No Argument for God: Going Beyond Reason in Conversations About Faith [Kindle Edition]

John Wilkinson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"John Wilkinson's book is . . . a wonderful post-apologetics apologetic for an authentic faith." - Scot McKnight (Author, Jesus Creed).
--Scot McKnight

"Logic will not make us into believers, and in this important book, he makes it clear that the just live by faith in revelation." - Tony Campolo

--Book Review

"Some people know the truth with a cocksure confidence that is both admirable and annoying. Others have been through the battles of doubt and walk away from the battle with a limp, a limp that reveals that person is still walking straight ahead but with the humility that emerges from deep engagement with God in the shadows of life. John Wilkinson's book is for the limpers, and it is wonderful postapologetics apologetics for an authentic faith." (Scot McKnight, author of One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow )

"Wilkinson stands traditional apologetics on its head in this riveting new vision of conversational engagement. Unashamedly engaging wonder and the apparent 'absurdity' of faith, Wilkinson in one move makes way for an altogether different kind of engagement for those who would consider the spiritual journey Christ invites us into. With an equal poetic power, No Argument for God provides a breathtaking visage of another world waiting for those who would embrace the mystery of knowing God both here and in the world to come. Not just another voice in the current debate of what apologetics should look like in a postmodern milieu, Wilkinson's fresh approach changes the very nature of the conversation itself. To think that wonder, mystery and the obvious transcendence of faith from mere reason may be the actual strengths of our historic faith instead of the ugly stepchildren they've historically been is freeing and sets a new course for both evangelism and our personal relationship with God himself." (R. York Moore, National Evangelist, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA )

"John Wilkinson knows that we can only bear witness to Christ's presence in our lives and validate our beliefs through faithful testimonies. Logic will not make us into believers, and in this important book he makes it clear that the just must live by faith in revelation." (Tony Campolo, professor emeritus, Eastern University )

"John Wilkinson's book represents one of the best responses to the attacks of modernist 'scholars' who insist that their limited view of the world is all that there could possibly be. I especially appreciate that John has at the core presented that our response should be focused on the absurdity of the gospel, not only today but even in the first century. He reminds us that faith is rooted not in our ability to reach beyond the sky and 'understand' God or even 'discover' the Creator, but in our Lord's desire to reach through time and space and live among us. The continually fresh and foolishly profound purity of the stand-alone Deity caring enough to invite us--any of us, each of us--into his reign as King of all things, seen and unseen, is what makes faith the wonder of all wonders. Well done, John Wilkinson, keeping us on track as little children set free by the voice and embrace of the One who has come and beckoned, "Let the little children come to me…'" (Chap Clark, professor and vice dean for the School of Theology and Regional Campuses Master's Programs, Fuller Theological Seminary )

Product Description

Religion is irrational! New atheists trumpet the claim loudly, so much so that it's become a sort of conventional wisdom. Professing your faith in God sounds increasingly like a confession of intellectual feebleness. Belief in God sounds as cute and quaint as it does pointless.

John Wilkinson contends that the irrationality of faith is its greatest asset, because rationalism itself sets artificial limits on all that we've seen--which itself is hinting at something greater that can't be seen. In No Argument for God he turns the tables on the cult of reason, showing that it limits conversation to what happened, when what we really want is the why behind it. We settle for investigation when what we need is revelation--the answer to all our longings.

Read this book and break though the gridlock of apologetic arguments to a life-giving encounter with the God who satisfies our minds and seeks our good.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 1257 KB
• Publisher: IVP Books (March 18, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004LVOCFI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,128 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

John Wilkinson grew up in West Chester, PA and spent his summers in Ocean City NJ. His love for the big questions and unpredictable imagination were shaped by a loving family and his summers at the shore. He brought his sense of wonder and curiosity into his faith at the beginning of adolescence. It is this curiosity and openness to the truth wherever it leads that shape his talks and lectures. You can follow him on Twitter at JohnFish or interact with him at www.noargumentforgod.blogspot.com

John Wilkinson has a wonderful wife Nikki and three children: Tyler, Aedan and Kylie. He is a pastor to high school students at Lives Changed By Christ, a multi-site church in Southeastern PA. He also teaches at Lancaster Bible College and Evangelical Seminary in Myerstown PA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply perceptive, honest and thought provoking, March 16, 2011

By 

Dave R - See all my reviews

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This review is from: No Argument for God: Going Beyond Reason in Conversations About Faith (Paperback)

As an overwhelmingly left-brained critical thinker who has struggled with the seemingly contradictory choice of rationalism vs. blind faith, I was deeply impacted by No Argument for God. John Wilkinson, with deep honesty and a touch of humor, provides a much needed and remarkably relevant (at least to me in my struggle) viewpoint.

