“So why Theology for Young Christians?” When some ask this they mean, “Why should I buy this book my child or to use in my Sunday School class?” Others wonder what possessed a public policy analyst turned economist to write a book on theology. The answers are interrelated, so I will tackle them in reverse order.

G.K. Chesterton reputedly said, “When a man stops believing in God he doesn’t then believe in nothing, he believes anything.” The quote’s attribution may be in question, but fifteen years of teaching in colleges and at churches convinced me the statement’s veracity is unquestionable. Many young people today lack the capacity to reason. The problem is more pronounced at secular schools but is evident at Christian colleges as well. I have found many students from church-going families know Bible stories but cannot bring lessons from those stories to bear on events playing out before their eyes.

Their struggles can be traced, in part at least, to a “dumbing down” of high school education. Many students and their parent permit instructors to substitute videos for reading, conclusions for research, and opinions for logic. Consequently, students landed in my classroom with little practice in developing arguments through a systematic process. They had rarely investigated sources and then drawn inferences from their findings. Theology for Young Christiansgives young people practice doing exactly these things. As students engage in the exercise, they begin to reason from a Biblical mindset.

The importance of developing the abilities to read, infer and reason can hardly be overstated. Read the news. Each passing day brings another “self-evident truth.” As if to ratify anew Chesterton’s quote, people clamor over one another to embrace the new idea. Those who do not avow allegiance to the new philosophy are kicked from the Enlightened Club. And few ever wonder if there might have been sound reasons why the philosophy was once regarded as absurd in years past. Indeed, even Christians may dismiss the well-reasoned position of years past as stodgy and antiquated.

This trend toward accepting increasingly absurd and often immoral ideas as “normal” shows little sign of reversing and may, in fact, worsen. I say “little” and “may,” for hope is not lost. Hope, however, rests on Christian parents and teachers combating the tide. Young Christians must be taught the Scriptures, not in a mechanical and rote fashion, but in a manner that stimulates thinking, questioning and reasoning. The consequences of failure in this endeavor are evident all around us.

As one example, consider the a report from the Center for Disease Control. CDC recently reported that suicide rates have increased by nearly 30% since the turn of the 21^stcentury. Doubtless numerous factors contribute to this rise, but Stephen Meyer, the author of Darwin’s Doubt, identified one during an interview: the hopelessness of naturalism creates “existential anxiety.”[1] If the universe truly sprang forth from impersonal forces and life from random mutations, life is devoid of meaning. This is the world our children occupy. Educators and policy makers fret over kids’ poor “self-esteem,” yet they peddle philosophies which rob them of all hope.

Christians err if they concluded similarly inaccurate perceptions do not assault young people within the church.

Our oldest daughter, Rachel, is 30 and active in church ministry. A girlfriend she serves with admitted to never believing herself attractive. Rachel’s face must have displayed some consternation, for the friend asked, “You don’t struggle with that problem?” Rachel assured her she did not. In relating the story to me, Rachel thanked me for instilling this confidence in her. This comment surprised me, because I recall no efforts during Rachel’s time under our roof when I considered how I might instill confidence in her appearance. Although thankful for her attribution, it may be misdirected. This self-confidence, I suspect, is a byproduct of an accurate understanding of God’s character, her own sin and of the gospel. For teaching this, my godly wife gets most the credit.

Laura devoted considerable school time to teaching the Scriptures. Consequently, each child has understood two salient facts. First, God’s justice requires He punish rebellion, and two, they were born rebels. These do not engender much self-confidence. However, once one accepts those facts and then turns to the all sufficient work of Jesus for salvation, confidence springs forth. Our middle daughter’s Sunday School teacher witnessed when Abriel “accepted Jesus.” One week, Abriel was anxious and unhappy. The next, she was confident and joyous. The change emanated from an accurate understanding of her relationship to her Creator, a willingness to acknowledge her own sin and acknowledging that she had to bow before Jesus.

In a similar fashion, Rachel’s confidence before her Creator – a confidence derived from understanding the message of Scripture – spilled over into other areas. Do not confuse self-confidence with self-esteem. Self-esteem made through constant reminders of a child’s beauty or intelligence may create pride but provides little strength for weathering life’s trials. No short-cuts are available for developing godly self-confidence. Theology for Young Christianswas written with this fact in mind. As such, it challenges young people to think about the Bible’s stories, to consider their implications and to gain an accurate perception of God and of all mankind – themselves included.

The Bible remedies hopelessness and instills confidence. It offers a window for gazing at the Creator of the universe who gives life meaning. Moreover, it offers a mirror through which young people gain an accurate self-image. As a father of ten kids, I occupy a front-row seat to many attacks of Satan. Without exception, our children’s defenses against those attacks failed when they trusted their own wits or worldly wisdom and succeeded when they embraced the timeless truths of Scripture.

Theology for Young Christiansprovides a framework for learning these truths. More specifically, the book teaches foundational skills for discerning and applying the lessons embedded throughout the both Old and New Testaments. The book guides readers through Bible passages using tried-and-tested techniques for interpretation and application. Students are asked questions, shepherded through the process of finding answers and challenged to consider how Scriptural principles should impact behavior and thinking. At the end of this process, young people are better equipped to systematically study the Scriptures. Indeed, they will, we pray, be less dependent upon study guides and prepared to study other passages. Then, godly self-confidence replaces any manmade self-image, steels the young person for life’s battles and instills hope for victory.

[1]Ben Shapiro, interview with Stephen Meyer, The Ben Shapiro Show: Sunday Special Episode 43, podcast audio, March 23, 2019, https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/44986/sunday%C2%A0special%C2%A0ep-43-stephen-meyer