The End of Reason

Ravi Zacharias enters the world of Christian apologetics with quite a background. Having written numerous books and even hosting a radio show / podcast, he is perhaps one of the best known Christian apologists. In addition to his writing and speaking, he also operates RZIM, an international mission.

Perhaps more interesting is the fact he grew up not only outside of Christianity, but for a portion of his life as an atheist.

So often the objection to Christianity is based on "well you learned it from your parents." That can't be said of Ravi. In fact, he came to faith as a response to a suicide attempt because he despised the meaningless of life.

He became a Christian because it offered answers that other world views couldn't, not because it was convenient.

The End of Reason is a response to the book The End of Faith written by Sam Harris. In The End of Faith, Harris aggressively goes after not just Christianity but all religion. Claiming that there is no God, and that religion is simply a crutch.

Harris isn't alone. In fact, he is part of a new movement of so-called "New Atheists" along side Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.

This attack by the New Atheists stressed that faith was irrational. But is it? Or have we just resorted to calling people names without bothering to challenge their values from an intellectual standpoint?

Somewhere along the line, we've decided that people who have faith can't use their mind. In fact, we've decided that if you believe in God there must be something wrong with you.

That's not to say there aren't tough questions to be asked. If Christianity is true, it needs to be able to respond to questions like these:

If evil exists, does that mean there is no God? Or worse, does it mean God is evil?

Why must we suffer?

Are we better off not believing in anything? Aren't secular countries better off?

Is Christianity to blame for slavery?

The problem is we've stopped looking for the answers, and have become content with name-calling and indifference. So often we ask a question and then walk away before we get an answer. That's why Ravi wonders if we've reached the end of reason.

This book provides answers to questions atheists (and others) often ask. It tackles these questions using logic, history, and science. It doesn't take shots at atheists simply because they don't believe in God.

If you have questions about God - ask them! If you have doubts - explore them! If God is real, doesn't it seem reasonable that he'd provide a way to find out? And if God isn't real, don't you want to know before you waste your life?

There is never any danger or harm in asking questions and seeking truth. Faith is reasonable, but you'll never know until you try and find out.

The biggest challenge I see with The End of Reason is I didn't find it compelling enough. Not because I don't believe what Zacharias is arguing (my website, R3, is devoted to that exact purpose) but because I thought Zacharias quoted too many atheists in a way that felt out of context.

I haven't read most of the atheist authors he cited, so while I trust Ravi that the quotes were in context, I don't know that for sure.

Apologetics can be a tough field. By its very nature you are trying to convince people of the legitimacy of your views, and that takes trust. My fear is that this book doesn't do enough to engage the reader with that trust.

If I didn't already believe in the reliability of the Bible, I wouldn't be convinced by his arguments. But perhaps I am more skeptical than others.

The answer is: it depends. If you've you've heard things in the news, or read A Letter to a Christian Nation and you find yourself with serious questions about the claims Christians make, then The End of Reason is for you. In 128 pages Ravi covers virtually all the major arguments for and against Christianity. It may not be conclusive, but it's an excellent place to start.

If you've been following this conversation for a while, and you've read other books, this might not be for you. The book is straight forward and doesn't present many new arguments. That's not bad, because that's not really the purpose of this book. You just might find it less interesting than someone who has never been exposed to these arguments.

Ultimately, like faith, everyone has to chose for themselves.