Customer Reviews

Faith and Reason

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ronald Nash takes time to write a book that intends to educate Christians (and those seeking to learn about the Christian worldview). He begins with defining terms (like noetic structure) that help the reader come up to speed on philosophical terms they need to know. He quickly dives into defending the Christian worldview, where he weighs the evidence for and against the existence of God, which is followed by an excellent theodicy (which is defending the problem of evil with an all-good and powerful God). He discusses the possibility of miracles, the resurrection and a few other important issues.

If every Christian read this book, we would have more Christians prepared to give a defense of the hope that is within them. Many Christians complain that universities are filled with too many "liberal" or "atheist" instructors, yet they don't do anything to change that. Many Christians fail to educate themselves or their children. Use this book as an introduction to apologetics and philosophy. You will not be disappointed, even if you disagree with Nash's conclusions.

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.

In this book, Ronald Nash presents his Christian apologetic and worldview. Starting with his definition of a worldview and how a person should go about choosing one, Nash discusses everything from evidentialism to the miraculous, from the various theistic arguments to the problem of evil. The book is well-written and enjoyable to read from beginning to end.

By answering many of the questions philosophy asks, Nash shows that Christianity can not only assert itself as a reasonable worldview, but also surpass the reasonability of other belief systems. For those interested in learning how Christianity answers the great philosophical questions, this book is an excellent starting place.

Rationality does not necessarily need proof. Weird it may sound. But this is one of important things discussed in the book Faith and Reason. Our belief in God is rational, even if we do not have any arguments to prove it.

In his introduction, Nash says that Faith and Reason was written to introduce readers to important questions related to philosophy and religion, while at the same time attempt to answer them. Among these questions are: Is Christian faith rational? Can we answer challenges directed towards Christian faith? How do we help others to see that Christian faith is a rational faith?

Nash emphasizes the importance of approaching apologetics from the perspective of worldviews. He says that Christianity should be seen as a system, as a total world and lifeview. Of course there are reasons behind his words. "Once people understand that both Christianity and its competitors are world-views, they will be in a better position to judge the relative merits of all the systems" (p.25). He continues, "The reason why many people reject Christianity is not due to their problems with one or two isolated issues; it results rather for the simple reason that their anti-Christian conceptual scheme leads them to reject information and arguments that for believers provide support for the Christian world-view" (p. 26). That is why the first part of the book is written to discuss world-view: what is world-view, what is Christian world-view, and how to choose a world-view. It is highly recommended that reader reads the first part carefully, and if possible, several times, to avoid unnecessary confusion later.

Nash differentiates positive and negative apologetics. Closely related with this, Nash also underlines the importance of understanding the burden of proof in apologetics. He writes, "Surprisingly, many Christian apologists in the past have agreed to play the atheologian's game, and they have played it according to the atheologian's rules... that the only proper way to begin the task of apologetics is... to prove that God exists" (p. 84), or in other words, it is theists who have to bear the burden of proof. Nash and a number of other Reformed thinkers believe that Christians are not supposed to follow the atheists' rule of play. "The sensible person will reject the claim that theism should be presumed guilty until proven innocent" (p. 18). The task of negative apologetics is to challenge the view that Christian faith has to be declared irrational if there are no proofs to support it. It is these important concepts, such as world-view, positive and negative apologetics, and burden of proof, that underline the following parts of the book. Part two to five consecutively deals with the rationality of religious belief, some arguments for God's existence, the problem of evil, and miracles.

From the first part, the reader should have had the hints why belief in God is rational. But Nash elaborates this further in the second part. One important term that appears a number of times in this part is basic belief, which he defines as belief that does not depend on any other beliefs. It is in relation to its basicality that Christian faith does not depend on any arguments. From here Nash concludes with the Reformed view on natural theology (the effort to prove the existence of God without relying on special revelation).

Although natural theology is not needed, Nash, who has more than 40 years of teaching experience, dedicates the third part of the book to discuss some famous arguments of natural theology. In his opinion, even if natural theology is not needed to support the rationality of Christian faith, Reformed epistemology has made it possible for us to see natural theology with different functions. "... consideration of a theistic argument may present [humans] with information or lead them to experiences that, in conjunction with God-implanted dispositions, will help trigger belief in God..." (p. 102). Part three to five present various arguments, sophisticated yet interesting, which argue for the existence of God, each with its strength and weakness, as well as various objections which so far have not had enough to undermine the rationality of Christian faith. In these parts, Nash delicately weaves the ideas of many thinkers from all ages. Ideas of classic thinkers like Plato, Augustine, Descartes, and Kierkegaard, as well as well-known contemporary Christian philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, George Mavrodes, and William Alston, colour the pages of the book.

