Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies

Written by Hillary Morgan Ferrer

Narrated by Hillary Morgan Ferrer

#RoarLikeAMother

The problem with lies is they don't often sound like lies. They seem harmless, and even sound right. So what's a Mama Bear to do when her kids seem to be absorbing the culture's lies uncritically?

Mama Bear Apologetics is the book you've been looking for. This mom-to-mom guide will equip you to teach your kids how to form their own biblical beliefs about what is true and what is false. Through transparent life stories and clear, practical applications-including prayer strategies-this band of Mama Bears offers you tools to train yourself, so you can turn around and train your kids.

Are you ready to answer the rallying cry, "Mess with our kids and we will demolish your arguments"? Join the Mama Bears and raise your voice to protect your kids-by teaching them how to think through and address the issues head-on, yet with gentleness and respect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781545911341

Hillary Morgan Ferrer

Hillary Morgan Ferrer, founder of Mama Bear Apologetics®, has a burden for providing accessible apologetics resources for busy moms. She has a master’s in biology, and her specialties are in cultural apologetics, the relationship between science and faith, and understanding the root causes of doubt. Hillary and her husband, John, have been married for more than 16 years and minister together as an apologetics team in Iowa.

Reviews for Mama Bear Apologetics

[Mary Hellmann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A must read for all Mom’s. A really good layout for understanding the different topics within apologetics and today’s culture topics.

[Paige Floyd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An incredible tool for all parents, not just moms. Highly recommend. Overwhelming for me at times but worth every bit of effort.

[Sarah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was such a great book to equip parents to raise their children in a culture that is so anti God. I learned so much about different "isms" and world views and how they go against God and what he says in His Word so I could better teach my children.

[Kristen Roberts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s so good! Whether you are a mom of a teenager, newborn, or are just trying to learn how to teach children in your life, this gives great information about a variety of topics! Well written and easy to understand!

[shaneen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thank you so much for this book it has created so many thoughts, ideas and questions to be able to consider, and have conversations with my children.

[Thomas Lorenz (Fit For Faith Ministries) · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A great book I recommend also for fathers.

It is a book which is needed, but also not much needed, as it essentially rewrites the ideas from books such as 'The Book that Made Your World' (Vishal Mangalwadi) and other similar books.

Pros
+ encouraging and refreshing writing style

+ the audio version read by the author is wonderful, and she shows that professionalism in writing can go along with a good portion of humor

+ well investigated

+ the purpose of the book is almost understated to be limited to mothers only

+ they show how essential it is to train mothers and therefore the next generation

Cons
+ the majority of quotations are problematic to highly problematic. Very often Calvinist characters and contributors, but this does thankfully not reflect at all in the theology, which is contrary to the endorsements, speaking explicitly of free will and the individual responsibility to accept and provoke others to accept the Gospel.

+ they quote Timothy Keller, one of the worst false teachers of our generation and being Marxist, contradicting the great teaching and warnings about Marxism found later in the book

+ they positively quote C.S. Lewis and Tolkien ("her favorite author") and lead their readers into reading highly problematic books apostles such as Paul would have rather burned. Quoting Lewis seems to be the good tone today and many authors are guilty of endorsing such a highly problematic teacher, but in a book dedicated to discernment, such an slip should never occur.

Lewis teaches another Gospel (Lilith from 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is a character based on a demon who was married to Adam before he married Eve; theistic evolutionist; "Man is physically descended from animals"; he considers Hindus/Buddhists/Muslims as brothers in Christ; belief in purgatory ...). The endorsement of Lewis could be excused through the author having been misled by Gregory Koukl, whose mission is to a certain extent to imitate as good as possible Lewis and to quote him as often as possible, but his unbelief in the biblical creation account and the blatant endorsement of the Big Bang Theory should have been enough warning signs to not blindly trust him.

+ Another incredible slip is the endorsement of Francis of Assisi, known as an Italian mystic and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans.

+ Although the theology is overall great, the chapter 'Emotionalism' is weak. It describes well the problem, but it redirects from one error into the same pop-psychology warned about earlier in the book. I noticed several phrases that I have heard from the heretical teacher Carolina Leaf, or which could come straight from her mouth.

