Craigg's Corner: December

A review of Gregory Koukl’s book: “The Story of Reality: How The World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important That Happens in Between”

Craigg McRae serves as our representative to a monthly apologetics forum where strategies and information is discussed in order to engage our culture with the Gospel. Each month he's sharing a summary with us about what was discussed.

For the apologetics discussion for December by Dick DiTullio, we reviewed this book by Greg Koukl. Mr. Koukl does a wonderful job of concisely telling the Story of the world, not just from the Christian viewpoint, but from a world standpoint which ends up proving the Christian viewpoint as the correct viewpoint.   

Every story has four key components, introduction, crisis, resolution and ending or beginning, conflict, conflict resolution and ending. Thus, the Story has four parts, creation, fall, redemption and restoration. Every person has a story to tell on why things are the way they are. Some are well thought out and studied and others are simply opinions and unwavering even when confronted with facts and historical proof. Whether religious or not, everyone believes their beliefs to be true so why is it that if you disagree with a person’s viewpoint you are labeled a bigot or intolerant.

Koukl tells his story through five parts of his book, God, Man, Jesus, Cross and Resurrection. Part One is for God, the main character, who He is and how we can be sure of His existence and the honor that is due Him. He looks at this character through the lens of different religions and how the relationship with God, if there is one, is tied to man.

Part Two tells of the creation of man in God’s own image and how that separates us from the animals. Man goes against God and creates a division, causing the pain and suffering the world now has and the knowledge we all innately have that things are wrong and why we have a desire to make them right again, but can’t.

Part Three of his book introduces us to the hero of the Story, Jesus Christ. He discusses how it was that only this God-man could fix what was broken in Part Two and the historical facts behind Jesus. The two main questions addressed in this part are: who was Jesus and what did He come to do?

Part Four is the cross and how it is that Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for us. He offered a switch for us, the elimination of the wrath of God against us for Him taking on all our sins both past and future. It is only through our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior that we can be reunited with our heavenly Father. Those not accepting Jesus will forever be cut off from the Father.

Part Five fine tunes the two choices mankind has, perfect mercy or perfect justice. God is willing to offer mercy that we do not deserve because of what His son did for us in return for our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior. Should we not accept this, then the punishment we truly deserve will be administered and since we know we are guilty, we will receive the perfect justice that God is entitled to administer. It is our choice and God is waiting for our decision, but He won’t wait forever.

Koukl’s epilogue offers some nice pithy summations:

“There is evil in the world, and there is evil in each one of us.” 

“The entire Story is about how human beings went bad, how our badness caused the world to go bad, and how both get fixed by God. It is the reason Jesus came to earth.”

“Though humans are beautiful, we are also broken—not physically but morally. We feel guilty because we are guilty. Man was not like this in the beginning. However, he used the good freedom God gave him to do something bad. He did not use his liberty to choose obedience and thus grow in goodness, but to choose rebellion and thus fall into death, darkness and slavery.”

In summary God, the Creator of the universe, in order to rescue man from punishment for his rebellion, came to earth and took on humanity in Jesus, the Savior, to die on a cross and rise from the dead, so that in the final resurrection those who receive His mercy will enjoy a wonderful friendship with their sovereign Lord in the kind of perfect world their hearts have always yearned for.

The book is a wonderful summation of the Story, the truths behind the Story and the reasons why it should be believed, followed and retold. I recommend it strongly.