Dinner With Skeptics Defending God in the world that Makes No Sense, by Jeff, Joplin: College Press, 2008. 221 pages. Reviewed by Josiah R. Boyle
This Book review is to complete an assignment for Biblical Worldview. Dinner with Skeptics is an account of a conversation Jeff had with a group of skeptics. A missionary for many years, Jeff is currently Senior Pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in San Dimas, California.
THESIS:
Written to dispel skepticism in God, Jeff discusses common arguments against the existence of God such as why there is evil in the world if there is a good God? Why if there is a good, kind, gracious God, then why is there so much suffering in the world?Why are there natural disasters if there 's a good God? Why if there is a God why does he sit on his hands? What is God 's involvement in the midst of evil circumstances? in Dinner With Skeptics: Defending God in A World That Makes No Sense.
DOES HE SUPPORT HIS THESIS?
In the First Chapter, he discusses why, if there was a God, then why there would be so much evil in the world. The man he is interacting with on this issue, then ask if there was a God, why would there be so much evil in the world? Then Jeff remarks that for there to something called evil, then there is a God because it implies the presence of a higher being. This chapter supports the thesis.
In Chapter Two he was addressed with the question if God was so good, so kind, and gracious, the why would he allow so
Chapter two teaches about the problem of evil. Dr. Keller writes that evil is not evidence against God, but rather it is evidence for God, if anything. Keller then goes on to write that readers should remember that Christ and God the Father both suffered and went through evil. They, however, went through it willingly to save mankind. He teaches that through the cross the resurrection of
He questioned why God would abandon his people and where He was in all this chaos? (pg 65). He asked himself why he should bless God? Why God, the all powerful, the omnipotent, kept himself silent? And why he would thank God?
Though his writings have enjoyed public acclaim, Dawkins fails as an effective critic of Christianity for three basic reasons. First, the Christian faith he criticizes is a poorly drawn caricature of the real thing. Second, his critical arguments consistently fail to pass the rigor of logical analysis. Third, Dawkins refuses to take counter argument seriously, dismissing critics without responding to criticism that even his supporters recognize as legitimate. These qualities disqualify Dr. Dawkins as a serious opponent of Christianity.
Without faith, life can feel like an endless, and pointless maze with no escape. Faith is what brings human beings to feel complete in this world full of questions and factual sciences. Bradbury’s short story, “The Man” shows readers how faith plays such a significant role in our lives. In “The Man,” astronauts Captain Hart and Lieutenant Martin came across a complex choice of faith when their rocket ship lands on a planet who had just witnessed Jesus’ second coming. Both characters respond to Jesus, or The Man quite differently. Martin went under the influence of the newly faithful citizens of the planet. He believed and followed their faith, finding a new, refreshing meaning in life, while Hart set out on an impossible mission to see if The Man was truly God. “The Man” tells readers that faith, no matter what kind, is what completes our lives as humans. Science creates a void in life which can only be filled through faith. Faith brings peace and ensures security in our lives by giving us a feeling of courage and a reason to live.
Be that as it may, The Proverbial Skeptic does not exist to stay away from our sacrosanct cows, it exists to investigate them. What 's more, what could be more “American”, more Jefferson Ian, than thoroughly applying illumination thinking without view for what is held as blessed or consecrated?
The battle between the relationship of science and religion has always been a controversial topic in society. It has been a subject of study since the classical era from scientists, theologists, philosophers, and regular citizens. It is understandable that the perspective on culture and religion are unquestionably varied due to different geographical regions, but why are there so many heated debates regarding the global discussion and what is it that causes those controversies? Is it possible that there is more than two outlooks and theories? Jerome Lawrence and Robert E.Lee contrasts the two perspectives in Inherit the Wind by bringing back an historical and legendary trial. Matthew Harrison Brady, an established lawyer in America demonstrates his ideology in God. Addition to Mr. Brady, his arch nemesis, Henry Drummond, defends his morals by expressing his vision that evolution is where human come from.
