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Surviving Religion 101
“I can’t imagine a college student—skeptic, doubter, Christian, struggler—who wouldn’t benefit from this book.” —Kevin DeYoung For many young adults, the college years are an exciting period of selfdiscovery full of new relationships, new independence, and new experiences. Yet college can also be a time of personal testing and intense questioning— especially for Christian students confronted with various challenges to Christianity and the Bible for the first time. Drawing on years of experience as a biblical scholar, Michael Kruger addresses common objections to the Christian faith—the exclusivity of Christianity, Christian intolerance, homosexuality, hell, the problem of evil, science, miracles, and the reliability of the Bible. If you’re a student dealing with doubt or wrestling with objections to Christianity from fellow students and professors alike, this book will equip you to engage secular challenges with intellectual honesty, compassion, and confidence—and ultimately graduate college with your faith intact.
262 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2021
222 people are currently reading
1557 people want to read
About the author
Michael J. Kruger
34 books122 followersMichael J. Kruger (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is president and professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, and the author of a number of articles and books on early Christianity.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
January 23, 2022
Every high school and college student seeking to follow Jesus today should read this.
May 14, 2021
Skepticism is alive and well in America. One of the hottest beds of skepticism, especially towards historic Christianity is found in the university system. It is common for Christian students to enter the university with a faith that professed. Somewhere along the way, however, some of these students admit that they never truly possessed saving faith.
Dr. Michael Kruger’s book, Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keep the Faith in College is specifically addressed to his daughter, Emma - a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kruger addresses a host of topics including meaning, morality, the problem of evil, the resurrection, unbelief, science, evolution, philosophy, the authenticity of the New Testament manuscripts, among other things.
The great strength of this book is the blend of scholarship and fatherly wisdom. Neither are sacrificed. Rather, this author writes with stunning theological depth that a young person can understand. The touch of a father is seen throughout the book and gains momentum as the book draws to a close.
The postscript is a powerful polemic that will capture both the heart and the mind of the reader. Skipping it would be a grave mistake. Youth pastors, grandparents, and parents should purchase Surviving Religion 101 and help equip the next generation of Christian leaders. Together, we can stand against the skepticism that is gaining momentum and see the next generation of Christian leaders rise above it all.
Dr. Michael Kruger’s book, Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keep the Faith in College is specifically addressed to his daughter, Emma - a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kruger addresses a host of topics including meaning, morality, the problem of evil, the resurrection, unbelief, science, evolution, philosophy, the authenticity of the New Testament manuscripts, among other things.
The great strength of this book is the blend of scholarship and fatherly wisdom. Neither are sacrificed. Rather, this author writes with stunning theological depth that a young person can understand. The touch of a father is seen throughout the book and gains momentum as the book draws to a close.
The postscript is a powerful polemic that will capture both the heart and the mind of the reader. Skipping it would be a grave mistake. Youth pastors, grandparents, and parents should purchase Surviving Religion 101 and help equip the next generation of Christian leaders. Together, we can stand against the skepticism that is gaining momentum and see the next generation of Christian leaders rise above it all.
June 7, 2021
I wish I would have had this book to read when I was starting college. I went to a Christian university and did not have to face constant challenges to my faith at that time, which was a blessing in one sense. But since I did did not have to face challenges to my faith, I did not have to think through many of these foundational questions of faith and Christianity at that time, leaving me to confront those questions later in life.
But I think we will all have to answer many of the same questions at some point in our lives, whether when confronted by a non-Christian or when facing suffering in our own lives.
This book offers up those questions and answers in the form of letters from the author to his daughter as she leaves for a secular college, and while the format does not allow for an exhaustive discussion on each topic, it does offer a solid overview and persuasive arguments for each subject. Highly recommended for a new college student, and, frankly, a helpful review for older Christians as well.
But I think we will all have to answer many of the same questions at some point in our lives, whether when confronted by a non-Christian or when facing suffering in our own lives.
This book offers up those questions and answers in the form of letters from the author to his daughter as she leaves for a secular college, and while the format does not allow for an exhaustive discussion on each topic, it does offer a solid overview and persuasive arguments for each subject. Highly recommended for a new college student, and, frankly, a helpful review for older Christians as well.
April 19, 2021
This book from Kruger is filled with personal letters to his daughter as she experiences the life of a Christian on a secular college campus. This book smoothly works through different objections to the Christian faith, and articulates how one may hold fast to the gospel when the world seems so opposed. This book also provides some short apologetic arguments that may be helpful those in and outside of college as well. I believe that this is a book that could easily be given to a student going into college,a student in college, and a student leaving college.
February 6, 2022
I really, really liked this book, and if I could have given it a 4.5 or 4.75, I would have. I held back on the full five stars for reasons I'll explain later.
First of all, the book was written from a father to his daughter. She attends the same secular school he attended (UNC.) When he was there, Bart Ehrman, an agnostic who was "one of Christianity's loudest and most prolific critics", was his religion professor and basically rocked his world with his anti-Christian rhetoric.
So much of the author's experience mirrored mine at my state school. I, too, took an intro Religion class my freshman year, not realizing it was more of an anti-religion class. My senior year, I had an English professor who was very antagonistic towards Christians. When I talked to him about it after class one day, he started spouting off about the two accounts of Genesis, and Third Corinthians, all things I was unaware of and unable to dispute. ALL of these examples were addressed in Kruger's book. I love how he used the explanation that as Christians, you won't always have all the answers, but it doesn't mean that you can't find them. For example, there are many things that we believe but might not be able to explain without a little study first, like E=mc^2.
He addresses so many relevant topics. After reading the book through once, I can see keeping it on your shelf as a reference for the next time you run up against a particular situation.
The reasons I didn't give it the full five stars are very minute, but every time I went to hit the five star button, my conscience was bothering me. So here's the deal: it is written under the pretense of "Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College." Each chapter usually starts off with a greeting to his daughter and perhaps by sharing a memory of something that the chapter will eventually evolve into addressing. But, after a few paragraphs, it just seems contrived and not really like he's writing his daughter at all. He loses the "dad" voice.
And then, I know this is just me, but I was really, really bothered when he used an example of Lady Macbeth from Hamlet...let that sink in...Lady Macbeth...from Hamlet. Do you see what I'm saying?
And, in one of his later chapters, he talks about how our Christian faith allows us to endure hardship, and he uses the example of Louis Zamperini and the Japanese concentration camps. I've read that story, and Louis became a Christian AFTER the concentration camp.
So, I don't know whether to blame the author or the editor, but if those are two mistakes I caught, how many others were there?
Again, nitpicky examples, but enough that I was perturbed. Overall, a really, really great read. I could see purchasing this book as a graduation present for believers who are headed off to secular schools.
First of all, the book was written from a father to his daughter. She attends the same secular school he attended (UNC.) When he was there, Bart Ehrman, an agnostic who was "one of Christianity's loudest and most prolific critics", was his religion professor and basically rocked his world with his anti-Christian rhetoric.
So much of the author's experience mirrored mine at my state school. I, too, took an intro Religion class my freshman year, not realizing it was more of an anti-religion class. My senior year, I had an English professor who was very antagonistic towards Christians. When I talked to him about it after class one day, he started spouting off about the two accounts of Genesis, and Third Corinthians, all things I was unaware of and unable to dispute. ALL of these examples were addressed in Kruger's book. I love how he used the explanation that as Christians, you won't always have all the answers, but it doesn't mean that you can't find them. For example, there are many things that we believe but might not be able to explain without a little study first, like E=mc^2.
