THEOLOGY, HISTORY, and ETHICS
WHY GOD MAKES SENSE IN A WORLD THAT DOESN’T The Beauty of Christian Theism Gavin Ortlund
This winsome apologetics book for a new generation makes the case that Christianity offers a compelling explanatory framework for making sense of our world. Gavin Ortlund believes it is essen- tial to appeal not only to the mind but also to the heart and the imagination as we articulate the beauty of the gospel. Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn’t reimagines four classical theistic arguments—cosmological, teleological, moral, and Christological—making a cumulative case for God as the best framework for understanding the storied nature of reality. The book suggests that Christian theism can explain such things as the elegance of math, the beauty of music, and the value of love. It is suitable for use in classes yet accessibly written, making it a perfect resource for churches and small groups.
GAVIN ORTLUND (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a scholar, pastor, and writer. He serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Ojai in Ojai, California, and is the author of a number of books, including Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation , Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals , and Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage . He blogs at gavinortlund.com.
OCTOBER 2021 • 240 pp. • paper • $22.99 • 9781540964090
FROM THE BOOK This book is about the knowledge of God, who, if he exists, is to us something like what Shakespeare is to Hamlet. For instance, if God is real, he will be both infinitely close and infinitely far. He is infinitely close because reality itself abides within him; each breath we breathe is a gift from him. As Augustine put it, God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. He is infinitely far because he is qualitatively different than anything we have ever known; he surpasses us constantly at every level; for all eternity we could search him out and still always have infinitely more to discover. As Job observed, “How faint the whisper we hear of him!” (Job 26:14 NIV).
“An approach to apologetics that is much needed today. Ortlund makes an argument for God that is as rigorous as it is beautiful and is as convincing as it is compelling.” —KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; author of On Reading Well “In a few short years, Ortlund has become one of the world’s leading Christian scholars. This book delivers on its pledge to be both scholarly and inspiring.” —MATTHEW LEVERING, Mundelein Seminary “Ortlund argues that belief in God and the Christian story is more rational and desirable than believing in atheism and the story that naturalism tells about the world. This book will help you consider how wagering on God and Jesus might surprisingly make sense to you after all.” —JOSH CHATRAW, executive director, Center for Public Christianity
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