What do you think?
عشرة أنواع للإلحاد
ما هو الإلحاد؟ ما أسبابه وما دوافعه؟
كيف نناقش ملحداً؟ ماذا إذا كنا لا نستطيع أن نقنعه؟
هل نحذره من "الهلاك الأبدى". أم نتكلم عن الله المحب الرحيم؟
أليس الإنسان حراً فى الإيمان بوجود الله أو إنكاره؟
هل يتنافى سعينا لمناقشة الملحد مع مبدأ قبول الآخر المختلف معنا فى الفكر؟
أسئلة كثيرة ملحة لظاهرة خطيرة تتطلب منا تطوير ذواتنا ومهاراتنا وتغيير مصادر قراءاتنا لمعرفة كيف يفكر الآخر; فمن لا يجيد لغتنا لانستطيع أن نحدثه بها. يجب أن نقرأ الآخر جيداً حتى نستطيع أن نتناقش معه وفى النهاية نتركه لقراره وعمل الله فى قلبه.
كيف نناقش ملحداً؟ ماذا إذا كنا لا نستطيع أن نقنعه؟
هل نحذره من "الهلاك الأبدى". أم نتكلم عن الله المحب الرحيم؟
أليس الإنسان حراً فى الإيمان بوجود الله أو إنكاره؟
هل يتنافى سعينا لمناقشة الملحد مع مبدأ قبول الآخر المختلف معنا فى الفكر؟
أسئلة كثيرة ملحة لظاهرة خطيرة تتطلب منا تطوير ذواتنا ومهاراتنا وتغيير مصادر قراءاتنا لمعرفة كيف يفكر الآخر; فمن لا يجيد لغتنا لانستطيع أن نحدثه بها. يجب أن نقرأ الآخر جيداً حتى نستطيع أن نتناقش معه وفى النهاية نتركه لقراره وعمل الله فى قلبه.
- GenresChristianChristianity
199 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 27, 2024
SUGGESTIONS FOR DEALING WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF SKEPTICS
Alex McFarland is director of the Center for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at north Greenville University.
He explains in the first chapter of this 2011 book, “The types of skepticism I’ll talk about here all have one thing in common: Intellectual objections aren’t always the underlying cause of unbelief. In many cases, personal skepticism is preceded by emotional pain---sometimes very deep emotional pain… Christians must care enough to look for the life issue behind the question, and then gently help the skeptic to explore and resolve that issue. Often, a vocal skeptic carries hurt from some negative experience with a religious person… empathy, discernment and a listening ear will take the conversation much further than will a barrage of apologetic arguments for the existence of God.” (Pg. 18-19)
Later, he explains, “In this book … I want to make it clear, up front, that skepticism in and of itself is not necessarily wrong. If a man offers to sell me the Brooklyn Bridge, I’m right to be skeptical of his offer… In other words, I use both experience and reasoning to be doubtful about [such] claims---and this is a form of skepticism. But here’s the important distinction: Skepticism in SOME matters does not warrant skepticism in ALL matters.” (Pg. 23-24)
He outlines, “we will look in-depth at 10 types of skeptics… [and discuss] ways in which we can talk to them about our faith. First, there is the ‘educated skeptic,’ who has intellectual objections to the faith and has learned bias against Christianity… Next we’ll look at the ‘wounded skeptic,’ who in many cases has abandoned God and the Church after a negative church experience… There’s also the ‘frightened skeptic,’ who may be afraid of how God’s interference would change his life… We’ll look at the ‘proud skeptic,’ who tends to be arrogant and aggressive and has an unshakeable belief in his own intellectual prowess… With the ‘orphaned skeptic,’ we are dealing with a person who, while growing up, had an absent father… One of the most challenging skeptics to engage is the ‘tolerant skeptic.’ This person wants all beliefs to be true and thins that discussing religion is simply not polite dinner conversation… The ‘seeking skeptic’ truly wants answers, at least to a point… We’ll look at the ‘syncretistic skeptic,’ whose worldview… believes EVERYTHING is true… Finally, we’ll look at the ‘honest skeptic,’ who is open and truly wants to know the truth.” (Pg. 16-17)
For the ‘Seeking Skeptic,’ he later suggests, “The problem to avoid… is wasting precious time and resources preaching and ministering to people who, after a while, make it apparent that they’re really not serious… I cannot give a definitive answer as to when it’s time to insist on a decision… If God can be infinitely patient with us, how can we be otherwise with those who come to us seeking answers to spiritual questions? In the end, it comes down to good stewardship of your resources and your time.” (Pg. 108)
About a young woman who was an ‘Honest Skeptic,’ he observes, “‘But what about my questions?’ Liz thought… These were honest questions, and Liz really wanted and needed answers to them, but the church and Bible study took them for attacks. Rather than patiently helping Liz with her questions… they started to shun her… Liz… got the message. Christianity wasn’t for [her]. Unfortunately, that was the wrong answer. If [her] honest skepticism had been accepted and met respectfully in a loving relationship, things might have turned out very differently.” (Pg. 120-121)
About the “resurrected saints’ of Matthew 27, he advises, “As to the question of whether it COULD have happened, the answer is ‘of course.’ There is no logical reason that God would not have performed this miracle. The question for many skeptics is not so much whether or not the biblical account of any particular miracle is true but whether or not miracles are even POSSIBLE. However… Other than simple bias against the possibility of the supernatural, there is no logical reason to dismiss miracle accounts … out of hand. Thus, the question is not so much whether or not God can intervene in the world, but rather whether there is credible evidence supporting a particular miracle claim.” (Pg. 160)