He addresses so many relevant topics. After reading the book through once, I can see keeping it on your shelf as a reference for the next time you run up against a particular situation.
The reasons I didn't give it the full five stars are very minute, but every time I went to hit the five star button, my conscience was bothering me. So here's the deal: it is written under the pretense of "Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College." Each chapter usually starts off with a greeting to his daughter and perhaps by sharing a memory of something that the chapter will eventually evolve into addressing. But, after a few paragraphs, it just seems contrived and not really like he's writing his daughter at all. He loses the "dad" voice.
And then, I know this is just me, but I was really, really bothered when he used an example of Lady Macbeth from Hamlet...let that sink in...Lady Macbeth...from Hamlet. Do you see what I'm saying?
And, in one of his later chapters, he talks about how our Christian faith allows us to endure hardship, and he uses the example of Louis Zamperini and the Japanese concentration camps. I've read that story, and Louis became a Christian AFTER the concentration camp.
So, I don't know whether to blame the author or the editor, but if those are two mistakes I caught, how many others were there?
Again, nitpicky examples, but enough that I was perturbed. Overall, a really, really great read. I could see purchasing this book as a graduation present for believers who are headed off to secular schools.
August 12, 2022
This will easily be one of the top 3 books I recommend to college students this year! So accessible/readable yet compelling and thorough enough to actually help them be compelling in conversations on their campus.
August 8, 2022
This book gives helpful language for the concepts culture is buying into while also giving helpful realities to realign Believers to what is true! Highly recommend for those in college ministry & would be a book I’d give to student leaders in the future!!
January 29, 2022
"Doubting can be painful. It can seem like your entire world is slipping away from you... Just remember you are not alone. There are answers to your questions, and there is a deep fellowship of believers who will walk through it with you."
Apart from the sleepless nights pounding out "masterfully written" essays, my time at Queens University Belfast was pretty incredible!
Only now do I realise how those 3 years were a significant focal point in my life. Not only did I make life long friends that continue to shape who I am today, but I wrestled with difficult challenges to the faith of my youth that at times produced anxiety and discomfort. Under different circumstances, I could have left the faith entirely as some that I know have already done.
Michael Kruger's book "Survivng Religion 101" is a book I wish I had back in those undergrad days. As the title suggests, it is less about providing an exhaustive list of mic drops against atheists, and more an essential introduction to help anxious Christian students "survive". Each chapter is written as a letter to his daughter that takes on the central discussions and roots them in the university experience. Topics include:
- Certainty and the Christian worldview.
- The foundation of Christian morality.
- Hell and suffering
- Science and Faith
- The accuracy and authenticity of the Bible (this seems to be Kruger's area of expertise)
The importance of worldviews is rightly emphasized throughout, and Kruger provides us with the tools to engage with them. However, it is also acknowledged that many people are led away from the faith not so much by their minds, but by their hearts. As such, there are some brilliant chapters here that help to navigate difficult conversations with people whose identities may not align with Biblical truth.
Surviving Religion 101 is not only an essential read for young Christians prepping the hearts and minds for university, but also the parents, mentors and pastors who seek to support them. It provides a hopeful foundation those who fear that the faith is slipping away - a feeling that I am familiar with. I hope this book helps believers come to the same co conclusion that I came to, and even stronger for it.
Apart from the sleepless nights pounding out "masterfully written" essays, my time at Queens University Belfast was pretty incredible!
Only now do I realise how those 3 years were a significant focal point in my life. Not only did I make life long friends that continue to shape who I am today, but I wrestled with difficult challenges to the faith of my youth that at times produced anxiety and discomfort. Under different circumstances, I could have left the faith entirely as some that I know have already done.
Michael Kruger's book "Survivng Religion 101" is a book I wish I had back in those undergrad days. As the title suggests, it is less about providing an exhaustive list of mic drops against atheists, and more an essential introduction to help anxious Christian students "survive". Each chapter is written as a letter to his daughter that takes on the central discussions and roots them in the university experience. Topics include:
- Certainty and the Christian worldview.
- The foundation of Christian morality.
- Hell and suffering
- Science and Faith
- The accuracy and authenticity of the Bible (this seems to be Kruger's area of expertise)
The importance of worldviews is rightly emphasized throughout, and Kruger provides us with the tools to engage with them. However, it is also acknowledged that many people are led away from the faith not so much by their minds, but by their hearts. As such, there are some brilliant chapters here that help to navigate difficult conversations with people whose identities may not align with Biblical truth.
Surviving Religion 101 is not only an essential read for young Christians prepping the hearts and minds for university, but also the parents, mentors and pastors who seek to support them. It provides a hopeful foundation those who fear that the faith is slipping away - a feeling that I am familiar with. I hope this book helps believers come to the same co conclusion that I came to, and even stronger for it.
May 14, 2024
Gotta say…arguably the best modern book on apologetics that is accessible yet in depth, easy to read yet very thought provoking, and introductory yet expertly constructed.
Kruger knocked his aim out of the book out of the park: provide easy to grasp yet robust & genuine answers to objections to Christianity on grounds of morality, science, logic, the Bible’s historical reliability, etc.
Reading this alongside Natasha Crain’s “faithfully different” would equip you pretty well in defending the faith and engaging the culture as a biblical Christian.
A Must read!
Kruger knocked his aim out of the book out of the park: provide easy to grasp yet robust & genuine answers to objections to Christianity on grounds of morality, science, logic, the Bible’s historical reliability, etc.
Reading this alongside Natasha Crain’s “faithfully different” would equip you pretty well in defending the faith and engaging the culture as a biblical Christian.
A Must read!
May 19, 2021
Excellent defense of the Christian worldview against the common questions young believers will invariably face when they leave home. An invaluable resource!
May 19, 2021
“We must remember that Christianity is worthy of our belief not because it always feels better—or even seems to work better than other systems— but because it is true. If Jesus is really the Son of God, if he really rose from the dead, if there really is eternal life only through him, then that is enough to make him worthy of following.”
I wish I had this book when I went to college.
It is short, to the point, easy to understand, and fairly comprehensive. Written to college students (not to scholars) it provides an excellent resource for confident, preliminary answers to all the most pertinent questions high school grads will encounter as they go out into the world, namely in institutions of higher learning.
I used to give the book ‘Just Do Something’ for all the high school grads, but I think I might switch to this one.
I believe this book should be owned by every adult leaving home and entering the world.
I grew up in a Christian home. My world was pretty black and white. I knew what was wrong and what was right. It was pretty easy for me to determine truth from lie.
But then I went to college.
And not just any college. A conservative Christian college. I did not anticipate any theological dissonance; after all, we’re all Christians so we all believe the same thing, right?
But even there, I was challenged in my beliefs. Things I thought were standard beliefs turned out to be disputed. Questions were asked of beliefs I held that I never really had to defend. It rocked my world a bit. What do I do now? Have I believed a lie? Can I trust the Bible from which my whole worldview stems?
In fact, I saw many people go through college with me and essentially give up on their faith. As soon as the foundation of their beliefs were questioned and they couldn’t come up with an answer, they threw their entire faith away. ‘I guess we can’t really know anything,’ they thought.
If that’s the experience at a conservative Christian college, then how much more opposition do Christians face in secular universities? This book is so important.
