Faith and Reason: Why Christianity Makes Sense. (Book Review).

Austin G. Schmidt, S.J., and Joseph A. Perkins, Faith and Reason: Why Christianity Makes Sense, Manchester, NH, Sophia Institute Press, 2002, pp. 236, paperback, $24.65 Cdn.

This book is what was usually called an apologetics book; such books were in great demand several decades ago. Indeed, this book is a beautiful reproduction of a book written in 1946. "Apologetics" is from a Greek word mean "defence". A book of apologetics presents a defence of the Catholic faith by showing the reasonableness of being a Catholic and, in some matters, even proving by reason unaided by revelation what Catholics believe on the basis of revelation. Every believer or nonbeliever can benefit from such reading.

The book is very readable and well organized. It begins with the existence of God, using six different arguments to prove its case. One argument is from the existence of a conscience in every normal human adult. The conscience is an act of the intellect deciding whether certain acts are moral or immoral, and approving of the performance of good acts and fearing punishment for performing evil ones. The existence of conscience makes sense only if there is a lawgiver in charge of the moral order, and this lawgiver must be moral, good, powerful, and the Creator.

Next follows a study of the attributes of God which can be derived from the way in which his existence is established. He must be a personal being (that is, have consciousness and knowledge); he must also be providential and powerful.

Arguments are given for the immortality of the human soul. And if there is such a God as has been demonstrated, each person must revere and obey him. Religion is not just an emotion; it is a view of what reality is like. Natural religion, however, is not sufficient. It calls out for a higher knowledge of God. And since many people claim that God has told us more about himself by revealing himself, there is an obligation to see whether this revelation is well founded and true, One can then study it before accepting it, to see whether the Gospels are historically reliable, whether Jesus really lived and what he taught and did, whether his personality and his miracles, especially his resurrection, show him to he both human and divine. And then whether he established a church, an institution to preserve the truth of his message and help to follow the way of life prescribed for us.

Finally, two special problems are discussed: whether the existence of evil in the world and evolutionary theories disprove the existence of God.