"What should it profit a man, if he gaineth the world, but loseth his own soul?" Mark 8:36.

Sometimes one gains the world, not by losing one's soul, but by keeping it.

This essay on the philosophy of religion makes the argument that, starting with Descartes, the Modern and Postmodern eras have been defined by the idea that it is always rational to doubt every possible doubt at all times, and that the hallmark of science is this omnipresent doubt, this sense that everything can be called into question and accused of any and every accusation and must always withstand the test of doubt and be attacked with any doubt at any time. The essay explains that to doubt something is to assert a condition of it, specifically, to assert a failure condition of it, to assert a condition under which it fails, and a thing, in a metaphysical sense, can be understood as nothing more than a set of conditions, which includes at a minimum a boundary condition which defines what is inside the thing and what is outside the thing, although a thing can have success conditions in addition to failure conditions.

The essay then argues for a surprising and controversial, yet perfectly rational, counterargument: that it is not always rational to doubt any and every doubt, and that, for a specific situation, there can be a set of doubts which it is irrational to doubt and which it is rational not to assert. Specific examples are given of times and places where doubt is deeply and profoundly irrational, ranging from math, to sports, to communication. Defining "faith" as the absence of doubt or as the choice not to doubt, the essay then ties up the two ends and connects them in a logical way, proving that, if sometimes it is rational not to doubt, and if faith is the choice not to doubt, then, at least some of the time, faith is rational. To the extent that faith is rational, the essay challenges the orthodox notion that faith and reason are in conflict or that religion and science contradict each other, and the essay argues that no conflict exists. But the essay then ties this concept of faith into the broader Judeo-Christian narrative of religion, showing how faith, when understood in this rational and logical way, can lead to faith in God. The essay is a self-help book to the extent that it explains having faith in yourself as the choice not to doubt yourself and not to assert failure conditions of yourself, but here, too, it is religious, and shows how and why self-confidence should be grounded in faith in God.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in theology, religion, or philosophy!