Questioning Christianity

Have you ever seriously questioned Christianity? If so, you’re not alone. A lot of people have wondered if this faith is outdated . . . irrelevant . . . maybe even harmful. But what if everything is not as it seems? What if there’s more to the story? Questioning Christianity explores the nature and relevance of the Christian story in an accessible and compelling way. No slogans. No politics. No simple solutions to complex problems. After many years of exploring issues of faith with skeptics, seekers, and new believers, Dan Paterson and Rian Roux serve as guides to help you navigate what can be a disorienting and confusing journey. Perhaps you’re feeling lost, unable to find your bearings, and you need some help to map out the terrain around you. Or maybe you’ve encountered obstacles and have hard questions that need to be addressed before you can move ahead. Whatever it is that has made you curious about this faith, there are good answers waiting to be discovered. So go ahead. Question Christianity. Just give Christianity the chance to answer back.

You're interested in Christianity. But do you really understand what it's all about? Getting to know Christianity is like merging onto a freeway ramp. You can see what's right in front of you. And you know the road can take you in many fascinating directions. But how all the highways form a whole is something of a mystery. So you just keep driving and hope for the best. Dan Paterson and Rian Roux have the bird's eye roadmap you need. After many years of pastoral, evangelistic, and campus ministry, they know the questions people are asking. The skeptic, the seeker, the new believer . . . they all want some real answers. Not slogans. Not politics. Not simple solutions to complex problems. The person who's getting to know Christianity wants the big picture of what it's all about. Who is God? What is he up to in the world? Where is he taking it? And how is Jesus the centerpiece of the divine plan to offer hope to the human race amid so much suffering? These issues--and many others--can be found in Questioning Christianity. It's an accessible overview of the Christian faith and way of life.

The Resurrection accounts of Jesus in the Gospels are the most dramatic and impactful stories ever told. One similarity unites each testimony--that none of his most loyal and steadfast followers could "see" it was him, back from the dead. The reason for this is at the very foundation of the Christian faith. She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. (John 20:14) Hope in the Time of Fear is a book that unlocks the meaning of Jesus's resurrection for readers. Easter is considered the most solemn and important holiday for Christians. It is a time of spiritual rebirth and a time of celebrating the physical rebirth of Jesus after three days in the tomb. For his devoted followers, nothing could prepare them for the moment they met the resurrected Jesus. Each failed to recognize him. All of them physically saw him and yet did not spiritually truly see him. It was only when Jesus reached out and invited them to see who he truly was that their eyes were open. Here the central message of the Christian faith is revealed in a way only Timothy Keller could do it--filled with unshakable belief, piercing insight, and a profound new way to look at a story you think you know. After reading this book, the true meaning of Easter will no longer be unseen.

Although many people suggest that Christianity is declining, research indicates that it continues to be the world's most popular worldview. But even so, the Christian faith includes many controversial beliefs that non-Christians find hard to accept. This book explores 12 issues that might cause someone to dismiss orthodox Christianity—issues such as the existence of suffering, the Bible's teaching on gender and sexuality, the reality of heaven and hell, the authority of the Bible, and more. Showing how the best research from sociology, science, and psychology doesn't disagree with but actually aligns with claims found in the Bible, these chapters help skeptics understand why these issues are signposts, rather than roadblocks, to faith in Christ.

You don't need to memorize evangelical formulas or answers. You just have to be willing to ask. There was something different about the way Jesus communicated with the lost: He didn't force answers upon people, He asked questions. So why don't we? Following Christ's lead, Randy Newman has been using a questioning style of evangelism for decades. In this provocative book, he provides practical insights to help Christians engage others in meaningful spiritual conversations. He challenges us to examine how we think about people, their questions, and our crucial message. This second edition includes a new preface reflecting on the popularity of this perennial best seller and what its success has taught Newman about the effectiveness of this extraordinary method. "Distilled out of over twenty years of personal evangelism, this book reflects both a deep grasp of biblical theology and a penetrating compassion for people--and finds a way forward in wise, probing questions. How very much like the Master Himself!" --D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "Questioning Evangelism steps outside the boundaries of evangelism as usual and tackles the tougher issues of our modern day." --Mitch Glaser, Chosen People Ministries

We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs. Written for both the ardent believer and the skeptic, Making Sense of God shines a light on the profound value and importance of Christianity in our lives.

University apologist, director, and popular speaker Alex McFarland has spent the last two decades answering questions about Christian worldview and the Bible from children, teens, and parents. In The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask about Christianity, he summarizes questions today’s children and teens are asking about God, the Bible, and the problem of evil. Alex’s experiences have taught him that how adults answer questions about God is as important as, if not more important than, what kids ask. He provides parents with teaching strategies that will help them reach their children intellectually and spiritually. Today’s kids and teens are looking for authenticity, integrity, and straightforward truth. Alex comes alongside parents and gives them tools to effectively answer not only their children’s toughest academic questions but also the questions that plague their hearts.

A Call to Follow Jesus When He Challenges Our Traditions There are many challenges to adequately representing Jesus to the majority world, and often Western Christian traditions create unnecessary hindrances to people accepting His truth. This book grew out of many interviews with Indian Jesus-followers—both Christians and Yesu bhaktas—who identified painful stumbling blocks to receiving and sharing the gospel. While Hindus often have a high view of Jesus, they struggle with the conventions, practices, and labels around "church." Christian Barriers to Jesus uniquely challenges readers to examine nine barrier-producing Christian traditions, exploring: • The assumptions Christians may hold about the value, origin, or necessity of their customs • The concerns Hindus commonly raise about traditions that confuse, offend, or alienate them • Teachings from Jesus in Scripture that often question the same ideas or practices Pennington suggests that by not asking deep enough questions about what is essential for following Jesus and what is a non-essential human invention, the church is unnecessarily alienating millions of people from Him. As a body, it is time to honestly address these concerns, developing new patterns of discipleship that reveal Jesus’s heart for breaking down barriers instead of creating them. The analysis presented in this book will empower readers to critically examine their personally cherished traditions and the purity of the gospel they present, with insights that are relevant in all contexts.