Customer Reviews

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door: A Book of Christian Evidences (Know What You Believe and Why)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

McDowell hits home with youth by presenting apologetic ideas in an easy-to-understand mini-devotional. I have recommended this book to my high school students for five years now, and many have really enjoyed it. (Those who didn't enjoy it said it was too simple, so I merely recommended that they read Strobel's The Case for Christ/The Case for Faith--student editions. For the hard core who feel these are still too easy, I recommend Lewis' Mere Christianity.) I just gave the book to my fourth-grade daughter, and in a month she has completed half of it with comprehension, meaning that it probably will not work too well with a post-teen audience. But for those teens who do want to know more about their faith, this is a great place to start.

This book can be used for personal growth, and the questions/references at the end of each chapter make it a useful tool for youth groups. Great general knowledge about false religions, cults, and other lame arguments that can (and will) be thrown at you during your Christian walk. Recommended for non-Christians and Christians alike.

This book has been around a little while and the updated/revised edition states that more than 250,000 copies have been sold. Josh McDowell is a fairly well known apologist (one who defends their faith), so I expected this book to run in that vein, yet tailored for teenagers. Therefore the book tackles a wide variety of topics such as Myths About God, Myths About Jesus, and Myths About the Bible to name a few. The format is more devotional in nature - each sub-chapter is about three pages in length with an application activity at the end.

I do think this book would be best marketed toward younger teens. It also does not seem to have been written with the unchurched person in mind and therefore argues more from a purely Scriptural perspective. No doubt this will leave some disappointed, however, for the young Christian teenager, this book can be a useful tool in confirming and strengthening what they have been taught.

My impressions of this book then are truly mixed. If you are expecting a strong apologetical book that you could pass on to a co-worker, then I would direct you toward "The Case for Christ." But if you are looking to help your young Christian teenager develop an ownership of their faith, then this book can help you do that.

In an attempt to provide full disclosure: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

this is a good reference book for those interested in offering truth to people who present you with questions about the Bible, God, Jesus, and other such areas of the Christian faith. Good also for study groups, who will find corresponding questions at the end of each chapter.

This book caught my eye and I got a copy for my boys. My thirteen-year-old son has already worked throught the whole thing and my fifteen-year-old is working on it now, both completely on their own initiative. The content addresses some of the questions/arguments Christians may have or encounter from friends who are not like-minded in faith. Highly recommended as a devotional guide that will hit the spot with teenage boys.

This book approaches many of the doubts that Christians may have, as well as many of the questions that non-Christians may have. It is in an easy-to-read, amusing format. I am 14 and I love this book because it is so entertaining, and faith building at the same time. I recommend this book to all teens that struggle with myths about the Bible and their faith.

I teach Confirmation at our church to our 8th graders, and I buy a copy of this book for all of the students every year. It is a great tool for them to have and reference back to in knowing there is logic and evidence to the Christian faith. The only criticism I might have is that the wording might be a little simpler for teenagers, but the chapters are otherwise a very easy and engaging read for them.

This is a good basic apologetics primer for its intended audience - teenagers.

It has some very good information about the historical evidences of Jesus and his resurrection. It is also good at exposing several of the myths about Christianity.

This text is certainly very basic in comparison to McDowell's 'Evidence That Demands A Verdict', C.S. Lewis' 'Mere Christianity', or Lee Strobel's books, 'The Case For Christ' and 'The Case For Faith'. I would recommend all of these books for adults or teens looking for more indepth treatment of evidences for the Christian faith. As a starting point for high school or younger kids, this is a pretty good one.

Being a Sunday School teacher working primarily with preteens, this book seemed like a promising one. The introduction is still very promising, and so is the table of contents. It covers an array of topics and does try to answer it.

Each chapter starts with a story and explains how the world perceives things in the view of the topic being discussed. It then says that the world's view is wrong, and gives the Christian view. Classically apologetic. The chapter is then closed with a set of questions for further explorations.

My complaint? Some of the examples used are old and might not apply to today's younger generation, and some of the explanations are way to simplicistic to satisfy someone who is really thinking about his/her faith.

I would recommend using it as back-up material to start a presentation/curriculum for kids rather than give the book to a kid to read.

I bet you didn't know you can reach milestones as a book reviewer, did you?

Receiving Don't Check Your Brains at the Door from the publisher as part of the Litfuse blog tour takes me to a new place.

I'm reviewing books for teens because I am a mother of a teenager. If you're still at the mother of preschooler stage, don't blink. It truly happens as fast as everyone says. Even as a teenager of three weeks I'm seeing the field is changing. There are questions, rumors, pressures and temptations surrounding him.

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door provides the answers.

Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler give excellent, Biblical answers to questions our young people are confronted with on a daily basis. We attend a private Christian school and my son now has this book. He asked if he could pass it on to friends from school. He let me know friends from school are asking questions that are in this book. Questions like isn't being good enough? Why can't everyone go to heaven? Aren't all religions alike? The worst thing we could do as parents is pretend these lies aren't surrounding our kids.

I can't say enough about how informed this book made me and is helping my son. The readings are short with brain food activities to reinforce the topic.

The pages are highlighted and dog-eared already. We are passing it on to friends. THAT is how good this book is.


Josh McDowell wrote the international best-selling apologetics references Evidence That Demands a Verdict and over 120 other books. He travels and speaks with Campus Crusade for Christ.

For more about Josh visit his website Josh.org.

Bob Hostetler is an award-winning and best-selling writer, editor, pastor, and speaker. His books include Don't Check Your Brains at the Door and The Bone Box.

For more about Bob visit his website BobHostetler.com.


About the book:
"Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30--both evangelical and mainline--who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, according to the survey by LifeWay Research." (USA Today)

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door gives teens answers that make sense, even for the toughest of questions. Internationally known defender of the faith Josh McDowell and co-author Bob Hostetler offer clarity laced with humor to expose common myths about God, the Bible, religion, and life to show how Christianity stands up to the test of fact and reason. Teens will be better equipped to stick with their faith as they begin to understand why they believe and why it's important to make a lifetime commitment to Christ and the church.