What do you say when a friend asks you a tough question? More importantly, how do you respond to them--to the questioner rather than the question? Reasons for My Hope provides model dialogues--imaginative encounters--that demonstrate both the opportunities and the challenges of sharing one's faith. Many enthusiastic Christians tend to rely on stock answers without hearing the deeper resonances of the questions raised by non-Christians.

If we can develop the sensitivity to hear different needs, experiences, and interests, and can learn to respond without offering textbook solutions, then a true dialogue can develop.

"My aim is to help Christians to explain their faith to their non-Christian friends, family and acquaintances, and answer the questions that often arise," explains Benno van den Toren. "This book focuses on understanding the questions and objections that are often raised in such conversations. Consequently, this book doesn't aim to give instant answers . . . The main thing is not to have a battery of the right arguments and answers, but rather to develop the right attitude: a genuine interest in everyone we meet."

Author:

Dr. Benno van den Toren is tutor in Doctrine at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and is a member of Oxford University's theological faculty. He has taught Christian doctrine since 1997, first in Africa, and is a Visiting Professor in French-speaking Africa. He has lived in the Netherlands, the Central African Republic, Canada, and England, and has written books in English, French, and Dutch.