THE CASE FOR FAITH tackles what he calls, "The Big Eight," which he calls the "soft spots" of the Christian faith. These eight questions plague Christians and non-Christians alike. The Big Eight are:
1. If there's a loving God, why does this pain-wrecked world groan under so much suffering and evil?I think every Christian (every person for that matter) has struggled with a least a few of these questions, and Strobel tackles them all by interviewing various scholars, experts, etc. The interviews he does are very honest and straightforward, if not sometimes a bit heady (these are tough philosophical questions). Sometimes the answers are a little unsatisfying - this actually made me like the book more. God doesn't wrap everything up nicely with a pretty bow. But ultimately I think every chapter contains valuable information and insight for the tough questions of the faith.
2. If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they're true?
3. If God really created the universe, why does the persuasive evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evolution accounts for life?
4. If God is morally pure, how can he sanction the slaughter of innocent children as the Old Testament says he did?
5. If Jesus is the only way to heaven, then what about the millions of people who have never heard of him?
6. If God cares about the people he created, how could he consign so many of them to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn't believe the right things about him?
7. If God is the ultimate overseer of the church, why has it been rife with hypocrisy and brutality throughout the ages?
8. If I'm still plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian?
I give it two thumbs up. Go out and buy it. Or take it out from the library. Or borrow it from a friend. Just read it.
Posts
1 comment:
yeah, my book a week challenge sucks. I got mostly through Desiring God, but it was only the first few chapters that really grabbed my attention. I'm reading a novel called Godric, by Frederick Buechner, and it's interesting so far, but I read in such short spurts, it's hard to keep any storyline. I so wish I was one of those people who could just read for hours on end.
Post a Comment