Arguing Religion

by Robert Barron

Every day, millions of people fight about religion. Whether with friends, family, or on social media, we expend lots of energy, lots of sharp words, and lots of strong feelings. But very few know how to have a good religious argument a rational, respectful, and productive exchange of differing views.

Bishop Robert Barron, one of the leading Catholic figures in the world and among the most active on social media, has enjoyed thousands of fruitful religious arguments. In this book based on talks delivered at Facebook and Google, he explains why religion at its best opens up the searching mind, and how we all believer and unbeliever alike can share better discussions about God.

Genres: Religion, Catholic, Theology, Christianity, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Spirituality

159 pages, Hardcover

First published December 4, 2018

About the author

Bishop Robert Emmet Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is the former Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago and also is the founder of Word On Fire (www.WordOnFire.org).

Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking ten-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith. He is a passionate student of art, architecture, music and history, which he calls upon throughout his global travels in the making of the documentary.

Word On Fire programs are broadcast regularly on WGN America, Relevant Radio, CatholicTV, EWTN, the popular Word on Fire YouTube Channel, and the Word on Fire website, which offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, and over ten years of weekly sermon podcasts. In 2010, Father Barron was the first priest to have a national show on a secular television network since the 1950s.

Fr. Barron received his Masters Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC in 1982 and his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at the nation's largest Catholic seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. He was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.

In addition, Fr. Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. Cardinal Francis George calls Fr. Barron “one of the Church’s best messengers.

Fr. Barron was baptized at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago and grew up at St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, Illinois.
WordOnFire.org - Fr. Barron's website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.
TV - EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Fr. Barron's DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.

Radio - Since 1999, Fr. Barron's weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio - 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Fr. Barron also is a regular commentator on the "Busted Halo Show" on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.

DVDs - Fr. Barron's DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness.

YouTube - With over 180 online video commentaries by Fr. Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel's The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series "The Sopranos", "Rome" and more.

Missions - MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Fr. Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.
Books - His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that h

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book that Bp. Barron wrote based off the content of his presentations at a few popular tech companies (he's also spoken at Amazon, which funny enough was for the book).

His main message is an outcry that it seems like it's getting harder and harder to have real, honest discussions about faith, philosophy, and morality. Oftentimes, I've seen myself that discussions quickly turn into yelling full of ad hominem attacks. There's simply no effort to try and approach from a middle ground and make a solid, real argument.

Bp. Barron spends half of the book laying the ground work for how to approach a religious argument from any perspective and the other half is spent introducing a case for a more complex God than the stereotypical 'man in the sky'. My favorite thing of this work in particular is that Bp. Barron despises and criticizes weak or simple arguments for religion, it only gives people more reason to make fun of religion and less reason to take it seriously.

[Dan Harazin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Robert Barron, subscriber to Catholicism or any Christian denomination, or even a non-religious person who prefers rational debate and discussion across differences vs. the vitriol-filled shouting matches that are so common today, this book is for you.

[Oscar Martinez II · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but thoughtful work by the articulate and well-read Bishop Robert Barron. This book is a bit more for laypeople, in order to change their perspective on religious conversion and religion in general, than it is for those who are well versed in the Faith but even then it still has a good amount to offer more experienced believers.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is all good stuff. I've seen a trend. We're not talking to one another, and it seems to be getting worse. Robert Barron has some good ideas how to get the conversation going. More, how to make the conversation productive. Recommended.


