10 preguntas que todo joven debe plantearse (y responder) sobre el cristianismo

by Rebecca McLaughlin

Written by Rebecca McLaughlin, Author of Confronting Christianity

In a world of increasing ideological diversity, kids are being challenged to think through their own beliefs at an early age. Questions like How can you believe the Bible is true?; Why can't we just agree that love is love?; and Isn't Christianity against diversity? can seem like roadblocks for kids who are following Jesus, as well as for those who might otherwise consider faith in Christ. In this helpful book--written both for Christian kids and for those who think Jesus is just a fairy tale character--Rebecca McLaughlin invites readers ages 12-15 to dig deep into hard questions for themselves and perhaps discover that the things that once looked like roadblocks to faith might actually be signposts.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Parenting, Theology, Christianity, Christian Living, Faith

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2021

About the author

Rebecca McLaughlin (PhD, Cambridge University) is the cofounder of Vocable Communications, a communications consulting and training firm. She is also a regular contributor to the Gospel Coalition and previously spent nine years working with top academics at the Veritas Forum, which hosts forums on college campuses with conversations that pursue answers to life's hardest questions.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

First sentence: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a poet. But my first book wasn’t a gathering of poems. It was a gathering of ideas from some of the world’s brainiest people.

Rebecca McLaughlin presents ten questions--and her answers to those ten questions--in a book written to appeal to young adults (teens). The ten questions are as follows:
How Can I Live My Best Life Now?
Isn't Christianity Against Diversity?
Can Jesus Be True for You But Not True for Me?
Can't We Just Be Good Without God?
How Can You Believe the Bible is True?
Hasn't Science Disproved Christianity?
Why Can't We Just Agree That Love is Love?
Who Cares If You're a Boy or a Girl?
Does God Care When We Hurt?
How Can You Believe in Heaven and Hell?
In her answers she touches on dozens of hot topics. There's not many--if any--hot topics she doesn't touch on.

For better or worse, McLaughlin's narrative is saturated--yes, drenched--in references from almost everything but the Bible. Okay. That's not really fair. I think if you look at the proportion of Harry Potter references to Scripture references, Harry Potter would win. If you look at the proportion of Disney references (Moana, Frozen, Aladdin, etc) to Scripture references, Disney would win. To be fair, it isn't that the book is void of Scripture references, it's just that she's way more likely to refer back to Harry Potter, a movie, a television show (The Good Place, for example), a song than the Bible itself. If she's not referring to something in pop culture, she's sure to have an experience to share from her own life or the life of a friend.

I'm left with a couple of questions. Is the lack of actual Bible purposeful? Did she decide, HEY, I want to reach a wide audience of teens and the best way to engage and interact with teenagers is by talking their pop culture language. If I speak mostly in terms of Harry Potter and Frozen, am I going to reach more people? IN other words, I don't want to share Scriptures with them, talk doctrine, creeds, or theology. I want to keep them interested after all. Or was this an oversight on her part? Is she more familiar with pop culture--her natural heart language--than the Bible? Is she merely writing what she knows? When she's thinking deep spiritual thoughts, is she actually relating more with Disney characters and Harry Potter than to the Word of God? Is she making sense of theological concepts like love, sacrifice, hope, etc. by connecting them to Disney and Harry Potter?

It isn't even so much that I disagree with her conclusions--at the end of the day--to most of these questions. It's just some things felt a tiny bit off. More like a clock running two or three minutes fast or late. It isn't off enough to make you late for work.

The one question that felt perhaps more weird to me than the others was the first one: How Can I Live My Best Life Now? Because this isn't necessarily a question the Bible prompts us to ask. I think historically the church would have looked askance at this question. What is this "best life now" of which you speak? Christianity is NOT about helping anyone live their best life...now. It isn't about mental benefits NOW or physical benefits NOW or emotional benefits NOW. And, yes, the author very much stays in the here and now of answering this question. Citing statistics. People who attend church once a week are fill-in-the-blank more likely to fill-in-the-blank. She might as well be talking about the benefits of flossing your teeth or drinking water. If someone is actually questioning whether or not the Christian life is for them...or not...looking at statistics of church attendance is far off the mark.

Not any of the questions in this book really deal with the gospel or salvation. No "How Can I Be Made Right with God?" No "If I Were To Die Tonight Can I Be Sure I Would Go To Heaven?" No "Why Did Jesus Have To Die?"

These ten questions may be common questions. And maybe these ten questions are for the author her most personal questions. On her journey to the faith, these questions may have been the absolute top ten questions she had, the top ten questions she searched out and explored.

I am not the target audience, obviously. And I'm not a great judge to if this would appeal to actual teens or actual tweens. I've read other reviews that pointed out the book's references would make more sense for the younger crowd (9-12) than the older crowd. But the chapters on sex and gender--particularly the attention to same sex attraction, transgender, non-binary, etc.--seems more appropriate for the older crowd.

