Thursday, May 28, 2009

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World


The award ceremony for seniors was this morning at 9am. I have been excited about attending for over a month, because I knew that he was being honored in video production (it was a secret his teacher let me know to make sure I would be there). Doogie is so busy this week with all of the senior events, but this was one of the few that I could take part in, and I was so looking forward to it. After dropping back down to 5mg of prednisone a day, I was having a hard time functioning this week. But I pushed myself to go to work yesterday. I was falling so far behind and was feeling terribly guilty about it, so I went in expecting to work the entire day. By eleven, I was completely done in. Last night I didn't sleep much at all, and I tried to catch up this morning, but I ended up calling Doogie and apologizing, because I just couldn't do it. There was no way I was going to be able to drive into town and then sit in the PAC for over two hours.

I called the doctor and begged for help, so I'm going in to see him tomorrow morning. No matter how bad the pain is, I have to see him in the hopes that he can find something to help me manage this pain. I cannot miss Doogie's graduation on Sunday! I'm getting better about not stressing when the house falls apart when I'm in pain, and Jesse's been taking care of everything so well. I've even been managing not to be grouchy in this midst of the pain; God has been pouring His peace out on my soul. But the idea of missing my oldest child, only son's graduation makes me want to cry.

I don't even know how to describe the pain. It's like something is eating away at each of my joints and its breath is like fire. Please pray for my relief and for God to give me the strength to make it to graduation.

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World by Chet Galaska is a first rate primer on the problems of faith. Galaska, a former atheist, comes at finding faith from the point of reason, explaining why belief in God makes sense. It's a tough argument in a world that has come to value relativism and turns to science for explanations for everything. Creation vs evolution, the crimes of Christians, the existence of Hell, all of these are difficult questions for those who consider faith to overcome. Galaska's book is perfect for them and for those who have recently come to faith. I've read many of these books, I understand that there isn't enough room for the author to address each of these issues in depth, so he provides some of the basic arguments for each of these and in the back gives resources for those interested in more resources. Some of his anecdotes are very powerful, especially the story about his son and a Golden book, and I appreciated his metaphor of a prism to viewing faith. It's a great kickstart to conversations about faith, especially for youth.

Today is your last day to sign up to win a copy of Mark Mynheir's The Night Watchman. Just send me an email before 10pm to get entered!

2 comments:

Cheryl said...

Great review! I loved the story about Chet and his son too. This truly is a wonderful book. I've enjoyed coordinating Chet's tour.

Thanks for hosting Chet this month.

Cheryl

Marla Taviano said...

No dates yet. We're thinking mid-June. I'll let you know. That would be great to meet you!