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Truth Matters: Confident Faith in a Confusing World
In an interview with Christianity Today in 2012, Ed Stetzer shared that according to LifeWay research among young adults who had attended church regularly for at least a year in high school, 70% stop attending regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22. However, 35% of these had returned to attending twice a month or more by the time they were surveyed for the study. This means that about 4 out of 10 kids leave the church and NEVER RETURN.
Here is how leading experts describe our church kids today: They are unarmed and incapable of defending their faith. They possess a faith that cannot withstand the scrutiny of trials or intellectual questions. They have a shallow belief system. They lack a robust faith. They haven’t learned how to think. They are embarrassingly ignorant of our faith.
Truth Matters is written directly to this audience, arming them with well-reasoned responses to the accusations that are most likely to appear in their lives, either as upcoming lecture notes and test questions or as inner qualms and questions. Things like: What gives the Bible any authority or credibility? Where is God in a world full of suffering? Why should Christianity be any more believable than any other religious system? And many, many more.
Easy to read yet loaded with meat and substance, this book is a level-headed reaction to those who equate Christian faith with “blind faith,” even those whose subtle or stated goal is to separate students from their religious traditions. Readers will discover the kind of historical information and thinking skills that build a sturdy backbone of confidence in high schoolers and young adults, making them able to defend by “reasoned faith” what the Bible claims as truth.
Loosely organized around the theological skepticism of New York Times bestselling author (and southern college educator) Bart Ehrman, this jam-packed counterclaim is a book that parents will want to buy for their kids, a book that youth and student leaders will want to work through one-on-one and in discipleship groups—a book that could prove a lifesaver for young minds and hearts everywhere.
Here is how leading experts describe our church kids today: They are unarmed and incapable of defending their faith. They possess a faith that cannot withstand the scrutiny of trials or intellectual questions. They have a shallow belief system. They lack a robust faith. They haven’t learned how to think. They are embarrassingly ignorant of our faith.
Truth Matters is written directly to this audience, arming them with well-reasoned responses to the accusations that are most likely to appear in their lives, either as upcoming lecture notes and test questions or as inner qualms and questions. Things like: What gives the Bible any authority or credibility? Where is God in a world full of suffering? Why should Christianity be any more believable than any other religious system? And many, many more.
Easy to read yet loaded with meat and substance, this book is a level-headed reaction to those who equate Christian faith with “blind faith,” even those whose subtle or stated goal is to separate students from their religious traditions. Readers will discover the kind of historical information and thinking skills that build a sturdy backbone of confidence in high schoolers and young adults, making them able to defend by “reasoned faith” what the Bible claims as truth.
Loosely organized around the theological skepticism of New York Times bestselling author (and southern college educator) Bart Ehrman, this jam-packed counterclaim is a book that parents will want to buy for their kids, a book that youth and student leaders will want to work through one-on-one and in discipleship groups—a book that could prove a lifesaver for young minds and hearts everywhere.
188 pages, Hardcover
First published February 12, 2014
126 people are currently reading
496 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
February 15, 2015
This is a great book, refuting arguments that are sometimes used by college professors against the validity and truth of the Bible , especially focusing on answering the teachings of Bart Ehrman (who is apparently a famous guy who rejects Christianity).
The book provides answers for many of the mistaken reasons people give for rejecting Christianity, clears up a lot of misunderstandings and objections, and answers plain honest questions too.
I loved the structure of this book! Everything is clearly and concisely explained with plenty of solid historical documents and good old common sense to back it up. The writing is articulate and humorous, and shows how ludicrous some arguments can be. Always the questions are addressed with respect and an honest desire for truth.
I would recommend this to any student in a secular school, or to anyone who has ever had questions about their Christian faith. It's wonderful to have reasonable answers to questions or doubts, and to know that your faith has its basis in an intelligent searching for God.
The book provides answers for many of the mistaken reasons people give for rejecting Christianity, clears up a lot of misunderstandings and objections, and answers plain honest questions too.
I loved the structure of this book! Everything is clearly and concisely explained with plenty of solid historical documents and good old common sense to back it up. The writing is articulate and humorous, and shows how ludicrous some arguments can be. Always the questions are addressed with respect and an honest desire for truth.
I would recommend this to any student in a secular school, or to anyone who has ever had questions about their Christian faith. It's wonderful to have reasonable answers to questions or doubts, and to know that your faith has its basis in an intelligent searching for God.
December 4, 2021
Read it in one sitting because I just could not put it down! If you are ever struggling with faith, as I often do, this book will help put you back on track!
August 2, 2014
For people that want to believe the contents of its pages to begin with, Truth Matters will undoubtedly succeed. For people that like well explained counter-arguments to extremely well stated challenges to Christianity, Truth Matters is far from satisfactory. The book sets out to refute over a thousand pages of Professor Bart Erhman’s work from the past decade or so in a mere 200. Still, the closing of the book states the authors' plan to release a more detailed version (Truth in a Culture of Doubt – coming Fall 2014), so it’s important to note that this particular book is written for Christian high school students that will have to face big, bad, evil professors such as Erhman once they’re in college.
The writing is on the annoying side as it seems to desperately try to talk on level with its audience like a wannabe-stepdad meeting his girlfriend’s children for the first time. It’s a little cringe-worthy and desperate to be hip here and there, but mostly harmless as long as the authors' rage over Bart Erhman’s success is kept in check (when it’s not, it’s really uncomfortable and petty seeming).
The primary problem of Truth Matters can be summed up by this one excerpt from Chapter 4 (Page 82 of the Kindle edition): “Ok, here’s the last one we’ll look at in this section. And it’s a little trickier. Bonus points if you hang in there through this one. Otherwise, if you’ve seen enough evidence already, just skip to the next section.”
The book consistently hints throughout that its audience is a little on the slow and stupid side, primarily sticking to good old-fashioned condescension, but this is the only time it blatantly says “You might not be smart enough to understand this argument, so feel free to skip it.”
Of course, the cruel twist here is that the following subchapter is the closest the entire book gets to FULLY fleshing out an argument rather than thinking three paragraphs is plenty enough evidence to disclaim an entire chapter’s worth of material from Ehrman’s work.
The book does a great job of explaining some of the weaknesses in Erhman’s approach and way of thinking. They do a wonderful job of saying why even someone as smart and educated as Erhman needs to be taken with a grain of salt and called out for using certain tactics to sway people to his side. I was actually impressed until the entire rest of the book went on to commit the exact same misleading sins they condemned Ehrman for using, only flipped and reversed to support the Christian alternative (albeit in a much less convincing way to anyone not inclined to WANT to believe).
I will admit openly there are some arguments that could go somewhere. If they had been properly fleshed out instead of dumbed down and over simplified for an audience the authors clearly have no respect for, maybe there would be a few points worth discussing instead of the weakly supported straw man arguments they created instead. As it stands, there's nothing in this book that will rattle a skeptic so much as it will create a really awkward situation for an overconfident believer that tries to break out some of the barely explained arguments should they encounter a skeptic.
I don't deny that there are good reasons educated, intelligent Christians choose to believe. The problem is this book takes an incredibly forward "attack them before they attack you!" attitude and then provides a couple weapons but not enough defensive armor. Even a skeptic may see there's some ground to stand on, but that ground could just as easily be a deserted island as it could be a continent.
Read it to help yourself sleep at night if you get shaken by one of the evil professors or atheists or agnostics so prevalent in the modern Christian martyr mythos. Don't read it to learn how to defend your faith in an educated debate as this does not remotely provide the quality of education Bart Ehrman has provided your doubters. Don't read it if you're looking for a well fought counter battle to Bart Erhman’s work (which is why I read it). This is not a good way to turn an agnostic Christian.
This was not a good use of time. Maybe the follow up will be closer to what I wanted this to be, but this was bad enough that I see no reason to give it the chance.
The writing is on the annoying side as it seems to desperately try to talk on level with its audience like a wannabe-stepdad meeting his girlfriend’s children for the first time. It’s a little cringe-worthy and desperate to be hip here and there, but mostly harmless as long as the authors' rage over Bart Erhman’s success is kept in check (when it’s not, it’s really uncomfortable and petty seeming).
The primary problem of Truth Matters can be summed up by this one excerpt from Chapter 4 (Page 82 of the Kindle edition): “Ok, here’s the last one we’ll look at in this section. And it’s a little trickier. Bonus points if you hang in there through this one. Otherwise, if you’ve seen enough evidence already, just skip to the next section.”
The book consistently hints throughout that its audience is a little on the slow and stupid side, primarily sticking to good old-fashioned condescension, but this is the only time it blatantly says “You might not be smart enough to understand this argument, so feel free to skip it.”
Of course, the cruel twist here is that the following subchapter is the closest the entire book gets to FULLY fleshing out an argument rather than thinking three paragraphs is plenty enough evidence to disclaim an entire chapter’s worth of material from Ehrman’s work.
The book does a great job of explaining some of the weaknesses in Erhman’s approach and way of thinking. They do a wonderful job of saying why even someone as smart and educated as Erhman needs to be taken with a grain of salt and called out for using certain tactics to sway people to his side. I was actually impressed until the entire rest of the book went on to commit the exact same misleading sins they condemned Ehrman for using, only flipped and reversed to support the Christian alternative (albeit in a much less convincing way to anyone not inclined to WANT to believe).
