To discern if your teen is ready for the contents in, 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity, McLaughlin says, “If your children aren’t ready for the entire Harry Potter series, they may not be ready for this book either.” So, after answering that question you can know how to proceed.
How can you believe the Bible is true?
Does God care when we hurt?
“What happens to babies when they die?”
How can you believe in Heaven and Hell?
“If Jesus was resurrected, why didn’t he just appear to everyone, why was it such a secret?”
These two questions are from my 3rd-5th grade Sunday School class. The list of questions asked is quite exhaustive. While there is an admirable quality to “childlike faith,” there is no getting around the fact that teens ask hard questions. If they aren’t asking them, there’s a good chance they are hiding them.
Teenagers are deep thinkers. When they ask questions, we need to take these opportunities to talk with them and not just say, “let’s talk later.” As we talk we need to back up what we are saying with scripture.
Is the Bible reliable? Absolutely! We need to make sure that our teens understand that everything they read from Genesis to Revelation is 100% truth. Can God really send people to Hell? These are serious and relevant questions that Christians of all ages wrestle with. It is okay if you don’t have all the answers that your teen may ask. You may have to seek answers from your paster, Bible teacher, and strong biblical resources.
In 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity, McLaughlin takes arguments and then structures them within the framework of the average teen. Drawing from pop culture references that teenagers would immediately recognize such as Harry Potter, Moana, and Taylor Swift, McLaughlin expertly navigates common objections to Christianity. Sometimes balancing tough topics is hard but McLaughlin does a fantastic job at dealing with the complex topics such as evolution, pornography, and abortion.
I love that McLaughlin uses Jude 22, “have mercy on those who doubt.” She truly wants this book to be a tool and help for teens that are wrestling with what they believe by offering strong arguments from the Bible.
My concerns with the book…
1. Being a married woman and talking about her attraction to women. Not okay with that.
2. She says, “Believing the Bible isn’t just for stupid people.”
3. She addresses evolution but not the creation.
4. She talks about falling in love with a girl
5. She says, “…hell is when God fights with us.” What??
These are just a few of the concerns that I have with the book and for this reason I am not sure that I would recommend this book to others.
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