Product Description A Christianity Today 1995 Books of the Year Finalist!Believing. Most of us take it for granted. We just do it--whether it's trusting that the sun will come up tomorrow, that the lunch we are about to eat is not poisoned or that our religious beliefs are not ill-founded. But why should we believe any of these things? Why should anyone believe anything at all?With insight and humor, James W. Sire examines the reasons people give for believing what they do and suggests what are truly satisfying and compelling reasons for belief. He then turns to the question of a specific belief--namely, belief that the Christian faith is true. Sire tackles both the best reason for belief in Christianity (the identity of Jesus ) and the chief reason against it. (the problem of evil). And he responds to these issues personally and philosophically.Here is a book to challenge the skeptic and reassure the doubter in us all.
Item Specifications...
Pages 239
Dimensions: Length: 8.1" Width: 5.4" Height: 0.9" Weight: 0.55 lbs.
Release Date Jun 15, 1994
PublisherInterVarsity Press ISBN 0830813977 EAN 9780830813971
Availability 42 units. Availability accurate as of Sep 06, 2010 04:36.
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The first half of this book is somewhat of a dry and lackluster catalogue of Mr. Sire's memoires of his seminars. The information presented though is neither clarified nor evaluated. Much of this book has been written before in his other books, particularly his Universe Next Door - which I highly recommend. I felt as though much of this book was simply rehashed, and added no further weight or evidence. To be fair, beginning with his chapter on Evil, this book took a positive turn and now began to address with zeal and clarity some of life's most pondered issues. In his last chapters you will find evidence for a necessary God. I would buy this book and skip to the end...
Such an Important Book for Today - Sadly Under-Read Jul 16, 2004
Soooooo many people believe things for the wrong reasons-including Christians. This book is an attempt to correct that sad state of affairs and the title question embodies the heart of much of Postmodernism. I suspect that the reader who gave the book only three stars because of the second part of the book on Why Believe Christianity came to the book with Modernist/Evidentialist presuppositions and was disappointed because there were no deductive arguments for the existence of God, no design arguments, nothing of the sort. It focuses instead on the Person of Christ (Imagine that! What a novel idea in Christian apologetics). If you like Kreeft-style apologetics more than Craig-style apologetics, you'll appreciate this section more than the three-star reviewer. The fundamental issue in Christianity is Who was Jesus? Sire addresses that question well. Still, even if this book was limited to the first half, directly addressed by the title, it would be well-worth the price. Get this book, read it, and put it into practice (along with his book _Habit's of the Mind_). Then recommend it like crazy to your friends. This book is not being read enough and is in danger of going out of print. That would be such a shame because this book addresses one of the fundamental issues facing Postmodern Culture. This book could be more important than you think. People who believe things for the wrong reasons typically don't have much conviction and aren't good at persuading others. This book will help you filter your beliefs and achieve greater intellectual integrity.
Because its true.... Mar 9, 1999
The first half of this book is an attack on reletivism which concludes that the only good reason to believe something is if it is true. Not if it makes us happy, sounds good, can't be disprooved etc.
I suppose that in this day and age this is a point that actually needs making. Reletivism has become part of modern culture to the extent that questioning someone's beliefs is seen as almost rude.
The second half of the book seeks to show that the truth is Christianity. It is not a great apologetic and I feel that the first half of the book should have been allowed to stand alone. There are much better introductions to Christianity.
