The Case for Faith
Two days ago, I picked up a book titled the The Case for Faith. I picked it up on a whim, hardly knowing what to expect, after hearing many praises about this book from my friends in church. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the book is an attempt to address various questions that challenge the Christian faith. These were questions that I have been contemplating with for quite a while, but never really delved deeply into.
The book begins with an interview with Charles Templeton, who was also a compatriot of the famous evangelist, Billy Graham. This connection is quite interesting, because Charles Templeton was himself a former preacher, and would have almost been as renowned as Billy Graham himself, if he had not given up on his belief in God. Why did he stop believing? He was unable to reconcile the goodness of God with all the evil and suffering that was happening in this world.
Can reason be reconciled with faith? This is the challenge that the author Lee Strobel, a former journalist with the Chicago Tribune, attempts to overcome in his book. It takes him on a journey throughout the US where he interviews famous Christian philosophers and theologians like Peter Kreeft, William Lane Craig, Norman Geisler and Ravi Zacharias on various questions that challenge the Christian faith, such as the ones posed by Charles Templeton.
The book is divided into eight objectives, with each objective attempting to address a specific issue on faith. For a book that attempts to address such weighty topics, it is very easy to read. It would serve as a good introductory book to most Christians on the questions that challenge the Christian faith, before one progresses onto other books that delve into the subject more deeply. I have only just completed the first objective about evil and suffering. As I read the book, I will pen my thoughts about it in this blog.
The book begins with an interview with Charles Templeton, who was also a compatriot of the famous evangelist, Billy Graham. This connection is quite interesting, because Charles Templeton was himself a former preacher, and would have almost been as renowned as Billy Graham himself, if he had not given up on his belief in God. Why did he stop believing? He was unable to reconcile the goodness of God with all the evil and suffering that was happening in this world.
Can reason be reconciled with faith? This is the challenge that the author Lee Strobel, a former journalist with the Chicago Tribune, attempts to overcome in his book. It takes him on a journey throughout the US where he interviews famous Christian philosophers and theologians like Peter Kreeft, William Lane Craig, Norman Geisler and Ravi Zacharias on various questions that challenge the Christian faith, such as the ones posed by Charles Templeton.
The book is divided into eight objectives, with each objective attempting to address a specific issue on faith. For a book that attempts to address such weighty topics, it is very easy to read. It would serve as a good introductory book to most Christians on the questions that challenge the Christian faith, before one progresses onto other books that delve into the subject more deeply. I have only just completed the first objective about evil and suffering. As I read the book, I will pen my thoughts about it in this blog.
