Know Why You Believe

Outstanding listen. So smooth. Outstanding message. So strengthening and energizing.

Clear, thorough and extremely helpful for the learned and the learning. Thank you!

The summary (title) pretty well says it all for me.

I think that this is a wonderful book. I firmly believe that the evidence presented in the book is true, as has been proven down through the ages - by people living their lives, and by historians seeking to "prove" that the Bible is accurate in the way that it has been transmitted from the time of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, the way that it was read here has made this book quite dull to listen to. I wondered if it was just me, so I asked some people I know. I asked people of different cultural backgrounds to make sure that it wasn't my native tongue which was causing me problems. Without fail, everyone agreed that the reading was dull. Little expression.

I wonder if I'm the only person who noticed this: Since when did the book of Jude have more than one chapter? The reader referred to Jude, chapter 11, instead of Jude, verse 11!

When seeking you always should want to know the why. The author clear laid it out weaving history, science and reasoning into a well documented argument of why he believes which leaving you not only more secure in your faith but falling in more in love with God the Father,God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Little apologetic insight is keen.

Very glad Mrs. Little has allowed us to have this great book. It is concise and powerful in laying the groundwork for building a case to challenge those who feel Christianity is for the ignorant. Lot's of details on things I've heard about before. Great equipping!

Christianaudio has help me discovering the ability to listen and focus, not only read but allow a text to speak to you in a new way. I have enjoyed the book, and will continue to use this method of reading.

At this point in time where everyone is claiming to be the truth and the way to heaven, this book with it's extensive amount of research brings back our confidence in what we believe

It was a good book. I enjoyed it. Felt like a good summary of other apologetics. Thanks for the read.

Very informative with lots of great points. Fun to listen to. A book everyone should own and listen to ,ore than once.

Very informative about the reasons why the Christian faith is reasonable.

This book is a wonderful introduction to apologetics. It is a faith builder!

Love this book! Read it several years ago, listened to it a couple times this month.
thank you so much!

I used a paperback version of this book not long after I had become a Christian and have always believed it to be excellent at providing a reasoned argument for my belief.

The book details logical reasoning for believing that many Christians may avoid out of fear. A must read for everyone.

I am really enjoying it and appreciating its approach to defend and explain the Christian faith

This book reminds us about the Christian values we sometimes thought we already knew but often forget. It also helps us defend and explain what we believe in.

This book is so helpful for anyone who wants to share the reliability of the faith or to help those with questions about the existence of God or the problem of evil. I highly recommend it.

This book offers really great insight into the historicity of Christianity and is very easy for the lay-person to understand and follow. It was brief for a person searching for reasons to point out! I would have loved for this to keep going.

This book will help you when talking to non-believers, it will give you more information to help them make a decision.

Very well done! Easy to listen to and full of helpful information.

This audiobook is one I'm glad I listened to.

There were many segments where I was fully engaged by the authors message. There were equally as many times throughout the book where I just couldn't stay focused, too. I feel m

Being a 'lifetime' Christian who grew up in a charismatic church, I somehow avoided or failed to learn the more "evidence based" fundamentals about our faith. This book helped reveal more of the that side. Of course, the Bible is all factual as far as I'm concerned, however pointing out where other religions fall short in a massive way from a logical point of view really helps with enhancing my conversations with others on the topic and doing God's will. This book is worth adding to your audio library even if you only listen to it once.

I downloaded this book when it was the Free Book of the Month, which encouraged me to read it. Thanks to Christian Audio for running this monthly download.

It was a good explanation of why I believe.

Paul Little's classic is a nearly perfect book for what it is: A small, simple, introductory work of apologetics. Each topics get on average 15-20 (small) pages. There is a little bit of philosophy, a lot of content on what the Bible is and if it is trustworthy, miracles, science, the Problem of Evil, comparative religions, and if the subjective Christian experience is valid.

This is a good place to start if you are looking for something simple to share with friends, family or co-workers, or if you have not read apologetics books before. Those who are familiar with apologetics will find it more like a short overview of some of the issues that intersect with the Christian worldview.

Excellent book with easy to follow explanations of deep scientific dogma and errors; which Paul challenges and corrects.

This has been a most enlightening read. It's one thing to believe, another to know you know you believe & that there is conclusive evidence for your beliefs.

