Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (but were afraid to ask) [Paperback]

Eric Metaxas (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 18, 2005

We all have questions about God. But very few of us get the answers we’re looking for–if those answers even exist! Do they? Where (in heaven’s name) do you go to find out?

Eric Metaxas understands. That’s why he’s written this refreshingly down-to-earth take on the big questions everyone asks (but not always out loud).

Finally a book that takes questions about God seriously enough to get silly (where appropriate). Wonderfully conversational and often very funny, this book joins you in wondering:
·How can a good God create a world that has evil and suffering?
·Is God anti-sex?
·Doesn’t science make God obsolete?
·What’s the real story on miracles?
·If God is everywhere, why go to church?
·Don’t we already have God within us?
·Isn’t God too busy running the universe to care about the details of my day?
·What does the Bible say about things like UFOs, ESP, and the afterlife–and what about Bigfoot?

These questions (and many more like them) get straight answers that don’t hide behind dull and confusing theological language. So get the lowdown on the big questions everyone asks–but please try not to laugh (because it’s a very serious topic).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There's an old conservative Christian saying, "God said it, I believe it and that settles it." Metaxas—a New York humor and children's book writer—doesn't use it, but employs that attitude in writing this cheeky question-and-answer book addressing the most common questions people have about God. Metaxas writes from an evangelical Christian perspective as he discusses the authority of the Bible, salvation and concepts such as heaven, hell, angels and demons. He admits early on that this book idea is "patently insane"; however, he "took a crack at" answering the kinds of questions he is asked all the time in his work as a writer and speaker. Without a doubt, Metaxas is a clever and straightforward writer, fielding jokes right and left before hitting the reader with the hard stuff. ("Q: What happens when you die? A: Well it depends, but typically the lawn goes unmowed for a while...") He then more seriously replies that we are either welcomed into God's presence in heaven or banished for eternity to hell. Metaxas gets high marks for wit but fails to explore the wide range of beliefs that devout Christians hold today. (Oct. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God
(But Were Afraid to Ask)

“Quick, witty, engaging, and often profound. These are words I use to describe my friend and one-time colleague Eric Metaxas. This little book is vintage Metaxas. Good and profitable reading.”
–Chuck Colson, founder and chairman of Prison Fellowship

“Eric Metaxas has written a book about God based on questions that people are actually asking. His answers are pithy, practical, often funny (who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?), and true. This is a splendidly unconventional introduction to the Christian faith.”
–John Wilson, editor of Books & Culture

“An excellent primer on the most important questions of life, engagingly presented in question-and-answer format. A timely and useful book for a searching, spiritually hungry America.”
–George Gallup, Jr., founding chairman of the George H. Gallup International Institute

“Finally, a book of apologetics you can give your friends without cringing!”
–Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath

“Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask) doesn’t intend to impress the reader, but speaks to the reader as a person would in a conversation. I’ve never encountered this subject dealt with so beautifully as it is dealt with here.”
–Bob Grant, host of The Bob Grant Show and author of Let’s Be Heard

“Every question in this book is one I have asked, have heard asked, or want to ask! And the answers are so good-humored and easy to read that you almost forget how profound they are.”
–Ann B. Davis, Alice of The Brady Bunch

“Rarely do a humorist, a logician, and an orthodox theological popularizer inhabit the same skin, so–quick, now!–join Eric Metaxas in this dialogue with skeptics and let him deftly disabuse you of your vexing bewilderments.”
–McCandlish Phillips, author and former New York Times reporter

“To some, God is a stranger…and understandably so. Today’s rumors and ignorance of God only deepen the mystery of His character. Metaxas makes it make sense. This clever and unswerving approach engages the intellectual and relaxes the skeptic. This book shows the real side of God–a God who wants us to have both quality and quantity of life.”
–Mac McNally, north Atlantic regional director of Young Life

“Eric Metaxas takes you on a landmark tour of humanity’s monumental questions in this handy hitchhiker’s guide to God. Don’t leave home without it.”
–Thomas Greanias, best-selling author Raising Atlantis

“For his stylish and entertaining handling of this particular subject, Metaxas deserves a prize.”
–Dick Cavett, Emmy Award-winning television personality

