REVIEW: “10 Questions About Salvation" by Champ Thornton
About the Book:
✦ Title: 10 Questions About Salvation: 30 Devotions for Kids, Teens and Families
✦ Author: Champ Thornton
✦ Genre: Christian nonfiction/devotional
✦ Series: Part of an upcoming series on questions about various biblical topics.
✦ Recommend for: ages 8-14
My Personal Rating
4 ⭐️
📖 Synopsis
Everyone has questions about religion, but when you’re young, finding the answers can be difficult. Some books are too complex and others don’t dive deeply enough into the faith topics that matter most to kids and teens. So where can young readers go to grow in their understanding of God and his word?
The 10 Questions series invites children ages 8–14 to investigate spiritual questions and provides reliable theological and practical answers on their level. The first book, 10 Questions about Salvation, helps readers find joy, security, and hope in God’s gracious love. Each 10 Questions book presents one main topic, poses 10 vital questions on the topic, and answers each question through 3 short devotions. Readers can work through the 30 readings in any order they choose. Written to be read alone or aloud with family, 10 Questions about Salvation is the perfect way to start or end each day reflecting on the things of God.
The 10 Questions series invites children ages 8–14 to investigate spiritual questions and provides reliable theological and practical answers on their level. The first book, 10 Questions about Salvation, helps readers find joy, security, and hope in God’s gracious love. Each 10 Questions book presents one main topic, poses 10 vital questions on the topic, and answers each question through 3 short devotions. Readers can work through the 30 readings in any order they choose. Written to be read alone or aloud with family, 10 Questions about Salvation is the perfect way to start or end each day reflecting on the things of God.
💭 My Thoughts
First, it should be noted that I have extraordinarily strong feelings about how the gospel should be presented to the young generation (and how it shouldn’t), so I am extremely picky when it comes to these kinds of books, and was a little hesitant to request this for review because I didn’t want to give a negative review simply due to my personal beliefs and expectations. However, I was thankful to find this book covered the various aspects of salvation fairly well and gave me some food for thought. As usual with Crossway, it was designed and organized excellently. I personally would have liked for it to be a little deeper, but I can still say it was accessible without being shallow, and I believe many young people would find it helpful, or at least thought provoking and push them to do more research.
Now, I would not say this is a perfect resource. I thought that there were certain parts that could have been clearer and less...abstract? (E.g., repentance being explained as “turning away from your kingdom”). But perhaps people in the target age would find that style more engaging than someone older would. Also, one specific thing I really would have liked to see was the doctrine of propitiation being discussed or at least touched on a little by name, as I think that is the core of the gospel, but that is just my personal preference.
Overall, minor complaints aside, I did think this was a pretty solid read for kids or families to go through. It was theologically sound, and if you’re looking for a short little book with easy to grasp answers to common salvation questions for 8-14 year olds, I would recommend giving it a try, especially as a bridge to research the topics discussed in more depth.
Bookishly yours,
Lottie M
*I received this book for free from the publisher (Crossway) in exchange for this honest review.
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