Why Should Anyone Believe Anything at All?

by James W. Sire

Book Overview

A Christianity Today 1995 Books of the Year Finalist

Believing. Most of us take it for granted. We just do it--whether it's trusting that the sun will come up tomorrow, that the lunch we are about to eat is not poisoned or that our religious beliefs are not ill-founded. But why should we believe any of these things? Why should anyone believe anything at all? With insight and humor, James W. Sire examines the reasons people give for believing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830813977
• ISBN13: 9780830813971
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Such an Important Book for Today - Sadly Under-Read

Soooooo many people believe things for the wrong reasons-including Christians. This book is an attempt to correct that sad state of affairs and the title question embodies the heart of much of Postmodernism. I suspect that the reader who gave the book only three stars because of the second part of the book on Why Believe Christianity came to the book with Modernist/Evidentialist presuppositions and was disappointed because there were no deductive arguments for the existence of God, no design arguments, nothing of the sort. It focuses instead on the Person of Christ (Imagine that! What a novel idea in Christian apologetics). If you like Kreeft-style apologetics more than Craig-style apologetics, you'll appreciate this section more than the three-star reviewer. The fundamental issue in Christianity is Who was Jesus? Sire addresses that question well. Still, even if this book was limited to the first half, directly addressed by the title, it would be well-worth the price. Get this book, read it, and put it into practice (along with his book _Habit's of the Mind_). Then recommend it like crazy to your friends. This book is not being read enough and is in danger of going out of print. That would be such a shame because this book addresses one of the fundamental issues facing Postmodern Culture. This book could be more important than you think. People who believe things for the wrong reasons typically don't have much conviction and aren't good at persuading others. This book will help you filter your beliefs and achieve greater intellectual integrity.