Pertinent Philosophy on the Presence of Providence

Before launching into a review of Mitch Stokes’ A Shot of Faith to the Head, I must first confess some intrinsic bias. I have graduate and undergraduate degrees in history and, in both instances, minored in European Intellectual History. I present that information for one reason – this type of philosophy manuscript rests squarely within my “wheelhouse” or area that I enjoy reading. Typically, defenses of belief in God tend to become overly deep and are inaccessible by most Christians; or, in other words, they are written for the Christian intellectuals or philosophers. Stokes has NOT done that with his brilliant book. I have several words that can be used to describe A Shot of Faith to the Head: scholarly, delightful, witty, deep, enthralling, genuine, and powerful. He has the ability to breakdown a complex subject into terms that allows an everyday Christian to arm themselves against supposed rational attacks against irrational belief in God. Stokes tackles opposition by atheists through a unique scaffolding approach. Instead of writing long chapters, he chunks them into smaller divisions that can be read and reread without much time. Each short section advances and argument that the next chapter builds upon. As an aside, I do suggest that you start reading at the beginning to fully feel the force of his philosophy at the end. Stokes' scaffolding reveals he has the heart of a teacher and the mind of an intellectual. Teachers want to make sure that students know, understand, and do what has been provided while intellectuals desire the advancement of particular complexities. He accomplishes both in this wonderful read. One of the grand parts of his work is at the end of every chapter. Stokes has a short section entitled “For Your Arsenal.” The author provides short bullet summaries of the major ideas in that chapter. These allow a reader to access the vital ideas and review. Further, if the book has been set aside for some time, one simply needs to reach those scaffolding bullets to remember all that went before. That way, you can quickly jump back into the depths of his analysis. As I blazed through the first section, I began to detect a problem within his philosophy – namely, that he was purely advancing a philosophical thesis for believing in God, thereby, removing God’s grace from the entire scene. That assumption soon proved false due to the dazzling section on pages 55-57. I will not spoil that for you but will say this – he provides one of the most clear and cogent statements for how one will come to believe in God. There is definitively a “wow factor” or “aha moment” here! Quite frankly, I do not like Christian works that advance an author’s thesis that peppers in some Scripture while primarily utilizing neat little stories or quotes from humans. While Stoke utilizes that very format, I can honestly say that I completely overlook that issue. It is rare that I am giddy for books with so little Scripture; however, A Shot of Faith to the Head is a must read for any serious Christian. It will not let you down and you will not be disappointed. As a reader, you will emerge stronger than before with a better understanding of the “basic” tenets of belief in God and the Christian faith (you’ll understand the play on words there after reading it). Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”