Keeping Your Kids on God's Side: 40 Conversations to Help Them Build a Lasting Faith

by Natasha Crain, J. Warner Wallace (Foreword by)

Overview

Answers to Their Hard Questions about Christianity

How do we know Jesus existed? Are Christians less intelligent than atheists? How can a loving God send people to hell? In a culture of secularism and skepticism, your kids are bound to encounter questions like these and many more—and you have both the duty and honor of equipping them with the training they need for a lasting faith.

From author and speaker Natasha Crain, Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side provides 40 concise, compelling responses to culture’s most common challenges to Christianity. As you read, you will

• build a strong foundation of Christian apologetics as you survey the many reasons for being confident in the truth of Christianity
• gain the wisdom and encouragement to have honest, informed, and age-appropriate discussions about faith with your children
• discover tools for teaching your kids the critical thinking skills they’ll need to navigate differing worldviews

An excellent starting point, refresher course, or reference guide for every Christian parent, this book prepares you to answer your kids’ questions about Christianity with clarity and keep the door open for ongoing conversation about why they can be confident in Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780736965088
Publisher:	Harvest House Publishers
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	630,162
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Natasha Crain is a speaker, podcaster, and author of five books who equips Christians to think more clearly about holding to a biblical worldview in an increasingly challenging secular culture. She has been featured on radio and TV shows across the US and Canada. A former marketing executive and adjunct professor, Natasha lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. Connect with her at https://natashacrain.com/

Table of Contents

Foreword J. Warner Wallace 7

What Your Kids Need for a Confident Faith 9

Part 1 Conversations About God

1 What evidence is there for God's existence? 16

2 How could a good God allow evil and suffering? 22

3 Why would God command the genocide of the Canaanites? 27

4 How can a loving God send people to hell? 33

5 How can God judge people who have never even heard about Jesus? 38

6 Why would God need people to worship Him? 43

7 Why is God so hidden? 47

8 Is faith in God the opposite of reason? 51

Part 2 Conversations About Truth and Worldviews

9 What is the difference between objective and subjective truth? 58

10 Do all religions point to the same truth? 62

11 How can Christians claim they know what is objectively true? 67

12 How can personal experience help determine what is true? 72

13 How can common sense help determine what is true? 77

14 If Christianity is true, why are there so many denominations? 80

15 Is Christianity responsible for millions of deaths in history? 86

16 Are Christians less intelligent than atheists? 93

Part 3 Conversations About Jesus

17 How do we know Jesus existed? 102

18 Did Jesus really claim to be God? 107

19 Did Jesus' followers really believe He was God? 113

20 Why did Jesus need to die on the cross for our sins? 118

21 What are the historical facts of the resurrection that nearly every scholar agrees on? 123

22 What are the major theories people use to explain those facts? 128

23 Why do Christians believe a supernatural resurrection best explains the facts? 135

24 How can Christians believe miracles are even possible? 140

Part 4 Conversations About the Bible

25 How were the books in the Bible selected? 148

26 Why were books left out of the Bible? 154

27 How do we know we can trust the Bible's authors? 159

28 How do we know the Bible we have today says what the authors originally wrote? 165

29 Does the Bible have errors and contradictions? 170

30 Does the Bible support slavery? 175

31 Does the Bible support rape? 182

32 Does the Bible support human sacrifice? 189

Part 5 Conversations About Science

33 Why do Christians have varying views on how and when God created the world? 198

34 What is young-Earth creationism? 203

35 How do mainstream scientists estimate the age of the Earth? 210

36 What is old-Earth creationism? 215

37 What is evolution? 222

38 What are the major pieces of evidence for evolution? 227

39 What are the major challenges to evolution? 233

40 What is intelligent design? 240

10 Tips for Having Deeper Faith Conversations with Your Kids 249

Notes 257

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"I consider Keeping Your Kids on God's Side to be an important, eye-opening 'gateway' book. Natasha has done a wonderful job of quickly introducing the important issues and evidences from the perspective of a parent. She's engaging, thoughtful, and she knows how to throw the ball so you can catch it. Let Keeping Your Kids on God's Side serve as an introduction to the most important work you will ever do as a parent."
—J. Warner Wallace, author of Cold-Case Christianity and God's Crime Scene, international speaker, professor at Biola University

"I almost wish my children were young again so I could use Natasha Crain's book with them. Through her parenting blog, Crain has access to the most important questions and challenges parents are hearing from their children today. She writes in strong, vigorous prose and does a great job of pitching her answers at a level that parents can understand—and, even more importantly, that they can use."
—Nancy Pearcey, author of Total Truth and Finding Truth, apologetics professor, Houston Baptist University

"Keeping Your Kids on God's Side is a timely and much-needed book. Natasha provides a road map so parents feel equipped to have the critical (and difficult) faith conversations with their kids. If you want to see your kids have a vibrant faith, then get this book and start having these conversations with your kids today!"
—Sean McDowell, author of more than 15 books, including A New Kind of Apologist, international speaker, professor at Biola University

"Keeping Your Kids on God's Side is an outstanding resource every Christian parent should have in their home library...this book is the most accessible, non-intimidating treatment of key apologetics issues I've seen to date, and I will be recommending it to every parent I encounter!"
—Melissa Cain Travis, Assistant Professor of Apologetics, Houston Baptist University, author of Young Defenders series of apologetics books for kids

