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One Less God Than You: How to Answer the Slogans, Clichès, and Fallacies That Atheists Use to Challenge Your Faith
Have you heard these ones before? The God of the Bible is a bloodthirsty dictator. Religion is the cause of war, suffering, and intolerance. Whether on Twitter, in a college quad, or at the dinner table with a freshman philosophy major, you're probably familiar with the litany of slogans that religious skeptics employ in an attempt to rescue you from the foolish belief that God exists. Even our public schools and mainstream media often can't help but parrot the memes that seem to leave thinking people with no alternative but to embrace atheism. How can a Christian respond? In One Less God Than You, John DeRosa breaks down twenty of the most common atheist challenges, exposes their logical weaknesses, and shows you how to craft effective answers. Atheism is more aggressive and widespread than ever before, so believers have a crucial task. Read One Less God Than You and respond with the joyful truth that God is real.
176 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2020
16 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
John DeRosa
5 books3 followersJohn DeRosa hosts the Classical Theism Podcast and writes blog articles related to apologetics, philosophy, and theology from a Catholic Christian point of view. He’s also the author of One Less God Than You (from Catholic Answers Press), which tackles common atheist slogans and shows you how to respond.
Additionally, he’s written for Catholic Answers Online Magazine and presented at Matt Fradd's Virtual Catholic Apologetics Conference (2020) as well as local Church small groups.
Additionally, he’s written for Catholic Answers Online Magazine and presented at Matt Fradd's Virtual Catholic Apologetics Conference (2020) as well as local Church small groups.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 17, 2020
I picked up this book, figuring it would be something I would enjoy. It really delivers on its subtitle. I liked pretty much everything regarding the approach this book takes. For one, it starts right by concentrating on prayer as a priority first before engaging in dialogue with atheists. The next is that it is presented in a listen-reason-propose framework. A form of Socratic dialogue is used, which avoids confrontational approaches. Some Catholic books about talking with atheists often come off as aggressive. Or present a view of atheists purposely denying God even though they “Know he exists.”
Each chapter of the book deals with a common atheist slogan you are likely to hear. He suggests some pathways in discussing the topic. As his framework suggests, the key is listening to the person to find out what they think on a topic and how they frame an objection. The temptation is to jump right in with an answer as soon as you see the general direction it seems to be aiming. Providing examples and principles to “reveal important truths about the topic under discussion.” This can be followed up by asking questions to clarify and proposing arguments and pieces of evidence. Plus it is always important to define things as you go. Ask how they define something and be clear on your own definitions. Otherwise, it is way to easy to talk past each other.
The chapters provide some possible responses, questions to ask what you might propose. Some topics include what he calls middlegame responses to advance the conversation. What he provides is not meant to be a script, but just some starting points that you can use and build upon with your own approaches and responses. Also offered are references for future study to go deeper into a specific topic.
I really enjoyed the tone of this book and how he thought through the various topics. This is a very accessible book for a general audience. Besides, how he explains this framework is valuable for any discussions.
Each chapter of the book deals with a common atheist slogan you are likely to hear. He suggests some pathways in discussing the topic. As his framework suggests, the key is listening to the person to find out what they think on a topic and how they frame an objection. The temptation is to jump right in with an answer as soon as you see the general direction it seems to be aiming. Providing examples and principles to “reveal important truths about the topic under discussion.” This can be followed up by asking questions to clarify and proposing arguments and pieces of evidence. Plus it is always important to define things as you go. Ask how they define something and be clear on your own definitions. Otherwise, it is way to easy to talk past each other.
The chapters provide some possible responses, questions to ask what you might propose. Some topics include what he calls middlegame responses to advance the conversation. What he provides is not meant to be a script, but just some starting points that you can use and build upon with your own approaches and responses. Also offered are references for future study to go deeper into a specific topic.
I really enjoyed the tone of this book and how he thought through the various topics. This is a very accessible book for a general audience. Besides, how he explains this framework is valuable for any discussions.
January 8, 2021
What I liked about this book is that it didn't give you all the answers... John DeRosa gives you a blueprint to answer the slogans, without giving you all the work. In other words, I would recommend this book.
May 25, 2025
This is a very good book.
It had a lot of helpful information and suggestions, and explained things in a way that was easy to understand.
It's organized so that you can quickly find the chapter dealing with whichever slogan, cliche or fallacy you need information on, which is useful as I will certainly be revisiting this book again.
A few tips that the book gives include praying daily to strengthen your own relationship with God so that you're spiritually prepared to evangelize to others, and it reccomends using 'the Socratic method' in which you ask your opponent questions about their belief in an effort to lead them through their own reasoning to see the proper conclusion, rather then just saying "you're wrong and here's why".
The book provides many reflective questions, responses and arguments, and gives you guidance on how to implement them when you are challenged on your faith.
There is a wide range of topics covered, and I learned several things I hadn't considered before about why God allows suffering, and how to respond to such slogans as 'absence of evidence is evidence of absence'.
One line I found that I love is a quote from C.S. Lewis: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
The author is Catholic (like me), but I would 100% reccomend this book to both Catholics and Protestants. Everything in here can be applied on both sides of the Tiber, it does an excellent job defending Christianity from atheism. You don't have to be Catholic, if you're a Christian, even a Protestant one, this book can help your apologetics.
On an unrelated note, I think this book has a great cover and a snappy title. I praise whoever was responsible for them.
All in all, I really liked this book. It was very well written, and definitely will come in useful for me in the future.
God Bless you!
It had a lot of helpful information and suggestions, and explained things in a way that was easy to understand.
It's organized so that you can quickly find the chapter dealing with whichever slogan, cliche or fallacy you need information on, which is useful as I will certainly be revisiting this book again.
A few tips that the book gives include praying daily to strengthen your own relationship with God so that you're spiritually prepared to evangelize to others, and it reccomends using 'the Socratic method' in which you ask your opponent questions about their belief in an effort to lead them through their own reasoning to see the proper conclusion, rather then just saying "you're wrong and here's why".
The book provides many reflective questions, responses and arguments, and gives you guidance on how to implement them when you are challenged on your faith.
There is a wide range of topics covered, and I learned several things I hadn't considered before about why God allows suffering, and how to respond to such slogans as 'absence of evidence is evidence of absence'.
One line I found that I love is a quote from C.S. Lewis: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
The author is Catholic (like me), but I would 100% reccomend this book to both Catholics and Protestants. Everything in here can be applied on both sides of the Tiber, it does an excellent job defending Christianity from atheism. You don't have to be Catholic, if you're a Christian, even a Protestant one, this book can help your apologetics.
On an unrelated note, I think this book has a great cover and a snappy title. I praise whoever was responsible for them.
All in all, I really liked this book. It was very well written, and definitely will come in useful for me in the future.
God Bless you!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews