Christian Apologetics Week Book Review #2: Belief

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Here is my second review for the week, this time an updated review of a book I have already read (I will be alternating between new and old reviews).



My original review can be found here.

Summary:
This book is a collection of readings, selected by Francis Collins, on the subject of belief in God and the reasons for said beliefs. The selections represent an incredibly wide variety of sources, ranging from over 2000 years old to the last decade and spanning such authors as G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Plato, Mother Teresa, and Ghandi. It is, to say the least, a very interesting collection of writings.

Review:
Given the nature of this book, it is difficult to review in the normal fashion. To begin with, something about critiquing the intellectual giants of ages past whose work has proven itself by surviving for so long... well, it just feels uncomfortable. More importantly, I would have to review each selection separately and, lets be honest, I'm not about to spend that kind of time on this.

What I can say, however, is this. This book is an excellent resource for the reader in any stage of their apologetics learning. If you are new to the field, then this book will give you some excellent introductions and help you to have a good idea of who to read next. If you read a chapter by C.S. Lewis and hate it, maybe don't start with his writings :) If you love it, then there is lots more for you to read and learn from. If you are an old hand in apologetics then this book is both refreshing and revealing. Maybe you have read the works of every author represented in this collection, but I doubt it. So, at the very least, it will introduce you to a few new authors. However, if you are like me, it will also reintroduce you to some classics you may not have read for some time.

Reading through this book, at any rate, is guaranteed to get you thinking.

Conclusion:
Conditionally recommended (based upon interest in the subject), 4 of 5 stars.
A collection worth looking into. Of course, you could always just browse the table of contents and go from there, but where's the fun in that?


This post is a part of Christian Apologetics Week. You can find the introduction, with links to all the posts, here.

Comments

christine said…
I'm so pleased that I came across these posts! I've recently begun reading up on apologetics and I'm excited to have new reading material. I don't know if you remember but you introduced me to an apologetics book quite a few years ago that I refer back to every once in a while. I've thoroughly enjoyed your posts so far and I wish that we lived closer to each other so that we could have regular conversations!
3:27 PM
Andrew said…
I vaguely remember pointing you to a book on apologetics... :)

Thanks for the encouragement though. As for conversations, we could skype/email/facebook more. I know its not the same as going out for coffee, but it still works.
3:37 PM
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