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Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Case Against Christianity

I just finished reading 'The Case Against Christianity' by Michael Martin. The book is around 250 pages long and covers topics such as the historicity of Jesus, the resurrection, the virgin birth, the second coming, the incarnation, Christian ethics, salvation by faith, divine command theory, the atonement and the philosophical basis of Christian belief. The two chapters I thought were the best were Chapter 3: 'The Resurrection' and Chapter 4: 'The Virgin Birth and the Second Coming', though the rest of the book was very good also.

Some of the chapters are quite jargon-laden, but if one is familiar with the technical terms used in logic then understanding the book won't be an issue. I think perhaps the best feature of this book is the philosophical and logical nature of many of the arguments against Christianity, as opposed to the scientific approach of Dawkins, or the 'bad for society' approach of Harris and Hitchens (I'm not saying this is the only trick up their sleeves, but it forms a large portion!). Having a different approach to the discussion I feel brings a breath of fresh air to a debate that all too often revolves around the same stale talking points.

I highly recommend that everyone reads this book, it's well worth your time.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review. Do you think this book would arm someone against the arguments of W.Lane Craig?

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  2. Was' up peeps, L.A, I'm sure WL Craig has heard all the arguments, that way he can explain away the reasoning form science, harm of society and philosophy. I think that because there are so many ways to debunk Christianity, doesn't take tell you (them) something. I have to admit I know least about philosophy. sounds like a good book.

    Kriss

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  3. Yeah the book is nearly 20 years old, so there is no doubt that WLC has read it, but Martin's arguments are pretty solid. It would no doubt be a very good resource for arming yourself against a WLC fan.

    It's the kind of book that probably deserves a second read to absorb all the information contained in it, but that will have to wait till another time as I have a ton of books that I want to read this year.

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  4. His " Atheism: a Philosophical Justification ' tops any lists of advanced atheology! His other books serve us well.
    We have other such authors and others who reveal the sterility of the supernatural even more so than do the famus four!

    http://ignosticmorgan.posterous.com
    http://carneadesofga.blogspot.com
    http://carneadesofga.aimoo.com
    http://humeofga.wordpress.com
    http;// ignosticmorgansblog.wordpress.com
    http://ayerignosticmorgan.blogspot.com
    http:naturalism.posterous.com
    http://numeofthenewsouth.blogspot.com
    These blogs and others of mine keel haul supernaturalism! I combine and permute arguments such that the superstitious have no way out!
    I'l add this blog to my recommend list of atheist and theist ones!

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