"Parents, wake up. The secular culture is challenging our kids like never before and we've got to prepare them for the barrage of false ideas they will most certainly face. Apologetic conversations are no longer optional; they're a necessary part of our kids' discipleship. Thankfully, Keeping Your Kids on God's Side is the resource we all need. It's accessible and comprehensive, and it will equip you to engage your kids in conversations that count, big time."
—Brett Kunkle, Student Impact Director, Stand to Reason

"Many well-intentioned, godly parents unknowingly send their children out into the world malnourished by an insufficient diet of evidence for their faith...We know. Ratio Christi sees it every day in our chapters on high school and college campuses. Students come to us starving for ways to defend their faith from intellectual assault. As the director of parent outreach at Ratio Christi, I've been looking for a tool to recommend to parents so they can start this training early at home. This is it. Start feeding your family a steady diet of Keeping Your Kids on God's Side to strengthen their hearts and minds for the battles against the secular smorgasbord they will face."
—Julie Loos, Director, Ratio Christi Boosters

"As a youth pastor, I'm thrilled to see an apologetics book written with parents in mind! It is not a matter of if your children or students will encounter arguments against Christianity, but when. Questions will come, and when they do, where will your kids find answers? The Internet? Their college professors? Atheist friends? We need to take responsibility to equip ourselves to be that resource...this book will help you do just that!"
—Patrick Brown, Student Ministries Director, Whitehaven Road Baptist Church

"As a pastor over family ministries, I am very excited about this book! It answers many of the strong objections against Christianity in amazing depth, yet in such a clear manner that even someone new to apologetics can easily understand it."
—Jared Novak, Family Pastor, New Life Church Bonita Springs

"I strongly recommend Keeping Your Kids on God's Side for parents who need brief but trustworthy answers to the skeptical objections their kids are likely to encounter...It is rare that so much solid information is found in one accessible resource!"
—Doug, dad of 4

"Aside from the Bible, Keeping Your Kids on God's Side has just become the most important book in our house. Natasha walks you through all the 'tough' questions in such a way that it makes conversations with your kids easy...To be honest, this book has helped me with things I've wrestled with myself! I will be buying a copy for every parent I know and care about."
—Mirinda, mom of 3

"I can safely say that of all the apologetics books I've read at varying levels, I have never read one like this. Natasha Crain's book will fill a much-needed gap in the apologetics realm. I believe this will resonate with parents and be well-received."
—Rob Johnson, Apologetics105.com

Editorial Reviews

"I consider Keeping Your Kids on God's Side to be an important, eye-opening 'gateway' book. Natasha has done a wonderful job of quickly introducing the important issues and evidences from the perspective of a parent. She's engaging, thoughtful, and she knows how to throw the ball so you can catch it. Let Keeping Your Kids on God's Side serve as an introduction to the most important work you will ever do as a parent."
—J. Warner Wallace, author of Cold-Case Christianity and God's Crime Scene, international speaker, professor at Biola University

"I almost wish my children were young again so I could use Natasha Crain's book with them. Through her parenting blog, Crain has access to the most important questions and challenges parents are hearing from their children today. She writes in strong, vigorous prose and does a great job of pitching her answers at a level that parents can understand—and, even more importantly, that they can use."
—Nancy Pearcey, author of Total Truth and Finding Truth, apologetics professor, Houston Baptist University

"Keeping Your Kids on God's Side is a timely and much-needed book. Natasha provides a road map so parents feel equipped to have the critical (and difficult) faith conversations with their kids. If you want to see your kids have a vibrant faith, then get this book and start having these conversations with your kids today!"
—Sean McDowell, author of more than 15 books, including A New Kind of Apologist, international speaker, professor at Biola University

"Keeping Your Kids on God's Side is an outstanding resource every Christian parent should have in their home library...this book is the most accessible, non-intimidating treatment of key apologetics issues I've seen to date, and I will be recommending it to every parent I encounter!"
—Melissa Cain Travis, Assistant Professor of Apologetics, Houston Baptist University, author of Young Defenders series of apologetics books for kids

"Parents, wake up. The secular culture is challenging our kids like never before and we've got to prepare them for the barrage of false ideas they will most certainly face. Apologetic conversations are no longer optional; they're a necessary part of our kids' discipleship. Thankfully, Keeping Your Kids on God's Side is the resource we all need. It's accessible and comprehensive, and it will equip you to engage your kids in conversations that count, big time."
—Brett Kunkle, Student Impact Director, Stand to Reason

"Many well-intentioned, godly parents unknowingly send their children out into the world malnourished by an insufficient diet of evidence for their faith...We know. Ratio Christi sees it every day in our chapters on high school and college campuses. Students come to us starving for ways to defend their faith from intellectual assault. As the director of parent outreach at Ratio Christi, I've been looking for a tool to recommend to parents so they can start this training early at home. This is it. Start feeding your family a steady diet of Keeping Your Kids on God's Side to strengthen their hearts and minds for the battles against the secular smorgasbord they will face."
—Julie Loos, Director, Ratio Christi Boosters

"As a youth pastor, I'm thrilled to see an apologetics book written with parents in mind! It is not a matter of if your children or students will encounter arguments against Christianity, but when. Questions will come, and when they do, where will your kids find answers? The Internet? Their college professors? Atheist friends? We need to take responsibility to equip ourselves to be that resource...this book will help you do just that!"
—Patrick Brown, Student Ministries Director, Whitehaven Road Baptist Church

"As a pastor over family ministries, I am very excited about this book! It answers many of the strong objections against Christianity in amazing depth, yet in such a clear manner that even someone new to apologetics can easily understand it."
—Jared Novak, Family Pastor, New Life Church Bonita Springs

From the Publisher