How Do We Know that Christianity Is Really True?

Big Questions

by Chris Morphew

Looks at how we know Christianity is really true, to help children grow in confident and considered faith. Sooner or later, kids have big questions about God, life, faith, and the Bible, especially when their friends start asking them about what they believe. A common one is: How do we know Christianity is really true? Big questions deserve good answers. This pithy, fun, and fast-paced book looks at what the Bible says to help 9-13s think through this big question for themselves. It explains why we can trust the Gospels as real historical documents and walks through the evidence for Jesus' resurrection. Lively stories and illustrations make this book easy for this age group to engage with.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith

96 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2021

About the author

Chris Morphew is an author, teacher, and school chaplain living in Sydney, Australia.

He has written twelve books for the best-selling Zac Power series, as well as his own six-book young adult series, The Phoenix Files. He’s also co-written The Gateway, an eight-book series for primary school kids about a hotel for aliens, alongside Rowan McAuley and David Harding.

His latest books are Best News Ever, a 100-day guide to the Gospel of Mark, and The Big Questions, a series of short books answer tough questions about life and faith.

Chris enjoys Mario Kart, obscure board games, and superhero movies, and has been told he looks like Chris Hemsworth from the back.

Reviews

[Keith Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of good info

[Eliza Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Morphew nails this book. Great analogies, historically and biblically solid and perfectly aimed at a young audience. Morphew helps readers to see how the Bible can be trusted as a historical document but also a God inspired text. All whilst being engaging and relatable to youth. Even found it super helpful for myself.

Highly recommend.

[Mike Fendrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book for a middle/high school Sunday School class. Well written and engaging for that age group, it opened up conversation for the plausibility of Christianity, the resurrection and why we should believe. I found this book very helpful in giving my students reasons to believe, not just feelings.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Morphew, a teacher and school chaplain from Australia, has written a series of short books to answer kids' common questions about Christianity. How Do We Know Christianity Is Really True? addresses one of the first and most important questions, and Morphew writes in an engaging, conversational style, explaining complex ideas in a kid-friendly way without watering anything down. He focuses on the story of Jesus and the early church, explaining what we know for sure about the historical Jesus and what we have good evidence to believe.

Over brief, engaging chapters, he addresses issues like source-dating and the number of gospel manuscripts we have, how these narratives match up with ancient historians' mentions of Jesus, and how we can evaluate the testimony of Jesus's followers, family members, and other eyewitnesses. Morphew connects everything to an in-depth explanation of the resurrection, explaining its historic credibility and its essential role in confirming Jesus's divinity and the message that he taught.

This book is about eighty pages long, but packs in a lot of information. I am impressed with Morphew's ability to express complex ideas in a concise way, and he brings in illustrations and examples that kids will relate to. My only critique is that he overuses italics for emphasis, and that is an incredibly minor thing to nitpick. Everything else about this book is perfect, and I would have loved it when I was the target age for it. This encouraging, compact explanation of the historical arguments for Christianity can help young believers better understand their faith, and is an excellent resource for kids who feel skeptical or uncertain.

I would have loved this book when I was the target age for it, and it is an excellent resource for families, Christian schools, and church groups. The publisher is marketing this book for kids from ages nine to thirteen, but the age range is flexible. Older teenagers who are reluctant readers will find this book's brevity and conversational style appealing, and there is no content in this book that would make it inaccessible or inappropriate for younger kids. The wide age range suitability would make this an excellent choice for a family read-aloud together, and it can encourage and enlighten adults as well.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Talia Messina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I’d had this book when I was a teen. Chris’s writing feels like a funny, relatable, informative conversation that unpacks biblical evidence with ease. My favorite line was about how faith is not blind. Faith means you’ve weighed so much evidence in favor of a position that not believing is ridiculous. I’d highly recommend this for teens (and adults) curious about the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

super eye-opening and amazing

[Megan Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated how this book tackles such a huge question in a way that’s clear and relatable. It’s the kind of book I wish my teenage self had found.

[Laura Weir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book accomplishes its mission so well. It uses Scripture, logic, and history to help readers work through the validity of Christianity. The writing is accessible (I would say ages 8+) without feeling too childish to me as an adult reading it to my child. My 6 year old has been asking the questions this book addresses and she found the book very interesting and helpful and was able to summarize the ideas. We had to explain some concepts and big words to her since she is so young, but she still loved it. The stories and examples really help bring it to a child's level.

Highly recommend!

