Despite the academic publisher, this book is essentially a defense of (a conservative version of the) Christian faith to skeptics. Stackhouse deals with defending religion in general, but he obviously addresses Christianity in the most detail. Despite his expertise in teaching world religions, these other religions receive only superficial treatment.
I take issue with Stackhouse’s description of Christianity in chapter 2. It contains a description of conservative Western Christianity. He does not describe progressive and global Christianity with a great deal of respect, nor does he deal with the many varied expressions of Christianity in world history. It’s as if he believes that Christianity has achieved its best expression in the (culturally conservative) modern West. He frankly needs to read more widely and experience Christianity more widely.
The author excels when describing the Christian ethic of Shalom and when addressing common objections to faith and belief of any kind. In doing so, he talks about Christian beliefs through the lens of his personally held experience. While he does not base such descriptions on anecdote, he has obviously wrestled with these issues deeply. I only wish he would extend such depth to wrestling with his fellow Christians who may not embrace Western privilege so highly.
This well-written book is organized for those interested in a conceptual understanding of this huge global religion. The author does not come off as folksy and, outside of chapter 2, he avoids a preacher’s tone in favor of a more humanizing one. Despite the superficiality, he treats other religions with respect. He does not become a “Bible thumper” nor a heaven-or-hell evangelist.
If anything, Stackhouse’s attempt is too broad. He tries to do too much in his exposition of Christianity. The whole waterfront need not be defended in one book. Instead, it would have been more interesting to address skeptics of religious faith/belief (in Chapter 4) in an entire book. The topic warrants the depth, and I believe he would gain a larger audience, much as St. Paul did in Athens on Mars Hill as described in the Bible. Philosophers of life, who are the expressly intended audience, deal with understanding life, not presenting systematic Biblical theology.
Nonetheless, this, overall, maintains a decent attempt at addressing those skeptical of religion in general. Stackhouse clearly speaks from a Western (and dare I say, male) mindset. Like all of us, he is a prisoner to his own experiences and cannot speak with the voice of transcendence. But who can? Christians have been attempting to unite Jerusalem (home of the monotheistic religions) and Athens (home of the university movement and reason) for almost two millennia. The addition of Stackhouse’s voice to this attempt may not blow away the conversation, but it will provide some necessary reverberating echo in our time and day.
Can I Believe? An Invitation to the Hesitant
By John G. Stackhouse, Jr.
Copyright (c) 2020
Oxford University Press
ISBN13 9780190922856
eBook
Genre: Religion/Christianity
www.amazon.com