Don't Check Your Brains at the Door and interview

Title: DON’T CHECK YOUR BRAINS AT THE DOOR
Authors: Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
August 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4003-1720-2
Genre: Inspiration/religion/general

Do you know what you believe about your faith? Do you know why it’s true?

DON’T CHECK YOUR BRAINS AT THE DOOR is a guidebook that has answers you’re looking for to tough questions such as:

1. Does it really matter what you believe as long as you have faith?
2. Are there errors in the Bible?
3. Was Jesus just a good teacher?
4. Can His resurrection be proved, or did he ‘stage’ His death?
and many more.

Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler use funny (and true) stories to expose common myths about God, Jesus, the Bible, and life, so you can truly know what you believe and why.

I sat down with DON’T CHECK YOUR BRAINS AT THE DOOR when I took the girls to the pool for an hour, and by the time they finished swimming, I’d finished reading the book. Set up in short sections, readers can easily read through a myth in moments, then look up the scripture references included and answer the questions that are at the end of the section.

Handily arranged so you can search by topic, you can find whatever lie that you’re being exposed to (or doubting) and find the truth for yourself. I highly recommend this book for teenagers facing ridicule for their faith to adults. $12.99. 191 pages.

About the book:

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door gives teens answers that make sense, even for the toughest of questions. Internationally known defender of the faith Josh McDowell and co-author Bob Hostetler offer clarity laced with humor to expose common myths about God, the Bible, religion, and life to show how Christianity stands up to the test of fact and reason. Teens will be better equipped to stick with their faith as they begin to understand why they believe and why it's important to make a lifetime commitment to Christ and the church.

About Josh and Bob:

Josh McDowell wrote the international best-selling apologetics references Evidence That Demands a Verdict and over 120 other books. He travels and speaks with Campus Crusade for Christ.

Bob Hostetler is an award-winning and best-selling writer, editor, pastor, and speaker. His books include Don't Check Your Brains at the Door and The Bone Box.

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400317207/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=sprightly-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1400317207&adid=07HFQ4RNRBZKEX6WHM41

About the giveaway and party:

To celebrate the release of their new book, Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler have teamed up with their publisher, Thomas Nelson, to give away a brand new KINDLE!

Don't Check Your Brains At the Door answers many of the faith-related questions Christian youth face. It challenges young readers to test gospel truths found in the Bible so they can learn to give an answer for their faith as they mature into thinking adults. A great resource for teens and college-age.

One "brainy" winner will receive a Kindle prize package worth over $150.00:

•A Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Ink Screen
•Don't Check Your Brains At the Door by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler (for KINDLE)
A perfect back-to-school prize package! To enter just click one of the icons below. Hurry! The giveaway ends August 18th. Winner will be announced on the evening of the 18th during the Don't Check Your Brains At the Door Facebook Party! The authors will be chatting with guests, answering questions on "knowing what you believe and why" (it’s okay if you haven’t read the book – who knows, you might WIN a copy!), testing your trivia skills, and giving away tons of great stuff! (Gift certificates, books, and more!)

Bring your friends and join the fun on August 18th at 5:00 PM PST (6 PM MDT, 7 PM CDT, & 8 PM EDT).

Blog tour schedule: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13418040).

Interview:


•Why are apologetics important for teens?
I took my son and daughter to Israel when they were in high school. After ten days of experiencing the land of Jesus and the Bible, I asked my son what the trip had done for him. At the time, he was a pretty moody sixteen-year-old, and I really didn't expect much of an answer. But he surprised me. He fastened his gaze on me and said, "It's real to me now."


That's what apologetics can do for a teen. Obviously, not everyone can travel to Israel, but anyone can discover the utter reality of the things we believe, by exploring the evidences for those beliefs.

•What's the biggest apologetics question/s teens face?
It's really hard to narrow it down to just one "biggest" apologetic question (in my novel The Quest, coauthored with Sean McDowell, we tackle six "biggies"). But if you force me to answer, I'd have to say the biggest issue is the problem of suffering and evil in our world and in our lives. Every teen craves an answer to the question, "Does God exist and does he care?"

•How can adults use this book?
There are many ways adults can use this book. Some parents will buy it and hand it to their teen, or use it for family devotions. Others will be a little more sly; they might just leave it under a pile of laundry in a teen's bedroom, hoping the kid will find it and start reading. I've heard from Sunday school and public school teachers who read a chapter a day as class devotions; I've even heard from a college professor who did the same! Youth pastors can challenge their students to read it together. Some give it as gifts or use it as Christian camp curriculum. And I've had many adults tell me that they've gotten as much out of the book as their teens!

•What makes Don't Check Your Brains at the Door different from your other apologetics books? Why do you think teens will read this book?
Much has changed in recent years in the way our kids access and process information. Television, movies, video games, the internet, and social media have drastically affected our kids' attention spans and learning styles, among other things. Don't Check Your Brains is a unique resource in that its short, humorous, engaging chapters are perfect for a "Twitter generation." Books like More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict are tremendously helpful resources, and our hope is that many teens, being introduced to apologetics in a truly entertaining way, will go on to further investigate the evidences for their faith in such books as those. But Brains provides an introduction and foundation that is accessible to every teen.

•How did the two of you collaborate to write this book?
When Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door was conceived, I was the editor of a national magazine for teens. I wanted to find a creative and engaging way to counter some of the myths that youth encounter every day—in the media, at school, you name it.

So I sent off a proposal for that sort of book to several publishers, and one of them phoned me to tell me that they were under contract with some guy named Josh McDowell for a very similar project, and to suggest that I consider partnering with Josh in writing this book.

That editor had no way of knowing that, as a young Christian, I had “cut my teeth” on Josh’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict and More Than a Carpenter. It was not only an honor to think about coauthoring this book with him….it seemed very much like a “God thing.”

Before long, Josh and I were exchanging research and chapter drafts through the mail, and together we crafted Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door. We wanted to do something that had never really been done before: take evidential apologetics to a teen audience in a way that both entertained and informed. We wanted to make people laugh….and think. We think it does that, and to such a degree that we’ve heard from all sorts of people, from teens to parents of pre-teens to college professors, that they have used the book in many different ways—for family devotions, for college class devotions, for Christian schools, youth groups, and more.