Apologetics and material setting forth of the Christian argument are quite prevalent these days, especially since there seem to be quite a few who stand up loudly against Christianity in society and popular culture. Yet far too many in our society have not even stopped to give the matter much thought-- they have gone along with the currents of society and do not really know any better. They might imagine that science has disproven the existence of God, or that any higher power might remain unknowable. Regardless of their views, they are not extremely well thought out, and spiritual concern may not be very high.

Mark Mittelberg is well-known for his apologetic material; he has now worked to revise Robert Laidlaw's The Reason Why, and the work is now available as The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense. While some of Laidlaw's original material is quoted, most of it seems to come from Mittelberg. The book is designed as a basic discussion of the big issues involved-- the origins of everything, who God is, who we are, what the problem is, and how we get to the solution.

The book is quite short-- 120 smaller pages using a large font. It could easily be read in the space of an hour or two in an afternoon or evening, and that is its purpose. It is really designed for the person we described above: someone who may not agree with the Christian perspective on things but mostly because they are not aware of the arguments for Christianity. The book cogently sets forth the gist of the arguments in a fairly understandable way, starting with the existence of God the Creator, moving on to the Bible as His revelation, why it is that we are accountable before God, who Jesus was and what He did, how forgiveness is available, and what must be done about it. There are some notes at the back that go into some of the issues in more detail, but the overall material remains quite basic.

The material is very consistent with what Mittelberg has written elsewhere-- see particularly The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask-- and The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense can properly be seen as the small handout edition of his apologetic works.

For its purpose, the majority of The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense is excellent. It is just too bad that when he gets to the point of discussing how to "accept Christ," Mittelberg deviates from the Biblical pattern of confession, repentance, baptism, and obedient discipleship (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-7, 1 Peter 3:21), and instead advocates for the non-Scriptural innovation of the "sinner's prayer". Mittelberg also highly recommends the NLT, probably not least because it is the translation printed by Tyndale, the publisher of his book. One can find an easy to understand version (e.g. ESV) without getting an interpretive version (the NLT).

If one is looking for a basic way to present the main arguments for the Christian faith, there is value in The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense. Sadly, however, it cannot be really recommended for its target audience-- the "ignorant unbeliever"-- because of how it would lead them astray at the end.

*--book received as part of early review program ( )