Rating: 
Summary: God does NOT believe in atheists.
Review: After doing some research that and finding some rather weak arguments against atheism, I found a website that advertised books they claimed avoided the dumbing down of Christianity. I'm pleased to say the company (and the author) delivered. This book covers atheism on both a scientific and philosophical ends. The first half covers most of the school's of thought that one would expect to hear about in a college philosophy class. The lamblast against secular-humanism was probably one of the best I've read. He also refuted moral relativism and such with some of the common theistic rebuttals. There was also a nice history-of-thinking lesson. Probably one of the best points he made was where he showed how even the most strident skeptics aren't content to live with moral relativity while still standing on soapboxes about God's non-existence. The scientific half was mind-blowing though. From his book, I wouldn't call him a full-fledged young earth creationist, but believe it or not he still makes a strong anti-evolution argument in his "impossible things for breakfast" chapter which alone should be enough to get some head-scratching. However his section on the existence of matter brings out arguments I hadn't seen yet. His argument is that certain critical-for-life aspects of physics could not have just 'happened' and neither we nor the universe would be here had other forces been slightly weaker or stronger. The book avoids any mention of Christ until the last chapter, but it's here that the author concludes his book with a lengthy and well thought out exhortation for salvation. Something I wish more skeptics would seriously consider. However, I will agree with the author just below me. If you're an honest skeptic (unlike many of those who reviewed this book but evidently don't like to read) and you're researching Christian theism, this may not be the best book for you. There are probably dozen other books out there that might be a better defense/explanation of Christianity as opposed to an argument against atheism if that makes any sense. I'd recommend this book for any Christian though. Although it might be a rough start if you've never read any apologetics, I'd say it's a must if Apologetics is something you're serious about.
Rating:
Summary: A REASONED AND CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO ATHEISM
Review: An excelletn book for both atheists and Christians. Christians, read this book and see how John Blanchard responds to tough-blanked questions posed by atheists in order to defend their religion. With no punches pull, Blanchard objectively defends the truth of Christianity and attack the irrationality of atheism. Christians and open-minded scoffers and skeptics should read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly the best, but...
Review: As far as I know, this is the best book on Christian apologetics there is. In this book, Blanchard gives a fascinating tour of his view of the origins and history of atheistic thought in areas of philosophy, science, religion, etc., at the same time exposing their major weaknesses. He then leads the reader to the Christian view of theism, including major arguments for and against it. I found this book a most refreshing and interesting read, despite the difficulty of many of the subjects covered. It is rare to find philosophical arguments put forth in an easy-to-comprehend manner, and Blanchard did it brilliantly. His excellent coverage of technical and scientific issues were also easily grasped and understood by a layman. The approach of the book requires that the reader read it like a novel -- from start to finish. And the best thing is that it was so engaging that it did read like a novel (for me at least)! It was quite hard to put it down. Since this book is not meant as a pure reference book (IMO) where you jump to a particular topic and draw conclusions from there (unless you've already read the whole book previously), one can safely ignore the reviews from those who haven't read it from start to finish. The only flaw in this diamond is that a number of the author's arguments presented are not watertight. Many of the arguments are based on probability and likelihood (which he readily admits), which are not enough convince the dedicated atheist, although enough to sway a sufficiently reasonable and open-minded person. Perhaps I'm being too nitpicky by giving only 4 stars :) That said, I find that this is still an excellent book, made even better by its readability. Any one interested in Christian apologetics MUST read this.
Rating: 
Summary: Tell a little lie for JESUS
Review: Found this on the remnant table of a local bookstore. Even a quick scan shows this volume is a shallow attack on strawman arguments. This book offers very weak arguments, or at least poorly constructed ones, regardless of your views on religion. If I were religious, I would be ashamed of books like this.
Rating: 
Summary: Preaching to the choir
Review: I am interested in and not at all antagonistic to theism, so I came to this book hoping it might shed some light on deep questions. Sadly, it doesn't. The author starts as he means to go on, framing his notion of God in such a way that pious Jews, Muslims and even many Christians would have to be called atheists. This may tell us something about the author but nothing about theism or atheism. He does seem to be widely-read. The level is about that of Reader's Digest, but not so rigorous. Hume, who raised questions that philosophers are still working out, is summarized and dismissed in two pages; Kant gets four. The Foreword likens this to 'a college course on philosophy'. Reading it reminded me of nothing so much as a primer of philosophy I once came across by a Catholic priest of the old school, for whom all thinking since Aquinas was self-evidently wrong and pernicious. How did he know? Well, that's what he'd been taught in seminary. In a word, this author knows the answers before he asks the questions. If you also know the answers (and they're the same ones) you may find his approach congenial. The author seems to be a creationist of sorts; although, after devoting two chapters to this monumental non-problem and disparaging everyone from Darwin to the Leakeys, he never quite commits himself. The chapter on the modern argument from design is worth looking at if you haven't read those books with 'God' in the title by Paul Davies (who would certainly count as an atheist by this author's lights). Despite the blurb, the book has nothing but hair-splitting to contribute to the old conundrum of a loving, omnipotent God who tolerates natural evil, or the slightly less obvious stumbling-block of an omniscient God who is forever tinkering with his Creation. And the author thinks atheists have problems. It has to be possible to do better than this. I recommend the writings of John Polkinghorne, mathematical physicist turned Anglican priest, who recognizes a credibility gap when he sees one and credits others with the same integrity as himself.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Overview
Review: I found this to be an excellent overview of the subject. Remember (other reviewers) that it is more in depth than most overviews of the subject, but it is by no means exhaustive. I have found in my study of the topic (really any topic) that no single book can cover everything at complete length. This book however, covers most of the main issues related to the topic in enough detail to raise questions and peak further interest in the mind of truly open-minded, rational thinkers. I found most of the argumentation sound and without problems with regard to the rules of logic and reasoning. Use it as a starting point for further study. Like other reviewers, I think this is a must for all Christians. When I was finished reading it my faith was definitely strengthened. I have also used the arguments and information in this book springboards into discussing the subject with other intelligent, logical, rationally thinking atheists, with good results.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Overview
Review: I found this to be an excellent overview of the subject. Remember (other reviewers) that it is more in depth than most overviews of the subject, but it is by no means exhaustive. I have found in my study of the topic (really any topic) that no single book can cover everything at complete length. This book however, covers most of the main issues related to the topic in enough detail to raise questions and peak further interest in the mind of truly open-minded, rational thinkers. I found most of the argumentation sound and without problems with regard to the rules of logic and reasoning. Use it as a starting point for further study. Like other reviewers, I think this is a must for all Christians. When I was finished reading it my faith was definitely strengthened. I have also used the arguments and information in this book springboards into discussing the subject with other intelligent, logical, rationally thinking atheists, with good results.