Notes:

recommended by Ben Shapiro

Kindle

"Far from shutting down the mind--as is so often claimed be its critics--religion expands the mind as pushes it ever further, toward a proposition infinite goal." (2)

Section One: How to Have a Religious Argument (2)

Argument as the opposite of conflict (2)

Ch. 1: Faith is not Opposed to Reason (6)

Preambula fidei= preambles to the faith -- Aquinas

Manaductio= leading by the hand (10)

The separating claim of the Abrahamic religions -- God has spoken (10)

Ch. 2: Overcoming Scientism (17)

Ch. 3: Be Intolerant of Toleration (27)

Hyper-valorization of tolerance (27)

"John Rawls, the massively influential American political philosopher, moved along similar lines. He proposed that a perfectly just society would be one established by public-minded people operating behind what he famously termed, "a veil of ignorance". This means that the constructors of just social arrangements would, as it were, blind themselves to their own private points of view, prejudices, and understanding of the world, so as not to impose illegitimately on others. They would accept only the most abstract principles of fairness that could be reasonable applied to everyone, no matter their particular preference and viewpoints" (31)

"Argument is the way to turn fierce opponents into allies" (36)

Ch. 4: Avoid Voluntarism (37)

Voluntarism is the view that things are true because I want them to be true (37)

Personal note: Wow. Barron gives Calvinism as an example of the above. "A God seen as oppressive and arbitration in his freedom..." (39)

Ch. 5: Seek to Understand your Opponent's Position (46)

Ch. 6: Follow the Example of Thomas Aquinas (51)

Nothing is too dangerous to talk about (53)

Our religious discussions today would be far more fruitful if all parties would be willing to formulate their opponents' positions as respectfully and convincingly as possible (54)

Section Two: Religion and the Opening Up of the Mind (60)

Wittgenstein said that much of philosophy consists in "showing the fly the way out of the fly-bottle" (65)

Ch. 7: An Arguments for God's Existence (66)

Barron gives the argument from contingency/first mover

Ch. 8: Elijah and the Priests of Ba'al (81)

Ultimately, Thomas Aquinas argues, all human agents -- saints and sinners, the compassionate and the wicked -- are motivated by a desire for the joy and peace of beatitudo (89)

We are wired for God, but we hook our longing for the infinite good onto some finite object that can never, even in principle, satisfy that longing (95)

And so the paradox: happiness is never a function of filling oneself up; it is a function of giving oneself away (98)

Chapter 9: The Burning Bush (100)

A church that never imposes its point of view but rather proposes it -- with creativity and intellegence (111)

[Mary A Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bishop is on to something

I am in a lay ministry two year course in NC . I am also studying to become a lay Carmelite. I have been reading Romans and lots of books on Salvation History and I need to learn more about my faith. I am very interested in being able to discuss my faith without fighting. This book gives me hope that I can accomplish this. Very readable book.

[Bernardo Trindade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for religious and non-religious people alike. Written with great style, it describes the right attitude required to have a proper discussion not only about religion but about anything that matters, and proceedes to show that true faith is indeed grounded on reason spanning from science to how we get to know and trust someone.

[Phillip Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Short book that captures the sophistication of the Catholic Faith and puts it up against the edge of secularism in presentations at two corporate bastions. With his signature eloquence, Bishop Barron is powerfully compelling as an Ambassador for Christianity and an Evangelist sharing the good news with good-natured argument. Love it.

[Marcos Junior · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro organiza as palestras que o Bispo Barron fez no Facebook e no Google. O autor entendeu que estava se dirigindo a uma público majoritariamente ateu ou não-religioso e por isso mesmo buscou ter na construção da possibilidade do diálogo sobre religião sua grande meta. Esta é a principal tese de seu pequeno livro: que não só deve-se discutir religião como esta discussão é absolutamente necessária nos dias de hoje. Para isso, os próprios religiosos precisam entender os limites e fugir da tentação de impor sua visão. O outro impedimento a ser evitado é o da indiferença, a crença que nada disso importa porque se trata de uma questão pessoal de cada um. A religião é uma forma de ver o mundo e não pode ser empurrada para dentro da casa como um hobby, ela faz parte da vida pública de uma sociedade.

