As the title suggests, this book discusses 12 hard questions non-Christians may have against Christianity. I really enjoyed this book. It answers the questions well, and through the process brings to light the beauty of the gospel. This book won a bunch of Christian book awards and I think those awards are well-deserved. I will be handing this book to my children once they are older.

Some favorite quotes:

"If you care about diversity, don’t dismiss Christianity: it is the most diverse, multiethnic, and multicultural movement in all of history."

"When atheists reject Christianity because of the evils done in the name of religion, we must recognize that evil has also been done in the name of science. And that it is ultimately only a religious worldview that enables us to diagnose evil as evil."

“ 'Helper' sounds like a subordinate role. But in the Hebrew Scriptures, the word helper is overwhelmingly applied to God himself, so it cannot imply inferior status."

"God created sex and marriage as a telescope to give us a glimpse of his star-sized desire for intimacy with us."

"God’s love and God’s judgement cannot be pulled apart. Think of your anger at the slave trade, the Holocaust, and global sex trafficking. When you analyze that anger, its root is love. No one who regards those of other races as subhuman cares about racial exploitation. Noe one who believes that women or children are property cares about sexual abuse. And the more we love, the more easily our anger is kindled…..Imagine that this kind of love-motivated anger is so deeply entrenched in the heart of God that your own commitment to justice is like a drop in the ocean."

"Sam Harris argues that our recognition that human beings do not have free will should make us more compassionate for murderers. They were just unlucky in their circumstances, not morally culpable. Christianity also demand that we identify with the worst criminals, but on different grounds: not because they (like us) are innocent but because we (like them) are guilty."

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Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
By Rebecca McLaughlin
2019, Crossway Books
Hardcover, 240pp

"We are inclined to assume that we are more sophisticated than a text written thousands of years ago."

This is one of the finest offerings of Christian apologetics in this century. Expecting to find another trite attempt to square Christian theology with reality, McLaughlin brings sharp intelligence, compassion, thorough research, and hard data to the table. And she doesn't shy away from anything. Like the subtitle says, she takes on the hard questions: Why does a loving God allow so much suffering? Is Christianity homophobic? Are we better off without religion? Her take on the seven-blind-people-touching-the-elephant analogy expresses the calm, careful demeanor with which McLaughlin exposes some of the best defeaters for Christianity and levels the playing field once again. ( )

I was so struck by this book and recommend it very highly indeed. It is beautifully written and deals with every one of the 12 questions so graciously and yet so clearly and biblically. It is, I think, the best ƒ??apologeticsƒ?? book I have read for ages and I was greatly encouraged by it. ( )