The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists

With The End of Reason, Ravi Zacharias has written a brief but articulate argument responding to "the new atheists." In just under 130 pages--a read of an hour and a half--he refutes many of the claims and charges laid against religion in general and Christianity in particular. But Zacharias's book is not just negative, arguing against atheism, he eloquently argues for belief in God. The result is a well-rounded, thoughtful little book and one of the best apologetic works in recent years. The End of Reason is primarily a response to Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. Zacharias uses Harris as a starting point, skilfully countering not only Harris's arguments, but also those of other well-known atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. The book is divided into several distinct sections. To begin, Zacharias notes the particular kind of atheist to which he is responding--those that make others "embarassed to be an atheist." He also describes his own past as an atheist and the suicidal hopelessness to which such thought brought him. The second and longest section describes this atheism in philosophical terms. Zacharias outlines this worldview's stance on life's origins, the meaning of life, morality, and hope in a painful world. In the third section, Zacharias sets out to confront and debunk a number of Harris's specific claims, whether of Christianity's inferiority to religions like Buddhism or Jainism or that the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth is erroneously founded on a mistranslation and the root of Christian "anxiety about sex." Zacharias also discusses Pascal's Wager--that the fulfilment brought by Christianity is worthwhile even if the universe turns out to be meaningless--and a number of other major issues. The final section is perhaps the best, and the lynchpin of Zacharias's book. In the closing pages, Zacharias puts forward a simple, understandable argument for the existence of God and discusses the true meaning of the Eucharist, at once the most important rite of the Christian church and the symbol of the unity brought through Christ to believers around the world. And, in closing, Zacharias suggests that in the end the final decision will not be between atheism and religion, but between Christianity and Islam. I found this book encouraging and refreshing--encouraging, because it fed my desire to not only believe but to believe for good reason, and refreshing because of its brevity and coolheadedness. What perhaps encouraged me most about the book is the overwhelming tone of reasonableness that Zacharias maintains throughout. Never once does he stoop to the level of crassness and vitriol demonstrated by polemicists like Harris. Instead, Zacharias proves by his own example the kind of peace and fulfillment of which atheism is devoid and only faith can bring. This book is a beautifully clear-headed respite from the current trend of "flame-war" argumentation. The End of Reason is a good, quick read--like I said, I read it in perhaps an hour and a half. But packed into a very little space is the kind of brain-fodder on which meaningful reflection thrives. Christians will value this book as a defense of the faith; atheists will value this book as a civil counterargument in an ongoing debate. Highly recommended.

"The End of Reason" is essentially a critique of new atheist Sam Harris' book "Letter to a Christian Nation". This is a small book and one of the best and most beautifully written books I have ever read. The language is excellent, and the arguments are ruthlessly accurate in exposing the meaningless of an atheistic worldview. Common objections that are often used to slay Christians and that have a lot of rhetorical power are clinically dealt with by Ravi as he again and again exposes Harris' confident assertions for what they are. Over and over again Ravi turns Harris' own arguments back on to themselves with devastating consequences. I am a little surprised at how aggressively Ravi takes on Harris. He is not mean spirited and does not attack the man, but he is ruthless with Harris' shallow and foolish wisdom and its consequences. The reason for the 'tone" of the book is that Ravi sees this as such an important issue with deep consequences, and one that we cannot afford to ignore. Personally I regard Harris as a clever guy who is completely out of his depth when it comes to philosophy and religion. His shallow thinking resonates well with my own shallow secular atheistic childhood upbringing and teenage years. The problem is, as JP Moreland has said, that "the make-up man is more important than the speech writer", meaning that Harris' weak arguments are more than made up for by his confidence and clever rhetoric. Highly recommended.

I thought this book was great. I think Ravi has just an outstanding way of drawing from so many different sources and articulating things well so that good points are made not only in and of themselves, but made to have weight, value, and leave one asking true and deep questions about these things. I read this book, and talking about it with my brother began a long conversation with him, and opened up the door to many topics I thought were good. I'm a Christian, and he's still not, but some of these issues I felt like held good weight with him and made him think. We were both challenged.

I would have liked more in-depth coverage, but I understand the intention of the author was t answer Sam Harris' book in like format. That given, the book does indeed challenge the assertions of Letter to a Christian Nation very well. Certainly, this book takes Harris' argument and sets them back to zero at worst. Stated differently, all the power is removed from Harris' arguments. If an undecided individual read both of these books ("The End of Reason" and "Letter to a Christian Nation"), I really think that she or he would remain undecided. For this reason, I think Zacharias' book is a good response to Harris' book, but it is not persuasive. The author can indeed be pesuasive and has been in his other works. Now, if you're going to read Harris' book, it would be of great benefit to read this book along with it. I, personally, refuse to read on one side of an issue. That's why I read book that are pro-evolution and anti-evolution. I read books that are pro-abortion and anti-abortion. I think this book, along with Harris' book, makes for good reading and insights into the theism/atheism debate; however, they will likely just get you interested in it (though I think that's the intention).

I recommend this book to any one believer or not. We should all look for the trouth because only trouth matters

This book was passed to me by a fellow Christian. I have known of Ravi Zacharias for many years, although this is the first of his books I have read, and I respect him as a scholar and as a Christian believer. Having read several books in the past that deal with similar topics, I really appreciated reading this one. I found Ravi's arguments to be rational, polite and sincere, even when he clearly opposes the arguments of the new atheists. Although Ravi is clearly a philosopher - from a school of academia whose writings I find difficult to understand - I found The End of Reason easy to read and understand. That said, there are sections that were not always easy to grasp at a first reading, and warranted a second, more careful, perusal. I recommend this book for the coherent, well-reasoned discussion that it provides. It exposes the contradictions and bias that are among the hallmarks of new atheism - or secularism, for that matter - in a logical manner. That said, my favourite sentence is: 'And I strongly suspect that Jesus would have said, "Whose portrait and inscription are on you?"'

Dr Ravi Zackarias once again through Gods words and biblical teachings provides a solid base of which to counter Harris’s claims and remarks regarding atheism. Excellent read!!!!!

Ravi Zacharias debunks heresies used by anti-theists to sway the believer in devine and supreme origins. In particular, it turns out Harris later is very shallow and uses appeal to the emotions tactics. The book is readable, however the intensity grows as one continues. It calls one to put on thinking cap. It's my opinion that however small the book looks... It can not be read in one sitting.

I purchased this book via Kindle and enjoyed it so much I have purchased a copy for my friend for Christmas, I love to read Ravi Zacharias books or listen to him on the radio. Its not a very long book to read so if you enjoy him and dont like to read a thick book then its right up your street. Ravi is very gifted, spiritual man, and has dealt with difficult situations in his life growing up, its easily understood, as I know he can go very deep into matters of the divine, and his praise is all God centered, which I like also.