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Burden of Truth: Defending Truth in an Age of Unbelief
Value priced! Popular author Charles Colson provides practical help for Christians in understanding difficult issues on which their faith collides with the surrounding culture. Burden of Truth covers topics such as medical ethics, education, crime, science, pop culture, family, art, and government. In Burden of Truth Colson spurs Christians on in confronting the deception of the world with the truth of God's Word.
336 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
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About the author
Charles W. Colson
136 books196 followersAlmost 40 years ago, Charles W. Colson was not thinking about reaching out to prison inmates or reforming the U.S. penal system. In fact, this aide to President Richard Nixon was "incapable of humanitarian thought," according to the media of the mid-1970s. Colson was known as the White House "hatchet man," a man feared by even the most powerful politicos during his four years of service to Nixon.
When news of Colson's conversion to Christianity leaked to the press in 1973, The Boston Globe reported, "If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everybody." Colson would agree.
In 1974 Colson entered a plea of guilty to Watergate-related charges; although not implicated in the Watergate burglary, he voluntarily pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Daniel Ellsberg Case. He entered Alabama's Maxwell Prison in 1974 as a new Christian and as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges. He served seven months of a one- to three-year sentence.
After leaving prison, Colson founded Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976, which has since become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. Today, Colson remains a member of the board of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
A sought-after speaker, Colson has written more than 30 books, which collectively have sold more than 5 million copies. His autobiographical book, Born Again, was one of the nation's best-selling books of all genres in 1976. Another bestseller, co-authored by Nancy Pearcey, How Now Shall We Live, is considered one of the most important books written on the subject of Christian worldview. His most recent book, The Faith, is a powerful appeal to the Church to re-embrace the foundational truths of Christianity.
In 1991 Colson launched BreakPoint, a unique radio commentary that provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. BreakPoint is currently aired weekdays to more than 1,300 outlets nationwide that reach and estimated 2 million listeners.
Today Colson is focused full time on developing other Christian leaders who can influence the culture and their communities through their faith. The capstone of this effort is The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, an online research and training center launched in 2009 for the promotion of Christian worldview teaching. In addition to a vast library of worldview materials, the Colson Center provides online courses and serves as a catalyst for a growing movement of Christian organizations dedicated to impacting the culture. The Colson Center website also hosts Colson's popular weekly Two-Minute Warning video commentary aimed at engaging a younger generation with a biblical perspective on cultural issues.
In 2009, Colson was a principal writer of the Manhattan Declaration, which calls on Christians to defend the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage and religious freedom. Nearly half a million people have signed the Manhattan Declaration. Collaborating with other Christian ministries, BreakPoint aims to launch other ecumenical grassroots movements around moral and ethical issues of great concern.
In recognition of his work, Colson received the prestigious Templeton Prize for progress in religion in 1993, donating the $1 million prize to Prison Fellowship. Colson's other awards have included the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor (2008); the Humanitarian Award from Dominos Pizza Corporation (1991); The Others Award from The Salvation Army (1990); the Outstanding Young Man of Boston from the Boston Chamber of Commerce (1960); and several honorary doctorates from various colleges and universities (1982-2000).
When news of Colson's conversion to Christianity leaked to the press in 1973, The Boston Globe reported, "If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everybody." Colson would agree.
In 1974 Colson entered a plea of guilty to Watergate-related charges; although not implicated in the Watergate burglary, he voluntarily pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Daniel Ellsberg Case. He entered Alabama's Maxwell Prison in 1974 as a new Christian and as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges. He served seven months of a one- to three-year sentence.
After leaving prison, Colson founded Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976, which has since become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. Today, Colson remains a member of the board of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
A sought-after speaker, Colson has written more than 30 books, which collectively have sold more than 5 million copies. His autobiographical book, Born Again, was one of the nation's best-selling books of all genres in 1976. Another bestseller, co-authored by Nancy Pearcey, How Now Shall We Live, is considered one of the most important books written on the subject of Christian worldview. His most recent book, The Faith, is a powerful appeal to the Church to re-embrace the foundational truths of Christianity.
In 1991 Colson launched BreakPoint, a unique radio commentary that provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. BreakPoint is currently aired weekdays to more than 1,300 outlets nationwide that reach and estimated 2 million listeners.
