Conversations With My Inner Atheist: A Christian Apologist Explores Questions That Keep People Up at Night

By Randal D. Rauser 2 Cup Press, 2020. 202 pages. $16 (e-book $5.99)

alberta theologian Randal Rauser has long had an interest in atheism having written a number of books on the topic. But not all atheists are out there. Some are closer than we like to admit.

In his new book Rauser literally has a conversation with his inner atheist, whom he affectionately calls Mia (My Inner Atheist). Mia is that little voice that wakes up to remind us faith is not as simple as we’d like.

Mia keeps bringing up the difficult topics that are not often openly discussed among Christians. Responding with “Just have faith” only goes so far.

Rauser responds to each of Mia’s arguments as to why Christianity does not make sense, demonstrating that Christianity is both coherent and compelling, even when it can also be messy.

If there is a weakness to this book, it is that it at times feels less like a conversation with that inner voice and more like a debate with an online atheist. With Rauser’s active online presence in responding to atheists, that is to be expected.

The most significant aspect of the book is not the arguments Rauser puts forth, but the admission that we all have an inner atheist. We may be confident in some things, but there are always hard questions we struggle with.

This is not a book aimed at convincing skeptics, but it opens space for Christians to ask difficult questions and provides some tentative answers.