Can I Believe?

An Invitation to the Hesitant

Can I Believe?
John G Stackhouse
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NZ$ 46.99
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Paperback
h210 x 140mm - 224pg
15 Dec 2020 US
9780190922856
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Maybe Christianity is actually true. Maybe it is what believers say it is. But at least two problems make the thoughtful person hesitate. First, there are so many other options. How could one possibly make one' s way through them to anything like a rational and confident conclusion? Second, why do so many people choose to be Christian in the face of so many reasons not to be Christian? Yes, many people grow up in Christian homes and insocieties, but many more do not. Yet Christianity has become the most popular religion in the world. Why? This book begins by taking on the initial challenge as it outlines a process: howto think about religion in a responsible way, rather than settling for such soft vagaries as "faith" and "feeling". It then clears away a number of misunderstandings from the basic story of the Christian religion, misunderstandings that combine to domesticate this startling narrative and thus to repel reasonable people who might otherwise be intrigued. The second half of the book then looks at Christian commitment positively and negatively. Why do two billion find thisreligion to be persuasive, thus making it the most popular "explanation of everything" in human history? At the same time, how does Christianity respond to the fact that so many people find it utterlyimplausible, especially because so many Christians insist that theirs is the only way to God and because of the problem of evil that seems to undercut everything Christianity asserts? Grounded in scholarship but never ponderous, Can I Believe? refuses to dodge the hard questions as it welcomes the intelligent inquirer to give Christianity at least one good look.
"John Stackhouse offers a refreshing combination of intellectual rigor and personal courtesy, conceptual clarity where possible and commendable humility at the limits of our understanding. We all live at the nexus of knowledge, faith, doubt, and decision. John Stackhouse provides for us an invaluable guidebook to that vexed territory. " -- Hans P. Halvorson, Stuart Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University"Here is a book for everyone who wants their life to be in harmony with reality. If you are ready for your beliefs -- and your reasons for choosing them -- to be challenged to the core, then you should read this. " -- Andrew Briggs, , Professor of Nanomaterials, University of Oxford"John Stackhouse strikes a brilliant balance. As a devoted Christian, he has the confidence to proselytize, yet he also has the humility to respect my intelligence, dignity, and humanity as a non-Christian. Be not afraid of his invitation. In our age of raging dogmas, who asks for simple consideration without expectation of outcome? Stackhouse, that' s who. In more ways than one, this book is a counter-cultural delight. " -- Irshad Manji, , Founder, Moral CourageProject"Intelligent, erudite, and witty, this book is a guide to answering with integrity the most important question of our lives: "What kind of life is worthy of our humanity? " That' s the kind of "believing" Stackhouse explores: the knowledge and trust needed for embarking upon a comprehensive way of life. " -- Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, Yale University
John Stackhouse is an award-winning scholar, teacher, and public communicator. He was born in Canada and raised in southwestern England and northern Ontario. He graduated BA from Queen' s University , MA from Wheaton Graduate School, and PhD from the University of Chicago. He has taught at universities in Canada and the United States, and currently holds the Samuel J. Mikolaski Chair of Religious Studies at Crandall University in eastern Canada. Professor Stackhouse has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Fudan, Otago, and many other universities. His voice has been featured in a wide range of media, from the New York Times to theWashington Post to the Times Literary Supplement, and from ABC News in the USA to ABC News in Australia, as well as in most major Canadian media.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780190922856
Published: 15 Dec 2020
Published In: United States
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Format: Paperback
Height: 210mm
Width: 140mm
Pages: 224

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