The God Question: An Invitation to a Life of Meaning (ConversantLife.com®) (Paperback)

by J.P. Moreland (Author)
Key Phrases: supremely worthwhile happiness, perfect bridge hand, empty selves, New Testament, The Question of God, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A leading evangelical thinker offers this brand–new way of addressing life’s most important questions: Does God exist, and can we know Him? J.P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, abandons traditional didactic apologetics and entices skeptics and dissatisfied believers into a conversation about the emptiness and anxiety so many feel today. He invites them to the abundant life Jesus offers but that so few seem to be experiencing.

Moreland shows that people are created by a benevolent God and given a life–enhancing purpose. He empowers readers to...

• overcome obstacles to faith, including questions about science and religion
• embrace an enticing view of Jesus and the kingdom of God
• replace unhelpful images of God with the truth

Readers will find practical and effective ways to experience intimacy with God, an effective life of prayer, and a confident hope in life after death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736924884
• ISBN-13: 978-0736924887
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #178,360 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling and honest vision for 'whole-life' Christianity, January 7, 2009

By	Jonathan Morrow - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The God Question has something for everyone. It is well-written, warm, clearly argued without being overly technical, and engaging. Even if you disagree with his conclusions at the end of the day, I think you will concede that Moreland has been fair, honest, thoughtful, and authentic about life's biggest question...God.

Dr. Moreland is a prolific author who has written on a wide variety of topics like: happiness, the existence of God, the nature of the soul, spiritual formation, and doubt, just to name a few.

In this book, you get a little bit of all of that (and more) sprinkled in and shaped into a compelling narrative journey of faith. Moreland does not shy away from hard topics like Hell and how can Jesus be the only way. He also spends time exploring who Jesus was and how we can know about Him in history. Moreover, he talks about the powerful evidence for God from the origin and design of the universe in an accessible manner. But this is not merely a book defending the faith (i.e., apologetics).

Moreland places these fascinating and important discussions within the narrative of the Biblical story and his own faith journey in walking with Jesus for 40 years. For example he lets the reader into his own relationship-struggles and joys-with Jesus. And then he places this discussion within a wonderful explanation of the central message of Jesus: proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.

Moreland paints a compelling (and jargon free) picture of what eternal life with God could and should be like according to the New Testament while also spending subsequent chapters talking about how to get good at life according to Jesus. Finally, he wraps up with an enlightening chapter on the afterlife.

Today, there is a lot of confusion about religion in general and Christianity in particular. If you are looking for a thoughtful book, written from the perspective of a follower of Jesus, and that gets past the heat and stereotypes, then The God Question is for you.

High school and college students would also enjoy: Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intellectual defense of Christianity doesn't forget its heart, January 15, 2009

By	Christina Lockstein "http://christysbookblog.... (Oconto Falls, WI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The God Question by J.P. Moreland is an intelligent refutation of the popular books attacking Christianity by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hutchins. There has been a movement in recent years that equates belief in God with a lack of intelligence. Moreland does a phenomenal job of showing that you don't have to turn off your brain in order to have faith. His arguments for faith are amazing. My husband and I both want to memorize them in order to share them when our faith is under attack. The thesis of the book is that the American people are unhappier than previous generations have been, and Moreland poses the theory that it's because of a lack of belief in God. Moral relativism and a lack of higher purpose has robbed people of a deeper sense of happiness, so they turn instead toward short-term happiness that is found through material things or people. The evidence is undeniable. He is extremely logical and almost dispassionate in the beginning of the book, but once Moreland starts to talk about his own journey to faith and the experiences with God since then, the book takes on a whole new life. His stories about faith healings and encounters with Jesus are incredibly moving, the type you can't wait to tell someone else about and want to experience as well. After sharing his own faith, Moreland turns to encouraging the reader to make a commitment to God. It's an intellectual book that has a remarkably big heart.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent tool to present your case for God's Existence, February 25, 2009

By	moviemusicbuff (Walnut, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book during a recent conference in San Diego, and it is the ideal book to present to a friend who is an agnostic or atheist, and as a training guide for believers to be able to defend their belief in God. J.P. Moreland gives complete and compelling arguments to present a convincing and reasonable case for believing that God exists. It is very down-to-earth, informational, and spiced with personal stories by the author.

