What's So Great about Christianity 基督精神的伟大

“Only truth shall set you free." --- Christ

“只有真实才能使你得到自由。” --- 基督铭言

陈凯一语：

当我参与哈岗学委会关于“孔学堂”辩论的时候，我发现陈介飞在利用学童作政治工具的时候已将他们洗脑了： 这些（亚裔华裔）学童们只跟随掌权者、肤色种族、贫富阶级、祖宗文化、名人书本、时髦潮流、、。 他们完全没有自己的语言，更不知自身的良知、理性与信仰。 他们的上帝是如奥巴马一样的权贵们和他们从不知晓的祖先文化。 权力、输赢、敌友、内外、救脸护皮、幻觉“人间天堂”是他们语言中的常用词与实质迷恋。 由此可知，共产专制的腐灵暴政在华语文化中的蔓延滋长是不奇怪的。

Kai Chen's Words:

When I took part in the debate in Hacienda School District over the issue of "Confucius Classroom", I had found that Jay Chen with his cohorts have effectively brainwashed the school kids, using them as his political tool for their unspeakable leftist/radical agenda to "fundamentally transform America".

These school kids, most them if not all having Asian (Chinese) background, fear/worship authority rather than God. They follow the powerful rather than their own conscience. They shout slogans/labels rather than reasoning with facts and logic. They talk others' language rather than their own. They are obsessed with race, skin color, social class, rich or poor, ancestry, culture, chic, popularity, fame and the established, etc... Majority, winning or losing, enemy or friend, them or us, face and vanity, illusions of "heaven on earth" are all they seem to care about. Their eyes are empty with no intelligence, no values, no spirit, no soul. There is only some nameless anger and resentment. You just have to wonder why the evil of communism/socialism is so easily/eagerly spread, tolerated, accepted and internalized by such a population of Chinese culture and ancestry.

陈凯博客： www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

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Book Link 购书链锁： http://www.amazon.com/Whats-So-Great-about-Christianity/dp/1414326017/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253087696&sr=1-2

What's So Great about Christianity

基督精神的伟大

Book Review: A passionate presentation of the strengths and historical truths about Christianity

December 2, 2008
By Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI)

This review is from: What's So Great about Christianity (Paperback)

I found this book to be wonderfully refreshing. We live in a time when books promoting atheism and attacking religion (especially Christianity) are best sellers and promoted nearly everywhere. This book stands up for Christianity, but in an intellectual and systematic way. D'Souza has not provided a book of testimony or a scriptural defense of faith. He spends twenty-four chapters examining the arguments made against religion and answers them using history, philosophy, and careful reasoning. Chapters 25 & 26 are the closest the author comes to promoting Christianity and inviting you to examine its benefits. However, it is hardly an aggressive missionary approach.

D'Souza presents the basic material examining Christianity in seven parts (the eight being the last two chapters). The first is "The Future of Christianity". The author lays out the current bump in popularity in militant atheism, but why it is really a long term loser. Despite atheism's best efforts, outside narrow intellectual circles religion is growing in most places in the world. In particular, Christianity is growing the fastest of all and in its future is bright. The second part looks at the historical rise and contributions of Christianity to Western Civilization and again demonstrates that many popular notions are simply wrong or fabrications.

The third part looks at science as a wonderful tool and a very poor faith. I particularly loved the chapter correcting the popular notion that Galileo was imprisoned by the Church because the Church was trying to suppress scientific truth. In fact, he was put under house arrest because he published a book he had promised not to publish and insulted the pope in a very egregious way. However, Galileo's scientific truths were being examined by the leading intellects of the day, who were in the Church, and while much was accepted, it did turn out that Galileo was wrong about some details.

The fourth part examines the various arguments against the Church because of evolution and natural selection. D'Souza shows the evidence for creation, that evolution per se says nothing against religion or faith, and how what is understood in the natural record comfortably corresponds to religious teaching over the millennia. Yes, all human knowledge has expanded, but the core religious truths have not been overthrown.

Part five is an interesting examination of the limits of the reason that the atheists say overthrows faith. D'Souza makes an interesting use of Kant to demonstrate a problem in Hume's thought. We also get treated to an interesting discussion of why miracles are reasonable and the skeptic's wager. That is, if there really is nothing, one hasn't lost much by believing in God and yet if there is a God not believing in him presents a great cost.

Part six looks at the notion of suffering as an argument against God and Christianity. The author corrects the notion that religion is responsible for the great mass murders in history and exposes the lame attempts by atheists to try and keep their skirts clean by pushing Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Mao in the camp of believers.

Part seven spends several chapters examining the problem of morality for atheists, despite their great efforts to construct their own morality, the notion of spirit, why so many find unbelief (even a passive unbelief) so appealing, and the problem that evil in the world presents to those who believe in God. I think D'Souza does a good job with each topic.

I recommend this book to any Christian of any sect to get great information about the history, power, and strength of your history and faith. No, it is not a replacement for your communion with the Spirit or the nourishment of your faith in the scriptures. However, it will help you deal with the nagging frustrations you feel when you see Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, and others on TV or read their words in articles and books. While they are very confident in their faith (and that is exactly what atheism is at its core), most of what they are presenting is testimony rather than fact and sound reasoning.

If you are in doubt about choosing between a search for faith or giving up and accepting materialism, I also urge you to read this book, but to also seek to join yourself with a community of believers who can help you on your journey. My faith is strengthened by worshiping and living in faith with others and you probably will, too.

If you are an atheist, I also think you should read this book. No, I don't expect that it will open a mind already committed to an opposite point of view, but it will give you a good look at the strength of argument on the other side. If you simply dismiss them out of hand or disdainfully push them away, you haven't won anything because you haven't actually participated in an exchange of ideas. Sure, you have every right to do so, but I don't find such pride and contempt of others to be very becoming.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI