Athens and Jerusalem: An interpretative essay on Christianity and classical culture (Studies... Book

Why should we believe in God? It's a question that has exercised the minds of sceptics and unbelievers for centuries. It is also a question that exercised the mind of Roy Williams, a former lawyer and former agnostic. In God Actually Williams has given us a wide-ranging and provocative defence of Christianity, in which he contends that belief should be based on logical deductions from known facts: it is not a matter of superstition or blind faith.

For twenty years, Williams practised as a lawyer at the highest level and he brings his analytical skills to bear in order to show that belief in Christianity can and should be based on evidence and reason. The vital place of doubt and uncertainty in God's creation is a recurring theme for Williams as he develops his thesis that it is possible to demonstrate that Christianity is probably true; but no more. He contends that there is a vital role for faith, a much-misunderstood concept that he seeks to explore.

Williams makes the assumption that most modern-day readers who are not already Christians will be unconvinced solely by appeal to biblical authority and so he explains the Bible rather than citing it uncritically. Using many examples drawn from science, politics, history, sociology and the arts, he tackles all the biggest questions by appealing to evidence and to reason. In doing so, he explains why the Bible remains profoundly relevant to life in the twenty-first century.

By skillfully dissecting all the main arguments for atheism, Williams pinpoints many weaknesses in the work of best-selling atheist authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. To counter their arguments Williams writes in a formal style, but it is still fluent and easily accessible, and the work has been carefully researched and footnoted, making it suitable also for academic purposes.