Letters from a Skeptic: Gregory & Edward Boyd

Title: Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity

Authors: Dr. Gregory A. Boyd and Edward K. Boyd

Published: 1994

Pages: 190

Have you ever found yourself seriously doubting your Christian faith?

I suspect doubts are more widespread than we realise. Sometimes, they’re triggered by atheistic arguments we read online or on social media. Other times, they form when cruel tragedies rock our world.

Does it actually make sense to believe in God?

With that life-changing question in mind, I’d like to recommend a remarkable little book: Letters from a Skeptic, by Greg Boyd and Edward Boyd.

What makes this book unique is not so much its subject matter, but rather its format. It is a real collection of heartfelt letters between a Christian son (Greg Boyd) and his unbelieving father (Edward Boyd). When you read this book, you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a raw, vulnerable conversation between a believing son and his truth-seeking father.

Reading this book feels like eavesdropping on a raw, vulnerable conversation between a believing son and his truth-seeking father

Of course, as you might expect, the letters from Edward are challenging. He raises many of the hardest questions we Christians ever face, including:

• Why is the world so full of suffering?
• Why would God care about us little humans?
• Aren’t the Gospels full of contradictions?
• Why are there so many differing interpretations of the Bible?
• How would an all-loving God torture people in an eternal hell?

But you will be so encouraged reading Greg’s thoughtful replies to his father’s inquiries. Like Tim Keller, Greg has a knack for summarising key Christian doctrines and not getting bogged down in secondary debates. He also kindly points out problematic assumptions underlying a few of his father’s points.

One crucial point that stood out to me comes in Chapter 5, where Greg responds to a question from Edward about why God allows terrible tragedies like earthquakes and famines. Though we can’t see it directly, he points out we are caught in a spiritual battle here on earth (Ephesians 6:12). We are living in enemy territory (1 John 5:19). Like the soldiers fighting in Normandy during World War II, he says, we are surrounded by enormous pain and suffering, but there is also a bigger picture plan unfolding, even when we can’t see it.

One of the most powerful arguments Greg shares with Edward is in Chapter 13, when he challenges his dad to look at the four gospel accounts “as you would any ancient document” (p. 79) — and realise they are well-founded from a historical perspective.

One of the most powerful arguments is when Greg challenges his dad to look at the four gospel accounts and realise they are well-founded from a historical perspective

If, for example, you ask these questions about the gospels:

1. Does the text claim to be an eyewitness account, or based on an eyewitness account?
2. Does the document in question contain specific, and especially irrelevant, material?
3. Does the document contain self-damaging material?
4. Is the document reasonably self-consistent?
5. Is there evidence of legendary accretion in the document?

…then you will realise the answer to the first four questions is “yes” (exactly what you would expect from a real historical source), while the answer to the last question is “no” — which underscores their historicity (pages 80-81).

A few other noteworthy excerpts I highlighted in the book:

• “The Bible itself records the honest questions, and even angry prayers, of many ‘heroes of the faith’ (e.g. Job, David, Jeremiah). God isn’t threatened by our anger or doubts.” (p. 23)
• “Only the Gospel dares to proclaim that God enters smack-dab into the middle of the hell we create. … And through His participation in our pain, He wants to redeem it.” (p. 62)
• “It means, Dad, that God knows you — perfectly (better than you know yourself). It means that God loves you — perfectly (more than you love yourself). And it means that God cares about your suffering and moral convictions — perfectly (more than you care about them yourself).” (p. 72)

All in all, Letters from a Skeptic is a wonderful collection of probing questions about the believability of Christianity, coupled with insightful responses to those same questions. It is a stimulating, thought-provoking read sure to challenge and inspire readers of all ages.

And I don’t want to give it away here, but the very end of the book includes a wonderful surprise. I’d love for you to have the joy of discovering it for yourself.