Unbelievable?: Why after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian

*Unbelievable?* (London: SPCK, 2017) has been part of my holiday reading over the last week or so, and I have enjoyed this clear and readable book very much.The title is drawn from the name of the weekly radio show hosted by Brierley and aired on Saturdays on Premier Radio. In this show, Brierley draws together Christians and sceptics to discuss a topic in (hopefully) a respectful conversation.The book performs two main tasks. In part, it recounts some of the interesting conversations in which Brierley has participated over ten years of the programme. But Brierley has integrated these brief accounts into a primer on 'apologetics', dealing with key issues in an orderly manner.The book is composed of nine chapters. After an introduction to Brierley's background and the origins of the radio show, the remaining chapters discuss fairly typical topics for a book on apologetics: how belief in God makes sense of various aspects of life; evidence for the resurrection of Jesus; the problem of suffering, etc. One less typical chapter recounts Brierley's meeting with Richard Dawkins.Brierley's skill in communication is evident as this book is easy to read and most readers will find it easy to follow, even when he discusses difficult ideas. Brierley is honest about his own position. He acknowledges that he is not a specialist in the various areas, but he nonetheless provides an orientation to important discussions that will help readers to think clearly before proceeding to more advanced treatments. Readers will be introduced to some significant recent scholarship in these chapters. (Those who are interested can listen to the recordings of the various episodes online.) Along the way, Brierley offers some personal reflections on his own experience of faith which add to the appeal of the book. While I did not agree with Brierley's views in every respect, his presentation of Christianity is generally helpful and accurate, and he is consistently respectful of alternative views.Will this book convince every sceptic who reads it? I doubt it! And Justin Brierley has clearly not written the book with that expectation. The book closes with his aims (p. 206):'If you are a Christian, I hope that it will give you confidence in the claims of the faith you hold. And if you are not a Christian, my prayer is that it may provide you with just enough reason to move from examining the outside of the building [Christian faith] to walking up to the front door and taking a step inside.'Readers in either of these categories will benefit from reading this book.

I have been listening to the podcast for the last year and thought it about time I read the book. Having read a plethora of apologetics books I looked forward to reading this one. This is a book for everyone, sceptic, seeker and saved included. It reflects the same tone as the podcast, respect is given both to competing world-views and to those that hold them, positions are posited and examined and assessed in a balanced and fair way, and in a way that is easily accessible to most. I particularly enjoyed the brief moments when Justin expresses the role of faith and the outworking of that as evidences. In other words, there is both head and heart, something which is often not present in other world in this genre. The book also neatly threads into the text the names of contributors which both serves to tell the story up to 2017 of the show and at the same time provides an extensive range of sources for further study. I gave the book five stars then for its academic rigour, warmth of tone, ease of accessing the arguments and extensive list of contributors as sources, and because of the presentation of the gospel story in the last section of the book. The grand narrative of the gospel story in an increasingly secular world must become an essential part of the groundwork we must make if people are to make sense of the gospel proclamation in Jesus. All in all, a great read and a great resource that I will thoroughly recommend. Although I may have “shared” huge chunks already on Face Book!

There’s lots to like about this book. Justin covers a broad range of topics, and in most cases provides a balanced overview of the arguments while making his case for Christianity. I disagree with virtually all of his conclusions, but appreciate the engaging tone in the book, which reflects the open and respectful conversations of the Unbelievable podcast that he hosts.There is however one area where the claims in the book are just wrong, namely the reliability (or otherwise) of historical accounts about Jesus. For example, it is demonstrably untrue to say that “we have far better historical evidence for the life of Jesus than we do for the crossing of the Rubicon by Caesar”. We have Caesar’s own contemporary writing about crossing the Rubicon, corroborated by that of his enemy Cicero, who was an independent, contemporary source. For Jesus, we have accounts in the gospels by unknown authors using un-named sources, and a handful of comments from Paul, who is a reliable source but who tells us next to nothing about the life of Jesus. Other sources such as Tacitus are later than the gospels, and since they tell us nothing new they cannot be counted as independent sources.As an avid fan of Justin’s podcast I’m happy to forgive the historical innaccuracies and give the book four out of five. But please, in future, can we be a little more honest and realistic when discussing the historical evidence about Jesus?

I gave this book a 5 star rating because it was well written and very understandable, not using a lot of apologetics jargon. There was always an explanation of what he addressed and no assumptions. This is a very easy read, however the chapters are long but there are also only 9 chapters (I think). If you plan on sitting down to read a chapter and move on, it may take 30 minutes... But if you don't care about stopping in the middle, then it doesn't matter. I also appreciated some of the practical arguments and "life lesson" sort of talks. This quote, "Like the Star Wars collector who keeps his original 1979 Millennium Falcon toy pristine and unopened in its original box, and has never actually played with it, too many apologists are guilty of spending more time arguing for the truth of their faith than experiencing its living reality" was one thing that struck me. It gets to the heart of christianity: that it is important to understand God, but it's more important to have a relationship, as a christian. Anyways, as far as apologetics go and understanding arguments, this book was great and gives much to think about for both a christian and non-christian. Thanks Justin!

This might be my new favorite intro level apologetics book. I think when I have a skeptical friend that is particularly a "just the facts" type, I will give them this one, and for the average skeptic I'll stick with my go-to of Greg Boyd's Letters From A Skeptic. Both books are singular in their own way. Greg's is singular in that it's an actual collection of letters between him and his dad, and it quickly became my all time favorite give-to-a-skeptic book.Justin's book is singular in a different, but not lesser, way. So many other apologetics books can be inadvertently "preachy" due to the fact that it's often an academic telling you why it's "smart" to believe. In this case, you have someone that is more of an outside observer, interviewing hundreds of people over ten years, and coming to common sensical conclusions based on that. Yes, he was a Christian to start one, but still, the fact that he is the interviewer, and not the "expert" allows the reader to really sympathize and go along for the journey.I honestly think Justin has a bit of C.S. Lewis in him (and I don't say that lightly), because he has some very poetic and beautiful passages on tough subjects, like the problem of evil. He has just the right amount of dry reasoning backed by emotional understanding of these issues, with a sprinkle of humor added in. And in my opinion he has found the exact length for this type of book, and amount of references -- just enough so you can expand your investigation (and give the book more credibility), but not too much to overwhelm the reader.It really is a remarkable book, and, like I said, now at the top of my recommendation list for the more rational minded skeptics out there.Very highly recommended.P.S. I love that fact that he defends Annihilationism. Not only does that view need to be heard more among Christians, but it also tends to remove a pretty major roadblock to a skeptic's belief as well.

Well written, very interesting to read, especially if you have listened to his radio podcast unbelievable before. Read it and judge for yourself!

Justing presents well-crafted arguments both intellectually and emotionally and makes a persuasive case for the truth of Christianity. Being a fan of the radio show and a Christian this book has served to edify my faith, and equipped me new responses. But besides it it was a captivating book. Justin integrates personal anecdotes from his past 10 years of talking with atheists, like Richard Dawkins, at opportune times, which makes for a really pleasant read. This book sheds light on the importance of having conversation with people we disagree with in a humble manner. So if you are looking for some good evidence for the faith along with some fun banter, this is the book for you. If you are an unbeliever earnestly seeking for evidence then this is book is also for you. God bless you.

Awesome book! Great author!!! Love his UK broadcast which goes by the same name as the book... Unbelievable?