Can I Believe?: Christianity for the Hesitant by John G. Stackhouse Jr.

Can I Believe?: Christianity for the Hesitant Reviews

• 
  Amy

  Like all heavy books, I had to read that a chapter at a time and in some cases a section of the time and just sort of think about what I had read. There are some places that I literally just couldn’t process what the author was saying just because of my lack of background and understanding as well as my lack of experience in this sort of writing. I am a Christian and I am practicing Christian. There were some times that I just plain checked out. I think the section that I liked the most was the very last one. That what is essentially the section about why a good God can let evil exist. That’s always a big question and very many people have a variety of answers to it but I like the way the author addressed it as well as the way he addressed other religions while comparing them to the Moorefield familiar Christianity. He also had a very good background and other world religions which in my mind made him an open minded author whose choices were easier to follow and want to emulate. I have difficulty with some of these books at times because I’m not an overly cerebral person. At least I don’t feel like I express myself well and at times I feel like I don’t interpret others expressions well either. But I really consider this book a good investment of my time and would recommend it to anyone that has some questions.
• 
  Scott Pearson

  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.
  
  
• 
  Stephen Bedard

  I found this book to be an apologetic breath of fresh air. Many apologetics books follow the model of "evidence that demands a verdict." That is they seek a level of certainty in every area that suggests that someone who doesn't become a Christian is either stupid or rebellious.
  John Stackhouse has a much more modest goal, demonstrating why Christianity needs to be at least considered. he proposes reason why Christianity deserves a seat at the table.
  This is an apologetic posture that is appropriate for our cultural context.
• 
  Norman Falk

  A humble presentation/defense of Christianity published (perhaps a bit surprisingly) by Oxford. Although Stackhouse is evangelical himself, this book focuses on the essentials of Christianity, maybe similar to Stott's Basic Christianity in some respects, but for a new/different audience.
  The book is a good example of holding faith with convictions and hospitality, and remaining open to mystery.
• 
  Matthew McGuire

  Stackhouse is an acutely lucid writer, and Can I Believe succeeds at what it attempts to accomplish. Namely, it is an introductory text for those curious about the Christian faith, meek in demeanor and concise in argument. Stackhouse’ adroitly summarizes the panoramic biblical story and speaks to the ways that the Christian worldview makes sense of universal human experience. Importantly, he also notes how Christianity has shaped the most successful cultures of the world.
  
  These commendations given, I find his epistemological recommendations somewhat out of step with that of the biblical authors. Stackhouse speaks of making an educated choice of which religion answers the most questions most satisfactorily and then making a choice, though never with certainly and always being open to the possibility of revision—that is, being open to discard Christianity when one is convinced by a competing philosophy or religion.
  
  As I have jested in the past with regard to some of William Lane Craig’s approaches, I have a hard time imaging the Apostle Peter preaching at Pentecost that “the preponderance of evidence makes it highly probable that Jesus is Lord. Now repent and believe!” In certain sections Stackhouse seems guilty of promoting what he explicitly warns against: a “vulgar consumerism” in blithely “picking” a religion.
  
  The New Testament clearly speaks of an immediate knowledge at a spiritual level that goes beyond mere intellectual persuasion (Rom. 8:16; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14-15). This was one of the great truths that Dr. Lloyd-Jones insisted upon as he was surrounded by overly-intellectual colleagues in the ministry.
  
  Related to this, there is little focus on biblical hamartiology in Stackhouse’s book. One doesn’t have to be a Calvinist to appreciate the image portrayed in Romans 1 is that of men and women actively rejecting the truth of the Gospel not from simply being unpersuaded. Rather, knowing at some deep level of God as Creator and Sustainer, they reject God to harbor their sinful deeds. As the Jesus declared, “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:19b-20).
  
  Of course, I still see the value in expositing the intellectually satisfying grounds for believing in Christianity (an approach that I have taken in some of my own writings). Yet to leave this hamartiological aspect nearly unmentioned is problematic in light of the Bible’s own insistence on this point.
  
  I was, however, pleased that later in the book Stackhouse does speak to the fact that most converts to Christianity do so not on the basis of intellectual persuasion, but rather to intuitive knowledge and spiritual experiences. This shores up some of the weaknesses of the first chapter. I was also pleased with his insistence against bet hedging: one cannot distribute one’s weight halfway between the dock and the canoe; a choice must be made. His reasoning fell somewhat along the lines of Kierkegaard’s “leap of faith.” We can only infer so much from the rational process, after which point we must step out in faith as we make our act of belief—a decided act of the will. I appreciate this line marking, but I would clarify that there is indeed a supra-rational assurance of sonship available through the Holy Spirit.
  
  All said, Can I Believe is a worthy book that I can see myself handing to the right kind of curious seeker or even new believer. Despite my reservations about his epistemological method, his actual exposition of the congruity between biblical theology and human experience is exceptionally well done. And he is able to do so without recourse to the miraculous and mystical experiences known only to the few (valuable though they are). Thus the arguments are rendered accessible to all.
• 
  Debbie

  I read it in one go! As a committed Christian, the beginning alarmed me. Here Stackhouse tells how to choose a religion and he leaves it wide open to any religion. Not what I hoped to read! But this beginning is indicative of his approach: he is fair and objective on the subject. His reasonings make sense to me and, because he qualities and limitations of other religions, also in an objective manner, I learned things about them too! I highly recommend this book for both the curious non-Christian as well as the devout believer. It is an easy read on a complex subject, thorough and informative. My thanks to the author for his book.
• 
  Chris Rousell

  First two chapters were excellent.
  
  Final three chapters not so much. Stackhouse claims to be writing to the hesitant sceptic but late on says how Romans 1:19-21 says God has made it clear that God exists (as if a hesitant sceptic will nod along and go 'gee, I guess it is obvious now')
  
  I commend any and all attempts to explain the Christian faith to sceptics and non-believers. Like most attempts, however, Stackhouse starts strong but ultimately begins preaching to the converted.