Reason for the Hope Within edited by Michael J. Murray is a remarkably rich book. It is diverse in its scope, covering a wide spectrum of philosophical issues. Murray points out the goal of the book: “The aim of this book is to take what has been happening in the halls of academic Christian philosophy and make it accessible and useful to church leaders and laity.”
1 A dozen or so philosophers contribute essays to accomplish this goal. Because this book addresses such a wide variety of topics, this review will be a general overview of the content with a notable highlights. In fact, an entire review could be dedicated to each one of these deeply thoughtful philosophical chapters.
Murray’s introduction encourages the reader to move slowly through the book, considering the issues deeply. The issues are weighty and they are treated with appropriate philosophical depth. From an apologetic perspective, a fair amount of emphasis is placed on the honest scope of apologetics: what apologetics
can’t do and what apologetics
can do: “…there is no sledgehammer apologetics. There are no arguments for the truth of Christianity which force the atheist or non-Christian to their intellectual knees. The unbeliever can always backtrack and give up some other belief instead.”
2
William C. Davis, introduces the theistic arguments, pointing out their scope and usefulness:
Belief in God, like any belief, is rationally avoidable, and a determined skeptic will always be able to find a reason – even if somewhat implausible – for persisting in unbelief. […] Arguments for God’s existence are useful, but it is important to be clear about how they are useful. Ultimately, arguments are never more than tools used by the Holy Spirit.3
Davis’ handles the theistic arguments carefully, and shows just how far they go and where they end. He doesn’t try to prove too much. He acknowledges that there is always a “way out” for the skeptic, however implausible. He addresses the common objection that certain theistic proofs aren’t good enough to prove the Christian God of the Bible:
At the heart of this objection is the claim that the Christian idea of God can’t be constructed from the details of our experience. And this is clearly correct! A finite creation cannot require an infinite or eternal creator as its cause. But why think that we need to construct our idea of God only from the uncontroversial facts of this world? This objection is ultimately an attempt to change the subject. The issue is not whether it is possible to assemble our idea of God; rather the real issue is whether the God we know from the Scriptures provides the best explanation for the facts of the world.4
The theistic argument from the fine-tuning of the universe is presented and developed by Robin Collins. His premises follow:
Premise 1. The existence of the fine-tuning is not improbable under theism.
Premise 2. The existence of the fine-tuning is very improbable under the atheistic single-universe hypothesis.
Conclusion: From premises (1) and (2) and the prime principle of confirmation, it follows that the fine-tuning data provide strong evidence to favor the design hypothesis over the atheistic single-universe hypothesis.5
Collins underscores the objective of the argument:
the argument does not say that the fine-tuning evidence proves that the universe was designed, or even that it is likely that the universe was designed. […] Rather, the argument merely concludes that the fine-tuning strongly supports theism over the atheistic single-universe hypothesis.6
An excellence appendix accompanies this chapter, exploring probability calculus and providing further support for the second premise.
Daniel Howard-Snyder addresses “God, Evil, and Suffering.” He splits the issue into two parts: the practical problem of evil and the theoretical problem of evil. Anyone reading this chapter (not to mention most of the other chapters in this book) will be introduced to the most relevant issues in contemporary philosophy of religion.
John O’Leary-Hawthorn contributes an essay on
Arguments for Atheism in which he explores two categories. First, what he calls “No evidence arguments,” and second, “Arguments from the character of religion.” These sorts of categories include the accusation of lack of evidence, the concept of divine silence, evil done in the name of religion, religious diversity, and the psychological origins of belief.
Caleb Miller provides his essay on
Faith and Reason. Deals with the rationality of belief and religious epistemology. Regarding religious experience and epistemology, he says that if one has a particular religious experience, “it is rational for me to accept the corresponding beliefs unless there is an undercutting or overriding defeater of those beliefs, i.e., unless there is some good reason for thinking that my experience is illusory or that the beliefs are false.”
7
Again it can be emphasized that the scope of essays in this book is very impressive:
Pluralism by Timothy O’Connor,
Eastern Religions by Robin Collins,
Divine Providence and Human Freedom by Scott A. Davison. Thomas D. Senor addresses philosophical issues surrounding the trinity. Trenton Merricks writes on
The Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting. He unpacks the concepts of immortality and the resurrection body. Michael J. Murray contributes another essay, this time dealing with heaven and hell. He presents and compares the “penalty” model and the “natural consequence” model. Indeed, not chapters to read quickly or superficially.
W. Christopher Stewart focuses his essay on religion and science. What is their interaction as ways of knowing? Does science defeat religion? He refutes the god-of-the-gaps argument, while pointing out that serious Christians should strictly avoid that sort of thinking. He also elaborates on another argument, namely, that science defeats religion by excluding it. He points out that science presupposes
methodological naturalism,
not metaphysical naturalism – and methodological naturalism does not in any way exclude religious belief. The rest of this chapter is an excellent exploration of the so-called conflict and of scientific and religious presuppositions.
J. A. Cover dedicates a chapter to miracles and Christian theism. He defines miracles, examines what reasonable belief in miracles requires, and answers objections from Hume and others. He continues by looking at epistemological questions of miracles and evidence. The final two chapters of the book cover the topics of Christian ethics (by Frances Howard-Snyder) and the authority of scripture (by Douglas Blount). These too are both excellent treatments of the contemporary issues in these areas.
As this quick overview has shown,
Reason for the Hope Within is an expansive philosophical book, written by excellent philosophers, yet accessible to the layman. This book is highly recommended for the thinking Christian and student of apologetics.
1 Michael J. Murray, in Reason for the Hope Within (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1999), p. 3.
2 Ibid., p. 13.
3 William C. Davis, Ibid., p. 21.
4 Ibid., p. 35.
5 Robin Collins, Ibid., p. 53.
6 Ibid.
7 Caleb Miller, Ibid., p. 145.
Dinesh D'Souza presents this talk entitled: How to Speak to an Atheist. Check out his book: What's So Great About Christianity. His latest book is Life After Death: The Evidence. D'Souza is an avid debater and has debated Christopher Hitchens and other leading atheists.
This is an interview with Anthony Horvath, director of Athanatos Christian Ministries Online Academy of Apologetics. As noted in an earlier post, the Apologetics Academy is beginning the fall semester on Monday, November 2nd. In this interview Anthony talks about the vision behind the course, the classes offered, and explains the sign up process. For those interested in getting further equipped in apologetics, this academy might be what you are looking for. See here for classes offered.
Here is a lecture by Corbin Carnell on the subject of C.S. Lewis' Problem of Pain by Veritas.org. Full MP3 Audio here.
“Your days at the most cannot be very long, so use them to the best of your ability for the glory of God and the benefit of your generation.”
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins is the famous biologist’s most recent book since his best selling The God Delusion. This is a well-written book, complete with illustrations and beautiful color sections. In it, Professor Dawkins presents evidence for evolution. The purpose of this review is to survey some of Dawkins’ ideas and weigh up the overall logic of his case for evolution; in particular, does Dawkins present a good case that macroevolution is a fact?
Ravi Zacharias points out that the most important question shared by theists and atheists is the one of how we should live. Zacharias presents a case for why atheists have no acceptable answer for this question, while arguing that Christianity presents a satisfying answer. Found at Veritas.
BiblicalTraining.org provides an introductory study of the beliefs and practices of Islam. The course demonstrates how Islamic thought is different from Christian thought and how the gospel can be most effectively communicated to members of the Islamic faith. There are 24 separate lectures totaling approximately 16 hours.