In Short:

I am a Christian that values history and sincerity. I am attempting to find my answer to the question posed in 1 Peter 3:15, “be ready to explain why you believe.” If you are already a Believer then you will probably enjoy this book, though find it antiquated, and it will unapologetically reinforce what you already know is true. If you are not a Believer and have honest questions about why you should believe in god, do not waste your time with this book. There is nothing useful in it other than two arguments, which I will share below. Even though I do not directly disagree with many things discussed here, as an earnest seeker, I find this book to be painfully naïve. The author states that you do not have to give up your intellect, but save for the two good arguments, the ‘evidences’ as presented assume you will simply accept that his worldview is true instead of anyone else’s. It is clear to me that he never questioned whether his beliefs might actually be wrong, to his detriment.

In Detail:

I hope you got the unapologetic pun.

Frankly, I don’t know where to start. There are entirely too many points to contradict. Almost every statement he made about the facts surrounding belief and the bible have contrary, alternative, or parallel views based in a historical perspective. Each of the historical views is not only more plausible, but ultimately more satisfying when approaching people who have sincere questions about faith in the Christian god.

I will start with what I agreed with; it’s certainly the shortest. Little states that archeological evidence does not prove the bible true. Archeology simply gives credence that what is written there may have happened. Whether god is behind it or not is a matter of faith. This is a great statement. Later he promotes a very excellent argument about the theory of evolution. It cannot be a truly scientific theory because its basic tenants cannot be tested, making it a belief system instead of empirical evidence. This is also an excellent point. Unfortunately, both of these excellent statements are ruined by later arguments that undermine and irreparably scar his logic.

Now for the critique:

Mr. Little claims that we have free will, which means God cannot (or does not?) control us like marionettes. We make the choices and reap the consequences; it is not god’s fault. Then, in writing the New Testament, he claims that the writers wrote exactly what God wanted . . . exactly . . . what he wanted, as if there were no free will in that instance. Later he makes a comment about evil coexisting with or being inseparable from free will. What happens when we go to heaven then? No more free will? It was my understanding that there was to be no sin there. The inconsistency of his arguments is plain, though I cannot say if it is merely convenience or something else.

He also states that Jesus’ only contention with the Pharisees was their elevation of tradition to the same level as scripture. I find this odd since tradition is the very same thing that has made it possible for him to make the claims he makes: the New Testament as inerrant, authoritative, and infallible. These concepts developed when empirically minded atheists (with an ax to grind) started attacking the bible with scientific facts. Believers overreacted with claims of absolute perfection (completely missing the point). We have never bothered to look back and reconsider the grandiose statements that were made, which have since become unquestioned.

Little states that the scriptures in the New Testament are there because they are inspired by god, not because of a vote. It seems clear from history that the known emperor of the world, Constantine, prompted such a discussion as the counsel of Nicaea to keep the peace. There were several revolts that had to be quelled with Roman military forces because believers could not agree on which of the many versions of Christianity were true. Shortly afterward, he formed the counsel of Nicaea. The vote established one version (oddly the very same “orthodox” version we still hold is universally true today) as the only correct version among the many. Afterward “heretics” could be dealt with properly . . . and with the full authority of the state.

Paul Little is hypocritical in his stance on biblical truth. Take, for example, the excellent statement on Old Testament archeology from above. When faced with the exact same situation of archeological evidence in the New Testament, he begs off tangible archeology and focuses only on the ‘writings,’ which we know as the New Testament. Then, rather than similarly reasoning that archeology cannot prove the New Testament true, he instead states that the New Testament is absolutely true. He claims that if the people who wrote the New Testament were of sound mind, it is as if we were standing right there beside them witnessing events. He claims the resurrection of Jesus as verifiable fact because of what the bible says about it. He references scriptural verses as proof that Adam and Eve were real people (even though they were in the Old Testament). He is extremely careful never to use the words “inerrant, infallible, and authoritative,” but it is clear that he means us to believe this about the New Testament (and whichever Old Testament verses are necessary to make his points). History does not work this way.

Now take the example of evolution as a believe system vs. scientific theory. He assumes that the meaning of a fact is based on its interpretation, which I believe is correct. An atheist has no choice except to believe in evolution because his worldview does not allow for god to be involved. Unfortunately this debases Little’s entire argument, because he has never allowed for the possibility that the bible might be wrong, so he has to believe in god’s direct involvement. He does not bother to point out that his assumption of absolute biblical truth is equally un-testable before making his evidence based claims that god created the world.

In one chapter, he asserts an either-or rule in logic, and he insists that belief in god fits this criteria. His example is of crossing a street: A bus either will hit you because it is coming, or it will not hit you because it is not coming. He does not acknowledge any other options. For example, anyone crossing a street knows that you cross the street parallel to traffic. It is usually helpfully illuminated with a sign that says, “Walk.” The bus is coming AND we can safely cross the street. It is his narrow minded limitations that create the problem. To apply this to his either-or rule, you can only be a Christian his way or a non-believer. I am confident there is at least one other option outside his very narrow view.

To this point, the book was mostly just irritating. Then he made me angry. He had the gall to say that the Jewish god is close to the Christian one and that Jews were not real seekers or else they would have found Jesus. He owes everything in his faith to the Jews, most especially Jesus, who fulfilled the covenant as the ideal JEW. The covenant – from the very same god – was based on Israel first in order to include everyone else later. Without Jews there would be no Christians. We can never forget that.

Finally, as he is preparing his alter call at the end of the book, he asks if you have already put your faith in Jesus or if you are still on the way. He completely fails to consider that there are other equally plausible answers to his questions that don’t even involve his very narrow worldview. This more than anything else pains me because I used to think like him, but I no longer do. I have realized that an inerrant, authoritative, infallible bible (which I view as either the fourth member of the trinity or idolatry) is not necessary for faith. The first Christians didn’t have one. It is much harder, though. I am finding answers to questions of faith and the reality of Christianity much more worthwhile answers than “because the bible says so.” These are answers that Paul Little has never bothered to consider because he never deigned to think that he might be wrong.

I was taught to have the same faith as Paul Little. Yet, I have found god and Christianity to be more real now than I ever could as a scripture spouting Lutheran, evangelical, charismatic or any of the other things I considered myself. But, it is definitely harder. If this book reinforces everything you believe and makes your beliefs easier, I hope that you will at least try looking outside of your closed box for another reality of godly living that is available. If you do not already believe everything in here, reading this book will not give you any answers that are useful. It will simply present, as empirical fact ironically, assumptions that are meant to lead us into his version of reality.

Luke 10:27 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'. Knowing why we believe unlocks the reason behind our faith and dis-spell the myth that you have to stop thinking to believe aand have faith. A must read for every believer whether young or old.

This is a very good and useful tool for the Christian life. i pretty much know WHAT i believe, and i know a lot about WHY i believe, but after listening to "Know Why You Believe", i am better equipped to explain to others WHAT and WHY i believe. i thought "Know Why You Believe" was a very good audiobook, and i will be listening to it again and often.

I was so glad to see this month's Christian audio book was an apologetics one since I do love apologetics and this meant many of the books I was interested in would be on sale. This actually was not a book on my interest list and as I listened to the first chapter I felt like this had very much the same points as my favorite, "I dont have enough faith to be an atheist". I was afraid it would end up all being stuff I already heard, and much of it was, but I liked that this was a different compilation of some of that info. Some of my favorite content from this book: remarkable qualities of water, why church moved to Sundays, how the Bible can be taken literally as long as you mean to do this by deducing the clear intent of the writers (if the writers meant it literally or figuratively, you take it how they said it), we are more precise with numbers now than they were in their records of history in Biblical times ,the principle of uncertainty with electrons and how this could also relate to Christianity. This covers some highlights from the book, "How we got the Bible" about our textual research and origins, how the crucificion year can be figured, copies of the NT documents vs non-Christian historical docs, determining the canon, the apocrypha, Biblical archaeological evidence, how Paul's career can be dated from Gallo, how the scientific method was originally envisioned by religious people appreciating the logic God gave us to work with, deists vs. theists, if the world was made in 24-hr days, how the golden rule is not sufficient as a whole religion, how Christianity differs from Judiasm, Buddhism & Islam, and tolerance versus agreement.

While I had heard a lot of the content before, I loved hearing it in a different way--pretty relatable really, and all in one spot, yet I did not appreciate the organization of it all. Seemed like it would just throw out one topic right after another with no clear structure on where we were going next. For that reason, I still favor, Geisler and Turek's book because of its excellent organization. But this book offers a mix of what that book has, plus a book on biblical text studies, plus some other good material so it's a nice read too.

As a Christian, the ideas and proofs given in this book are helpful when thinking through conversations that you will have as a believer- with other believers in discipleship and with non-believers. I might need the actual book for reference.

Listening to this book is an evangelical experience of why Christians believe and how Christianity connects faith and reason. Having said that, the title would be more transparent if it included the word "Christian" and the listener more informed before taking up the work. This is not an academic overview of world religions, faith, and reason; it is a personal testimonial of the author's experience bringing the Bible and his faith in it to others, employing the Bible as a scholarly document of fact on which to ground reason. Ultimately, it is a convincing testimony in support of Christianity that, most likely, will engage Christians more than a wider listening audience. L.V.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine