My latest Thomas Nelson book to review was a real winner — Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias.
My husband is a huge Ravi fan, so we have lots of his books around our home. But both times I sampled his books, I wasn’t a fan of his style.
But Beyond Opinion is edited by Ravi. He has contributed only two chapters besides the introduction and conclusion. Ironically, I really liked his two chapters in this book. In fact, I liked all of this book.
It’s meaty, and it took me a long time to read because this book makes you think. (Or at least, you’ll have to think if you’re going to understand the book. ) There were plenty of parts that caused me to pause and re-read them again slowly to truly digest the ideas. Each chapter can stand alone, so it’s great for reading in snippets or for jumping around, depending on your personal passions.
I went straight to the atheism and Eastern religions chapters because those are so relevant to my daily life.
However, this book goes beyond logical and philosophical debate. The heart of the book is “winning people rather than arguments.” The authors admit that non-Christians have valid, soul-searching questions about Jesus and the Christian faith which deserve thoughtful and loving responses. There are six chapters focusing on various challenges to the Bible : postmodern, atheism, youth, Islam, Eastern religion, and science.
The second section of the book delves into deeper issues such as the problem of good and evil and cultural challenges. The third section is about spiritual transformation. And the book ends with Ravi’s call for the church to fulfill its role of defending the faith to a questioning world.
Ravi says the “task of the apologist is plainly and simply to remove the doubts and point the people to the cross.”
If you want to bone up on your apologetics so you can more skillfully remove doubts, Beyond Opinion is a good option. As a by-product, your own faith will be strengthened while you read the plethora of reasonable answers for the Christan faith. We walk by faith, but that faith is based on a rational belief system.
Thank you for this review! I like Ravi, but had not heard of this book. I’m headed to amazon.com to put it in my wish list!
I especially love the “winning people rather than arguments” idea.
Have a great week!
ooh. sounds good! I would’ve liked reviewing that one… too bad I missed it. I decided to hold off on reviews for a while because I had a couple that really weren’t worth my time!
I really enjoy Ravi, his radio program (I don’t know if it still runs in the US, but years ago we listened to it). I haven’t ever read any of his books… but I do understand what you mean about having to ‘digest’… it is soo good to really think.
🙂
amy in peru
I’ll have to check this out! I have a couple of his books, and have enjoyed them both. They are slow-going, deep books… and, frankly, I’m just not always in the mood for such a heavy meal… but there are other times when it’s perfect for the soul & mind.
I always glean important points from Ravi.
It’s going on my library list. I’ll let you know what I think. 🙂
His daughter was one of my RAs in college! I’ve heard him speak a few times and really enjoyed it. A friend of ours gets his podcasts for the road, it helps her stay awake (instead of music) because he makes you think so much. Glad you liked the book.
My husband is also a huge Ravi fan – I do like to listen to him on the radio…he simply speaks the Truth and what a humble man he is. Yesterday he was speaking about his mother saving his life at the hands of his father. Brings tears to your eyes, for sure! It is wonderful to see how God, our Father, used that event to shape Ravi into a wonderful teacher/preacher sharing the gospel of Jesus with the world…
Hi Jimmie,
Thanks for this review. I’ll look forward to picking up a copy soon as it is always a struggle to know how to answer thoughtful questions intelligently without reverting to worn out platitudes that never convince anyone!