Product Description

About the Book

A Likewise book.

Greg Graffin is frontman, singer and songwriter for the punk band Bad Religion. He also happens to have a Ph.D. in zoology and wrote his dissertation on evolution, atheism and naturalism. Preston Jones is a history professor at a Christian college and a fan of Bad Religion's music. One day, on a whim, Preston sent Greg an appreciative e-mail. That was the start of an extraordinary correspondence.

For several months, Preston and Greg sent e-mails back and forth on big topics like God, religion, knowledge, evil, evolution, biology, destiny and the nature of reality. Preston believes in God; Greg sees insufficient evidence for God's existence. Over the course of their friendly debate, they tackle such cosmic questions as: Is religion rational or irrational? Does morality require belief in God? Do people only believe in God because they are genetically predisposed toward religion? How do we make sense of suffering in the world? Is this universe all there is? And what does it all matter?

In this engaging book, Preston and Greg's actual e-mail correspondence is reproduced, along with bonus materials that provide additional background and context. Each makes his case for why he thinks his worldview is more compelling and explanatory. While they find some places to agree, neither one convinces the other. They can't both be right. So which worldview is more plausible? You decide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55616 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 164 pages

Review
"I've overheard numerous conversations but none as captivating. This book needs to be not just read, but discussed." -- —Denis D. Haack, Director, Ransom Fellowship, Editor, Critique, and visiting instructor in practical theology, Covenant Seminary

"In books that seek to commend the Christian faith, often conversation is one-sided, lacking 'apologetic tension.' Not so with this.." -- —David Naugle, professor of philosophy, Dallas Baptist University, and author of Worldview: The History of a Concept

"This collection of back-and-forth debate concerning the worldviews of a naturalist and a Christian is fascinating, compelling, educational, and relational." -- —Doug Van Pelt, editor of HM Magazine, and author of Rock Stars on God

From the Publisher
Features & Benefits

* Email discussion between a Christian history professor and a naturalist punk rocker with a Ph.D.

* Tackles cosmic questions about biology, suffering, destiny, morality and more

* Engages youth and students with "big ideas"

* Unique and compelling

* Models effective dialogue between people with differing worldviews

* Can be used as a text for philosophy, theology, apologetics or worldview courses

* Includes a study/discussion guide

About the Author
Preston Jones About the Author

Preston Jones (Ph.D., University of Ottawa) is assistant professor of history at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. He has previously taught at The Cambridge School of Dallas, Dallas Christian College, the University of Dallas, California State University--Sonoma, and the University of Ottawa. His articles have been published in journals such as Southern California Quarterly, Fides et Historia, Journal of Church and State, Catholic Historical Review, Quebec Studies, Journal of Canadian Studies, American Review of Canadian Studies, National Library of Wales Journal and Alaska History. He is a contributing editor for Books & Culture and Critique.

Customer Reviews

Will there be punk rockers in heaven?
What do you get when put a conservative university professor who happens to be a Christian in the same room with a punk rocker who happens to be an atheist? Trouble, you would expect.

Well the two may not have shared the same room, but thy have shared in a lot of correspondence, debating and discussing their worldviews. And trouble was not the outcome, but a spirited, intelligent and no-holds-barred exchange of ideas and beliefs.

Preston Jones, a history professor and committed Christian, had long enjoyed the music of Bad Religion, especially its lyrics. He eventually wrote to the band's front man and song writer, Greg Graffin. A lively correspondence ensued, and that exchange is the subject of this book.

The letters written by these two are frank, forthright and forceful. Their discussions are lively and vigorous, sometimes heated but always irenic. The respectful debate encountered here covers a wide range of topics, music included.

Graffin is not your run of the mill punk rocker. He has written a PhD in evolutionary biology, and his lyrics drip with deep reflections and careful thoughts. They express, of course, the mind of a sceptic. Graffin does not believe in God, and he is willing to face a world without God head on, with all that entails.

Yet despite his commitment to philosophical naturalism and his unbridled faith in science, he has questions, he is searching, and he is aware of his own limits. His songs are filled with thoughts about religion, life, meaning and purpose.

