When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences [Hardcover]

Norman L. Geisler (Author), Ronald M. Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1990

Is Christianity true--or even reasonable? Helpful question & answer format gives readers quick access to clear explanations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Does God exist?
What if he is not all-powerful?
Where did evil come from?
Are miracles mythological?
Why is Jesus better than other teachers?

When skeptics ask questions like these, believers can turn to this helpful, user-friendly guide for thoughtful answers and clear explanations. In When Skeptics Ask, apologetics experts Geisler and Brooks explain how to defend the faith, using the authority and inspiration of Scripture. Readers will discover answers for objections to classic Christianity and learn to identify and respond to the misuse of Scripture by nonbelievers.

"Geisler is one of the foremost defenders of the Christian faith today."--Josh McDowell

"Geisler has been a model of apologetical activism to a generation of evangelicals. When Skeptics Ask is no exception to this rule."--J. P. Moreland

"This is an excellent tool for Christians who want to be able to provide sound answers to real intellectual questions about the Christian faith."--R. C. Sproul


Norman L. Geisler is cofounder and former dean of Southern Evangelical Seminary. He is the author of more than seventy books, including the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics.

Ronald M. Brooks formerly of X-press Ministries, is coauthor of Come, Let Us Reason. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Norman L. Geisler (PhD, Loyola University of Chicago) has taught at top evangelical schools for over fifty years and is distinguished professor of apologetics and theology at Veritas Evangelical Seminary in Murrieta, California. He is the author of more than seventy books, including the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (February 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801011418
• ISBN-13: 978-0801011412
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Philosophical skeptics: Read!, July 28, 2000

By 

E. Johnson (El Cajon, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences (Hardcover)

I so much more enjoyed this book compared to Geisler's Christian Apologetics, partly because I found the latter to be very dry and dull. But this book is so much more readable, with good support of the points and understandable to a general lay audience. It is also a good reference tool, especially when dealing with agnostic/athiest friends and acquaintances. The authors do a super job in supporting the Christian position. They don't utilize lame argumentation, but rather, dig deeper at the issues to fully back up their obvious Christian presuppositions. To the atheist reading this, I challenge you to honestly and openly read this book and hold to your current position. I think you will be surprised at the available evidence for the Christian position.

43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most accessible and complete introduction to apologetics, October 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences (Hardcover)

This is the most exhaustive introduction to apologetics. It is up-to-date, rich in sound arguments and yet accessible to those who are not so philosophically minded or who have not had the benefit of higher education. It reads very easily, it covers all issues, and even contains some discussions that are not easily found in apologetics books (see the excellent discussion on archeology). Any Christian who is not so intellectually minded should have this book!

A weaker part in the book is the introduction to apologetics (chapter one). The authords present apologetics as "preevangelism", but I think that apologetics belong to the gospel (as shown in 1Co 15, the evangelistic discourses in Actes...). Another problem with the introduction is that it presents apologetics only in the context of evangelization, and does not mention another very important aspect: strengthening one's faith so as to be able to resist periods of doubts, building a shield of faith capable of stopping the darts of the enemy. Anyway the introduction makes of very good job of showing the necessity of apologetics for evangelization in a very few pages.

Concerning the existence of God, the authors succeed in explaining the Kalam, design, moral and ontological arguments with simplicity and in dealing with many God-related issues.

The authors do also a good work of simply introducing and refuting the other worldviews. Concerning the problem of evil they present a combination of free will, "best-way" and soul-deciding theodicies. They treat well the question of miracles.

Instead of dealing with the historicity of the Bible, they very shortly explain why it should be considered a historical book, and then argue on this basis for the resurrection and deity of Christ, develop a christology and show Christ to be a better way than the other "great teachers". I wonder why the authors did not first argue for the historicity of the NT documents and the historicity of the resurrection (the argument based on the fact that women were the first witness is therefore not used here).

They then classically argue for the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, deal with diverse problems and end with the reliability of the manuscripts.

The other chapters (Bible difficulties, archeology, science, afterlife, truth, morals) seem perfectly treated to me, I have hardly anything to report. I wonder why the chapter concerning truth was not placed right at the beginning. I guess the authors estimated it to be difficult (too abstract) for the average reader, and therefore relegated it at the end.

My overall impression is that Geisler and Brooks greatly succeeded in packing a lot of information in a modest volume (about 350 p.), in dealing with many delicate topics and aspects, and in making many difficult subjects understandable, enjoyable indeed. I highly recommend their book. But more is needed and I hope that the readers of this book will then read more of Geisler's books, as well as Moreland's and many more. so as to be intellectually responsibl

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give this to your Christian freshman in college, July 1, 2003

By 

Jill St John (Norwalk, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences (Hardcover)

As a Christian who didnt know "what I believed or why I believed it" in college, had I had a resource like this to help me pick through the various messages I received from the professors, who wanted nothing more to make me question what I had been taught(the best intention) or disregard(the worst intention) For a while I "found Atheism" in college, maybe if I had more of the evidence of the validity of God and Christianity I might have been able to skipsome of the darker periods of this time. If nothing else it would have given me some ammunition for the classes and professors who spewed venom about what our parents taught us, with too few to challenge them. I now value the time I spent questioning, because now I know why I believe what I believe, but as a parent I do not want any of my kids to be unprepared when the first authority figure challenges their beliefs. I have purchased about 7 of these books, for friends and they all seem to have found it worthy of the read. It is written is an intelligent and scholarly way and does not assume the reader is an idiot.
Worth the money, worth the time.