REASONS FOR THE CHRISTIAN HOPE
By Gannon Murphy
Mentor. 176 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978-1-84550-466-3
In Reasons for the Christian Hope, Gannon Murphy provides a philosophical Christian response to the enduring questions of God’s existence, evil, suffering and other religions.
In addition to these classic issues, the book also very helpfully addresses why God doesn’t show himself more clearly, what gives meaning and identity to a person, and how we should respond to postmodernism. The arguments are clear and persuasive, and are supported and illustrated by a wide range of thinkers and writers spanning the centuries, from Plato and Pascal to Ian McEwan and Richard Dawkins. The result is a book which is informative, stimulating, engaging, and contemporary in feel, with references to 9/11 and the film Fight Club sitting alongside Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Gannon manages to cover a lot of ground in a few pages, and the accessible way he summarises complex arguments means the book has potential to serve as a primer in Christian apologetics.
