The Morals of the Story: Good News About a Good God
Overview
Christianity Today 2019 Book of the Year Award of Merit, Apologetics/Evangelism
What arguments best support the existence of God?
For centuries the moral argument—that objective morality points to the existence of God—has been a powerful apologetic tool.
In this volume, David and Marybeth Baggett offer a dramatic, robust, and even playful version of the moral argument. Tracing both its historical importance and its contemporary relevance, they argue that it not only still points to God's existence but that it also contributes to our ongoing spiritual transformation.
Key Features
- Offers a rational defense of the faith
- Identifies a number of considerations in favor of God’s existence
- Provides reflection questions for each chapter
Contents
Act I: Setting the Stage
- The Comeback of Moral Apologetics
- Stubborn Moral Facts
- Pre-Twentieth-Century History of Moral Apologia
- Moral Arguments in the Twentieth Century and Beyond
Act II: The Main Characters
- Moral Goodness
- Moral Obligations
- Moral Knowledge
- Moral Transformation
- Moral Providence
Act III: Enacting the Comedy
- A Gala Performance
Praise for the Print Edition
The Morals of the Story is timely, educational, and entertaining. Due to his lectures and previous writings, Professor Baggett has established himself as one of a small handful of elite experts on moral arguments for God and related matters. Now, colaboring with his wife, Marybeth, we finally have a readable and authoritative treatment of a very wide range of issues relevant to the moral argument. The book’s structure could not be better, moving from a historical sketch of moral arguments to an identification of the central topics associated with them and closing with a summary of these topics and a word of practical application. Thanks be to God and to the Baggetts for giving us such a treasure.
—J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
The Morals of the Story is a delight to read! It weaves together resources from philosophy, literature, and science as well as illustrations from popular culture and the authors’ personal experiences. The result is a powerful, accessible, winsome presentation of the moral argument for God’s existence and—in light of our own moral failure—the hope we have in the gospel of Christ.
—Paul Copan, Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, author of A Little Book for New Philosophers
This is exactly the kind of book that philosophers need to write and that students need to read! David Baggett and Marybeth Baggett offer a clear and compelling account of why it is that God is still the best explanation of the moral facts of our world. But best of all, they do so while reminding us that philosophy need not be stuffy or boring, and that Christian apologetics need not be contentious or hostile. This book caused me to think deeply and, at times, burst out in laughter. I look forward to using this in my own courses and recommend it with great enthusiasm!
—James K. Dew Jr., associate professor of philosophy and the history of ideas, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Product Details
- Title: The Morals of the Story: Good News About a Good God
- Authors: David Baggett and Marybeth Baggett
- Publisher: IVP
- Publication Date: 2018
- Pages: 260
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Existence of God
About the Authors
David Baggett (PhD, Wayne State University) is professor of philosophy in the Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is the coauthor of Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality, God and Cosmos: Moral Truth and Human Meaning, and At the Bend of the River Grand. He is the editor of Did the Resurrection Happen? and the coeditor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty; The Philosophy of Sherlock Holmes; and Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts.
Marybeth Baggett (PhD, Indiana University of Pennsylvania) is professor of English at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is the coauthor of At the Bend of the River Grand and the editor of They Hummed of Mystery: Representations of Faith in the Contemporary American Novel.