It’s hard to push back against people of authority and higher education. We tend to think ‘Well, my professors must know more than me. This is their job and they have a PhD so I should probably believe them.’ Especially if they are professing Christians.
But just because professors have years of schooling, doesn’t mean everything they tell you is completely true and unbiased. Kruger reminds us that everyone operates and discerns out of their own worldview:
“People (including your professors) are not neutral. They have a worldview, a paradigm, that shapes everything they see. World views involve our most foundational commitments: where the world came from, our place in it, the purpose of life, the meaning of ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ the existence of God (or gods), what happens when we die, and so on.”
Dan Crenshaw lists a shocking stat in his book Fortitude: only “9.2% of academic faculty members identify as conservative.” While this is more along the lines of politics instead of theology, it is still indicative of a striking worldview-shaper and no doubt influences how they teach their classes.
Tellingly, what Haidt and Lukianoff show in their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, is that universities are straying from encouraging intellectual freedom and a fair representation of all ideas. Kruger agrees- “It seems the modern universities are for every sort of diversity (gender, race, ethnicity) except diversity of ideas. And nowhere is this trend more evident than in religion classes.”
Michael J. Kruger, this book’s author, attended college at UNC. One of his professors was Bart Ehrman, one of Christianity’s profuse critics. Everything Kruger believed was called into question by a very respected and intelligent man. But instead of just accepting the words of a professor, he did his own research. Now Kruger is a leading scholar on the origins and compilation of the New Testament. His faith weathered the storm.
Kruger’s daughter, Emma, is now attending UNC which is the inspiration for this book. Surviving Religion 101 is loosely structured in letter format— letters to his daughter—addressing many of the questions she will face at college and why we, as Christians, can be confident in what we believe.
‘Confidence’ is a good word to describe the tone of this book.
Speaking from experience, it doesn’t take much to shake your confidence when you are away from home, coming into yourself as an adult and hearing things you’ve never heard before. Things that, if true, would completely topple or significantly change your belief system.
These years of education are very formative and influential on a person. In today’s culture, the concept of ‘how you were raised’ is almost synonymous with ‘misguided’ and ‘preferential.’ The pressure to trade in your parents’ beliefs for whatever feels right to you and how you want to live is forceful and encompassing.
Students need to be prepared to engage in conversations with people who oppose their views without being defensive or blind. We, Christians, need to know that our faith is not baseless. There is significant evidence for the beliefs we have, and we do not need to be ashamed of the Bible.
My years at college were years of tremendous growth in my faith because I didn’t just cast-off my upbringing or shut down what threatened it. I engaged the opposition and I vigorously looked for truth.
I believe every high school graduate should own this book for this very reason. As Kruger encourages: “Be readers. Be studiers.”
He addresses these questions:
- Isn’t it more likely that my professors are right and I’m wrong?
- How can we say Christianity is the only right religion?
- Aren’t Christian morals hateful and intolerant?
- Are we sure homosexuality is really wrong?
- Why would a loving God send people to hell?
- How can a good God allow evil?
- Are science and Christianity at odds?
- Can we really believe in the miracles?
- How can we trust that the Bible is true and compiled reliably?
- Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery, the oppression of women, and genocide?
Kruger is very in touch with what struggles his daughter will face, because he has been there. He writes in a compassionate and understanding way, anticipating ‘but what about…’ objections, and providing well-researched and accessible answers.
I feel like Kruger did a good job of using logic to show how our beliefs connect and build on each other and conversely how opposing viewpoints contradict each other when following the same logic, i.e. relativism. We can’t just critique Christianity without also applying those same critiques to the alternative options. Kruger shows us how Christianity makes sense and explains our world far more convincingly than any other religion, including atheism.
Another thing to note that Kruger also inserts throughout the book, is the acknowledgement of our sin nature—our innate desire to oppose and reject God. Paul tells us in Romans that God has revealed himself to us and it is plain for all to see, yet we choose to reject it.
Romans 1:21-22, 25: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools… They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”
Kruger reminds us that no amount of argument and evidence can change someone’s heart. We must recognize that when we interact with people who oppose our beliefs, we are communicating with image-bearers of God who are in need of a Savior. It’s not just correcting their minds, it’s transforming their hearts.
We are all dead in our sin until God makes us alive in Christ. Our sin blinds us to truth until the Holy Spirit opens our eyes. So every discussion on the aforementioned questions must be imbued with humility and love, seeing all as eternal souls yearning for their Creator, not as enemies to be conquered. Our sin levels the playing field.
Lastly, it is so important to remember that the questions and doubts people raise are not new. They have been asked and largely answered throughout many generations. The Bible has stood the test of time and critique over and over again.
God is not threatened by your questions or your doubts. Thankfully, his veracity and sovereignty is not dependent on our ability to prove his existence. Asking a question or not knowing an answer does not automatically make your belief untrue or your foundation for morality crumble.
These are questions that hold eternal weight. Don’t push them aside in the throes of college chaos, but be confident and invigorated to grow in faith and love with your Creator—Truth made flesh.
Good theology matters.
Some other quotes:
“We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking.”- Mark Twain
“We do not claim to have true knowledge of God because we are better or smarter or more devoted than all other people. Our knowledge doesn’t come from our efforts to figure out God but rather is a result of God graciously revealing himself to us.”
“The claim that Jesus is the only way does not mean Christians are out to denigrate, demean, or despise adherents of other religions… Disagreement is not the same as disrespect.”
“You will feel the pressure to pick between your friendships or your moral convictions. And if it’s one or the other, most people will end up picking their friends. But it’s not one or the other. The Bible makes it clear that we can really love people— we can be kind, generous, and respectful— and also believe that they are caught in serious sin.”
“Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.” G.K. Chesterton
'“The fact of the matter is that most of your friends are both moral relativists and moral absolutists at the same time. For some behaviors, they are one; for other behaviors, they are the other. They pick and choose. So when it comes to environmentalism and the treatment of refugees, they abandon moral relativism and act as if there are moral absolutes after all. But when it comes to their sexual behavior, then they suddenly become moral relativists again, insistent that morality is determined by each person and culture. They want to have it both ways.”
“When we doubt some truth of Christianity, we often don’t realize that we are doubting that truth because of some other belief we hold… fight back by challenging the belief that replaces it.”
“When facing doubts and fears, the last thing you want to do is isolate yourself and struggle alone. Sometimes we do that because we don’t think others will understand. Or maybe we feel embarrassed that we are questioning our beliefs. But we have to be honest about our struggles and bring them into the light.”
One thing I wish Kruger would have included was a list of additional resources for further reading and research since he intended this book to be introductory. I read the ARC version so maybe the published version will have that. But I’ll include just a few here that I’ve also read and reviewed.
Other books addressing common objections to Christianity:
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller
How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil by D.A. Carson
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
This book is not related to Christianity at all but is a significantly relevant book when we’re talking about the opportunity to discuss diverse viewpoints in a university setting:
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Gregg Lukianoff
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
[For more reviews follow my book review blog at www.shelfreflection.com!]
I wish I had this book when I went to college.
It is short, to the point, easy to understand, and fairly comprehensive. Written to college students (not to scholars) it provides an excellent resource for confident, preliminary answers to all the most pertinent questions high school grads will encounter as they go out into the world, namely in institutions of higher learning.
I used to give the book ‘Just Do Something’ for all the high school grads, but I think I might switch to this one.
I believe this book should be owned by every adult leaving home and entering the world.