During the course of the past decade I have accumulated and read a library of literature from many of the detractors of Christianity. What I have found is that while many merely seem to have an ax to grind, to an outsider looking in, the arguments for Christianity have a hard time standing up to the rigor of logical and rational thought when viewed from the perspective of an impartial thinker. I know that there are many Christians that would disagree strongly with that opinion, but No Argument for God moves the debate swiftly past the topic and correctly states that when two people firmly ingrained in their beliefs debate God/Christianity, neither is likely to persuade the other using arguments alone.

Wilkinson artfully shows the reader, much more eloquently than I am about to state, that rational thought has significant limitations. Just as a bird or a young child is limited in its world view to what it experiences and understands, similarly, human logic is bound by the human/individual experience. In order to understand faith, sometimes a true "leap of faith" is required. Wilkinson mentions a pivotal moment in his life when he felt he had to choose between being a rational thinker and remaining true to his mind, or taking a step into the unknown and relying on his faith. Wilkinson chose faith. I faced a very similar moment in my life and chose logic. As I reflect on No Argument for God I am struck by why I was never able to see the limitations of the rational mind. Logic, contrary to the high pedestal that I and many others place it on, is not the supreme arbiter of what is true and what is false.

Faith, almost by definition, is something that is illogical, or as Wilkinson states, nonsensical. But, thinking sensibly and logically, isn't that what one should expect when seeking a relationship with the supernatural i.e. outside of the natural, logical/rational world?

I personally want to thank John Wilkinson for writing this book. It has changed my way of thinking.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, March 25, 2011

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Phil769 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: No Argument for God: Going Beyond Reason in Conversations About Faith (Paperback)

What a well written book. I was drawn to this topic because I've found a lot of my life consumed with circular debates with friends seeking the proof for God. I read through Case for Christ, Case for a Creator, etc and while finding these books interesting, they have never solved the mystery. And it can't be solved. If it would, everyone would believe. In this book, the author does a great job of placing you in his shoes as he navigates through his own personal faith journey in a very entertaining and enlightening way. In fact, I'll admit I'm not much of a reader, but read this book cover to cover in only two days. I just couldn't put it down. And, I liked it so much that I just ordered 10 copies that will hopefully fall in the right hands of some friends. I highly recommend this to others.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A faith that can be fully understood by science or logic is no longer faith., May 18, 2011

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Adam (Marietta, GA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Argument for God: Going Beyond Reason in Conversations About Faith (Kindle Edition)

Originally posted on the [...] blog

I am not a fan of apologetics. In general I do not read it and I think primarily the purpose it serves is to help Christians feel comfortable in their faith. I know that over simplifies things, but if even I, who am a long term Christian with a very good theology background see all kinds of logical holes in most apologetics books I do not think it is really going to move a large segment of people to faith. My pastor has said several times, that people rarely have theological issues with God, they have emotional issues with God that they may hide behind theological issues. But when you push, usually the theological questions fall away and the emotional issues come back. So I have been hoping someone would write this book.

Wilkinson starts by asserting that Christianity is nonsense. By that he means that is really is beyond our ability to understand completely through our senses and therefore literally "nonsense" (above the senses). Much of the first half of the book is biographical to help the reader understand the limitations of reason and different ways to talk about Christianity. My favorite part of this section is a discussion about what science and logic can determine. Wilkinson says science and logic are good at understanding the "What" questions. If we ask "Why" questions, "Why is that flower there?", science is limited in its ability to respond. Science can talk about how it evolved to have those colors or how it fits into the biosphere around it but science and logic cannot really give an answer to Why that does not become circular.

So once establishing some of the limits of science and reason, Wilkinson starts talking about what we can say about faith. Unsurprisingly, he suggests that focusing on our story, while admitting the nonsense of faith, disarms much of the antagonism and gives a place for actual conversation, instead of debate.

I think the place where most people get tripped up in transitioning from a propositional faith, to a relational faith is a proper understanding of scripture. The bible is God's word, but not actually God. So we read the bible, not for truths to know about God, but for understanding of how God has worked in history. Learning about someone can get us only so far before we need to interact with them. So scripture will only affects us and becomes a part of us, if we put it into practice. The key is not only to read, but to put into practice what we are reading.

The final section is about a positive ways to talk about reason and faith. Wilkinson is not suggesting we should intentionally adopt irrational faith, but that we learn places where logic helps us understand. One suggestion is that we look at the concept of the divine as not human. So if faith is from God, then God will have thoughts that are not what we would chose as human. He suggests that the idea of Karma is rational; we get in response to what we have done. But the concept of grace is likely to be divine precisely because humans would not create it.

This is a good introduction to moving away from rationality. It is not expressly about evangelism, but it does have some discussion about evangelism. I would suggest it to people that are either interested in apologetics or on the other end, like me, believe are very much not interested in apologetics.

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This book was provided by the publisher for purposes of review.