Answering Atheism - How to Make the Case for God with Logic and Charity

by Trent Horn

Today’s popular champions of atheism are often called New Atheists. But there’s nothing really “new” about their arguments. They’re the same basic objections to God that mankind has wrestled with for centuries.
We don’t need new answers for this aggressive modern strain of unbelief: We need a new approach.
In Answering Atheism, Trent Horn responds to that need with a fresh resource for the God debate, based on reason, common sense, and more importantly, a charitable approach that respects atheists’ sincerity and good will , making this book suitable not just for believers but for skeptics and seekers too.
Meticulously researched, and street-tested in Horn’s work as a pro-God apologist, it tackles all the major issues of the debate, including:
How to reconcile human evil and suffering with the existence of a loving, all-powerful God
Whether the empirical sciences have eliminated the need for God, or in fact, point to him
How atheists usually deny moral laws (and thus a moral lawgiver) in theory but seldom in practice
Why the atheist symbol of the “flying spaghetti monster” is a flawed analogy for theistic claims
History’s best arguments for the existence of God, and how to answer objections to them
In a world grown hostile to God, it’s more important than ever to be able to defend him.
Read Answering Atheism and become thoroughly equipped to rebut atheists’ challenges, and to share with them the good news that God is real.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Faith, Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Philosophy

335 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

After his conversion to the Catholic faith, Trent Horn pursued an undergraduate degree in history from Arizona State University. He then earned a graduate degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in philosophy from Holy Apostles College.

Trent is a regular guest on the radio program Catholic Answers Live, a lecturer who speaks across the country on issues related to the Catholic faith, and the author of two books, Answering Atheism and Persuasive Pro-life.

Reviews

[Ruta Lēmane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book... man... I could preach about how good it is!

Before reading this book I was a full atheist, in the middle of the book I became an agnostic, and after reading this book I can say that I am now slowly going towards my relationship with God, more specifically I want to become a catholic.
This book gave so many good insights and logical arguments, that I cannot doubt God anymore, it does not make sense that someone like God does not exist.
Besides learning that God is awesome, I did not expect that this book will be full of philosophy and physics. Like damn, I feel like I earned a whole new degree in such high sciences.

I would really recommend this book to anyone who doubts or is an unbeliever. This book seriously opened my eyes and heart to such a powerful being as God!

[Patti Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to give to an atheist or for people of faith to read to make a strong case for God. Trent covered it all with logic and extensive examples in an easy to read style.

[Stan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good thing to say about this book is that Trent tries to be fair and non-confrontative when discussing atheist's concerns. He also delineates the issues more clearly than most of the Christian apologists I have read.

The problem is that none of his arguments hold water. In a sense, this is not his fault, because he is mostly just reiterating the standard apologetic arguments, all of which are flawed - primarily because they start with the conclusion they want to reach, and then find arguments to support it, rather than starting with the evidence and then seeing where it leads.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive book looking at the many different ways atheists see faith and belief in God. Trent Horn did a great job laying out this book and making it simple to read. It is a good starter book to get people interested in diving deeper about the various cases for God. We needed this book. Thanks, Trent.

[Cameron M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Answering Atheism was a really great read. As I make my way through learning more about apologetics and theology, it was only a matter of time until I read this book. I have listened to Trent many times on Catholic Answers Live during the featured hours, "Why Are You an Atheist?" and when I heard he had written a book on the topic, I figured I'd get to it at some point.

Well, that time has come (and gone) and I can say that this was a brilliant book. One of the things that I really like and stuck out to me was that he early on states that these ideas are not his own, but rather he takes an alternative approach to looking at them. I think that is an important part for theists and atheists alike to grasp. These are age old concepts being discussed in the book with a perhaps updated way to approach the difficulties of them.

I particularly like the depth of resources and references that Trent uses throughout this book. He brings them from many walks of life, and in my mind, that adds credibility as it is not one sided or partial to just one certain school of thought. Sure, he is making the case for God, but he can do so with a wide array of support.

Parts II & III were stocked full of wonderful sections on the (probably) most popular objections to theism and Trent responded appropriately to each one. Rather than taking the (unfortunately common) path of condemning a certain belief, he runs with it and explains the error of each one and does so with charity and logic, as the title suggests.

