20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Look at an Atheist's Journey to Faith, August 5, 2010
This review is from: Not God's Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith (Paperback)
I often hear people discount the power of apologetic reasoning by saying, "No amount of debate will bring people into the kingdom of God." That statement is true, of course. You can't argue a person into the kingdom. Apologetic reasoning is never quite apologetic proof.
But I worry that some Christians use that statement as an excuse for not engaging in the apologetic task - which, at its best, provides space for intellectuals to consider the claims of Christ.
Holly Ordway's journey from atheism to Christianity is fascinating on a number of levels. First, the book demonstrates the kind of robust intellectual reasoning we need more of.
Second, the importance of apologetics training becomes clear as we witness the Christians who shared Christ with her and were well equipped to present a robust defense of Christianity's truth or at least point her in the right direction.
Third, Holly's story makes a case for Christianity in a way that is both personal (it is her story after all) and intellectually robust (she takes us through the apologetic arguments). Those who love apologetics and personal evangelism will love this book.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reasonable Faith..., September 2, 2010
This review is from: Not God's Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith (Paperback)
I thoroughly enjoyed Not God's Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith. This new title traces the journey of Dr. Holly Ordway, a professor of English literature, from devout atheism to orthodox Christianity.
She begins by recounting her background and how her initial indifference to Christianity turned to hostility during college. Her opinion was that "faith was at best a delusion and at worst total hypocrisy." (p. 17) Years later, her background in English literature and love of poetry, whose greatest works spring from Christian roots, began to affect her, preparing her to investigate matters of faith more deeply.
Eventually she became good friends with her fencing coach and his wife, who also happened to be Christians. Josh and Heidi intrigued Dr. Ordway because they didn't fit her mental stereotype of Christians as ignorant and intolerant at all. They proved to be intelligent, well-educated, and thoughtful...people she admired and wanted to spend more time with!
She became more and more curious and was amazed as she probed further to find that it is actually possible to have a faith that is based on reason! As she entered into further dialogue on the subject of their faith, she says that,
"At the time, I just knew that I felt safe. I knew that I was respected, that neither Josh nor Heidi would try to convert me, so I could let my guard down like I'd never dared to before.
They offered no Bible quotes. No sharing of how God had worked in their lives. No appeal to my happiness or peace of mind. What, then? Philosophy. Ideas. Dialogue." (p. 43)
As she began to investigate the claims of Christianity more deeply, she was determined to know the truth, no matter what. For her, truth came above happiness...she was determined to know the truth whether or not it was what she wanted to hear. And she was dead set on investigating rationally and intellectually, not emotionally.
"If it were true that I could pursue this journey as a rational endeavor, then why not do so with as much intellectual rigor as I could muster?" (p. 77)
I found reading as Dr. Ordway shared her journey, first coming to believe in a "First Cause" for the universe, then an "Ultimate Good" from which all virtues are derived, then an actual Person, and finally to belief in the resurrected Christ, very affirming to my faith. The philosophical arguments that she ultimately found convincing are a great encouragement and reminder that our faith is not just based on emotion but has an actual solid foundation in reason and intellect.
Dr. Ordway eventually made a profession of faith, was baptized, and became a member of the Anglican church. She blogs at Hieropraxis and speaks on faith and reason around the country.
The book is fairly short, quick read but packs a punch, providing much food for thought. I found it enjoyable, encouraging, and intellectually stimulating.
Thank you to Moody Publishers for providing my review copy.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterful and Candid--A Must-Read!!, July 13, 2010
This review is from: Not God's Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith (Paperback)
Not God's Type is a stunningly beautiful account of an atheist intellectual coming to faith in Christ through a rational approach to the truth-claims of Christianity.
Dr. Ordway tells her conversion story with an utter mastery of language and appropriately-used, moving quotations from great literature. It is a highly-pleasurable, captivating read.
Before beginning the book, I had the expectation that Ordway would do a quick recounting of how she went from atheism to Christian faith followed by many more pages of why she's glad of her decision. This is not at all what she does in Not God's Type. Instead, she spends the majority of her book explaining the depth and strength of her life-long atheism, its roots and its effects on her life. She speaks of her agonizing struggle with the big questions of life, the "seductive despair" she clung to for so long, and then the beautiful, gradual work God did on her heart through an important figure in her life. Her sabre-fencing coach gently and lovingly presented her with the intellectual challenges she needed to take the claims of Christianity seriously, and this spurred her on to a journey that finally culminated in the discovery of a loving, merciful creator and Father.
This book should be taken for exactly what it is: a beautiful, intensely thoughtful and deeply personal coming-to-faith account.
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