Calmly engaging the philosophical arguments posed by best-selling authors Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins, and to a lesser extent, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, Gregory Ganssle's A Reasonable God is a nuanced, charitable, and philosophically well-informed defense of the existence of God. Eschewing the rhetoric and provocative purposes of the New Atheists, Ganssle instead lucidly and objectively analyzes each argument on its own philosophical merits, to see how persuasive they prove to be. Surveying topics including the relationship between faith and reason, moral arguments for the existence of God, the Darwinian theories of the origin of religion, he pays particular attention to, and ultimately rejects, what he determines is the strongest logical argument against the existence of god posed by the new atheists, put forth by Dawkins: that our universe resembles more of what an atheistic universe would be like than it does with what a theistic universe would be like.
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Short, readable, philosophically informed, and easily accessible. I highly recommend it both to the interested non-philosopher and as a university-level text. Ganssle's non-confrontational style of debate is commendable, a superb example of how one should discuss the arguments of those with whom one has a fundamental disagreement. --Peter van Inwagen, John Cardinal O'Hara Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
About the Author
Gregory E. Ganssle is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Senior Fellow of the Rivendell Institute at Yale University. He is the author of Thinking About God: First Steps in Philosophy and editor of God and Time: Essays on the Divine Nature (with David M. Woodruff).
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Gregory E. Ganssle
Greg graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978. He earned a Masters of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Rhode Island (1990) and a PhD. in Philosophy (1995) from Syracuse University where his dissertation on God's relation to time won a Syracuse University Dissertation Award.
He has taught philosophy at Syracuse and is currently a part time lecturer in the philosophy department at Yale University. Greg is also a senior fellow at the Rivendell Institute. The Rivendell Institute combines ministry to Graduate Students and Faculty with Academic Research.
Greg has spoken on over fifty campuses throughout the USA. Greg's main interests are in philosophy of religion. He also thinks about the integration of faith and the academic enterprise.
Greg has been married to Jeanie since 1985. They have three children: David, Nick, and Elizabeth.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Refreshingly Respectful Critique of the New Atheists Case Against God
November 11, 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In "A Reasonable God" Ganssle addresses many of the arguments put forth by today's so-called "New Atheists" -- particularly Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens -- from a philosopher's perspective. His goal is modest: he is not making a comprehensive case *for* the existence of God. Rather, he is offering a critique of the claims made by the New Atheists for the non-existence of God. In so doing, his tone is refreshingly respectful as he treats these authors and their arguments fairly and honestly.
After carefully laying out his critique, Ganssle concludes that the case against God as presented by the New Atheists is not strong enough to worry one who already believes in God, nor ought it be persuasive enough to convince one who is first considering belief in God. The modest goal of showing that belief in God is reasonable has been met.
After carefully laying out his critique, Ganssle concludes that the case against God as presented by the New Atheists is not strong enough to worry one who already believes in God, nor ought it be persuasive enough to convince one who is first considering belief in God. The modest goal of showing that belief in God is reasonable has been met.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I agree with all the other reviewers here. What's refreshing about Ganssle is that he takes a measured, irenic tone. He does not yell at the New Atheists, even when they do a fair bit of yelling themselves. He even agrees with them where he thinks their arguments have merit. I found John Haught's book responding to the New Atheists to be just the opposite.
Two important points for prospective readers:
G. does not claim to be arguing for the existence of God. He's quite clear about this. What's he's doing is showing that the arguments AGAINST the existence of God are not that strong.
Secondly, you do need a bit of philosophical background to enjoy the book. If you've never heard of Anselm's ontological argument, you probably will be mystified by the philosophical twists and turns here.
I have used this book with an undergraduate class, and they found it a bit dry. Just sayin'.
Two important points for prospective readers:
G. does not claim to be arguing for the existence of God. He's quite clear about this. What's he's doing is showing that the arguments AGAINST the existence of God are not that strong.
Secondly, you do need a bit of philosophical background to enjoy the book. If you've never heard of Anselm's ontological argument, you probably will be mystified by the philosophical twists and turns here.
I have used this book with an undergraduate class, and they found it a bit dry. Just sayin'.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By M. Austin
Format:Paperback
Greg Ganssle, a philosopher affiliated with Yale University and the Rivendell Institute, has produced a careful, accessible, and fair critique of the arguments offered by the "new atheists": Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, and Hitchens. One virtue of the book is that it seeks "...to take a cooler, more reflective approach in engaging the nature of the case they offer for the truth of atheism (p. 177)." Ganssle successfully accomplishes this task. My favorite portion of the book is the final three chapters, which cover Darwinian stories of religion, three arguments for atheism offered by the new atheists which pretty clearly fail, and one which is, according to Ganssle, the strongest argument on offer from this group of authors.
Ganssle reconstructs this strongest argument, from Dawkins, in the following way:
(1) A theistic universe would be different than an atheistic universe.
(2) Our universe fits better with an atheistic universe than with a theistic universe.
(3) Therefore, our universe is more likely to be an atheistic universe than it is to be a theistic universe.
(1) seems to be on solid ground, and Dawkins argues that the long and slow development of complex biological life supports (2). Ganssle agrees, which means that this particular feature of our world fits better within an atheistic universe than a theistic one. However, he then argues that there are 4 other major elements of our universe that undermine (2) and fit better within a theistic universe:
i. The universe is ordered and susceptible to rational investigation.
ii. The existence of conscious beings with intentional mental states.
iii. The existence of beings with significant, libertarian, free agency.
iv. The existence of objective moral obligations.
He points out that there are numerous philosophers who would reject the very existence of one or more of these elements, and others that seek to give purely naturalistic accounts of them. But if these elements exist, they fit better within a theistic universe even if naturalistic accounts can be given. To see why this is the case, read this book. It is worth the time, even for someone familiar with many of these arguments.
Ganssle reconstructs this strongest argument, from Dawkins, in the following way:
(1) A theistic universe would be different than an atheistic universe.
(2) Our universe fits better with an atheistic universe than with a theistic universe.
(3) Therefore, our universe is more likely to be an atheistic universe than it is to be a theistic universe.
(1) seems to be on solid ground, and Dawkins argues that the long and slow development of complex biological life supports (2). Ganssle agrees, which means that this particular feature of our world fits better within an atheistic universe than a theistic one. However, he then argues that there are 4 other major elements of our universe that undermine (2) and fit better within a theistic universe:
i. The universe is ordered and susceptible to rational investigation.
ii. The existence of conscious beings with intentional mental states.
iii. The existence of beings with significant, libertarian, free agency.
iv. The existence of objective moral obligations.
He points out that there are numerous philosophers who would reject the very existence of one or more of these elements, and others that seek to give purely naturalistic accounts of them. But if these elements exist, they fit better within a theistic universe even if naturalistic accounts can be given. To see why this is the case, read this book. It is worth the time, even for someone familiar with many of these arguments.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A worthwhile read for the person interested in the reasonable nature...
A reasonable God.
The author declares that his intentions are to counter the arguments of the new atheists. Read more
The author declares that his intentions are to counter the arguments of the new atheists. Read more
Published on January 10, 2011 by PastoralMusings
5.0 out of 5 stars
an excellent book
readers of all backgrounds will learn much from this engaging and accessible volume -- an excellent book!
Published on October 5, 2009 by Pleased Parent
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