Christian apologetics
Encyclopedia
Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology
that aims to present a rational
basis for the Christian faith
, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world view
s. Christian apologetics
has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle, including writers such as Origen
and Augustine of Hippo
, and continuing currently with the modern Christian community through the efforts of many authors in various Christian traditions such as G.K.Chesterton and C. S. Lewis
. Apologists have based their defense of Christianity on historical evidence
, philosophical argument
s, scientific investigation, and arguments from other disciplines. Christian polemic
is a term used for apologetics which primarily criticizes or attacks other belief systems.
R.C. Sproul, quoting the First Epistle of Peter
, writes that "The defense of the faith is not a luxury or intellectual vanity. It is a task appointed by God that you should be able to give a reason for the hope that is in you as you bear witness before the world." The verse quoted here reads in full: "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."
Another passage sometimes used as a Biblical basis for Christian apologetics is God's entreaty in the Book of Isaiah
: "Come now, let us reason together" .
Other scriptural passages which have been taken as a basis for Christian apologetics include , which begins "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands," and Romans
, which reads "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
, Origen
, and the author of the Epistle to Diognetus
. Augustine of Hippo
was a particularly significant apologist of the Patristic
era.
Thomas Aquinas
, an influential Catholic philosopher, presented five arguments for God's existence in the Summa Theologica
, while his Summa contra Gentiles
was a major apologetic work.
Blaise Pascal
outlined an approach to apologetics in his Pensées
: "Men despise religion; they hate it and fear it is true. To remedy this, we must begin by showing that religion is not contrary to reason; that it is venerable, to inspire respect for it; then we must make it lovable, to make good men hope it is true; finally, we must prove it is true."
, Ronald Knox
and Karl Keating
, the Anglican C. S. Lewis
(who popularised the argument now widely known as Lewis's trilemma
), the evangelical Norman Geisler
, the Lutheran John Warwick Montgomery
, and the Presbyterian Francis Schaeffer
were among the most prolific Christian apologists in the 20th century, while Gordon Clark
and Cornelius Van Til
started a new school of philosophical apologetics called presuppositionalism
, which is popular in Calvinist
circles. Others include Josh McDowell
, Ravi Zacharias
, Hugh Ross
, Lee Strobel
, Hugo Anthony Meynell
, Timothy J. Keller, Alvin Plantinga
, William Lane Craig
and Peter Kreeft
.
and John Warwick Montgomery
and others claiming that Western legal standards argue for the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. In addition, legal authorities' opinions regarding the resurrection of Christ are appealed to.
Christian scholar Edwin M. Yamauchi
and others argue against the pagan myth hypothesis for the origin of Christianity.
Sherwin-White stated:
, Norman Geisler
, William Lane Craig
and Christians who engage in jurisprudence Christian apologetics have argued that miracle
s are reasonable and plausible wherever an all-powerful Creator is postulated.
argues that only God knows the future and that Biblical prophecies of a compelling nature have been fulfilled.
Apologist Josh McDowell
documents the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Christ, relating to his ancestral line, birthplace, virgin birth, miracles, manner of death, and resurrection.
Apologist Blaise Pascal
believed that the prophecies are the strongest evidence for Christianity. He notes that Jesus not only foretold, but was foretold, unlike in other religions, and that these prophecies came from a succession of people over a span of four thousand years.
, and biblical inerrancy
. In addition, Christian apologists defend and comment on various books of the Bible. Some scholars who have engaged in the defense of biblical inerrancy include Robert Dick Wilson
, Gleason Archer
, Norman Geisler
, and R. C. Sproul
. Also, there are several resources that Christians offer defending inerrancy in regard to specific verses.
Authors defending the reliability of the Gospels include Craig Blomberg in The Historical Reliability of the Gospels and Mark D. Roberts in Can We Trust the Gospels?
