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When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook of Christian Evidence

When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook of Christian Evidence

List Price: $24.99
Your Price: $16.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: From a Skeptic
Review: A very devout friend of mine offered to let me borrow this book of his. This very devout friend of mine also knows that I sleep in on Sunday mornings, and that I don't technically own my own Bible. Being as that I like books, and being as that I like reason, I perused through the introduction.

I found there:
"Don't just argue with someone who will not listen to reason, or you will be just as foolish as he. But if you are able to show a person the error of his thinking in a way that he can understand, perhaps he will seek God's wisdom rather than relying on his own." (p. 13)

And so I realize that the lending of this book isn't a favor. It's an act of witnessing. After all, reading is one of my first loves. It's how I define what I think. It is the best way that one might show me the "error" of my thinking in a fashion that I "can understand."

So, granted, I open to the chapter on proving the existence of a single God, skeptic as ever, and a little spiteful as well. Don't get me wrong, I think the book is very well-written and that the points that the authors are trying to make are very well-supported, but I simply failed to buy it. Within every argument there's at least one little loophole that never seemed to be properly resolved. Or maybe it's just me.

The point is, I wouldn't suggest using the book to witness. I'd suggest that if you want to administer pre-evangelism, read the book first and sit down in a setting of personal debate. It's a lot less static and a lot more fun.

Oh, and one more thing, I read a page with a little explanation of the phrase "closeminded" and laughed out loud. Buy the book and you'll get the joke.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Give this to your Christian freshman in college
Review: As a Christian who didnt know "what I believed or why I believed it" in college, had I had a resource like this to help me pick through the various messages I received from the professors, who wanted nothing more to make me question what I had been taught(the best intention) or disregard(the worst intention) For a while I "found Atheism" in college, maybe if I had more of the evidence of the validity of God and Christianity I might have been able to skipsome of the darker periods of this time. If nothing else it would have given me some ammunition for the classes and professors who spewed venom about what our parents taught us, with too few to challenge them. I now value the time I spent questioning, because now I know why I believe what I believe, but as a parent I do not want any of my kids to be unprepared when the first authority figure challenges their beliefs. I have purchased about 7 of these books, for friends and they all seem to have found it worthy of the read. It is written is an intelligent and scholarly way and does not assume the reader is an idiot.
Worth the money, worth the time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Finest Basic Tools for Defending Christianity
Review: Fortunately this book has had a solid shelf life. Geisler and Brooks have provided the Christian Community with a solid foundational work for the defense of Christianity. The book is written in systematic fashion. Thus, step by step the authors tackle objections that have been herald at the Christian faith and they give solid biblical and evidential answers. The book is so well written that it reaches a wide audience range. Moreover, the book covers a wide range of topics - why apologetics is necessary, arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, miracles, the person Jesus, the Bible and its reliability, apparent "contradictions" in the Bible, archeology and the Bible, science and evolution, what happens when we die, the issue of truth, and morals. Several other strong points of this book is that it contains a glossary of terms and a topical index. Both are a big help to the reader who may not be quite as familiar with the topics at hand. Also, the book is endorsed by some of the most popular Christian scholars living and writing today - R.C. Sproul, J.P. Moreland, Josh McDowell, H. Wayne House, David K. Clark, and Gary Habermas.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: When Skeptics Ask (NIV)
Review: I am a new christian, with a King James Bible, serving the Lord Jesus Christ, i have just purchased and just started reading your book called When Skeptics Ask and i wanted to know why are you using scriptures from a book (NIV Bible) that is missing quite a few scriptures in it and that has verses that have been shortened and not giving the full true wording of the word of God. So far from what i have read there have been a lot of good points in your book but i'm sorry to say that i was dissapointed that you would use a NIV Bible for scripture quoting. Why is that?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Philosophical skeptics: Read!
Review: I so much more enjoyed this book compared to Geisler's Christian Apologetics, partly because I found the latter to be very dry and dull. But this book is so much more readable, with good support of the points and understandable to a general lay audience. It is also a good reference tool, especially when dealing with agnostic/athiest friends and acquaintances. The authors do a super job in supporting the Christian position. They don't utilize lame argumentation, but rather, dig deeper at the issues to fully back up their obvious Christian presuppositions. To the atheist reading this, I challenge you to honestly and openly read this book and hold to your current position. I think you will be surprised at the available evidence for the Christian position.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good show, chaps!
Review: In any case, while I concur that they have a rather simplistic view of the role of apologetics, all in all, they do a magnificent job. Unfortunately, I am reviewing this book from memory, since I have it on order after borrowing it from the library. I can't really remember any specific high points, other than their excellent description of God's love and their decent explanations of some other world views (e.g. pantheism).I would recommend this book to everyone -- skeptic, curious, or believer.

