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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Introductory, Yet Meaty Book, April 26, 2002
Ron Nash wrote this wide ranging book back in the '80s, but much of its material is applicable and helpful for the reader today. I debated whether to give the book 4 stars or 5. I opted for 5, but I think a certain kind of reader might not rank it that high. I found that there were parts of the book, particularly the early parts dealing with noetic structures and worldview formulation, that tend to drag a bit. But, for someone who is new to the field of apologetics and the intellectual side of the Christian faith, these chapters might well be very engaging. Since it appears that Nash's target audience was at a more beginner-type level, I have no problem with his extensive early treatment of noetic structures since it lays a good foundation for the rest of the book. That's why I did not demote my 5 star rating even though I found a fair amount of this specific material to be a bit dragging. Someone else who has been around the block a few times with these issues might not give it a 5 star rating due to the amount of time Nash devotes to this area, but I think Nash's treatment is very good and would be quite helpful for the beginner. I found the real highlight of the book to be Nash's treatment of miracles. His critique of Hume's landmark work on the subject is outstanding, as is his examination of non-Hume objections to miracles. Also, Nash's examination of the problem of evil is also quite good, but given his Reformed theological background, I was a bit confused by his often repeated emphasis on the preservation of human free will as a central issue in the problem of evil. I happen to think this line of thinking has merit, but I'm unclear as to how it fits into a Reformed worldview. Nonetheless, for Christians who don't have entrenched theological leanings on the free will issue and simply want to be able to respond to the problem of evil, Nash offers a lot of meat to chew on. In summary, this is a wide ranging book that takes the reader from the infancy of noetic structure and worldview formation, to the more advanced issues that face theism such as cosmology, design, the problem of evil, and the problem of miracles. And while I believe it is a very good and unintimidating resource for the beginner, I also think there's plenty of meat in this book for more advanced readers to make it worth reading.
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