A Shot of Faith (to the Head): Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheists [Paperback]

Mitch Stokes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2012

Secular, skeptical, disillusioned. These are the traits that mark our age—encouraged by outspoken atheists who insist that faith is naïve and belief is dangerous. But what if the atheists are the irrational ones? Can their beliefs withstand the rigorous examination that they demand from others?

In A Shot of Faith of Faith to the Head, Mitch Stokes, Senior Fellow of Philosophy at New Saint Andrews College, dismantles the claims of skeptics and atheists, while constructing a simple yet solid case for Christian belief. This profound yet accessible book proves the rationality, consistency, and reliability of the Christian approach to science and life.

If you have ever doubted that your beliefs can stand up to scrutiny—if you’ve ever doubted your beliefs—this book dissolves the questions. For atheists, it is a wake-up call. For Christians, it’s A Shot of Faith to the Head.

Endorsements:

"A Shot of Faith to the Head is much more than a defense of Christianity; it takes the offensive against the secularist thinking that enamors so many in the West. With the thoroughness of a scholar and the confidence of experience, Mitch Stokes demonstrates the intellectually dubious nature of the so-called "New Atheism" and provides Christians with a much needed handbook for the questions they will surely face once they are outside of the safe confines of their Christian communities. I highly recommend it." —Larry Taunton, founder of the Fixed Point Foundation and author of The Grace Effect

“A fine book: lively, clear, accessible, but also deep, and deeply competent.” —Alvin Plantinga, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, author of Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism, Oxford University Press

“The Bible identifies Jesus as the Word and as the Light, available therefore to the mind as well as the heart. Of all religions, Christianity most invites one to think as well as to believe, and in this troubled time that invitation is still more urgent to take up. Here is a book by a skilled thinker, showing how better to think about faith. It is a worthy task, ably achieved.” —Larry P. Arnn, PhD, president, Hillsdale College

“This book is what snarky atheists have coming to them for their dismissive claims and unfounded arrogance. Written not to convince atheists but to help Christians defend themselves and the Christian faith, A Shot of Faith to the Head takes the best tools of top-notch apologetics and philosophy and puts them in the hands of every believer. Even better, it’s easy and fun to read, winsome, witty, filled with sharp thinking, and well-researched. As a professor and pastor, I’ll be assigning this book in my apologetics courses and would recommend it to every Christian. It displays strategic answers to questions and objections every Christian has encountered.” —Justin Holcomb, pastor, Mars Hill Church; executive director of the Resurgence; adjunct professor of theology, Reformed Theological Seminary

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mitch Stokes is a Fellow of Philosophy at New St. Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Notre Dame. At Yale, he earned an M.A. in religion. He also holds an M.S. in mechanical engineering. He and his wife, Christine, have four children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595554343
• ISBN-13: 978-1595554345
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Intro to Apologetics and the Philosophy of Alvin Plantinga April 17, 2012

By George P. Wood VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Is belief in God irrational? Does science show that God doesn't exist? Does evil?

Over the past decade, New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Victor J. Stenger have answered these questions affirmatively. Their best-selling books have promoted the ideas that Christian faith is based on insufficient evidence; that in light of scientific advances, God is a "failed hypothesis"; and that suffering--when not actively caused by believers--disproves God's existence.

Stokes disagrees. Building on the philosophical insights of Alvin Plantinga (who blurbs the book), Stokes argues that theistic belief is rational, that science points to a designed universe (and where there's a design, there's a Designer), and that the problem of evil actually points to an incoherence in atheism (for how can there be moral law without a Moral Lawgiver?). One-sentence summaries don't do justice to the nuances of Stokes's arguments, but they point in the right general direction.

Although New Atheists can read this book with profit, its subtitle points to Stokes's intended readers, namely, Christians. He aims to help them "be a confident believer in an age of cranky atheists" (and I would've added, "atheist cranks"). It is less a book of apologetics, then, than a book about apologetics. And that's a shame, for the Christian book market is saturated with apologetics books written for Christians, and Stokes writes clearly and winsomely enough to directly engage nonbelieving readers. Nevertheless, the book is still worth reading, if only for its discussion of evidentialism.

In epistemology, evidentialism is the notion that, "to be rational, a belief must be supported by sufficient evidence." The "evidentialist objection" to theistic belief is that it "is not supported by sufficient evidence and therefore is not rational." Some Christian apologists subscribe to evidentialism and think Christianity crosses the evidentialist threshold for rationality. Following Plantinga, however, Stokes argues that evidentialism itself is self-defeating, since the chain of evidence for it--or for any other belief--will be circular or infinitely regressive, or will terminate in a basic belief that requires no further evidence. Since circular reasoning and infinite regresses do not produce knowledge, for evidentialism to work, it must be grounded in a basic belief, a belief which requires no evidence. Which means that evidentialism is a belief that doesn't have sufficient evidence. Obviously, that's a problem for evidentialism.

Thankfully, there's a better way to understand rationality. Again, following Plantinga, Stokes argues that "a rational belief is one formed by a properly functioning cognitive faculty operating in the appropriate environment." If, for example, my eyes are working properly and there is enough daylight for me to see clearly, I will form the belief, when I look out my window, that there are cars parked outside my office building. I don't need to infer this belief from other beliefs or provide a chain of evidence for it. Such a perception is a basic belief. There are many other kinds of beliefs that are basic in this way: beliefs formed on memory, for example, or testimony or personal experience. Perhaps, Stokes argues (again following Plantinga), belief in God is also such a basic belief that doesn't need an argument, let alone "sufficient evidence," to render it rational for the believer.