Of the various accounts of the Resurrection, he suggests, “None of the details given in one Gospel contradicts the details given in another account. Rather, the small details give the pieces of a big picture… regarding the number of individuals who discover the empty tomb, Matthew, Mark and Luke mention a plural number of women, while John mentions only Mary Magdalene. However, no writer says that ONLY Mary Magdalene went to the tomb Mention of one person does not rule out the possible inclusion of other persons. What about the number of angels present? Matthew and Mark mention one angel, while uke and John mention two… Understand that Matthew and Mark never say that ONLY one angel appeared. No Gospel writer says that only one angel spoke, or rules out the possibility of there being more than one angel present. The writers give their own perspectives, mentioning certain details accordingly… No individual Gospel gives all the details of what transpired, but taken together, all four convey the ‘core facts.’” (Pg. 161-163)
About those who have never heard the Gospel, he explains, “the Bible does not clearly teach what will happen to those who never receive the good news of the gospel but do attempt to seek God…. The best a Bible-believing Christian can do is to trust in God’s wisdom, mercy and grace, and to suspend judgment as to the salvation of the un-evangelized… The bottom line is that we can trust that God, who loves the whole world, will take care of the questionable situations; our job as Christians is simply to bring the gospel to a world that desperately needs it.” (Pg. 179)
This book---and McFarland’s related books---will be of great interest to those seriously studying apologetics.
Alex McFarland is director of the Center for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at north Greenville University.
He explains in the first chapter of this 2011 book, “The types of skepticism I’ll talk about here all have one thing in common: Intellectual objections aren’t always the underlying cause of unbelief. In many cases, personal skepticism is preceded by emotional pain---sometimes very deep emotional pain… Christians must care enough to look for the life issue behind the question, and then gently help the skeptic to explore and resolve that issue. Often, a vocal skeptic carries hurt from some negative experience with a religious person… empathy, discernment and a listening ear will take the conversation much further than will a barrage of apologetic arguments for the existence of God.” (Pg. 18-19)
Later, he explains, “In this book … I want to make it clear, up front, that skepticism in and of itself is not necessarily wrong. If a man offers to sell me the Brooklyn Bridge, I’m right to be skeptical of his offer… In other words, I use both experience and reasoning to be doubtful about [such] claims---and this is a form of skepticism. But here’s the important distinction: Skepticism in SOME matters does not warrant skepticism in ALL matters.” (Pg. 23-24)
He outlines, “we will look in-depth at 10 types of skeptics… [and discuss] ways in which we can talk to them about our faith. First, there is the ‘educated skeptic,’ who has intellectual objections to the faith and has learned bias against Christianity… Next we’ll look at the ‘wounded skeptic,’ who in many cases has abandoned God and the Church after a negative church experience… There’s also the ‘frightened skeptic,’ who may be afraid of how God’s interference would change his life… We’ll look at the ‘proud skeptic,’ who tends to be arrogant and aggressive and has an unshakeable belief in his own intellectual prowess… With the ‘orphaned skeptic,’ we are dealing with a person who, while growing up, had an absent father… One of the most challenging skeptics to engage is the ‘tolerant skeptic.’ This person wants all beliefs to be true and thins that discussing religion is simply not polite dinner conversation… The ‘seeking skeptic’ truly wants answers, at least to a point… We’ll look at the ‘syncretistic skeptic,’ whose worldview… believes EVERYTHING is true… Finally, we’ll look at the ‘honest skeptic,’ who is open and truly wants to know the truth.” (Pg. 16-17)
For the ‘Seeking Skeptic,’ he later suggests, “The problem to avoid… is wasting precious time and resources preaching and ministering to people who, after a while, make it apparent that they’re really not serious… I cannot give a definitive answer as to when it’s time to insist on a decision… If God can be infinitely patient with us, how can we be otherwise with those who come to us seeking answers to spiritual questions? In the end, it comes down to good stewardship of your resources and your time.” (Pg. 108)
About a young woman who was an ‘Honest Skeptic,’ he observes, “‘But what about my questions?’ Liz thought… These were honest questions, and Liz really wanted and needed answers to them, but the church and Bible study took them for attacks. Rather than patiently helping Liz with her questions… they started to shun her… Liz… got the message. Christianity wasn’t for [her]. Unfortunately, that was the wrong answer. If [her] honest skepticism had been accepted and met respectfully in a loving relationship, things might have turned out very differently.” (Pg. 120-121)
About the “resurrected saints’ of Matthew 27, he advises, “As to the question of whether it COULD have happened, the answer is ‘of course.’ There is no logical reason that God would not have performed this miracle. The question for many skeptics is not so much whether or not the biblical account of any particular miracle is true but whether or not miracles are even POSSIBLE. However… Other than simple bias against the possibility of the supernatural, there is no logical reason to dismiss miracle accounts … out of hand. Thus, the question is not so much whether or not God can intervene in the world, but rather whether there is credible evidence supporting a particular miracle claim.” (Pg. 160)