[Daniel Warne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Youth Pastor Review:

This book is a tough one - parts of it are excellent! Chapters 8 & 9 in particular are very well written and full of solid, Biblical truth with an evident Gospel heartbeat. But many of the chapters don't seem to give clear answers to the questions they ask - and ultimately, I feel like this book gives into two of the worst tendencies of modern youth outreach: dumbing things down too much and overusing pop culture references.

To address the first: this book really doesn't feel like it was written at a teenage level. This book is a re-working of a book aimed at adults for a teenage audience - and I believe overcompensates in this regard. The answers given are sometimes oversimplified to the point of not giving the full answer that Scripture gives to the questions asked. The answers are also often segmented into a path that doesn't really seem to lead to a clear answer. The writing and depth of thought present likely line up more with preteens (or maybe younger teens), but not highschoolers. The pop culture references (which I'll mention in a moment) are all kids' references - and rarely teenage ones. In some ways, this does makes sense - the author mentioned that she wrote this with her 10 year old daughter (at the time of writing if I remember correctly) in mind. That feels right to me and so entitling it "10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask..." ends up being slightly misleading as to the content level of the answers given.

Secondly: One of the worst tendencies of modern youth outreach/ministry is the feeling that if we don't entertain young people, we won't reach young people. So much youth ministry has become focused on being relevant or entertaining or making Christianity cool because if we don't, teens won't like it! That's not true. And in this book, McLaughlin stuffs every Harry Potter, Disney, and Taylor Swift reference she can into the chapters. Some of the points of these references connected well (I'm not against a poignant, relevant illustration!) but too many of them felt forced in and only present because the author (or publisher or whoever) was worried that if each page didn't have a flashy reference (half of which will be entirely irrelevant in a year or two) then they would lose their audience. Is the Gospel not captivating enough on its own? Does it need our help to bring in young people? The Gospel message is timeless. The true answers to the questions presented in this book are timeless and wonderful and captivating and compelling all on their own! But wrapping them up in so many timely references distracts away from the true goal of this book and limits its impact to just the next few years (if that) much more than it draws-in readers to the message and increases impact in the long run.

All told, this is not a bad book! I don't think anyone reading this book would be led astray and some very well could be greatly helped by this work! I just feel it's not particularly well-executed. The answers are solid, but sometimes frustratingly muddled and meandering and obscured and over-simplified to the point of not saying much. And it seems that it has misread what teenagers asking these questions need - they don't need pop culture touchstones to understand God's truth, they just need the solid, perfect, incomparable, life-changing, wonderful truth of God.

I really wanted to love this book and be able to incorporate it into my ministry, but unfortunately I feel as though I would only recommend others using this with junior teens or preteens (maybe).

[• honeztly.quiescentt • · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book amazingly answered all the questions I had about Christianity! Definitely worth reading, especially because of the Harry Potter and Disney references.

❤️❤️❤️

[Emily M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short review: our youth director handed these out to all the parents this summer, saying this was hands down the best apologetics book for teens he has read. After reading the first two chapters, I pulled my kids from his apologetics and discipleship group and have my son studying koine Greek with one our elders and reading Augustine's Confessions with my husband, instead.

Longer review: Well, this isn't your teen's mom's Evangelical youth apologetics book. Dr. McLaughlin talks about being sexually attracted to women (though she's married to a man), assumes the Big Bang (she's a member of Biologos), proudly proclaims herself a feminist (claiming feminism comes from Christianity), and quotes endless examples from Disney movies and Harry Potter (much more than from the Bible). One certainly can't imagine this book being published (and promoted by the Gospel Coalition!) in the 90's, so this probably is an excellent case study in how far American Evangelicalism has changed in the past quarter century. How much you feel this shift has been positive will probably be a good predictor of whether you find this book worthwhile.

While the scriptural content, such as it is, is generally in line with orthodox theology, the assumption is that the audience will have been catechized by secular culture. She seems to put the apologize in apologetics, feeling that Christian positions on issues like marriage, sex, abortion, and sexual identity are things that we need to defend against popular opinion, not standards that we affirm and against which we examine secular positions. To put it another way, she's assuming that parents haven't been raising their children with a love of Biblical truth, but that once they're teens and tweens, we are suddenly playing catch-up defense after realizing the other team has scored three touchdowns. Parents who steep their children in scripture from birth, engage in family worship and Bible study, talk about the worldview of the films they watch, the music the listen to, and the books they read, and discuss current events around the dinner table, will probably find this book a large step back from their general family discipleship.

[Joleneee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had this book a long time ago! So interesting!

