I'm Glad You Asked

I've mentioned "I'm Glad You Asked" before in passing, but just pulled it off my shelf again and read back through it, and thought it was worth a stand-alone review.

Several years ago I took a class with "the Prof," Howard Hendricks, at Dallas Seminary. Prof pulled out this book, and declared to the class, "Men, if I ever get the honor of speaking in your churches, I'm going to walk in your office and look on your bookshelf to see if you have this book. If you don't, you can forget about me teaching in your church - I'll know you're not serious about reaching those around you."

Prof always has been one given to hyperbole now and again. But hyperbole aside, this really is a book you need to have on your shelf.

Ken Boa and Larry Moody have invested almost their entire lives with unbelievers, attempting to talk with them about some of the most difficult questions about Christianity. Throughout their decades of dialoguing with unbelievers, Boa and Moody believe there are only actually twelve questions that unbelievers say are keeping them from trusting Christ. This book is devoted to answering those twelve questions.

"Is there really a God?" "Do miracles really happen?" "Isn't Christianity just a psychological crutch?" "Why do the innocent suffer?" "Is Christ the only way to God?" are among some of the questions this book attempts to answer.

Boa and Moody rely on logic, common sense, and science for many of their arguments, and attempt to teach you how to confidently enter discussions with unbelievers without fear. For the most part, the authors do a tremendous job at simplifying complex arguments to the point that even I can understand them. The major exception, unfortunately, is the first question the authors attempt to answer: "Is there really a God." Although some of the arguments used to answer this question are simple, several of them discuss metaphysics and thermodynamics, and shoot right over the head of the average reader. Those of us who are slightly below the average reader don't have a prayer. Obviously, the arguments are important to the point the authors are making, but could cause you to be overwhelmed somewhere around page 29. Just skip to page 32 - after this chapter, the book is pretty easy sledding.

This book will be particularly helpful for those of you left-brained people who need a logical, rational, analytical look at the arguments that defend Christianity. Each chapter even contains a flow-chart that traces the path of logic through the chapter.

You may not agree with every argument the authors present. Some of them betray particular theological positions that the authors hold which you may not be comfortable with. That's okay, I've never read a book in which I couldn't find something to disagree with. The vast majority of this book is solid, logical, and will help you put a grid over the way you think about the evidence for the validity of Christianity.

If you've ever had that paralyzing feeling of anxiety about sharing your faith - afraid someone was going to ask you a question about the evidence for Christianity that you might not know the answer to, buy this book. If nothing else, buy it because you never know when Prof is going to show up in your office.