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5-Minute Apologetics for Today: 365 Quick Answers to Key Questions
Christians sometimes come across objections about the Bible they don’t know how to answer, and they don’t know where to look or whom they should ask. Believers can also get confused about doctrine, not having the knowledge or background to recognize unbiblical teaching. Bible scholar Ron Rhodes addresses many questions surrounding Christianity on topics such as… This book of short, one-page answers on 365 of the most frequently asked questions can greatly increase readers’ level of discernment in critical areas in just minutes a day. Busy people can boost their understanding of the Bible at their own pace by browsing topics of interest or by reading a topic a day.
384 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2010
30 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 23, 2023
This book provided succinct answers to key questions commonly asked about Christianity and provided a great index to locate various topics. I would have given it a higher rating if the author would not have given his opinion/view on topics such as the end times, etc. Overall it was a helpful book and a great way to start each day.
May 28, 2024
THE APOLOGIST PROPOSES “FIVE MINUTES A DAY” FOR A YEAR TO LEARN
Ron Rhodes is currently President of "Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries," and sometimes teaches cult apologetics at various seminaries. He was formerly Editor/Associate Editor of the Christian Research Institute's Journal and Newsletter, and a frequent guest on the "Bible Answer Man" radio program.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, “Would you like to gain more Christian wisdom, biblical discernment, and doctrinal expertise over the next year, all in just five minutes a day? If so, then this book has been designed especially for you…. If you’ll commit just five minutes a day---not just to read the brief material, but to ponder it, meditate on it, and perhaps look up some of the verses I cite---then over the next year, you will learn a lot. I can promise you that… I have been motivated to write this book because of the strange times in which we are living. Our country has become a virtual cafeteria of different religions, cults, and non-Christian worldviews that are all vying for supremacy on America’s religious landscape. Our country is also currently confronted by many tough domestic and global issues. We need Christian wisdom and discernment as never before.
“In this book I devote a single page---one page for each of the 365 days of the year---to an issue that is related in some way to Christian apologetics… I even address some controversial issues, including whether life exists on other planets, and whether Ezekiel saw a UFO. All in all, this book will expose you to a wide variety of topics and issues that will sharpen our apologetics acumen.”
DAY 3: “Many Christians today seem to misunderstand the apostle Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:8: ‘See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition.’ The truth is, the Bible---interpreted rightly---is no more against philosophy than it is against religion. The Bible is against VAIN philosophy… Paul is not speaking about philosophy in general, but about a particular philosophy that was apparently influencing the church at Colssae, which is usually understood as an early form of Gnosticism… a philosophy that involved legalism, mysticism, and asceticism (all of which are antithetical to Christianity)---and not to ALL philosophy. God places no premium on ignorance or shallow thinking… An awareness of the philosophical disciplines can equip Christians to argue against anti-Christian philosophies… and use philosophical tools in proving the truths of Christianity.”
DAY 17: “Drunkenness, of course, is forbidden by God… Drinking wine in moderation, however, is permissible (see John 2:9, 1 Tim 3:3,8). I should note, though, that in biblical times wine was typically diluted by a ratio of 20 parts water to one part wine---essentially wine-flavored water… We must all ask ourselves, though drinking wine may be permissible, is it beneficial?”
DAY 23: “Divorce is a very difficult issue. Scripture is clear that God Himself created the institution of marriage, and He intended it to be permanent… Divorce was never part of God’s original plan. In fact, God hates divorce… The marriage relationship was intended to be dissolved only when one of the partners died…When sin entered the world, it affected God’s ideal in marriage and many other things. Scripture tells us that even though divorce was not God’s ideal, He nevertheless allowed it because of man’s sinfulness… From a biblical perspective divorce is allowable only under two circumstances: when one of the marriage partners is unfaithful… and when the unbelieving partner deserts the believing partner… Divorce for any other reason is a violation of God’s ideal. Even in cases in which a person has biblical grounds for divorce, God’s desire is that the innocent person, if at all possible forgive the offending spouse and be reconciled to him or her.”
DAY 43: “A brief historical survey leads to the sad but true observation that Christians have been guilty of committing some atrocities. The proper response is not to deny this but to confess it… This violence in church history, however, must be considered in the light of other factors. For one thing, these isolated occurrences of violence are not a pattern of church history… Further, in the interest of fairness, not all who call themselves Christian are Christian…. Some … are cultural Christians… Despite this distinction, assuming that even some authentic Christians are guilty of atrocities, this illustrates a primary plank of Christianity—that all human beings are deeply engulfed in sin.”
DAY 53: “Even natural evils---earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and the like---are rooted in man’s wrong use of free choice. Earth suffered no natural disasters or death until Adam and Eve sinned.”
DAY 109: “The four Gospels have unique perspectives but not actual contradictions… The differences in the Gospels show that the writers did not collude but rather represented four different but equally inspired accounts of the same events. A partial account in a Gospel is not a faulty account…”
DAY 117: “The original Greek and Hebrew biblical text often uses words like men and brothers to refer to males and females. A tremendous debate has erupted in recent years as to whether translators should use gender-inclusive language… Christians should study this issue and come to their own conclusions on it.”