. Omnipotence and omniscience are inferred in these arguments to greater or lesser degrees: some argue for an interventionist god, some are equally relevant to a Deist
conception of god. They do not support hard polytheism, but could be used to describe the first god who created many other gods; however, the arguments are only relevant when applied to the first god (the First Cause
, Pure Act
and Unmoved Mover
; it is a contradiction a priori to suppose a plurality of "Pure Acts" or "First Causes" or "Unmoved Movers").
These arguments can be grouped into several categories:
Other philosophical arguments include:
are essential to any philosophical position, and that there are no "neutral" assumptions from which a Christian can reason with a non-Christian. There are two main schools of presuppositional apologetics, that of Cornelius Van Til
(and his students Greg Bahnsen
and John Frame
) and that of Gordon Haddon Clark.
Van Til drew upon, but did not always agree with, the work of Dutch Calvinist
philosophers and theologians such as D. H. Th. Vollenhoven
, Herman Dooyeweerd
, Hendrik G. Stoker
, Herman Bavinck
, and Abraham Kuyper
. Bahnsen describes Van Til's approach to Christian apologetics as pointing out the difference in ultimate principles between Christians and non-Christians, and then showing that the non-Christian principles reduce to absurdity. In practice this school utilizes what has come to be known as the transcendental argument for the existence of God
.
Clark held that the Scriptures constituted the axiom
s of Christian thought, which could not be questioned, though their consistency could be discussed. A consequence of this position is that God's existence can never be demonstrated, either by empirical means or by philosophical argument. In The Justification of Knowledge, the Calvinist theologian Robert L. Reymond
argues that believers should not even attempt such proofs.
, "We are really, truly, objectively obligated to do good and avoid evil."
In moral apologetics, the arguments for man's sinfulness and man's need for redemption are stressed. Examples of this type of apologetic would be Jonathan Edwards's sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
". The Four Spiritual Laws religious tract (Campus Crusade for Christ) would be another example.
states that "The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge... These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator." The theologian and mathematician Marin Mersenne
, for example, used celestial mechanics as evidence in his apologetic work, while Matteo Ricci
engaged in scientific apologetics in China. In more recent times, the theory of the Big Bang
has been used in support of Christian apologetics.
Several Christian apologists have sought to reconcile Christianity and science in regard to the question of origins. Theistic Evolution
asserts that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution and that the Creator God uses evolution to bring about his plan. Denis Lamoureux
, in Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution states that "This view of origins fully embraces both the religious beliefs of biblical Christianity and the scientific theories of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution. It contends that the Creator established and maintains the laws of nature, including the mechanisms of a teleological evolution."
The most radical example of a Christian-evolutionary synthesis is the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
, which was intended as apologetics to the world of science, but which was later condemned by the Catholic Church.
understand the Bible to teach that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, and that the scientific establishment has not proven that the world is much older. Young Earth creationists have also engaged in points of Biblical apologetics (see above) with regard to various parts of the primordial history in Genesis 1-11 – for instance, the long life spans of people such as Methuselah
. the Flood, the Tower of Babel
,
Old Earth creationists, on the other hand, believe it is possible to harmonize the Bible's six-day account of creation with the scientific consensus that the universe is billions of years old, using basic reasoning. According to Psalms 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8, time, as it pertains to God is "a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day". If the number 1,000 is interpreted as an arbitrarily large number, as the context would imply, then the actual number of years the earth has existed becomes a scientific matter, not a religious debate. However, this is not the only valid interpretation and Old Earth creationists such as astrophysicist, Hugh Ross
see each of the six days of creation as being a long, but finite period of time, based on the multiple meanings of the Hebrew word "yom" (day light hours/24 hours/age of time) and other Biblical creation passages.
Training
Scientific
Historical, legal, and evidential apologetics
Debates
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
that aims to present a rational
Reason
Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, ...
basis for the Christian faith
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world view
World view
A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
s. Christian apologetics
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle, including writers such as Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
and Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, and continuing currently with the modern Christian community through the efforts of many authors in various Christian traditions such as G.K.Chesterton and C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
. Apologists have based their defense of Christianity on historical evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
, philosophical argument
Argument
In philosophy and logic, an argument is an attempt to persuade someone of something, or give evidence or reasons for accepting a particular conclusion.Argument may also refer to:-Mathematics and computer science:...
s, scientific investigation, and arguments from other disciplines. Christian polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
is a term used for apologetics which primarily criticizes or attacks other belief systems.
