An Almighty Predicament: A Discourse on the Arguments For and Against Christianity

The new atheism movement has highlighted many of the theological problems related to Christianity and other religions, and as we move into a 'post-truth' age, many people are wondering whether there is still a place for God in society. Has science consigned God to the evolutionary scrapheap?

In this bold and insightful book, British philosopher Steven Colborne strongly argues that God exists, but also criticises many of the key doctrines of Christianity and other world religions that present, in his view, a mistaken understanding of the nature of God.

Tackling subjects such as free will, suffering, morality, and the afterlife, Colborne presents a grand vision of reality with God at the centre. The book looks not only backward at the religions that have shaped our world, but also to the future — a future in which Colborne believes science, technology, and a new kind of religion, will all have a meaningful role to play.

Colborne's spiritual journey has been quite remarkable. An atheist during his teenage years, Colborne used to hate the idea of God, believing it to be foolish and naive. After his mother became ill with a serious disease, Colborne was forced to confront the issue of suffering in depth for the first time. His mother's death sparked a spiritual yearning in Colborne which led him to explore both Eastern and Western philosophy and various associated religious practises. As part of these explorations, Colborne read authors such as Alan Watts, Deepak Chopra, Brandon Bays, Ramana Maharshi, and Eckhart Tolle, but none of these teachers brought solace to Colborne, who found himself suffering from deep depression and spiritual confusion.

At the age of 25, during an admission to psychiatric hospital following an episode of psychosis, Colborne unexpectedly requested that he be brought a Bible. Upon reading the New Testament properly for the first time, Colborne was persuaded of the veracity of the Christian faith and he became a Christian.

Despite immersing himself in Christian life in the years that followed, Colborne struggled with several areas of Christian doctrine that to him seemed highly illogical. He was especially troubled by the divine sovereignty versus human free will problem, which seemed to present a logical contradiction at the heart of the Christian worldview. It is this problem — the so-called 'free will predicament' — which is central to Colborne's arguments in The Only Question You Ever Need Ask.

The following essays are included in this volume:

A Listener-Centred, Dialectical Model for Popular Music Analysis

Heraclitus and the Nature of Change

The Schopenhauerian Concept of Will

The Soul in Christianity and Platonism

George Eliot and Feuerbach on God and the Good

Karl Rahner’s Anthropology

Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Election

The Trinity and Suffering

A Letter to George Eliot about God and the Good

God and Suffering: Approaches and Issues

An Almighty Predicament: A Discourse on the Arguments For and Against Christianity

The Only Question You Ever Need Ask

The opening essay in this volume is Colborne's first-class undergraduate dissertation, written during his final year of study at the University of Westminster. The essay presents a radical approach to music analysis.

The majority of the included essays were written during Colborne's postgraduate studies at Heythrop College, University of London. The Heythrop essays include a discussion of the nature of the human soul, as well as various discourses related to the subject of suffering. Colborne also examines the ideas of several important figures in Western philosophy, including Plato, Heraclitus, and Schopenhauer. The ideas of various contemporary writers and theologians are also explored, including Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, George Eliot, and others.

The final two essays in this volume are what might be referred to as Colborne's 'mature' essays. These essays, written between 2017 and 2020, offer profound insights into the divine sovereignty versus human free will predicament with specific reference to Christian theology. As with so much of Colborne's work, the problem of suffering is a key focus.

This book presents some of Colborne's finest work, and readers will finish the book having gained a thorough understanding of Colborne's philosophical worldview and most important academic contributions.