Why Mike's Not a Christian: Honest Questions About Evolution, Relativism, Hypocrisy, and More by Harvest House Publishers

	Title: Why Mike's Not a Christian: Honest Questions About Evolution, Relativism, Hypocrisy, and More Purchase Item Manufacturer: Harvest House Publishers List Price: $10.99 Our Price: $2.88
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Why Mike's Not a Christian: Honest Questions About Evolution, Relativism, Hypocrisy, and More by Harvest House Publishers Excellent!
The book "Why Mike's Not a Christian: Honest Questions About Evolution, Relativism, Hypocrisy, and More" attracted me because Young deals with evolution. He actually relies on several scientists for his conclusions, including Dr James Tour, the Chao Professor of Chemistry at Rice University and a specialist in the growing field of nanoscience. Dr. Tour's comments (page 59-60) were very insightful, as were Dr. William Dembski's (page 61). Especially helpful were the definitions of creation Young gave on page 55-56 which is critical because the common media stereotype is that a creationist is, by definition, a young earth creationist when broadly termed a creationist believes in the "beginning" was matter, motion (energy), time, and intelligence and a Darwinist believes in the beginning was matter, motion, and time. Was intelligence involved? Young makes a brief but well done case that it was according to science. Young shows why this issue is important by citing several cases of believers who became atheists after learning about Darwinism. One of my reading favorites is biographies about scientists and I am struck by how commonly they were reared in religiously devout homes and became atheists due to their exposure to Darwinism, often in the early grades of school. Young makes the point that they realize at a young age that Darwinism puts God out of a job and makes him, at best, superficial. This is the conclusion of the two cases Young relates. The first case is Patrick Glynn who learned about Darwin in grade school, in a Catholic school nonetheless, and, as he says, he became an agnostic due to his Catholic education. The second is Lee Strobel who, when he learned about Darwinism in Biology class, realized that if Darwin is correct God is out of a job. Many more cases could be cited, and this is why Young covers this topic in this book. He also covers the usual topics such if God exists why does evil exist.
Why Mike's Not a Christian: Honest Questions About Evolution, Relativism, Hypocrisy, and More by Harvest House Publishers Decent but inadequate...
I attended Ben Young's church for several years when I lived in Houston and had a positive experience there, so I admit that I was somewhat predisposed to appreciate this book. And I will say that "Why Mike's Not a Christian" has a few feathers in its cap. However, I'm not sure it's sufficiently substantial to accomplish what the author intends. The book has several primary strengths. First, it is relatively short and readable. It is written with a very conversational tone, and I finished it in two sittings. For the typical busy American, this is more digestible than a thicker tome. This book will be particularly useful for Christians who want to become more confident and comfortable engaging their non-Christian friends in meaningful conversation. To that end, the concluding chapter, written specifically to Christians, and especially the section called "Gentle and Respectful Advice" (pp. 114-116) were the highglight of the entire book. If all Christians would learn the art of listening, learn the art of asking good questions, learn the art of passing on a good book, learn the art of being normal, and learn the art of being respectful, God would be thrilled!! Several of the strengths of the book also lead to weaknesses. It is too short to accomplish what Young seems to want, which is to provide intellectually meaningful arguments for the Christian faith. He tries to tackle questions too big and cover too much ground. He seems to hope that non-Christians will read this book and have their problems with Christianity solved, but there is no way to tackle such huge issues without greater focus and depth. I was disappointed that he seemed to regularly state his contention that Christianity can be intelligently defended without really providing much of a defense. Similarly, his writing style is simply too conversational to provide the intellectual rigor that he strives to achieve. I appreciate Young's humility in pointing people to many other sources, through the text of his book and in a "More Resources" list in the back. "Why Mike's Not a Christian" is a useful tool to provide Christians with some advice on how to appropriately relate to non-Christian friends. But I would not suggest that passing this along to non-Christians will be very helpful in answering the key dilemmas that separate them from acknowledging God.
Why Mike's Not a Christian: Honest Questions About Evolution, Relativism, Hypocrisy, and More by Harvest House Publishers Honest answers to serious questions
A lot of people are anxious to explain why Christianity doesn't work for them; Jesus was a good man, the Bible is full of myths, all paths lead to God, etc. It's not always easy to refute these claims and explain our faith. We know what we believe, it's just difficult to share it with non-believers in a way they'll understand. This book has the answers, written in plain, everyday language with quotes from the Bible to back up the arguments. Ben Young takes on these false claims with no-holds barred common sense. He even takes on evolution and the argument that a loving God wouldn't allow evil and suffering. Why Mike's Not a Christian is one of those books you'll refer back to time after time. We never know when we'll meet a skeptic, but Ben Young's honest answers about todays hot topics, will help the reader be better equipped to defend his or her beliefs. It has a permanent place on my bookshelf.
Why Mike's Not a Christian: Honest Questions About Evolution, Relativism, Hypocrisy, and More by Harvest House Publishers Product Description
Can most believers give a rational explanation for their faith? Have most skeptics ever heard convincing answers to their arguments? Author Ben Young creates an intriguing and insightful dialogue between a skeptic, Mike, and a Christian friend working through Mike’s questions with thoughtful, biblical answers. Along the way, readers will discover responses to the most common reasons people say they are not a Christian— It’s true for you, but not for me All Christians are hypocrites Evolution is true The Bible is full of myths All paths lead to God, not just one Open–minded skeptics looking for answers or Christians looking for a way to articulate their beliefs more effectively will want this on hand.