Letters from a Skeptic

Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles With His Father's Questions About Christianity

Written by: Dr. Gregory Boyd & Edward Boyd

Read by: Dr. Gregory Boyd & an unnamed reader


Background:
I came across Greg Boyd when I heard about his book titled "The Myth of a Christian Nation" . I listened to his Sermon series that he gave in his church in St. Paul, MN that he based that book on. And after listening to him there, I really liked him alot. He's not afraid to tackle difficult topics. Indeed , when he preached on his "The Myth of a Christian Nation" series, about HALF of his congregation in his church left the church because of his message.

The Review:
I have had this book "Letters from a Skeptic" , sitting in my Wish List and finally decided to give it a read. It is read by the author, and another professional reader reads the letters written by Ed Boyd. I love this part about audio books, when there are two distinct people talking, and there are separate readers for each part. It really helps bring you into the conversation. Greg is a good speaker and so naturally he's a good reader. Another thing that you get out of the audio version is the sheer emotion Greg clearly feels as he's reading in parts talking about his late mother.

Ed Boyd grew up in the Catholic church, and at some point he decided that he really didn't believe any of it anymore. I don't think he was ever a total Atheist, probably more of an Agnostic with Atheist leanings. Ed really takes his son to task in these letters. Asking questions like , Why has Christianity done so much harm? Why did God create Satan? How is the Bible inspired? Do all Non-Believers go to Hell?

Greg's answers to all of his fathers questions are well thought out and explained, and he tries not to talk over his level of understanding. Given the depth required to answer such Theologically hard questions, this is a book that may require several reads to fully grasp what he's saying. I would say that I'm just a beginning armchair theologian myself. Some of Greg's arguments I've heard before, some I haven't. But for the most part I believe him to be Theologically sound in his defense of the faith.

Some critic's tend to automatically dismiss Dr. Boyd, because he holds to a view called "Open Theism" which essentially says that the future is not settled or predetermined in God's mind, and thereby unchangeable. Instead, Open Theism posits that God can and does change his mind when we petition him and give him our requests.  See the Wikipedia article for more info. Open Theism  
I tend to agree with Dr. Boyd on this issue, since there are cases in the Bible where God changes his mind after talking with someone.

Overall, I think if you're a person of Faith or not, you will find this an interesting book if you wrestle with these big questions like Ed did. I think it's debates in this kind of format that really help people understand what they believe. When people instead get into emotionally charged shouting matches, this doesn't help anyone.
If you're looking for more of an Academic style debate about Faith checkout this Podcast  Unbelievable? .

Rating:  4 out of 5

-B