Jones, on the other hand, is a believer who offers many insights and explanations from his own Christian faith, but can appeal to other sources as well. Thus they discuss not just biblical matters, but literature, music, science, art and many other topics. The two square off on numerous hot potato issues, such as the problem of suffering, the meaning of personhood, the theory of evolution, and the search for significance. No topic is too sacred to cover, and no avenue is too off limits to explore.

This informed, entertaining and valuable collection of letters shows that people from two quite differing worldviews can still treat each other with respect as they passionately share their own beliefs and challenge those of the other person.

Because this book is published by a Christian publisher, and the editor is a Chrisian, it of course takes on an apologetic approach. But it is not preachy nor moralistic. It simply lays out the honest thoughts of two deep and committed thinkers. Jones includes study questions, quotations and other bits of information throughout the book to help the reader go further with these discussions.

By the end of the book Graffin has not yet "seen the light" but he shows an interest in, an appreciation of, the Christian worldview, and the case Jones seeks to make for it.

And Jones sees in Graffin an intelligent and thoughtful proponent of atheism. The fact that Graffin is willing to dig deep in his reflections and probe thoroughly the big questions of life makes him superior to many believers with their easy believe-ism and shallow, uninformed faith. Indeed, Jones says he is more "at ease with thoughtful atheists than with Christians" who refuse to acknowledge the many challenges and mysteries of life.

At least Graffin is asking the right questions - and the hard, probing questions. Too many believers settle for a simplistic faith that does not grapple with the serious issues of life, be it suffering, doubt or mystery.

Thus Jones is more than happy to enter the intellectual arena with Graffin, and exchange blows. Iron sharpen iron, and believers need the challenge of non-believers to keep them on their theological toes and to keep themselves spiritually fresh and focused.

Many people - believers and nonbelievers alike - are simply not thinking about, and agonising over, the difficult questions of life. But many are. And it is to this later group that a book like this has so much to offer.

Non-believers will find here a case for Christianity that is free of clichés and biblical proof-texting, and one that is based one serious reflection, personal struggle, and solid answers. And believers will find here the thoughts, questions and feelings that many nonbelievers are grappling with. This will challenge them to take their faith more seriously, and remind them that honest questions deserve honest answers.

It is hoped that by reading this book many more such dialogues will begin. We have a lot to learn from each other, and really hearing what people are saying - on both sides of the debate - is an important means by which believers can share their faith and seekers can get some welcome feedback. Let the debate continue.

Gentlemen and scholars
It is rare to find a such balanced and informed discussion regarding religion. The participants pose thier arguments in a friendly manner, but they are both clearly well studied in their respective fields. I'm a Bad Religion fan, and thus am quite familiar with Greg Graffin's opinions. I find Preston Jones quite impressive, he's clearly a devout Christian, but not fundimentalist, and is refreshingly accepting of other ideas. This conversation would have been very different - if not impossible - if it were between Graffin and oh, say, Pat Robertson. What makes this book so engaging is the fact that both men were able to HEAR what the other was saying, then give an informed response without resorting to the name-calling and finger-pointing so prevalent on the cable news networks. This is the kind of debate this country needs.
I read this book at the same time as reading Graffin's PhD thesis, and together they've underscored the fact that my personal beliefs are much more in line with Graffin's than with Jones's. But, while I don't always understand Jones's opinions, I greatly respect him as a scholar and educator.

A model for Christians of reasonable dialogue
If only such life-affirming exchanges as these were commonplace! Preston Jones is to be commended, because he started the exchange and kept it going at an early stage. More than the content of the ideas debated here, Jones has given all Christians in the academic world an awesome model of Christian confidence paired with Christian humility.

There is more to the Christian life than winning debates. There is more to dialogue than debate. And there is more to dialogue with unbelievers than ideas and ideologies. There is also life, and life lived well. When we learn to live in joyful dialogue with those who may be in danger for their very souls, we are beginning to taste the first fruits of heaven, and we are extending the aroma of heaven to those who are perishing.

Is Belief in God ... is therefore to be recommended to all college students looking to bring their brains and faith alike to all the parties they attend.