Reviews
"Imagine sitting at a table in your local bar or coffee shop and overhearing two smart, energetic, and creative thinkers go at it over the existence of the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god. Thanks to Rauser and Schieber, we don't have to imagine: this book is that debate. Anyone who enjoys a hard-hitting but classy philosophical dustup will love this fun and informative book." --Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian and 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God "Fun, thoughtful, and surprising, An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar is a title after my own heart. In the setting of a neighborhood pub, Randal Rauser and Justin Schieber engage in passionate, thoughtful, and-- this is key --civil conversation on the enduring question of whether or not God exists and why that matters. Grab a cup of coffee or a favorite pint and buckle up, because these two know their stuff, and in these pages you'll find yourself reexamining what you thought you believed--or didn't believe--about God." --Bryan Berghoef, author of Pub Theology: Beer, Conversation, and God "Schieber and Rauser offer something sadly too rare: a civil, respectful, and reasonable dialogue over the question of the existence of god. At a time when theists and atheists usually just lob rhetorical bombs at each other over a figurative DMZ, that's a rather refreshing thing, regardless of which side you come down on." --Ed Brayton, writer at Dispatches from the Culture Wars and 2009 recipient of the Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education "A refreshing book with perfect sparring partners! Schieber and Rauser insightfully refute bad arguments related to atheism and also highlight issues that need more attention within the popular debate over God's existence." --Trent Horn, author of Answering Atheism " An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar should launch a genre. It's a book that balances accessibility, rigor, and probing creativity, and it has the potential to bring into the mainstream the sophistication and constructive insight of academic philosophy of religion--something often sorely missing from the preachers and polemicists who hog most of the attention in the theism/atheism debate." --Daniel Fincke, founder and primary writer of philosophy blog Camels with Hammers, ""Imagine sitting at a table in your local bar or coffee shop and overhearing two smart, energetic, and creative thinkers go at it over the existence of the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god. Thanks to Rauser and Schieber, we don't have to imagine: this book is that debate. Anyone who enjoys a hard-hitting but classy philosophical dustup will love this fun and informative book."--Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian and 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God "Fun, thoughtful, and surprising, An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar is a title after my own heart. In the setting of a neighborhood pub, Randal Rauser and Justin Schieber engage in passionate, thoughtful, and--this is key--civil conversation on the enduring question of whether or not God exists and why that matters. Grab a cup of coffee or a favorite pint and buckle up, because these two know their stuff, and in these pages you'll find yourself reexamining what you thought you believed--or didn't believe--about God."--Bryan Berghoef, author of Pub Theology: Beer, Conversation, and God"Schieber and Rauser offer something sadly too rare: a civil, respectful, and reasonable dialogue over the question of the existence of god. At a time when theists and atheists usually just lob rhetorical bombs at each other over a figurative DMZ, that's a rather refreshing thing, regardless of which side you come down on." --Ed Brayton, writer at Dispatches from the Culture Wars and 2009 recipient of the Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education"A refreshing book with perfect sparring partners! Schieber and Rauser insightfully refute bad arguments related to atheism and also highlight issues that need more attention within the popular debate over God's existence." --Trent Horn, author of Answering Atheism"An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar should launch a genre. It's a book that balances accessibility, rigor, and probing creativity, and it has the potential to bring into the mainstream the sophistication and constructive insight of academic philosophy of religion--something often sorely missing from the preachers and polemicists who hog most of the attention in the theism/atheism debate."--Daniel Fincke, founder and primary writer of philosophy blog Camels with Hammers, PRAISE FOR THE WORK OF RANDALL RAUSER: "In God or Godless? , Randal Rauser and John Loftus provide bite-sized discussions on a variety of topics. The discussions are very readable and provide helpful overviews. This book is an enjoyable and informative read that will challenge you to think about the issues discussed." --Michael R. Licona, associate professor of theology, Houston Baptist University; author of Paul Meets Muhammad "This is not a quarrel, nor one of those flame wars of the deaf that rage across cyberspace, then spill angrily into print, nor even that stuffy, artificial creation known as a 'religious dialogue.' What we have here is conversation: at times witty, at times tendentious, often humorous, and almost always engaged on emotional as well as intellectual levels. Rauser is master of parables with a philosophical point; Loftus makes an art form of heart-on-his-sleeve pragmatism. Both land blows, yet the book contains hardly a trace of bitterness. At its best, it reaches the level of a mythical, Platonic debate in a pub. Almost no one will fully agree with either writer, nor fail to enjoy the rhetorical flow." --David Marshall, author of The Truth Behind the New Atheism (reviewing On God or Godless? ) "This is a fascinating and sometimes humorous intro to twenty common debates between atheists and theists. You'll find countless rambling and confused versions of such debates online. But here you will find a clear, concise, well-written exchange on each. Keeping it short, the authors can't include every point to be made, but they make a good show of where each side stands on these questions and why. If you want to continue these debates further, start with this." --Dr. Richard Carrier, author of Sense and Goodness without God (reviewing On God or Godless? ) "The argument between skeptics and Christians has existed since the beginning of Christianity. Randal Rauser and John Loftus continue that argument with gusto, conciseness, and civility. This book should be the first stop for readers shopping for dueling voices from two of the most articulate advocates for Christianity and atheism." --Dr. Hector Avalos, professor of religious studies, Iowa State University (reviewing On God or Godless? ) "A welcome addition to the contemporary field of analytic theology." -- Journal of Religious Studies (reviewing Theology in Search of Foundations ), PRAISE FOR THE WORK OF RANDAL RAUSER: "In God or Godless? , Randal Rauser and John Loftus provide bite-sized discussions on a variety of topics. The discussions are very readable and provide helpful overviews. This book is an enjoyable and informative read that will challenge you to think about the issues discussed." --Michael R. Licona, associate professor of theology, Houston Baptist University; author of Paul Meets Muhammad "This is not a quarrel, nor one of those flame wars of the deaf that rage across cyberspace, then spill angrily into print, nor even that stuffy, artificial creation known as a 'religious dialogue.' What we have here is conversation: at times witty, at times tendentious, often humorous, and almost always engaged on emotional as well as intellectual levels. Rauser is master of parables with a philosophical point; Loftus makes an art form of heart-on-his-sleeve pragmatism. Both land blows, yet the book contains hardly a trace of bitterness. At its best, it reaches the level of a mythical, Platonic debate in a pub. Almost no one will fully agree with either writer, nor fail to enjoy the rhetorical flow." --David Marshall, author of The Truth Behind the New Atheism (reviewing On God or Godless? ) "This is a fascinating and sometimes humorous intro to twenty common debates between atheists and theists. You'll find countless rambling and confused versions of such debates online. But here you will find a clear, concise, well-written exchange on each. Keeping it short, the authors can't include every point to be made, but they make a good show of where each side stands on these questions and why. If you want to continue these debates further, start with this." --Dr. Richard Carrier, author of Sense and Goodness without God (reviewing On God or Godless? ) "The argument between skeptics and Christians has existed since the beginning of Christianity. Randal Rauser and John Loftus continue that argument with gusto, conciseness, and civility. This book should be the first stop for readers shopping for dueling voices from two of the most articulate advocates for Christianity and atheism." --Dr. Hector Avalos, professor of religious studies, Iowa State University (reviewing On God or Godless? ) "A welcome addition to the contemporary field of analytic theology." -- Journal of Religious Studies (reviewing Theology in Search of Foundations )
