AFA Staff
AFA Journal staff reviews movies, books and other resources
October 2020 – Never Again? Documentary exposes growing anti-Semitism
As the expanse of time continually widens since 6 million innocent Jews were murdered in concentration camps during the 1940s Holocaust, anti-Semitism is now rapidly escalating in Western society.
Anti-Semitism is being instilled in the minds of young people through the mechanism of anti-Zionism and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which claims its aim is to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
However, the United Nations, historically antagonistic toward the Jewish state, admitted in a 2019 report that “the objectives, activities, and effects of the BDS movement are fundamentally anti-Semitic.”
Never Again?, a new documentary, powerfully addresses the growth of anti-Semitism through the stories of Irving Roth and Kasim Hafeez.
Roth is a vibrant 91-year-old Jewish man from Czechoslovakia who barely survived after being sent to a death camp at age 14. The vivid detail and winsomeness with which he describes his experience have the power to jar the indifferent and disarm the hateful.
Hafeez, a British citizen of Pakistani Muslim heritage, grew up detesting Jews. Muslim extremists had reached out to him and created a narrative that he was a victim of the Jewish people. Having no method for addressing the roots of his perceived victimhood, in his mind he began to justify even the killing of innocent civilians.
When Roth’s and Hafeez’s journeys collided, the power of truth and love won out. Their friendship has so deepened that they now share the same Holocaust serial number tattooed on their left forearms.
“When I met these two men and heard their stories,” producer Rick Eldridge told AFA Journal, “it was compelling and very emotional. I knew it was a story I had to tell.”
The film also includes commentary from a wide range of scholars, political leaders, and ministry representatives.
Never Again? is set for release in theaters by Fathom Events October 13 and 15. Details are available at neveragainthemovie.com.
Anne Reed
Fight for Love
“Wives always know something is wrong; they just don’t always know what it is,” writes author Rosie Makinney. After years of shame, confusion, and regret, Makinney was forced to face her husband’s pornography addiction. In Fight for Love, she writes of how porn almost destroyed her marriage and how the Lord saved it.
After realizing the lack of resources available for wives in similar situations, she felt called to do something. And Makinney doesn’t sugarcoat the issues.
She vigorously encourages wives regarding how to fight the devastation porn can have on a marriage. Her primary focus is “taking back your marriage,” but she also includes information to help the church, and insight into porn’s effects on children. Available at online and retail sellers.
Hannah Harrison
The Assault on America
The spiraling decline of national spirit and downslide of a corrupt culture are focal points of Alex McFarland’s new book The Assault on America. In the context of anarchy raging and crime mushrooming in city streets, the author questions: Is this the end of America? Is it too late?
A resounding “No!” is his answer.
The author acknowledges that many entrenched politicians demonstrate greed and malice, interested only in advancing their own agenda while caring little for the constituents they were elected or appointed to serve.
Yet, he offers hope – if honest citizens, especially those who love God and country, will become activists who stand and defend America and restore her to the principles of the Founding Fathers. Available at retail and online booksellers.
Randall Murphree
A Way with Words
In this world of technology and social media, people have more freedom and greater opportunity than ever before in the realm of communication. Through many different platforms, individuals are able to share ideas and spark conversation. However, many have given in to rage-filled, online arguments that often come from social media engagement. In A Way with Words, Daniel Darling explores how Christians can respond to this trend.
“Incivility has been with us since Eden,” Darling writes, “but the immediacy and availability of digital platforms seems to exacerbate this temptation.”
A master and lover of words, Darling explains how followers of Christ can engage in meaningful conversation with the people around them and online, without giving rise to hatred or outrage. Christians don’t have to abandon the online world altogether; there is a better way. Available at local and online bookstores.
Mason Beasler
Losing Our Dads, Finding Our Father
When William Lester Staggs (Willie) and William Lester Dockery (Bill) first met at a Christian men’s event, they were stunned to discover how closely their lives paralleled each other. Both had endured decades of suffering rooted in their teenage years, when both men’s fathers died by suicide.
What followed for both was a long journey marked by feelings of emptiness, loss, and abandonment. Then, each one came to faith in Christ, and they became fast friends. Last year, they shared their story in Losing Our Dads, Finding Our Father. It’s a small book with the potential for huge impact – a moving, encouraging, and inspiring testimony about the power of Christ in a surrendered life. Available at online booksellers.
Randall Murphree
Transforming Nations
Historian Stephen McDowell espouses the need for work to be returned to its rightful place of respect in a culture that has too often grown to resent and disrespect work. In Transforming Nations Through Biblical Work, he cites the Christian’s calling to advance God’s kingdom in areas of life – the church, media, government, family, the marketplace, education, and science. The book is packed with concise examples of men and women who have fulfilled that calling. Isaac Newton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Wilberforce, Sgt. Alvin York, and George Washington Carver are among the scores of leaders he cites. The full value of the book is made clear by almost 300 reference notes that point to deeper insights on the people featured in the 128-page volume. Available at providencefoundation.com.
Randall Murphree
The Risk
In The Risk: What Will You Give up to Gain it All?, Kevin McHann relies on more than two decades in ministry to Christ followers of all ages. He takes an incisive and insightful journey into the minds of the 12 whom Jesus called to journey with Him on the earth.
With a creative look at the disciples’ character, their fears, and their questions, McHann mixes in his own questions, insights, and growth. Thus, he opens the reader’s heart to perceive and appreciate these men more clearly than most have ever done before.
After establishing that the Christian journey is risky business, he crafts short chapters, going down the list, disciple by disciple. The next section is titled “Beyond the Faults,” and he closes with a challenge to the contemporary follower of Christ with a chapter titled “Risk or Regret?” Imagine where that one is headed. McHann indeed challenges the reader, but also encourages, instructs, and inspires. Available at lulu.com.
Randall Murphree
