A critical review of articles in Reason for the Hope Within, the 3rd edited by Michael J. Murray

Murray , M . J (ed (1999 . Reason for Hope Within

Grand Rapids , MI : Eerdmans

Following in the footsteps of St . Thomas Aquinas and his likes , all contributing authors of Reason for Hope Within would like unbelievers to believe in the Christian doctrine through reason . Essentially a book on apologetics , Reason for Hope Within does not vow to make converts Rather , the sole reason why sixteen Church-led philosophers seem to have put together this volume is to make a contribution to Christian philosophy . After all , believers may or may not have easy lives . The

br prophets of the Bible faced excruciating difficulties that ordinary men may not have to confront . Still , believers continue to trust the Christian doctrine . All of them do not bother to understand the problem of wickedness , how miracles are possible , and why God must exist . At the same time , unbelievers may continue to doubt the Christian doctrine because they realize that believers do not necessarily have the most beautiful lives to admire and emulate

Thus , the contributors to Reason for Hope Within would like to make converts of atheistic philosophers in particular . After all , laymen do not necessarily aspire to understand what relativism must refer to in philosophy . According to Murray , this term implies that whatever worldview one selects depends on the assumptions one makes in inferring the best explanation , [where] which assumptions one adopts is sometimes a matter of mere preference (p . 16 . The author adds that relativism could also mean that whatever worldview is true depends on...