Biblical motivation
Several biblical passages have historically motivated Christian apologetics.R.C. Sproul, quoting the First Epistle of Peter
First Epistle of Peter
The First Epistle of Peter, usually referred to simply as First Peter and often written 1 Peter, is a book of the New Testament. The author claims to be Saint Peter the apostle, and the epistle was traditionally held to have been written during his time as bishop of Rome or Bishop of Antioch,...
, writes that "The defense of the faith is not a luxury or intellectual vanity. It is a task appointed by God that you should be able to give a reason for the hope that is in you as you bear witness before the world." The verse quoted here reads in full: "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."
Another passage sometimes used as a Biblical basis for Christian apologetics is God's entreaty in the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
: "Come now, let us reason together" .
Other scriptural passages which have been taken as a basis for Christian apologetics include , which begins "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands," and Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
, which reads "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
History
Early Christian apologists include Justin MartyrJustin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
, Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
, and the author of the Epistle to Diognetus
Epistle to Diognetus
The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus is probably the earliest example of Christian apologetics, writings defending Christianity from its accusers...
. Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
was a particularly significant apologist of the Patristic
Patristics
Patristics or Patrology is the study of Early Christian writers, known as the Church Fathers. The names derive from the Latin pater . The period is generally considered to run from the end of New Testament times or end of the Apostolic Age Patristics or Patrology is the study of Early Christian...
era.
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
, an influential Catholic philosopher, presented five arguments for God's existence in the Summa Theologica
Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologiæ is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas , and although unfinished, "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main...
, while his Summa contra Gentiles
Summa contra Gentiles
The Summa contra Gentiles by St. Thomas Aquinas has traditionally been dated to 1264, though more recent scholarship places it towards the end of Thomas’ life, 1270-73 . The work has occasioned much debate as to its purpose, its intended audience and its relationship to his other works...
was a major apologetic work.
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
outlined an approach to apologetics in his Pensées
Pensées
The Pensées represented a defense of the Christian religion by Blaise Pascal, the renowned 17th century philosopher and mathematician. Pascal's religious conversion led him into a life of asceticism, and the Pensées was in many ways his life's work. "Pascal's Wager" is found here...
: "Men despise religion; they hate it and fear it is true. To remedy this, we must begin by showing that religion is not contrary to reason; that it is venerable, to inspire respect for it; then we must make it lovable, to make good men hope it is true; finally, we must prove it is true."
Current landscape
Christian apologetics continues to the current day in a wide variety of forms. The Roman Catholics G. K. ChestertonG. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
, Ronald Knox
Ronald Knox
Ronald Arbuthnott Knox was an English priest, theologian and writer.-Life:Ronald Knox was born in Kibworth, Leicestershire, England into an Anglican family and was educated at Eton College, where he took the first scholarship in 1900 and Balliol College, Oxford, where again...
and Karl Keating
Karl Keating
Karl Keating , a prominent Catholic apologist and author, is the founder and president of Catholic Answers, a lay apostolate of Catholic apologetics and evangelization....
, the Anglican C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
(who popularised the argument now widely known as Lewis's trilemma
Lewis's trilemma
Lewis' Trilemma is an argument intended to prove the divinity of Jesus. It was popularised by C. S. Lewis in a BBC radio talk and in his writings. It is sometimes summarized either as "Lunatic, Liar, or Lord", or as "Mad, Bad, or God".-History:...
), the evangelical Norman Geisler
Norman Geisler
Norman L. Geisler is a Christian apologist and the co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he formerly taught. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Jesuit Loyola University...
, the Lutheran John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery is a noted lawyer, professor, Lutheran theologian, and prolific author living in France. He was born October 18, 1931, in Warsaw, New York, United States. In 2007 he was named "Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought" at Patrick Henry College...
