Week 1: Introduction — Finding the Box Top to the Puzzle of Life

1.The authors use the analogy of a puzzle without a box top to describe the human condition apart from God. In what ways does this image resonate with your own experience of trying to make sense of life?

2.Geisler and Turek argue that 'it takes more faith to be a non-Christian than it does to be a Christian.' What do they mean by this, and what is your initial reaction to that claim?

3.The introduction identifies a twelve-point progression the book will follow, moving from 'Truth exists' all the way to 'The New Testament is true.' Why do you think the authors felt it was necessary to start so far back — with the question of truth itself — rather than jumping straight to arguments for God or the Bible?

4.The authors distinguish between 'blind faith' and 'reasonable faith.' How would you describe the difference in your own words, and which kind of faith have you most often practiced or witnessed in others?

5.Geisler and Turek note that many people's objections to Christianity are not intellectual but moral — they don't want Christianity to be true because of what it would require of them. How honest have you been with yourself about whether your own questions about faith are primarily intellectual or also moral/emotional?

6.The authors say they want to present evidence and then ask the reader to follow it wherever it leads. In your experience, is that kind of open-minded inquiry genuinely possible? What makes it difficult?

7.How does the overall project of this book connect to Peter's command in 1 Peter 3:15 to 'always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have'? What does that verse suggest about the relationship between faith and reason?