler, by Brother Andrew. Once active in taking Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, he is still involved in spreading the Word into restricted areas of the world.
The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. This is the story of a Dutch family active in saving Jews from the Germans in World War II.
A Severe Mercy, by Sheldon Vanauken. A husband's wrestling with the problem of evil and suffering upon the sickness and death of his wife, with insight from C. S. Lewis.

Other famous people we have biographies of include: Billy and Franklin Graham, Joni Eareckson Tada, Francis Schaeffer, John Newton, and Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire). But the biographies we have of less famous people can also be instructive, as all of us deal with some of the same circumstances in our lives.

The second part of the library with biographical stories is in the missions section under the Dewey Decimal number 266. These are missionary stories, some about particular people, others about mission work in various areas of the world. Some recommendations in this area include:

Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot. The story of five missionaries martyred in Ecuador in 1955, resulting in world headlines.
Evidence Not Seen, by Darlene Deibler Rose. A missionary wife's imprisonment under the Japanese during World War II.
Any Given Day in the Life of the Bible, by Wycliffe Bible Translators. A photographic look at the work of Wycliffe missionaries around the world.

The third section of the library resources that deal with biography and history is the Christian History Magazine collection. We have most of the issues up to number 79, and the first 50 issues are also viewable on a CD-ROM on the computer. These deal with many famous people throughout church history, as well as with topics of interest ranging from "Worship in the Early Church," "Christianity and the Civil War," and "Money," to "How we got our Bible." A listing of available issues is on the shelf next to the boxes containing the magazines. (By the way, the magazine is still published, under the title now of Christian History and Biography, and many back issues are available for purchase.)

As usual, feel free to ask for help to find these resources.