, and the Presbyterian Francis Schaeffer
Francis Schaeffer
Francis August Schaeffer was an American Evangelical Christian theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He is most famous for his writings and his establishment of the L'Abri community in Switzerland...
were among the most prolific Christian apologists in the 20th century, while Gordon Clark
Gordon Clark
Gordon Haddon Clark was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years...
and Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til , born in Grootegast, the Netherlands, was a Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist.-Biography:...
started a new school of philosophical apologetics called presuppositionalism
Presuppositional apologetics
In Christian theology, presuppositionalism is a school of apologetics that presumes Christian faith is the only basis for rational thought. It presupposes that the Bible is divine revelation and claims to expose flaws in other worldviews...
, which is popular in Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
circles. Others include Josh McDowell
Josh McDowell
Joslin "Josh" McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and writer. He is within the Evangelical tradition of Protestant Christianity, and is the author or co-author of some 77 books. His best-known book is Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which was ranked 13th in Christianity Today's list of...
, Ravi Zacharias
Ravi Zacharias
Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias is an Indian-born, Canadian-American evangelical Christian apologist. Zacharias is the author of numerous Christian books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner Can Man Live Without God? and bestsellers Light in the Shadow of Jihad and The Grand Weaver...
, Hugh Ross
Hugh Ross (creationist)
Hugh Norman Ross is a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist.He has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics, and later established his own ministry called Reasons To Believe, that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism...
, Lee Strobel
Lee Strobel
Lee Patrick Strobel is a writer, creationist, former journalist and former megachurch pastor. He is the author of several books, including four which received ECPA Christian Book Awards and a series which addresses challenges to a Biblically inerrant view of Christianity...
, Hugo Anthony Meynell
Hugo Anthony Meynell
Hugo Anthony Meynell , Meynell Langley, Derbyshire, England, shortly after the death of his father, Captain Godfrey Meynell, who won the Victoria Cross in action against Afghan raiders in India's Khyber Pass. Hugo grew up as a member of an English family which arrived in England with the Norman...
, Timothy J. Keller, Alvin Plantinga
Alvin Plantinga
Alvin Carl Plantinga is an American analytic philosopher and the emeritus John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and Christian apologetics...
, William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig is an American analytic philosopher, philosophical theologian, and Christian apologist. He is known for his work on the philosophy of time and the philosophy of religion, specifically the existence of God and the defense of Christian theism...
and Peter Kreeft
Peter Kreeft
Peter John Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College, and author of numerous books as well as a popular writer on philosophy, Christian theology, and specifically Catholic apologetics. He also formulated together with Ronald K. Tacelli, SJ, "Twenty...
.
Varieties
There is a variety of Christian apologetic styles and schools of thought. The major types of Christian apologetics include: historical and legal evidentialist apologetics, presuppositional apologetics, philosophical apologetics, prophetic apologetics, doctrinal apologetics, biblical apologetics, moral apologetics, and scientific apologetics. The general information and arguments contained in the following overview are by no means exhaustive.Historical and legal evidentialism
Various arguments have been put forth by legal scholars such as Simon GreenleafSimon Greenleaf
Simon Greenleaf , American lawyer and jurist, was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts.-Early life and legal career:...
and John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery is a noted lawyer, professor, Lutheran theologian, and prolific author living in France. He was born October 18, 1931, in Warsaw, New York, United States. In 2007 he was named "Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought" at Patrick Henry College...
and others claiming that Western legal standards argue for the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. In addition, legal authorities' opinions regarding the resurrection of Christ are appealed to.
Christian scholar Edwin M. Yamauchi
Edwin M. Yamauchi
Dr. Edwin Maseo Yamauchi is a Japanese American historian, Christian apologist, editor and academic. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Miami University, where he taught from 1969 until 2005...
and others argue against the pagan myth hypothesis for the origin of Christianity.