Of the various accounts of the Resurrection, he suggests, “None of the details given in one Gospel contradicts the details given in another account. Rather, the small details give the pieces of a big picture… regarding the number of individuals who discover the empty tomb, Matthew, Mark and Luke mention a plural number of women, while John mentions only Mary Magdalene. However, no writer says that ONLY Mary Magdalene went to the tomb Mention of one person does not rule out the possible inclusion of other persons. What about the number of angels present? Matthew and Mark mention one angel, while uke and John mention two… Understand that Matthew and Mark never say that ONLY one angel appeared. No Gospel writer says that only one angel spoke, or rules out the possibility of there being more than one angel present. The writers give their own perspectives, mentioning certain details accordingly… No individual Gospel gives all the details of what transpired, but taken together, all four convey the ‘core facts.’” (Pg. 161-163)
About those who have never heard the Gospel, he explains, “the Bible does not clearly teach what will happen to those who never receive the good news of the gospel but do attempt to seek God…. The best a Bible-believing Christian can do is to trust in God’s wisdom, mercy and grace, and to suspend judgment as to the salvation of the un-evangelized… The bottom line is that we can trust that God, who loves the whole world, will take care of the questionable situations; our job as Christians is simply to bring the gospel to a world that desperately needs it.” (Pg. 179)
This book---and McFarland’s related books---will be of great interest to those seriously studying apologetics.
September 25, 2018
This book is useful to understand the deep motives behind the Skipticals, digging in thier background and how they ended up here, i don't believe Alex meant to give answers on thier thought instead he targeted how to understand them and relate with them, he makes it easier for me to classify the motives depend on the background and know how to deal with it accordingly , the book doesn't include deep answers on questions like how science and religion related or contradicted! As it's not the main topic here. But you can use this book to start digging deep after you read and understand the motives , means it requires lots of hard work afterward to be ready to answer thier questions ..
June 20, 2017
It was VERY hard to slog through this book. It wasn't very helpful to me because the author danced around to many philosophical type answers without giving any real help for HOW to get through to a person who is skeptical about religion.
May 25, 2020
I don't offence read books like this. Since taking a philosophy class I been hungry for more philosophy. 10 Answers for Skeptics does go a little into logic and epistemology. The book is not about having a head to head debate. Instead emphasize on understanding someone and forming a friendship with them is more important than anything else. I do agree strongly with that. Debating someone you know nothing about only leads to no one changing and both walking away angry.
I like how the author points out how some Christians can be disrespectful. It’s a shame that people do act that way. Has to keep in mind that they are human too and they make mistakes.
I would like for there for some information to be expanded in detail. I left with more questions but, that probably just me. I always have questions. The chapters are not that well organizing. There sections for each reason as to why someone might be a skeptic. However, the answers are not number like the title suggest.
This is a good book for Christians in learning to understand people. I am sure there are better books then this. Especially one that goes into detail on current subjects.
Anyone that reads this book Christians or not it best to read this with an open mind.
I like how the author points out how some Christians can be disrespectful. It’s a shame that people do act that way. Has to keep in mind that they are human too and they make mistakes.
I would like for there for some information to be expanded in detail. I left with more questions but, that probably just me. I always have questions. The chapters are not that well organizing. There sections for each reason as to why someone might be a skeptic. However, the answers are not number like the title suggest.
This is a good book for Christians in learning to understand people. I am sure there are better books then this. Especially one that goes into detail on current subjects.
Anyone that reads this book Christians or not it best to read this with an open mind.
August 12, 2021
This book offers very little to anyone in apologetics that is beyond the basics. The answers provided for skeptics were underwhelming.
October 14, 2015
Like his other book that I reviewed, this also had an inaccurate title. The book did not have the 10 questions and 10 answers like the title lead me to believe. The closest thing this book seems to have to that is some thoughts on misconceptions in appendix 1. I would have called it maybe 'The psychology behind different types of skeptics' or something like that.
I found parts of the book interesting but skim read a lot of it due to it being a bit wordy.
I found parts of the book interesting but skim read a lot of it due to it being a bit wordy.
December 23, 2011
Very well thought out book and good insights. Very needed reminder to be a friend first before you try to share the Gospel.
Christ's peace!
Christ's peace!
April 2, 2016
Excellent content, but the q&a is too literalist and, for example, doesn't go deep into the progress made in science and religion.
June 26, 2018
I used this book to help prepare me for a debate with my atheist cousin. I LOST.
February 14, 2016
A worthwhile reference book for evanglical explanations.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews