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See the Gods Fall: Four Rivals to Christianity

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Beckwith and Parrish use their evidentialist ideas to tackle four major philosophical world views: Mormonism, secular humanism, Baha'ism and the "New Age" movement. Philosophy is their speciality as they set up the basic mistakes made by many Christians in an attempt to show how these views are logically faulty. As they indicate, the Christian too often is left hanging as he uses improper logic--logical fallacies are named throughout the book--to prove his point. The authors show how a person could do better.

The book contains many good ideas, but there are some shortcomings. For one, their ideas about Mormonism are pretty much detailed in a book co-edited by Beckwith titled The New Mormon Challenge. If you read the latter, especially William Lane Craig's chapter, you will have a much better look at what these authors try to say in their limited pages. The chapter on secular humanism is probably their best. The Bah'ai chaper...well, I'm not sure how many American evangelicals have ever even met someone from this faith, which by no means is extremely popular in the U.S. Besides Beckwith's interest in this group--he did write a book on this topic--I'm not sure why they included this chapter. Finally, the "New Age" movement--do we still call it that?--is so general as to not be very useful.

This book is certainly worth a look, but there are other books I would suggest first.

...non-Christian worldviews. I'm sure many Christians have used many of the same resources in combating Mormonism, secular humanism, Bahai'ism and New Age philosophies. Stick with those resources and add this book with it. It stresses more philosophical issues with these cults. Here's a sample reading (p.151): "...God is a necessary presupposition of all possible knowledge. That is to say, in order to justify knowledge, one must assume the existence of God. If this is true, then obviously atheism cannot be rationally affirmed." Although Beckwith and Parrish are evidentialist, they use presuppositionalism and evidentialism hand-in-hand.

Here are the Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Philosophical Analysis and Christianity's Rivals
Chapter 1: The Importance of Critical Thinking and Philosophy
Chapter 2: The Classical Christian Concept of God
Chapter 3: Mormonism
Chapter 4: Secular Humanism: Religion Without God
Chapter 5: Baha'ism and the Unity of Religions
Chapter 6: The New Age Movement
Appendix A: Of Logic and Lordship: The Validity of a Categorical Syllogism Supporting Christ's Deity
Appendix B: What Does Jerusalem Have to Do With Provo?
Appendix C: A Critical Analysis of David Paulsen's and Black Ostler's review of The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Anaylsis by Francis J. Beckwith and Stephen E. Parrish (by Dennis Monokroussos)
Appendix D: Why the Classical Concept of God is Biblical
Appendix E: Separation of Guru and State?: Influence of the New Age Movement in Public Education

On the positive side, this book provides a concise, reasoned analysis of each of the four religions as to their basic world view and format. Concrete scenarios are given in how a typical verbal interaction would occur between a religious member and an unprepared Christian. Following each exchange is a systematic explanation of how to apply critical reasoning to defeat each religious argument against becoming a mainstream Christian.

On the negative side, the arguments are bloodless, dispassionate and non-spiritual. Logic alone is used to defeat the debaters. Since most debates go overboard on the emotional side, this book goes overboard on the mental side. Maybe this book could be considered a counterbalance to the generally overheated rhetoric out there. I give it 3 stars as a limited research tool.

In See the Gods Fall (STGF), two fine Christian philosophers present a powerful critique of four prominent religious movements. In all, the authors appraise the fundamental beliefs of Mormonism, Baha'ism, Secular Humanism, and the New Age. In comparing these worldviews to Christian theism, Drs. Parrish and Beckwith convincingly show the latter to be the only one worthy of adherence.

The book is divided into six main chapters. The first of these is devoted to the importance of logical thinking in dealing with religious viewpoints. Here, the reader is given an overview of what goes into sound philosophical argumentation. Further, it is explained why Christians should employ such reasoning, as such a practice is highly valued throughout the Bible. This chapter is crucial since it is the very use of logic and philosophy that sets this book apart from most Christian works dealing with competing faiths. Many such resources look mainly at biblical issues and interpretations. STGF goes further and probes the philosophical assumptions of these traditions.

Chapter two explains the various attributes (e.g. omniscience, immutability) of the Christian God. Each attribute is given its own section and is described in detail. These discussions are quite helpful in clarifying many of the concepts Christians themselves often misunderstand. Moreover, the authors effectively answer some of the difficulties non-Christians typically bring up against Christian notions of God's qualities. Also provided here are informative, concise discussions of the Trinitiy and the Incarnation of Jesus.

Chapters three through six interact with the respective religions mentioned above. Each deals with one of these traditions in-depth. The third chapter concerns Mormonism. It begins with a look into the Mormon concept of God. This form of theism is then critiqued using philosophical and logical principles. For example, problems with the Mormon belief in an infinitely old universe are exposed. Additionally, the typical Argument from Design for Mormon Theism is addressed and defeated. This section of the chapter is enormously interesting and important for Christian apologists to grasp. Various smaller arguments are also aimed at Mormon theology, showing its inadequacies.

Secular Humanism is the next belief system critiqued. Among the things of interest in this portion is the brief review of humanism's historical development. As with the other belief systems covered, the basic tenets of Secular Humanism are provided and then evaluated. Examinations of religious neutrality, the objectivity of truth, and naturalistic criticisms of miracles are all included. The chapter concludes with a nice statement of the theistic Transcendental Argument. Roughly, this shows that, of the three explanations of the universe's existence, only the Necessary Deity hypothesis is adequate. The truth of this contention obviously falsifies secular humanism.

Baha'ism is covered in chapter five. This faith seems less popular than Mormonism and the others, but it is a considerable movement. Dr. Beckwith does a masterful job of highlighting this tradition's logical errors. For one, he explains why the Bahai affirmation of the unity of religions is either devoid of content or question-begging. Likewise, the incoherence of the Bahai creation account is demonstrated, along with several other problems. Readers are also presented a short glance at Bahai's historical roots.

The final chapter takes on New Age belief. Three main aspects of this worldview are interacted with: pantheism, relativism (both epistemological and moral) and reincarnation. Myriad philosophical errors are found in all of these. Also, the typical New Age rejection of logic is shown implausible.

STGF ends with six appendices all dealing with several relevant issues. Appendix D sets forth reasons why classical theism is, in fact, biblical. And the first appendix presents an interesting argument for Christ's deity. These various considerations nicely bring the book to a close. One other positive aspect of the book is the large number of bibliographical references and citations given. Those interested in further research can easily find the necessary scholarly resources here.

Clearly, STGF is a treasure for Christians interested in defending their faith against rival religious systems. It provides a nice introduction to critical thinking and uses these tools to show why these four specific faiths fail compared to Christianity. The argumentation used is both respectful and forceful throughout. Anyone interested in these topics ought to seriously consider acquiring this volume.

I read a LOT of Appologetic books. This one takes the cake! Definitely one of the best I read! The first chapter teaches you to think critically - not many do that. The 2nd is the Classical Christian view. Then it address the 4 rivals systematically. Highly recommended and life changing.