A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity

A very personal and thought-provoking book, "Letters" is written with the layman in mind. I found it to take on some very difficult theological topics with such ease and honesty. A must read for anyone who wrestles with apologetic topics. Also an excellent book to give to someone who is having a "belief crisis". The author cause you to think critically about why you believe the way you believe.

Greg Boyd and his now deceased father co-author this interesting work on defending the Christian faith. This book tackles many of the important issues facing someone struggling with whether to believe in God, believe in Christ, and many other things. Mixed in with these issues is Greg's theological stance that God can change his mind. Greg's view, or an 'open view' of God, is widely debated and much criticized. Some from the Calvinist point of view will call him a herectic, cultist, and other productive terms that really help facilitate healthy dialogue.
This book is bigger than open view vs. calvinist theology - God is bigger than MUCH BIGGER - than this debate. Take this book for what it is - a dialogue between someone who does not believe in God and someone who passionately believes in God - and go from there. Most non-believers would have zero idea what the difference was between a calvinist and an open view theologian anyway, and quite frankly, an unbelieving world could care less.
While I don't necessarily see eye to eye with Greg and some parts of his theology, this is a great evangelistic tool. All I know is that my wisest thought is dumber than God's dumbest thought, so I will just add my humble opinion to these reviews. This is a good book, regardless of your theological stance. God can use anything to change hearts and save souls, and he has used this book.

I loved reading this book and getting encouragement to be persistent praying for our unsaved friends and family. This book also contains a lot of good talking points for apologetics. It does get heavy not theology and can be a lot to swallow, even for a Christian. But, it is very uplifting reading the outcome of the letters between the son and unbelieving father.

I've read the printed version, which is also excellent, and the audio version does not disappoint. Because the book shares an exchange of letters between two people, it is helpful that the audio version uses two readers. The audio version delivers additional insight into the emotions of the authors of the letters - "it's not just what you say, it's how you say it." While the original exchange was purely written, this correspondence between father and son undoubtedly occurred where each party knew the other's real voice and real behaviors - things that influenced the impact of each letter on the recipient.

I was overwhelmed and humbled at the patience shown from Dr. Boyd to his Father. He answered his questions with honesty and conviction. The letters were well written and understandable. I really enjoyed the book.

It brings Christianity to a different level. God as a creator, our expectations, and "rules" are well define. We pick and choose to blame God or circumstances to the moment we are facing, forgetting human "nature", gravity, and other factors.

Gred Boyd has given the church a treasure. This book could be sent to any person with intelligent doubts about the gospel of Jesus. It anwsers most questions that come up in any discussion between a believer and a non-believer.

The book is a collection of letters between a father who is an unbeliever and son who is a pastor of a church. It is intelligent. It is simple to read and understand, and it is powerful. I sat up all night reading the last few chapters and when the book ended, I cried. I have given this book to people who are thoughtful and full of questions. Anything by Greg Boyd is worth reading, but this one is powerful.

Besides the "Open Theism" debate, this is a really good book that helps answer tough questions with a theologian's insight & a son's candor. I liked it & gave it away to non-believers to help them have solid answers.

Great book. This is an honest, straightforward conversation (via letters) - between an 80yr. old sharp, skeptic/cynic and his 30 something yr. old son who's been to seminary, and is a theologian. It's easy to read, and has answers- to most of the toughest questions most people have about God, and Christianity, the existence of evil, why God allows people to suffer soo much; why God has allowed the church/Christians to do such evil things over the millenia etc. There are alot of other tough questions posed by the sharp skeptic. The table in the front of the book lists all the questions discussed. I highly recommend this book for anyone from 12yrs to Sr. adult, from atheist to hard core Catholic/Christian. It's great for being a catalyst to spark discussions with a group in a coffee shop (I've done that), or with a friend at home, school or even work during lunch! I've given this book to lots of people because it's soo good. It's a good read, and may answer some questions that you've been wanting to know answers to for a long time. I did for me.

Having been raised as a Christian, I never had a "180" Damascus Road experience...I've always believed. But that doesn't mean I never had questions or doubts. However, I don't think I even recognized that until I read this book. As the father raised his questions, I recognized that I, too, had had those questions...I just had never realized it before I read this exceptional correspondence between father and son. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has been a Christian all your life. It will answer questions you never knew you had. Your faith will be reaffirmed and strengthened. Reading it satisfied a hunger I didn't know I had.

Greg writes like he speaks. Plain language, wonderful enthusiasm, consistent thought process throughout his written discussions with his Dad. Their correspondence hits on all the questions we have and doesn't shy away from the tough issues but Greg's off beat way of handling them is so refreshing and at the same time compelling; ringing so true as to just bring peace and understanding to me. I'm going to read it again starting right now!

Letters from a Sceptic is an excellent read for anyone of any faith (or none at all)! Wonderful for Christians, this book is an encouragement to those that have unbelieving friends or family members and an excellent resource to start a conversation with the same. For nonChristians, this book serves well as a non-technical review of the Christian faith if they so inquire. I'm sure many, if not all, of their questions will be answered about the Christian faith through Greg's correspondence with his Dad.

Sometimes you need to re-read each letter to fully digest each point, but it is worth the time.
We read this book as a study in my Sunday school class. Dissecting each point through the prism of many, was both enlightening and interesting.

Every Christian should be able to defend their beliefs to others. This book shows how a son argued for Christianity and answered the questions that were his father's barriers to belief, in a loving and nonjudgemental way. Love the mixture of intellectual and spiritual reasoning. Wonderful read for Christians and nonChristians alike.

Boyd had a way of answering many questions about Christ and about Christianity that I have questioned. It is inspiring to read about the changes that his father goes through on the way to accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

As a hobby, I've loved studying theology and literally have a small library of various books that go into various depths on the why's of Christianity, whether it's how the Bible came into existence to attempts to explain God's will.

Dr. Boyd's book takes all such great information and boils it down into terms that even a 6th grader could understand. In fact, he presents the material in such a way (via letters he and his dad wrote back-and-forth in the late 80s and early 90s) that it takes time to really go through and think about what's being written.

While there are many skeptics regarding the concept of "open theism" (essentially a fundamental questioning of predestination as the typical Calvinist or Reformed churchgoer would conventionally believe), Dr. Boyd performs a fantastic job of showing why he thinks such conventional thinking may not be so much wrong as it's misplaced (to use my own term) in terms of how God and humans can be shown to interact with reality.

For me, personally, even though I'm presently about three-fourths through the book, it's been a mind-changer by presenting different ways of viewing scripture. What's more, Dr. Boyd takes on about every major question that anyone earnestly seeking God or questioning the church would encounter.

For instance:

- If there is a God, why does evil occur?
- How can we trust the Bible?
- Who canonized the Bible and maybe they missed something?
- Isn't God just vengeful?
- How do other religions fit into all of this?

If you're interested in knowing more about the basics of the why's behind Christianity, whether (like me) you're in the church and have wondered about these types of questions before or you're considering Christianity and have objections you really need answered, start with this book.

As an aside, I recommend the Kindle version of the book. I have an iPad mini and the Kindle app works just fine plus it's cheaper than the paper-bound and the iBooks version.

I truly appreciate the brutal honesty of a skeptic as it is laid out in this book. The answers to the skeptic's questions not only deepen my faith but also provide a valuable insight and resource which I can use when responding to the skeptic. I anticipate being able to use this material in my Bible teaching as conversation starters as well as topics to encourage students to go deeper and to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in them. I'd recommend this to students of philosophy, apologetics, and theology.

This book addresses questions that most people have about God and Christianity. It contains a series of letters written between an unbelieving dad, and his believing son. You find yourself saying about the dad's questions, "I can understand why he asked that". But the responses by the son are quiet effective and thought provoking.

I have given away over 20 copies of this book. It also lends itself to group study. I highly recomment it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am so thankful to Dr. Gregory Boyd for sharing this journey to faith with his Dad through their written correspondence. Their honesty and perseverance was so inspiring! The way they disagreed so respectfully and honestly was admirable. I cried tears of joy at the end! I think everyone, believer and skeptic both, would be greatly blessed by this book!

An excellent book for someone seeking reality regarding God. The skeptic's questions are as good as Greg Boyd's ansewers. There are no easy ansewers and the author acknowledges it. It was stimulating reading.

