The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith - Softcover

Think of It This Way . . . Our beliefs are challenged from many directions. Every day it seems more difficult to explain to our friends, families and neighbors what we believe and why. When our ideas and arguments fail to persuade them, what then? Is there another approach we can take? In The God Conversation veteran apologists and communicators J. P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff say that often the best way to win over others is with a good story. Stories have the ability to get behind our preconceptions and defenses. They can connect both emotionally and intellectually, appealing to the whole person rather than just to the mind. How do we defend belief in a good God in the face of terrorist attacks or natural disasters? What can we say to show we are not arrogant to believe that Jesus is the only way with so many sincere people following other world religions? What if they think we are naive to say Jesus actually rose from the dead? And when they seem confident in their right to choose their own ethical stances, how can we help them appreciate the value of a universal standard of right and wrong found in the Bible? The authors offer a wealth of penetrating illustrations, examples and quotes that respond to these issues and more. In these pages they enhance the logic and evidence found in other books defending the faith, with things that your friends, relatives or coworkers will ponder long after a conversation is over. Here is sound, empathetic coaching for those of us who long to communicate our faith more effectively.

J.P. Moreland (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, in La Mirada, California. He also serves as director of Eidos Christian Center. He is the author, coauthor or editor of numerous books and articles, including Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult, Body & Soul, To Everyone an Answer and The Creation Hypothesis. Tim Muehlhoff (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) has served on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ since 1986. He is currently an associate professor of communication at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he teaches classes in interpersonal communication, rhetoric and gender. Tim has written about God, communication and faith in diverse publications such as the Journal of Religion and Communication, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Mars Hill Review and Discipleship Journal.