05 (May 2015)

Before you say ‘I don’t believe’

Before you say ‘I don’t believe’
James Chittenden James is assistant to the pastor at Tollgate Evangelical Church in Redhill, Surrey.
30 April, 2015 1 min read

In his usually clear and easy-to-read manner, Roger Carswell sets out to encourage non-Christians to ‘consider a little of the evidence for Christian belief’. Following his previous book, Grill a Christian, this new title aims to address a society pervaded by professing atheists, agnostics and sceptics.

Seeing 34 chapters listed on the contents page might be off-putting at first. However, they are all fairly brief, while offering enough content to provoke thought. Carswell acknowledges that the issues are not dealt with in depth, but this makes it a more accessible book for the non-Christian to read or dip into on occasion.

Among other issues, the reader is encouraged to consider creation, conscience, human kindness, science, the main theme of the Bible, the accuracy of biblical prophecy, why Jesus’ name is uniquely misused, what ‘church’ is, and the death of Jesus. Some chapters parallel others, but this results from differing approaches to the same theme. The gospel is presented clearly throughout the book. A chapter is reserved for considering a right response to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is worth noting that there is a chapter which includes several written prayers aimed to help someone know how to pray in different situations. These prayers could only be said by a Christian, but the concept of showing how someone should approach God in prayer is helpful. In addition, there is a version of the ‘sinner’s prayer’; it is, thankfully, clearly pointed out that it must be a genuine expression of the heart.

This book will be helpful to those seeking to know more about Christianity. It will also assist believers in being better equipped to engage in evangelism and answer objections to biblical Christianity.

James Chittenden
Redhill

James is assistant to the pastor at Tollgate Evangelical Church in Redhill, Surrey.
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