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cool_trek1's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
It is a useful book for both describing what a worldview is and what the Christian worldview is and why Christianity best explains reality. Every Christian should read this.
ajmaese's review
4.0
perilous1's review
3.0
Having just finished Koukl's book, Tactics, I was expecting something a little more memorable. Granted, the topics are different. But Tactics is the kind of book I would read over and over. This one is the sort I struggled to connect with.
Normally I'm game for some existential profundity, this just didn't do much for me. :/
Normally I'm game for some existential profundity, this just didn't do much for me. :/
leevoncarbon's review
4.0
The author does not really cover a lot of new ground as previous authors have attempted to lay out the Christian faith in terms of the grand narrative and who have challenged the reader to consider which picture of reality on offer in our world today has the most congruence with our experience of reality. But Koukl writes with such concise clarity that it will remain for now my go to reference on this subject.
oschrock's review against another edition
5.0
I know there are a number of books whose purpose is to tell “The Story of the Bible” but I have to say this one is the best I’ve seen.
The book begins, not with the problems of sin and the fallen world, but with God. He realizes the importance of starting at the beginning. As he says, “It is perfectly true that Jesus came to save us from that deforming disorder called “sin.” But starting with that theme is like going into a movie theater halfway through the film. You don’t know who the characters are, you can’t figure out the plot, and you are constantly guessing at the events leading up to that point. Most important, you cannot appreciate the depth and complexity of the problem that needs to be solved.”
He presents an excellent argument for a loving and righteous God who created a world where evil would be possible; not because He doesn’t care or is powerless to prevent it, but because such a world would be capable of a greater good than a world without evil. In other words, "evil is not the problem for Christianity that people think it is because it is not foreign to the Story. It is central to it. It fits right in.” The entire book is written from the understanding that “God owns everything and has proper authority to rule over everything he has made."
Of course Koukl is not ignorant of the fact that many people would disagree with his assertions. Koukl understands that "everyone—religious person, atheist, scientist, skeptic—believes his beliefs are true” and so he writes to convince. He lays out very analytical, logical arguments that arrive at very natural and undeniable conclusions.
The book follows a natural progression of discussing God’s perfect creation, what went wrong, what has been done to make it right, and how it will all be restored in the end. In the end, the solution to the problem of evil is, “Perfect justice for evildoers, perfect mercy for the penitent; evil banished forever, and everlasting good restored."
Of course, this logically leaves us with a choice: "You can bend your knee to your Sovereign, beg for mercy because of Christ, be welcomed into his family as a son or daughter, and belong to him. Or you can reject the gift, stand alone at the judgment, and pay for your own crimes against God, such as they are. I invite you to accept your pardon now, while you can, and turn and follow Jesus.”
The book begins, not with the problems of sin and the fallen world, but with God. He realizes the importance of starting at the beginning. As he says, “It is perfectly true that Jesus came to save us from that deforming disorder called “sin.” But starting with that theme is like going into a movie theater halfway through the film. You don’t know who the characters are, you can’t figure out the plot, and you are constantly guessing at the events leading up to that point. Most important, you cannot appreciate the depth and complexity of the problem that needs to be solved.”
He presents an excellent argument for a loving and righteous God who created a world where evil would be possible; not because He doesn’t care or is powerless to prevent it, but because such a world would be capable of a greater good than a world without evil. In other words, "evil is not the problem for Christianity that people think it is because it is not foreign to the Story. It is central to it. It fits right in.” The entire book is written from the understanding that “God owns everything and has proper authority to rule over everything he has made."
Of course Koukl is not ignorant of the fact that many people would disagree with his assertions. Koukl understands that "everyone—religious person, atheist, scientist, skeptic—believes his beliefs are true” and so he writes to convince. He lays out very analytical, logical arguments that arrive at very natural and undeniable conclusions.
The book follows a natural progression of discussing God’s perfect creation, what went wrong, what has been done to make it right, and how it will all be restored in the end. In the end, the solution to the problem of evil is, “Perfect justice for evildoers, perfect mercy for the penitent; evil banished forever, and everlasting good restored."
Of course, this logically leaves us with a choice: "You can bend your knee to your Sovereign, beg for mercy because of Christ, be welcomed into his family as a son or daughter, and belong to him. Or you can reject the gift, stand alone at the judgment, and pay for your own crimes against God, such as they are. I invite you to accept your pardon now, while you can, and turn and follow Jesus.”