Apologia~ I don't have Faith Enough to Be an Athiest

 

Have you ever had one of those conversations (In real life, on facebook, or maybe through the comments section on a blog or other forum)? You know... the kind that talk about how there must not be a God, because so many bad things happen to good people, or that religion is man-made, or truth is relative... Well, I have. Those sorts of discussions tend to take over my life when they happen~ it's kind of exciting! Because I had a fairly decent foundation in Christian Apologetics (thanks Dad!), I was able to make relevant, logical arguments. I want the same foundation for my children.

I think it is highly important in today's world, with all the PC-ish attitudes that leave God out of the equation, for our Christian young people to have the ability to reasonably and logically answer  some of life's major questions: 

• Where did we come from? 
• Who are we? 
• Why are we here? 
• How should we live?
• Where are we going? 

The answers to these questions will vary widely, based on worldview.  Just in case you aren't quite sure what worldview means, here's a little chart from the introduction that might help~ is God's hand holding up the world, in the world, or not evident in the world at all?

One of my favorite comments for years has been that it takes a lot more faith to believe in Evolution than in Creation (personal opinion here), so I totally appreciate the title (and the content~ which tackles those 5 questions right from the introduction) of my latest review item from the TOS Review Crew,  "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist" by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, and the accompanying curriculum published by Apologia. What a fabulous resource! 

This is NOT a pick it up and read it in a few sittings sort of book. This is a really well written Christian Apologetic Text with so much content that it is best taken in small morsels. There are interesting dialogues and examples throughout the conversational text, with great little quotations introducing each chapter. 

My daughter's interest in this book was piqued by the fact that Apologia was offering it, and she really appreciated the way big questions like that were answered in the Apologia science texts. Although she hasn't had much opportunity to have this sort of deep discussion with her peers (Secular or otherwise), now is the best time to start preparing. 

The curriculum workbook follows the text chapter by chapter. The beginning of each chapter tells you which pages to read, gives an overview of the chapter (Key Topics), vocabulary used (Key Terms), and a Road Map that shows which of "the twelve points that prove Christianity is true" will be covered in that chapter. There are also profiles of important people (both Christians and Atheists~ for instance, the introduction offers profiles of Carl Sagan and C.S. Lewis) which help to make the material more relevant.

The curriculum then breaks into 4 sections:

• Hook: Reminder of the content and a few warm up questions
• Book: Deeper into the specific issues covered in each chapter
• Look: Check out the information yourself~ (The "assignment" portion of the workbook)
• Took: Summary and application of the material

As I mentioned earlier, this is a very in depth text. When I first opened the book, after perusing it a bit, I was surprised at how much information was jam packed into just the introduction, not to mention the chapters! I was relieved to see that one is expected to take 2-3 weeks to cover each chapter. :) It took us about that long to cover the introduction.... and yes, the introduction follows the chapter format in the workbook and has its own sets of questions and assignments.

The Table of Contents

Foreword by David Limbaugh    7 
Preface: How Much Faith Do You Need to Believe This Book?    13 
Acknowledgments    15 
Introduction: Finding the Box Top to the Puzzle of Life    17
1    Can We Handle the Truth?    35 
2    Why Should Anyone Believe Anything At All?    51 
3    In the Beginning There Was a Great SURGE    73 
4    Divine Design    95 
5    The First Life: Natural Law or Divine Awe?    113 
6    New Life Forms: From the Goo to You via the Zoo?    137 
7    Mother Teresa vs. Hitler    169 
8    Miracles: Signs of God or Gullibility?    197 
9    Do We Have Early Testimony About Jesus?    221
10    Do We Have Eyewitness Testimony About Jesus?    251
11    The Top Ten Reasons We Know the New Testament    275 Writers Told the Truth
12    Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?    299 
13    Who Is Jesus: God? Or Just a Great Moral Teacher?    327 
14    What Did Jesus Teach About the Bible?    355 
15    Conclusion: The Judge, the Servant King, and the Box Top    377 
Appendix
 1: If God, Why Evil?    389 Appendix 
2: Isn’t That Just Your Interpretation?    402 Appendix 
3: Why the Jesus Seminar Doesn’t Speak for Jesus    409 
Notes    412 
General Index    436 
Scripture Index    442

You can download sample chapters of the book and the workbook to get a feel for I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. I appreciate the logical fashion in which the material is presented in these books, and am looking forward to continuing this study through the year. I could totally see this being used as the spine for a high school or college youth group series, as the content lends itself to that sort of discussion, but it works well one on one also. I would caution again, that this is NOT a book to just sit down and read. It needs to be taken in small bites, ruminated upon, and fully digested before moving on to the next bite~ otherwise one might become overwhelmed. I am liking it! :) My daughter is enjoying it also. Much of that is because she appreciates conversational word pictures that are not only memorable, but are also logical and rational. I sense some interesting conversations coming up this year.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Apologia
• Product: I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist and I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Athiest Curriculum Workbook
• Ages: High School/College/Adult
• Price: Text $16, Workbook $33

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Disclaimer: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Review Crew Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."