Customer Reviews

Contend: A Survey of Christian Apologetics on a High School Level

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Contend: A Survey of Christian Apologetics on a High School Level, Jason Dollar and Bradley Pinkerton lay out an excellent introduction to the study of Christian apologetics. This book focuses on placing the study of apologetics centered first and foremost on the glory of God and secondly driving the focus of apologetics to be evangelism. Dollar and Pinkerton do an excellent job of arguing the person of Jesus with a very well presented argument for the resurrection. Apologetics are constantly brought back to Jesus, as the living picture of God and the center of our faith.

The seemingly difficult apologetic arguments are presented clearly through real life illustrations that make the presuppositions of the arguments come alive. Arguments in this volume are primarily made using scripture as the ultimate source which equips and provides students with truths directly from the Bible that they can share with their friends.

Dollar and Pinkerton do an excellent job of raising objections to Christianity and responding to them in a concise and convincing manner. The authors also provide a simple survey of other worldview systems which provides an excellent introduction for further study. Contend is an excellent resource for introducing students to the seemingly complex arena of apologetics. Dollar and Pinkerton help bring this subject to life and to equip students to defend and share their faith with others.

Today there appears to be a lack of basic understanding of the absolute truth of Christianity among many young believers. This implies that learning the tools for defending the faith is really important for the church's young people. This book is designed to help fill that gap and encourage young readers to become more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ as it demonstrates the truth and power of the Christian worldview over its rivals. This fresh book will help strengthen the high school student's faith. Additionally it can be used in teaching younger kids if taught by an informed adult.

This is a very easy to use apologetic book as it takes difficult subjects and helps make them simple to understand. I believe that it is a wonderful resource for youth groups, Sunday Schools, family devotions, and personal use. This excellent book can also be an effective resource for witnessing when a Christian teen reads it with a non-Christian friend. I encourage teens or parents to pick this up.(also see my book: Who Made Truth? Kids Can Prove God Exists)or Letter to an Atheist Nation: Presupositional Apologetics Responds To: Letter to a Christian

Contend is by the far the easiest to understand book I have come across in the field of apologetics. As a youth pastor, I want to prepare my students for life after high school. Part of that involves preparing them for the differing views they will be faced with in college and the workplace. I also believe it is vastly important for parents to read this book because they will be the ones college students will be most likely to go back to to get answers to questions. I want to put this book in the hands of every student and parent I come across.

I found this book to be one of the best I've read concerning apologetics at a high school level. It's basic and easy to understand yet doesn't shy away from the harder criticisms. This should not be the only book one ever reads concerning apologetics or the Christian faith, but it is certainly a good starting point that even points out other books to look into. I highly recommend it.