I grew up in a Christian home. My world was pretty black and white. I knew what was wrong and what was right. It was pretty easy for me to determine truth from lie.
But then I went to college.
And not just any college. A conservative Christian college. I did not anticipate any theological dissonance; after all, we’re all Christians so we all believe the same thing, right?
But even there, I was challenged in my beliefs. Things I thought were standard beliefs turned out to be disputed. Questions were asked of beliefs I held that I never really had to defend. It rocked my world a bit. What do I do now? Have I believed a lie? Can I trust the Bible from which my whole worldview stems?
In fact, I saw many people go through college with me and essentially give up on their faith. As soon as the foundation of their beliefs were questioned and they couldn’t come up with an answer, they threw their entire faith away. ‘I guess we can’t really know anything,’ they thought.
If that’s the experience at a conservative Christian college, then how much more opposition do Christians face in secular universities? This book is so important.
It’s hard to push back against people of authority and higher education. We tend to think ‘Well, my professors must know more than me. This is their job and they have a PhD so I should probably believe them.’ Especially if they are professing Christians.
But just because professors have years of schooling, doesn’t mean everything they tell you is completely true and unbiased. Kruger reminds us that everyone operates and discerns out of their own worldview:
“People (including your professors) are not neutral. They have a worldview, a paradigm, that shapes everything they see. World views involve our most foundational commitments: where the world came from, our place in it, the purpose of life, the meaning of ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ the existence of God (or gods), what happens when we die, and so on.”
Dan Crenshaw lists a shocking stat in his book Fortitude: only “9.2% of academic faculty members identify as conservative.” While this is more along the lines of politics instead of theology, it is still indicative of a striking worldview-shaper and no doubt influences how they teach their classes.
Tellingly, what Haidt and Lukianoff show in their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, is that universities are straying from encouraging intellectual freedom and a fair representation of all ideas. Kruger agrees- “It seems the modern universities are for every sort of diversity (gender, race, ethnicity) except diversity of ideas. And nowhere is this trend more evident than in religion classes.”
Michael J. Kruger, this book’s author, attended college at UNC. One of his professors was Bart Ehrman, one of Christianity’s profuse critics. Everything Kruger believed was called into question by a very respected and intelligent man. But instead of just accepting the words of a professor, he did his own research. Now Kruger is a leading scholar on the origins and compilation of the New Testament. His faith weathered the storm.
Kruger’s daughter, Emma, is now attending UNC which is the inspiration for this book. Surviving Religion 101 is loosely structured in letter format— letters to his daughter—addressing many of the questions she will face at college and why we, as Christians, can be confident in what we believe.
‘Confidence’ is a good word to describe the tone of this book.
Speaking from experience, it doesn’t take much to shake your confidence when you are away from home, coming into yourself as an adult and hearing things you’ve never heard before. Things that, if true, would completely topple or significantly change your belief system.
These years of education are very formative and influential on a person. In today’s culture, the concept of ‘how you were raised’ is almost synonymous with ‘misguided’ and ‘preferential.’ The pressure to trade in your parents’ beliefs for whatever feels right to you and how you want to live is forceful and encompassing.
Students need to be prepared to engage in conversations with people who oppose their views without being defensive or blind. We, Christians, need to know that our faith is not baseless. There is significant evidence for the beliefs we have, and we do not need to be ashamed of the Bible.
My years at college were years of tremendous growth in my faith because I didn’t just cast-off my upbringing or shut down what threatened it. I engaged the opposition and I vigorously looked for truth.
I believe every high school graduate should own this book for this very reason. As Kruger encourages: “Be readers. Be studiers.”
He addresses these questions:
- Isn’t it more likely that my professors are right and I’m wrong?
- How can we say Christianity is the only right religion?
- Aren’t Christian morals hateful and intolerant?
- Are we sure homosexuality is really wrong?
- Why would a loving God send people to hell?
- How can a good God allow evil?
- Are science and Christianity at odds?
- Can we really believe in the miracles?
- How can we trust that the Bible is true and compiled reliably?
- Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery, the oppression of women, and genocide?
Kruger is very in touch with what struggles his daughter will face, because he has been there. He writes in a compassionate and understanding way, anticipating ‘but what about…’ objections, and providing well-researched and accessible answers.
I feel like Kruger did a good job of using logic to show how our beliefs connect and build on each other and conversely how opposing viewpoints contradict each other when following the same logic, i.e. relativism. We can’t just critique Christianity without also applying those same critiques to the alternative options. Kruger shows us how Christianity makes sense and explains our world far more convincingly than any other religion, including atheism.
Another thing to note that Kruger also inserts throughout the book, is the acknowledgement of our sin nature—our innate desire to oppose and reject God. Paul tells us in Romans that God has revealed himself to us and it is plain for all to see, yet we choose to reject it.
Romans 1:21-22, 25: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools… They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”
Kruger reminds us that no amount of argument and evidence can change someone’s heart. We must recognize that when we interact with people who oppose our beliefs, we are communicating with image-bearers of God who are in need of a Savior. It’s not just correcting their minds, it’s transforming their hearts.
We are all dead in our sin until God makes us alive in Christ. Our sin blinds us to truth until the Holy Spirit opens our eyes. So every discussion on the aforementioned questions must be imbued with humility and love, seeing all as eternal souls yearning for their Creator, not as enemies to be conquered. Our sin levels the playing field.
Lastly, it is so important to remember that the questions and doubts people raise are not new. They have been asked and largely answered throughout many generations. The Bible has stood the test of time and critique over and over again.
God is not threatened by your questions or your doubts. Thankfully, his veracity and sovereignty is not dependent on our ability to prove his existence. Asking a question or not knowing an answer does not automatically make your belief untrue or your foundation for morality crumble.
These are questions that hold eternal weight. Don’t push them aside in the throes of college chaos, but be confident and invigorated to grow in faith and love with your Creator—Truth made flesh.
Good theology matters.
Some other quotes:
“We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking.”- Mark Twain
“We do not claim to have true knowledge of God because we are better or smarter or more devoted than all other people. Our knowledge doesn’t come from our efforts to figure out God but rather is a result of God graciously revealing himself to us.”
“The claim that Jesus is the only way does not mean Christians are out to denigrate, demean, or despise adherents of other religions… Disagreement is not the same as disrespect.”
“You will feel the pressure to pick between your friendships or your moral convictions. And if it’s one or the other, most people will end up picking their friends. But it’s not one or the other. The Bible makes it clear that we can really love people— we can be kind, generous, and respectful— and also believe that they are caught in serious sin.”
“Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.” G.K. Chesterton
'“The fact of the matter is that most of your friends are both moral relativists and moral absolutists at the same time. For some behaviors, they are one; for other behaviors, they are the other. They pick and choose. So when it comes to environmentalism and the treatment of refugees, they abandon moral relativism and act as if there are moral absolutes after all. But when it comes to their sexual behavior, then they suddenly become moral relativists again, insistent that morality is determined by each person and culture. They want to have it both ways.”
“When we doubt some truth of Christianity, we often don’t realize that we are doubting that truth because of some other belief we hold… fight back by challenging the belief that replaces it.”
“When facing doubts and fears, the last thing you want to do is isolate yourself and struggle alone. Sometimes we do that because we don’t think others will understand. Or maybe we feel embarrassed that we are questioning our beliefs. But we have to be honest about our struggles and bring them into the light.”
One thing I wish Kruger would have included was a list of additional resources for further reading and research since he intended this book to be introductory. I read the ARC version so maybe the published version will have that. But I’ll include just a few here that I’ve also read and reviewed.
