Customer Reviews

Know Why You Believe

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having read several books on apologetics myself, I found Little's book quite good. His presentation is easy to follow and the beginner will find it very manageable. It is a short book that new Christians or Christians approaching apologetics (the rational defence of Christianity) for the first time, will find useful.

Little's methodology is good as well. His dispels presuppositions that a priori prevent one from even considering Christianity. Little also has some ability to come up with memorable epigrams (though he is not as good at this as G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis are, in my opinion).

Little covers the following questions: Is Christianity Rational? Is There a God? Is Christ God? Did Christ Rise from the Dead? Is the Bible God's Word? Are the Bible Documents Reliable? Does Archaeology Verify Scripture? Are Miracles Possible? Do Science & Scripture Agree? Why Does God Allow Suffering & Evil? Does Christianity Differ from Other World Religions?

Is Christian Experience Valid?

In a book that is only 171 pages in length (excluding study questions), Little covers each topic quite quickly. Thankfully, he includes a "For Further Reading," section at the end of every chapter. Little's section on Science & Scripture was good as well (as one might expect, he covers the issue of origins). Little is careful to define terms (i.e. micro-evolution vs. macro-evolution) and I think he wisely notes that science is constantly changing (whereas the Bible is static), so one must be cautious not to absolutely weld contemporary scientific theories to the Bible.

The section on Christianity and other religions was mediocre. However, most Christian apologetic materials that read have suffered from the same problem. The standard approaches usually starts with a few thoughts on the nature of truth (especially the logical law of non-contradiction), then assert and prove the deity of Christ and then assume all other religions fall. While I see that this approach definitely works, I think it would helpful to interact with other religions and analyze them at a deep level. Anyway, I am demanding too much from a popular level book here. Little discussed (in 3-5 paragraphs each!) Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam and pointed some of their beliefs and the difficulties associated with them.

The nature of Christian experience is not a philosophical issue in the same way that the issue of miracles are, so the question must be approached differently. Little's explanation that Christian experience is based on historical facts (the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) provides the context for understanding Christian experience.

Little ends with a challenge to personally commit oneself to Christianity.

The extensive study questions (about 10 per chapter) at the end of the book may be useful if one wanted to use the book as a study tool for a Bible Study group or something similar.

I would recommend this book as an introduction to the defence of Christianity or as a short review for old hands. However, the experienced reader may want deeper works to digest. Two good books for more advanced study: Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig and Scaling the Secular City by J.P. Moreland.

My wife asked me to read this book to see if it was any good- so I did. Like most reviewers, I enjoyed this book despite its simplicity. It is pretty short, easy to follow, and worth the time spent reading it. I was somewhat familiar with certain sections of the book, but enjoyed the pragmatic way that Paul Little presents the Christian view to the reader.

The context for the book is that Paul Little wanted to provide answers to the 12 most common questions he received when discussing Christianity on college campuses. He fulfills his purpose, and provides many references, and additional materials to research if you want to go deeper into any particular subject.

You will most likely not be interested in all 12 topics discussed, but it makes sense that most Christians should have some familiarity with these questions, and the basic answers provided in this book. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick introduction to apologetics, or different ways to answer the questions that may arise as you share your faith with others.

For the Christian who is scared of "apologetics" because he thinks it means he has to "apologize," here's a book that doesn't get too technical but has plenty of good information about the defense of the faith. So often Christians don't have adequate answers to give to those who ask of them, as 1 Peter 3:15-16 commands, and so a book like this that is so readable and understandable can provide some ammunition the next time the skeptic questions the faith. Included at the end of each chapter are questions that can be used in a group or individual study.

Let me begin by saying that Mr. Little's original edition, published in 1967, had a positive influence upon me. I read his book in 1974, and it was the first apologetic book I remember reading. For that, I am thankful.

However, I recently (January 2009) purchased a copy, published by Victor, edited by Craig Bubeck, 5th edition, dated 2003. Despite my nostalgia for the old "Jesus freak" days, I must offer some criticisms of this book.