I will admit openly there are some arguments that could go somewhere. If they had been properly fleshed out instead of dumbed down and over simplified for an audience the authors clearly have no respect for, maybe there would be a few points worth discussing instead of the weakly supported straw man arguments they created instead. As it stands, there's nothing in this book that will rattle a skeptic so much as it will create a really awkward situation for an overconfident believer that tries to break out some of the barely explained arguments should they encounter a skeptic.
I don't deny that there are good reasons educated, intelligent Christians choose to believe. The problem is this book takes an incredibly forward "attack them before they attack you!" attitude and then provides a couple weapons but not enough defensive armor. Even a skeptic may see there's some ground to stand on, but that ground could just as easily be a deserted island as it could be a continent.
Read it to help yourself sleep at night if you get shaken by one of the evil professors or atheists or agnostics so prevalent in the modern Christian martyr mythos. Don't read it to learn how to defend your faith in an educated debate as this does not remotely provide the quality of education Bart Ehrman has provided your doubters. Don't read it if you're looking for a well fought counter battle to Bart Erhman’s work (which is why I read it). This is not a good way to turn an agnostic Christian.
This was not a good use of time. Maybe the follow up will be closer to what I wanted this to be, but this was bad enough that I see no reason to give it the chance.
May 5, 2014
There are many skeptics today who have garnered a voice, a soapbox if you will against the truth presented in the pages of Scripture. A skeptic who has developed quite the following in recent years is Bart Ehrman. Despite being the product of a Christian rooted advanced education, Ehrman has made it his goal to demonstrate the failure of Christianity and the Bible in general in meeting even the most basic logical points of persuasion. Recognizing the influence of Ehrman on the minds of college youth, Andreas Kostenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw have written an excellent book called Truth Matters: Confident Faith in a Confusing World that provides salient responses to the attacks on Scripture posited by Ehrman and his followers.
Perhaps the best part of this book is the manner in which the authors chose to write meaning the material is very accessible and targeted directly to their audience, namely college aged youth. While there are numerous apologetics books on the market, few provide their arguments in such a manner provides the reader, again in this case, influential college youth, with the tools they need to combat the plethora of professors that have made it their aim to discredit Scripture. Instead of taking the approach of engaging a lengthy array of apologetics related topics, the authors instead focus on six core issues upon which skeptics often focus their venomous attacks: 1) Does God exist and does He care about humanity; 2) How did we get our Bible; 3) Is the Bible filled with errors; 4) Can I trust the Bible given it is a copy of a copy; 5) Who decided the various matters of the faith; and 6) Is the resurrection of Jesus a factual historical event?
Each chapter presents an argument made by Bart Ehrman and a purposeful reasoned response to that accusation. For example, in the chapter called “Let’s Make a Bible”, the authors engage Ehrman’s question as to why some books made it into the accepted canon and others did not. Since the intention of such a question by Ehrman is to plant the idea that it was a proverbial luck of the draw how the canon came into being, the authors discuss a number of the rejected Gnostic books, clearly demonstrating the consistent approach taken by the early church regarding what books would be accepted and what books would be rejected. They rightly note “The books of the biblical canon showed themselves to be special and came to be widely read and circulated over a vast region of the early church. This is a level of circulation those other gospels never attained.” Thus, the accusation given by Ehrman that it was strong armed tactics along with a number of books being included that are replete with forgeries written by “illiterate peasants” is proven to be at best false and completely based on false pretenses.
Another excellent chapter was on the supposed contradictions stated by skeptics to be found throughout the biblical corpus. Ehrman has made a career out of trying to state that since the Bible is so full of copying errors, we cannot trust Scripture as anything more than a collection of well intentioned yet unreliable moral stories. The authors of Truth Matters literally destroy that argument aptly commenting in response to the skeptical approach of Ehrman that “No other writing has withstood and survived so many investigations into its authenticity – which is all well and good. Bring it on! But how truly amazing and indicative of God, rather than creating some mystical Word that exists in some unknown, unworldly realm of communication all by itself, he chose instead to use normal men, writing in normal ways, operating within the normal rules and customs of their day.” In other words, the sheer pile of manuscripts of Scripture available for review and research added to the short time frame of those manuscripts from the original autographs when compared to other respected ancient writings puts Scripture in a class by itself thus making these types of arguments by Ehrman sheer insanity. If anything, the authors clearly demonstrate the inconsistency by skeptics when they affirm the validity of other ancient manuscripts that are not even close to what scholars have on hand for Scripture.