Barron apresenta também as regras básicas para que a discussão possa acontecer e um arquétipo de um pensador que era capaz de lidar com argumentos em contrário e promover uma síntese possível. Trata-se de São Tomás de Aquino, um filósofo e teólogo medieval que tinha uma mente muito mais aberta para uma verdadeira discussão do que qualquer especialista tolerante da modernidade. No fim, não deixa de defender as bases da fé cristã, mas não a coloca como uma vontade irracional. Ao contrário, pacientemente apresenta razões que justificam e explicam sua crença no Deus bíblico. Mais que isso, Barron mostra que os católicos não podem passar a vida discutindo entre si e escondendo suas convicções para as demais pessoas. Tem que ter confiança e, para isso, precisam estudar as razões de sua própria fé.

[Ioana Barcan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, well organised and (maybe too) concise, Bishop Barron's book treats some of the "burning" topics of today, like science vs. religion and "hyper-"tolerance, and he does this by referencing A LOT of philosophers, both ancient and modern.

However, many times I felt like I needed to know more about some idea that was only briefly mentioned. Every chapter could be (and maybe "should" be) a book of it's own, I know... But even if the space (and conference-like tone) of the book didn't allow going into very much depth, maybe at least a paragraph-long description of any mentioned idea would've made more sense. To lazy-me, at least, who doesn't like to stop reading in order to google stuff 😅.

[Michael Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bishop Barron is always eloquent, but I expected this to be fairly bland and standard fare. Pleasantly surprised at the depth of the work, including an interesting summation of an argument for the existence of God as well as some neat biblical exegesis.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A revised recitation of talks he gave at Facebook and Google, Bishop Barron presents an intelligent and compelling argument for the public discussion of religious principles, and the ultimate reasonableness of the Christian viewpoint.

It's a small book and a quick read, but the deep thinking contained within will likely best be served by regular rereading.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of Bishop Barron's thoughts on how to have a constructive conversation with those whose beliefs differ from your own, as well as some introduction to philosophy and a few of the reasons he maintains his Christian viewpoint over atheism and secularism.

[Paul Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eloquent piece of advice about how to be really human...to share our perspectives, our beliefs, our view of the purpose of life with others without resorting to a mute tolerance that defaults on learning,

[Annie Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bishop Barron is articulate, wise, and winsome. Everything he writes is helpful for those who want to find ways to build bridges between people of faith and our secular culture.

[Jason Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly rich and deep little book about commonsense strategies for arguing religion online and the validity of belief in God which makes this exercise worthwhile.

[MJF Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking

A clear and precise to those who think that religion is irrational and fanatical. As the author states, it can, in fact, open up the mind, in wonderful ways.

[Emily Montellano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good commentary on HOW to have a religious argument.

Very important point: Religion is not based on no evidence whatsoever. Anyone who makes this claim has not read enough. There is absolutely NO sacrifice of the intellect. If anything, religion requests, asks, begs that you use all of your intellect to arrive at the fullness of Truth.

He starts with this:
Our culture no longer retains the ability to have a religious argument - we just result in yelling and whoever yells the loudest “wins.” This approach causes minds to shut down and conversation to not even begin.
It has resulted in Voluntarism - “I get that that’s your truth and I respect that, but this is my truth.”
Bishop Barron asserts that this loss of the quest for Truth has led us down a perilous path. People searching for truth and happiness but stop at their own personal interpretation of it rather than continually searching for the Truth.

He makes an important statement that “Nones (the non-affliated)” need to hear: “Have Christians been guilty of being contradictory? Yes. And I say it to our shame.”

Bishop Barron is very truthful and upfront about the shortcomings of the Church; He is very well read, a very good writer and articulated his points well. It’s worth your time.

This is worth a read for anyone and everyone who is even .001% interested in religion, even if your religion is “I don’t have a religion.”

John Henry Newman says, “Faith is the reasoning of a religious mind.”

No questions are off limits. Ask away.

St. Thomas Aquinas in the 1200s, a friar, posed and responded to the question in his largest work “Summa Theologia” - “Does God exist?” If he can ask that question as part of the religious community, surely you can ask any question.

After you read this book I encourage you to checkout Bishop Barron’s site Word On Fire and Catholic.com. It’s a good start for answering any questions you have.

Both of these sites have podcasts which are a great resource too.