The table of contents are as follows:

Part 1: Why Can't We Be Happy?
1. Why Can't I Be Happy?
2. Hope for a Culture of Bored and Empty Selves

Part 2: Is There a Real Solution to Our Dilemma?

3. The Question of God, Part 1
4. The Question of God, Part 2
5. The Luminous Nazarene
6. My Own Journey as Jesus' Apprentice

Part 3: How Can the Solution Help Me Change?

7. Rethinking the Whole Thing
8. Two Essentials for Getting Good at Life
9. Avoiding the Jaws of Defeat
10. How to Unclog Your Spiritual Arteries and Develop the Heart
to Work for God

Part 4: Is This Life All There Is?
11. From Here to Eternity
Epilogue
Notes

Brief Summary of the Contents

In Part 1, Moreland argues that our pursuit of the American Dream doesn't make people happy. The Baby Boomer generation is 10 times more depressed than earlier generations because they lived only for themselves and not for a cause larger than themselves -- they need to live for a good purpose in life.

In Part 2 Moreland investigates evidence that makes it reasonable to believe in the Creator:

The Kalaam Cosmological argument and support from astronomy, the Design argument (drawing examples from the complexity and fine-tuned eye and molecule, and from biology), the Moral Argument (e.g. building a case for an absolute moral law).

In Part 3, Moreland builds the case for believing in God through examining the claims of Jesus Christ and the support for the Resurrection. At the beginning of Part 3, Moreland offers 3 criteria for choosing a religion:

1) Does the depiction of the Supreme Being in a given religion harmonize with what we already know about God from creation?
2) Does that religion provide the most profound diagnosis of the human condition and the most adequate solution to that diagnosis?
3) Does the best explanation of both the origin and continued history of the religion include supernatural activity?

Moreland goes on to give his own personal journey of how he came to believe in God through the Christian faith, and how that impacted his life.

In Part 3, Moreland gives the practical relevance of believing in the God that the Bible describes through trusting in the Gospel:

A. The Gospel of the Kingdom

Our purpose is to join the kingdom program as set forth in the Gospel
a) We need to be apprentices of Christ
b) We need to love God
c) We need to obey His commands

B. The Gospel of Justification by Faith
a) We need to trust Christ for He appeased God's wrath in His substitutionary atonement on the cross
b) Through Christ, we receive forgiveness of sins

C. Two Essentials for Getting Good at Life

1) Follow Christ by getting good at denying ourselves, count the cost,
and following Him

2) Practice disciplines that will help us be a disciple
a) Practice biblical self-talk
b) Recognize your core-identity in Christ & your mission
c) Be absorbed in developing your character and a heart for God
and others

D. Avoiding the Jaws of Defeat -- Moreland gives practical suggestions on how we can deal with the flesh, the world, and the devil. One of the very practical sections deal with how believers can rightly interact with the world and with non-believers, and how believers can deal with doubt.
He talks about the spiritual disciplines that can help us conquer the flesh, and how we can wage spiritual warfare against the devil & demons.

E. How to Unclog Spiritual Arteries -- we need to be engaged in God-centered worship and we need to pray. Moreland offers practical suggestions on how to worship and pray.

Part 4 Is This Life All There Is?

Moreland examines the afterlife and builds a case for believing in the biblical teaching of the afterlife. He talks about heaven and hell, and refutes common objections for believing in the hell described in the Bible.

This is a pretty lengthy summary, but I wanted you readers to see how helpful this book is. I highly recommend this book as an apologetics and evangelistic tool, not only to give to your intellectual agnostic or atheist friend, but also as a very helpful guide for equipping yourself. I will definitely use this class for my teaching and ministry. Very highly recommended!!