Apologia Review- "Who is God?"

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

This review from Apologia came to me at a perfect time. Some of my children have been asking how we can really know God is real. I thought we had talked so much about God and creation and the life we have coming from Him alone, and somehow our children would just sail right past the doubting stage and onto a mature Christian walk. Think again!  With maturity of years also comes maturity of thought. Our convictions and our faith is not simply picked up and passed on. Honestly, I am glad they have questions and believe that is healthy. I would be concerned if they didn't have questions.

 

I am sincerely thankful for authors such as John Hay and David Webb who put pen to paper and seek to explain Bible truths to children. I am also thankful for Apologia ministries for promoting and presenting material that goes against the current tide of atheism sweeping through our schools and even in our churches.

I have never been disappointed by the unapologetic stance presented by Apologia ministries through their science division. Their is a  clear, conversational manner present in every book I have ever read of theirs. We have studied 5 of the science books over our many years of homeschooling. and own many more we are looking forward to studying one day. I am impressed by the scope and depth of all their texts, as well as their strong position of creation.

I did not know they had branched out and started a new series called What We Believe until recently and gladly asked to be able to review this book when given the opportunity by The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. My husband had just finished our current study, so the "timing "was perfect for this review.

It seems to me this book can be used in several ways. It can be a Bible course for children ages 6 - 14 or as a family devotional book. Our children are ages  20 down to 6. We all have benefited from the lessons. My 6 year old loses attention before we are done, however, it is also right before her bedtime.  This is not simply a reading book, however. When you purchase the book, you also then have access to supplemental tools to teach the text. As with all Apologia line products, the text can be studied by an individual student, multiple students, or teacher led.

Naturally, unless you have a very advanced 6 year old, this isn't a text you could simply hand over to a first grader. My 6 year old still has a "blind" faith of a child. She has no doubts right now and  sings songs of love for God. While I hope that is characteristic of her whole life, I know doubts and questions are part of life and we do need to know what we believe so we can stand for something. My 9 year old is very sure about what he believes as well. However, my other 4 have many questions. Clearly, a walk with God is a personal relationship and I can't teach that. Nonetheless, Apologia is in line with my beliefs of the Bible and the world He has created for us. It is hard to properly express and sometimes I feel our children simply "know" the way we believe. It is great to have a book to work through and explain what is hard to explain clearly when questions come.

This book, Who is God? And Can I Really Know Him?, lays out lesson plan suggestions for the teacher or student as well as a clear explanation of how to use the book and the need for the study. Each lesson covers key components and has clear explanations, illustrations and Bible verses to emphasize and back up their position. The lessons are packed full . This is not a breezy, lightweight, feel good book.

We have not finished the book . So far, the only thing I would change is the Bible translation used. My husband and I prefer the New American Standard Version, King James or New King James. This book used mostly New International Version, the International Children's Bible, and the New Living Translation. This would not keep me personally from using this book, but know others might not feel the same way. KJV, NKJV and NAS were occasionally used in addition to other references.

I truly appreciate the depth and scope of this book. We are having some excellent discussions around the topics we discuss. It we were using this as a school course, I would use the note-booking ideas and additional resources as well. For our purposes, we are covering what is in the actual lessons, but not writing out answers or testing our children on the material. I have had and have taken the opportunity to reference the stories and discuss what we are talking about through our other daily lessons, however.

It is my strong belief the $39 asking price for this book would be money well spent and well invested for all Christian families. I do believe if we teach our children the truth that is in the scriptures and arm them with the armor of God, they will be able to withstand the fiery darts that WILL come in life.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.

0 Comments