Other books addressing common objections to Christianity:
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller
How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil by D.A. Carson
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
This book is not related to Christianity at all but is a significantly relevant book when we’re talking about the opportunity to discuss diverse viewpoints in a university setting:
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Gregg Lukianoff
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
[For more reviews follow my book review blog at www.shelfreflection.com!]
September 11, 2025
Short apologetic essays that address common arguments against Christian truths—styled as a series of letters from a father, to a daughter, who is just entering college at UNC—Chapel Hill. It's not deep, just a very basic introduction, but I think that's purposeful for its audience. It's not intimidating. This book would be a good graduation gift for a high school senior, regardless of what they do after high school. I went to a Christian college, and I still wish someone had given this to me when I was young.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: I'm Worried about Being a Christian at a Secular University—How Will I Survive?
Chapter 2: My Professors Are Really Smart—Isn't It More Likely That They're Right and I'm Wrong?
Chapter 3: There Are a Lot of Different Views Here—How Can We Say That Christianity Is the Only Right Religion?
Chapter 4: My Christian Morals Are Viewed as Hateful and Intolerant—Shouldn't I Be More Loving and Accepting?
Chapter 5: I Have Gay Friends Who Are Kind, Wonderful, and Happy—Are We Sure That Homosexuality Is Really Wrong?
Chapter 6: The Concept of Hell Seems Barbaric and Cruel—Wouldn't a Loving God Save Everyone?
Chapter 7: There's So Much Suffering in the World—How Could a Good God Allow Such Evil?
Chapter 8: Science Seems Like It Can Explain Everything in the Universe—Do We Really Need to Believe in God?
Chapter 9: I'm Finding It Harder to Believe Events Like the Resurrection—How Can I Believe in Miracles If I've Never Seen One?
Chapter 10: Everything I Believe Seems to Hinge on the Truth of the Bible—How Do We Know It's Really from God?
Chapter 11: My Professor Keeps Pointing Out Contradictions in the Gospels—Can I Still Trust Them?
Chapter 12: I'm Being Told That Ancient Scribes Changed the Words of the New Testament Thousands of Times—Is That True?
Chapter 13: My Professor Says That Books Were Left Out of Our Bibles—Can We Be Sure We Have the Right Ones?
Chapter 14: Some Parts of the Bible Seem Morally Troubling—How Can a Book Be from God If It Advocates Oppression or Genocide?
Chapter 15: Sometimes It Feels Like My Faith Is Slipping Away—How Do I Handle Doubts about What I Believe?
Postscript: What Do I Do If It Feels Like Christianity Just Isn't Working for Me?
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: I'm Worried about Being a Christian at a Secular University—How Will I Survive?
Chapter 2: My Professors Are Really Smart—Isn't It More Likely That They're Right and I'm Wrong?
Chapter 3: There Are a Lot of Different Views Here—How Can We Say That Christianity Is the Only Right Religion?
Chapter 4: My Christian Morals Are Viewed as Hateful and Intolerant—Shouldn't I Be More Loving and Accepting?
Chapter 5: I Have Gay Friends Who Are Kind, Wonderful, and Happy—Are We Sure That Homosexuality Is Really Wrong?
Chapter 6: The Concept of Hell Seems Barbaric and Cruel—Wouldn't a Loving God Save Everyone?
Chapter 7: There's So Much Suffering in the World—How Could a Good God Allow Such Evil?
Chapter 8: Science Seems Like It Can Explain Everything in the Universe—Do We Really Need to Believe in God?
Chapter 9: I'm Finding It Harder to Believe Events Like the Resurrection—How Can I Believe in Miracles If I've Never Seen One?
Chapter 10: Everything I Believe Seems to Hinge on the Truth of the Bible—How Do We Know It's Really from God?
Chapter 11: My Professor Keeps Pointing Out Contradictions in the Gospels—Can I Still Trust Them?
Chapter 12: I'm Being Told That Ancient Scribes Changed the Words of the New Testament Thousands of Times—Is That True?
Chapter 13: My Professor Says That Books Were Left Out of Our Bibles—Can We Be Sure We Have the Right Ones?
Chapter 14: Some Parts of the Bible Seem Morally Troubling—How Can a Book Be from God If It Advocates Oppression or Genocide?
Chapter 15: Sometimes It Feels Like My Faith Is Slipping Away—How Do I Handle Doubts about What I Believe?
Postscript: What Do I Do If It Feels Like Christianity Just Isn't Working for Me?
September 26, 2025
Surviving Religion 101 is an excellent resource for young adults who have professed faith in Jesus Christ and are preparing to attend college. It will help them think about the challenges to Christianity that they will face and give them confidence in what they believe. I wasn’t sure about the epistolary format at first, but I ended up enjoying it and thought it contributed to making the content accessible and friendly. I recommend that parents read it, too! so they are prepared to help answer any questions their children may have. Books are great resources, but students need community and family to support them, as well.
“If a person has a genuine intellectual question, we have great resources available to answer such questions. That doesn't mean people's doubts are automatically
‘cured’ by simply reading a few books. But sometimes gaining a basic understanding of the facts goes a long way. Sometimes people have just never heard a solid answer to their questions.”
“Some are part of the church because they are excited about being involved in a ‘good cause’ or because they love helping people or because they resonate with the idea of Christianity. But in the end, that's not the heart of the faith. We are not Christians so that we can be part of a cause; we are Christians so that we can know a person: Jesus Christ. Don't forget, he's a real person, not just a concept. And it is only our affection, our love, our adoration for him as a person that will keep us faithful to the end. If we are concerned only about a cause, that will fade as soon as difficulty and suffering come. Causes come and go. Jesus is forever.”
“If a person has a genuine intellectual question, we have great resources available to answer such questions. That doesn't mean people's doubts are automatically
‘cured’ by simply reading a few books. But sometimes gaining a basic understanding of the facts goes a long way. Sometimes people have just never heard a solid answer to their questions.”
“Some are part of the church because they are excited about being involved in a ‘good cause’ or because they love helping people or because they resonate with the idea of Christianity. But in the end, that's not the heart of the faith. We are not Christians so that we can be part of a cause; we are Christians so that we can know a person: Jesus Christ. Don't forget, he's a real person, not just a concept. And it is only our affection, our love, our adoration for him as a person that will keep us faithful to the end. If we are concerned only about a cause, that will fade as soon as difficulty and suffering come. Causes come and go. Jesus is forever.”
May 27, 2021
We don't follow Christianity merely because it makes us feel good or because it is emotionally satisfying but because it is true.
Letter from a father to his daughter starting college. Even in the Christian College, our children may struggle with their faith when their faith is faced with a crisis. Why did God... I am not opposed to asking God questions but our attitude must be of humility and not of us making ourselves as God. Each chapter states a crisis of faith and is given a reminder of the truth. How we can apply the truth, how we can stand by the truth.
The text also confronts our motivation for Christianity. Is it for social justice, or peace of mind, or the material blessings of God? If yes is the answer, the challenge becomes who is Jesus. Jesus came to attest to the truth of who he is and what is coming. That we are sinful and that God has made a way for that sin. Our motivation for Christianity changes but the truth of Christianity never changes. This text is a reminder of the glorious truth. Highly recommend for all ages.
