Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity

Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity
by Gregory A. Boyd

Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity
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Book Summary Information

Author: Gregory A. Boyd
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 1994-03-25
ISBN: 1564762440
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Cook Communications

Book Reviews of Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity

Book Review: Primarily personal and intimate; secondary is apologetics
Summary: 5 Stars

This is unlike any other "apologetic" book I have read, in that it is very personal as the son (Greg) responds to his father's questions about the Christian faith. This made it a much more interesting read for me, wanting to see the dialogue between them.

I agree with those who say this is for Christians. I find it encouraging to see how God was at work in both of their lives bringing them to belief in Jesus as who He says He is. It is in a relationship, and taking time with someone that is the difference; not simply intellectual reasons for belief. The book has "gut-level" responses from both the father and son, which is very refreshing. The primary intended audience for this book is Christians as stated by Greg in the beginning, so the we would be strengthened in our efforts with skeptics in our lives.

I do not see how anyone could say the father (Ed) was not a skeptic. It took three years for him to come to the point of committing his life to belief in Jesus. Every skeptic has their own uniqueness, and each will take his/her own path as Christians seek to love and have dialogue with skeptics. While there are certainly some ideas from this book I can use with a skeptic I love very much, his questions and responses will differ, and the encouragement I received from the book is to never give up - not that I, or Greg, or anyone else, has all the answers.

Summary of Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity

Edward Boyd's agnosticism rested "not ... too much on any positive position ... but rather on a host of negative ones" about Christianity. In an attempt to address these negative issues, his son Greg, a professor of theology, asked his father, a strong-willed, highly intelligent, and stubborn 70-year-old, to enter into a correspondence in which "all of their cards would be laid on the table." Greg would give his father the opportunity to raise all his objections to the veracity of Christianity, and Greg would "answer these objections as well as give positive grounds for holding to the Christian faith."

Three years and more than 30 letters later, Letters from a Skeptic was published and Edward Boyd came to accept Christ. During his journey, he and his son hash through such topics as why the world is so full of suffering; why an all-powerful God needs prayer; how you can believe in someone who rose from the dead; and how another man's death can pardon others. Despite their brutal honesty, both men exhibit respect and love toward one another as they address these volatile subjects. In Edward's second response to Greg, he boldly says, "Well, your distinction between the 'Christian Church' and 'Christians' is interesting and novel, but frankly, I don't buy it." Greg responds, saying, "I've got to admit that you are raising some extremely good points in your letters. You are raising the most difficult questions a theist can face." --Jill Heatherly


In an attempt to address these negative issues, his son Greg a professor of theology, asked his father to enter into a correpondence in which all of their cards would be laid on the table. Three years and more than 30 letters later this book was written.

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