Dinner with Skeptics

Overview When I arrived at the banquet, my suspicions intensified. A designated place at the end of a long table with my name engraved on a flowery card pointed clearly to my place in the arena. Laura took her seat at the opposite end, made the necessary introductions, and smugly glanced in my direction. With everyone looking intently my way, I took one sip of Diet Coke, breathed deeply, and waited for the trouble to begin. I was certain that something unpleasant was brewing." And so begins a conversation that Jeff Vines has with a group of people eager to put God and Christianity on trial. This is a story about a meeting with a young lady named Laura. What makes this story worth telling is that in many ways it's your story and my story. It is the story of humanity and its efforts to discover the answers to the most penetrating questions of our lives. Her questions are universal to all people and all cultures. Laura's story brings the issues to light and illuminates for all of us the path to a happy, successful, productive, and ultimately fulfilling life. The revised Edition contains the original 10 chapters plus three additional chapters to cover subjects that Jeff added as a result of questions that were often asked of him after speaking with crowds of college students.  These chapters are "Why Should I Trust the Bible?"; "Tolerance"; and "Why Doesn't God Kill the Devil?".  These chapters continue in the highly readable, conversational way that Jeff handles the tough apologetic  questions many people have.  Dinner with Skeptics now has 13 chapters and 221 pages. ISBN 978-0-89900-966-7 WEB-966   Excerpts “This book is about recovering something that is lost. Something we lost that unless recovered yields perhaps the worst possible ramifications known to the human experience. Such loss inevitably leads to meaninglessness and depression, dejection and hopelessness, despondency and despair. In fact, unless that which is lost is recovered, nothing that is found matters. A life of joy, peace, and prosperity will remain elusive, and any sort of satisfaction will be temporary at best. Indeed, can God make a comeback? Although God has never moved, our accusations against Him have convinced many that He has ridden off into the sunset never to return. Even those who acknowledge his existence expect very little from Him and live pragmatically as atheists. ‘God may exist,’ they say, ‘but His existence makes little difference to my life.’ This book is about a woman who believed that God’s recovery was about as likely as a tornado sweeping through a junkyard and assembling a fully functioning Boeing 747. Harmonizing what we know about this world with the existence of God, in her mind, was just not possible. God was just too far gone. He could not recover. My desire is that through the words on these pages, I can transport you back to the events that led to Laura’s rediscovering or recovering God. Her story has as much tension and intrigue as any novel I have read.” (pp. 10-11)   Endorsements "As you will read, that night in Brisbane was filled with drama, passion, and suspense culminating in something far greater than a national championship in any sport . . .transformed lives!" -Tony Bennett, Head Basketball Coach of the Washington State Cougars and 2007 NCAA Coach of the Year   "Someone said all theology must become biography. Using a compelling narrative from his own life, Jeff Vines shows how apologetics can move from the academic classroom into the bustling marketplace. I hope all of our students read this book!" -Matt Proctor, President of Ozark Christian College    Other Books by this Author Divine Romance   About the Author Jeff Vines spent twenty years on the mission field (Zimbabwe and New Zealand) planting churches and training leaders. From 1998-2005 he was the featured speaker on the weekly television broadcast, “Questions of Life,” and frequently debated agnostic and atheist alike on national radio. Jeff has served two years as the Teaching Pastor at Savannah Christian Church in Savannah, Georgia, and then became the Senior Pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in San Dimas, California. Robin and Jeff have two children: Delaney (14) and Sian (12).