Tom Carlson (tomcarlson) - , reviewed 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God on + 25 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I came to this book as an atheist, but with a desire to understand why folks believe in a god. And that's what the book (and the author in interviews) promises. It promises an even-handed look at 50 of those reasons, along with atheist responses. But the emphasis is claimed to be one of education as to the reasons, with the rebuttals there but not prominent.
Alas, that's not what you get. Each reason for belief gets a short paragraph, followed by reams of rebuttal. And, often, the rebuttal is pretty poor stuff. It's not that there aren't good arguments available. It's just that the author apparently doesn't know them.
Frankly, I didn't finish the book. It wasn't giving me any real insight into the reasons folks believe in a god. And I can read bad atheist arguments anywhere. At least give me the good ones.
Alas, that's not what you get. Each reason for belief gets a short paragraph, followed by reams of rebuttal. And, often, the rebuttal is pretty poor stuff. It's not that there aren't good arguments available. It's just that the author apparently doesn't know them.
Frankly, I didn't finish the book. It wasn't giving me any real insight into the reasons folks believe in a god. And I can read bad atheist arguments anywhere. At least give me the good ones.
