Feeds‘G’ Willikers
Author defends faith in God with philosophy and logic
Staff Writer
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Northville native Justin Ferriman discusses the existence of God in his new book the “G” Word, on sale now at bookstores.Justin Ferriman never planned to be a writer and philosopher, it just turned out that way.
In the Northville native’s new book, The “G” Word, Ferriman uses philosophy, logic and scientific probability to tackle the question of faith, and attempts to prove that God exists without the use of the Bible.
“I think people need to find a common ground when discussing God and religion,” Ferriman said. “I find that when someone uses the Bible to try and prove that God exists to someone who’s agnostic or atheist, it’s actually more of a barrier. I hope this book might be just the thing to bring some of those barriers down.”
Ferriman, who graduated from Northville High School in 2003, earned his degree in business communications from Albion College in 2007. Ferriman says that the origin of his book started as a discussion with his college chaplain, who suggested he write down his religious thoughts and questions and save them as a word document.
“After a while I was thinking, ‘Maybe I could submit this’,” Ferriman said. “It was all pretty surreal. I definitely owe a lot of credit to my professors and my family and Northville Public Schools. I think that my experience there instilled me with an open-mindedness that launched me into college, and resulted in this book.”
The “G” Word, which uses logic and a reader friendly down-to-earth narrative, breaks down the history of religious reasoning into easy to understand chapters and arms Christian debaters with arguments to counter agnostics’ arsenal of scientific fact.
Ferriman, who blogged as the only Christian contributor of an atheist website throughout college, said that the book isn’t designed to convert non-believers, but can act as a starting point for those interested in discussing faith. He said that his book also acts as a go-to guide for Christians looking for some non-faith based arguments in support of religious belief.
“I respect everyone’s opinion,” Ferriman said. “What I have a problem with is people who carry a belief but haven’t done their due diligence. They believe something because they saw it on a bumper sticker. I do think that, as a Christian, there are a lot of people out there trying to de-convert you. This gives Christians some arguments to refer to, without alluding to the Bible, which most non-believers consider unreliable. It would be like an evolutionist trying to convince a non-believer that evolution is real by referring to Darwin’s Origin of Species. ‘You see! Evolution exists. It says right here.’ It just doesn’t work.”
Ferriman is also donating a portion of his proceeds to The Appalachian Service Project, a program he contributed to while a member of the First United Methodist Church in Northville.
“There’s still a lot of need there,” Ferriman said. “It’s pretty poverty stricken. It’s a seven week program, and seven churches contribute. They go for one week each to Appalachian areas and work on people’s homes and basic services. I did it for four years and it was a great experience.”
As far as any future book plans are concerned, Ferriman said that he intends to play it by ear. He plans to keep blogging when he begins work as a consultant in Cleveland this July, and said that he’ll continue to challenge his own religious beliefs, something he feels is an important exercise for believers and non-believers alike.
“I still challenge myself every day,” Ferriman said. “I think that when you get set in one belief system and you don’t challenge those beliefs, you get into trouble. I think it benefits everyone to question their beliefs, and if your answer changes, great. At least you are being honest with yourself. I think it’s always best to be active in your faith, and not allow yourself to become idle.”