A special thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
Letter from a father to his daughter starting college. Even in the Christian College, our children may struggle with their faith when their faith is faced with a crisis. Why did God... I am not opposed to asking God questions but our attitude must be of humility and not of us making ourselves as God. Each chapter states a crisis of faith and is given a reminder of the truth. How we can apply the truth, how we can stand by the truth.
The text also confronts our motivation for Christianity. Is it for social justice, or peace of mind, or the material blessings of God? If yes is the answer, the challenge becomes who is Jesus. Jesus came to attest to the truth of who he is and what is coming. That we are sinful and that God has made a way for that sin. Our motivation for Christianity changes but the truth of Christianity never changes. This text is a reminder of the glorious truth. Highly recommend for all ages.
A special thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
May 11, 2021
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S SURVIVING RELIGION 101 ABOUT?
The book is structured as sixteen letters to Kruger's daughter, a college freshman at UNC (his own alma mater). Kruger remembers the challenges he had to deal with at the school in terms of faith and knows that things haven't gotten easier for college students in the years since then.
These letters are written as encouragements for her regarding some specific challenges he expects that she will have to deal with because of things professors or peers will say—directly or indirectly—that will challenge her thinking and faith. As well as he may have tried to prepare her before she left for college, it's different when it's no longer a matter of preparation, but of daily experience.
Kruger's aim is to help Emma—and other readers—know that there are intellectually satisfying defenses to the challenges thrown her way. Believing isn't about shutting down the mind to thinking, rather, it's about loving God with our mind.
He deals with things like belief in miracles (in particular, the Resurrection), the so-called problem of evil, the exclusivity of Christianity, Christian sexual ethics, pitting science versus religion, the reliability of the New Testament (in light of Bart Ehrman's position at UNC, this is of particular importance). Kruger sets out to show that yes, Christians have been answering these/similar challenges for centuries, these are not things that need to shipwreck a believer's faith but can be faced head-on.
HIGHLIGHTS AND CONCERNS
I thought every chapter in the book was solid and helpful—there's not a disappointing one in the bunch. Kruger is good to show both the thinking behind the challenge to the faith represented by the various topics and the answers (or at least the beginning or answers) needed to push back. But he shows why the challenge is important, why it matters what the Christian response is (first to the believer dealing with the objection/challenge, and then to the one outside the faith), and offers encouragement to persevere in light of the issue.
I did think that Kruger perhaps focused too much on the reliability of the Scriptures and similar topics—given that three chapters when everything else gets one. Still, given Kruger's specialty in textual and canon studies, it makes sense—particularly when you add in the importance of the topic, and the lack of exposure most Christians (of all ages) have to these ideas.
At the end of the day, however, for this reader, it all comes down to the Postscript, "What Do I Do If It Feels Like Christianity Just Isn’t Working for Me?" Setting aside the focus on the mind, he turns to the affections, concentrating on the affections the believer has for the person of Christ first and foremost, with the details of all the other issues covered in the book before this point (and more) coming in second.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SURVIVING RELIGION 101?
When I left high school for college in the last century, I remember getting a couple of books along these lines and saw them all the time, too. How to secure your child's faith during college, how to help them avoid the moral failings the surround them, etc. Memorize these facts (in a very Josh McDowell-esque fashion), stay away from booze and sex, and you might end up ushering in a revival at your college. Kruger's approach is more of a, "it's okay, let's talk and help you deal with these." Not to emerge victorious, but to emerge intact and ready to try again the next day.
There's no fear in these pages, instead, there's a quiet confidence, a trusting in the acre of the Father—encouragement to keep on keeping on and a reminder that the Son has redeemed his people, and they should live with humble boldness ready for with answer for the hope that liest within.
I recommend this book, and encourage readers of the right age (or beyond) give this a shot.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S SURVIVING RELIGION 101 ABOUT?
The book is structured as sixteen letters to Kruger's daughter, a college freshman at UNC (his own alma mater). Kruger remembers the challenges he had to deal with at the school in terms of faith and knows that things haven't gotten easier for college students in the years since then.
These letters are written as encouragements for her regarding some specific challenges he expects that she will have to deal with because of things professors or peers will say—directly or indirectly—that will challenge her thinking and faith. As well as he may have tried to prepare her before she left for college, it's different when it's no longer a matter of preparation, but of daily experience.
Kruger's aim is to help Emma—and other readers—know that there are intellectually satisfying defenses to the challenges thrown her way. Believing isn't about shutting down the mind to thinking, rather, it's about loving God with our mind.
...I am not under the impression that merely reading this book will answer every possible question a college student may have. Nor do I think any single book (or even many books) could prepare students to go toe-to-toe with their college professor. No, the intent here is much more modest. Like any complex task, eventually, you have to take the first step, even if it’s a little one. This volume is designed to be that first step, an initial orientation for Christian students about the challenges they face and (hopefully) a reason for them to be confident that there are answers to their questions, even if they don’t yet have them.
Or as the title suggests, this book is about surviving—with faith intact—one’s university experience. Now, that may seem like a strange goal, perhaps one that is far too modest. Don’t we, as Christians, want to do more than survive? Don’t we want to make an impact and change the world while in college? Sure, but that’s not where one starts. Instead, you start by not stopping. By not giving up. By surviving. You can’t “change the world” for Christ if you no longer believe in Christ or walk with Christ.
He deals with things like belief in miracles (in particular, the Resurrection), the so-called problem of evil, the exclusivity of Christianity, Christian sexual ethics, pitting science versus religion, the reliability of the New Testament (in light of Bart Ehrman's position at UNC, this is of particular importance). Kruger sets out to show that yes, Christians have been answering these/similar challenges for centuries, these are not things that need to shipwreck a believer's faith but can be faced head-on.
HIGHLIGHTS AND CONCERNS
I thought every chapter in the book was solid and helpful—there's not a disappointing one in the bunch. Kruger is good to show both the thinking behind the challenge to the faith represented by the various topics and the answers (or at least the beginning or answers) needed to push back. But he shows why the challenge is important, why it matters what the Christian response is (first to the believer dealing with the objection/challenge, and then to the one outside the faith), and offers encouragement to persevere in light of the issue.
I did think that Kruger perhaps focused too much on the reliability of the Scriptures and similar topics—given that three chapters when everything else gets one. Still, given Kruger's specialty in textual and canon studies, it makes sense—particularly when you add in the importance of the topic, and the lack of exposure most Christians (of all ages) have to these ideas.
At the end of the day, however, for this reader, it all comes down to the Postscript, "What Do I Do If It Feels Like Christianity Just Isn’t Working for Me?" Setting aside the focus on the mind, he turns to the affections, concentrating on the affections the believer has for the person of Christ first and foremost, with the details of all the other issues covered in the book before this point (and more) coming in second.
Here is where many believers miss the point of the Christian life. Some are part of the church because they are excited about being involved in a “good cause” or because they love helping people or because they resonate with the idea of Christianity. But in the end, that’s not the heart of the faith. We are not Christians so that we can be part of a cause; we are Christians so that we can know a person: Jesus Christ. Don’t forget, he’s a real person, not just a concept And it is only our affection, our love, our adoration for him as a person that will keep us faithful to the end. If we are concerned only about a cause, that will fade as soon as difficulty and suffering come. Causes come and go. Jesus is forever.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SURVIVING RELIGION 101?
When I left high school for college in the last century, I remember getting a couple of books along these lines and saw them all the time, too. How to secure your child's faith during college, how to help them avoid the moral failings the surround them, etc. Memorize these facts (in a very Josh McDowell-esque fashion), stay away from booze and sex, and you might end up ushering in a revival at your college. Kruger's approach is more of a, "it's okay, let's talk and help you deal with these." Not to emerge victorious, but to emerge intact and ready to try again the next day.
There's no fear in these pages, instead, there's a quiet confidence, a trusting in the acre of the Father—encouragement to keep on keeping on and a reminder that the Son has redeemed his people, and they should live with humble boldness ready for with answer for the hope that liest within.
I recommend this book, and encourage readers of the right age (or beyond) give this a shot.
June 12, 2024
I listened to this audiobook while deep-cleaning my apartment and driving around running errands (not at the same time 🤣).
Apologetics have always been a part of my life, whether in Christian school growing up, college, or just day-to-day life as a missionary kid. Never before have I seen them posed with so much love and desire for Christlikeness. The author's goal is to reinforce what his daughter and the reader already knows to be true, rather than to fostering an "us vs. them" mentality.
This is a book I wish I'd had two years ago when I was doubting everything about my faith, and a book I plan to dive deeper into in the future. (It's definitely worthy of picking up a physical copy.)
Apologetics have always been a part of my life, whether in Christian school growing up, college, or just day-to-day life as a missionary kid. Never before have I seen them posed with so much love and desire for Christlikeness. The author's goal is to reinforce what his daughter and the reader already knows to be true, rather than to fostering an "us vs. them" mentality.
This is a book I wish I'd had two years ago when I was doubting everything about my faith, and a book I plan to dive deeper into in the future. (It's definitely worthy of picking up a physical copy.)
October 11, 2022
So good. So accessible. So necessary. This should not be reserved for only students but for all of us. It helped me process things more biblically, trust in God more fully, and to have a better understanding of cultural arguments against Christianity. Very thankful for this and cannot recommend it enough.
Also, the fact that Kruger wrote it as letters for his daughter Emma was especially significant for me as I held my tiny new baby while reading/listening to this book. I want her to have a foundation of truth, which starts with my own foundational understanding of it. Grateful for this resource.
Also, the fact that Kruger wrote it as letters for his daughter Emma was especially significant for me as I held my tiny new baby while reading/listening to this book. I want her to have a foundation of truth, which starts with my own foundational understanding of it. Grateful for this resource.
August 22, 2021
Earlier this century, to finish up my Master's Degree, I wrote a 339 page thesis titled, "Preparing Your Child For Life In the Lion's Den." It was basically an attempt to write about how parents can prepare a child to leave home, go to a public university (or possibly even a Christian university), and survive spiritually. Over the 21 years of serving as the college pastor at our local church, I saw dozens, probably hundreds, of young men and women who grew up in Christian homes, went to church at fairly solid Biblical churches, walk away from their faith shortly after they began college. Once they arrived on the college campus they were swamped with lifestyles, teachings, etc. that all attacked the very faith that they grew up in. It was heartbreaking to watch this unfold repeatedly in the lives of young men and women who were swayed by the counsel and influence of godless people. Thus, my thesis. Now, to the book review: What I attempted to write was for parents (starting first with my wife and I), but what Michael Kruger did in this book, was so much more strategic (and much more eloquent than I could ever imagine myself writing). It is a brilliant book. In this phenomenal book, "Surviving Religion 101," Kruger provides 15 letters (that make up each chapter) that he wrote to his daughter as she headed off to college at the Univesity of Carolina. Kruger knew what his daughter faced as she began and continued classes, and so, within the pages of this book, he addressed many different points of argument that are formulated to attack the foundation of Christianity. Here are the chapter titles (and the titles help you see what is addressed in the pages of the book):
1. I'm Worried about Being a Christian at a Secular University---How Will I Survive?
2. My Professors Are Really Smart---Isn't It More Like That They're Right and I'm Wrong?
3. There Are a Lot of Different Views Here---How Can We Say that Christianity Is the Only Right Religion?
4. My Christian Morals Are Viewed As Hateful and Intolerant---Shouldn't I Be More Loving and Accepting?
5. I Have Gay Friends Who are Kind, Wonderful, and Happy---Are We Sure that Homosexuality Is Really Wrong?
6. The Concept of Hell Seems Barbaric and Cruel---Wouldn't a Loving God Save Everyone?
7. There Is So Much Suffering in the World---How Could a Good God Allow Such Evil?
8. Science Seems Like It Can Explain Everything in the Universe---Do We Really Need to Believe in God?
9. I'm Finding It Harder to Believe in Events Like the Resurrection---How Can I Believe in Miracles If I've Never Seen One?
10. Everything I Believe Seems to Hinge on the Truth of the Bible---How Do We Know It's Really From God?
11. My Professor Keeps Pointing Out Contradictions in the Gospels---Can I Still Trust Them?
12. I'm Being Told That Ancient Scribes Changed the Words of the New Testament Thousands of Times---Is That True?
13. My Professor Says that Books Were Left Out of Our Bibles---Can We Be Sure We Have the Right Ones?
14. Some Parts of the Bible Seem Morally Troubling---How Can A Book Be From God If It Advocates Oppression or Genocide?
15. Sometimes It Feels Like My Faith Is Slipping Away---How Do I Handle Doubts About What I Believe?
The Postcript of the book is titled, "What Do I Do If It Feels Like Christianity Just Isn't Working For Me?"
As you can see from the chapter titles, Kruger strategically addresses many, perhaps most, of the various attacks that are presented within the halls and classrooms of the normal university. I've heard these attacks myself and I'm guessing, so have you. Kruger is not only strategic in addressing these many attacks, but he uses his scholarly background to provide his daughter (and you the reader), with very sound answers to each objection. He writes with clarity and gentleness. One can see his compassion for those who object, for the loss, for the student who may be swayed by the arguments that are presented to him/her in the university setting. With his clarity and gentleness and compassion, Kruger brings his scholarly approach to each argument, but he writes in such a way that the average college freshmen can understand. This is a fine balance to maintain: Writing for the target audience, yet writing in such a way that the answers are solid, Biblical answers.
Who is this book for? Without a doubt, every college student should read this book. Definitely, the college student who grew up in the church should make it a point to peddle his/her way through the pages of this book. High school seniors who are thinking about and preparing to head off to college once they graduate should read this book. Parents of college students would do well to also read this book. Actually, every Christian should read this book for, the very arguments that are used to attempt to sway college students, are actually the same arguments that are used in the work place. I highly, highly recommend this excellent book by Michael J. Kruger.
1. I'm Worried about Being a Christian at a Secular University---How Will I Survive?
2. My Professors Are Really Smart---Isn't It More Like That They're Right and I'm Wrong?
3. There Are a Lot of Different Views Here---How Can We Say that Christianity Is the Only Right Religion?
4. My Christian Morals Are Viewed As Hateful and Intolerant---Shouldn't I Be More Loving and Accepting?
5. I Have Gay Friends Who are Kind, Wonderful, and Happy---Are We Sure that Homosexuality Is Really Wrong?
6. The Concept of Hell Seems Barbaric and Cruel---Wouldn't a Loving God Save Everyone?
7. There Is So Much Suffering in the World---How Could a Good God Allow Such Evil?
8. Science Seems Like It Can Explain Everything in the Universe---Do We Really Need to Believe in God?
9. I'm Finding It Harder to Believe in Events Like the Resurrection---How Can I Believe in Miracles If I've Never Seen One?
