‘In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism’ by Scott A Shay

“Why should anyone in his or her right mind believe in God?”

The idea for Scott’s new book began over lunch one day with a friend; naturally the conversation turned to faith and God. The friend commented, “We humans can figure out right from wrong for ourselves without the help of some nonexistent god or his or its imagined laws… humanity should not waste time on worshipping some made-up god.”

This struck a chord with Scott, now the author of In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism, which explores a reasonable approach to believing in one God. Scott well known among his friends to be a true believer in one God, says that people generally have three perspectives on the topic of faith.

The first perspective is one that forces God into a mythical creature, alongside Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. The second perspective sees religious belief as a useful emotional crutch, though with no real link with reality and rationality. The third perspective argues that the morality taught in the Bible is outdated for today’s technological world.

Scott’s observes how the New Atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, seem to have won the intellectual debate against the relevance and purpose of God. He counters by offering strong arguments about believing in monotheism and why it’s actually completely rational to be a believer.

Scott explains that monotheistic teachings of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism form the foundation of modern morality. He cautions about the danger of idolatry, which he defines as ”lies about power”, and worries that in our modern world people seem vulnerable to various forms of idolatry and its allure.

He sees today’s world as one where too many people are easily pulled into widespread wrongdoing, both on a national-level – such as with dictators – or on a much smaller scale where politicians and leaders are acting God-like, as if they are flawless and not accountable for their negative actions.

The New Atheists have written many books, and not being able to find a book that defended the rational belief in God, Scott – a strong believer in God and an observant Jew – took it upon himself to write this book.

Scott having built a successful bank from the ground-up (and is also an Asia Times shareholder) took over five years as a busy businessman to write In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism. Learn more about this author and entrepreneur at ScottShay.com.

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