+ Although I agree with basic aspects of their proposed theology of jewing & spitting which is repeated all over the book, this theology is not found in the Bible anywhere close to the extent as described in the book. It is indeed good to train children to spit out what is not good and to train them suitable patterns of recognition of error, but the biblical focus is always on avoidance and decided opposition of evil instead of going along with evil and walking constantly through a minefield.
It is the same mindset prevalent in those Christians who have the naive assumption that one can read or watch anything, even including spurious or false teachings from Lewis or Tolkien involving the same witchcraft the Bible over and over warns us about, and not being affected by it. We tend to see us spiritually stronger than we are, and do very often underestimate the effect of heretical content, especially if consumed in small doses.

Again, overall a very good book, sadly with very bad elements. It would be very easy to clean it up in the next edition.

[Kendra · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved how balanced this book was. Perhaps written for Mums with older children , but great for Mums with small ones too to have a good foundational understanding of apologetics and how to work those discussions into everyday conversations.

[Alexis Christenson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have to buy the hard copy because I spent way too much time rewinding so I could listen again to the many wonderful insights. This book is a great introduction to theology and philosophy and one I know I’m going to read a few more times.

[Tiffany · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am so happy I found this book! I will be listening to it again, much slower, going through the workbook provided. It has grown my confidence and knowledge in parenting and in my own faith! Thank you!

[Henita Riesen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent for source for getting deep conversation material for your talks with teens and children. I really enjoyed this book, but really wish it was geared to both parents not just moms. Even my teens enjoyed listening to the audio.

[Lebo Chindongo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Encouraging book that helps you think and equips you well as a mother.

[Larissa Shooter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book helped explain philosophies that are pervasive today in our society and in our schools. It gave background and explanation of how similar variations have been held in past generations and cultures. It is a great basic apologetic book for approachable understanding and hope. I highly recommend.

[Becca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great book for an intro into current world views and how they line up with the Bible.

[Ricky Chelette · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Outstanding book that is a great help to parents or anyone wishing to answer the questions of our post modern age. These mama bears skillful, academically, but understandably tackle complex topics in ways anyone can grasp. Additionally, each chapter ends with pragmatic ways to help the abstract become real. A must read!

[Jaylene · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a well written book covering a large scope of current issues. Easy to follow and so encouraging.

[Kristi Bischoff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is so well written and easy to understand. I have been encouraged to dig further and study more. Hillary Ferrer does an excellent job narrating.

[Jan Davenport · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book book book book book book book book book

[Lillian Maalawy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent resource. Every teacher, parent, family and friend should read this. We’ve all fallen for the cultural lies. It’s for everyone not just mommas.

[Lotachukwu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So down-to-earth and very enlightening, equipping us to recognize and effectively combat the lies of the devil.

[Cat Queen · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This was given to me by another mom who was a member of the launch team (or something like that). Even a couple years later, I still think of it regularly and can say without a doubt that I would not recommend this book. Systematic Theology is a much better place to begin your study of apologetics. **Edited 4/09/22 to add: I understand that Systematic Theology might be too academic and dry for a lot of busy caregivers. I also recommend Phylicia Masonheimer's IG/website Every Woman A Theologian. While I don't agree with her on every point, I love her balanced, humble, truth-seeking approach to theology, theological history, and her comfort with the diversity of thought in the Church.

This book was more about protecting a conservative worldview and arguing against anything that is seemingly opposed to right-leaning (capitalist) American evangelical Christianity than it was about apologetics. The tone was often derisive and mocking, as though anyone who “buys” these other viewpoints is simply not as smart or savvy as “us”; our job then is to gently show them how wrong and misled they really are. I can’t possibly imagine a successful relationship building scenario in which my motive to befriend another mom at the playground is so I can prove to her that she’s been brainwashed.

What really got me was in the chapter on PostModernism, the author claims that you could be charged with a hate crimes in Canada for accidentally using the wrong gender to refer to someone. (She actually writes “no one is safe” as though this is part of a grand conspiracy.) I was surprised enough when I read this to google the law and discovered a viral article posted on a conservative website. Even Fox News had a story about how the article in question was an erroneous and sensational interpretation of the law. Since the entire book is supposed to be about confronting cultural lies, exposing how worldview distorts our ability to separate fact from fiction, and attempting to find truth in a world of misinformation, I couldn’t really take the authors seriously anymore.

For what it’s worth, I am a moderate evangelical who is interested in biblical truth and raising my children to be deep, considerate thinkers in all areas of their faith and education, which means regularly confronting and re-examining my own political and cultural beliefs. I tried to read this book with an open mind, praying throughout for discernment. Ultimately I feel this book offers a glimpse into the way conservative evangelicals view the world and other people but does not offer much in the way of Christian apologetics. It is more “why we don’t believe this nonsense” than “why we do believe this truth.”