Sherwin-White stated:
For Acts, the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. Yet Acts is, in simple terms and judged externally, no less of a propaganda narrative than the Gospels, liable to similar distortions. But any attempt to reject its basic historicity, even in matters of detail, must now appear absurd. Roman historians have long taken it for granted.... The agnostic type of form-criticism would be much more credible if the compilation of the Gospels were much later in time.... Herodotus enables us to test the tempo of myth-making, [showing that] even two generations are too short a span to allow the mythical tendency to prevail over the hard historic core.
Defense of miracles
C. S. LewisC. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
, Norman Geisler
Norman Geisler
Norman L. Geisler is a Christian apologist and the co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he formerly taught. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Jesuit Loyola University...
, William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig is an American analytic philosopher, philosophical theologian, and Christian apologist. He is known for his work on the philosophy of time and the philosophy of religion, specifically the existence of God and the defense of Christian theism...
and Christians who engage in jurisprudence Christian apologetics have argued that miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s are reasonable and plausible wherever an all-powerful Creator is postulated.
Prophetic fulfillment
In his book Science Speaks, Peter StonerPeter Stoner
Peter Stoner was Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College until 1953; Chairman of the science division, Westmont College, 1953–57; Professor Emeritus of Science, Westmont College; Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Astronomy, Pasadena City College.Stoner...
argues that only God knows the future and that Biblical prophecies of a compelling nature have been fulfilled.
Apologist Josh McDowell
Josh McDowell
Joslin "Josh" McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and writer. He is within the Evangelical tradition of Protestant Christianity, and is the author or co-author of some 77 books. His best-known book is Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which was ranked 13th in Christianity Today's list of...
documents the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Christ, relating to his ancestral line, birthplace, virgin birth, miracles, manner of death, and resurrection.
Apologist Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
believed that the prophecies are the strongest evidence for Christianity. He notes that Jesus not only foretold, but was foretold, unlike in other religions, and that these prophecies came from a succession of people over a span of four thousand years.
Biblical apologetics
Biblical apologetics include issues concerned with the authorship and date of biblical books, biblical canonBiblical canon
A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources. The internal wording of the text can also be specified, for example...
, and biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the Bible is accurate and totally free of error, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Some equate inerrancy with infallibility; others do not.Conservative Christians generally believe that...
. In addition, Christian apologists defend and comment on various books of the Bible. Some scholars who have engaged in the defense of biblical inerrancy include Robert Dick Wilson
Robert Dick Wilson
Robert Dick Wilson was an American linguist and Presbyterian scholar who devoted his life to prove the reliability of the Hebrew Bible...
, Gleason Archer
Gleason Archer
Gleason Leonard Archer, Jr. was a Biblical scholar, theologian, educator and author.-Early life:Archer's father was Gleason Archer, Sr., the founder of Suffolk University in Boston. Archer graduated in 1938 with a B.A. from Harvard University and received an LL.B...
, Norman Geisler
Norman Geisler
Norman L. Geisler is a Christian apologist and the co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he formerly taught. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Jesuit Loyola University...
, and R. C. Sproul
R. C. Sproul
Robert Charles Sproul, is a prominent American Calvinist theologian, author, and pastor of the Reformed tradition...
. Also, there are several resources that Christians offer defending inerrancy in regard to specific verses.
Authors defending the reliability of the Gospels include Craig Blomberg in The Historical Reliability of the Gospels and Mark D. Roberts in Can We Trust the Gospels?
Philosophical apologetics
Philosophical apologetics concerns itself primarily with arguments for the existence of God, although they do not exclusively dwell on this area. As such, they do not argue for the veracity of Christianity over other religions but merely for the existence of any Creator deityDeity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
. Omnipotence and omniscience are inferred in these arguments to greater or lesser degrees: some argue for an interventionist god, some are equally relevant to a Deist
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
conception of god. They do not support hard polytheism, but could be used to describe the first god who created many other gods; however, the arguments are only relevant when applied to the first god (the First Cause
Primum movens
Primum movens , usually referred to as the Prime mover or first cause in English, is a term used in the philosophy of Aristotle, in the theological cosmological argument for the existence of God, and in cosmogony, the source of the cosmos or "all-being".-Aristotle's ontology:In book 12 of his...