The reader will also find questions so basic such that they are unthinkable, such as Plato's question on Equality, "What must be the case before any person can judge that one thing is equal to another" (p. 171)? According to Plato, one cannot know that a is equal to b unless he knows the standard, that is The Equal itself. In Plato's definition, universals, such as equality, truth, and goodness cannot be found in earthly particulars. "It is impossible, for example, to obtain an idea of the perfect circle by contemplating examples of imperfect circles" (p. 172). But then, what is the connection between Plato's idea and the existence of God? Plato's idea is similar to Descartes' argument to prove that God has placed the idea of God as a part of human nature. "For how would it be possible that I should know... that I am not quite perfect, unless I had within me some idea of a Being more perfect than myself, in comparison with which I should recognize the deficiencies of my nature" (pp. 172-173)?

For beginners, the book is not hard to digest. Nash, who has written and edited more than 30 books, often uses illustrations from daily life. To illustrate that beliefs evident to the senses are basic, Nash writes, "Anyone crossing a street hearing the warning, "Look out for the taxi!" (a proposition evident to the senses) who demanded proof before acting might well encounter problems of a different kind" (p. 84). The reader's understanding of a particular topic is also enhanced by convenient repetitions through different point of views, although at times the reader needs to turn to previous pages. Conclusions in the end of every chapter help the reader to pause, and see how far the discussion has progressed. Each chapter also provides questions for further exploration, which make the book suitable for group discussion. Nash also recommends books for topics that need more elaborate discussions.

For laymen, Faith and Reason offers a truly comprehensive introduction to the philosophy of religion and apologetics.

There are many strengths to this book. The first and most important is that it is short and sophisticated while sticking to jargon-free, plain English.

Another strength of the book is its superb critique of evidentialism. Nash does a great job of explaining Alvin Plantinga's reformed epistemology. The gist is that Christians have accepted the burden of proof for the existence of God when they do not need to. Think about the child who keeps asking 'why?' until you are stumped; the only way to avoid an infinite regress is to accept some beliefs as part of the foundation of your belief structure. These 'basic beliefs' necessarily do not require evidence of other beliefs. Atheists and Christians alike both have many basic beliefs. Modern philosophy was launched by Rene Descartes' project: how can you prove that the world is not the illusion of an Evil Demon (sci-fi buffs will recognize that this question was part of the plot of the movie The Matrix). The lesson of hundreds of years of philosophy is that there is no way to do it. Science is no help because the evidence we get from science is itself part of the Evil Demon's illusion. We just have to take it on faith that the world really is the way it appears. Even atheists do this, not matter how strenuously they may object when they put on their philosopher's hat.

The problem is that most Christians have already internalized evidentialism and accepted the burden of proof. They have what Nash describes as the Christian's inferiority complex. I suspect that until these Christians have successfully engaged atheists on their own turf, they will feel that rejecting evidentialism is a copout. After all, you can't win capture the flag unless you go into the other team's territory. A good companion to this book is Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. It also takes on evidentialism but also provides two powerful arguments for the existence of God. William Lane Craig is renowned for consistently winning debates with atheists; he tours college campuses and debates the most notorious atheist on campus and almost invariable wins).

Nash is a prominent Christian thinker and apologist. He is very lucid in his presentation and arguments and does a good job documenting the various views taken on the rationality of various religious beliefs.

Here he tackles some of the bigger questions: Existence of God, problem of evil, miracles, etc. He starts with worldview and then expandis this them.A good choice, since most have a worldview,this is conducive to many understanding where he is coming from and where he wants to take the reader in this journey of coupling the faith with philosophy.

Helpful intro with references for further study.

Skeptics often start with the intellectual snobbery of claiming "faith and reason are seperate realms." Yet, if you read their books, one finds them to be of empty claims and "faith" in illogical premises. Here, Nash has crafted a book that shows the reason behind faith. Christianity isn't based on blind faith, but fact-based faith. Nash's philosophy and reasoning is far more intellectual than you will find in the recent emotional attacks by militant atheists. While they don't even bother to stop to hear or study the answers to their hollow attacks, scholars like Nash spells things out in a way that the self-proclaimed intellectuals never approach. Don't let the detail and level of material in this book scare you off. This is an important volume to anyone interested in this issue and honestly committed to seeking answers and truth. See also Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions, 20 Compelling Evidences, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism and Why the Universe Is the Way It Is.

The author is a Christian apologist yet his approach to logic and analyzing "religious" beliefs is good for any person. It is a good text to review when confronted with unfamiliar arguments. Discusses concepts of good and evil in a unique manner. Centers around the two pillars upon which Christianity must stand: The Incarnation and the Resurrection.

The philosophy of religion is that branch of philosophy that investigates such religious questions as the existence of God, the problem of evil, religious experience, the question of miracles, and the justification of religious beliefs. This is a fine, clearly written introduction to the subject.

Got this book for my 26 year old son who is into theology and he is thrilled with it; arrived in very good condition