Coming Soon from Baker Books - Is God a Moral Monster?

If yesterday's post was a bit too academic for some of my readers here's one that may interest a broader audience.  Coming this January Baker Books brings us Is God a Moral Monster? by Paul Copan.  In the face of so many objections from the New Atheists this topic certainly is close to the top of their list if not at the very top.  It's been said that the motto of the New Atheists is "God does not exist and we hate him."  One of the reasons for their hatred is their continued portrayal of him in the worst possible light and the Old Testament is a rich mine field for their caricatures.  This is a much needed book and Copan is the perfect guy to write it.  Here's the catalog description:

"A recent string of popular-level books written by the New Atheists have leveled the accusation that the God of the Old Testament is nothing but a bully, a murderer, and a cosmic child abuser. This viewpoint is even making inroads into the church. How are Christians to respond to such accusations? And how are we to reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of God portrayed in the two testaments?

In this timely and readable book, apologist Paul Copan takes on some of the most vexing accusations of our time, including:

• God is arrogant and jealous
• God punishes people too harshly
• God is guilty of ethnic cleansing
• God oppresses women
• God endorses slavery
• Christianity causes violence
• and more

Copan not only answers God's critics, he also shows how to read both the Old and New Testaments faithfully, seeing an unchanging, righteous, and loving God in both."

And here's an endorsement from Gary Habermas, distinguished research professor, Liberty University and Seminary:

"The most difficult questions that can be asked about Scripture include a list of ethical challenges to several Old Testament texts and teachings.  These issues have been taken up with more fervor of late, owing to the growing popularity of radical atheism and skepticism.  There's virtually no scholar I'd rather read on these subjects than Paul Copan.  I recommend this volume heartily."

Paul Copan (PhD, Marquette University) is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. He is author of True for You, But Not for Me (Bethany House), That's Just Your Interpretation, How Do You Know You're Not Wrong?, When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics (all with Baker), and Loving Wisdom: Christian Philosophy of Religion (Chalice Press). He has co-authored (with William Lane Craig) Creation Out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, and Scientific Exploration (Baker Academic). He has co-edited three books on the historical Jesus; three other books he has coedited are on the philosophy of religion, The Rationality of Theism (Routledge), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (Routledge) and Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues (Blackwell). He has co-edited (with William Craig) Passionate Conviction and Contending with Christianity's Critics (both with B&H Academic, which also published his co-edited Apologetics Study Bible). He has contributed articles and book reviews to various professional journals as well: Philosophia Christi, Faith and Philosophy, Trinity Journal, Southern Journal of Theology, the Journal for the Evangelical Theological Society and The Review of Metaphysics.

Is God A Moral Monster: Making Sense of the Old Testament God will be a paperback with 240 pages and sell for $14.99.