This book has gotten me excited to share dialogue with atheists and theists alike as it has taught me much and reinforced what I had already known. Thank you Trent, for a wonderful read.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book. I think that Trent Horn does an amazing job with his simple presentation of some quite complex material. There were a handful of times where I think he made some leaps in his arguments, but overall the arguments are presented very clearly. Of all the arguments in the book, I think the Moral Argument is laid out the most explicitly and convincingly. This is a must read for Theists who are seeking to support their views or Agnostics who would like to see the theistic side of the debate.

[Aubrey Schlue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Definitely a dense read. I appreciated the little "review" sections at the end of each chapter - they kept me on track and summarized a LOT of arguments and quotes and ideas quite nicely.

[Patrick Mugabeni · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have the book pages mangled. Pages are not in order my kindle.

Please help this has not helped as I am unable to finish reading the book. It was problems when I first started reading it.

[Camilo Colorado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This was one of those books I never thought I would get through. It is so dense with philosophy but I kept at it and it was totally worth it. This is one of those books I will continue to read throughout my life. So good!

[Photovy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In depth, philosophical, but understandable (mostly). I recommend to anyone who wants to engage with agnostic or atheists friends.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank factual satisfying discussion.

[Jonathan Wilbur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book... Would recommend reading it if you are dialoguing with an Athiest.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and erudite as always from Trent Horn. If you have doubts or need a better way of explaining why theism makes sense, I highly recommend!

[Anna Claxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trent Horn uses approachable examples to describe complex concepts, but the logic is still very dense. A challenging but enjoyable read!

[Ben Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trent Horn gives such compelling logic and facts and arguments in understanding why God exists based on the universe, reason, and philosophy. The analogies and stories given to explain Gods existence are so clearly laid out that it really affirmed my faith that God exists - I have very much confidence in this reality - that an all powerful, all good, all knowing God loves me infinitely and is with me at all moments of every day. He used reason and philosophy - not much scripture to get at if God exists or not - so for those who think this may be an argument based on scripture - it is not (not that The Bible is a bad thing, some just don't trust it for whatever reason). PLEASE read this book if you are questioning Gods existence - this will clear up almost any arguments or questions you have and lead to the truth. Well done Trent.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Trent Horn has an incredible ability to defuse an intensely emotional situation and to calmly discuss really difficult topics with reason and civility. The problem is that there's no drama in the book about a subject that's often drowning in it. But this is probably the better way to go vice doubling down on the drama. The book begins by calmly poking holes in atheist arguments, not flat out disproving them, but creating reasonable doubt. Then he moves into philosophical arguments for theism with Aquinas's 5 ways, the cosmological argument, the Kalam argument, and then scientific arguments with the fine-tuning and big bang arguments (others like the Borde, Vilenkin and Guth arguments are in an appendix). I thought the book got better as it went along, but there's still some room for improvement to make it a little more catchy or readable to a general audience.

[Evan Kristiansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trent Horn lays out clearly and concisely several good arguments for the existence of God. In a few places the book reaches only a sort of "stalemate" with atheist thought (specifically the places where it puts the burden of proof on atheism, which is difficult because it places the burden on proving a negative statement), but otherwise provides highly informative reading. The book is pithy, and occasionally sarcastic (which is a bad habit of Internet atheists, so it's too bad that Trent does the same, even in good humor). It also provides a convenient chapter summary at the end of each chapter.

It's important to note that this is a popular work, not intended to be anything but a primer. For people looking for hard truths and extensive evidence, I would recommend reading the Summa and it's complimentary texts.

[Michael Cates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Trent presented highly complex arguments in terms that the layman can understand. I've read other apologetic works of this nature, but I particularly enjoyed this one. Well done, Trent.

[Rusty Tisdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! I immediately regretted having bought it on Kindle because I wanted to share it with my atheist friends. Have to buy another copy or twelve.

[Jeff E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't say I finished it. This one should be taken in small bites. The logic is good but pretty complex.

[naveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stuff, but very intellectual dense. It would be better if Trent would’ve a section or a flow chart of the Different types of arguments and rebuttal.