DAY 143: “God’s predetermination is in accord with His foreknowledge…. God’s election is based neither on His foreknowledge (Arminianism) nor in spite of His foreknowledge (extreme Calvinism), but rather is ‘according to the foreknowledge of God’ [1 Pet 1:2]… neither election nor foreknowledge have a chronological or logical priority. All aspects of God’s eternal purpose are equally timeless (and simultaneous). Both divine sovereignty and human freedom are fully operational in this system.”
DAY 157: “… other theologians believe the days [of Genesis 1] are literal solar days with no time gap between them. This is my view… Hebrew scholars tell us that whenever a number is used with the Hebrew word for day (yom), it always refers to a literal solar day. God created the universe in ‘six days,’ so Genesis must be referring to literal solar days.”
DAY 164: “The flood of Noah’s day was universal covering al the earth… The Bible also affirms that every living thing that moved on the earth perished… This surely describes a universal flood. Further, the universal view best explains the worldwide distribution of diluvial deposits… Finally, more than 270 universal flood legends exist among people of various religions and cultural backgrounds all over the world. These people attribute the descent of all races to Noah.”
DAY 316: “Partial preterists believe the resurrection of the dead and the second coming are yet future, but the other prophecies in Revelation and in Matthew 24-25 were fulfilled when Jerusalem fell to Rome in AD 70… Preterists point to Matthew 24:34, where Jesus asserted, ‘This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.’ However, Jesus likely meant that the generation alive during the tribulation will still be alive at the end of it… the verse does not support preterism… Preterists also argue from Matthew 16:28, where Jesus said some of His followers standing there would not taste death until they saw Him coming in His kingdom. Apparently, Jesus had in mind His transfiguration… which happened one week later… Preterists also point to verses that indicate that Jesus will come quickly … However, the word ‘quickly’ often means, ‘swiftly, speedily.’ So the term could indicate that when the predicted events first start to occur, they will progress swiftly.”
DAY 331: “All of us---including infants who can’t believe---are born into the world lost… and perishing… and we all need the gift of salvation. When infants die, I believe Christ at that moment applies the benefits of his sacrificial death to them, and they go straight to heaven… Revelation 20:11-13 reveals that the lost are judged ‘according to what they had done.’ Infants cannot be the objects of this judgment because they are not responsible for their deeds.”
This book will be of keen interest not just to those studying apologetics, but also Evangelical theology. (Although some may be frustrated by the necessary BREVITY of the daily discussions.)
Ron Rhodes is currently President of "Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries," and sometimes teaches cult apologetics at various seminaries. He was formerly Editor/Associate Editor of the Christian Research Institute's Journal and Newsletter, and a frequent guest on the "Bible Answer Man" radio program.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, “Would you like to gain more Christian wisdom, biblical discernment, and doctrinal expertise over the next year, all in just five minutes a day? If so, then this book has been designed especially for you…. If you’ll commit just five minutes a day---not just to read the brief material, but to ponder it, meditate on it, and perhaps look up some of the verses I cite---then over the next year, you will learn a lot. I can promise you that… I have been motivated to write this book because of the strange times in which we are living. Our country has become a virtual cafeteria of different religions, cults, and non-Christian worldviews that are all vying for supremacy on America’s religious landscape. Our country is also currently confronted by many tough domestic and global issues. We need Christian wisdom and discernment as never before.
“In this book I devote a single page---one page for each of the 365 days of the year---to an issue that is related in some way to Christian apologetics… I even address some controversial issues, including whether life exists on other planets, and whether Ezekiel saw a UFO. All in all, this book will expose you to a wide variety of topics and issues that will sharpen our apologetics acumen.”
DAY 3: “Many Christians today seem to misunderstand the apostle Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:8: ‘See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition.’ The truth is, the Bible---interpreted rightly---is no more against philosophy than it is against religion. The Bible is against VAIN philosophy… Paul is not speaking about philosophy in general, but about a particular philosophy that was apparently influencing the church at Colssae, which is usually understood as an early form of Gnosticism… a philosophy that involved legalism, mysticism, and asceticism (all of which are antithetical to Christianity)---and not to ALL philosophy. God places no premium on ignorance or shallow thinking… An awareness of the philosophical disciplines can equip Christians to argue against anti-Christian philosophies… and use philosophical tools in proving the truths of Christianity.”
DAY 17: “Drunkenness, of course, is forbidden by God… Drinking wine in moderation, however, is permissible (see John 2:9, 1 Tim 3:3,8). I should note, though, that in biblical times wine was typically diluted by a ratio of 20 parts water to one part wine---essentially wine-flavored water… We must all ask ourselves, though drinking wine may be permissible, is it beneficial?”
