I have been reading Divided Nation—Cultures In Chaos & A Conflicted Church, by Ken Ham. My favorite part of it is that it provides the solution to living out 1 Peter 3:15-16 which says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.”

One of the main points of the book is that we are losing the younger generations because we fail to teach them the foundation that we as Christians should begin with which is Genesis chapters 1-11. By not understanding ourselves we cannot answer questions like:

• If God loves us why is there so much suffering in the world? [Short Answer: “God’s Word tells us it was a perfect world, but man sinned, and death, disease, and suffering are a consequence of man’s rebellion.” pp.44-45) (See Genesis 1-11 and Romans 8:22-23]
• How could Noah get all the animals represented by the species on the Ark? [Short Answer: Noah took “kinds” on the Ark. A dog kind. A cat kind. At the Ark Encounter in Kentucky, “A sign states that (at the most) 1,398 animal kinds were on Noah’s Ark.” “There are around 34 different species of dogs today (e.g., wolves, dingoes, foxes, etc.). Scientists can document they are all interconnected through breeding.” (p.68) Some people question how Noah could have room and feed, huge, vicious animals, and the answer is— he didn’t have to take adults, he could take a pair of babies that would later grow up and reproduce.]
• How should we deal with gender? [Answer: Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” and Matthew 19:4, “…Have you not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” (see pp.74-75) Science confirms this in the chromosomes as males have X and Y and females have X and X. (see pages 75-77]
• How should we view Abortion? [Answer: Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him;” Animals were not made in God’s image, only humans. “Kids in most schools are taught that man is in the animal kingdom…. from a Christian worldview perspective, man should be in a separate section on his own, and not part of the animal kingdom. Man is made in the image of God.” (see p. 78) “We are made in God’s image right from fertilization. That means abortion at any stage (from the moment of fertilization onward) is killing a human being. As we are made in His image, God’s Word clearly teaches we’re not to murder another human being. God gave the death penalty for murder in Genesis 9:5-6. Also, as part of the Ten Commandments, we are told, You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13). (See p. 79)]
• What about answering the claim, “a woman has a right to do with her body what she wants. How do we answer that?” (p.80) [Answer: “Is a fertilized egg part of a woman’s body? No, it’s not….it is made of cells with a unique combination of information in the DNA…” “Also, when someone claims a fertilized egg is part of a woman’s body, then consider if the fertilized egg is male with the X and Y sex chromosomes. That can’t be part of her body, as the woman’s sex chromosomes consist of and X and X.” (see p. 80)

And many more questions like:

• How old is the earth?
• How do we deal with Racism?
• How do we confront gay marriage?
• What is the right way to argue our position?
• What is apologetics and why is it important to Christians?

You will find the answers you seek in God’s Word and learn how to share them from reading Ken Ham’s book.

We have to train ourselves to be bold. I will admit—I struggle with this. Here are some scriptures for encouragement Ken Ham share’s on page 120.

Matthew 7:28-29 says, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine: For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (KJV)

and

Acts 28:31 says about the boldness of Paul as he taught others, “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” (KJV)

Ken Ham’s book will educate you on all the answers you need to refute man made doctrine and lies so you can answer with truth from God’s Word.

This is a great book for teens through adults. It is a quick, well-paced, read, that is well worth the short time it takes to learn how to stand for Christ and His Kingdom.

Have you been asked some of these hard questions? How did you answer?