Other books on a similar tangent:

A HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

THE GENESIS QUESTION by Hugh Ross

THE NEW EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT by Josh McDowell

To the reader below: First, I hope your faith continues to grow. I suspect the reason they used the NIV was that it is a more accurate translation, and more understandable for most readers. The KJV makes mistakes of apparent contradictions. (A specific example, I am told, is where, when it is said that Paul's companions did not understand the voice, the KJV translators missed the accusative form in the Greek and translated "heard" as "understood," rendering it, "and they heard the voice but understood it not," and "they heard not the voice.") In any case, I do think that if you have problems with the KJV, you should check out the NIV.

Peace,

Christinaphylus

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Part of the Essential Geisler Reference Desk
Review: In some ways, this book was the forerunner to his _Encyclopedia of Apologetics_. It is like a compendium of Giesler. It has tidbits from most of his best-selling books. One of the neatest things is that the book is organized into questions on different topics, well over three dozen questions in all. There are Questions on God, Other Gods (a précis of _Worlds Apart here), Evil, Miracles, Christ, the Bible, Archeology, Evolution, Afterlife, Truth, and Morals. For a handy reference book, it is surprisingly thorough (though always meant to be an introduction, not an end-in-itself). This is also where the "12 points" tape available got its start (see NormGeisler.com) as the Appendix: Reasoning to Christianity from Ground Zero. Though only an outline, they demonstrate Norm's pervasive ability to think in fundamental philosophical terms. The book also sports a nice Glossary, Topical Index, Person Index, and Scripture Index. It's a very user friendly book and, along with Kreeft's _Encyclopedia of Apologetics_ one of two best Apologetics reference works beyond a dictionary (which is more what Norm's Encyclopedia is).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Part of the Essential Geisler Reference Desk
Review: In some ways, this book was the forerunner to his _Encyclopedia of Apologetics_. It is like a compendium of Giesler. It has tidbits from most of his best-selling books. One of the neatest things is that the book is organized into questions on different topics, well over three dozen questions in all. There are Questions on God, Other Gods (a précis of _Worlds Apart here), Evil, Miracles, Christ, the Bible, Archeology, Evolution, Afterlife, Truth, and Morals. For a handy reference book, it is surprisingly thorough (though always meant to be an introduction, not an end-in-itself). This is also where the "12 points" tape available got its start (see NormGeisler.com) as the Appendix: Reasoning to Christianity from Ground Zero. Though only an outline, they demonstrate Norm's pervasive ability to think in fundamental philosophical terms. The book also sports a nice Glossary, Topical Index, Person Index, and Scripture Index. It's a very user friendly book and, along with Kreeft's _Encyclopedia of Apologetics_ one of two best Apologetics reference works beyond a dictionary (which is more what Norm's Encyclopedia is).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Compelling Read For The Faithful
Review: More mind numbing Christian apologetics. Comparable with the ideological propaganda disseminated by McDowell and Strobel. If your intellectual capacity is very limited, then you might find this book compelling.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Solid source of Apologetics on and for Christianity
Review: The Author begins with the question of the existence of God and takes the argument to the point of demonstrating why Jesus is the only way to God. Much discussion of philosphy and logical thought. Much is here to chew on...author walks the reader through the entire discussion. A must for those wishing to strengthen their core beliefs.


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