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Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense: A Response to Contemporary Challenges (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology )

Publisher:
, 2015
ISBN: 9781493400249
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Overview

In recent years the Christian faith has been challenged by skeptics, including the New Atheists, who claim that belief in God is simply not reasonable. Prominent Christian philosopher C. Stephen Evans offers a fresh, contemporary, and nuanced response in Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense. He makes the case for both belief in a personal God and belief that this God has revealed himself through the Christian revelation. Belief in God is grounded in natural “signs,” and belief in the Christian revelation stems from three “signs” God has provided: miracles, the paradoxical nature of revelation, and the existential power of revelation.

After beginning with a brief introduction to New Atheist claims, Evans shows how natural theology can undermine an anti-naturalistic view of the world, opening the way for theism. He next discusses natural signs for God and their evidential value. But natural signs only open our minds to theistic possibilities; revelation is required for Christian belief. Evans concludes with a thorough discussion of the reasons God’s self-revelation is both authoritative and authentic.

This sophisticated yet accessible book provides a clear account of the evidence for Christian faith, concluding that it still makes sense to believe. It will be of use to undergraduate professors and students of apologetics and philosophy as well as pastors, church leaders, and campus ministries.

In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Looking for more from C. Stephen Evans? Check out the Eerdmans Philosophical Theology Collection (4 vols.).

Resource Experts
  • Offers critical assessment of New Atheist claims about Christianity
  • Argues that God is both personal and active
  • Demonstrates that Christians have ample evidence to justify belief in miracles and other signs
  • Who Are the New Atheists, and What Are They Saying?
  • The Value of Natural Theology
  • The Concept of a Natural Sign for God
  • Natural Signs for God and Theistic Arguments
  • Can We Trust the Natural Signs for God?
  • Recognizing God’s Self-Revelation
  • Criteria for a Genuine Revelation from God
  • Conclusions: Making the Case for Christian Faith

Top Highlights

“Some argue that morality is the product of evolution” (Page 48)

“Alvin Plantinga has recently argued that there is no conflict between science and religious belief but that there are problems in combining a naturalistic worldview and science.4 The naturalist has no good reason to trust that his or her faculties, if they are the product of evolution, are reliably aimed at truth. Unguided evolution cares only about survival; truth is not necessarily what helps us survive. The theist, on the contrary, has good reason to hold that our faculties, which are ultimately the work of God, whether created directly or through an evolutionary process, are reliable.” (Page 66)

“There is a general view among the New Atheists that religious beliefs are harmful enough that they deserve no special protections or privileged status in society.” (Page 9)

“since God is not an entity within the natural world that science investigates.” (Page 65)

“I think this response is exactly right, and it shows the need to distinguish what is paradoxical from what is bizarre.” (Page 111)

Professor Evans brilliantly summarizes a wide range of arguments on behalf of the rationality of the Christian religion so that beginners are well introduced to the discourse. But in the spirit of his mentor Kierkegaard he also offers a trio of arguments from miracles, ‘paradoxicality,’ and existential power that sings a much fresher and more vital song than the grim, thin plaint of the New Atheists.

—John G. Stackhouse Jr., Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology and Culture, Regent College, Vancouver

Written by a seasoned Christian philosopher, this book is a marvellous overview of the reasonableness of biblical faith in a skeptical age. Evans’ work is fresh and engaging, and the case for Christianity is further illuminated by his inclusion of Kierkegaard’s reflections on reason, paradox, and belief. A delight to read!

—Paul Copan, professor and Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida

Lucid and accessible, this would be a great book to give to students and laypeople who wish to understand how reason supports Christian faith in the light of modern challenges.

—George M. Marsden, professor of history emeritus, University of Notre Dame

In this book, a synthesis of some of his more detailed earlier work, he has given us an accessible, lucid, and well-ordered analysis of the New Atheism and, what is far more important, expositions of the best historic and contemporary philosophical and theological responses. Any intelligent layperson can read this book with pleasure as well as profit, and it would make a great text for general-level courses as well.

—David Lyle Jeffrey, distinguished professor of literature and the humanities, Baylor University

The so-called New Atheists have set the context for much contemporary disbelief in any god at all. Evans knows this but digs much deeper into much more problematic objections. His profound response is orderly, clear, and persuasive. I am most impressed by his explanation of how our perception of God relates to evidence, reason, and the witness of Scripture.

—James W. Sire, author of The Universe Next Door and Apologetics beyond Reason: Why Seeing Really Is Believing

C. Stephen Evans is University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Baylor University. He is also a Professorial Fellow at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University and is a widely travelled speaker. Evans is the author or editor of more than two dozen books, including the Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics and Philosophy of Religion, Faith Beyond Reason: A Kierkegaardian Account, Why Believe? Reason and Mystery as Pointers to God, and God and Moral Obligation.

 

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    $19.99