“Precisely because the Christians usually duck and run, the atheists have had to too easy. Their arguments have gone largely unanswered. They have been flogging the carcass of ‘fundamentalism’ without having to encounter the horse kick of a vigorous traditional Christianity.” – Dinesh D’Souza
What’s So Great About Christianity by Dinesh D’Souza has been out since 2008 but I’m going to write about it now because for one thing, I have decided to write at least one post on every book I read this year, and for another, this book was a fascinating read from beginning to end. I love the quote above because I am quite fond of traditional Christianity but I rather doubt fundamentalism has exactly reached carcass status – judging from the swelling membership in fundamentalist churches. Anyway, D’Souza addresses some of the toughest objections to Christianity and religion in general posed recently by the most prominent and militant atheists and does as excellent and thorough job as any I have encountered.
I have heard and studied many of D’Souza’s arguments before but he delves deep, explains with lively clarity, and brings up some points and facts I had not really thought about or did not know. For example, I have never read anything that so clearly explains Immanuel Kant’s ideas and their implications throughout the subsequent centuries. I always had trouble understanding Kant and it’s always a great pleasure when someone hands me the key to a locked door. What’s So Great About Christianity covers vast swathes of ground not only in philosophy and theology but also history and science. D’Souza even takes on events of historical shame for Christians: the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the trial of Galileo. He does not justify these historical events but does shine some light on the mythology that has accumulated around them and puts them into realistic historical context.
It used to be the popular view that all beliefs and non-beliefs could live in harmony as long as you separated the worldly for the religious, facts from values. “But a group of prominent atheists—many of them evolutionary biologists—has launched a powerful public attack on religion in general and Christianity in particular; they have no interest in being nice.” The D’Souza names some of the popular books that have come from this group of prominent atheists such as The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins), The End of Faith (Sam Harris), and God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (Christopher Hitchins).
D’Souza does as good a job as any apologist I’ve read (next to Pascal) of exploring the reasons that some people prefer to believe in a Godless materialistic world. “These atheists reject the Gould solution [refers to biologist Stephen Jay Gould’s proposal that there are two spheres in which to live: one relying on facts and reason and the other on values and faith]. They say that a religious outlook makes specific claims about reality: there is a God, there is a life after death, miracles do happen, and so on….The argument of the atheists is that both views of reality cannot be simultaneously correct. If one is true, then the other is false.”
I think that is one thing we can all agree on – that when two views about the nature of reality conflict, they cannot both be true. (Of course, we can go a very long way and smooth over many a difficulty by ignoring contradictions or pretending they are not there.) But fact that two conflicting facts cannot both be true has always been my problem with the idea that we keep our faith separate from our other affairs, both social and business. If you really believe in God, then that belief tends to permeate your mind and affect all that you do including your business and life decisions, relationships with other people, what you watch on TV, even your wardrobe. I know that as a believer, when I have to make a decision, the buck does not stop with me – I consult God for the wisdom that I don’t have.
I have come to believe that the difference between a believer and a non-believer is in the will— we have the free will be choose whether we desire to believe or not. If you choose not to believe in God, you are free to ignore all traditional and Biblical ideas of right and wrong. Of course, belief and non-belief are not the only possible choices. For example, you could believe in the Biblical God but still consciously reject Him because you don’t want to live with His rules. Or you could find or create a God that is more friendly to your desired lifestyle choices.
Written in a friendly yet firm tone, D’Souza’s book is well written and well researched. And it confirms the things I believe and references some of my favorite authors: C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Blaise Pascal. This is the slippery thing about books on faith – if they confirm your beliefs you see them one way and if they challenge your beliefs you see them another way. It makes me wonder how many people go to a book on Christianity with an open mind. If you look at the reviews of Christian books on Amazon.com you will notice that they wither get five stars with gushing praise, or one star with condescending insults.
But some people – those who are honestly seeking answers – surely do read Christian books with opens minds. I once did. I became a believer in Christ almost entirely because of books, including Mere Christianity and Miracles by C.S. Lewis and Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. By the time I got around to reading Pascal I was already a believer, but when I read Pensées I was surprised to find some of my deepest musings and suspicions articulated by someone writing nearly four centuries years ago. That happens a lot when you read old classics.
There is a big difference between an open-minded seeker and a committed atheist. I suspect committed atheists are those who have invested some part of their selves in a Godless world: Perhaps their reputation or lifestyle or a career in science or self -respect or perceived dignity or their reason itself depends on there not being a God. Their main beef seems to be with the God of the Hebrew scriptures. If someone wanted to worship Zeus or Odin in the public square I doubt anyone would go screaming to the ACLU. I know some people honestly cannot see how God could exist in this world. For those of us who do believe, it’s difficult to see how anyone could not see how it must be true. Whichever side of the divide you choose to pitch your tent, What’s So Great About Christianity is an excellent primer on the nature and history of that divide.
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What’s So Great about Christianity by Dinesh D’Souza. Tyndale House Publishers, 2008.
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This sounds very interesting. Like you said, no matter what a person believes this would be an educational read.