"Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians" (James Emery White)

TITLE: Christianity for People Who Aren’t Christians
AUTHOR: James Emery White
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2019, (240 pages).

What does it mean to share the gospel? What about those who don't understand the Christian language or common lingos? Is there are way to share the gospel simply without expecting pre-requisite knowledge from the hearers? Yes there is a way. Author and pastor James Emery White shows us the way to answer common questions that non-Christians ask, and how we could answer them.

He tackles the question of God by asking: "What kind of God do you believe in?" Going into the sciences and the question of origins, White raises question after question from the perception of the seeker. How do life begin? What made it come together? Is the idea of supernaturalism realistic? White approaches the topic from a scientific angle, asking probing questions to show readers that all of the human race begin with significantly common ground. Things happen from something. We are more than simply a body of DNA. He makes a strong case that without God, explaining life does not make sense. He asks questions about morality, about family, and things which society at large are concerned about. Science is great but it can only cover limited ground.


There is an interesting article from an atheist blogger who lists the things that would not have occurred if there is a God. The atheist lists all the negative things such as poverty, genocide, atrocity, loneliness, death, and so on. The underlying presumption is that God can only exist if these suffering effects are non-existent. It is like saying that God can only be in existence if He had sterilized life! In fact, rather than to argue against evil as the reason against God, the fact that there is goodness in human soul is a strong argument against atheism. Other topics covered include:

• What to make of God's wrath?
• Who is Jesus?
• Is Jesus God?
• Why did Jesus come?
• His death and resurrection?
• Significance of the resurrection?
• The impact and reality of sin.
• Different ways to God? 
• Existence of heaven and hell
• The Bible
• The Church and the many denominations
• What about Christians are are plainly unChristian? (Legalistic, Judgmental, Hypocritical, Intolerant, and Sexist)
• ...

My Thoughts

White has two main objectives in writing this book. First, he wants to explain the faith for non-Christians especially those without any "foundational knowledge." This is covered mostly in the first few chapters of the book. Second, he tries to answer some common objections to the faith. Between the two, I find that White does a better job answering the second question than the first. In fact, the book tends to deal with the second question more. For a book that is intended for non-Christian readers, White starts well by engaging in science and technology to build the bigger common space for discussion.

I must say that the title of the book is captivating already. Imagine having a book written by a Christian for non-Christians. That takes a lot of courage. For White to be able to do this is commendable. The tone is inviting. White probes and asks questions like a seeker or non-believer might ask. Right from the onset, he invites readers to have a "healthy amount of doubt." Some Christians might find this taboo, but it is altogether an act of faith to let people begin where they are. If the gospel is true and steadfast, we should not afraid of it being challenged. All legitimate doubts are worth engaging with. After all, positively speaking, doubts are like questions to help us get closer to the truth. Readers ought to give themselves permission to ask open and honest questions. White not only asks questions about faith and doubt on behalf of non-believers, he addresses the sad case of evangelicals's negative image. He does this in chapter 7 by giving us a list of problems associated with Christianity that turn non-Christians off. Rightly or wrongly, the big five, legalism, judgmentalism, hypocrisy, intolerance, and sexism are things that give evangelicals a bad name. Rather than take the defensive approach, White humbly admits that we are the problem. He then shows us that there is a difference between Jesus and those who claim to follow Jesus. We cannot let the latter derail us from seeking the truth. It would be a pity if we abandon faith just because of a few bad apples. I like the quiet defense done in a way that does not dismiss the critiques but show readers that there are more similarities than differences in how we all see the world and culture around us. That said, we cannot expect everyone to agree with the author or the approach he has taken. There is a wide spectrum of non-believers. Some will never be convinced no matter how the arguments are placed. These are not the kind of readers White is aiming at. The people who would find the book reasonable and acceptable would be those who are open to the truth, and not afraid to ask probing questions about Christianity and also what they are currently believing. This takes humility on all sides. Just like White has adopted a posture of openness and humility, readers who would benefit most would also be those who would reciprocate.

This book gives us a fresh and unassuming approach to apologetics.

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; president of Serious Times, Inc., a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture and hosts this website, ChurchAndCulture.org which features his messages and blogs; ranked adjunct professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president; and author of more than twenty books that have been translated into ten languages.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Books and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.