Sketchy Views: A Beginner's Guide to Making Sense of God

by Daniel DeWitt

Is your understanding of who God is and how he works in our lives today a little sketchy? Daniel DeWitt’s Sketchy Views is a beginner’s guide to making sense of God. Everybody has beliefs about God. There are a million ways to get God wrong, but there’s only a narrow path to getting him right. In order to understand God, we have to go back to the Bible, but that can be overwhelming if you are new to theology. Sketchy Views uses words and sketches to help readers visually connect with and understand what basic Christian theology is and is not. DeWitt helps readers understand why what we think about God is the most important thing about us. Because God is the most important topic a person can think about, the way we think about God (our theology) is our most valuable and important collection of our thoughts and words.

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 24, 2023

About the author

Daniel DeWitt, PhD, is a senior fellow at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO, where he leads the Center for Worldview and Culture and teaches courses on theology, apologetics, and C.S. Lewis. He is the author of multiple books, including Jesus or Nothing, The Friend Who Forgives, and Sketchy Views, and posts regularly at Theolatte.com. He and his wife, April, have four children.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for young people to help them understand how their thoughts about God are formed and how to make sense of them. I like how DeWitt explains that the starting point of our thinking is so important. He explores necessary terms, like orthodoxy and heresy, making them understandable. He clarifies the need for initial assumptions and how all people make them. He shows how some beliefs are more essential than others, such as salvation over last days details. He covers three major areas of Christian belief, the Bible, God and the world.

DeWitt's writing style is good, especially for people unfamiliar with theological terms like inerrancy and omnipotence. He is clear and explains issues well. He has some cool line drawing illustrations too. There are questions for reflection at the end of each chapter. They could be used for discussion in a classroom setting or for individual use. This book is a good introduction to orthodox belief for new or questioning Christians.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit, when I fist saw the title Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God, I was intrigued and a little bit skeptical about what is was about. Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God by Daniel DeWitt introduces the reader to the beginning basics of theology and sprinkles sketches throughout the book to explain certain points. Using his expertise in the classroom, Mr. DeWitt writes Sketchy Views in a way that readers can understand and grasp the concepts being presented. Using the Bible as a guide and a quote at the beginning of each chapter to correlate with what is being discussed, Sketchy Views helps to engage readers to think about God and the why and how they think that way.

I was amazed at what was written and how it was written in Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God. I used Sketchy Views during my devotion time, highlighting things and making a lot of notes. I love the way that Mr. DeWitt explained things and solely sticks within the perimeters of the Bible as the way to view what is in theology and tells the reader through out that the Bible should be their guide. I enjoyed the sketches in the book and I thought the quotes at the beginning of each chapter complemented the topics being discussed in that particular chapter well. I love that Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God is understandable and, I feel, it is clearly written. Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God made theories I had been confused about in the past, understandable. I also love some of the analogies that Mr. DeWitt used such as the pizza analogy, shamrock analogy, and the husband and wife analogy. If you are looking for a book that answers basic theological questions in a crystal clear manner or if you are unsure where you stand faith-wise then I highly recommend Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God by Daniel DeWitt!

Have you read Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God? What did you think of the book?

I would like to thank New Growth Press for giving me a copy of Sketchy Views: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Sense of God. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My review is also on my blog Leslie's Library Escape.

[Shirley Alarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Daniel Dewitt offers a beginner’s guide to making sense of God in ‘Sketchy Views’. Dewitt quotes G. K. Chesterton as saying, “Theology is that part of religion that requires brains” and that’s the mindset a reader of Sketchy Views must have.

This is not a light, quick read. The Sketchy Views apologetics lessons are both theological and philosophical, yet the topics covered remain within reason of the average reader. I say this as a non-philosophical person who was able to follow the points and logic.

At one time or another, many Christians have questions about Christianity, such as, who is God, can we trust the Bible, how do I make sense of the Trinity, and other challenging aspects of the faith.

Dewitt covers these and many more as he walks through tough questions about God. He uses theology and philosophy, along with plenty of analogies and great storytelling, to debunk common misconceptions and assumptions about God.

Based on the title, book description, and cover image, I made the *very* incorrect assumption that the book would be heavily focused on “sketches” and light on written content. (WRONG!) The actual sketches didn’t offer much to increase my level of understanding.

I realized after I started reading the book that the meaning of “sketchy views” describes our views of God that may be off-track.

Dewitt ends each chapter with questions that challenge the readers comprehension of the material. These questions would be useful for a group study as well as for an individual.

Who would like this book: Described as a “beginner’s guide”, Sketchy Views is written for teens/young adults, but I think it would be a good intellectual introduction of God for adults, too. Christians and curious agnostics would both benefit from the content.

[Caleb Purdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a helpful introduction to thinking about God. Dr. DeWitt is able to take big theological ideas, discussions, and figures and bring them to students at an accessible level. Highly recommend for high schoolers or anyone looking to be introduced to theology.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to and overview of the primacy and authority of Scripture. Great read if you're new to the faith, exploring Christianity, or have been following Jesus for years.