Conversations with My Inner Atheist: A Christian Apologist Explores Questions that Keep People Up at Night Paperback – July 31, 2020

Well-written. Educational yet entertaining. Every Christian should buy this book to learn the newest and best apologetic defenses of his faith. Every ex-Christian should read this book to confirm the wisdom of his decision to leave this supernatural belief system. The book is written as a two person conversation between Rauser and his collective doubts about his faith, which he refers to as “Mia”. Mia confronts Rauser, time and time again, with the most common criticisms of Christianity: The “Trinity” is non-sensical; how is the moody, violent, vindictive behavior of the God of the Old Testament compatible with a perfect being; how are evolution and “the Fall” compatible; how is the OT God’s use of natural disasters to punish entire peoples, including children, moral; isn’t the doctrine of atonement the equivalent of a human sacrifice; how is eternal punishment in hell a just punishment for non-belief; doesn’t the existence of massive human suffering prove that God is either Impotent, indifferent, or a monster; how can you agree with the Bible’s condemnation of same sex relationships; among others.Rauser masterfully answers or deflects each criticism with very clever rebuttals.As an example, how does Rauser harmonize the barbaric behavior of the God of the OT with his belief in a just, good, moral Trinitarian Christian God:“Are these behaviors [hating certain peoples, anger, lashing out, etc.] consistent with perfection? Christian theologians will disagree. But what I hope that we can appreciate is that when a theologian [Rauser?] ends up with an understanding of God that looks rather different from some of the depictions in the Bible, she [he] did not arrive at that picture by plucking it arbitrarily out of thin air. Rather, she [he] reasoned to it carefully, informed by several factors including a basic intuitive conception of perfection read in critical dialogue with Scripture and informed by tradition, personal experience, and reason.” p. 30Personal experience? What is Rauser talking about?Rauser is an evangelical. He was raised as a fundamentalist evangelical, in Pentecostalism. Evangelicals believe that they have a “personal relationship” with God, God being the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth, who lived and died in the first century CE. And when does Rauser believe that this “personal relationship” between himself and the resurrected Jesus began? Answer: As a small child!Rauser has believed since he was a small child that he has an invisible BFF who possesses unlimited supernatural powers, supernatural powers which allow his invisible friend to perform fantastical “miracles” for Randal. The greatest miracle in Randal’s life occurred when he was ten years old. He was hit by a bus crossing a street. He walked away without a scratch! Randal believes that his invisible friend, Jesus Christ, saved his life that day!Now think about that: If you believe that since you were a small child your invisible friend, who has unlimited supernatural powers, has been looking out for you, caring for you, protecting you…even from death…what are the chances that you are going to believe evil accusations against this friend? Slim to none, I will bet. Even if you read multiple books, written by several different authors, all of whom state that your invisible friend is a vindictive, self-absorbed bully, guilty of brutally killing hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, are you going to believe those stories? Nope. Probably not. How could your loving, caring invisible friend be the monster these books make him out to be?? Naw, these stories must not be true. They should not be read literally. So, you reinterpret entire books about your BFF to make the stories conform with your beautiful, comforting perception of your friend, a perception formed by your perceived experiences with him in your invisible (imaginary?) personal relationship.And what is the best defense against criticisms that you are simply ignoring the facts? Answer: a PhD in philosophy! Nothing like an impenetrable, complex, vague, sesquipedalian, sophisticated-sounding, philosophical defense to defend the indefensible!Buy the book, my friends. It is worth every penny!

Interesting book that delves into some deep-cut objections to Christianity. A novel and original contribution, though the Q&A dialogue is hokey and grows tiresome after awhile, and many of the objections seem pretty obscure and unlikely to make it onto the average doubting Christian's radar until this book puts them there.

Generally speaking, I like to think of myself as a tough reviewer. I usually don't give five stars to a book unless I consider it life-changing in some way, and/or if it brought me to tears. If I remember correctly, the only apologetics books I have given five stars to have been LETTERS TO A SKEPTIC by Greg Boyd and works by C. S. Lewis. CONVERSATIONS WITH MY INNER ATHEIST did not bring me to tears, and I'm not sure if it changed my life or changed my mind on a single point, but I want to give it five stars anyway.This is exactly the kind of book Christian apologists should be writing. Randal Rauser is one of the most interesting and thoughtful current Christian apologists and philosophers. While he is more theologically progressive than I am (as is Boyd), he tackles the toughest questions with honesty and transparency, and I learn something every time I read or listen to him. This is the third Rauser book I've read, and it is the best.CONVERSATIONS WITH MY INNER ATHEIST is fast-paced and funny. It deals with many issues that other apologists either don't get around to or avoid, and it gives humble and nuanced answers that touch on the broad spectrum of Christian belief. There are many debate books and introductory apologetics books out there, but this kinds of popular-level treatment of common doubts and questions as well as troubling theological issues is much needed. Rauser's voice is unique and important, and I would recommend this book to anyone who already has an introduction to Christian apologetics.

RR discusss issues that are really bugaboos for Christians and Agnostics (and atheists) alike. By a point counterpoint with his inner atheist, we have more than a debate here because its context is the intimacy of the mind. This makes it feel more honest and like we have a special seat in an arena where there is not a debate winner. It reaches a sort of confessional intimacy that is laid bare. All Christians (if we are honest) must wrestle with issues that shake us at our core. And sometimes we have to let the issue lie. Exploring it deeply is never a bad choice (always the honest choice) even if the resolution is not rainbows and unicorns. Because Rauser is a brilliant mind, sitting in on his wrestling is a very worthwhile use of time. His inner wrestling with homosexuality was well done. Hell and ECT well done. Others liked the science dialogue. That was great too, though not an issue that I personally lose sleep over.

Randal Rauser has a helpful, unique take on a lot of different apologetics issues and you see that in this book. If you enjoyed his other books and his blog posts, you will likely enjoy this book as well. The "atheist" in this book is not lame by any means -- she hits him hard and doesn't let him get away with anything in her rebuttals to his answers. I think the depth of these conversations show how much Randal has examined his own beliefs critically. The book covers some rare but very interesting topics that you might not find in another more typical apologetics book. I was encouraged by the chapter about the confusing nature of salvation.

I love the format of this book- it reminded me of conversations I've had with my atheist brother. I also appreciated the humor which lightened up the mood a bit.The book also had me thinking and questioning. I think the topics would make for a great theological coffee shop discussions with other Christians.I originally bought the book thinking that I might be able to gift it to atheist friends, but I don't think it's that kind of book. I think it is better suited for Christians that are strong in their faith and familiar with apologetics.

I initially only picked this book up for the chapters on science, but I ended up reading it all in one day. Rauser is fair-minded and firm; detailed yet concise. In this book he raises a number of apologetic issues that I've not seen in print before, if at all. As a student of apologetics, I'm encouraged by his honesty and trust that Christian faith needn't retreat from tough questions.I especially appreciated his treatment of the relationship between science and theology, which is asymmetrical because of the very different natures of these two disciplines.

I didn't agree with everything in the book but one thing's for sure: the book makes you think. And the conversational style in which the book is written makes it easy to grasp everything. Randal Rauser is pretty progressive in his stance on politics and I had my doubts if I could find much common ground with his thinking. But I took a chance, bought one of his books and I can honestly say that I wasn't disappointed.