Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
As a Christian, I understand that my views and beliefs won’t always align with those of the world. The distance between these worldviews seems to be expanding more rapidly than ever, and I’ve found myself wanting/needing to get a clearer understanding of my own beliefs and why I believe them. This pursuit has led me to several amazing apologists and theologians speaking up on these issues, and I’m devouring their podcasts and books; this was the most recent.
Natasha Crain is a mom to three whose ministry has centered around equipping Christian parents to raise their kids with a Biblical understanding and ability to defend their faith in a secular world. Faithfully Different is her first book written for all adults, not just parents. In it, Crain puts forth a model for living out our faith with conviction, discernment, and courage. She begins with a deep dive into the numbers, looking at studies showing how few Americans (less than ten percent) hold to a Biblical world view (agreeing in the existence of absolute truth and the reality of Satan, attesting that the Bible is totally accurate, and affirming that Jesus lived a sinless life, that a person cannot earn their way to heaven by doing good works, and that God is the creator of the universe). She then identifies the four pillars of secular culture —1) Feelings are the ultimate guide; 2) happiness is the ultimate goal; 3) judging is the ultimate sin; and 4) God is the ultimate guess—and shows how these are misaligned from Christian beliefs. She also explains why so many have fallen for secularist ideology: Crain has a background in business and marketing, and this expertise is evident as she explains the more practical reasons for how secularism has taken root and what makes it so “marketable”.
A majority of the book is dedicated to explanations of how we can believe, think, and act differently from mainstream culture. Within these chapters she explains a Biblical approach to issues such as deconversionism, virtue signaling, cancel culture, social justice, and secular relativism—all of those hot button issues that most Christians are afraid to touch! These discussions are logical and Scripture-based but also compassionate; there is no mocking of other belief systems, but there IS a clear-eyed defense of an alternative, God-centric perspective. There was not a single chapter that didn’t speak to an issue I’ve not known how to handle, but the final chapter on how to share the Gospel under the pressure of relativism was probably the most helpful for me.
Natasha Crain states up front that this book is written for those who believe the Bible is God’s Word, without error and the only sufficient and authoritative voice for salvation, faith and godliness. Those who do not hold these views will certainly learn a lot from this book, but it was not written with that audience in mind but rather for Bible-believing Christians seeking guidance in identifying worldview pressures and defending our faith against misguided influences. As someone firmly within this demographic I found this book to be an outstanding resource. I’m not new to the world of apologetics, but this one felt more relevant and applicable than many I’ve read thanks to its unpacking of specific secular pressures and clearly defined understanding of both Biblical and secular world views. I listened through this one time, then started right back again for a second listen while following along in the eBook because I didn’t want to miss a thing.
My Rating: 5 Stars // Book Format: Audiobook
Natasha Crain is a mom to three whose ministry has centered around equipping Christian parents to raise their kids with a Biblical understanding and ability to defend their faith in a secular world. Faithfully Different is her first book written for all adults, not just parents. In it, Crain puts forth a model for living out our faith with conviction, discernment, and courage. She begins with a deep dive into the numbers, looking at studies showing how few Americans (less than ten percent) hold to a Biblical world view (agreeing in the existence of absolute truth and the reality of Satan, attesting that the Bible is totally accurate, and affirming that Jesus lived a sinless life, that a person cannot earn their way to heaven by doing good works, and that God is the creator of the universe). She then identifies the four pillars of secular culture —1) Feelings are the ultimate guide; 2) happiness is the ultimate goal; 3) judging is the ultimate sin; and 4) God is the ultimate guess—and shows how these are misaligned from Christian beliefs. She also explains why so many have fallen for secularist ideology: Crain has a background in business and marketing, and this expertise is evident as she explains the more practical reasons for how secularism has taken root and what makes it so “marketable”.
A majority of the book is dedicated to explanations of how we can believe, think, and act differently from mainstream culture. Within these chapters she explains a Biblical approach to issues such as deconversionism, virtue signaling, cancel culture, social justice, and secular relativism—all of those hot button issues that most Christians are afraid to touch! These discussions are logical and Scripture-based but also compassionate; there is no mocking of other belief systems, but there IS a clear-eyed defense of an alternative, God-centric perspective. There was not a single chapter that didn’t speak to an issue I’ve not known how to handle, but the final chapter on how to share the Gospel under the pressure of relativism was probably the most helpful for me.
Natasha Crain states up front that this book is written for those who believe the Bible is God’s Word, without error and the only sufficient and authoritative voice for salvation, faith and godliness. Those who do not hold these views will certainly learn a lot from this book, but it was not written with that audience in mind but rather for Bible-believing Christians seeking guidance in identifying worldview pressures and defending our faith against misguided influences. As someone firmly within this demographic I found this book to be an outstanding resource. I’m not new to the world of apologetics, but this one felt more relevant and applicable than many I’ve read thanks to its unpacking of specific secular pressures and clearly defined understanding of both Biblical and secular world views. I listened through this one time, then started right back again for a second listen while following along in the eBook because I didn’t want to miss a thing.
My Rating: 5 Stars // Book Format: Audiobook