I recently received two books in the Apologetics For Teens series written by Bethany Kaldas. They are put out by an Orthodox publisher but represent what C.S. Lewis refers to as “mere Christianity.”
One is called Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? It features the basic evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, but deals with a few other issues as well, including the existence of Jesus. The author makes a good case for why the resurrection of Jesus should be taken seriously.
The second is called The Problem of Evil. This one is a bit more difficult, as it relies on philosophy rather than history, and it comes across as not quite as accessible to teens. Still, it is a good introduction to the problem of evil, an issue that is on the minds of people of all generations.
Neither book is an in-depth scholarly treatment of the issues. That is actually the value of this series. The goal is to introduce these subjects to teens and in doing so, I think the author is successful. These are books that I wish I had as a teenager.
The resources used by the author include heavy reliance on evangelical authors, because much of the apologetics writing comes from that corner. In fact you might not even notice that this is from an Orthodox perspective, other than there might be a few more quotes by Church Fathers than you find in some other books.
If you are a professional apologist, you will find all sorts of things you wish that she had talked about. But if you are a parent or a youth pastor, you will find these books to be helpful resources.
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