It was also excellent to see this book address perhaps the most important element of Christianity that comes under attack, namely the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Ehrman and other skeptics often try and state that the resurrection was nothing more than a story that happened to catch on among the masses also presenting a number of so-called theories that explain away the resurrection event. In response to those statements and theories, the authors of Truth Matters effectively engage those false theories, demonstrating the reality and historical facticity of the resurrection. They aptly discuss each of the main theories given by skeptics noting in the end “Like it or not the most reasonable story is the one declared as fact in our Bibles. And the fact that it’s supernatural shouldn’t disqualify it from consideration, not unless you’re simply biased from accepting a position that shatters the far reaches of the five senses.”
I highly recommend this book as a resource to hand to any high school graduate about ready to enter the land of skepticism that is most of the college and university campuses across the United States and quite frankly across the globe. This book will arm those about ready to enter the fray with sound and logical arguments against the rather derelict arguments presented by those with a bone to pick against the Bible. The material in this book is manageable to read while maintaining a robust presentation of truth that will arm the reader with the real truth behind the fact that Scripture and the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith are rooted in truth, the truth of God and His Word.
Perhaps the best part of this book is the manner in which the authors chose to write meaning the material is very accessible and targeted directly to their audience, namely college aged youth. While there are numerous apologetics books on the market, few provide their arguments in such a manner provides the reader, again in this case, influential college youth, with the tools they need to combat the plethora of professors that have made it their aim to discredit Scripture. Instead of taking the approach of engaging a lengthy array of apologetics related topics, the authors instead focus on six core issues upon which skeptics often focus their venomous attacks: 1) Does God exist and does He care about humanity; 2) How did we get our Bible; 3) Is the Bible filled with errors; 4) Can I trust the Bible given it is a copy of a copy; 5) Who decided the various matters of the faith; and 6) Is the resurrection of Jesus a factual historical event?
Each chapter presents an argument made by Bart Ehrman and a purposeful reasoned response to that accusation. For example, in the chapter called “Let’s Make a Bible”, the authors engage Ehrman’s question as to why some books made it into the accepted canon and others did not. Since the intention of such a question by Ehrman is to plant the idea that it was a proverbial luck of the draw how the canon came into being, the authors discuss a number of the rejected Gnostic books, clearly demonstrating the consistent approach taken by the early church regarding what books would be accepted and what books would be rejected. They rightly note “The books of the biblical canon showed themselves to be special and came to be widely read and circulated over a vast region of the early church. This is a level of circulation those other gospels never attained.” Thus, the accusation given by Ehrman that it was strong armed tactics along with a number of books being included that are replete with forgeries written by “illiterate peasants” is proven to be at best false and completely based on false pretenses.
Another excellent chapter was on the supposed contradictions stated by skeptics to be found throughout the biblical corpus. Ehrman has made a career out of trying to state that since the Bible is so full of copying errors, we cannot trust Scripture as anything more than a collection of well intentioned yet unreliable moral stories. The authors of Truth Matters literally destroy that argument aptly commenting in response to the skeptical approach of Ehrman that “No other writing has withstood and survived so many investigations into its authenticity – which is all well and good. Bring it on! But how truly amazing and indicative of God, rather than creating some mystical Word that exists in some unknown, unworldly realm of communication all by itself, he chose instead to use normal men, writing in normal ways, operating within the normal rules and customs of their day.” In other words, the sheer pile of manuscripts of Scripture available for review and research added to the short time frame of those manuscripts from the original autographs when compared to other respected ancient writings puts Scripture in a class by itself thus making these types of arguments by Ehrman sheer insanity. If anything, the authors clearly demonstrate the inconsistency by skeptics when they affirm the validity of other ancient manuscripts that are not even close to what scholars have on hand for Scripture.
It was also excellent to see this book address perhaps the most important element of Christianity that comes under attack, namely the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Ehrman and other skeptics often try and state that the resurrection was nothing more than a story that happened to catch on among the masses also presenting a number of so-called theories that explain away the resurrection event. In response to those statements and theories, the authors of Truth Matters effectively engage those false theories, demonstrating the reality and historical facticity of the resurrection. They aptly discuss each of the main theories given by skeptics noting in the end “Like it or not the most reasonable story is the one declared as fact in our Bibles. And the fact that it’s supernatural shouldn’t disqualify it from consideration, not unless you’re simply biased from accepting a position that shatters the far reaches of the five senses.”
I highly recommend this book as a resource to hand to any high school graduate about ready to enter the land of skepticism that is most of the college and university campuses across the United States and quite frankly across the globe. This book will arm those about ready to enter the fray with sound and logical arguments against the rather derelict arguments presented by those with a bone to pick against the Bible. The material in this book is manageable to read while maintaining a robust presentation of truth that will arm the reader with the real truth behind the fact that Scripture and the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith are rooted in truth, the truth of God and His Word.
