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Smooth Stones [Kindle Edition]

Joe Coffey
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Street-level apologetics for everyday Christians.

Because faith in Jesus makes sense. And you don’t need an advanced degree to understand why.

This book was written for two reasons.

First, too many people think believing in Christianity means blind faith, against all evidence, the way a child believes in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Second, every few years a new book intended to undermine Christianity becomes a best seller and shakes the faith of many. Yet the arguments in these books are rarely compelling.

Jesus likened faith in God to a house built on a foundation. If built on sand, storms of doubt will tear the house apart. But if we build on a solid foundation, we will stand. In these pages, Joe Coffey inspects our foundation — so we can know why we believe, and so we can speak of our faith to others with greater confidence and clarity.

The conclusion? The Christian faith is built on a tremendous amount of credible evidence. You don’t need to be a scientist, an historian, an archeologist, or a philosopher to understand why belief in Jesus makes perfect sense.

Think of the last time an unbeliever asked you a seemingly unanswerable question as a way of supporting their unbelief. Did you feel thwarted in your attempt to “give an account for the hope that is in you”? Smooth Stones answers six of the toughest of these questions:

1. How do you know God exists?
2. How can you be sure the Bible is authentic and true?
3. If God exists, why is there evil and suffering?
4. Doesn’t science disprove the Bible?
5. Aren’t all religions the same?
6. How can you be sure the claims of Christ are true?

Joe Coffey writes in a style that is clear, winsome, and compelling. Smooth Stones will equip you with answers to some of the toughest apologetics questions a Christian can face.

There is plenty of evidence to support the claims of Christianity. Smooth Stones puts much of that evidence at your fingertips and offers practical guidelines for how to unpack it in ways that are “gentle and reverent.”

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joe Coffey, D.Min., is senior pastor of the multi-campus Christ Community Chapel in Hudson, Ohio, and co-author (with Bob Bevington) of Red Like Blood: Confrontations with Grace.

Product Details

  • File Size: 349 KB
  • Print Length: 114 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1936760207
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Cruciform Press (June 1, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0053YPMN8
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,716 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Simple, every day apologetics at its best! June 27, 2011
Format:Paperback
Smooth Stones is now the third book I've read from Cruciform Press (the first two being Cruciform and the pilot book Sexual Detox by Tim Challies) and it is in my humble opinion the best book yet from this young publishing company. Joe takes on six of the biggest questions that challenge Christianity, namely:

Is There a God?
Does Science Disprove God's Existence?
Is the Bible Authentic and True?
The Question of Evil and Suffering
Aren't All Religions the Same?
Is Jesus for Real?

I know, I know, one of the chapter titles isn't in the form of a question. That bugged me too. But after flying through this book in one day, I was ready to forgive. As a self-proclaimed apologist, I pride myself in at least being familiar with all the big questions and answers surrounding Christian apologetics. Yet Joe surprised me on more than one occasion with simple and fresh approaches to answering these popular challenges.

The simple beauty of this book is in its brevity. This book may be the best resource I've seen for a church to keep on hand to answer common objections in every day language. I know of a number of young men in my church family who would benefit from reading a book like this, but would instantly start having heart complications if I suggested they read anything larger. I, for one, will be commending this book to my pastor to keep on hand for those questioning Christianity.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Answers for Head and Heart July 11, 2011
Format:Paperback
I believe a helpful definition of apologetics is "the science and art of making a defense of one's faith." An apologist must be a scientist who rationally defends against objections of non-believers and provides logical arguments for the Christian worldview. But an apologist must also have the touch of an artist and the subjective sense to infer the needs of the person on the other side of the discussion.

Most of us will not stand at a podium opposite a professor in a debate on a college campus. The people to whom most of us will make a defense of Christian believing are people like us. Many will come with bumper sticker thin statements they mistake for arguments, but also with deep wounds these arguments cover.

Joe Coffey (who is also co-author of Red Like Blood) has written a helpful book for Christians (and non-believers) who have head-and-heart questions about, or objections to, Christian believing. And therefore, Smooth Stones fulfills the science and the art of apologetics. By publisher design, the book is a short 106 pages. David was diminutive compared to Goliath and so this book, aptly intoning the David and Goliath story, seeks to bring down some of the Goliath questions of our day without the benefit (or hindrance) of several hundred pages.

I liked Smooth Stones. It has an easy conversational style. Coffey was able to take complex topics such as God's existence, the authenticity of the Bible, pluralism, and the problem of evil and demonstrate for the head and the heart that Christianity has the best explanatory power of any worldview. In other words, Christianity best fits and explains our reality.

I particularly appreciated the answers for the head and answers for the heart sections at the end of each chapter. Sometimes in apologetics we have the right answers to questions not being asked. There are times in evangelism and teaching when the question asked is not the real issue. Coffey does a nice job of supplying the reader with avenues to explore each issue in both the head and the heart arenas.

I would recommend Smooth Stones for people new to apologetics who want to have a very good grip on several contemporary objections to Christian believing. I also think this would make a good text for High School and College ministries that wish to provide a good and readable resource for their students. As a gift for a non-believer, I think Smooth Stones would be good for those whose objections to Christian believing are not too deeply entrenched. This is not a slight on the content of the book, but rather the length precludes quite a bit of discussion that could be had.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book! April 10, 2013
By Para96
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Apologetics is a field where we all tread, but few know it. I ordered this book as I have recently been asked questions about Christianity that I had trouble answering. Smooth Stones is an easy read, truly giving you many "smooth stones" with which to slay the giants of questions about God and the Bible. I highly recommend it!
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More About the Author

Hi, I'm Joe Coffey - son, brother, husband, father, and lead pastor of Christ Community Chapel.

I'm the son of Roland and Joan who have modeled for over 55 years not only what it means to love God but also to serve him in the unique role of professional ministry.

I'm the brother of Brian who serves as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Geneva, Illinois. Brian and I grew up battling each other on the basketball court but have developed a fierce loyalty and love for each other over the years. My little brother John has been in heaven since his motorcycle accident in 1988.

I am the husband of Karen who is the love of my life. She is and always has been an absolute gift from the heart of God who has given me a beauty I never deserved.

I'm the father of Jeremy, Rachel, and Becca who have succeeded in filling my life with joy and great pride. Being their dad has been my favorite job so far.

I'm the lead pastor of Christ Community Chapel. CCC is a place of wonder and grace simply because God decided to love us through Jesus. It is a place where we explore together the depth and the mystery of the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that even though we are more deeply flawed than we have ever wanted to admit to anyone even ourselves, because of what God has done through Jesus Christ we are more deeply loved than we have ever dared to dream. The Gospel has the power to change the human heart and then change the world. I hope you come and dive in with us.

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