[Sarah Poling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Morphew is a new author to me, but he is obviously an elementary educator, and I learned he lives in Australia. These books are written by a man who knows kids well and should have a great appeal.

What I like about the books:
Using many engagement and teaching techniques, the author explains the answer to a common question. Strategies like: story-telling, metaphors, questions, thinking aloud, and biblical connections and explanations.
I found the books easy to read, informative, great thinking aloud about potential questions, misconceptions, and wonders.
And there are illustrations of each chapter's title throughout the book. Done in fun, engaging ways.
Each book is only around 80 pages of reading, which is well spaced, with breaks in sections, and makes an easy-to-follow read.

What I wonder about the books?
These are non-fiction biblical-centered books, so there is a certain reader that will love this style, but I doubt these books will appeal to every child that they are geared toward. My 11-year-old girl looked at them and did not pick one up to read.
Are these more appealing to adults than their intended audience?
Will well-intending adults insist that kids read these? and forgot that there are multiple ways to discover the answer to these questions?
Could the style, the chapter divisions, and perspectives, be built into a more graphic novel, with a wider appeal? how about a Bible study and more book-driven investigation?
Thankful to partner with thegoodbook company and review this new tool for tween kids.

[Brandon Sickling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful. Perfect for middle graders with lots of questions, or who view Christianity with Skepticism. This is obviously an introduction to apologetics, and in that, it is very limited. The scope of the argument is especially around the Life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus, which are central to Christian Apologetics. A great place to start with kids. Teaching kids apologetics is growing increasingly important. We live in a skeptical and combative age. A book like this will set your student up for big conversations with his or her peers.

I read it in about 30 minutes, but the chapters could definitely be split up over multiple days or nights to go through together as a family and discuss.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously wish someone had given this to me as a teen. I don’t remember how old I was when I asked “how do we know Christianity is right?” But the only answer I got then was “just have faith”. To quote the author “ in the Bible, faith means being convinced by the evidence. So when the Bible talks about putting your faith in Jesus, it’s not talking about believing in him without any evidence. It’s talking about believing in him because of the evidence”. God is gracious to provide the evidence we need. Look at His kindness to Thomas, Gideon, or John the Baptist. Have the same kindness for young people who ask hard questions.

[James Brixey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book aimed at eleven year olds.
It might also be my favourite apologetics book I've read since 'if God then what' by Andrew Wilson.
It is tightly argued, has sources given at the end, and, most surprisingly of all, taught me actual new information (about the messiah culture of first century Israel, in particular about Simon of Parea, Judas the galileean, and two blokes called thaddeus).

[Maria Tamming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome resource for Christian parents or Christian educators! This whole series looks great. I enjoyed the kid-friendly analogies backed with historical factual evidence. I’m looking forward to unpacking these tricky questions with my own kids and to using these resources in my classroom as well!

[Jenni Moeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this and his other 2 books aloud to my kids ages 8-13. Love how the author speaks to kids so easily and with humor. He breaks down the large concepts into smaller, more relatable concepts to make his point. I learned some things along the way too. Highly recommend these!

[Troy Nevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, simple, straightforward, and clear. This does a great job of examining the historical evidence and logic for why Christianity is true. It's written for a younger audience, but done with excellence. I highly recommend it.

[Melanie Mead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book - so easy to read and full of good answers as to the foundations of and evidence for our faith in Christ. It's written for children (maybe 8 and up) but I think many adults would enjoy and benefit from it!

[Teresa Kartheiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud with children

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great beginner intro to the logic of Christian apologetics.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

School Book.

[Alycia Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for kids. Basic explanation of the proof of the resurrection of Jesus.

[Zine Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple Defence

The Gospel is simple and it's defense should be also. The author did a great job of sticking to his thesis and made the plain plain.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for youth but also great for adults. Morphew gives his explanations simply and straightforward. Excellent resource.

[Dani Sligh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book. It puts big topics in simple terms for anyone to read. It also acknowledges people of all stages of life and beliefs. Extremely factual, informing, and a great read!

[Natalee Grover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good points. Very interesting. I liked it

[Joshua Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good introductory and accessible apologetic for the resurrection, especially good for young people.

[Amy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple to understand and a short easy read. Helpfully broken into small and punchy answers considering evidence, logic and truth.

[Kevin Dunford · Rating 5 out of 5]

82 pages. A great resource to give to a 4th-8th grader who is asking the tough questions about Christianity.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have been reading this series during morning time. Great series!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to apologetics and written at a level that’s easy for teens (and adults) to understand.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowzers! I found this book so informative and helpful.