Thinking About Christian Apologetics

Most introductions to apologetics begin with the "how to" of defending the faith, diving right into the major apologetic arguments and the body of evidence. For those who want a more foundational look at this contested theological discipline, this book examines Christian apologetics in its nature, history, approaches, objections and practice. What is apologetics? How has apologetics developed? What are the basic apologetic approaches? Why should we practice apologetics? Countless Christians today are seeking a responsibe way to defend and commend their faith. If you are one them, Thinking About Christian Apologetics is the place to start.

The standard for Christian apologetics, this systematic approach presents both the methods and reasons for defending Christianity.

Throughout history there have been great and articulate defenders of the faith, from Augustine and Aquinas to Jonathan Edwards, G. K. Chesterton, Francis Schaeffer, and C. S. Lewis. But with new challenges comes the need for a fresh apologetic that specifically addresses the arguments levied against faith in our time of scientific atheism and skepticism. In the spirit of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, Alister McGrath's Mere Apologetics seeks to equip readers to engage gracefully and intelligently with the challenges facing the faith today while drawing appropriately on the wisdom of the past. Rather than supplying the fine detail of every apologetic issue in order to win arguments, Mere Apologetics teaches a method that appeals not only to the mind but also to the heart and the imagination. This highly accessible, easy-to-read book is perfect for pastors, teachers, students, and lay people who want to speak clearly and lovingly to the issues that confront people of faith today.

Renewing the Christian voice, conscience, and imagination so that we can become compelling witnesses of the Gospel in today's culture. Christianity has an image problem. While the culture we inhabit presents us with an increasingly anti-Christian and disenchanted position, the church in the West has not helped its case by becoming anti-intellectual, fragmented, and out of touch with the relevancy of Jesus to all aspects of contemporary life. The muting of the Christian voice, its imagination, and its collective conscience have diminished the prospect of having a genuine missionary encounter with others today. Cultural apologetics attempts to demonstrate not only the truth of the Gospel but also its desirability by reestablishing Christianity as the answer that satisfies our three universal human longings—truth, goodness, and beauty. In Cultural Apologetics, philosopher and professor Paul Gould sets forth a fresh and uplifting model for cultural engagement—rooted in the biblical account of Paul's speech in Athens—which details practical steps for establishing Christianity as both true and beautiful, reasonable and satisfying. You'll be introduced to: The idea of cultural apologetics as distinct from traditional apologetics. The path from disenchantment with how we understand reality to re-enchantment with the reality of the spiritual nature of things. The practical tools of good cultural engagement: conscience, reason, and imagination. Equip yourself to see, and help others see, the world as it is through the lens of the Spirit—deeply beautiful, mysterious, and sacred. With creative insights, Cultural Apologetics prepares readers to share a vision of the Christian faith that is both plausible and desirable, offering clarity for those who have become disoriented in the haze of modern Western culture.

It has never been more important to articulate the wonder and enchantment of the Christian message. Yet the traditional approaches of apologetics are often outmoded in an age of profound disenchantment and distraction, unable to meet this pressing need. This winsome apologetics book for a new generation makes the case that Christianity offers a compelling explanatory framework for making sense of our world. Pastor and writer Gavin Ortlund believes it is essential to appeal not only to the mind but also to the heart and the imagination as we articulate the beauty of the gospel. Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't reimagines four classical theistic arguments--cosmological, teleological, moral, and Christological--making a cumulative case for God as the best framework for understanding the storied nature of reality. The book suggests that Christian theism can explain such things as the elegance of math, the beauty of music, and the value of love. It is suitable for use in classes yet accessibly written, making it a perfect resource for churches and small groups.

Apologetics, the defense of the Faith, shows why our Christian faith is true—but it’s much more than that. Apologetics isn’t just the province of scholars and saints, but of ordinary men and women: parents, teachers, lay ministry leaders, pastors, and everyone who wants to develop a stronger faith, to understand why we believe what we believe, to know Our Lord better, and love him more fully. In Apologetics and the Christian Imagination: An Integrated Approach to Defending the Faith, Holly Ordway shows how an imaginative approach—in cooperation with rational arguments—is extremely valuable in helping people come to faith in Christ. Making a case for the role of imagination in apologetics, this book proposes ways to create meaning for Christian language in a culture that no longer understands words like ‘sin’ or ‘salvation,' suggests how to discern and address the manipulation of language, and shows how metaphor and narrative work in powerful ways to communicate the truth. It applies these concepts to specific, key apologetics issues, including suffering, doubt, and longing for meaning and beauty. Apologetics and the Christian Imagination shows how Christians can harness the power of the imagination to share the Faith in meaningful, effective ways.

I believe the reason many in the media, in academia and in politics have not accepted the gospel is we as Christians have not explained the gospel to them in a manner that makes sense. If people understood the gospel they would receive it. When the gospel message is understood, they would like it because it is good news that brings happiness to a hopeless soul. The central goal for Christian Apologetics is most purely stated as handling objections and further honest objections standing in the way of individuals coming to faith. In this compact book designed concisely for busy people who need solid answers about the Christian belief system one will come away with solid answers and with the awakening of logical and critical thinking regarding biblical claims. Disciplines such as Archeology, History, Astronomy, Jewish Studies and Natural Sciences are separate disciplines that support bible claims and when explored give peace of mind to adherents of Christianity but also to those of other belief systems who seek an objective scholarly study of the Christian Bible. Apologetics which means a defense of the faith, to defend a position, to persuade, providing evidence sufficient to bringing a trial from an arraignment stage to a full blown trial, which was recorded by the Apostle Peter and engaged by the Apostle Paul, in a literal sense when he stayed in Corinth for a year and a half just to teach, to reason with and to answer questions for the Corinthian believers and seekers who had honest questions. The Apostle Paul also engaged apologetics when persuading King Agrippa and Festus. The great Apostle Paul knew by the leading of The Holy Spirit when to preach, when to teach and when to sit with people and when to answer their questions so that the barriers to their believing would be removed. See Acts 18:11 which records "So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God." I believe the reason many in the media, in academia and in politics have not accepted the gospel is we as Christians have not explained the gospel to them in a manner that makes sense. If people understood the gospel they would receive it. You are in for a treat and instant growth just by reading this 103 page book. The contents are concise but derived from a first year seminary level course in Christian Apologetics formatted for a busy person to read in short bites. You wont be the same. God Bless You.