Based on the instruction in 1 Peter 3:15 “Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” authors John Ankerberg and John Weldon have given us a great apologetic work.

     The book is divided into three sections.  The first deals with the person and deity of Jesus Christ.  The second deals with the creation.  The final section focuses on the validity of the Bible.  The book also contains several helpful charts and lists.

     In the first section the authors show how Jesus Christ was the most unique person in all of history.  They focus on refuting several of the arguments made by skeptics and liberal theologians.  There is a great chapter (#2) that lists several quotes made by various historical figures regarding Jesus.  Chapter #5 is devoted to some former skeptics and what they now say about Jesus.  The last three chapters in the first section are very appropriate for us this time of year.  They focus on the authenticity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  They show how it is historically reliable and refute the various theories that are contrary to God’s Word.

     The second section of this book deals with one of my favorite subjects, the creation/evolution controversy.  I do not think that this section is as strong as it could be but it is effective nonetheless.  The authors mainly focus on some of the many problems and assumptions that evolution is based on.  I would have liked to see much more written in support of creation rather than only showing the impossibility of evolution (although I still agree with them.)  The same authors have also written a book entitled Darwin’s Leap of Faith where they discuss this controversy in much greater detail.¹

     The third section of the book deals with the Bible.  They start by spending two chapters on Biblical prophecy and how this verifies the authenticity of the Bible.  Next, they spend a chapter (#13) showing how archaeology has consistently agreed with the Bible.  They spend two chapters dealing with Biblical inerrancy - the first is an introduction to the subject and the second gives the evidence for inerrancy.  The final chapter focuses on the historical reliability of the Bible. 

     Some of the helpful charts include: The Resurrection Appearances, Jesus’ Fulfillment of Messianic Prophecies, Archaeological  Confirmations, and Scientific Previsions in the Bible.

     I would highly recommend this book for any believer.  Most Christians today cannot give answers to tough questions about the Bible.  This book will provide an excellent foundation for learning how to defend your faith.  I was not quite satisfied with the middle section of the book so I would recommend The Answers Book by Ken Ham and others to learn how to defend the early chapters of Genesis.  Overall, I found this book to be extremely helpful for my faith.

¹ Unfortunately, John Ankerberg has come out in favor of Progressive Creation.  Mr. Ankerberg is an outstanding apologist and has been extremely helpful in so many areas of defending the faith.  Sadly, he has chosen to compromise on this extremely important issue.  For more on the dangers of this type of thinking please see Other Views.

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