Reddit mentions of Who Designed the Designer?: A Rediscovered Path to God’s Existence

Who Designed the Designer, by Michael Augros, is a new, fairly short, clear, and un-intimidating exploration of the traditional Aristotelio-Thomistic arguments for God's existence. I find it more engaging and readable than Feser's Aquinas, which, though labeled "a beginner's guide," is still written as a textbook for students and so is a bit more dry and difficult.

Mr. Stallman has a reputation for brilliance elsewhere, but that doesn't necessarily carry over to this subject, as you no doubt know. If you think he would give the time to really try to consider and understand it, Feser's book is excellent and very exact and thorough. But if Mr. Stallman has the usual lack of knowledge of metaphysics and bias against it, then Augros' book might be a better place to start. It's certainly what I would recommend to a "normal" atheist. You can always graduate him to Feser afterwards, if he is interested.

I concur with /u/mr_takayamu about Aquinas' argument from motion and related arguments (e.g. Aristotle's unmoved mover, Avicenna's essence/existence argument, etc).

These arguments are good IF one takes the time to peel away the layers of misconception that have congealed on them in the popular sphere. It's very difficult to find accurate information with a simple Google search; better to read a book. This is a good start.

Living in a fallen world not only affects our ability to make good decisions, but it has also affected our physical world. There are biological imperfections, such as infertility, that occur due to living in a fallen world. It sucks a ton. Adam brought these terrible sufferings upon us (often my husband says he can't wait to punch Adam in the face) but our good God has given us a way to use those sufferings for good and that we can take those challenges and become better people if we continue to trust in God through them.

If you feel like you need a more intellectual basis for a belief in God, there are really good books out there explaining why God exists.

One is The Last Superstition by Edward Feser. https://www.amazon.com/Last-Superstition-Refutation-New-Atheism/dp/1587314517/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Another is Who Designed the Designer by Michael Augros. https://www.amazon.com/Who-Designed-Designer-Rediscovered-Existence/dp/1586179691/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

If you would like a great book on how to keep peace of heart during trials, I would recommend Searching for and Maintaining Peace. https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Maintaining-Peace-Small-Treatise/dp/0818909064

I think if you can get to the point where you do acknowledge there is a God due to the logical basis for Him and that this God must be good due the logical basis for what kind of God He is, you might be able to trust Him more. We can't really trust someone we don't know too well.

Prayers for you and your wife during this very stressful time. I hope you two try to find ways to relax amidst the stress.

The above user doesn't really know what he's talking about. If you want a nice introduction to the classical cosmological argument, I don't think you can do any better than Michael Augros' book. It's very easy to understand and the tone isn't at all polemical.