Can We Be Good Without God? A Conversation About Truth, Morality, Culture & a Few Other Things That Matter [Paperback]

Paul Chamberlain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 1996

Physician-assisted suicide. Racism. Genetic engineering. Abortion. Poverty. Capital punishment. Our culture is beset by a host of vexing ethical questions. Are there any foundational moral principles to guide us? If so, where do they come from? Christians say that we can--and should--be guided by principles derived from a right understanding of God. But skeptics and those with differing religious convictions argue that ethics and morality need not have anything to do with the God of the Old and New Testaments. Are they correct? Can right and wrong exist without God? Can we, in fact, be good or bad without God? In Paul Chamberlain's intriguing, inventive book, these questions are explored by a cast of five: Ted (a Christian) joins Graham (an atheist), Francine (a moral relativist), William (an evolutionist) and Ian (a secular humanist). Together they have been summoned to the home of a mystery host. And together, to the benefit of their host and the reader, they undertake a fascinating examination of truth, conduct, culture--and a few other things that matter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (January 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830816860
• ISBN-13: 978-0830816866
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad and Ugly, April 3, 2006

By 

David Horstkoetter "David" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can We Be Good Without God? A Conversation About Truth, Morality, Culture & a Few Other Things That Matter (Paperback)

Likes

The truth be told, I am conflicted over this book. On one hand I found the book to be worth reading. The clarity concerning the arguments was a great asset to the book. Perhaps the because of the genre of the book, its conversational nature, lent itself to an easier way of conveying the same argument over and over in different ways. Truly the clarity and repetition was a strong point of the book.

Also, the path on which the author followed the philosophical questions was well done. It is important to first clarify and explore presuppositions (i.e. subjective vs. objective morality). The progression through each argument was likewise well done. It was advantageous to begin with the simpler arguments that readily lent themselves to easily understanding the flow of thoughts before progressing onto more complex arguments.

The conversational, narrative format helped keep interest the book engaging. The use of breaks, particularly about the mystery host, helped grab curiosity. The narrative format also created the option to easily give a relevant word-picture that stimulated thought in the reader. That was a great move.

Dislikes

On the other hand, I found this book to be frustrating. Too often the arguments felt scripted and frequently drifted towards straw man arguments. The only reason that the arguments did not become torched, straw effigies is because the author kept some complexity, but still, all seemed overly simplistic. While the author did use a notes page that proved a level of research, I am not convinced that the people who hold to the opposing arguments would have felt themselves represented well.

As a side note, his frequent use of Hitler as an extreme, though it made the point by using an extreme, became at least monotonous, if not our right annoying.

Conclusion

Over all, the author wrote a book with some definite strengths (i.e. clarity), however, to be frank, the book failed. The book, instead of teaching me systems of belief, taught me "obvious" and simplistic inherent contradictions within philosophical systems. I do not feel that this book was worth reading outside of the chapters on Christian moral objectivity and, even then, the book would need another book to supplement at least the weaknesses of simplicity. I would have much rather had articles or essays (if the length is important) written by adherents to their own system, writing for their own system. Strong, original sources are a must and this book exemplifies why.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - for what it is meant to be!, September 24, 2006

By 

G. Peoples (Dunedin, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Can We Be Good Without God? A Conversation About Truth, Morality, Culture & a Few Other Things That Matter (Paperback)

I'm surprised at some of the VERY negative reviews of this book. Some people have approached the book as though it presumed to be a textbook on ethics for graduate students on moral theory. It was clearly never intended as any such thing. It is written as a basic introduction to ethics/meta-ethics from a Christian point of view. It is for the layperson who will probably not graduate with a PhD, and given what it is *supposed* to do, it is neither naive nor shallow. It does the job that it was writen to do very well. It gives the Christian non-scholar a good overview of a variety of positions in ethical theory - necessarily simplified of course, and it reaches a Christian conclusion. I recommend the book to younger readers in ethics or to those who would like to have a handy introduction that simply explains a variety of competing ethical theories and explains what is unique and advantageous to a Christian view of the divine origin of moral truth.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written and well thought out., May 9, 2005

By 

Jbob (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can We Be Good Without God? A Conversation About Truth, Morality, Culture & a Few Other Things That Matter (Paperback)

Contrary to the previous reviewers remarks I found the text to be insightful and helped me to clarify many questions that I have had regarding morality. The author treats the opposing views fairly and raises serious questions regarding their validity.