Searching for a Better God

by Wade Bradshaw

The questions about God that used to center around his existence are now aimed at his morality the God who permits diseases and natural disasters that kill innocent people; the God that allows brutal dictators to rule with an iron fist. At best this God is aloof and uncaring; at worst he is primitive and cruel. Many of the contemporary generation have concluded, through what is called common sense theology, that we are actually morally superior to God and he is less than inadequate. Even some in the church have begun to suspect this same thing that God just isnt that great. But as people of faith, we have an understanding that helps us bridge the reality of what we see with those realities we do not see. So how are we to communicate that to a skeptical generation?In Searching for a Better God, Wade Bradshaw shows us that the caricatures many have drawn of God are not accurate and God, as described in the Bible, is misunderstood. Ideas about God that at first consideration seem unethical are precisely how we need God to be. He gives us ways to talk to those who doubt Gods character. By thoroughly explaining and examining this contemporary, common sense theology, Bradshaw brings us back to confident hope in God, the perfect and moral God of the Bible.

159 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Stuart Turton · Rating 3 out of 5]

'I could never believe in a god who would create a Hell.'
'I could never love a god so egotistical and power-hungry as to demand worship with fear tactics.'
'I could never respect a god that legislates genocide and endorses misogyny.'

If you've heard these common objections to the Christian God, you are living in the 21st century. That's the claim of Bradshaw's book in its simplest form. He calls it the 'New Story'. According to Bradshaw a shift has taken place. Gone are the days of the 'Old Story' where questions of God's reality were dominant. The New Story shows little regard for whether God exists or not, but instead questions the goodness of such a God. Bradshaw claims that this is history repeating itself, coming full circle on Christianity. In the first three centuries A.D. the fate of the Greek gods were sealed when people perceived themselves as possessing more virtue and honour. Christianity offered the kind of God they were searching for.

Like any movement, the New Story has what Bradshaw calls a 'common-sense theology.' These are the non-negotiable moral issues at stake, ones that make the defence of Christianity a complicated affair. Hell, judgement, evil, authoritarianism, sexual identity, and the exclusivity of Christ are all defeaters for someone who wants to worship a god they can respect and love. Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Verdict isn't going to cut it with these people. Bradshaw says 'we need to start where they are but not stay where they are.' He models this statement throughout the book as he demonstrates how to go about understanding and answering some of these objections.

My major criticism with the book is Bradshaw's inadequate marshalling of evidence to prove his thesis. I accept that Hollywood is a powerful window into our culture, but citing a few lines from a couple films only proves so much. I agree that a healthy chunk of the New Atheism movement centered on exposing the immorality of the Christian God, but they give an enormous amount of time to metaphysical and epistemological questions as well. In the end I was left with too many questions which Bradshaw failed to answer: when and how did Nietzsche's announcement that 'God is dead' become 'God is a monster'? is the abandonment of Greek gods only or mainly explained by this search for a more moral god, or is that historically inaccurate and simplistic? how does the journey of philosophical thought complement the theory? I believe Bradshaw's thesis is correct from my own engagement with the culture, but I still feel that a more academically rigorous book beyond 159 pages was required to adequately prove it.

Lastly, Bradshaw's major strength was also at times a weakness. He is clearly an abstract and creative thinker. This made him refreshing to read for his broad and colourful descriptions of life and culture, and the depth of his illustrations left me mesmerized by some of the threads he was able to weave together. But it also made him difficult to follow. Nevertheless, the book is certainly worth the read.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read on the shift in the current questions about God of our new generation. He diagnoses that the younger generation isn't as much concerned as to whether God exists as much as the God of the Bible isn't as moral as they are. Responds to these questions.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard him at a conference along with Ravi Zacharias and really enjoyed his talks. The book had some good things to say, but I felt it was somewhat disjointed and I wasn't always sure what his main point was.

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book pulls out the questions which, culturally, we are asking of God, and answers them with surprising clarity, in the vein of C.S. Lewis.

[Shawn slate]

discusses the "new story" that Western Culture is telling about God. That we are more moral than He.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

good info and very valuable