DAY 23: “Divorce is a very difficult issue. Scripture is clear that God Himself created the institution of marriage, and He intended it to be permanent… Divorce was never part of God’s original plan. In fact, God hates divorce… The marriage relationship was intended to be dissolved only when one of the partners died…When sin entered the world, it affected God’s ideal in marriage and many other things. Scripture tells us that even though divorce was not God’s ideal, He nevertheless allowed it because of man’s sinfulness… From a biblical perspective divorce is allowable only under two circumstances: when one of the marriage partners is unfaithful… and when the unbelieving partner deserts the believing partner… Divorce for any other reason is a violation of God’s ideal. Even in cases in which a person has biblical grounds for divorce, God’s desire is that the innocent person, if at all possible forgive the offending spouse and be reconciled to him or her.”
DAY 43: “A brief historical survey leads to the sad but true observation that Christians have been guilty of committing some atrocities. The proper response is not to deny this but to confess it… This violence in church history, however, must be considered in the light of other factors. For one thing, these isolated occurrences of violence are not a pattern of church history… Further, in the interest of fairness, not all who call themselves Christian are Christian…. Some … are cultural Christians… Despite this distinction, assuming that even some authentic Christians are guilty of atrocities, this illustrates a primary plank of Christianity—that all human beings are deeply engulfed in sin.”
DAY 53: “Even natural evils---earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and the like---are rooted in man’s wrong use of free choice. Earth suffered no natural disasters or death until Adam and Eve sinned.”
DAY 109: “The four Gospels have unique perspectives but not actual contradictions… The differences in the Gospels show that the writers did not collude but rather represented four different but equally inspired accounts of the same events. A partial account in a Gospel is not a faulty account…”
DAY 117: “The original Greek and Hebrew biblical text often uses words like men and brothers to refer to males and females. A tremendous debate has erupted in recent years as to whether translators should use gender-inclusive language… Christians should study this issue and come to their own conclusions on it.”
DAY 143: “God’s predetermination is in accord with His foreknowledge…. God’s election is based neither on His foreknowledge (Arminianism) nor in spite of His foreknowledge (extreme Calvinism), but rather is ‘according to the foreknowledge of God’ [1 Pet 1:2]… neither election nor foreknowledge have a chronological or logical priority. All aspects of God’s eternal purpose are equally timeless (and simultaneous). Both divine sovereignty and human freedom are fully operational in this system.”
DAY 157: “… other theologians believe the days [of Genesis 1] are literal solar days with no time gap between them. This is my view… Hebrew scholars tell us that whenever a number is used with the Hebrew word for day (yom), it always refers to a literal solar day. God created the universe in ‘six days,’ so Genesis must be referring to literal solar days.”
DAY 164: “The flood of Noah’s day was universal covering al the earth… The Bible also affirms that every living thing that moved on the earth perished… This surely describes a universal flood. Further, the universal view best explains the worldwide distribution of diluvial deposits… Finally, more than 270 universal flood legends exist among people of various religions and cultural backgrounds all over the world. These people attribute the descent of all races to Noah.”
DAY 316: “Partial preterists believe the resurrection of the dead and the second coming are yet future, but the other prophecies in Revelation and in Matthew 24-25 were fulfilled when Jerusalem fell to Rome in AD 70… Preterists point to Matthew 24:34, where Jesus asserted, ‘This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.’ However, Jesus likely meant that the generation alive during the tribulation will still be alive at the end of it… the verse does not support preterism… Preterists also argue from Matthew 16:28, where Jesus said some of His followers standing there would not taste death until they saw Him coming in His kingdom. Apparently, Jesus had in mind His transfiguration… which happened one week later… Preterists also point to verses that indicate that Jesus will come quickly … However, the word ‘quickly’ often means, ‘swiftly, speedily.’ So the term could indicate that when the predicted events first start to occur, they will progress swiftly.”
DAY 331: “All of us---including infants who can’t believe---are born into the world lost… and perishing… and we all need the gift of salvation. When infants die, I believe Christ at that moment applies the benefits of his sacrificial death to them, and they go straight to heaven… Revelation 20:11-13 reveals that the lost are judged ‘according to what they had done.’ Infants cannot be the objects of this judgment because they are not responsible for their deeds.”
This book will be of keen interest not just to those studying apologetics, but also Evangelical theology. (Although some may be frustrated by the necessary BREVITY of the daily discussions.)
October 16, 2022
Excellent devotional. Dad’s choice for 2022. Breaks apologetics down into easy-to-comprehend bite-sized snippets plus has a useful index for searching for specific topics if you don’t want to ready day-by-day or if you want to revisit a subject.
October 11, 2022
Excellent devotional dealing with defense of the Christian Faith!!!
Read
March 31, 2023Abandoned, never finished it.
July 13, 2012
A good book for anyone wanting to learn how to defend their faith one day at a time. Not all of the defense are good though and often times I feel more could have been said in the cases where good defenses were used, but over all a pretty good book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews