Faitheism: Why Christians and Atheists have more in common than you think

by Krish Kandiah

Over the past decade the Religion vs. Atheism debate has generated a lot more heat than light. With passionate advocates on both sides, it is possible we have lost sight of the real people and problems behind the controversies and conflicts.

Where does the truth lie?

In Faitheism Krish Kandiah asks us to take a long hard look at ourselves - and a more understanding look at each other.

Written for both committed Christians and committed Atheists and everyone in between, this accessible and practical book can help all of us find a way to talk about the things that really matter to us in ways that encourage empathy, mutual understanding and respect and yet that don't shy away from tackling the hard topics. The ideas in this book can transform our relationships, our workplaces and our nation as it lays down a path for a genuinely more inclusive, hospitable and understanding society.

Krish contends that whether you are a Christian, an Atheist or somewhere in between, we can all grow in our own beliefs and understand each other better.

In this challenging exploration of the myths about Christianity and Atheism, time and again we will find the evidence shows that the truth on the ground is not what one might expect - and the potential for genuine understanding is far greater than the antagonists on either side would have you believe.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published March 10, 2020

About the author

Krish is the founding director of Home For Good, a young charity seeking to make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable children by finding loving homes for children in the care system. He is an advocate for fostering and adoption. He has written 13 books including the catalytic "Home for Good: Making a Difference for Vulnerable Children"and the award winning "Paradoxology" and now his latest book "Faitheism: Why Christianity and Atheism have more in common than you think." (Hodder 2018) Dr Kandiah has been published in the Times of London. the Guardian and is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 2.

Dr Kandiah is in demand as a speaker at both national and international conferences. He recently spoke to a full house at TEDxOxford on the topic "Can Hospitality Change the World?" Krish is a consultant offering both creativity and academic reflection to bring strategic change, culture shift and innovation. He has expertise in the overlap between faith and development, faith literacy and communication. Krish is an ambassador for the UK aid and development charity: Tearfund.

Reviews

[Louise Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When we are not afraid to talk about our beliefs, our conversations are richer as a result.”

So is the basis for this thought-provoking book by Krish Kandiah.

Each chapter presents two opposing viewpoints of Christianity vs Atheism for example “Christians are boring / Atheists are fun”. Each one is split into four sections: Collision, Collusion, Contention and Collaboration, exploring different sides to the chapter subject. And what I really liked was that each chapter ended with some discussion questions. I didn’t read this as part of a group, so I just used them as pointers to make me think, but it would be great as part of a reading group.

Filled with personal insights and anecdotes, I found this book really very helpful. I once spent an hour on a train next to a very vocal atheist who was unwilling to listen to anything I said, and had a list of prepared arguments as to why God couldn’t possibly exist. Had I read this book before, I would have been better armed for that conversation.

As well as making me think about the fact that we have “more in common”, the book also challenged some behaviours that we’re all guilty of, and as Christians, maybe should be trying to avoid.

I find myself spending far more time thinking about how I can increase my own personal pleasure than I do thinking about those around me. I am ashamed to say that I am more often inclined to be keeping up with the Joneses, than keeping up with Jesus. “What would the Joneses do?” is often higher on my happiness agenda than “What would Jesus do?”.

I’d recommend this book to anyone, newly Christian or lifelong, whether you speak regularly to atheists or not. I picked up so much from this book that will stay with me and I think most people will be able to do the same.

Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2019/12/30/krish-...

[Owen Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faitheism: Admirable endeavour; restricted execution. I think the core message of the book - to bridge the conflict between those of faith (read:Christianity) and atheists - by showing that the arguments that either side has against each other are either lacking or work both ways, is an important one and one that needs to be spoken more. The arguments that he puts forth are strong in principle, and overall he does achieve what he sets out. However, I believe the strength of the arguments is constrained by two factors. Firstly, he insists on sticking to this strange structure, which he lays out in the introduction, for each chapter; I think this only limits the argument and restricts him from being able to develop each point further - its completely unnecessary. Secondly, I do get the impression that there is a "hidden" agenda such that the books overarching argument is actually "Christians believe this about atheists. Atheists believe this about Christians. They're both either wrong, or hypocrites, therefor their point is invalid. Therefore if you are an atheist you should be Christian" that last point being the true meaning of the book. Thus, in summary, I believe the message of the book is worthwhile, and the arguments are well thought out, but ultimately, it might have been better written by someone else with a more impartial agenda.

[David Meldrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Krish Kandiah goes about things, and this is another excellent book which seeks to provide a context for better conversations to happen between atheists and people of faith - Christians, specifically. As he always has, Krish has an engaging and accessible way of expressing some weighty ideas, and whilst he writes as a Christian he is very fair-minded in his presentations of the different facets of atheism and the weaknesses of some faith perspectives. There are helpful reflection questions at the end of each chapter, and whilst there is much more to say on this subject - it really needs to be one part of a much bigger project or conversation - this is a helpful contribution to a necessary debate.

[Elise Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Krish’s writing and he makes some awesome points in this, so I would recommend reading it. However, despite very openly admitting that he is on the side of Faith in this study, I did find it was so weighted in favour of the Christian perspective that I don’t think the book is as 50:50 as the title suggests. Not a reason to dislike it if you are a Christian reader, but I did struggle with the bias when what I was after was a more neutral argument.

That being said, he quotes a lot of Darwin and does give the Atheist perspective well. I just can’t help but wonder if having an Atheist co-writer would have been more effective.

Overall, I will refer back to this book a lot and recommend reading it. It’s good, but like I say, didn’t do quite what I thought it would.

[David Campton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of this book is an interesting one in this era of increasing antagonism between militant atheists and fundamentalist Christians (nb whilst it refers to "faith" it is largely from the author's own evangelical Christian perspective). He uses what he calls the "Conversation Matrix", a framework frequently used by those engaged in conflict transformation, to analyse and suggest a more productive engagement between atheists and Christians on a number of areas. Sadly the structure became quite frustrating after some time, particularly when there was no clear collaborative strategy evident. That said it is an approach that could profitably be employed in a range of conflicted conversations, not just regarding faith. Another slight annoyance was a range of typos and historical inaccuracies... Krish seems slightly hazy about the period between the renaissance/reformation and start of the so-called age of reason... The Authorised version of the Bible did not influence the language of Shakespeare (although earlier English language versions clearly did) and Thomas More is not an 18th century writer... but that really is nit-picking... but the sort of nit-picking that a good editor should engage in!