Robert Steckert

Letters from a Skeptic takes place over the course of three years, as Greg Boyd does his best to answer his father’s questions about Christianity through a series of correspondence. Boyd is as articulate as ever here, and very readable for those unfamiliar with theology, as he tries not to get too technical or use too many big theology words. His father wrestles through many questions I have found myself asking over the years. Some of the questions addressed are:

Why has Christianity done so much harm?
Why is the world so full of suffering?
Is the risk of freedom worth all the suffering?
Does God know the future?
Why did God create Satan?
Why trust the Gospel accounts?
How can you believe that a man rose from the dead?
Why do you think the Bible is inspired?
What about the “holy books” of other religions?
Why does God make believing in Him so difficult?
Do all non-Christians go to hell?
How could an all loving God torture people in an eternal hell?
Isn’t the Christian life impossible to live?
How can another man’s death pardon me?
How can I be sure it’s all true?

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone: to the doubter and to the one for whom faith comes more easily, that you might better understand those who doubt.

(I can also recommend the audio version; I liked hearing the letters written by Greg Boyd in his own voice.)

These are questions we all struggle with. Even if you don't agree with the answers, it is a good starting place to think of what you believe..... This is a unique way of talking to someone and allowing a full answer, no interuptions....

...and looking for answers, I decided to read this book. I find myself being jealous of the strength of other people's beliefs and faith, so I've been trying to find ways to supplement and answer my own questions. What I've found is that most people share many of the same questions that I have, they're just simply too scared or ashamed to say so. The same can be said for Ed Boyd (the father/skeptic in this book).

When Ed Boyd and his son, Greg, begin discussing the reasons why Greg became a Christian, I found that Ed had many of the same questions I had, such as: Why is the world so full of suffering? Why believe in God in the first place? Why would an all-powerful God need prayer? Why trust the Gospel accounts? How can you believe that a man rose from the dead? Why does God make believing in Him so difficult? To his credit, and over the course of several years of correspondence, Greg paints a very believable picture by answering these, and many other tough questions. Many of his answers relate to a personal relationship with Christ (which he states is the cornerstone of his faith), but he also provides sound historical anchors for many of his beliefs and has sound rationale for others.

All in all, I thought this book was an interesting read (which surprised me), and it kept me coming back for more. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to believe, but is struggling to make sense of it all.

Good dialogue between father and son. I don't agree with everything the author says although I do like how he shows provable evidence for those readers that come from a strictly intellectual level. It's all about faith!

This book is life-changing and faith building in a way that is easy to swallow and understand. I recommend this book to anyone who feels stuck, or that they have plateaued in their walk with Jesus. New believer or seasoned it's a refreshing outline of believe and relations null with the Lord and addresses all the questions I've found myself asking.

Dr. Boyd has encapsulated very honest dialog as well as insightful responses all couched in a loving relationship. You don't have to agree with every point made to benefit from the kind and gentle approach of a loving son to a struggling father.

Incredible book. I've read numerous apologetic books, but this one I found not only rich in content, but extremely moving.

The book addresses nearly every objection that I've ever heard a person having for not believing what the Bible says about Jesus. Dr. Gregory Boyd is very gifted in presenting his arguments for Christianity in layman terms without sacrificing on sound wisdom. The fact that these are real letters drew me into the story on the father's progression towards Christianity which could be seen in every letter.

I just purchased 4 more copies to give out because I believe strongly in the potential of this book to win skeptics to Christ.

Note: This book certainly doesn't cover all the objections the father raised in great depth, but it never set out to do that. There are books written on each of the many objections that a person can explore if they want a greater explanation and/or understanding on a particular objection.

This book is very thought provoking and enjoyable. His conclusions were good on the questions, but I didn't rate it five stars because I don't agree with Dr. Boyd theologically on some points. Disclaimer: I'm just a little old lady and he is a great theologian.

Have not finished reading as of yet, but information contained really gives a great view for defending the faith. Many views have not entered my mind. However theologian Boyd does a great job with reply to his father's inquires.

This dialog took some time, but it accomplished the goal. Many people come to faith in Christ more easily than this, but if this is what it took, that is wonderful. Blessed are those, though, who do not have all the answers, yet believe.

I thought that this book would be informative as I have struggled with a lot of these questions of faith. It has also opened my eyes to talking to others that pose these very difficult questions that question my faith.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The letters between the father and son, make for an easy, interesting read. The author offers some thought provoking questions to traditionally-taught theology. Definately some good food for thought.