Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy, and Science

by William A. Dembski (Editor), Michael Licona (Editor)

There have always been challenges to belief in God as he is revealed in the Bible and each new year seems to add more questions to the doubter's arsenal. In Evidence for God, leading apologists provide compelling arguments that address the most pressing questions of the day about God, science, Jesus, the Bible, and more, including

Is Intelligent Design really a credible explanation of the origins of our world?
Did Jesus really exist?
Is Jesus really the only way to God?
What about those who have never heard the gospel?
Is the Bible today what was originally written?
What about recently publicized gospels that aren't in the Bible?
and much more

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Christian, Nonfiction, Science, Christianity, Theology

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2010

About the author

A mathematician and philosopher, Dr. William Dembski has taught at Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Dallas. He has done postdoctoral work in mathematics at MIT, in physics at the University of Chicago, and in computer science at Princeton University. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago where he earned a B.A. in psychology, an M.S. in statistics, and a Ph.D. in philosophy, he also received a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1988 and a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1996. He has held National Science Foundation graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. He is the recipient of a $100,000 Templeton research grant. In 2005 he received Texas A&M’s Trotter Prize.

Dr. Dembski has published articles in mathematics, engineering, philosophy, and theology journals and is the author/editor of over twenty books.

His most comprehensive treatment of intelligent design to date, co-authored with Jonathan Wells, is titled The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems.

As interest in intelligent design has grown in the wider culture, Dr. Dembski has assumed the role of public intellectual. In addition to lecturing around the world at colleges and universities, he is frequently interviewed on the radio and television. His work has been cited in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, including three front page stories in the New York Times as well as the August 15, 2005 Time magazine cover story on intelligent design. He has appeared on the BBC, NPR (Diane Rehm, etc.), PBS (Inside the Law with Jack Ford; Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson), CSPAN2, CNN, Fox News, ABC Nightline, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Reviews

[Tim Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read, with short 3-5 page chapters on a large variety of apologetic arguments for the existence of God under four main headings: questions of philosophy, questions of science, questions about Jesus and questions about the Bible. As the general editor, William Demski, is a well-known intelligent design scientist and apologist, the largest section is the scientific section, though the other three also have solid and well-respected authors.

Hard-core apologists might be frustrated about what each author chooses not to say—one must leave a lot of material on the cutting room floor when writing, say, a three-page essay on the question of suffering as does Bruce Little. But each does take on the main question and most authors do a commendable job of laying out the main questions and best answers for their topic.

The book suffers some from a lack of careful editing in the questions on science. In a book entitled “Evidence for God,” the editors include chapters on evolutionary computation and science, eugenics, and bioethics. These are all interesting and important topics, but are a bit astray of the book’s main topic. This weakness reaches its zenith in Dembski’s chapter that concludes the scientific section: “The Vise Strategy: Squeezing the Truth Out of Darwinists.” The chapter presents a set of questions designed to demonstrate the weakness of Darwinist logic, but is far afield of evidences for the existence of God.

Despite these weaknesses, the book does offer excellent thinking and writing on many difficult questions in small bites that will whet a reader’s appetite to investigate each area more thoroughly. It’s worth the read.

[Rod Innis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of useful information. There were a number of very good contributors. however, there were a few that were weak. One thing that bothers me about old-age creationists ( and there were some in this book) is that they don't explain how or why God took so long or why they reject recent creation. It seems that they just do. When they reject evolution based on irreducible complexity, why reject creation in 6 days?

[Mike Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

An apologetic look at Faith using philosophy, science and history. The arguments vary in complexity. Some of the science arguments require a more than rudimentary knowledge of science. These arguments aren't meant to be a panacea for your doubts they do help explain some of the doubts you may have.

[Ron W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is divided into 50 sections each dealing with various arguments for evidence regarding the existence of the God of the Bible. It likely appeals to a reader interested in apologetics on a more academic level, yet it's still aimed for a lay audience.

[Frank Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good reference, or introductory book on Christian apologetics, designed for Christians. From my perspective, there was very little new in the book, but it was a nice summary and reference. I would be very happy to recommend it to any Christian who is interested in apologetic arguments.

[Michael K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing compilation of essays on the evidence for God.All are great in their own right, most are easy to read, some a bit difficult, but all together they make a great argument for the existence of God. Well worth the time to read and better understand the apologetic side of Christianity!

[Rinstinkt]

The highlight of the book was chapter 26 - The Vise Strategy -Squeezing the Truth Out of Darwinists by WILLIAM A. DEMBSKI.

[Pastoralmusings]

The good folks at Baker have done a great job with Evidence for God. Edited by William A. Dembski and Michael R. Licona, this is a one volume quick reference guide to apologetics.
Contained within the book are fifty articles (as the subtitle states it “arguments”) for faith from the Bible, history, philosophy, and science.
The articles are concise, well-written, and very informative. I cannot imagine finding a better book for those who desire to defend their faith, or strengthen their faith.
Contributors include Craig Blomberg, Andreas Kostenberger, Darrell Bock, Craig Evans, Ben Witherington III, Phillip E. Johnson, and many more. One cannot ask for a better set of writers.
Whether one is dealing with arguments for God (cosmological argument, moral argument) or against God (the problem of evil), this book has a section to address it. There's also a section dealing with science, the impossibility of evolution, and even a chapter that debunks some myths about the “Scopes Monkey Trial”. Wondering about skeptics arguments against Jesus? There's a section filled with information. Finally, there is a section on the Bible, the canon, the reliability of the Bible, inerrancy, and the “Gnostic gospels”.
I cannot speak too highly of this book. I give it a five star ranking only because there aren't ten stars to give.
Disclaimer:
I received this book free from Baker Publishing.  Providing me a free copy in no way guarantees a favorable review.   The opinions expresses in this review are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

[Adam Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes top notch philosophers, scientists, historians, archeologists, etc, and combines some of their essays on topics ranging from the Cosmological Argument all the way to the historical resurrection of Jesus. It is encouraging and emboldening to see such a compilation, written in such a fashion as to be both readily accessible to the lay reader and easily recalled in defense of the faith. I recommend this book highly for a decent understanding of the foundations for the Christian belief, and encourage deeper studies under the respective disciplines of the many authors by reading their further writings which are documented at the end of the book.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're interested in Apologetics you'll like this thorough collection of essays. It's a quick read, but there are few common threads that bind the overall book together which made it hard for me to follow. The entire "Question of Science" section was too deep for this liberal arts major. The arguments in the book have been debated many times over, so I don't see this as a vehicle to change any minds.

[Jerry Blackerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book to study about the evidence for the accuracy of the Bible, God and Jesus. Many different noted Bible Scholars cover the various topics detailing current research, archeology, historical accuracy and reliability, etc. Anyone studying this book with an open mind can learn.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

50 short chapters addressing the most common challenges to the Christian faith. Seems to be particularly aimed at young college students. It would be excellent for them (or anyone else).

[Reitze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a mixed bag. On the whole probably woeth reading.