Identify the Author’s Thesis (10 points) The author, Greg Boyd from, ‘Letters from a Skeptic’ thesis’ is to simply convert his skeptic and agnostic father to Christianity and to also answer all the questions that his father has about God and this religion. Greg promises his father that for each question that he had he would offer a response to the question. Greg feels that by giving his father the answers to all his questions that he would ultimately lead him to Christ. Development of the Thesis (30 points)
People believe that if evil exists then so does God, and vice versa. It is also a common belief that this perfect being is the creator of everything and everyone. From atom to atom and from molecule to molecule, he designed all of it. It is also believed that this God has no flaws and is indeed a perfect being. However, some people will tend to disagree. Ernest Nagel, an American philosopher, proposed a series of counterarguments to many classic arguments on behalf of God’s existence. He dismisses arguments such as the cosmological argument, the ontological argument, and the argument of design, by quickly pointing out their flaws. But just as there are people who discredit God’s existence, there are people who argue that he does exist. Richard Swinburne, a British philosopher, provides his own series of arguments on why God exists. Moreover, his arguments are centralized around the problem of evil. In “Why God Allows Evil”, Swinburne discusses rationale behind God allowing evil to exist. To keep it short and sweet, Swinburne believes that there are two types of evils, moral and natural, and that they exist for a reason.
Skeptics maintaining a naturalistic worldview quickly reject the historicity of the gospel accounts, merely because miracles appear in the narrative. The a priori assumption that a supernatural occurrence is impossible, severely limits their ability to analyze the narrative accurately, and causes them to ascribe the classification of legendary literature to the gospel accounts without investigation. Christian apologists vehemently challenge this worldview, attempting to prove that acceptance of the miraculous remains a tenable position. Apologists leverage two approaches in addressing miracles: 1) the “bottom-up” approach—arguing from miracles to the existence of God, and 2) the “top-down” approach—providing independent reasons
Religion has been the cause for countless fights, debates, and wars throughout the existence of humankind. There have been many people who have stepped into the void of the endless dispute, among them are ones claiming God’s existence, and the ones refuting it. The forms of this endless debate fall into many categories to express opinions on religion: speeches, poems, and essays. It is common for these forms of expression to sway to both ends of the spectrum on religion. One of the most common topics that seem to be the one most contemplated is whether or not God does truly exists and what evidence supports it. An essay written by Bertrand Russell called “Why I Am Not a Christian”, is an example of this classic debate that adds his view
The Reason for God arrives at a unique time, for we are at a point when both belief and skepticism are on the rise. “Skepticism,
The Third Article within the writings entitled The Existence of God opens up with two strong cases saying that God does not exist. The first states that if God’s name means infinite goodness, evil would not be present in the world. However, since there is evil in the world then God does not exist. The second proposes that things that can be accounted for by use of principles do not need God. For example, all natural things can be reduced to one principle which is nature.
The question of God's existence has been debated in philosophy to great lengths. E.K. Daniel has listed all common philosophical arguments for the existence of God in his essay "A Defense of Theism", consisting of The Ontological Argument, The First-Cause Argument, The Argument of Contingency, The Design Argument, The Moral Argument, The Argument from Religious Experience, and The Natural Law Argument (p. 260). These arguments are familiar to any basic student of philosophy, along with the critiques that have been raised by philosophers such as Ernest Nagel in his essay "The Case for Atheism" (p. 274-283). These arguments have almost reached a virtual impasse, since there seems to be as much rational proof against the existence of God as there is fervor to believe in God. K.D. Ellis states this by saying "They may offer some support for the plausibility of the belief in a god, but they are not sufficiently strong enough to compel our assent to the conclusion that a god exists" (p. 297). This difference of perspective results in theism, atheism and agnosticism.
1. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the argument for the existence of God based on religious experience. (18) 2. ‘The argument merely indicates the probability of God and this is of little value to a religious believer.’ Discuss. (12)
Francis Collins wrote and divided this book into three sections: Section one: The Chasm Between Science and Faith, Part Two: The Great Questions of Human Existence, and Part Three: Faith in Science, Faith in God.