As Stokes point out, basic beliefs have potential "defeaters." Perhaps, for example, my perception of cars in the parking lot below has been caused by a holograph that my coworkers pasted to my windows. Stokes interprets science and evil as potential defeaters for belief in God, but offers arguments for thinking that both potential defeaters are unsuccessful, based on the design of the universe and existence of a moral law. While a believer can be rational in the absence of such arguments or evidences for faith, Stokes nonetheless thinks arguments can be helpful in clearing away objections and in shoring up a Christian's faith.

How, then, should a Christian use this book? In two ways, one intended by Stokes and another not. The intended way is as a manual in Christian apologetics. The unintended way is as an introduction to Alvin Plantinga's epistemology and philosophical theology. Either way, I highly recommend this book to Christian readers.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A SHOT OF FAITH TO THE HEAD by Mitch Stokes May 10, 2012

By thepaxdomini

Format:Kindle Edition

A Shot of Faith to the Head: Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheists is a 2012 philosophy-based Christian apologetic by Mitch Stokes, a philosophy professor with an engineering background. It is largely based on the philosophy of Alvin Plantinga, and is intended to help Christians hold their own in discussions with atheists.

The book is divided into three sections, each one addressing a different argument for atheism: that belief in God is irrational, that science has shown that God doesn't exist, and that the existence of evil in the world shows that God doesn't exist.

One of Stokes's central tasks here is deconstructing evidentialism - the argument that any belief must be supported by sufficient evidence to be rational, and which is used to criticize belief in God. This is probably the highlight of the book. In fact, Stokes generally does an excellent job of picking apart atheistic arguments. He doesn't do near as good a job, however, on his pro-Christian arguments, which are often too cursory. That this book was put together solely with Christians in mind makes this understandable (Stokes explicitly assumes a Christian worldview on the part of the reader), but it also means that this isn't really a book you can hand to your atheist friend to read.

While he covers a wide range of atheist scientists and philosophers in his discussions, Stokes leans too heavily on Plantinga for his pro-Christian arguments. A Shot of Faith to the Head thusly serves well enough as an introduction to Plantinga, but it would have been nice to get some other perspectives. However, Plantinga is always Stokes's go-to guy.

A Shot of Faith to the Head will be accessible to any reasonably educated person without a philosophy degree, but it may prove a great deal of work for the reader, as the philosophical and logical concepts here tend to be complex. The summaries at the end of each chapter are helpful in this regard, but the reader will still have a great deal of cognitive processing to do.

On the whole, Stokes's refutation of various atheistic arguments and defense of a rational belief are solid, and A Shot of Faith to the Head is a challenging but worthwhile book.

* * * * *

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Surprising and Valuable Shot January 2, 2013

By Phillip H. Steiger VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

In case you haven't noticed, there has been a barrage of belligerent atheists writing volumes of popular works attacking religion in general and Christianity in particular. And if you are not careful you can get the feeling that they have the upper hand right now. Their books sell well, they make the debate rounds (well, most of them do), and many of them have been guests on a plethora of TV and radio shows. They talk a great game and many have been lead down their primrose path.

It turns out, however, that only one or two layers beneath the overly confident surface lies a surfeit of good ideas. With a little guided and informed examination it is revealed that their bark does not measure up to their bite. Mitch Stokes' book is that examination, and is a very well-guided tour of the problems with the so-called new atheists.

But the book begins in an unexpected place. In fact, I'm not sure I have read a non-technical or popular level book on Christian thought or apologetics that begins where he does. You might expect a book like this to open by dealing with the major arguments for God's existence or the reliability of Scripture or even a blow-by-blow examination of the new atheist's arguments. Instead, Stokes begins with the issues of argument, reason, and knowledge in the first place. Specifically he uses the epistemological work of Alvin Plantinga to argue against the evidentialism, Enlightenment rationalism, and scientific provincialism inherent (and necessary) to the work of the new atheists. In essence, he pulls the rug out from underneath their entire scheme.

From there Stokes deals with what are probably the two most popular and potent attacks on the faith - the assertion that science has `disproved God' and the problem of evil. Both sections are rich with table-turning insight and are profitable for anyone who has confronted these arguments or even doubted because of them.

If you are accustomed to a Christian apologetic being primarily about various arguments, you might end up a little frustrated with Stokes' take on their role and usefulness. He does not get rid of the baby with the bathwater, so to speak, but he does see a need for good arguments to bolster the reasonableness of faith. If I have a quibble with the book it is that I might place more emphasis on the power and usefulness of the arguments themselves, but that did not get in the way of the value of this work for me.

If you are worried because you don't know what any of that means, you are in luck. Though his book will force you to think and slow down a bit, it is entirely readable and accessible if you are ready to do so. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering this book, its treatment of Plantinga's ideas, and it thorough treatment of the new atheists and their arguments.

Stokes states that he wrote this book to encourage the believer and even possibly help anyone toying with doubt, and I think he has done a wonderful job.