Can we be confident in the truth of the Good News?
In this section:
books
The purpose of this whole section of the 'Facing the Challenge'
web site is to show that we can be confident in the truth and reliability
of the message of the Bible - there are good reasons for believing
the Good News.
In recent years, the case for the reliability of the Bible's message
has become stronger than ever. There is evidence, and this evidence
can be persuasive, even if it is not absolute proof. (In fact, there
are very few things for which we can have absolute proof, and the more
important something is, the less likely we are to have absolute proof
for it.)
The Bible says: 'If you are asked about your Christian hope, always
be ready to explain it.' (1
Peter chapter 3 verse 15) The technical word for giving a defence
of the Bible's message is 'apologetics'. This comes from the word 'apologia',
which is the Greek for 'explain'. Apologetics does not have anything
at all to do with apologising for our faith, but has everything to do
with being able to give a reasoned explanation of why we believe it.
When we have questions and doubts about the Good News, or when we need
to explain our faith to others, apologetics can help us to see that
there is a reasonable basis for our faith. We can be confident that
what we believe is not out of date or irrational in some way. It is
perfectly reasonable for thinking people today to be followers of Christ.
Books:
Here are some good
general books on apologetics:
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Does God Believe in Atheists?
John Blanchard, Evangelical
Press
- Traces
the development of atheistic and agnostic thinking from the
Greeks to the present.
- Pinpoints
the influence of key thinkers such as Kant, Nietzsche, Heidegger,
Camus, Sartre and Bertrand Russell, and shows how their teaching
has shaped modern atheistic and agnostic ideas.
- Traces
the rise of Darwinian evolutionism and uncovers the weaknesses
in claims made by its contemporary exponents such as Richard
Dawkins and Peter Atkins
- Exposes
the errors of secular humanism, materialism, relativism, determinism
and existentialism.
- Highlights
the fundamental flaws in major world religions and cults
- Shows
why true science and true religion are not enemies but friends
Examines the critical issue of how an all-powerful God of love
can allow suffering and evil in the world.
Dr. Nick Needham, of Highland Theological College, Scotland, says of this book:
No self-respecting atheist should be without it
Order from the UK
Order from the USA |
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Why Believe?
Reason and Mystery as Pointers to God
C Stephen Evans, IVP 1996
Subtitled:
Reason and Mystery as Pointers to God. Evans explores some of the
rational reasons for faith in God, including order in creation,
moral order (our sense of right and wrong), and the existence of
persons. He also deals with questions such as whether Jesus was
really God, miracles, and why God allows suffering.
C Stephen
Evans is professor of philosophy at Calvin College, Grand Rapids.
Order
from the UK
Order
from the USA |
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Handbook of Christian Apologetics
Peter
Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli
USA:
InterVarsity Press 1994
UK:
Monarch Publications 1995
Billed as
'Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions', this lives up to its
billing, with sections on
- The nature,
power and limitations of apologetics, and the relationship between
faith and reason.
- Twenty
arguments for the existence of God, and a discussion of the
nature of God
- God and
nature - four problems of cosmology; the problem of evil.
- The person
and work of Christ - His divinity, the resurrection, and the
question whether the Bible is myth or history.
- Life after
death; heaven; hell; salvation.
- Christianity
and other religions; Christianity and postmodernism (the nature
of objective truth).
Peter Kreeft
is professor of philosophy at Boston College, and a well known
author. Ronald Tacelli is associate professor of philosophy at
Boston College.
Order
from the USA
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The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict
(Evidence I & II Fully Updated in One Volume To Answer Questions
Challenging Christians in the 21st Century)
Josh McDowell, Thomas Nelson 1999
'Evidence That Demands a Verdict' volumes 1 & 2 were Christian
classics. 'The New Evidence..' is Fully Updated in One Volume
to Answer Questions Challenging Christians in the 21st Century'
This revised edition contains some helpful new material on apologetics
in the light of postmodernism and the 'death of truth'.
Order
from the USA
Go here for a more detailed review
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The Case for Faith
A Journalist investigates the toughest objections to Christianity
Lee Strobel
Zondervan 2000
ISBN 0-310-2349-7
Through a series of interviews with leading thinkers who are followers
of Christ, Lee Strobel investigates some of the greatest stumbling-blocks
to faith: suffering, miracles, evolution, and hell. He tackles
the objections people raise to faith, such as 'God isn't worthy
of worship if he kills innocent children', 'It's offensive to
claim Jesus is the only way to God', and 'Church history is littered
with oppression and violence.' An excellent book.
Order
from the UK
Order
from the USA |