Read
October 7, 2021«En defensa de la verdad» es un libro de apologética corto, sencillo de leer, y muy entretenido. Los autores (Andreas K. Köstenberger, Derrell L. Block, y Joshua D. Chatraw) nos ayudan a hablar de nuestra fe más allá del «Pero la Biblia dice…» o el «A mí me enseñaron…», argumentos que para los escépticos no poseen autoridad alguna.
El libro está lejos de ser exhaustivo y de responder a todo cuestionamiento; de hecho, me parece que presentar argumentos no es el objetivo principal del libro. Más bien, los autores nos ayudan a diferenciar entre una fe ciega y una fe razonada. Además, nos fortalecen para no sentirnos intimidados por los cuestionamientos agudos del escéptico, y nos exhortan a «ser cuidadosos, escuchar con atención, y pensar bien» (p. 21).
Lee la reseña completa en Coalición por el Evangelio.
El libro está lejos de ser exhaustivo y de responder a todo cuestionamiento; de hecho, me parece que presentar argumentos no es el objetivo principal del libro. Más bien, los autores nos ayudan a diferenciar entre una fe ciega y una fe razonada. Además, nos fortalecen para no sentirnos intimidados por los cuestionamientos agudos del escéptico, y nos exhortan a «ser cuidadosos, escuchar con atención, y pensar bien» (p. 21).
Lee la reseña completa en Coalición por el Evangelio.
December 1, 2024
Compact, non-academic counterarguments for students to keep in mind when engaging the writings and thought of Bart Ehrman.
February 25, 2018
Truth Matters provides the developing student of Scripture with arguments to defend against those who deny the truth of God’s love and grace. The book aptly points out that many of our youth depart from our ministry programs, heading into the collegiate environment without adequate tools to defend their faith. When this happens they hear the postmodern philosophical arguments of many professors and cannot defend what they believe. By looking at topics such as the existence of God, the accuracy of the Scriptures, the dependability of the Scriptures, the process of theological development, and the truth of the resurrection, Kostenberger, Bock and Chatraw guide the student in discovering methods by which they can defend their faith with full assurance.
The concise and helpful book is not the only tool at the disposal of youth ministers seeking to guide their students into defending their faith. The full curriculum provides students with additional resources. The leader’s guide assists small group leaders by providing methodology for small group study, activities to help students enter into the discussion, questions, and the full text of the student workbook. This resource is very well organized. The student guide interacts successfully with the book and will encourage students to develop their thinking in regards to this important topic. Finally, the curriculum package comes with a CDROM of the WORDsearchBible. This resource includes Bible translations, access to maps, a digital copy of the book, and many more resources. In addition, it gives the student and teacher access to an amazing on-line library.
Those involved in youth ministry know that students face a barrage against their faith in our culture that is driven by post-modern and humanistic philosophy. Truth Matters will certainly assist youth ministers in equipping students to defeat the onslaught of ideas that defame the truth of God’s love. The book is written in terms that can easily be understood by students in the upper levels of High School education. Younger students may be lost when approaching the content. Equip your students to defend the beliefs they have already claimed as their own.
The concise and helpful book is not the only tool at the disposal of youth ministers seeking to guide their students into defending their faith. The full curriculum provides students with additional resources. The leader’s guide assists small group leaders by providing methodology for small group study, activities to help students enter into the discussion, questions, and the full text of the student workbook. This resource is very well organized. The student guide interacts successfully with the book and will encourage students to develop their thinking in regards to this important topic. Finally, the curriculum package comes with a CDROM of the WORDsearchBible. This resource includes Bible translations, access to maps, a digital copy of the book, and many more resources. In addition, it gives the student and teacher access to an amazing on-line library.
Those involved in youth ministry know that students face a barrage against their faith in our culture that is driven by post-modern and humanistic philosophy. Truth Matters will certainly assist youth ministers in equipping students to defeat the onslaught of ideas that defame the truth of God’s love. The book is written in terms that can easily be understood by students in the upper levels of High School education. Younger students may be lost when approaching the content. Equip your students to defend the beliefs they have already claimed as their own.
April 18, 2017
The story is not uncommon, is it? A young man or woman who was raised in a Christian family goes to college and takes their first religion class. But instead of receiving more in-depth Bible teaching than ever before, they are confronted with challenges to their faith they’ve never heard before. At the end of the semester they seem to be left with a choice between intelligent skepticism and sentimental that’s-what-I’ve-always-believed-ism devoid of any life-changing conviction. Either way, whatever vibrant faith they once had was undermined in the very place it should have been strengthened.
What can be done to aid those in college who are encountering ‘friendly-fire’ skepticism for the first time? Or how can those in high school be prepared for the sorts of skeptical arguments they are likely to meet when they move on to college?
