Using as his starting point his sons’ questioning belief in God, Eldon Taylor, bestselling author and president and director of Progressive Awareness Research, Inc., uses a thesis, antithesis, synthesis structure to make the case that believing in God is rational, contending that there is plenty of evidence to suggest that there is a God and plenty of benefit to believing in one. Taylor states that he is not trying to prove that God exists; here is merely making the point that believing in God is rational.

While the book is highly accessible and clear, it would be more compelling if it were fairer to the opposing view and if it drew more substantially from the many theologians who have already addressed this issue. Regarding the opposing view, Taylor offers an unfair generalization of scientists as regarding humans as “meat machines,” a point he himself contradicts when he invokes scientists whose research supports his argument. Regarding drawing from theologians, Taylor seems unaware of the centuries of brilliant theologians whose work has already demonstrated the reasonableness of believing in God (Aquinas springs readily to mind). Granted, Taylor is not himself a theologian (although he identifies as an interdenominational minister), but one would think that he would have done more reading of theologians for a book on whether it is rational to believe in God. Instead, Taylor relies heavily on anecdotes, studies of the paranormal, and ideas from New Age spirituality to bolster his argument.

I appreciate Taylor’s endeavor and hope that it was therapeutic for him and his sons, but I found myself wanting a more nuanced and substantive treatment of the topic.