Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn’t by Gavin Ortlund Review

I studied apologetics in Bible college and seminary and in many books and lectures since. And I have often used the arguments I learned in debates. But in recent years, I’ve realized that most of those arguments aren’t really the reason I believe. And when I hit a low point in my faith about 10 years ago, I clung to those esoteric and theoretical arguments, but, honestly, didn’t find them all that helpful in restoring my faith and dispelling doubts. The arguments that were more helpful to me were arguments that may be less precise and logically unassailable, but more obvious and intuitive in the world around us, such as the existence of beauty, the reality of inspiration and awe, and consciousness. I found exactly what I was looking for in Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn’t, by Gavin Ortlund.

Ortlund simply shows how the Christian worldview explains life better than any alternative.

The Book Unfolds in Four Chapters:

• The Cause of the World seeks to show that a universe that begins to exist makes more philosophical sense if grounded in a transcendent, uncaused Cause rather than mere blind chance. Here Ortlund engages cosmological thinking in an accessible, common sense way, pressing the reader to face questions that atheistic naturalism often leaves unresolved.
• The Meaning of the World This is my favorite part of the book. Ortlund suggests that math, music, and love point beyond a purely materialistic universe. Why does mathematics feel eternal and objective? Why does beauty grab our hearts? Why do we love each other in ways that seem to transcend survival?
• The Conflict of the World explores the moral intuitions we all have—good vs. evil, right vs. wrong—and argues that these intuitions make better sense if objective moral value is rooted in God. A worldview that reduces morality to subjective preference, he insists, robs moral outrage of its seriousness.
• The Hope of the World moves from general theism toward specifically Christian hope, culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Negative Critiques

Some readers have criticized the book because it frames arguments in terms of what makes more sense rather than what must be true. For those desiring iron-clad deductive proofs, this abductive framing can feel less decisive. Prior to my crisis of faith, I probably would have been among those critics. But with my current perspective, I found it to be the very thing my faith needed.

I highly recommend the book.

Other apologetics books I recommend:

Simply Christian by NT Wright

Tactics by Gregory Koukl

 For more of my resources, see TreasuringGod.com