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press; First Edition edition (October 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400071011
• ISBN-13: 978-1400071012
• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 8.5 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Metaxas is the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery. His writing was first published in Atlantic Monthly, and has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Regeneration Quarterly, Christianity Today, National Review Online, Beliefnet and First Things. The American Booksellers Association chose Metaxas's The Birthday ABC as a 1995 Pick of the List and Amazon.com honored his Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving with their Number One Bestseller Award for Thanksgiving 1999. He has been featured numerous times on CNN, The Fox News Channel and other television networks, and has been a guest on NPR. He is the founder and host of Socrates in the City: Conversations on the Examined Life, a monthly event of entertaining and thought provoking discussions that feature such speakers as Sir John Polkinghorne, Dr. Armand Nicholi, Os Guinness, Lauren F. Winner and Peter Kreeft. Metaxas serves on the vestry of Calvary/St. George's Episcopal Church, and lives in Manhattan, New York, with his wife and daughter.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#78 in Books > History

#82 in Kindle eBooks > History

#87 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs

#78 in Books > History

#82 in Kindle eBooks > History

#87 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mini-Review: June 6, 2006

By Alan L. Chase VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I met Eric Metaxas a few weeks ago when he was speaking at a gathering at the Harvard Club in Midtown Manhattan. Imagine what it must have been like for a Yale graduate to stoop to having to speak at the Harvard Club!

How can I best describe Eric Metaxas to the readers of the White Rhino Report? Two things come to mind that I can share that may encapsulate the man and the myth that is Eric Metaxas. Picture George Stephanopoulos with a sense of humor, and you are on your way toward being able to envision Eric. Picture a speaker at the epicenter of a flurry of good-natured heckling remarks from the audience - remarks dealing humorously with epistemology (not usually a knee-slapping topic!)- and you will begin to understand Eric.

Eric is a communicator who wields humor deftly - like a surgeon with a scalpel - to cut to the heart of serious matters. He has written for The New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly and the children's video series, Veggie Tales. He has authored more than thirty children's books, and hosts the acclaimed speakers' series, "Socrates in the City."

In his new book, "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about God (But Were Afraid to Ask)," he does an excellent job of making complex spiritual issues both comprehensible and accessible. Using humor and a fast-moving Q&A format, he tackles in fresh ways many of the age-old questions about God, Jesus, religion, heaven and hell, angels and demons and a plethora of other pithy topics.

Eric and his editors wisely chose to format the book without using direct biblical quotations, but he provides the biblical references in the footnotes and appendix. He also leads readers who desire to dig more deeply into a question or a topic to other classic works of Christian apologetics (the art and science of defending one's faith) and inspiration - by authors such as C.S. Lewis, John Stott, Josh McDowell, Os Guinness and Chuck Colson.

This book makes a very good starting point for anyone asking deep questions about faith and spirituality, and is a nice addition to the library of anyone who takes seriously the challenge to share their faith with those who are seeking.

I encourage you to visit Eric's website: [...]

Enjoy.

Al

37 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars C.S. Lewis for the ipod Era October 18, 2005

By John Zmirak

Format:Paperback

I picked up this book last night and immediately dove in. It's funny, enlightening, breezy and persuasive--the perfect thing for a believer to give his (her) semi- or un-believing girl (boy) friend. Reminds me of all the C.S. Lewis books I gave away to good-looking lasped Christian girls in college and grad school. I'll probably end up giving this one away, too--but not till I've finished reading it and enjoying it. An apologetics book that will slip past people's defenses and make them think. I recommend it highly.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Making God Relevant with a touch of humor March 25, 2006

By Richard Teeters

Format:Paperback

An extremely well written book that gives one a basis for a better understanding of God. It has a very catchy and readable style. The humor may elicit some out loud laughs. It's thoughtful, doctrinal and practical all at the same time. A very difficult balance to attain. This is a great read for the serious theologian. It is also a great book for the person who doesn't know what they believe and are just seeking truth.

The line between deep theology and just plain fun can rarely live together between the same covers. When it happens we should get a case and pass them out in Central Park...or Kubul.