Ortlund does not set out to prove the truthfulness of Christianity, but asks a simple question: of all the worldview options out there, which is telling us a story that “better accounts for the strangeness, the incompleteness, the brokenness, and the beauty of our world?” (p.11).
Ortlund defends the Christian faith by appealing to the gut level of the reader, assuming that beauty “travels at a wavelength that even the disenchanted can hear.” (p.7). It’s a very effective approach, because it appeals to universal human experience, such the permanent and “universally binding” nature of mathematics (p.75), or the transcendent beauty of music (which has caused some agnostics to reconsider their view — p.89).
In the introduction, Ortlund indicates that he hopes his readers at least will wish the Christian story were true. This is something I’ve often thought: if a non-believer has no desire for the resurrection of Jesus to be true, that would seem to suggest that the person’s unbelief is not merely intellectual, but rooted in something more emotional and even troubling. But if someone does want the resurrection to be true, then we are tapping into what every person really longs for – a day coming when everything sad will come untrue. That’s what every good movie with a happy ending whispers to us.
Excellent book, not just for unbelievers and skeptics, but also for Christians battling with doubt.