The Fall 2009 apologetics course at Athanatos is starting in November. Sharpen your knowledge in the following classes:
David Geisler presents a talk on Conversational Evangelism. He shares tips and keys on "pre-evangelism" and practical apologetics in everyday conversation. See his website: Meekness & Truth for other audio, powerpoints, and resources. Get his book here.
Here are a couple of great talks from Veritas.org, featuring Privileged Planet authors (book / DVD) Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards
He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever.
The CultureWatch Podcast by the Damaris.org is a weekly podcast featuring interviews and analysis on the relationship between Christian faith and contemporary culture. Keep up to speed on new movie releases, their content, and message.
Here are three good philosophy audio courses:
This lecture by philosopher Bruce Little discusses how beliefs are formed. He discusses the nature of beliefs, how they form and their relationship to truth, the notion of persuasion, and how beliefs might be changed. All of this is aimed at a better understanding of what is involved in Christian witnessing and apologetics, with examples from the Bible. Another great audio from bethinking.org.
This is The Great Faith Debate at UCF in Orlando FL on September 17, 2009. This is... another debate is between Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D’souza.
William Lane Craig debates New Testament scholar Marcus Borg on the topic of the resurrection. Borg's position is that the resurrection is "really true," even though it is not "literally true." Daryl Schmidt and Darrell Bock offer further comments. Also added to the WLC Audio Debate Feed.
This concludes the series of weekly posts dealing with some basic theistic arguments. The purpose here is to introduce the reader to the idea behind each argument. Strengths and weaknesses will be presented after each summary. These are only summaries and springboards for further study in the theistic arguments. See Reason for the Hope Within for more.
Closer to Truth is a series of videos on the topics of the cosmos, consciousness, and God. Robert Lawrence Kuhn hosts this series of interviews with world class cosmologists, physicists, scientists, philosophers, and theologians (see list here) on the biggest questions in life. There are numerous videos, but here are a few of note from the webisodes on God:
Michael Licona debates Bart Ehrman on the topic: Can historians really prove Jesus rose from the dead? This is their second debate (first debate here) on the resurrection. Videos here.
Philosopher and theologian Kenneth Samples of RTB presents a talk entitled: Is Jesus Man, Myth, Madman, or Messiah? This is an outstanding talk with an engaging Q&A by one of today's most outstanding apologists. See also Ken Samples' "Learning Skills 101" series, his Straight Thinking Podcast, and his Without a Doubt podcast.
William Lane Craig debates Arif Ahmed on the topic: Is Belief in God Reasonable? Q&A follows. Also added to the WLC Audio Debate Feed.
"To show that an argument is invalid or unsound is not to show that the conclusion of the argument is false.... All the proofs of God’s existence may fail, but it still may be the case that God exists."1
Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record is a documentary by Illustra Media exploring the Cambrian Explosion: the sudden appearance of major animal types in the fossil record. This review will provide an overview of the content.
In the next fifteen minutes the documentary explores the development of Darwin's theory. This describes what Darwin expected to find in the fossil record, including step-by-step transitional forms. He was puzzled by not finding these transitions in the fossil record. However, he assumed the fossils were out there and that more time was needed to discover the transitional forms. 
Three quarters through the documentary, young Darwin takes his voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle and the documentary describes Darwin's evolutionary model. It is described as simple to complex; gradual change over a long period of time. This view is described as "bottom-up," simple to complex. 
The documentary examines what sorts of mutations are needed to accomplish these transitions. And of probabilities? The probability of generating just one protein by mutation is about 1 in 10(74). This is compared to a blind man looking for one marked atom in our galaxy. In addition, the case is made that DNA mutations alone cannot make the necessary changes to the body plans themselves. To this point, the documentary has focused on showing the inadequacy of Darwin's theory to account for the fossil evidence or the DNA changes needed to produce the body plans found in the Cambrian strata.
Philosophers Doug Geivett and John Shook debate the topic: Does God Exist? Moderated by Eddie Tabash. This debate took place in Buffalo, NY on July 31, 2009. Videos here.