--Chapter 5: "Is the Bible God's Word?" says,
"The earliest book (in the bible) was first authored about 1100 BC."
If one accepts the chronology given by the bible itself, Moses lived circa 1450 BC. Therefore, Little is off by 350 years.

--Chapter 6: "Are the Bible Documents Reliable?"
This book states, "The Roman Catholic Church includes the books of the Apocrypha since the Council of Trent in 1546."

This is rather disingenuous of the author, since the Catholic Church, along with the Orthodox churches, have always considered the so-called apocryphal books (known formally as "Deutero-canonical") as part of the received canon, at least since the early 5th Century AD.

The following page of the book states, "The church Council of Jamnia in AD 90, held informal discussions about the canon."

The problem with this, of course, is that the meeting in Jamnia was held by JEWS, not Christians!

On the same page, is written, "Later on, in Reformation times, the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent elevated the Apocrypha to canonical status."

Again, WRONG!

The same Catholic Councils at Hippo (north Africa) in 393, at Carthage in 397, and again at Carthage in 419 AD all affirmed the canonical status of both the Old & New Testaments as the Catholic Church has today. These councils submitted their decisions to--guess who!?--the pope, who agreed with their findings. These local councils (they were not ecumenical councils of the Church) settled the question of the canon of scripture for more than 1,000 years, until the Reformation created the need for a final word on the WORD.

For a very brief summation on the canon of scripture, please see

http://www.catholicapologetics.org/apo30700.htm

Let me wrap up with 2 particular & glaring errors in the same chapter.
The book reads, "The twenty-NINE books in the New Testament..."
I could hardly believe my eyes on this. Dear reader, pick up any New Testament & count for yourself: there are exactly twenty-SEVEN books in the NT.

The book then reads, "In a letter by Athanasius in AD 367 he distinguishes between works in the canon....In the same year the final canon was fixed by a decision of a church council held at Carthage."
This type of error has to be due to a very sloppy editor. Athanasius indeed wrote a Paschal-tide letter to the churches in his bishopric in the year 367 AD. However, the council to which the book refers did NOT occur the same year. It occurred exactly 30 years LATER, in 397 AD.

My suggestion is that this book be given a major revision, correct the historical errors, and toss out the false & anti-Catholic statements. It would then be more worthy of the praise given to it by Billy Graham, Josh McDowell & Bill Hybels.

If the glaring mistakes are edited out of this book, I will be happy to revise my review from 1 star to 4 stars. The rest of the book was a pleasure to reread.

---John Paul, an old "Jesus freak" in Oklahoma City

I think that this book is a must have for any Christian, and also a great book to give to believers and potential believers (everyone else).

The book really does a great job preparing a Christian for knowledgably witnessing to people. And I think it also really confirms Christians in their faith. I have found it good to give this book as a gift to someone who you know is contemplating God and all of his wonderful ways.

We are currently using this book in our Mommies with Babies Sunday School class. For some students I thought it would be a refresher topic, but it truly had us stumped and really made every one think and rethink. This is not just casual reading. Be ready to work when you open this book, but expect great rewards!

Shawn

This book is an excellent introduction to apologetics. The chapters are organised according to questions that unbelievers often ask. The chapters are easy to read and they present the facts in a concise, intelligent, and convincing way. This book helped me realise how little I know, for example about the historical evidence for Jesus, and I found myself wanting to memorize portions of the book. I have been memorizing parts of this book, and I have been reading it over and over. I recommend it to all believers who need an introduction to apologetics.

Have taught Bible Studies and Sunday School classes from this book 4 times over the course of 20 years. It's always the most popular study. Deepens understanding of the Christian faith tremendously. Enjoyable reading and generates lots of discussion.

This book was written in simple language, so it's easy to read. It is full of support from Bible verses and outside sources (archaeology, famous quotes, etc.). Paul E. Little is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis because both of them show that you don't have sacrifice science and rationality for Christianity. I've read a couple other apologetics books (The Case for Christ and Basic Christianity), and they don't come close!

This is a book I've had in my personal library for 25 years. I'm on my third revision, and I enjoy reading it every time. It is a necessity for any growing Christian. Basic apologetics and it's best!!! I've used it to teach our High School Sunday School twice over the past 6 years.