A couple of years ago David C Cook introduced us to J. Warner Wallace when we reviewed the book Cold-Case Christianity for Kids, and the accompanying Case Makers Academy website. J. Warner Wallace is a real-life cold-case crime detective who was an atheist until he was in his 30's, when he applied his investigative skills to determine the evidence for Christ. Forensic Faith for Kids is the third in his series of books for children who may begin wondering about the apologetics of their faith as well as corresponding books for adults.
The timing of this particular review was especially fortuitous because my youngest had recently been interacting with a cyberfriend, where he and other online friends were discussing Christianity and it's validity with a young person who had "all the questions." He was very concerned about her questioning the reality of God, Heaven, and what happens when we die because he felt he couldn't give her answers to make her see the truth. I told him that we can't *make anyone believe, all we can do is gain the knowledge we need to be able to plant the seeds and let God do the growing (I Peter 3:15).
Just a note* In case you might think that a book about apologetics for kids might be dull and dry~ I asked Youngest to read the intro, the preface, and the first couple of chapters... but he didn't... he read the whole thing in one sitting!
About the book:
-> See what I mean about fortuitous timing? ;) <- br="" nbsp="">
One of the key things learned is that there will always be questions, but even great court cases that are built on good evidence have unanswered questions. If they didn't they wouldn't need a jury and/or judge to determine the outcome. In the same way, we need to understand that we will never have ALL the answers (I Corinthians 13:12), but we need to make good use of the ones that we do have.
About the Academy:
Along with the book, the Case Makers Academy website offers many resources to help your reader engage with the story and the process of investigation.
The videos are J. Warner Wallace speaking directly to your young investigator(s) before they read the chapter. He lets them know a little bit about what they are going to be reading and gives a little background information. He really ties everything all together in the video. As a small example, in the video for chapter 4 he talks about "connecting the dots" and the activity sheet is a connect the dots activity. ;) He also encourages the kids to pay close attention to the sidebars in the book~ they are filled with Detective Definitions, CSI Activities, reminders to Dig Deep (By completing the activity sheets and notebook sheets), "tools for the Detective Toolbox."
Here's the first video from the introduction to the book:
The Activity Sheets have fun puzzles or activities to complete (like dot-to-dot, spot-the-differences, etc...), the Notebook sheets are Fill-in-the-blank type worksheets that help to make sure your readers understand what they just read. The Adult leader guide talks about important concepts in the chapter and offers discussion question suggestions.
All around, I give David C Cook and J. Warner Wallace 5 Acorns out of 5 for an excellent resource to help train some of the youngest defenders of the faith.
Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty
- Company: David C Cook and Case Makers Academy
- Product: Forensic Faith for Kids
- Ages: 8-12
- Price: $9.99 list price
You can visit Facebook for more interaction with the Case Makers Academy.
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Blessings~
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