Talking with Your Kids about God: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have

Several years ago, I discovered the work on Natasha Crain online. She has a very successful blog called Christian Mom Thoughts. I have gotten to know Natasha over the last few years and I am so happy to see the publication of her second book Talking with Your Kids about God: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have.As someone who leads campus apologetic ministries on two college campuses (The Ohio State University (64,000 students) and Columbus State Community College (30,000) students, I am always interested to see people who provide apologetic resources for families. After all, I have had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of students about the existence of God and I can tell when someone didn’t get their questions answered before they got to college.So I am happy to say Natasha’s book does an excellent job of asking the right discussion topics/questions for parents and their kids. I can say without hesitation that nearly all of the topics in this book are the same questions students wrestle with on a college campuses. The chapters are short and concise. But because of the length of the chapters and accessibility, it makes them easy for parents to utilize. She also includes questions at the end of each chapter that can be used for discussion points.Natasha also includes many personal antidotes as well as quotes from atheist/skeptical bloggers and writers. Natasha is in touch with contemporary objections and she also knows the culture. Granted, she has heard plenty of objections on her blog as well.One thing I really appreciated about the book is that not only did Natasha deal with many common objections to God’s existence (both scientific and existential), she also provided some chapters on theology. Yes, theology! Issues such as God’s nature and character were addressed. If there’s anything that makes people reject God, it’s a complete misunderstanding about who God is. Trust me, I see it happen all the time.Okay, so now I will ahead and obviously admit that there is one chapter that stands out above all the rest. And here it is: Her chapters called “How Much Evidence Do We Need to Be Confident God Exists?In it she says the following:“Ratio Christi is an organization that is making a major impact for Christ on college campuses—one of the most challenging environments for young Christians today. Their mission is to “equip university students and faculty to give historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons for following Jesus Christ.” Ratio Christi does so by planting collegiate chapters that facilitate conversations on these subjects. Eric Chabot is the founder and director of the Ratio Christi chapter at Ohio State University, where he’s been engaging with students on the truth of Christianity since 2004. Chabot says that in all the years he’s been involved in campus outreach, he’s heard one objection to God’s existence more than any other: Why won’t God show me a direct sign that he exists? In other words, students feel that despite whatever evidence there is that theoretically points to God’s existence, it’s not enough. Having read the last few chapters, you may think these students aren’t aware of the compelling evidence for God’s existence in nature. And that’s undoubtedly true for many. But for others, the key problem is the amount and type of evidence. They want more in order to believe. An example of this is an agnostic student Chabot video interviewed for his blog.Chabot asked the student, “What would be compelling reasons to believe that the God of the Bible exists?” The student replied:” I would have to say unambiguous, direct evidence. . . . Some people will use their explanation for God existing as things we don’t know . . . [like] the arguments [that] everything is so fine-tuned, but that doesn’t do much for me. I would very much prefer to have actual, direct evidence of somebody saying, “This directly points to God Himself coming down and speaking.” And at that point I’d have to verify with someone that I’m not hallucinating. . . . It has to be some direct evidence of God, not an extrapolation of evidence from something else.”Yes, I am honored Natasha mentioned us in her book. The blog post she is referring to that we did is our post here.Natasha is a very gifted communicator. I hope you will get this book and use it with your family and congregation. It is much needed!Share this:

I was asked in a book study forum what my three favorite chapters were in this book, and I had to say, I have a very difficult time narrowing it down to just three :). For me, each chapter offers a clear, concise, substantive response to questions that I’ve had to grapple with as they’ve been lobbed in my direction by people very close to me. In many ways, it’s as though Natasha had taken the threads of thoughts that had been dangling in my mind and wove them into a cohesive whole, creating the fabric for conversations I’ve needed to have with my loved ones. I’ve appreciated every opportunity to think through my responses to the skeptic questions posed at the end of each chapter as I’ve been forced to process and synthesize all the things I’ve been learning and reading and attempt to articulate it with clarity and purpose. That exercise has truly been a gift and has been an answer to an urgent need in this season of life.Some of the biggest takeaways for me….-we may not have all the answers we want, but we do have all the answers we need to make a decision about the existence of God-both believers and unbelievers are looking at the same body of evidence, but are interpreting it differently; it isn’t that there is no evidence for the existence of God, it is that other reasons/explanations are being accepted for the evidence that exists-the atheistic worldview is not one that can be lived out with consistency, there will always be a point of tension at which reality and what the atheist believes to be true about the world will be in conflict-often times those who walk away from the faith are more preoccupied with what they are walking away from, but may not have truly examined what they are walking towards-the relationship between science and faith is often presented as a false dichotomy in both religious & non-religious circles; understanding the substance of the arguments from science for the existence of God are key to providing evidence that is tethered to more than experience or what has been revealed in God’s word as the evidence from nature is more objective. What a gift that God has revealed Himself in the world He has made--He knew our skeptical natures would need more than experience and the written word.-often times the substance of our relationship with God, who is physically invisible, is taken for granted, and needs to be explored and talked about with our children; the nature of prayer; the work of the Holy Spirit; the reality of doubt and how to balance what we want to know with what God has revealed, and articulating all the ways we know God can be trusted; a large part of that is getting to know God as He has revealed Himself, through the intentional study of His Word-Exploring these skeptic objections with our children are more than just an academic exercise (though it may begin that way); but rather preparation for real world interaction with real people who think this way; we are enabling them to see that there are good reasons for belief in God, and equipping them with the information and tools they need to navigate the world in which they are living with hearts & minds that are critically aware and spiritually grounded.Natasha Crain offers parents an exceptional resource!

Every parent should read this book regardlessofreligion, because of its principles are sound and if I may say wise. For Christian parents this is even more meaningful and practical questions and answers. Easy to read and contents are creative.

A great resource for anyone to use when talking to people about Jesus. Chapters short. Reading challenging as you actually have to do some thinking and action for yourself. Well laid out and difficult subjects broken down to make them more understandable.

I was really looking forward to read it but to be honest it’s a complicate book or not easy to understand. The title is misleading.

I liked this book because it was comprehensive in its content. It covers a lot of very important topics, adds keypoints and conversation guides at the end of each chapter. I like the easy of read this book was, and how well the author was able to convey her message. I found it very digestible and very helpful in gaining material to start up conversations with not just "kids" (children) yet with anyone. Starting from the universe and going to what should we make of evil, what is our responsibility to others, why does the Bible matter, and many more. Short chapters that are quick to read. This is a first rate book. I have bought this book on ebook and in paper back. For me this is one of my top shelf books that I will refer to over and over. I have read both of her books and she is a great writer, inspiring and encouraging. I recommend this book, it really helps and is very informative.

To explain who is God.but not easy to explain it to a very young child