Book Review: The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity by Alex

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Tyndale Publishing, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

Synsopsis:

University apologist, director, and popular speaker Alex McFarland has spent the last two decades answering questions about Christian worldview and the Bible from children, teens, and parents. In The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask about Christianity, he summarizes questions today’s children and teens are asking about God, the Bible, and the problem of evil. 

Alex’s experiences have taught him that how adults answer questions about God is as important as, if not more important than, what kids ask. He provides parents with teaching strategies that will help them reach their children intellectually and spiritually. Today’s kids and teens are looking for authenticity, integrity, and straightforward truth. Alex comes alongside parents and gives them tools to effectively answer not only their children’s toughest academic questions but also the questions that plague their hearts.

Review:

This is one of those books that ALL Christian parents should have on hand, and I highly recommend it for baby shower gifts as well, as we all know that some time, in a child's life, questions such as "Why does God allow Evil?", "Why is God so Unfair?", , "How Can God be the only God, if there is also Jesus?", "If church is boring, why do I have to go?", or even "Somebody at school says the bible contradicts itself.". Would you be able to answer/respond to all those questions, to your child's satisfaction at ages 5, 9, 13, 16?

That is what this book is for! Alex says that kids actually welcome the words “I don’t know—let’s find out", and becoming part of the hunt for the answer (especially older kids), and that these tough questions aren’t as tough as they seem at first glance. Realizing where to seek the answers is the first part of the equation (the bible), realizing that the question they are asking may be part of a bigger puzzle they are trying to figure out is the second. By knowing where their question is coming from, frequently the answer is easily seen. 

In each question chapter, Alex gives you easy-to-follow discussion points, charts, and activity ideas, as well as applicable bible verses, to find the answers. In this regard, he uses the foundation of Christianity to answer questions about it. Simply brilliant actually. Kids don't need all the available research, they need a basic answer from your faith, the bible. I would call this book a must have for all parents, bible class teachers, Sunday school teachers and ministers. Period. By having a resource to quickly know where to find the answers, it allows children's questions to be answered not only correctly, but honestly and in the Christian tradition!  I can't recommend it enough!

About the Author:

Alex McFarland is the author of numerous books dealing with apologetics and the Christian world view. He has contributed chapters and/or content to numerous other books dealing with youth, religion, and culture, and has written more than 100 published articles. 

From 2006-2010, Alex served as president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, Charlotte, NC. Prior to this, Alex had served as Focus On The Family's "Director of Teen Apologetics." Alex is the only evangelist known to have preached in all 50 states in only 50 days, through his "Tour Of Truth." This crusade across America included 64 evangelistic services, became the subject of Alex's first book, and was used by God to bring many people to personal faith in Christ.Alex has spoken in more than 1,000 different churches throughout North America and internationally. For more info, check out his website:  www.alexmcfarland.com.