Myers respectfully defends his faith to skeptical scientists as only a fellow empiricist could. Through a series of short chapters Myers takes up the critical points of the neoatheists with an engaging "Yes, but have you thought about this?" approach. Faithheads will welcome the clarity with which Myers comes to their rescue. However, they too will find themselves challenged, reexamining their beliefs, assumptions and even their practices.

"Why can't we all just get along", says Myers, as he dives right into the deep end of the Christian vs. anti-Christian pool. I use these terms specifically, because while consistent skeptics or atheists profess themselves against all "non-scientific" thinking, I have found that in their comments on my Amazon reviews that they have specifically attacked Christianity with a venom only attainable by those who have a faith-based interest in a competing belief system.

Myers does a reasonable job searching for a middle ground defending faith for its human efficacy in areas of physical and mental health, quality of life, charitable giving and volunteerism, civil rights, contributions to science. Myers, a psychologist who teaches at a Christian college, relies heavily on reason, history, and psychological studies in his apologetics. Most of it is familiar territory but in need of repeating in the face of a resurgent body of specifically and aggressively anti-Christian literature from Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything), and others.

The main problem, aside from the scorched-earth policy of these writers to invalidate any opposition to their theory, is judging Christianity by the results of human action. Admittedly, religion has a checkered record at times, with slavery, Inquisition, anti-Semitism, and hypocrisy at the hands of ever-sinful men.

But religion is a man made concept only tangentially related to our spiritual condition. The Bible records God's history and plan for salvation that depends on individual acceptance of God's plan through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All that eternally matters is how each individual responds to this plan. How man has perverted religion, how atheists have attacked religion, and whether religion has any temporal value is irrelevant.

Each reader must go to the source and deal with it in their own mind and soul.

The author appears to be trying too hard to be a "friend" to God's enemies. I find some of his conclusions abhorrent. I will probably finish his book, but I'm in no hurry to do so.

A balanced, thought provoking book,and an easy read at the same time. Dr. Myers addresses with equal clarity those for who faith is an illusion, and those for whom it is a cudgel. A wonderful book for the those who choose to think rather than adhere to doctrinaire rigidity on either side of the faith question.

I just finished David Myers' latest book in his never ending quest to write enough to fill a book shelf in my basement. I think this is his 17th book. He has earned the trust of readers with his careful scholarship and willingness to share his personal beliefs and biases so that we know where he stands on issues so that we can formulate our own interpretation. If only more authors did this.

Its brief, extremely readable, and as only David can do, he burrows through the nuances between people who are religious and people who don't believe in a supernatural, higher power with gentleness and humility to uncover common ground. If read with a receptive, open mind by enough people, I suspect this book can make a real difference. From my reading, the goal is not to change anyone's belief system. Whether you believe that religious works were written by excellent human storytellers or whether you believe that freethinkers are missing out on the big picture, this book provides a case for why there is no reason for animosity and hatred to spillover between these groups.

Sure, there are plenty of things I disagree with but as Myers points out, it is only from arguments between friends that hatred will dissipate.

good stuff. if only this level of discourse could play out on the larger stage of politics and policy makers. If only people could say what they really think and be respectful and curious about the other side (resisting labels, categories, and preconceived notions).

I am glad he has the courage to tackle the difficult, hot button issues. As long as we play it safe with our articles, books, and discussions, the
impact of any writer, thinker, and public figure will be unnecessarily capped. Hearty skepticism, debate, arguments, and questioning have to be part of our toolbox. Still not enough of it.

I hope people read this as a complement to the other excellent books out there by evolutionary psychologists (The Moral Animal) and philosophers (Dawkins, Harris, Dennett, Shermer, etc.).

Dr. David Myers easily could rest on his laurels as the author of the most widely studied psychology text on college campuses. In fact, much of his time is consumed, these days, researching the cutting edge of psychological research to prepare future editions of his textbooks.

But, in his mid-60s, his lifetime as a scholar, a teacher and a man of deep faith has driven him toward another vocation: Building bridges that may help millions of us to cross over the social chasms of our age.

This includes his work on improving conditions in public places for hearing-impaired people and encouraging a fresh discussion between gay and heterosexual people over faith. If you're interested in those themes, take a look at his earlier books, "A Quiet World: Living with Hearing Loss" and "What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage."

Dr. Myers is an equal-opportunity bridge builder. His eye, his mind and his heart all are focused on the timeless promise of compassionate community that lies at the heart of nearly all of our faith traditions. What fuels his work, year after year, is his vision of what he calls "human flourishing by making sense of the universe, giving meaning to life, connecting us in supportive communities, mandating altruism and offering hope in the face of adversity and death."

That's a pretty good summary of the purpose of faith, right? He's really preaching a message that's universal. Who could disagree with these goals?

And yet -we do find so many issues around which we want to hunker down and dig deep trenches between "us" and "them."

What's so fascinating in recent years is that people of faith suddenly discovered that an influential group of best-selling writers, commonly called "the new atheists," had completely outflanked the religious community. These elite writers are digging their own trenches to separate their new circle of voices from the religious community they seem to despise.

One thing you must understand about Dr. Myers -- and I know this from talking with him and occasionally interviewing him in depth over the years -- is that he's got a boundless, constructive optimism in the way he approaches all questions. In short, think of Mister Rogers.

About the same time as the release of Myers' book, Michael Novak released "No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers," a book with a similar purpose -- a full-scale response to the new atheists. Novak's book also is a good read on these issues, raising fresh examples and arguments that are different in a number of ways from Myers' own approaches. But the central difference here, I think, is that Novak's book is more muscular, more strident, more the voice of a debater in a TV studio. Novak's book is more Catholic in its cultural references; Myers' is more mainline Protestant.

Both books are good choices, if you're an individual reader wanting to weigh both sides in this fascinating debate. If you're looking for material to read in a small discussion group and you're making a choice between Novak and Myers, then you'll probably find Myers' book, as the title says, more "Friendly."

Dr. David Myers easily could rest on his laurels as the author of the most widely studied psychology text on college campuses. In fact, much of his time is consumed, these days, researching the cutting edge of psychological research to prepare future editions of his textbooks.

But, in his mid-60s, his lifetime as a scholar, a teacher and a man of deep faith have driven him toward another vocation: Building bridges that may help millions of us to cross over the social chasms of our age.

This includes his work on improving conditions in public places for hearing-impaired people and encouraging a fresh discussion between gay and heterosexual people over faith. If you're interested in those themes, take a look at his earlier books, "A Quiet World" and "What God Has Joined Together."

Dr. Myers is an equal-opportunity bridge builder. His eye, his mind and his heart all are focused on the timeless promise of compassionate community that lies at the heart of nearly all of our faith communities. What fuels his work, year after year, is his vision of what he calls "human flourishing by making sense of the universe, giving meaning to life, connecting us in supportive communities, mandating altruism and offering hope in the face of adversity and death."

That's a pretty good summary of the purpose of faith, right? He's really preaching a message that's universal. Who could disagree with these goals?

And yet -we do find so many issues around which we want to hunker down and dig deep trenches between "us" and "them."

What's so fascinating in recent years is that people of faith suddenly discovered that an influential group of best-selling writers, commonly called "the new atheists," had completely outflanked the religious community. These elite writers are digging their own trenches to separate their new circle of voices from the religious community they seem to despise.

One thing you must understand about Dr. Myers - and I know this from talking with him and occasionally interviewing him in depth over the years -- is that he's got a boundless, constructive optimism in the way he approaches all questions. In short, think of Mister Rogers.

About the same time as the release of Myers' book, Michael Novak released "No One Sees God," a book with a similar purpose - a full-scale response to the new atheists. Novak's book also is a good read on these issues, raising fresh examples and arguments that are different in a number of ways from Myers' own approaches. But the central difference here, I think, is that Novak's book is more muscular, more strident, more the voice of a debater in a TV studio. Novak's book is more Catholic in its cultural references; Myers' is more mainline Protestant.

Both books are good choices, if you're an individual reader wanting to weigh both sides in this fascinating debate. If you're looking for material to read in a small discussion group and you're making a choice between Novak and Myers, then you'll probably find Myers' book, as the title says, more "Friendly."