Customer Reviews

Because God Is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer

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Peter Kreeft has distilled decades of wisdom about Thomistic theology and Catholic apologetics into a wonderful explanation of the Faith for young readers. Targeting students of Confirmation age -- adolescents to teens -- Kreeft poses a series of skeptical questions about God and gives thorough, charitable, and orthodox answers. While every chapter is praiseworthy, his answers to "Why is Jesus different?" are exceptional. Here is a sample:

"The center of Christianity is Jesus because Jesus is not just a great human being; Jesus is God. The center of Islam is not Muhammad, because Muhammad, like Moses, claimed only to be a prophet, not God. The center of Budddhism is not Buddha, because Buddha, like the Hindu gurus, claimed only to be an enlightened man, not God. ... But Jesus is the center of Christianity because Jesus claimed to be God, and Christians believe that claim. ... The divinity of Christ is the distinctive Christian belief: it is the one thing all Christians believe and no one else does. If a Christian ceases to believe this, he ceases to be a Christian. If a non-Christian comes to believe this, he becomes a Christian."

If any of what is excerpted above appeals to you, this is your book, as it is chock full of similar aphoristic expressions of Catholicism. There is a tremendous gap in catechetical materials for middle school-aged students; Peter Kreeft has helped fill it. Make "Because God Is Real" your standard Confirmation gift. (Yet readers of all ages will benefit from reading it.)

This book is written for younger Catholics, but I found it to be helpful for the adult reader as well. Its question/answer format answers the questions that many young adults ask. The answers are written in a clear/concise and understandable way. Peter Kreeft has an excellent command of the material and he delivers it in non-pandering way. I bought this book for my confirmation candidate and all of my godchildren. It is also great for non-Catholics.

We read this book together with our teenaged kids, one chapter each week during Sunday dinner. It was thorough, tight and generated a lot of conversation. I would recommend every family doing this. I think we might read it together again in a year or two, just to see how our thoughts and understanding have changed.

My book arrived less than 2 days after I ordered it, and in super condition. Will definitely order from this seller again.

Peter Kreeft gives an amazing explanation of what the Catholic Church teaches. An excellent resource for cradle Catholics who may be struggling because they may not know why they believe what they believe. Kreeft's answer to all of the toughest questions is simply that we believe these things because God has revealed them and ultimately because He is real (not because our parents told us to, or because it makes us feel good etc). The only good reason for Faith is that God REALLY exists - Kreeft does a phenomenal job of driving home that reality.

I've taught confirmation, worked with high school teens, sold catechetical resources and am now a parent myself and this is a book I would strongly recommend to both teens and adults!

This book is excellent. We started it as part of Confirmation prep for one of our children. My husband and I have both enjoyed it as much as our 14-year-old. It is very thoughtfully presented, true to the Catechism but not in any way out of touch or stuffy. The question/answer format is very useful. You can pick it up and put it down reading bite-sized chunks ... which is kind of what you have to do because it's so full of thought-provoking info. Highly recommend for anyone looking to learn more about their Catholic faith.

Excellent book. Easy to read, logical, and answers questions we all wonder about and can't explain. Highly recommended for someone searching.....

When I expressed some doubts regarding the Catholic faith and theism in general, my mom bought me this book. I eagerly began reading it, hoping to find some hearty brain food to digest along with all the other philosophic stuff I'd been ingesting.
Unfortunately, this book doesn't consider the arguments against the Catholic faith/life very deeply. Ironically, Kreeft doesn't talk a lot about the "Does God Exist" question. He devotes a few pages to describing basic arguments like "the universe must have come from SOMETHING" and such. He goes on to, in less than twenty or so pages, prove that Jesus is God incarnate, and that Catholicism is the true Christian faith. The next few chapters attack the most common issues that the typical teenager would have with the Catholic Church, like (I can't remember them verbatim, but off the top of my head) "Why can't I have sex before marriage?", "Why doesn't the Catholic Church allow women to become priests?", etc.
While his arguments are decent, they feel more like quick bullet points from one of those pamphlets from the back of a church than a truly indepth discussion about faith, existence, and lifestyle choices.
I guess Kreeft does a fairly good job of addressing sixteen huge issues in this small book. It would be fine as a confirmation gift, or perhaps for someone who wants to brush up on their basic apologetics.
However, this book does not in any way stand up to the doubts and issues a young adult would have after reading a pop-philosophy book like "The God Delusion", or perhaps after taking a philosophy or ethics class at almost any university in the U.S.
Like I said, this book does a decent job of outlining some of the basic arguments for Catholicism and morality. But if someone is looking for a meaty analysis of these and other key issues, I would highly advise that they look elsewhere.