The authors of Truth Matters have created an excellent book to answer this very dilemma. It is written in a gripping and engaging style that makes it easy for young people to read and yet it is informed by two first class Bible scholars (Kostenberger and Bock). The result is a book that students will actually enjoy reading and yet contains sound scholarly responses to common arguments against Christianity.
What kinds of arguments do they address? Questions like:
If there is a God, why does he allow so much suffering in the world?
How do we know the right books are in the Bible?
What about all the contradictions in the Bible?
How do we know Jesus rose from the dead?
For some this book will be a breath of fresh air in the midst of the stale unbelief all around them; for others this will be a gateway into further study of the nature and history of biblical Christianity. But for any young person this book will be a great aid in understanding where all this skepticism comes from and how to respond to it intelligently.
There really is such a thing as reasonable faith and these authors are committed to helping young people see it.
*Read in 2014 and again in 2017. Still a great book for late high school and early college age students.
What can be done to aid those in college who are encountering ‘friendly-fire’ skepticism for the first time? Or how can those in high school be prepared for the sorts of skeptical arguments they are likely to meet when they move on to college?
The authors of Truth Matters have created an excellent book to answer this very dilemma. It is written in a gripping and engaging style that makes it easy for young people to read and yet it is informed by two first class Bible scholars (Kostenberger and Bock). The result is a book that students will actually enjoy reading and yet contains sound scholarly responses to common arguments against Christianity.
What kinds of arguments do they address? Questions like:
If there is a God, why does he allow so much suffering in the world?
How do we know the right books are in the Bible?
What about all the contradictions in the Bible?
How do we know Jesus rose from the dead?
For some this book will be a breath of fresh air in the midst of the stale unbelief all around them; for others this will be a gateway into further study of the nature and history of biblical Christianity. But for any young person this book will be a great aid in understanding where all this skepticism comes from and how to respond to it intelligently.
There really is such a thing as reasonable faith and these authors are committed to helping young people see it.
*Read in 2014 and again in 2017. Still a great book for late high school and early college age students.
April 16, 2014
Today, it seems like there is an Atheist behind every bush. It has become "cool" to believe that there is no God. While in college, many young people are devastated by professors who take a sledgehammer to the Christian faith, leaving the student in doubt and even depression.
In this well written book, the authors have given us an antidote to the disease that is spreading in many colleges. Truth Matters, give a reason for our faith.
The book is based around Bart Ehrman's arguments against the Bible. Ehrman, a professor at UNC has written multiple books claiming that the gospel as we know it is simply not true. These books have destroyed many peoples faith because they were not prepared to counter his arguments. Here, Kostenberger, Bock, and Chatraw counter Ehrman's arguments.
Many professors take advantage of new students. It is like shooting fish in a barrel. They know that most teens only know about the bible from what they learned in youth group. In the first week of class they can silence all arguments as they place another notch on their guns - another easy kill.
In this book, Kostenberger and company provide some practical information for stemming the tide and helping the student fight back. They provide a stepping stone for those who do not want to bury their head in the sand.
I enjoyed this book tremendously and highly recommend it especially to students.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from B&H Publishing Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
In this well written book, the authors have given us an antidote to the disease that is spreading in many colleges. Truth Matters, give a reason for our faith.
The book is based around Bart Ehrman's arguments against the Bible. Ehrman, a professor at UNC has written multiple books claiming that the gospel as we know it is simply not true. These books have destroyed many peoples faith because they were not prepared to counter his arguments. Here, Kostenberger, Bock, and Chatraw counter Ehrman's arguments.
Many professors take advantage of new students. It is like shooting fish in a barrel. They know that most teens only know about the bible from what they learned in youth group. In the first week of class they can silence all arguments as they place another notch on their guns - another easy kill.
In this book, Kostenberger and company provide some practical information for stemming the tide and helping the student fight back. They provide a stepping stone for those who do not want to bury their head in the sand.
I enjoyed this book tremendously and highly recommend it especially to students.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from B&H Publishing Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 19, 2014
Can we trust the Bible? Can we be confident we have the original wording despite centuries of translations? Three scholars have, in this small volume, answered common objections to biblical veracity and validity. Geared toward collegiate students who may encounter academic snobbery toward Scripture, this is a sound introduction to textual apologetics. The conversational tone feels forced at times (and minimizes the weight of the argumentation), but this affirmation of Scriptural reliability is a much-needed one.
June 10, 2014
If the church is to slow the alarming exodus of college-age youth, it must begin preparing them early with much more than Bible stories and trite songs. This book would be an excellent resource for preparing high schoolers to stand their ground when challenged by opposing textbooks, professors, and fellow students. An expanded version of this book titled "Truth in a Culture of Doubt" will be released in Fall 2014.
