Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend

As usual, I received the book Beyond Opinion, Living the Faith We Defend for free in exchange for my honest review. I don't remember the last time I actually paid more than a dollar or two for a book. This particular book was from Booksneeze, and I've been reading it in small doses for quite some time. It's the sort of book that needs to be read in bits and pieces so that it all has time to sink in. This is a book on apologetics, or Christians logically defending their faith. The premise of the book supposedly comes from a Hindu who asked Ravi Zacharias (the author), "If this conversion is truly supernatural, why is it not more evident in the lives of so many Christians that I know?" Since that's a question I hear over and over from people, I enjoyed tackling it in this book.
This also happens to be the first book on apologetics that I've read in quite a while. As much as possible in 338 pages, this book is a thorough overview of several different areas of apologetics. It emphasizes building relationships over winning arguments and reminded me that the ultimate goal of debating with people is increased understanding. Anyone who has debated with me on Facebook lately will know that's a goal I'm still learning. :) At the same time, this book helped to build my understanding of some common faith-related arguments and helpful responses to those from a Christian perspective. I've heard and read many good things about Ravi Zacharias' writings and I was glad to finally get my hands on one of his books.
As far as format, this book is really a series of essays by various members of Zacharias' staff. Since the essays are all written by different authors, each has a slightly different feel to it. There is a set of essays on challenges from different faiths- the one on challenging Islam was probably my favorite since I learned a few things that I didn't know about that religion. The second section relates to "The Questions Behind the Questions" including the question of evil which Ravi Zacharias tackles himself. Sections three and four involve internalizing the questions and living out the answers, where Zacharias again steps in. Overall, Beyond Opinion makes a complex topic comprehensible and I thoroughly enjoyed stretching my brain to fit around this topic.