, Pure Act
Actus purus
Actus Purus is a term employed in scholastic philosophy to express the absolute perfection of God. It literally means, "pure act."Created beings have potentiality that is not actuality, imperfections as well as perfection. Only God is simultaneously all that He can be, infinitely real and...
and Unmoved Mover
Unmoved mover
The unmoved mover is a philosophical concept described by Aristotle as a primary cause or "mover" of all the motion in the universe. As is implicit in the name, the "unmoved mover" is not moved by any prior action...
; it is a contradiction a priori to suppose a plurality of "Pure Acts" or "First Causes" or "Unmoved Movers").
These arguments can be grouped into several categories:
- Cosmological argumentCosmological argumentThe cosmological argument is an argument for the existence of a First Cause to the universe, and by extension is often used as an argument for the existence of an "unconditioned" or "supreme" being, usually then identified as God...
- Argues that the existence of the universe demonstrates that God exists. Various primary arguments from cosmology and the nature of causation are often offered to support the cosmological argument. - Teleological argumentTeleological argumentA teleological or design argument is an a posteriori argument for the existence of God based on apparent design and purpose in the universe. The argument is based on an interpretation of teleology wherein purpose and intelligent design appear to exist in nature beyond the scope of any such human...
(argument from design) - Argues that there is a purposeful design in the world around us, and a design requires a designer. CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, William PaleyWilliam PaleyWilliam Paley was a British Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work Natural Theology, which made use of the watchmaker analogy .-Life:Paley was Born in Peterborough, England, and was...
, and Michael BeheMichael BeheMichael J. Behe is an American biochemist, author, and intelligent design advocate. He currently serves as professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and as a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture...
employed this argument as well as others. - Ontological argumentOntological argumentThe ontological argument for the existence of God is an a priori argument for the existence of God. The ontological argument was first proposed by the eleventh-century monk Anselm of Canterbury, who defined God as the greatest possible being we can conceive...
- Argues that the very concept of God demands that there is an actual existent God. - Moral ArgumentArgument from moralityThe argument from morality is one of many arguments for the existence of God. It comes in different forms, all aiming to support the claim that God exists with observations about morality...
- Argues that if there are any real objectively valid moral values, then there must be an absolute from which they are derived. - Transcendental ArgumentTranscendental argument for the existence of GodThe Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God is the argument that attempts to prove God's existence by arguing that logic, morals, and science ultimately presuppose a theistic worldview, and that God is the source of logic and morals...
- Argues that all our abilities to think and reason require the existence of God. - Presuppositional ArgumentsPresuppositional apologeticsIn Christian theology, presuppositionalism is a school of apologetics that presumes Christian faith is the only basis for rational thought. It presupposes that the Bible is divine revelation and claims to expose flaws in other worldviews...
- Arguments that show basic beliefs of theists and nontheists require God as a necessary precondition.
Other philosophical arguments include:
- Alvin PlantingaAlvin PlantingaAlvin Carl Plantinga is an American analytic philosopher and the emeritus John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and Christian apologetics...
's argument that belief in God is properly basic. - Pascal's wagerPascal's WagerPascal's Wager, also known as Pascal's Gambit, is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist Blaise Pascal that even if the existence of God could not be determined through reason, a rational person should wager as though God exists, because one living life...
, an argument that, given neither theism nor atheism has an evidential advantage, theism is the wiser position.
Presuppositional apologetics
Presuppositional apologetics claims that presuppositionsPresupposition (philosophy)
In epistemology, presuppositions relate to a belief system, or Weltanschauung, and are required for it to make sense. A variety of Christian apologetics, called presuppositional apologetics, argues that the existence or non-existence of God is the basic presupposition of all human thought, and...
are essential to any philosophical position, and that there are no "neutral" assumptions from which a Christian can reason with a non-Christian. There are two main schools of presuppositional apologetics, that of Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til , born in Grootegast, the Netherlands, was a Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist.-Biography:...
