Often, the best path to understanding is to ask a question. Having faith in God results in a lifetime of questions. It is for this reason that Dennis Prager, talk show host, professor, author, and one of the founders of PragerU, wrote “If There is No God: The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil.”
He explained in the preface: “Most people have the same questions on the same subjects, but most have given up on posing them.”
A Q&A Approach to Moral Questions
Thus, the book is organized as a question-and-answer session, since—as he shares in the preface—“over the years, [he’s] done more talks and answered more questions.” A question is posed, and then commentary and examples follow. For example, he leads with “Why Do People Hurt Other People?” To answer, he provides historical examples, especially referencing Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, and he also focuses on more current atrocities in such places as Somalia.
Some questions are time-worn: “Are Good and Evil a Matter of Personal Opinion?” Others are relevant to modernity, especially in countries like America, where pets are revered: “Is Your Dog’s Life Worth More than a Stranger’s?”
Not surprisingly, the author also tackles contemporary questions regarding homosexuality, same-sex marriage, antisemitism, and abortion. Prominent, however, is insight into theological contemplations concerning aspects, for instance, of the Ten Commandments.
At times, Prager shares comments from attendees of his past lectures. He seems to include these to let readers know that what they are thinking about and questioning are considered and pondered by others as well.
Values, Faith, and the Source of Good and Evil
Prager makes two points clear one-quarter of the way into the book—soon after he states that the best values are biblical. Those two points are: “One, feelings and values are not the same. Values override feelings. And, two, values must be rooted in a God who is higher than we are.”
Instrumental in the book project were two people Prager credits in “Some Notes on the Text”: his wife, Susan, manuscript editor; and Joel Alperson, an expert on the Torah.
After extrapolating on numerous questions encompassed in “If There is No God,” the author wraps up with three main considerations. Sorry—no spoiler here. It is important to read the book to understand Prager’s viewpoints.
He does leave readers with a mandate akin to Jesus’s directive in Mark 16:15. Further, he writes in his “Final Thoughts”: “The only way to prevent most evil is by people holding good values and, as we have seen, is possible only if those values emanate from the Creator.”
A bonus to “If There is No God,” is a three-page afterword by Glenn Beck, author and host of a radio show. He expresses that his hope the book, written by his friend, will be absorbed by readers.
‘If There Is No God: The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil’
By Dennis Prager
Broadside Books: Feb. 24, 2026
Hardcover, 256 pages
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