Believing Philosophy: A Guide to Becoming a Christian Philosopher

by Dolores G. Morris

Philosophy has been a part of Christianity since its earliest days, and theistic philosophy predates Christianity by thousands of years. But Christians today often don't realize or are skeptical of all that philosophy can offer them. Believing Philosophy introduces Christians to philosophy and the tools it provides to believers, helping them understand, articulate, and defend their faith in an age of unbelief.

In Part 1 of the book, author Dolores G. Morris explains why Christians should read and study philosophy. She begins with a helpful historical overview of Christian philosophy from the church fathers to contemporary philosophers and then introduces the basic resources of philosophical reasoning: the role and aim of reason, distinctions between truth and reason and provability, and learning to read like a philosopher. These chapters address three foundational questions:



What is philosophy?

Why should a Christian study philosophy?

How should a Christian study philosophy?
In Part 2, Morris introduces students to philosophical arguments and questions relevant to Christians. She presents arguments by three key branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, and practical philosophy. Building on concepts introduced in Part 1, she explains what philosophical arguments are and how they ought to be evaluated from a philosophical and Christian perspective. The following chapters examine specific questions most pressing for Christians today:


The problem of evil
Rationality and faith
Free will
Skeptical theism
The moral argument for the existence of God
Reformed epistemology
Each chapter introduces the problem, explains Christian responses, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each response, and leaves the final verdict to the reader. Finally, each chapter concludes with a list of recommended further readings.

Genres: Philosophy, Christian, Nonfiction, Theology

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 23, 2021

Reviews

[Miguel Benitez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introduction to reading and studying philosophy as a Christian. She also tackles the problem of evil and presents the moral argument for God’s existence all the while maintaining the humble and charitable posture Christian philosophers ought to have.

[Josh Loomis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morris does an admirable job creating a need for more Christians to think philosophically.

She provides helpful and easy to follow explanations for difficult questions that can be accessed by most who have little to no background in philosophy.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote Dolores to say that at first I felt as if she was writing this book for me--and probably many readers felt the same way. The middle chapters on deductive and inductive arguments were more difficult and in the preface, she advised skipping those chapters unless you were reading them with a class or with others. That was enough to challenge me to read them anyway! They were difficult but I appreciated the references to deductive and inductive thinking in the last chapters on the problem of evil and moral values in which inductive thinking prevails.

She writes that the strongest arguments are inductive. "That is...how philosphy works. Evidence is presented, arguments are considered, and at the end of the day some disagreement remains. And if that is the case why bother?....The questions are valuable. And seeking answers to these questions is valuable, even more value in community."

So I am very glad I worked though this valuable book even if it was a challenge for me to read at times. I have already ordered one of the books she mentions so my journey into philosophy or at least reading about philosophers will continue.

[Neh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part 1 is excellent. It's a very friendly and parent-like and semi-scholarly intro to philosophy. It is worth perusing it. Examples of dialogues are quite great illustrations for the topics at hand. Including that, it is a very accessible book.

Part 2 deals with the problem of evil and the argument from morality for theism. The skeptical theist chapter is exactly what I have been holding but the author articulated it so well. (I couldn't put it down past mid-night because I was so engaged! Up to here, 5 stars.)

Obviously, apologetics is one of the telos of the book (or a semi-hidden agenda), but inductive arguments brought up in the latter part of the book sounded extremely reminiscent of the presuppositional apologetics. Maybe the author wanted to attenuate fitting mentions of the Bible verses...I still prefer biblical presuppostional apologetics. (I didn't think the last two chapters or so were not as impactful, and hence 4 stars overall.)

[Ryan Geer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entire book is incredibly well-written and accessible. In particular, chapter 1 (Why Philosophy?) and chapter 10 (Skeptical Theism) were particularly helpful to me. If I understand Morris' purpose (or at least one of them!) in writing this book—that is, too create a desire and a sense of being able to read further in philosophy—she crushed it.
A couple of the things that rang true for me were the generosity she showed those she was refuting and the humility with which she approached the material.
I'll be recommending this book (and probably buying and sending a couple copies) to every one I can.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having joined and enjoyed an online philosophy forum in which Dolores Morris was speaking, I bought this book in follow up.
It is a very accessible read introducing why those with Christian faith should not be dismissive or scared by philosophy. There are helpful chapters on how to think philosophically and the value of this. The last part of the book draws the reader into considering the topics of suffering and of moral values and what can be inferred or deduced about the existence or non existence of God.

[Michael Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone interested in understanding what philosophy is and how it can help deepen and enliven one's faith. The first part of the book focuses on the nature of philosophy, responds to several Christian objections to it, and teaches some basic principles about how to do philosophy. Part 2 looks at the problem of evil and the manner in which objective morality is evidence for, but not a proof of, the existence of God. A great introduction to what philosophy is, and how to do it well.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge, immense props to D. Morris! She wants readers to be Christian and to think logically, philosophically. I am already Christian; her work informs me and helps me feel more equipped to undergird my faith with logic.

Her book is worth reading for any thinking Christian. And every Christian ought to be a thinking Christian. That's a preference, not an argument; it's an 'is' v. 'ought.' You have to read the book to understand.