Apologetics Study Bible, For Students, Review and Giveaway!

I should start by saying, that my deep personal beliefs on the Bible are not always shared. In reviewing this collection – It may be fair to give perspective of my beliefs. I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word, through the Holy Spirit, to Man’s pen. That in the Greek and Hebrew – it is the Holy Scripture, God Breathed, without Error. I believe it is a true book, not a book of stories, so I believe that the Flood, Creation, and Christ’s life happened as recorded. At heart, I am a KJV only sort of a gal, but I’ve yet to meet another, so I do enjoy other versions when I am in a group setting, and I LOVE to read a verse in all of the versions to get a flavor. That said –

I was interested – and leery – of an Apologetics Bible for students. I started on page vii – Additional Features – Articles. Throughout the Bible are one page articles written about questions like – Are there contradictions in the Bible? Can I trust the Old Testament? Did Jesus claim to be God? Is alcohol bad?

One of the questions we have sat and had discussions about is listed. We have a teen friend that likes to throw out questions – Can God Make a Rock So Big That He Can’t Lift It? The answer given in this book is spot on. A question meant to cause someone to talk in loops – this article reboots the question and stops it. We had four teens over and discussed the question and the answer given by Alex McFarland in the book. That led to more direct conversation of how we feel about Who God Is, and What He says he can do.

I like the Additional Features part – with Twisted Scripture Notes, Bones & Dirt Notes – like Cyrus Cylinder, a short bookmark size note giving facts about artifacts, Personal Stories – Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell (My Youth Mentor when I was a kid in Oklahoma City), C.S. Lewis, Ravi Zacharias (Who I adore.) . So as I’m looking through the folks pouring out their hearts to these ‘students’ who might happen on this book, I am feeling confident that the leaders behind the project are folks that I can trust as a mom.

Jason Carlson writes a few Fast Facts – like the Darwinian Evolution, Abortion, Atheism, Religious Pluralism, – and others. They don’t just say, like most Bibles – where to turn if you need comfort. It is Here – Here are scriptural supports for your big questions. (Apologetics).

Brett Kunkle gives a couple of pages to help students through Challenges and Tactics – Tactical Questions for Apologetics, Tactical Awareness for Apologetics – and a few notes. He gives effective questions to ask when reasoning with unbelievers (I like to call them pre-believers), and points out fallacies of their reasoning and how to spot it. We did a unit called the Fallacy Detective – so my boys enjoyed this section as well. Challenges like – There is no truth, again with a different take on the Can God Create a rock too heavy for Him to lift; so he is not all powerful, All religions are basically the same, we shouldn’t judge others, 25 common questions that I hear spoken often.

For any bible version or assembly – I like it when the Contributors are predominately listed. Who they are, what did they do, what have they done. Names are given for each section, each book, and a list of Contributors is given with even more information. many of the names, many of the institutions, or books – I recognize as solid teachers. I trust God. I trust the Holy Spirit. I don’t trust man. However, these folks have a solid track record for sharing their heart for God, their pursuit of truth, and their love of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

To make me even happier – the next section is on the history of the HCSB, the Holman Bible Publishers – I am impressed with what I see.

In form, the book is beautiful. The one I received is hard bound, with more of a masculine cover. The Thinker statue with flourishes on top as seen in the photo above. FOR STUDENTS is predominate on the cover. Hard Questions, Straight Answers. The boys liked it that there are tabs for the books. Black tabs for Old Testament and Red Tabs for New. It is missing the standard Map Section and Dictionary/Index at the back, but with this version, I don’t think it is needed.

All in all, this hard core Bible /word / WORD lover enjoyed this edition of the Bible. I will recommend the Apologetics Study Bible For Students to the teen sin my life and my boys are using the Bible right now. (Ok, one is paying for a parking space at school, and one is at foot ball practice – so not RIGHT now, but in their reading times. )

From the Publisher:

A Few Features of The Apologetics Study Bible for Students HCSB:

Book Introductions for each of the sixty-six books of the Bible.
Study Notes provide evidence of the reliability and truthfulness of Scripture.
120 Articles written by today’s leading Christian thinkers dealing with life’s ultimate questions.
60 Twisted Scriptures address ways that various religious movements distort Scripture to support doctrine contrary to historic Christian teaching.

Also, this summer, the gift of Confident Faith is being celebrated with 16 brand new, but energetic and brief videos featuring Sean McDowell, free resources like Bible studies and articles as well as wonderful specials on apps and Bibles. There are new resources every week – a full 16 weeks of resources when it is all done. AND, if that weren’t enough, a Confident Faith Sweepstakes is being offered to give away Bibles, free mini libraries of B&H’s best apologetics resources and even a trip for two to the National Conference on Christian Apologetics (NCCA) being held October 16-17, 2015 in Charlotte, NC where some of the world’s leading thinkers will offer insights and teaching.

Find out more online –

Official Website: www.apologeticsbible.com
Social Media Shareables (for you!): www.apologeticsbible.com/share
Resource Site (Access to Videos): http://www.apologeticsbible.com/partners/
Sweepstakes: app.promo.eprize.com/confidentfaith/
Official Website to Purchase: http://www.lifeway.com/Keyword/The+apologetics+study+bible+for+students

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”