Being Truly Human: The Limits of our Worth, Power, Freedom and Destiny

by David W. Gooding, John C. Lennox

We need a coherent picture of our world. Life’s realities won’t let us ignore its fundamental questions, but with so many opposing views, how will we choose answers that are reliable? In this series of books, David Gooding and John Lennox offer a fair analysis of religious and philosophical attempts to find the truth about the world and our place in it. By listening to the Bible alongside other leading voices, they show that it is not only answering life’s biggest questions—it is asking better questions than we ever thought to ask. In Book 1 – Being Truly Human, Gooding and Lennox address issues surround¬ing the value of humans. They consider the nature and basis of morality, compare what morality means in different systems, and assess the dangerous way freedom is often devalued. What should guide our use of power? What should limit our choices? And to what extent can our choices keep us from fulfilling our potential?

Genres: Christian, Theology, Philosophy

368 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2018

About the author

David W. Gooding is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Greek at Queen's University, Belfast and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. His international teaching ministry is marked by fresh and careful expositions of both testaments. He has published scholarly studies on the Septuagint and Old Testament narratives, as well as expositions of Luke, John 13-17, Acts and Hebrews.

Reviews

[Oddmund Horpestad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grundig gjennomgang av kva det vil seie å vera eit menneske med dets moglegheiter og begrensinger og fagleg gjennom gang på korleis menneskelige natur/erfaring og liv samsvarar i større grad med eit bibelsk bilete enn andre alternativ. Krevande å lese, men utruleg mykje gode refleksjonar og poeng.

Tar føre seg:
- Intro: Kva er poenget med seieren og kva verdsbilete som preger menneske og kva som er med på å prege det.
- Kap 1: Kvifor mennesket har verdi og avvisninger av andre grunngjevingar.
- Kap 2: Menneskelege fridom, og fridomen i forhald til ateisme og teisme. Når er mennesket fritt?
- Kap 3: Menneskers moral, korleis mennesket har ibuande eigenskapar og konsekvenser av det. såvel som objektiv/subjektiv moral.
- Kap 4: Kva fundamenter kan grungje moral drøfting og utforsking av korleis alternative forklaringer kjem til kort og korleis Gud er einaste autoritet som kan stå bak.
- Kap 5: Menneskers rolle i møte med naturen, kva med menneskers bevissthet?
- Kap 6: Kva makt har og har ikkje mennesket? Korleis bare religion kan vise menneskets svakheit.
- Kap 7: Kva håp kan eit menneske ha? Kvifor er Kristus einaste håpet som individ verd å halde fast ved heller enn alle idealosmer.
- Appendix: Kva er vitenskap og kva er dens begrensinger i møte med Gud og eksistensielle spm.

[Jessica Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being Truly Human by David Gooding and John Lennox is a profound exploration of life’s fundamental questions.
When I first tried to read it years ago I couldn’t get past the first few pages. Revisiting it this year has been a deeply rewarding and thought-provoking experience.

[Maged Zakher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Will definitely read it again! Highly recommended!

[Christian Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gooding and Lennox provide a good biblical critic to the secular positions and philosophies concerning humanity. They fairly represent the opposing views, trace out a history of the differing worldviews, and point out how the Scriptures answer the most important questions when it comes to humanity.

[Frank Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, and the first volume of a six part set. The book (and the set) fits into the category of Christian apologetics, where a solid intellectual argument is made for the Christian worldview. In this first volume, the topic was concerned with what it means to be human. The authors spent considerable time (well spent) discussing the various atheistic views, some of which assume that free will is an illusion. The book contains numerous useful quotes from multiple views, and ably demonstrates the philosophical weaknesses when present.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough comparative examination of the naturalistic vs. theistic worldviews as they address the question of what it means to be human. These two Christian thinkers demonstrate the inadequacies of atheist naturalism when it comes to issues like human value, morals, hope, etc. Just published, this is the first of a series dealing with various aspects of the worldview issues.

[Herrleerervtxmail.Ch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die beiden Autoren gehen der Frage nach, woher unsere Freiheit, unsere Macht und unser Weg hingehen wird. Dabei vertreten sie eine klare christliche Sicht. Sie lassen aber andere Meinungen zu Wort kommen und machen das in ihrer wertschätzenden Art.
Sprachlich wäre das Buch in Deutsch schon anspruchsvoll. In Englisch bin ich da an meine Grenze gestossen.

[Snowdenwald · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all a nice summary of the topics in the title with plenty of literature references. Don't expect more than a brief summary of some main concepts. Also, some conclusions are questionable and not satisfactorily justified, especially regarding free will and consciousness (along the lines of "but it feels like I have free will").

[Jonas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im ersten Band "Was ist der Mensch?" der Buchreihe "Die Suche nach Wirklichkeit und Bedeutung" beschäftigen sich David Gooding und John Lennox mit Fragen über den Menschen. Über seinen Wert, seine Freiheit, seine Moral, seine Macht und seine Bestimmung. Dabei versuchen sie die grundlegenden Fragen der jeweiligen Bereiche aus den verschiedensten Sichtweisen und Weltanschauungen zu beantworten. Gooding und Lennox scheinen möglichst alle Ansichten darstellen zu wollen, was jedoch zur Folge hat, dass diese oft nur oberflächlich angerissen werden können. Dadurch sind einzelne Sichtweisen teilweise nicht mehr nachvollziehbar. Da die Autoren eine theistische Weltanschauung haben, kann zudem der Eindruck entstehen, dass gegensätzliche Meinungen nicht präzise dargestellt werden. Einige Ausführungen sind für den Laien unverständlich oder erscheinen äußerst plump. Trotzdem sind die behandelten Fragen interessant und aktuell und das Buch eignet sich als erster Überblick über die unterschiedlichen Antwortversuche.