D'Souza begins What's So Great About Christianity (without the question mark the title can be read as a question or as a statement) by suggesting many Western Christians live practically as postmodernists, having accepted two forms of truth—religious and secular—to live by. This dualism offers no protection agains the recent vigorous attacks of atheists like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, leaving them to make their claims brazenly without fear of opposition. It's time, D'Souza urges, to make a stand for traditional Christianity.
What's So Great About Christianity is just that. Adapting the two-truth approach, D'Souza both dismantles atheist arguments and positively presents the case for Christianity, touching on topics as seemingly far-reaching as ethics, philosophy, astronomy and the Crusades. Some of his best—and most surprising—arguments are scientific, as he attempts to show that it is Christianity that is in fact consistent with scientific fact as we know it, and that atheism is actually incompatible with science. He even claims that, far from disproving, Darwinian evolution in fact is evidence for the truth of Christianity.
Making no concessions to any camp, whether Christianity or atheism or even skepticism, D'Souza writes reasonably and clearly, never stooping to the level of polemics (as is the wont of many of his atheist opponents). At times his claims may raise eyebrows, such as his suggestion that the Inquisition wasn't all that bad; at other times he states the obvious, such as the fact that it has been atheist regimes in the 20th century that have perpetrated the worst genocides and crimes against humanity. But for the most part he argues lucidly, presenting evidence often overlooked and taking nothing for granted.
This book has been compared to C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, but in many ways D'Souza's book is superior. By using specific instead of general arguments, his claims are less easily refuted, especially in sweeping strokes. He refuses to build from presuppositions, instead using atheist and anti-Christian logic to disprove atheism and prove Christianity. He also approaches Christianity much more globally, taking into account not just the West and its civilization, but the life of the Church among all people groups. Fairly unique among books of its kind, What's So Great About Christianity is highly recommended reading for just about everyone.