Friday, July 9, 2010

Beyond Opinion, by Ravi Zacharias- An Honest Review


Summary:
'Beyond Opinion' by Ravi Zacharias is a book intended to equip Christians to face the intellectual challenges of this age, both with their minds and their lives. It covers a wide scope of topics, ranging from Islam to Atheism.

Writing Style and Product: I thought the book itself was of fair quality. Though the cover may deceive some, the book isn't totally written by Ravi Zacharias himself (though he does contribute more than others,) but many chapters are written by members of his organization RZIM, each author specializing in said chapters. I thought I would not like reading so many different opinions at one time, but it flowed well, and the authors stood together as a unit. Each author was mature, professional, and skilled in talking about their subjects. Very well written.

Topics and Reactions: I would have to say that this book does not delve deeply into each belief system, but provides an overhead of the subjects today. It covers a variety of world views, and is not intended for the debate ring, but for the average christian who will face these general questions from an average non-christian.
This work did make me interested in many of the issues it addressed, such as Islam, Atheism, etc. and I will further my research to books specifying in these issues. It also peaked my interest in post-modernism, which I had not heard of up until this point.

Conclusion: Ravi Zacharias wrote about two christian points of view on apologetics: intellectual debate, and refusing to debate. He stressed that there needs to be a balance between these two extremes: living our faith so fully in Christ that others cannot deny it, and being ready to give an answer to those who ask. This is a message we all need to hear, myself included, as I was of the belief that "You may win the argument, but lose the soul". We do need a balance, and I would encourage any one to read this book to better understand apologetics, and to learn answers to those questions we avoid.

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