(and his students Greg Bahnsen
Greg Bahnsen
Greg L. Bahnsen was an influential Calvinist philosopher, apologist, and debater. He was an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies.-Early life and education:He was the first born of two...
and John Frame
John Frame
John M. Frame is an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian especially noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, systematic theology, and ethics...
) and that of Gordon Haddon Clark.
Van Til drew upon, but did not always agree with, the work of Dutch Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
philosophers and theologians such as D. H. Th. Vollenhoven
D. H. Th. Vollenhoven
Dirk Hendrik Theodoor Vollenhoven was with Herman Dooyeweerd the first generation of reformational philosophers, an intellectual movement with which Vollenhoven worked communally from his election in 1936 as President of the newly-organized group formed to advance the movement; the organization is...
, Herman Dooyeweerd
Herman Dooyeweerd
Herman Dooyeweerd was a Dutch juridical scholar by training, who by vocation was a philosopher and the founder of the philosophy of the cosmonomic idea. He received early support for his work from his brother-in-law D. H. Th. Vollenhoven...
, Hendrik G. Stoker
Hendrik G. Stoker
Hendrik Gerhardhus Stoker , born in Johannesburg, South Africa, was a Calvinist philosopher who taught at Potchefstroom . He studied at PU and the University of Cologne, and he completed his doctoral dissertation on "Nature and the forms of conscience" under Max Scheler.Stoker taught at PU from...
, Herman Bavinck
Herman Bavinck
Herman Bavinck was a Dutch Reformed theologian and churchman.-Background:Bavinck was born in the town of Hoogeveen in the Netherlands to a German father. He first went to theological school at Kampen, but then moved on to Leiden for further training...
, and Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuijper generally known as Abraham Kuyper, was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian...
. Bahnsen describes Van Til's approach to Christian apologetics as pointing out the difference in ultimate principles between Christians and non-Christians, and then showing that the non-Christian principles reduce to absurdity. In practice this school utilizes what has come to be known as the transcendental argument for the existence of God
Transcendental argument for the existence of God
The Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God is the argument that attempts to prove God's existence by arguing that logic, morals, and science ultimately presuppose a theistic worldview, and that God is the source of logic and morals...
.
Clark held that the Scriptures constituted the axiom
Axiom
In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proven or demonstrated but considered either to be self-evident or to define and delimit the realm of analysis. In other words, an axiom is a logical statement that is assumed to be true...
s of Christian thought, which could not be questioned, though their consistency could be discussed. A consequence of this position is that God's existence can never be demonstrated, either by empirical means or by philosophical argument. In The Justification of Knowledge, the Calvinist theologian Robert L. Reymond
Robert L. Reymond
Robert L. Reymond is a Christian theologian of the Protestant Reformed tradition. He is best known for his New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith . Reymond holds B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Bob Jones University and has taught at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri...
argues that believers should not even attempt such proofs.
Moral apologetics
Moral apologetics states that real moral obligation is a fact. In the words of Catholic apologist Peter KreeftPeter Kreeft
Peter John Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College, and author of numerous books as well as a popular writer on philosophy, Christian theology, and specifically Catholic apologetics. He also formulated together with Ronald K. Tacelli, SJ, "Twenty...
, "We are really, truly, objectively obligated to do good and avoid evil."
In moral apologetics, the arguments for man's sinfulness and man's need for redemption are stressed. Examples of this type of apologetic would be Jonathan Edwards's sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a sermon written by American Christian theologian Jonathan Edwards, preached on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. Like Edwards' other sermons and writings, it combines vivid imagery of Hell with observations of the world and citations of scripture...
". The Four Spiritual Laws religious tract (Campus Crusade for Christ) would be another example.
Scientific apologetics
Many Christians contend that science and the Bible do not contradict each other, and indeed that scientific fact supports Christian apologetics. The Catechism of the Catholic ChurchCatechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...
states that "The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge... These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator." The theologian and mathematician Marin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne, Marin Mersennus or le Père Mersenne was a French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, often referred to as the "father of acoustics"...
