Reddit reviews Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

I am another Christian who has read it. I know many others who have read it and have come to be more understanding of the atheistic viewpoint. I would also recommend it. :-)

I would also recommend for basic understanding of the Christian viewpoint:

• Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
  
• The Language of God - Francis Collins
  
• Jesus Among Other Gods - Ravi Zacharias
  
• The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel
  

Answers!

>How do you reconcile the problem of evil?

Plantinga's free will defense (which most philosophers consider solving the problem of evil): http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4

>What are your thoughts on the atheist argument of there being hundreds of gods, and that we only believe in one less than you?

It's not a very good argument: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5F-73eMSyA

>What about Yahweh specifically entices you to put faith in that one god out of the many other individual gods and pantheons to choose from?

Well, it's the person of Jesus that entices me. We see the heart of God most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ.

Please understand how broad this question you're asking is. There's not a very good way for me to go about answering it because, am I supposed to go line by line and say, YHWH vs. Allah. YHWH vs Krishna. YHWH vs __. You get the idea. Besides, there's already pretty good book about that, that was written by a man who was raised in Hindu India: http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Among-Other-Gods-Christian/dp/0849943272/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320956328&sr=8-1

> What is your opinion of the theory of evolution?

Evolution is fine. I'd imagine the people you met are fundamentalists, who don't understand that certain passages were written not as historical truth, but as mythic (which isn't to say false) allegory.

In other words, evolution is understood as a biological mechanism. God is the agent which started all natural mechanisms.

> A friend's father once told me, "I believe in God because it comforts me and because I want to believe that there is something more to this world. I can't back it up with evidence, and I probably can't convince you to believe, but it's good enough for me and that's all that matters." To this day, it is the most perfect explanation of personal beliefs that I have ever heard. He relies on faith and faith alone to keep his beliefs, and I have an immense amount of respect for that. Do you agree with him, or do you try to use physical evidence to back up your faith?

I disagree. Faith should have evidence; specifically evidence of things unseen. Jesus explicitly said his followers would be able to do works greater than he. I think that, in the west, Christians have settled for too long for a form of faith that lacks power.

As far as physical evidence is concerned, it's a funny question. On one hand, I don't think physical evidence is a good criteria for judging the truth of something. The positivists made that mistake in the 30's and then were debunked. On the other hand, if a blind man you knew was blind was healed before your very eyes, you wouldn't be able to deny the reality.

Those are my two cents slapped together in 5 minutes. Enjoy.

>I'm looking for a Christian minded book, but preferably one that doesn't just talk about God through Christian legalistic eyes quoting solely scripture, but books that include science and philosophy as well. Or a book that compares religions thoroughly.

I'd recommend this:

Jesus Among Other Gods, Ravi Zacharias

Have you thought about reading any christian theology books? I find reading opposing perspectives and ideas helps to strengthen my own. If I can make a few recommendations...

The Reason for God - Timothy Keller

Jesus Among Other Gods - Ravi Zacharias

The End of Reason - Zacharias

Christian Apologetics - Norman Geisler

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

I would highly recommend everyone read Wayne Grudem's "Christian Beliefs". It's an abbreviated version of "Systematic Theology". Very short but concise overview of basic christian beliefs.

I can only recommend christian material as I haven't read a lot of other religious text. Christianity is the most relevant religion where I live, so understanding has been helpful in conversing with the religious folks around me.

Jesus Among Other Gods

and

Problem of Pain

are two that come to my mind. I think both are great reads for non-believers who were raised Christian or have a solid understanding of Christianity.

> [W]hat makes Christianity the right religion?

I think the arguments for God's existence are strong enough to eliminate all but the major monotheistic religions as candidates for truth, and among these religions I think argument for the unique revelation of the Christian God in the person of Jesus is strong enough to identify Christianity as the most plausible. Christianity presents a coherent worldview and conforms most closely to the reality of our existence.

Ravi Zacharias has addressed this issue far more eloquently than I can in his book Jesus Among Other Gods. If you want a comparison with non-theistic worldviews, he's also written Jesus Among Secular Gods.

> Are Muslims going to hell?

If the claims of Christianity are true and if Muslims do not believe that Jesus is both God's Son and the single effective path to salvation, then yes. If Christianity is not true, then I don't have an answer.

> Why does the Christian god doom 1.8 billion people by birth?

The answer here probably depends on how you conceive of God's foreknowledge. For example, Molinists would hold that God knows how everyone will freely respond to his offer of salvation in any possible circumstance. One could then argue that God therefore places every person who will respond positively in a particular region where and time when they will eventually be granted that opportunity to respond.

Another angle is that even in so-called "closed" countries, the internet is still reaching millions of Muslims every day. And in the absence of the internet, we now read many stories of Muslims having vivid dreams or visions of Jesus. If such dreams are from God, it would appear that Muslims are not "doomed" by their place of birth after all.

The one my friend made me read was "Jesus: Among other Gods"
I read it in sincerity, but unfortunately it was absolute drivel. Then she backed out when I gave her The God Delusion. There really is no better book in my opinion then that one in the current generation of "new atheist" books. Harris is engaging but not always on point. Hitchens is far too arrogant to be accessible. Good luck!

I would encourage you to read Ravi Zacharias' book "Jesus among other Gods" - it lays out the case from the Christian perspective why Christianity is more viable than Islam or any other religion.