Synopsis: Accosted by hatred and living out a dismal existence in Dirt Place, we humans have tried and failed to find the source of love. Many philosophies of love have proved powerless in satisfying our need for this pure and true thing. One after another, the world's religions fail to illuminate its reality and beauty. All the while, the overwhelming presence of evil has forced love into the shadows of elusiveness. But through the barrage of attempts to explain love's source, it is the Christian God alone who has brought meaning, value, and eternal significance to this oft-misunderstood virtue. It is the Christian God alone whose divine and perfect love was revealed in all its splendor in the cross of Jesus Christ. In Leaving Dirt Place, Jonah Haddad explores a multitude of philosophies and religions whose flawed accounts of love must ultimately yield to the truth of Christianity. This thoughtful and challenging apologetic presents a clear case for the true God of love. Endorsements: "If true love exists, it must have a transcendent and personal source. How can that source be best explained? Not, Haddad argues, by the worldviews of naturalism, pantheism, or a number of theistic religions. Love's best and only final explanation is Christian theism. Haddad's argument is clear, detailed, rational, and compelling. Helpful for every evangelist, apologist, or biblically literate Christian." --James W. Sire author of The Universe Next Door "While humans speak of love, yearn for love, give love, receive love, and have their hearts broken (and break other hearts) by the manifold betrayals of love, the very fact of love is often unexplained or (worse yet) explained away by philosophies that cannot bear its bittersweet weight. Haddad, however, does not shrink from this daunting task, but rather marshals the theological and philosophical resources required to set forth a compelling case that only the Christian vision of existence can give love its proper meaning, value, and significance--even (or especially) amidst all the tears, blood, and fears of a world 'east of Eden.'" --from the Foreword by Douglas Groothuis author of Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism Author Biography: Jonah Haddad received his MA in Philosophy of Religion from Denver Seminary. He lives and works in Lyon, France.