Intellectuals Don't Need God and Other Modern Myths - by Alister E McGrath (Paperback)

About the Book

McGrath sees two kinds of obstacles to faith: intellectual barriers and existential, or experiemental ones--the traumas, anxieties, and hopes of life. In this book, he seeks to balance these obstacles with a people-based approach, as he states "Christianity must commend itself in terms of its relevance to life, not just in its inherent rationality".

Book Synopsis

Rethinking Effective Apologetics for the Present Age.

Christians have always had to defend their faith against all kinds of criticism and misunderstandings, but these attacks change overtime, and the strongest arguments of the famous classical apologists who preceded us are not necessarily the strongest today.

Intellectuals Don't Need God is written to today's faithful apologists who are trying to commend Christianity in terms of its relevance to everyday life and not just its inherent rationality. Its focuses are:

• Understanding and overcoming the barriers of faith in today's culture.
• Presenting the points of contact between daily life and spiritual longing.
• Demonstrating the apologetics of today in action.

Theologian and scientist, Dr. Alister McGrath (author of the ECPA 2014 Christian Book Award Winning biography of C. S. Lewis) shows convincingly that appeal to reason is only one of many possible bridges between the non-Christian and the gospel. In today's world, cerebral and emotional concerns--such as a sense that life lacks purpose or a deep sense of longing for something unknown--are often more effective starting points for modern apologetics.

Dr. McGrath combines the clarity of a brilliant scientific mind with a deep commitment to Christ and to reaching non-Christians. Intellectuals Don't Need God is for apologists and seekers alike--for both those defending and questioning the validity and value of Christianity.

From the Back Cover

Intellectuals Don't Need God is for people who are not convinced by the arguments of classical, rationalistic apologetics, for people who feel that Christianity must have a broader appeal that to reason alone if it is to be persuasive to non-Christians. Alister McGrath shows convincingly that reason is only one of many possible points of contact between the non-Christian and the gospel. In today's world, nonrational concerns -- such as a sense that life lacks focus, an unconscious fear of death, a deep sense of longing for something unknown we don't have but know we need -- are much more effective points of contact for apologetics. In this book, Dr. McGrath (who is both a theologian and a scientist with a Ph.D. in microbiology) combines the clarity of a brilliant scientific mind with a deep commitment to Christ and to reaching non-Christians. Intellectuals Don't Need God is for anyone who has questions about the validity of Christianity as well as for students, pastors, and lay leaders. Anyone who works with students and young people especially needs to read this book. As McGrath says, 'apologetics is not about winning arguments -- it is about bringing people to Christ.'