If God, then what?
Andrew Wils on IVP £8.99
In If God, Then What Andrew Wilson sets out to answer what he calls ‘the ten most important questions’ in an approachable way. The first half of the book raises the sort of questions which no doubt occupy all thinking people at some stage; the nature of knowledge, the origin of life, the feasibility of supernatural events. In contrast, the second half of the book relies on fairly straight-bat Christian theology and feels hackneyed and disjointed from a non-Christian perspective. Despite the quotes from new atheists and pop music, and the dearth of Bible verses, If God, Then What represents a sermon dressed up as (unusually brainy) pub banter.
This is only natural for a book on apologetics, but to be effective it must also be well reasoned. Sadly in the second chapter Wilson gives us a model of knowledge creation (identify evidence, establish explanations, determine which explanation explains the evidence with greatest simplicity and coherence) which is hopelessly incomplete. It denies us the option of concluding that we have insufficient evidence, that we haven’t identified all possible explanations, or that we lack the skill or experience to discriminate between explanations. In short, it has no notion of uncertainty. My first assumption was that Wilson had simplified for the sake of readability (it was fairly brave to tackle epistemology – the theory of knowledge - in this style in the first place) but as I read on it became apparent that this is exactly the process he has followed in his own journey. The rest of the book is a cascade of false dilemmas, failure of imagination, and misrepresentation of contrary positions.
In particular, Wilson needn’t have mentioned that he found science ‘interminably dull’ at school as he makes it painfully clear he has never seriously engaged with scientists or their literature. Writing two whole chapters on ‘fine tuning’ and the origin of life without reference to a single scientific source is, frankly, rude. The one reference we are given is for an American creationist website, which explains the ‘puddle thinking’ which pervades these chapters. This is symptomatic of a wider failure to direct unsatisfied readers to further reading, which seems irresponsible in such a lightweight book on such heavyweight topics.
I don’t wish to be overly critical of Wilson, I think he’s a stylish and persuasive writer, but the content here does nothing to open up debate. Sense can only be made of his intellectual journey through the lens of Christian theology. As such, Christians will go away satisfied by arguments that fit with their world-view, while sceptics will scoff at the short-sighted reasoning. The book is at pains to denounce fundamentalism, dedicating a whole chapter to it, but by denying uncertainty it can only serve to entrench fundamentalism on both sides.
Joe Staines is studying for a PhD at UCL.
What we talk about when we talk about God
Rob Bell Collins £14.99
What We Talk About When We Talk About God is an easy and intelligently written book which narrates the author’s understanding of Christianity. The opening chapters address the scientific discoveries of atoms, gravity, space and time, which I respect coming from a pastor. I found it encouraging that these facts were acknowledged in a book about God, and it set an informative and conversational tone. Similarly the author’s understanding and acceptance that the world is billions of years old, rather than the traditional ‘young earth’ creationist view enabled me to continue reading with an open mind.
As an agnostic I would regard energy and physical matter as the sum of everything in the universe, but Bell’s observation that personality, perception, feelings, thoughts and souls cannot be explained is an intriguing question. However, the author dismisses dinosaurs or fish as being ‘obviously’ devoid of independent thought, which reveals that while he is asking the reader to be open, he has his own limitations.
That being said, his view on the world is refreshing and progressive as he puts forward objections to certain Christian beliefs such as gay discrimination, miracles and the divine being an all-powerful, male God. Unfortunately after the clear and informative opening chapters, I became lost in the middle when the text exclaimed ‘God blesses and loves and gives and is generous with everybody.’ His admission early on that he has struggled with his own faith at times went unresolved, and left me wondering what understanding or experience he had come across to confirm his beliefs to the extent that he now promotes Christianity to others. This book may be of interest to those looking for an accessible insight into a modern pastor’s take on religion, as it opens the door to the idea of God, without religion being imposed or pushed on the reader.
In conclusion, my ultimate issue with this book is that, while well written and crafted with points relevant to the modern world, it communicates the beliefs of one person and how he has interpreted Christianity through his personal life experience. Other pastors, vicars and Christians may disagree with some or all of the views expressed in the book as the examples of references to God used could be interpreted by millions of people to mean very different things, from literal to abstract. In reference to the intangible factors of what determines our emotive reactions, uniqueness and souls he simply cites, ‘we don’t know.’ Whether religious or atheist, all the book definitively establishes is the fact that in the end, none of us know, and as such I am none the wiser.
Georgie Gough lives in Norwich and works in PR. idea