July 29, 2016
Review on my blog: http://wp.me/pf2RR-ub
March 14, 2014
Insightful, scholarly, readable. Recommended for every University student - for the believing and skeptical alike.
May 4, 2017
Rating: 2.5?
First of all, thank you to the two people who got me this book. It was an incredibly sweet gesture that meant the world to me for reasons they'll know. I hope my opinion of this book doesn't taint the gesture for you because it doesn't for me.
But let's get into it. There seems to be this belief in the church that the secular world (particularly academia) is horrifying and is single handily trying to get you to denounce your faith. With those annoying God's Not Dead films, the Christian media seems to be portraying a world in which higher education and Christianity cannot coexist. I'll admit, I go to a Christian university, so perhaps I am subject to a certain amount of naivety when it comes to this sort of thing, but I did do a year and a half of public community college and 13 of public school. I'm not ignorant to the fact that many don't know and/or love Jesus. I'm not ignorant to the fact that some people in this world have asked people not to display the whole Christianity thing. Some may even have been hostile. But I wonder at what the implications are of convincing the younger generation that all professors will be vile, corrupting influences on them. After all, aren't the very people who don't know Jesus, by definition, the ones who don't know Jesus and... should? Anyway, I'm getting off track.
The point is, Truth Matters relies too heavily on fear mongering and hatred. Sure, it absolutely makes good points, points many Christians, young and old should hear. But I wonder if constantly berating the very enemies we are called to love is the best medium for which to make them? Further, the success of Truth Matters hinges on your knowledge of Bert Ehrman, and, even more critically, your innate hatred of him. I don't know who he is, and he doesn't sound like someone I should refuse to acknowledge, so I had a hard time connecting.
I really wouldn't recommend this to anyone. It's a shame that such complex issues are addressed in such an ugly package. I could see how this could be helpful to struggling believers, but I fear it does more harm than good.
First of all, thank you to the two people who got me this book. It was an incredibly sweet gesture that meant the world to me for reasons they'll know. I hope my opinion of this book doesn't taint the gesture for you because it doesn't for me.
But let's get into it. There seems to be this belief in the church that the secular world (particularly academia) is horrifying and is single handily trying to get you to denounce your faith. With those annoying God's Not Dead films, the Christian media seems to be portraying a world in which higher education and Christianity cannot coexist. I'll admit, I go to a Christian university, so perhaps I am subject to a certain amount of naivety when it comes to this sort of thing, but I did do a year and a half of public community college and 13 of public school. I'm not ignorant to the fact that many don't know and/or love Jesus. I'm not ignorant to the fact that some people in this world have asked people not to display the whole Christianity thing. Some may even have been hostile. But I wonder at what the implications are of convincing the younger generation that all professors will be vile, corrupting influences on them. After all, aren't the very people who don't know Jesus, by definition, the ones who don't know Jesus and... should? Anyway, I'm getting off track.
The point is, Truth Matters relies too heavily on fear mongering and hatred. Sure, it absolutely makes good points, points many Christians, young and old should hear. But I wonder if constantly berating the very enemies we are called to love is the best medium for which to make them? Further, the success of Truth Matters hinges on your knowledge of Bert Ehrman, and, even more critically, your innate hatred of him. I don't know who he is, and he doesn't sound like someone I should refuse to acknowledge, so I had a hard time connecting.
I really wouldn't recommend this to anyone. It's a shame that such complex issues are addressed in such an ugly package. I could see how this could be helpful to struggling believers, but I fear it does more harm than good.
July 13, 2019
I came across this book about a month ago at a used book sale. Out of curiosity I picked it up and thumbed through a few pages. I was immediately gripped. I read this book quickly and eagerly. It is a fantastic little book, written in an accessible style that appeals to young people especially. Using a humble and confident tone it dares to question the questioners, bringing the claims of formidable anti-Christian scholars like Bart Ehrman to a scholarly examination. For some college student out there this book might just prove a lifesaver in the midst of a sea of criticism and doubt. I recommend it for any Christian involved in engaging the prevailing winds of secularism. In other words, any Christian seeking to evangelize in the current American/European climate would be well-serviced by a quick trip through these pages.
July 7, 2022
Truth Matters introductory AND solid answers
Easy to read, filled with useful examples and easy to relate to, Kostenberger and Chatrow have crafted sort of an Apologetics 101 course for those seeking how to address core topics of defending the faith.
This is my first book to read by these authors and I plan on getting their newer book recommended in the Digging Deeper closing.
I should also add that if you are in a context where skeptics often refer to the arguments of one B. Erhman, this book will provide quick and useful answers to his writings, since that skeptic works and lives in the university setting.
I heartily recommend this book by Kostenberger and Chatrow.
Easy to read, filled with useful examples and easy to relate to, Kostenberger and Chatrow have crafted sort of an Apologetics 101 course for those seeking how to address core topics of defending the faith.
This is my first book to read by these authors and I plan on getting their newer book recommended in the Digging Deeper closing.
I should also add that if you are in a context where skeptics often refer to the arguments of one B. Erhman, this book will provide quick and useful answers to his writings, since that skeptic works and lives in the university setting.
I heartily recommend this book by Kostenberger and Chatrow.
August 8, 2024
This is a great book that summarizes a lot of the famous difficulties and gives good explanation of them. Kostenberger and co. do an excellent job with the common concerns people have.
Something that would be worth knowing ahead of time is that this book is set up against the teachings that Bart Erhman puts forward in his classes. He's an excellent sparring partner and has a lot of good comments and questions that make you think. He has the wrong conclusion, but he asks deep questions. This is why I think this book is a good read. Especially for the proof-focused individual. But ultimately, faith is what we need.
Something that would be worth knowing ahead of time is that this book is set up against the teachings that Bart Erhman puts forward in his classes. He's an excellent sparring partner and has a lot of good comments and questions that make you think. He has the wrong conclusion, but he asks deep questions. This is why I think this book is a good read. Especially for the proof-focused individual. But ultimately, faith is what we need.
August 4, 2025
Great book for any skeptic of Christianity and the many questions that come with it. Did not like how the author claimed the book was not about “Bart Earham” then proceeded to have every chapter be against Bart’s views. I understand the point in taking an atheists claims and refuting them and think it was well executed. Just don’t put a statement and say it’s not about this guy when it really was all about that guy—seems silly to me.
Would recommend to any new follower of Christ or person who struggles with the logic element of Christianity.
Would recommend to any new follower of Christ or person who struggles with the logic element of Christianity.
July 11, 2018
I read this book for my youth group back in Utah. My youth leader was doing a study on this book, and wanted to know how hard it was for a 7th grader to read. Great book for someone who has questions about the Bible or people who know someone who has questions about the Bible. It was hard for a 7th grader at some parts but most of it I could understand.
June 13, 2019
This was an excellent book! Very readable, written for young people just entering college, it covers several topics that skeptics of Christianity argue in an academic seeing to disprove the truth of the Bible and gives clear answers to their arguments. It teaches how to be an apologist for Christ without being argumentative or ugly.
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August 9, 2021Very informative and easy to read.
This book was easy to read very informative and had a lot of information that was really helpful to me and my path. I appreciate the authors explaining their points and covering a variety of topics that are important and are pertinent to today's culture. I appreciate this book and I very much enjoyed it I recommend it highly
This book was easy to read very informative and had a lot of information that was really helpful to me and my path. I appreciate the authors explaining their points and covering a variety of topics that are important and are pertinent to today's culture. I appreciate this book and I very much enjoyed it I recommend it highly
August 26, 2022
This book took two seminary professors and a pastor with a PhD, and I am pretty disappointed with the product. Simply put, it is a short, poor defense against Bart Ehrman, and it fails in its attempt to disprove his claims. Full of logical fallacies and poor syntax, I would not recommend this book to anyone above the age of 16.
November 29, 2017
Good introduction to issues raised by skeptics. This would be a good starting point for the college freshmen or anyone who wants to think through some of the deeper/historical challenges to Christianity.
February 1, 2018
Very insightful and a great introduction to the world of Christian skepticism. The book provides solid, reasonable and well researched answers to common atheistic objections and claims. A great read for believers and non-believers alike.
September 1, 2018
Accessible and helpful, yet already feels a bit dated. I think more people now are asking why the Bible is necessary or relevant to their lives, and haven't yet gotten to the question of whether it is accurate or reliable.
August 21, 2019
Such a good book for any believer who wants to arm themselves with knowledge to answer some of the hardest hitting questions about Christianity. Perfect for anyone, believer or otherwise, who has questions about the authenticity of the Bible or is curious why the Bible can be a trusted text.
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April 29, 2020This book is aimed toward teenagers, and has a condescending tone. It's mostly arguments against various works of Bart Ehrman, and leaves me with more questions than I had when I started. The book I read by Ehrman was more respectful than this one.
February 23, 2022
The end of the search
This book provides not just the perfect apologetic resource for Christians but the definitive confirmation for their belief in what seems to be an illogical faith!
This book provides not just the perfect apologetic resource for Christians but the definitive confirmation for their belief in what seems to be an illogical faith!
January 21, 2019
Truth affects our faith. B
July 3, 2021
This should be required reading for Christian's in their understanding of the bible and their pursuit of truth.
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