The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Paul P. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Reading - Book Report: Why I Am A Christian by Norm Geisler
Far too often, Christians are seen as a group of know-nothings who are desperately clinging to the crutch of religion. They are supposed to have shoddy evidence at best to support their claims (though more likely they are slightly mad, or at least very ignorant). Well, no longer. The powerful book Why I am a Christian blows such claims away with stunning arguments for nearly every issue of major debate over Christianity under the sun. Such arguments range from the reality of miracles to the absoluteness of truth. Edited by Norman L. Geisler and Paul K. Hoffman and contributed to by numerous intellectual giants of our community, it presents a formidable challenge to any and all who would try to oppose them. A word of warning - this book is not one that can be read over the course of a relaxing Sunday afternoon. It is an intellectually grueling book, and will probably take around eight hours of reading to complete. Nevertheless, it is a definitely worthwhile. Some of the arguments made in this book were beyond me; hopefully within the next several years I will be able to grasp them more effectively. This is not a book to be read once with the hopes of having it be stored forever within your memory. In fact, it is not even a book that should be simply read; it is one that requires multiple studies under the closest scrutiny to obtain all of the valuable information within. There is no one quote that I could give you from the book that would do justice to the arguments given. These authors were certainly not the sound-byte personality. There was no single statement that I couldn't get enough of, but instead steady stream of solid, fascinating information that I wanted to read through and capture. It’s a book you cannot simply explain without writing a lengthy review of every argument, and that is clearly not what this report is about. While I would gladly recommend this book to anyone searching, I would do so with a warning. I struggle with two of the claims made in this book. The book claim the big bang to be reality, and encourage an alternate translation of what actually took place during the flood, saying that it only happened in Mesopotamia and not throughout the world. While I realize that the concept of a big bang is not necessarily anti-intelligent design or anti-biblical, I would need to research the concept more fully before either accepting it as truth or rejecting it. God could have very well used the big bang to create all matter, to be sure. But there are many who disagree with the theory, and I would want to better understand the reasons for their objections before making a decision. What I find most difficult to accept is the possibility that the flood was not worldwide. How could the flood have wiped out every living thing if the flood only took place in Mesopotamia? Even if mankind had all stayed in that area, what would have kept the birds from flying outside of Mesopotamia, before or during the flood? What would have kept other animals from migrating away from there? Have space to present a couple of objections, but I know that there are plenty more to go around. I find it highly doubtful that all of the scholars of the Bible from the past until now have been incorrect in their translation of a worldwide flood. Other than those two assertions made in the book though, I agree fully and heartily with this book. Bottom line, this is a must - read for anyone and everyone with questions about the validity of the Christian faith. It combines reason and philosophy in compelling ways to answer the questions that have plagued many a person. In doing so, this book has definitely strengthened my faith and will help me give answers that I knew with my heart before, but not my mind.