If you want to go straight to the source, the Catechism of the Catholic Church comprises all of the official teachings of the Church with cross references.


Happy reading!

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2017, Bishop Robert Barron was invited to Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley to give a presentation. He decided to talk about one of the great challenges of our time, how to have a civil conversation on a topic people disagree on, in this case, religion. He was then invited to Google where he talked about how religion opens up the intellectual world, not closes it down. These two talks have been combined into this short book.

A lot of fruitless encounters happen on-line, with people virtually shouting at each other. Barron has experienced this first hand as he engages the broader culture through social media. He makes a lot of great points about how religion is falsely perceived in our culture (like it isn't rational or it is a private matter not meant for public discourse) and shows ways that can bear a lot of fruit in mutual understanding, a requisite first step in persuading other people about anything. He urges readers to follow the example of Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century theologian and philosopher. Aquinas often quoted others he did not entirely agree with, like the ancient Greek pagan Aristotle, the medieval Jewish thinker Maimonides, and the medieval Muslim philosopher Avicenna. Aquinas found good and salient points in these thinkers and was able to integrate them into his own thought, even if he didn't agree with their conclusions or some of their principles. Thomas is a model of fruitful intellectual dialogue.

In the second part of the book, Barron describes how human nature is aimed at the true and the good because we humans have intellect and will. We want to know the truth because it is good in and of itself. Everyone desires happiness even if they don't all agree on what creates happiness. Barron explores the classical ideas of human fulfillment (wealth, power, prestige/honor, pleasure) and how they are never fully satisfying. They are all finite goods that cannot give full satisfaction. Only an ultimate good will ultimately satisfy our longing for goodness, for happiness.

The book reads very quickly and is very on-point. Barron's text is persuasive and concise. This is well worth reading.

Highly recommended.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is divided into two parts: the first is titled "How to Have a Religious Argument," and the second is titled "Religion and the Opening Up of the Mind." I thought the first section was absolutely spot-on, identifying the problems that tend to make it nearly impossible to have a rational discussion about religion these days - everything from the perceived (but not real) divide between faith and reason; scientism; "toleration" (but not really); and voluntarism. He also offers a couple of tips on how to approach these kinds of discussions, such as truly listening to the people who disagree with you, acknowledging the good in their arguments (whether partial truths or good motivations), and formulating their positions as strongly as possible (i.e., the opposite of straw-man). This section alone is worth the price of the book.

The second section is more theological, showing that far from putting reason aside, thinking through religious belief is a mind-opening exercise. While this is important, I found it somewhat harder to follow than the first section, especially since it is largely more of a case study in actually making a rational religious argument (e.g., for the existence of God, and for the notion of the ultimate good) than describing the context and conditions of theology or religious discussion.

Overall I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to understand why religious discussion is so frequently divisive, and is looking for insight into how we can work towards a healthier way of tackling the important questions that philosophy and theology typically address.

[Liam Byrnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having not heard Bishop Barron's talks at Facebook or Google, I was expecting an accessible text written for a broader audience. Given the title, I was also expecting an extensive dialogue about practical steps for approaching a conversation. This book did not meet either of my expectations. What it was instead was a fascinating summation of major religious thinkers and their arguments for the existence of God. Bishop Barron is an extremely gifted writer and theologian, and he seamlessly distills and connects major arguments from philosophers like Paul Tillich, Thomas Aquinas, and C.S. Lewis, to name a few. He does discuss some practical ideas for approaching a religious argument, but this occurs almost exclusively a five-page chapter entitled "Seek to Understand Your Opponent's Position."

Ultimately, I was hoping this book would be one I could recommend to religious and non-religious young adults my age to open their mind and consider new religious perspectives. However, the density and lack of colloquial language in this text make that impractical. This book does serve an educational purpose, but it's not the purpose I was anticipating or hoped for.

[Eileen O'Finlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge fan of Bishop Barron's work, I enjoyed reading this book. I appreciated that the impetus for it came from interviews he did with Google and Facebook. In the current social media climate where disagreements quickly devolve into non-productive, potentially damaging insults and name-calling, it is refreshing to have a voice advocating for sensible argument. Not argument in the sense of having a fight, but in the sense of two people who disagree on something (in this case, religion) relating their reasons, thoughts, beliefs, etc. for one another to respectfully and thoughtfully debate like rational, mature adults.

My only caveat in recommending this book is that one may need some background in philosophy and/or theology to understand it. It is not a book to whip through, but rather one to take one's time with in order to fully understand and ponder what is written.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who are you arguing to and how to get your point across

Bishop Baron does a wonderful job of explaining the faith with vigor and zeal. But this to me can only be seen because I am of the faith. His introduction states that the book came about through discussions that he had with members of the community at Silicon Valley specifically at Google and Facebook. These individuals live in the world and are of the world and I found the first section to have been overburdened with theological jargon which confused me as to how to open myself to reasoning with people not of the faith. The second section was written more openly to the understanding of the Church and the Church fathers who gave us the clear understanding of what God wants from us and for us.

[Dcn. Benj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and enjoyable little read. Some big words, some large concepts, but explained in a chewable, digestible sort of way. It’s really a summary and a proposition. A summary of foundational religious arguments. A proposition that we ought to argue religion, and ought to do it in a well meaning, intelligent way. Religious argument has a place at the American dinner table, and this book might be the appetizer needed to get it there.

I’d recommend this to any Catholic (or Christian) curious of how to begin arguing religion (myself included). I’d recommend it also to the Catholic half-convinced. It’s a delightful and quick read, though heady at times.

[Jaclyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, succinct, and to the point, but immensely readable like all of Bishop Barron’s books. He has been graced with the ability to encourage each person to seek out the best in life, especially when our culture is leading them down the wrong path. More importantly, if you are tired of the slinging insults so readily thrown in todays landscape of social media and yearn to have a good discussion, read this book. Then pass it on to a friend because a good discussion must needs more than one person!

[Annie Ragus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing that kept me from 5 stars was the vocabulary. There were a lot of words that I had to look up. This is not a comment toward the author as much as it is vocabulary itself LoL. I didn't know there were such words in some cases! Had it not been for the vocabulary, I would have finished this book in less than a day. Looking words up is something I do all the time no matter what book I read. Again, this is the only thing that slowed me down. This book is small but mighty, and I definitely learned a lot. Makes me appreciate it all the more.

[robert pellegrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

BishopBarronathisbest

The title is a bit misleading as the brilliant Bishop argues about religion more than once. Also, his perspective on our youth and religion seems a bit outdated, declaring that they are much less interested in religion than previous generations, witnessing the huge crowds of young people flocking to the papal gatherings of our youth and more recently the outpouring of youthful interest in God after the senseless assassination of Charlie Kirk. The book still has enough good things in it to make reading it worthwhile.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the title, I expected the book to be about how to argue religion. Instead, I felt that it was more about the importance that we continue to argue for religion and what it stands for in our lives. The book was also more philosophical than I expected and required a higher level of thinking than I was prepared for going into it. That is not to say this is a bad book. Barron does a very good job arguing religion. It just was not what I expected.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book hits an interesting sweet spot of being presented with deep logical arguments to resonate with an academic and intelligent audience. I’m not sure if I’m satisfied with the short and succinct arguments presented but I would assume this was a very strategic choice to get people thinking about religion and God in a new way. Definitely felt like it ended way to soon but surely left me curious.

[David Szatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book that encourages dialogue and dispels the false dichotomy between faith and reason. Bp. Barron shows not only why the separation is false, but makes arguments that faith necessarily needs reason to develop fully. He also helps the reader to understand traditional metaphysical questions about the arguments for God that are intelligible in contemporary language.

[Dave Hutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!

Bishop Baron is so well educated and a true intellectual. Yet he conveys teachings in a manner so readable and understandable to all. His writings are must read books.