“All I’m saying is that God is who God is, and we can’t go around believing whatever we want to believe about him any more than people can believe what they want to believe about George Washington. Facts are facts, and we’re bound by them.”
No one ever has all the answers, especially when it comes to religion. Christianity is one that can be puzzling to those who don’t believe and hard to explain by those who do. Several people have made attempts over the years to break it down into easy to understand explanations, such as C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity. Eric Metaxas has updated his book of explanations this year in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask).
The book was originally written in 2005 but has been updated to address some current issues, such as Islam and homosexuality. I have read many of Eric Metaxas’ books, starting with his biography of Bonheoffer, and this is the third time I’ve been on a book launch team for one of his books. I also participated in the launches of Miracles and If You Can Keep It. I have yet to read a Metaxas book that isn’t well written and thought provoking.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask) is broken down into 20 chapters and written in a Q&A style. The author is answering the questions asked by someone who doesn’t believe in Christianity. There is an intro and conclusion to each chapter as well to show the author’s thoughts on the topic. Chapters cover suffering, angels and demons, the paranormal, the Bible, prayer and sex, among other topics. The author does use humor when approaching some topics, but gives clear evidence and research, along with suggested further reading in the back.
From the perspective of a Christian, the book is definitely thought provoking and could help people answer questions from family and friends. It could help someone with questions about Christianity find some answers, but the person must be able to see the humor that is in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone high school age or older due to the topics that are presented. It would be great to have a version of this written for older elementary/middle-school aged children.