[Gina Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished reading this aloud to my 16,15,13, and 11 year olds. First and foremost they want me to tell you that it has ALL the spoilers if you haven’t read the Harry Potter series. I think this is a good book for someone with almost no theological background or that needs a very simple introduction to Christianity.
Overall we weren’t all that impressed with the book. My older two kept pointing out that she frequently didn’t really answer the question she said she was going to answer and just kind of talked about stuff. She makes way too many pop culture references (in our opinion), it almost came to be a joke for us, “what book or movie is she going to talk about this time?!?!” I did think her chapters on “Why Can’t We Just Agree that Love is Love?” And “Who Cares if You’re a Boy or a Girl?” were well worth the time to read and that many Christians could use a refresher from her on how to treat others that they don’t agree with.

[Eelinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to vet it for my teens before they read it. It's a simplified, shorter version of McLaughlin's Confronting Christianity. She writes it in a very accessible way for teens/preteens to grasp with pop culture references that they would get (maybe -- the movie Titanic was more my generation). The topics are very relevant to what we're all inundated with daily in our culture and resources like this are helpful in equipping us to think from a Christian worldview -- to love like Jesus loves AND to be grounded in the truth of the Gospel. I don't know how impactful this book will be to my kids but I'm looking forward to dialoguing with them as they read and questions come up, if or when they do (they aren't really interested in reading it but I'm encouraging them to).

[Isaac Saint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven’t had the chance til now to write this review, but this was a great read! I loved how direct the chapters were. The topics were very practical. And the Harry Potter references were great. Although it’s directed at teens, I think the questions in this book are ones that adults should ask as well. Definitely worth the listen/read!

[Jamie Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved how she helps students understand concepts with references to Harry Potter! Easy read but enjoyable and clear.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the title, it is obvious that this book is specifically aimed at teenagers, but having read it as an almost 50 yr old I strongly believe it would be beneficial for everyone to ask, and answer, these questions about Christianity. (Even if you’re not a Christian!) Rebecca McLaughlin writes in a manner that is clear, engaging, thought-provoking, open and honest. You will not regret the time spent pondering and reflecting on these 10 big, and relevant, questions.

[Joe L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very dangerous perspective on Christianity. Some good commentary in the early chapters but her opined views on same-sex marriage and gender roles & identification are troublesome. If buying for a teen, be sure to read first before handing it over to an impressionable-minded reader.

[Michaela Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

McLaughlin was able to boil down difficult topics about Christianity and culture in such a way that a ten year old could read this book and have a solid understanding of the topic at hand. None of the depth of scripture or God’s truth was sacrificed for ease of explanation. Lots of pop culture references but I don’t think they were over done. And who doesn’t love a Harry Potter reference? Could’ve done with more specific scripture references though (lots of talking about passages or stories in scripture but not much quoting).

I listened to this so it wouldn’t apply if only reading the hard copy, but McLaughlin herself read it and that was a nice touch since some of her story was weaved into each chapter. This is another book I’ll be buying a hard copy of.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-have resource for teens, parents of teens, or disciplers of teens to help grapple with some of culture's most challenging and fundamental questions of Christianity. Written as a caring mother to her daughter with thoughtful, gentle language, McLaughlin upholds biblical doctrine while dispelling several myths about Christianity. Be sure to check out her more fleshed-out book called Confronting Christianity for adults or people who want more depth and sources cited.

A note on the 5 stars: I rate things based on their genre and intended audience. I have found few better resources that directly equip teens (and parents) to address the current cultural issues with such eloquence and care. In my opinion, this book serves as a fantastic launching-point for further discussion and study, while starting teens and parents off on the right track.

[Carter Kiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. It was an easy read that felt aimed at an 8th-10th grade demographic. The theology was sound but not as deep as I would have liked, although I do recognize that this is a book intentionally written for high schoolers so it’s my fault for expecting too much of it. A popular issue with this book is the large number of pop-culture references (especially Harry Potter) that carry the book from point to point. Illustrations are great and necessary, but using one book series for what seemed like 80% of the examples/illustrations gets old.

Overall, not bad!

[PG · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books that is good while reading it but not-so-good after the fact. For being a spiritual book, it added little to my life.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

highly recommend ✝️

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book but, as it says, addressed to (younger) teenagers. If someone gave me this book 3 years ago, it surely would have helped me a lot to answer certain questions and to take a stand as a young christian in today's society. McLaughlin has a beautiful way to explain complex issues with simple words. I would and will surely recommend this book to younger teenagers, but it's not worth reading if you're already more into apologetics or theology in general.

[Allison Berkson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should be called 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) About Evanglism. I am not the target audience for the book but definitely the audience that would get the secular references. They were mixed and clunky. The Biblical references were shallow and not well attributed. Big thumbs down on this book.

[Elizabeth Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, though written for teens, helps even adults understand some of the things McLaughlin discusses in her book Confronting Christianity a little easier. Helpful for having discussions with friends and teens.