Today Colson is focused full time on developing other Christian leaders who can influence the culture and their communities through their faith. The capstone of this effort is The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, an online research and training center launched in 2009 for the promotion of Christian worldview teaching. In addition to a vast library of worldview materials, the Colson Center provides online courses and serves as a catalyst for a growing movement of Christian organizations dedicated to impacting the culture. The Colson Center website also hosts Colson's popular weekly Two-Minute Warning video commentary aimed at engaging a younger generation with a biblical perspective on cultural issues.
In 2009, Colson was a principal writer of the Manhattan Declaration, which calls on Christians to defend the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage and religious freedom. Nearly half a million people have signed the Manhattan Declaration. Collaborating with other Christian ministries, BreakPoint aims to launch other ecumenical grassroots movements around moral and ethical issues of great concern.
In recognition of his work, Colson received the prestigious Templeton Prize for progress in religion in 1993, donating the $1 million prize to Prison Fellowship. Colson's other awards have included the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor (2008); the Humanitarian Award from Dominos Pizza Corporation (1991); The Others Award from The Salvation Army (1990); the Outstanding Young Man of Boston from the Boston Chamber of Commerce (1960); and several honorary doctorates from various colleges and universities (1982-2000).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 17, 2019
A series of episodes from the Christian forum Breakpoint by Charles Colson. Writing by Anne Morse, a highly skilled stylist. Covering how to approach everyday denigrations of faith in our society, Colson's words pick apart the devastation of popular culture that has infected daily life. Easy to read and thoughtful, I will pick up this book again. You can begin and end in any part of the book. It's not necessarily linear. Recommended reading. Bring it to the beach. Better than a romance novel.
June 29, 2012
If you enjoy Chuck Colson's radio ministry, BreakPoint, then you will enjoy this book. The book is broken into ten chapters with around 10-15 BreakPoint articles (2 to 3 pages) in each one. Here is a quote from the introduction, "Values must be rooted in truth. Street Journal article, 'A person doesn't accept a new, rigorous system of moral action because it might in the long run prop up civilized society,' Klinghoffer wrote. No, a person submits to a demanding moral system 'because he believes the system is, in a fundamental sense, true - very likely because he believes it is the will of God.' Precisely. Today it has become more important than ever to frame arguments based on truth itself - that we owe allegiance to these moral standards, not just because they work well in society, but because they are true." Each article is a check on whose worldview you believe. If you would like to build your Biblical worldview then this would be a great book for you!
September 10, 2009
A really great book about what constitutes a Christian worldview and how Biblical truth is being attacked both openly and subtly. Gives great suggestions on how to keep ourselves informed and about to converse intelligently on some of the controversial questions of our day and how to encourage our children and grandchildren to think critically and Biblically about such topics as creation, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, "everything is relative--there's no absolute truth", and much more. This book is a keeper and a good reference to have in any Christian library.
September 4, 2014
This book is a collection of transcripts from Chuck Colson’s Breakpoint radio programme. Each episode is a short two-pager on a contemporary topic, centred around the subject of truth. His audience is obviously Christian, and he seeks to inform us about what is happening in society, and challenge us to engage intelligently. Colson comes across as thoughtful and balanced, while being firmly evangelical and willing to defend Christian values and Biblical truth.
January 20, 2009
Mr. Colson is very good at getting to the heart of a subject and examining it in a very clear and easy to follow manner. In this book he covers just about all the issues we face today and that will continue to be relevant to American society into the foreseeable future. Gives a person plenty of food for thought.
May 10, 2017
The book consists of easy to read transcripts of the radio show Breakpoint. Because each chapter is short, the book covers a lot of topics and stories, but two pages are not sufficient to develop anything in depth. However, he has grouped the chapters by categories, which help getting more in depth development.
January 2, 2014
Colson does an excellent job on covering the 2 questions, what went wrong in the world? And how can we fix it? This book was a great case for biblical world view. Almost a short version of his incredible literature "How Now Shall We Live?" I highly recommend Colson's Writings.
August 19, 2015
He was part of the Watergate fiasco, and was sentenced to prison for his role in it. Underwent a true conversion there, and has spent the rest of his life unapologetically furthering his belief, and also as a prison advocate.
October 9, 2015
Did not expect the content ... guess I need to read jackets more closely.
April 23, 2019
Radio program essays compiled into a book. A little jingoistic at times, but fairly well written.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews