A Critical Précis of "The Mystery of Persons and Belief in God by C. S

A Critical Précis of "The Mystery of Persons and Belief in God by C. Stephen Evans

1. Name of author, title, appropriate publishing information, followed by a verb such as argues, believes, reports, and finally a "that clause containing the author's thesis or major assertion.

In "The Mystery of Persons and Belief in God" from the web site http://www.orgins.org/articles/evans_mysterypersons.html, C. Stephen Evans asserts that if we examine human nature and desires with a Christian mindset, we will discover good reasons for believing in God.
2. A brief explanation (one paragraph or less) how the author supports and develops his or her thesis.

Mankind's evil deeds point to our greatness, for only a creature with self-consciousness and freedom can be truly evil. We are created in the image of God and we were created to enjoy a special relationship with God. We possess imagination and the power of reflective choice. We are creative beings with the power of free choice because we were made in the likeness of the Person who created the whole of nature by a free choice. Many people use this power of choice in terrible ways. This does not mean human freedom is an illusion; rather that God takes our freedom so seriously that he allows our actions to produce their full consequences. Down through the ages we have been incurably religious. The urge to believe in and worship a higher power is present in virtually every human culture. The fact that we have a deep need to believe in and find God strongly suggests that God is real.

3. A sentence stating the author's purpose for writing.
Evans is trying to convince the reader that humans were created with the need for God causing us to believe in and worship God hence God is real. 4. A sentence identifying the author's audience.
Christian-minded believers of God who are seeking proof of God's existence. 5. Your evaluation of what the author wrote (no more than three paragraphs).
I found Evans' arguments inadequate proof of the existence of God. Throughout the article the term "if Christianity is true…" is used repeatedly. The use of an "if" statement as the fulcrum of his philosophy places the entire philosophy on shaky ground. One would be forced to assume the Christian belief system is true, at least the most basic concepts, in order to believe in Evans' philosophy. Additionally, Evans uses his arguments as particulars to jump to his final conclusion; a leap of faith, if you will. The author's philosophy about the existence of God is Christian-biased; the author himself admitted that only those who believe in a Christian God and who are seeking for any proof to support their beliefs will see the logic of his arguments.
The author does make some very interesting points, particularly when he breaks down the need for God into smaller portions more easily examined; basic human desires. He lists the desire for eternity in three aspects; life, meaning to that life, and love. Although I think he fell short when he referred to these desires as a God-shaped hole, noting that it must be more than coincidence that God fills all of these desires or hopes. Nothing in this world is "one-size-fits-all".