Kenneth Richard Samples

A detailed yet concise of the case for the Christian faith. Samples is a fine writer who can explain the tough questions about the existence of God, Jesus, salvation and the problem of evil with solid arguments from theology and philosophy without becoming lost in academic jargon. Samples is also careful to not strawman the objections to Christianity. Sadly, the September 19, 2008 review below is very much a strawman as it completely misrepresents the contents of the book (Either that or the reviewer is unfamiliar with abductive reasoning) before concluding with name calling.… (mais)

An excellent short introduction to Christian eschatology (study of the fate of the world and the fate of mankind i.e. end times prophesy and their interpretation, heaven and hell, the New Creation). The book concentrates on what Christians agree on (the second coming, final judgement, the new creation). It then explains the various areas of disagreement (pre-millennialism, amillennialism and so on) and gives the strengths and weaknesses of each position. Samples always emphasizes Christian unity when discussing this topic. Overall this is a very useful and valuable little book.… (mais)

A World of Difference compares the Christian theistic worldview with naturalism; so-called "postmodernism"; pantheistic monism; and Islamic theism, amongst other worldviews. It develops a logical framework through which Christians can "test" the philosophical underpinnings of their beliefs against other major world religions and belief systems. The appendix ("Worldview Charts") provides a helpful comparative synopsis of the concepts of God, World, Knowledge, Ethics, Human Beings, and History as expressed through each of these worldviews. Samples' book is well-researched and provides a helpful bibliography as well.… (mais)

I have NEVER given anything a half star before. Mainly because if it's that horrible I don't read the whole thing, and don't put it in my library.

This book, I'm putting in my library *because* of how much I disliked it. I'm not stupid enough to think that my review will influence tons of people, but I just wanted to voice my displeasure with this book. I am very on-the-fence about religion in all aspects, and checked this book out of the library in the hope of answering some of my basic questions and maybe getting a little help and encouragement on the whole God issue. It didn't happen. Honestly, I didn't read the entire book, because of how frustrated I was with the first few chapters. So many of the "answers" and supposed insights were very much the "well why not?" argument. How can we be sure God exists? Well how can we be sure he *doesn't*? How can we believe that God created the universe? Because it *must* be so.

There are no big revelations, no important knowledge to be gained from this book.... Just one man debating rather childishly.… (mais)