Book Review – Why Should I Believe Christianity? by James Anderson

Why Believe Christianity? Because It’s True

Why Should I Believe Christianity? by James Anderson

Synopsis:

Some people boldly claim, “Christianity is fine for some, but it isn’t for me.” Others feel it is just outdated and irrelevant. For better or worse, everyone in the Western world has come into contact with Christianity: we all have some opinion on it.

James Anderson, with a clear, humorous logic, explores what Christianity really claims, and shows the underlying reason and consistency behind these claims. By the end of Why Should I Believe Christianity?, while you may not agree with the Christian worldview, it is impossible to be left sitting on the fence. (Taken from GoodReads page)

Review

If you’ve listened to Dr. Anderson in interviews or debates you realize the caliber of mind he possesses. You also know he’s able to present difficult material in different ways including simpler ways and with gentleness and respect.

This book is a great primer for those questioning Christianity or even new believers. Let them borrow it or head over to the Cave To The Cross Apologetics show and go through it with them.

Almost under disguise as a philosophy book, Dr. Anderson addresses simple questions like, “Why should we believe things?” and “Why do things exist?” From there, he builds out how people see the world through their own sets of presuppositions – no one is a blank slate or could even pretend to be. This develops a person’s worldview and what they allow into that worldview as evidence for things. His challenge is that Christianity offers the best answers to those questions all worldviews have to answer. For example, “Is there a God?”; “Why is there something rather than nothing?”; and “Are there things we ought to do or must not do?” He puts forth that a worldview that is most consistent, and actually perfectly consistent, and has full explanatory power is going to be the best reason to believe it is true. Shockingly, Dr. Anderson puts forth that Christianity offers the best explanatory power and is consistent within itself.

From there, he gives a very good overview of the Christian worldview which is just a walk through The Bible. He picks out answers to those worldview questions and answers a few more he highlights. If you know Dr. Anderson from presuppositional teaching or transcendental argumentation (TAG) you’ll see elements of those in this book although TAG not so much. He finishes by covering who Jesus is and the Resurrection as they are the central point of the Christian worldview. He also presents a final chapter on what to do after reading the book. As it is the first in a series of books, he points you to answers in the other books that he didn’t address in this book.

Overall, this is a well-put-together book. It is short and not overly complicated which seems like a daunting task for a book trying to answer the biggest questions mankind has facing it. The fact that Dr. Anderson commands the material so well is a testament to his teaching acuity. If you’re looking to get into presuppositional apologetics this is a good start to dip your toe into the water and get used to some of the terminology and topics. Pick up a copy just to give friends who are new Christians and let them know that we don’t leave our mind at the door of Christianity – Christianity is the basis for the science, logic, and morality we experience and perceive in our lives.

Final Grade