Rating:
Summary: The author is purposely deceptive.
Review: I got this book from a friend after he ended his own life. I knew it was written by a Christian and after skimming the table of contents I also knew it was nothing more than Christian [hoopla] embedded in a plethora of historical references in the attempt to make it appear as if the author had "done his homework" and yet the author spends an inordinate amount of time surveying history without showing how that disproves atheism or proves any deities exist. I suppose he knows that his constituents won't mind that at all. So, I jumped to the end and tried to get to his main point - his knockout punch and here are a couple of things he had to say. He brings up the argument from evil but oddly he spends page after page digging through ancecdote after anecdote and pointing out this and that but never gets around to showing how the argument from evil is flawed. Strangely, he inverts the argument from evil and uses it to prove God exists. Here is his first premise in his new argument from evil. 1 If God does not exist, transcendent, objective values of good and evil do not exist. Talk about a non sequitor... He also commits the "no true Scotsman" fallacy by claiming no true Christian ever committed any atrocities throughout history. Extremists and those of other religions committed them. He even has the nerve to claim that atheism has claimed more lives in the last 100 years than religion has in the last 2000! He equates the Nazi movement of Hitler with atheism even though it is known that Hitler was a Christian and he believed he was doing what God wanted since the Jews rejected Jesus the Jews became the enemy. With so many logic errors and so much disinformation within the span of only a couple of pages, why would any conscientious reader take the time to plow through the almost 600 pages? The last page ends with the grand conclusion that Jesus is God and God is Jesus and there is no other option. My, oh my! What's an atheist to do? Save your money. There are real scholars to be read and Blanchard is not one of them. Tim
Rating:
Summary: The author is purposely deceptive.
Review: I got this book from a friend after he ended his own life. I knew it was written by a Christian and after skimming the table of contents I also knew it was nothing more than Christian [hoopla] embedded in a plethora of historical references in the attempt to make it appear as if the author had "done his homework" and yet the author spends an inordinate amount of time surveying history without showing how that disproves atheism or proves any deities exist. I suppose he knows that his constituents won't mind that at all. So, I jumped to the end and tried to get to his main point - his knockout punch and here are a couple of things he had to say. He brings up the argument from evil but oddly he spends page after page digging through ancecdote after anecdote and pointing out this and that but never gets around to showing how the argument from evil is flawed. Strangely, he inverts the argument from evil and uses it to prove God exists. Here is his first premise in his new argument from evil. 1 If God does not exist, transcendent, objective values of good and evil do not exist. Talk about a non sequitor... He also commits the "no true Scotsman" fallacy by claiming no true Christian ever committed any atrocities throughout history. Extremists and those of other religions committed them. He even has the nerve to claim that atheism has claimed more lives in the last 100 years than religion has in the last 2000! He equates the Nazi movement of Hitler with atheism even though it is known that Hitler was a Christian and he believed he was doing what God wanted since the Jews rejected Jesus the Jews became the enemy. With so many logic errors and so much disinformation within the span of only a couple of pages, why would any conscientious reader take the time to plow through the almost 600 pages? The last page ends with the grand conclusion that Jesus is God and God is Jesus and there is no other option. My, oh my! What's an atheist to do? Save your money. There are real scholars to be read and Blanchard is not one of them. Tim
Rating:
Summary: Are There Atheists?
Review: In this book, Blanchard gives a fascinating tour of his view of the origins and history of atheistic thought in areas of philosophy, science, religion, etc., at the same time exposing their major weaknesses. He then leads the reader to the evangelical Christian view of theism, including major arguments for and against it. I found this book a most refreshing and interesting read, despite the difficulty of many of the subjects covered. It is rare to find philosophical arguments put forth in an easy-to-comprehend manner, and Blanchard did it brilliantly. His excellent coverage of technical and scientific issues were also easily grasped and understood by a layman. The approach of the book requires that the reader read it like a novel -- from start to finish. And the best thing is that it was so engaging that it did read like a novel (for me at least)! It was quite hard to put it down. Since this book is not meant as a pure reference book (IMO) where you jump to a particular topic and draw conclusions from there (unless you've already read the whole book previously), one can safely ignore the reviews from those who haven't read it from start to finish. The only flaw in this diamond is that a number of the author's arguments presented are not watertight or conclusive. Many of the arguments are based on probability and likelihood (which he readily admits), which are not enough convince the dedicated atheist, although enough to sway a sufficiently reasonable and open-minded person. Perhaps I'm being too nitpicky by giving only 4 stars :) That said, I find that this is still an excellent book, made even better by its readability. Any one interested in Christian apologetics MUST read this.
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