No Argument for God: Going Beyond Reason in Conversations About Faith, By John Wilkinson alt

No Argument for God

Going Beyond Reason in Conversations About Faith

by John Wilkinson

No Argument for God
ebook
  • Length: 174 pages
  • Published: January 28, 2011
  • Imprint: IVP
  • Item Code: 6845
  • ISBN: 9780830868452

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Religion is irrational! New atheists trumpet the claim loudly, so much so that it's become a sort of conventional wisdom. Professing your faith in God sounds increasingly like a confession of intellectual feebleness. Belief in God sounds as cute and quaint as it does pointless.

John Wilkinson contends that the irrationality of faith is its greatest asset, because rationalism itself sets artificial limits on all that we've seen—which itself is hinting at something greater that can't be seen. In No Argument for God he turns the tables on the cult of reason, showing that it limits conversation to what happened, when what we really want is the why behind it. We settle for investigation when what we need is revelation—the answer to all our longings.

Read this book and break though the gridlock of apologetic arguments to a life-giving encounter with the God who satisfies our minds and seeks our good.

"Some people know the truth with a cocksure confidence that is both admirable and annoying. Others have been through the battles of doubt and walk away from the battle with a limp, a limp that reveals that person is still walking straight ahead but with the humility that emerges from deep engagement with God in the shadows of life. John Wilkinson's book is for the limpers, and it is wonderful postapologetics apologetics for an authentic faith."

Scot McKnight, author of One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow

"Wilkinson stands traditional apologetics on its head in this riveting new vision of conversational engagement. Unashamedly engaging wonder and the apparent 'absurdity' of faith, Wilkinson in one move makes way for an altogether different kind of engagement for those who would consider the spiritual journey Christ invites us into. With an equal poetic power, No Argument for God provides a breathtaking visage of another world waiting for those who would embrace the mystery of knowing God both here and in the world to come. Not just another voice in the current debate of what apologetics should look like in a postmodern milieu, Wilkinson's fresh approach changes the very nature of the conversation itself. To think that wonder, mystery and the obvious transcendence of faith from mere reason may be the actual strengths of our historic faith instead of the ugly stepchildren they've historically been is freeing and sets a new course for both evangelism and our personal relationship with God himself."

R. York Moore, National Evangelist, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA

"John Wilkinson knows that we can only bear witness to Christ's presence in our lives and validate our beliefs through faithful testimonies. Logic will not make us into believers, and in this important book he makes it clear that the just must live by faith in revelation."

Tony Campolo, professor emeritus, Eastern University

"John Wilkinson's book represents one of the best responses to the attacks of modernist 'scholars' who insist that their limited view of the world is all that there could possibly be. I especially appreciate that John has at the core presented that our response should be focused on the absurdity of the gospel, not only today but even in the first century. He reminds us that faith is rooted not in our ability to reach beyond the sky and 'understand' God or even 'discover' the Creator, but in our Lord's desire to reach through time and space and live among us. The continually fresh and foolishly profound purity of the stand-alone Deity caring enough to invite us--any of us, each of us--into his reign as King of all things, seen and unseen, is what makes faith the wonder of all wonders. Well done, John Wilkinson, keeping us on track as little children set free by the voice and embrace of the One who has come and beckoned, "Let the little children come to me '"

Chap Clark, professor and vice dean for the School of Theology and Regional Campuses Master's Programs, Fuller Theological Seminary

"No Argument for God is a thoughtful and challenging read for anyone seeking to grasp more fully faith in the God of the Bible."

Paul Arnott, The Melbourne Anglican, April 2012

"Interesting and loaded with anecdotes, No Argument for God will be a breath of fresh air for folks who, tired of arguing for faith, want to start talking about faith."

Michael McGowan, Christianity Today, April 2011
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CONTENTS

1 Wouldn't It Be Nice?
2 Seeing Things for the First Time
3 Stop Making Sense
4 Two-Dimensional Existence
5 All in Your Head
6 Guess Who Is at the Door
7 In the Flesh
8 No Stranger to Nonsense
9 Circular Reasoning
10 This Changes Everything
11 Just Different
12 Echoes of God
13 What Do I Say?
14 The Dream of God
Notes

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John Wilkinson

John Wilkinson completed his undergraduate studies at Penn State University, then went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and completed a doctorate in youth and family ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Wilkinson currently serves as high-school pastor at Lives Changed by Christ Church (LCBC) in Manheim, Pennsylvania. He came to LCBC after serving as the senior high pastor at High Point Church in Madison, Wisconsin. In that role he led a large youth group and a strong team of volunteers. At LCBC he is developing a culture of ministry that fosters meaningful connections between teens and adults and engages senior high students in the adult church community. On his time off he enjoys puttering around in his garage workshop, taking bike rides with his family and learning the newest technological gadget on the market.