Don't Check Your Brains at the Door by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler

Studies are showing that our kids are leaving the church at alarming rates. Kids are starting to check out, if only in their minds and hearts and then later in body, before they even leave highschool. Many believe that this is because they are not being taught truths in the church. They have no defense against the onslaught of lies that the world uses to challenge their faith. This book was written to help combate that by equipping our young people with the truth. It gives answers to many of the myths that the world tries to perpetuate.

It is divided into sections like Myths about God (ie God is just a big killjoy), about Jesus (ie he is "just a good teacher"), the Bible (ie, inconsistencies in the Bible), the Resurrection (Did Jesus just swoon?), about Religion and Christianity (Do you have to be unintellectual to be a Christian?, etc), about Life and Happiness (for example, "nice guys finish last"). Each section includes many of these types of myths and the authors address each topic in an approachable but truthful way to explain why these are myths and what the truth really is. They use scripture to illuminate the truth.

I enjoy apologetics books and am always on the look out for books like this to hand my kids. I found it to have a devotional feel where you could read each myth for a short daily reading. The authors used contemporary and familiar examples like Star Wars to help illustrate their points, making it approachable for kids. For anyone who has read a lot of apologetics, this book might seem a bit simplified, but this book is written for those who will probably never pick up a heavy tome like Knowing God. It is just right for your average youth who may be struggling with his faith and would appreciate the easy to read, short devotional style.

There was one point where I thought the authors were making a bit of an assumption about Jesus's family life before his ministry, but other than that I don't think I came across anything that bothered me.

I think this would be a good addition to a youth group or home school setting. There are questions at the end of each section to help the reader dig deeper, look up scriptures and think more about the topic.

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