[Brad Hough · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 // This is a wonderful resource for teens who are wrestling with any of the questions that Rebecca McLaughlin addresses here. She covers a wide range of topics—race, believability of Scripture, gender, and suffering, among several others—and does so in a compassionate, biblical way without talking down to teenagers. The book doesn’t necessarily seek to address and answer every possible question, and older teens might may see this as more of a springboard for further research. Two things knocked down my rating. First, there were certain sections I wish McLaughlin had expounded on a bit more (a discussion of justice in the chapter about Heaven and Hell could have been helpful and appropriate, for example), and one or two places that would have benefited from a slower pace, which would have allowed for a more empathetic tone. Secondly, the first chapter felt oversimplified in a way that could actually be harmful unless a teenager has someone wise in their life to talk through it with. It could come across that a believer’s life is devoid of trouble and difficulty, when Jesus tells his followers just the opposite (John 16:33). Overall, though, I think she accomplishes what she sets out to do: invite teens to ask hard questions, and provide some helpful, biblical answers.

[Jarrid Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the work McLaughlin does in this book. I think she wrote an accessible look at the difficult questions many teenagers are asking about Christianity. I think she wrote in such a way to hold the attention of teenagers surrounded by a radically different and rapidly changing world. She writes with joy, passion, and integrity, and I am better off having read her book.

This book is helpful for most teenagers or adults responsible for them who would like a general overview of some popular objections to the Christian faith. It could be a helpful tool at the beginning of a conversation between Christian middle school and high school students and their non-Christian friends. Every popular cultural argument has Christians, or people claiming Christ as Lord and Savior, on each side. I think McLaughlin does a good job of presenting facts, questions, and observations that would benefit us all to think over.

I consider this book like a great conversation with intelligent friends on things to consider when people ask difficult questions. This book is not (and does not claim to be) an exhaustive look at any of these problems, and it is not a systematic theology on specific doctrines concerning these particular issues. It is also not, by any means, the end of the conversation.

[Bobby James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5. If you’ve read “Confronting Christianity,” this would be review for you. All her arguments in that book are condensed and sometimes assumed in this one. Would recommend with some qualifications!

She was really good on absolute truth, morality, epistemology, the issue of homosexuality and others. Really helpful, SIMPLE explanation of the issues and how the majority of secular culture views the issues. She’s very compassionate so that I could imagine an unbeliever thinking better of Christians after reading this.

With that said, I almost stopped reading after Ch. 2 but glad I didn’t. The first 2 chapters (and ch. 8) were not great. Her premise in those chapters is basically being a Christian, contrary to popular opinion, makes your life better here and now. It’s difficult to use statistics in a productive way and she falls into the same error as most Christian authors.

The amount of pop culture references to Harry Potter, Disney movies and other shows were excessive. I found it super annoying and ineffective for the target audience.

Bottom line: would recommend to a new Christian teen or an immature Christian teen. But would say skip ch. 1, 2 & 8.

[Derek Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book written for teenage Christians. Accessible and deep, it is a great book for any young Christian. This is both for Christians struggling to believe their faith and for those who are solid in what they believe, but could use more knowledge on how to communicate their faith to others.

The one place of disagreement I have with her is what she communicates as essential vs non-essential. She communicates views on Creation on a spectrum of what Christians can believe, yet communicates about gender roles in marriage and church without that same nuance. I both disagree with this and think it can be unhelpful to not help students understand better where Christians can have different views.

[millie · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a readable/digestable book broadly covering of some of christianity's toughest questions. not going to lie i was SHOCKED at how many harry potter analogies there were. SHOCKED. maybe 1-2 every chapter im not even exaggerating. there were also analogies to aladdin, moana, frozen, oh and even more harry potter. i guess it was meant to be helpful and engaging for teen readers but i think it could have been dialed back a bit and the scripture references dialed up.

[Mary Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a helpful, straightforward introduction to Christian apologetics on a variety of topics. I read it with college students and it sometimes felt a little too simplistic, but I’m sure it’s because she had younger teens in mind. This book is a great starting point and written with non-believers in mind as well.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off I love Rebecca McLaughlin, I have listened to her teach, speak on podcasts and read most of her books. She is very capable in all those roles and a blessing to read! Second I helped teach this book’s topics to our youth group this summer. It was amazing! Tough topics but very fruitful! Highly recommended

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were many super interesting and informative points that definitely made me think, but I did wish that some of the pop culture references were less significant. Overall a great book, just maybe not for my age range. Seems more for 13-11 year olds.

[Lauren Gurnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a teen, but so helpful for how I lead a group of them. It’s the perfect tool to dive head first into tough conversations about Christianity. So grateful for this book

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I may not agree with her every statement, I still find this book a useful guide in navigating some really important questions.