How do you know the Bible is true?
Doesn’t the Bible contradict science?
Written by two of today’s leading apologists, answers to these questions and more are found in the book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.
Whether you were raised a Christian or became one later in life, you’ve probably struggled with questions about your faith.
It would be hard not to ever have questions! After all, we are surrounded by cynics and skeptics on every hand. We deal with them every day.
Or it may not be you struggling with the questions, but someone you know, perhaps a family member, friend, or coworker.
The Bible calls us to always be prepared to give a defense for the hope that we have.
That’s why apologetics is so important.
Apologetics is the reasoned defense of the faith. It’s using sound philosophy, logic, and science to defend Christianity.
There are so many facets to apologetics that it would be very difficult for one book to cover them all. But I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist is one book that does a superb job at giving a comprehensive defense of the faith.
Frank Turek and Norm Geisler are two of the biggest names in apologetics today.
The pair have been writing and speaking for years in order to give Christians the tools they need to defend their faith.
In their years of speaking, they developed a 12-point presentation to prove the truth of Christianity. This presentation starts with some very fundamental truths before proceeding to show that the Bible is the Word of God.
Seeing how effective their presentation was, Turek and Geisler developed the content of their presentation into a book, giving it the cheeky title I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.
The goal of their book is to provide a convincing argument that Jesus is the Son of God and the Bible is the Word of God. To prove this, the authors use the same tactic as in their presentation, building on one point after another to make a forceful and compelling argument.
They first consider some very basic questions: does truth exist and can we know it?
These are foundational questions. Without providing solid answers to these questions, nothing else can really be discussed.
Turek and Geisler use simple logic and humor to show the inherent instability and self-refuting nature of claims that truth is relative.
Next, they move on to the question of God. Does God exist, and how can we know?
While the whole book is excellent, this is the section that truly stands out.
Turek and Geisler use evidence from cosmology, biology, ethics, and astronomy to so convincingly argue for the existence of God, that someone would have to be willfully ignorant to deny His existence.
In fact, that’s the exact point the authors make. Skeptics do not disbelieve God because of a lack of evidence, but because of a lack of will.
Although they rely on technical and scientific arguments, the book is never boring or difficult to get through. The authors write about difficult topics in an accessible manner and use humor and personal anecdotes to keep things briskly moving along.
Once the question of God is settled, Turek and Geisler then prove the truth of the New Testament through textual evidence, as well as archeological and historical evidence.
The authors bring the same forceful logic and evidence to show that the New Testament writers were indeed reliable eyewitness who accurately recorded what they saw.
Now Turek and Geisler are ready to conclude I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist with their final argument. If the New Testament is true, then we must accept its claim that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Bible is the Word of God.
The authors’ logic is impossible to escape.
By starting with the basic questions of truth and building on that foundation, Turek and Geisler have created an argument for the truth of Christianity that has incredible weight and force.
A sincere truth-seeker would have a very hard time escaping their assertions.
This is the primary strength of the book. It comprehensively lays out an incredibly effective argument for the truth of Christianity.
Additionally, it does so while keeping the book engaging through an accessible writing style, humor, and personal anecdotes.
That’s not to say the book is perfect.
While the comprehensive nature of the book is its primary strength, it also makes it hard to give the necessary space to each question. Every chapter in the book could really be expanded into its own book due to the scope and importance of the questions involved.
This means there are times when their arguments would be helped by giving more discussion and evidence. For example, the chapters on the truth of the New Testament don’t hit with quite the same overwhelming force as the chapters on the existence of God.
It’s not because the arguments aren’t strong – they simply need more space to fully explain them.
Nevertheless, if you could read or recommend only one book on apologetics, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist would be a stellar choice. What Geisler and Turek have accomplished in their book is truly amazing.
Whether you are a Christian struggling with questions, or want to have answers for someone else, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist is a masterful apologetics book.
It can be purchased at Amazon or other book sellers.
