Ivan's Reviews > Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity

The bottom line: While much good is contained in this book (there really is!), I would not give it to an unbelieving friend. If given the chance, I would remove several of the chapters (e.g., 4-7, 11, 24, 25) and would be hesitant to recommend others. I’m grateful for the fact that God worked through these letter exchanges; however, I am deeply troubled by several of the answers proposed.

The book, Letters from a Skeptic, is a compilation of letter exchanges between a son and his father regarding questions about God, Christianity, Jesus Christ, the Bible, and many other related things. The subtitle sums it up very well: "A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity." The son (Greg Boyd) had been a Christian for 14 years up until he revisited the subject of Christianity and began corresponding with his father (Ed Boyd) about the faith. All those years Ed had only been reticent in engaging in conversations with his son about God and faith: “My father never showed any openness to the Gospel. He harbored only resentment toward the church and was outspoken in his animosity toward what he called ‘born-again types.’”

As an indirect purpose, the book is tailored to both encourage believers to have honest, coherent answers questions that arise, and even serve as a guide for skeptics with all their questions.

As one might guess, the father's greatest qualm is with the "problem of evil" and suffering and the Bible’s claim that God is all-loving and all-powerful. Living in a fallen world, we perpetually face the effects of sin around us, and most strikingly we face the sin within us. All this leads us to desire honest, definitive answers that best provide answers to our deepest questions.

Crucial to the discussion is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This inevitably becomes the bedrock of our faith as Paul makes so abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians 15. Ed Boyd honestly states, “Every dead person I’ve ever known has stayed dead!” (No wonder Greg takes an entire afternoon to write a 9-page response!)

Greg Boyd's response is lucid, thorough, and honest to the evidence. No wonder his father comments, “This obviously is no ‘blind leap of faith’ you’ve been making.” Especially helpful is the fact that the Resurrection narratives contain such specific details (e.g., name-dropping of persons) and even counter-intuitive events (Mary Magdalene—a woman[!]—is the first to arrive to the empty tomb—all this taking place in a society where women were viewed as “incurable liars”). The edifice of evidence constructed is truly compelling. Greg does a masterful job in this letter in a clear and winsome way.

My assessment of the book? I was greatly impressed with the straightforward questions by Ed. He felt comfortable in not having to erect a façade (he is talking to his son after all!). All his questions revealed a mind (and heart) that was hungry for answers. As time progressed Ed saw more and more the utter simplicity of Christianity’s answers. Though at times it was emotionally hard to grasp some of the answers, he in the end understood (or at least began to understand) that Christianity is not a mindless leap in the dark. However, it is a leap—a leap into the arms of a loving God who is fully good and in control and has ultimately revealed himself in Jesus Christ as the sacrifice that took our sin and offers forgiveness by faith alone.

Worthy of attention and full of sound, biblical wisdom are the final four chapters (26-29). I especially appreciated his answer to the question, “How can another man’s death pardon me?” This lies at the heart of what it means to be a Christian—this indeed is good news!

While I benefited greatly from reading this book, it seemed many of the answers Greg offered were sorely lacking at best and anti-biblical at worst. On the subject of God’s foreknowledge, he writes, “So God can’t foreknow the good or bad decisions of the people He creates until He creates these people and they, in turn, create their decisions.” Psalm 139 flies in the face of such a remark. I wasn’t surprised when his father took note of it: “It seems like your view of God is much more ‘human’ than what I’ve always thought God was supposed to be…. I admit your view sounds better than the standard one…but I wonder if your view is just your own creation.” This “open” view of God, I believe, diminishes the very biblical presentation of a holy and sovereign God.

As Bruce Ware has written elsewhere,

"What is…lost in so many places and in so many ways is the infinite supremacy of God, and this loss is unimaginably great. Nothing less than the uncontested deity of God, his absolute lordship over all space and time, his universal, unrivaled, and inviolable sovereignty, his flawlessly wise and meticulous providence, his undiminished and infinite perfection, and his majestic and incomparable glory."

I wept as I finished reading “A Tribute.” I’m still amazed at how God redeems sinners (including me!). The Ed I read about initially was strong-willed, sassy and skeptical; the Ed I read about in the epilogue is a tenderhearted man, full of joy at the fact that his skepticism has melted and faith has been birthed within him, blooming to such degree that even his dog notices! What a glorious thought! It never gets old. I can resonate with Ed: “The angels whom you say rejoice over this sort of thing are probably giving each other high-fives!”

That said, I believe that many of Greg’s answers to his father’s enquiries are problematic. I believe he muddles the orthodox view of God’s complete omniscience and sovereign rule over a morally responsible and culpable world. Further, his view that “God necessarily surrendered a degree of His power” reveals a God who is not the one revealed in Scripture who “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11). This is no mere wrangling with words — it goes to the core of who God is! Often the errors are subtle and creep up, couched in seemingly humble words. I do not doubt the sincerity of Greg Boyd or his love for God. I simply believe he is not very helpful when it comes to offering solutions to the biblical tensions of evil and suffering as it relates to God’s omnipotence and foreknowledge.