When it comes to the existence of God, there are as many opinions and positions as there are people. There is certainly no shortage of competing voices seeking avenues to bolster their position. Whether through print, sermons, talk shows, social media, or lecterns of college classrooms, the declaration of “truth” seems to be big business. The problem is that all positions on what constitutes truth cannot be correct. In their new book, Truth Matters; Confident Faith in a Confusing World, authors Andreas Kostenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw weigh in on this issue in favor of truth that has a firm conservative biblical foundation.

Truth Matters is a unique apologetic. On the primary level it is written to give the reader the tools needed to defend their faith against the more common objections. On the secondary level it is written for the college student who will certainly be challenged to defend their faith by secular professors who are skeptical about and even hostile toward the Christian faith. The authors make a consistent reference to Agnostic scholar and professor Bart Ehrman as the type of professor likely to be encountered on any college campus. The authors devote seven chapters to the objections that Ehrman makes/has made. Those chapters are:

1. The Skeptical Mystique: What Makes Unbelief So Terribly Believable?

2. Is God There? Does God Care? Then Why Can’t He Do Better than This?

3. Let’s Make a Bible: Who Picked These Books, and Where’d They Come From?

4. Contradictions, Contradictions: Why Does My Bible Have All These Mistakes?

5. I’ll Need an Original: How Can Copies of Copies Be the Same as the Real Thing?

6. And the Winner Is… Who Decided What Christianity Was Made Of?

7. A Likely Story: How Do We Know Jesus Rose from the Dead?

The authors give the readers the tools to go beyond a blind superficial faith to a reasoned faith that comes about through evidence and research. The answers that the authors give to Ehrman’s objections are intelligent, factual, and clear. As the attacks upon the Christian faith become more sophisticated and tenacious, so must the Christian counter with an equally aggressive defense. Truth Matters provides solid footing from which to give an honest and accurate defense of our faith. I would highly recommend this book to all youth pastors and parents who have students preparing for college and life outside the walls of the church. As a pastor I can say that this book will be a gift to our graduating seniors every year. Great work. Read it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from B&H Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”