Customer Reviews

When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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

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.

The Author begins with the question of the existence of God and takes the argument to the point of demonstrating why Jesus is the only way to God. Much discussion of philosphy and logical thought. Much is here to chew on...author walks the reader through the entire discussion. A must for those wishing to strengthen their core beliefs.

I understand the writers thoughts relative to the subject matter. Second, I view the authors background as quite savant in connection to the material at hand. Third, the verisimilitude is on target as ample numbers of Holy Bible scriptures were used to form a proper syntax of etymology pertaining as historical examples to derail [hard core] skeptics. Lastly, the writer seemed to dedicate this book to spiritual non milk drinkers. This writing, in my opinion, is exegetical material. It is deep and lengthy in many areas and in some cases seemed to equal a dissertation towards a Mastrs or Doctorate in theology.

I would have preferred that, to be added within the text, a number actual current-day cases be included to represent good over evil. Viz., In 2001, a Tulsa, Oklahoma Mother of a ten year old became healed of cancer after Mother stood on [scripture and verse] when in actuality her physician stated that no cure was possible, etc. This may have been an extra asset for the reader who is unaccustomed to the virtue behind our Holy Bible. Such examples could have been provided excluding overextensive glam.

I believe, concluding here, this to be a worthy read. It is not something one can sail through overnight. Mr Brooks is not guilty of obfuscation. I only wish he could have made the reading somewhat simpler in certain areas which I believe would have brought more human interest.

Franklin A. Alvey, Ph.D., Th.D.

In some ways, this book was the forerunner to his _Encyclopedia of Apologetics_. It is like a compendium of Giesler. It has tidbits from most of his best-selling books. One of the neatest things is that the book is organized into questions on different topics, well over three dozen questions in all. There are Questions on God, Other Gods (a précis of _Worlds Apart here), Evil, Miracles, Christ, the Bible, Archeology, Evolution, Afterlife, Truth, and Morals. For a handy reference book, it is surprisingly thorough (though always meant to be an introduction, not an end-in-itself). This is also where the "12 points" tape available got its start (see NormGeisler.com) as the Appendix: Reasoning to Christianity from Ground Zero. Though only an outline, they demonstrate Norm's pervasive ability to think in fundamental philosophical terms. The book also sports a nice Glossary, Topical Index, Person Index, and Scripture Index. It's a very user friendly book and, along with Kreeft's _Encyclopedia of Apologetics_ one of two best Apologetics reference works beyond a dictionary (which is more what Norm's Encyclopedia is).

This is definitely one of my favorite apologetic books for many reasons. Sometimes I can be scatter brained and it is hard to hold my attention in certain books that cover one topic that can last 20-30 pages, so this one does a fine job of getting into serious issues in a concise matter. There are definitely many other books that go in more detail on certain topics (problems of evil, cosmological argument, etc) but this book was not designed to in that much depth but it does give very satisfying answers in my opinion...this is one of my favorite books from Geisler...if anyone is new to apologetics, this would be one of the first books i would recommend. God bless!

This reference work on Christian apologetics is excellent and would be a great addition to any library.

Ron Brooks and Dr. Norman Geisler have compiled a work that covers a wide range of topics including such basic questions as, 'Does God exist?', and if so, 'What kind of God exists?' They then go through various possibilities from different belief systems, make a case for the God of the Bible, and provide refutations of the others.

The authors also discuss other topics including the following: questions about evil, miracles, Jesus Christ, the Bible, Biblical difficulties, the Bible and archeology, science and evolution, and many more.

Perhaps the best feature of this book is its accessibility for a wide range of readers. Oftentimes it seems that scholars make brilliant arguments that many average people have trouble understanding. Not so here. Although Geisler is a top notch scholar (I'm not as familiar with Brooks), the arguments made here are completely understandable for virtually anyone.

Additionally, the approach is very respectful. Dr. Geisler and Mr. Brooks acknowledge that unbelievers have some very good questions and they answer them in a very agreeable way.

One of my favorite parts was the section on hell as that is such a common objection from those who contend that a loving God would not send people to such a place. It is handled brilliantly and finished off with this observation: 'God refuses to coerce anyone into loving Him because forced love is rape. But He demonstrates a tough love by by allowing people to go their own way. If God's perfect and steadfast love has failed to win them, what could possibly change their minds? Hell is simply the place where the unbeliever is no longer bothered by God pestering him with His love.'

Highly recommended!

I'm currently reading this book right now. I love it, I have a lot of people I'd like to witness to and sometimes explaining it my way doesn't make much sense but this book has made it easy and clear to understand. I love this book, its really good.

A definite must for the Christian's library... a helpful book when faced with those questions that make you stumble...