10. Everything I Believe Seems to Hinge on the Truth of the Bible---How Do We Know It's Really From God?
11. My Professor Keeps Pointing Out Contradictions in the Gospels---Can I Still Trust Them?
12. I'm Being Told That Ancient Scribes Changed the Words of the New Testament Thousands of Times---Is That True?
13. My Professor Says that Books Were Left Out of Our Bibles---Can We Be Sure We Have the Right Ones?
14. Some Parts of the Bible Seem Morally Troubling---How Can A Book Be From God If It Advocates Oppression or Genocide?
15. Sometimes It Feels Like My Faith Is Slipping Away---How Do I Handle Doubts About What I Believe?
The Postcript of the book is titled, "What Do I Do If It Feels Like Christianity Just Isn't Working For Me?"
As you can see from the chapter titles, Kruger strategically addresses many, perhaps most, of the various attacks that are presented within the halls and classrooms of the normal university. I've heard these attacks myself and I'm guessing, so have you. Kruger is not only strategic in addressing these many attacks, but he uses his scholarly background to provide his daughter (and you the reader), with very sound answers to each objection. He writes with clarity and gentleness. One can see his compassion for those who object, for the loss, for the student who may be swayed by the arguments that are presented to him/her in the university setting. With his clarity and gentleness and compassion, Kruger brings his scholarly approach to each argument, but he writes in such a way that the average college freshmen can understand. This is a fine balance to maintain: Writing for the target audience, yet writing in such a way that the answers are solid, Biblical answers.
Who is this book for? Without a doubt, every college student should read this book. Definitely, the college student who grew up in the church should make it a point to peddle his/her way through the pages of this book. High school seniors who are thinking about and preparing to head off to college once they graduate should read this book. Parents of college students would do well to also read this book. Actually, every Christian should read this book for, the very arguments that are used to attempt to sway college students, are actually the same arguments that are used in the work place. I highly, highly recommend this excellent book by Michael J. Kruger.
August 21, 2024
I’d recommend this book to anyone, especially young adults headed off to college or out into the workforce!
Thinking about the hard topics and defending the faith really is for every believer!
Thinking about the hard topics and defending the faith really is for every believer!
June 7, 2022
This book is written in the form of letters from the author to his college freshmen daughter. It has a lot of great stuff, mostly dealing with intellectual objections to the Christian faith that students deal with in spades during their college years. Kruger is unsurprisingly at his best in the chapters dealing with the canon and authority of Scripture. His arguments are sound and helpful throughout. This book is great for students who are grounded in their faith and want to stay that way. One limitation is it's almost exclusive focus on intellectual issues (minus the postscript). This is, I think, by design so it's really not a critique so much as an acknowledgement of it's limitations. So many of the doubts I encounter in my own life and in the lives of college students are more emotional and experiential... Intellect is a part of it, but not all of it. Overall, solid book.
May 31, 2021
This was well written. Kruger has a gift for taking complex truths and making them simple without compromising anything. Of course, with a book that covers so many different subjects, there were times I found myself disagreeing with how something was framed, or a comment here and there, but that did not take away from the overall arguments in the book.
As someone who worked with youth for over 13 years and saw first hand many of the cultural challenges that covenant children face today, a book like this was long overdue. In fact, this should be one in a list of many books of this nature. I recommend this for anyone to read, but particuarly Christian youth who need to be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is within them.
As someone who worked with youth for over 13 years and saw first hand many of the cultural challenges that covenant children face today, a book like this was long overdue. In fact, this should be one in a list of many books of this nature. I recommend this for anyone to read, but particuarly Christian youth who need to be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is within them.
June 26, 2025
This is a really sweet book!
Not only does Kruger provide robust answers to common objections and questions (answers that aren't trite or simplistic), but he also models gentle strength in pastoring and parenting. The format of the book is Kruger writing letters to his college-aged daughter, providing good insight into how to care for those wondering about these things.
This book will certainly help us as we encounter qs like this in Boston and elsewhere.
I would highly recommend it for teenagers, college students, and anyone that would be served by good teaching on the qs raised in this book.
Not only does Kruger provide robust answers to common objections and questions (answers that aren't trite or simplistic), but he also models gentle strength in pastoring and parenting. The format of the book is Kruger writing letters to his college-aged daughter, providing good insight into how to care for those wondering about these things.
This book will certainly help us as we encounter qs like this in Boston and elsewhere.
I would highly recommend it for teenagers, college students, and anyone that would be served by good teaching on the qs raised in this book.
July 22, 2023
Audible sale 5 hours 38 min. Narrated by Michael J Kruger (B)
Subtitle:Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College
Apologetics for mature teens and every college student..
One of the last quotations in the final chapter is "The Christian faith is not true because it works; it works because it's true." Oz Guinness
"I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly." Jesus Christ in John 10
Subtitle:Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College
Apologetics for mature teens and every college student..
One of the last quotations in the final chapter is "The Christian faith is not true because it works; it works because it's true." Oz Guinness
"I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly." Jesus Christ in John 10
June 19, 2022
This is written like a series of letters to the author’s daughter as she heads off to college. It is a flyover of pretty much all the issues that she will likely face at college that will likely challenge her faith. This book would make a great graduation gift.
September 28, 2022
It’s written to a daughter going off to college. But would hands-down recommend it to someone going to high school.
July 31, 2021
Good book. Would recommend to those heading to college.
March 30, 2022
Every young believer should read this!! If I hadn’t borrowed this book, my highlighter would have gotten a workout with this one, there were so many fantastic quotes and points that really stood out to me. This book answers all the questions and dives deep across many topics of faith, history, the truth, the Bible and who God is. It’s so encouraging to read a book that speaks directly to me as if it were written for me individually. I loved this book, will read it again and will recommend it to everyone.
July 13, 2023
This book is excellent for the student entering secular higher education but also for the average Christian wanting to know not just what they believe but why they can believe it.
April 9, 2021
I like the concept of the book. It's a book for young christian who are going to college. It's a collection of letters that Michael Kruger wrote to his daughter to help her to be ready for all the challenges it means to be a christian in a secular world, giving her advices and encouraging her with a healthy biblical view to keep walking in faith and trusting in the Lord. Its beautiful to see his father's hearts thought the book. It's written in the context of the USA culture and college life in the USA. This may be different in others part of the world like in Europe where christianity is a minority and our kids start to experience some of this challenges since elementary school and the culture is quite different, even though this different culture, this book will be a great way to prepare young Christians for college experience in whatever part of the world. It has a good content. It will helpful also for parents to read it
April 3, 2021
Don't let the title fool you--this book is not only for nineteen-year-olds. It's an excellent look at many apologetic concerns from one the church's best scholars of early Christianity (that background comes in especially helpful when discussing canon and other issues). But the book is far from dry or detached. Kruger is also a pastor (as well as the president of one of the country's best seminaries, RTS Charlotte) who happens to have a daughter who just went away to college at UNC--thus this is very real for him. There is some overlap with another book, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion, but both are more than worthwhile.
Christians need to learn confidence in their faith despite the onslaught of today's skeptical and hateful culture. They need to learn the difference between good doubt and sinful disbelief. They need to be prepared to give an answer for their hope. This book could help many make great strides to those ends.
Christians need to learn confidence in their faith despite the onslaught of today's skeptical and hateful culture. They need to learn the difference between good doubt and sinful disbelief. They need to be prepared to give an answer for their hope. This book could help many make great strides to those ends.
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