When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics

Being Christian in an intellectual, secular world, comes with its own challenges. "When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics" is a guide for Christians who want to deal with the pressing questions of their faith, that puts heavy guilt on their belief, such as homosexuality, religious zealots and their wars, and the acts of some more horrible individuals that claimed to be Christians. Aimed at a conservative Christian audience who wants to argue for their beliefs, "When God Goes to Starbucks" is worth for their consideration.

Covering a variety of questions likely to arise in conversations with irreligious friends and neighbors, Copan's book offers a wealth of help and insight. Written in his characteristically irenic style, Copan takes on another set of slogans frequently posed as objections to Christianity. He offers an accessible critique designed to uncover the unwarranted assumptions behind these slogans and responds to them one at a time. If you want a clear-minded approach to thinking about many of the issues troubling people about Christianity, Copan offers one of the best books of its kind. I've required my class on the History of Christianity to read his chapter entitled "Why so many Denominations?" and they find his remarks helpful and persuasive. It's rare to find a writer who can pack so much content into such bit-sized chapters and keep the prose accessible to the average reader. Copan's books deserve a wide readership and I would encourage those who find this book of interest to read his other books--all equally as insightful and well-written.

Paul Copan delivers on his premise that the questions he tackles in this book are indeed those that are discussed among friends and acquaintances. He gives the Christian reader clear, easy to understand information to common issues confronting society. For the non-Christian, he gives a perspective into Christian thought that is informational rather than judgmental. Plus scripture citations and references to other authors' works for those who need them. The book is an easy read, though I confess that I rushed through section about 'holy wars' to get to "Was Jesus Mistaken about an Early Second Coming?" The question and answer format allows the reader to jump around the text in manner that suits their particular needs and interests.

These are not flimsy, trite, or tired responses to legitimate and difficult questions. What you will find here are thoughtful, clear, and substantive arguments with ample endnotes, precise summaries, and helpful suggestions for more intensive exploration. Copan has the rare ability to take ideas and discussions occurring in professional journals among theologians and philosophers and package them in a way that is accessible to motivated readers without trivializing them. Moreover, the issues addressed in this book are fresh, but not obscure. For example, Islam is in the news, and many thinking people wonder how closely (if at all) the Jihad of the Koran parallels the holy wars recorded in the Bible (specifically the OT). You get 3 chapters exploring that. Then you get a chapter exploring religious experience and 2 chapters exploring the rationality of miracles in the "age of science". And who hasn't wondered whether it is really OK to lie to Nazis? (and then how to explain your reasoning?) Overall this is a powerful book. But Copan realizes that it isn't about winning an argument; it is about seeking the truth. And all of this is to be done with gentleness and respect. Personally, I resonated with what he said in the introduction, "And when we are talking with people in pain or when people just want to tell their stories, we should be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19); we shouldn't jump in with answers when we haven't truly understood the questions" (pages 10-11). Too often we get excited about a particular truth we have discovered and in our eagerness to share it, we forget to listen and understand. A good reminder indeed. I highly recommend this and other Paul Copan books. If you like these kinds of books, two others you may enjoy are: Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith

Far too many books on Christian apologetics are tired commentaries with cheesy quotations and sound bite/flimsy arguments. This sort of literature has set a disingenuous precedent with thinkers from all camps (because they are written in Christianeeze!) and has given Christian apologetics a bad name. While encouraging to a choir, they are hopeless as outreach. Copan's, "When God Goes to Starbucks" will equip Christians to know why they believe what they believe about their faith, and invites seekers to explore the coherence of the Christian worldview. Anyone who is passionate about the life of the mind will enjoy this book. Copan has written at a lay level but the content is thoughtful enough to meet the needs of advanced learners. Copan covers a lot of territory and deals with some gritty but relevant topics. You'll enjoy this book as Copan *once again* travels roads most fear to travel -Copan is great!