Letters from a Skeptic contains a personal dialogue between a father and son about Christian faith. The
purpose of this assignment is to relate these correspondences to your own journey of faith.
In his preface, Boyd states that one goal of the book is to “dispel [the] myth” that “rational obstacles to the faith
that unbelievers have are disingenuous and that believers have no responsibility for knowing and sharing the
rational foundation of the faith they hold” (10). To that end, this assignment will require you to think critically
about your faith, insofar as the letters themselves reflect this kind of activity.
At the same time, the letters preserve a very personal dialogue about the Christian faith. To that end, this
assignment is primarily about your personal and engaged reflection on the letters, rather than your
dispassionate analysis.
1) Label the section with the appropriate Correspondence Number and restate the topic directly from the book.
For instance: Correspondence 13: Why trust the Gospel account?
2) Why did you choose this correspondence? Why is the question/issue important to you? In what contexts
have you been confronted with this same question in your own life? (100 words)
3) Prior to reading Gregory Boyd’s answer to the question, what responses had you heard people give to this
question/issue? (100 words)
4) Is the response that Boyd offers to his father convincing to you? Why, or why not? Evaluate its strengths and
weaknesses. (150 words)
5) How does it benefit the Christian believer to have an answer to this question? What concrete implications
does this question/issue have for daily Christian living? (100 words)
How should I write?
Respond to the five correspondence questions (above) in a Word document.
Responses should be logical, grammatically accurate, and use correct spelling and sentence structure.
Responses should demonstrate the “lucid brevity” that is the hallmark of good academic writing.
How long should my responses be?
The five correspondence questions (above) specify the length of each response (by word count).
When is this assignment due?
Sample Solution