, for example, used celestial mechanics as evidence in his apologetic work, while Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....
engaged in scientific apologetics in China. In more recent times, the theory of the Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
has been used in support of Christian apologetics.
Several Christian apologists have sought to reconcile Christianity and science in regard to the question of origins. Theistic Evolution
Theistic evolution
Theistic evolution or evolutionary creation is a concept that asserts that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution...
asserts that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution and that the Creator God uses evolution to bring about his plan. Denis Lamoureux
Denis Lamoureux
Denis O. Lamoureux is a professor of science and religion at St. Joseph's College at the University of Alberta, Canada. He has doctoral degrees in dentistry, theology, and biology. He is the author of Evolutionary Creation and I love Jesus and I accept evolution. Along with Phillip E...
, in Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution states that "This view of origins fully embraces both the religious beliefs of biblical Christianity and the scientific theories of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution. It contends that the Creator established and maintains the laws of nature, including the mechanisms of a teleological evolution."
The most radical example of a Christian-evolutionary synthesis is the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
, which was intended as apologetics to the world of science, but which was later condemned by the Catholic Church.
Creationist apologetics
Young Earth creationistsYoung Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...
understand the Bible to teach that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, and that the scientific establishment has not proven that the world is much older. Young Earth creationists have also engaged in points of Biblical apologetics (see above) with regard to various parts of the primordial history in Genesis 1-11 – for instance, the long life spans of people such as Methuselah
Methuselah
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
. the Flood, the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
,
Old Earth creationists, on the other hand, believe it is possible to harmonize the Bible's six-day account of creation with the scientific consensus that the universe is billions of years old, using basic reasoning. According to Psalms 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8, time, as it pertains to God is "a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day". If the number 1,000 is interpreted as an arbitrarily large number, as the context would imply, then the actual number of years the earth has existed becomes a scientific matter, not a religious debate. However, this is not the only valid interpretation and Old Earth creationists such as astrophysicist, Hugh Ross
Hugh Ross (creationist)
Hugh Norman Ross is a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist.He has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics, and later established his own ministry called Reasons To Believe, that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism...
see each of the six days of creation as being a long, but finite period of time, based on the multiple meanings of the Hebrew word "yom" (day light hours/24 hours/age of time) and other Biblical creation passages.
Experiential apologetics
Experiential apologetics is a reference to an appeal “primarily, if not exclusively, to experience as evidence for Christian faith”. Also, “they spurn rational arguments or factual evidence in favor of what they believe to be a self-verifying experience” . As a strength, this view stresses experience that other apologists have not made as explicit, and in the end the notion that the Holy Spirit convinces the heart of truth becomes the central theme of the apologetic argument.See also
- List of Christian apologetic works
- The Rage Against GodThe Rage Against GodThe Rage Against God is the fifth book by the traditionalist conservative writer Peter Hitchens, originally published in 2010...
General and classics
- St. Thomas Aquinas 1258-1264. Summa Contra Gentiles.
- Butler, JosephJoseph ButlerJoseph Butler was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher. He was born in Wantage in the English county of Berkshire . He is known, among other things, for his critique of Thomas Hobbes's egoism and John Locke's theory of personal identity...
1736. The Analogy of Religion. - Campbell, GeorgeGeorge Campbell (Presbyterian minister)George Campbell was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, minister, theologian, and professor of divinity. Campbell had three focuses to his intellectual life: language, theology, and rhetoric. He was primarily interested in rhetoric since he believed that the study of rhetoric would enable his...
1762. A Dissertation on Miracles. - Paley, WilliamWilliam PaleyWilliam Paley was a British Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work Natural Theology, which made use of the watchmaker analogy .-Life:Paley was Born in Peterborough, England, and was...
1794. A View of the Evidences of Christianity. - Chesterton, G. K.G. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
1908. OrthodoxyOrthodoxy (book)Orthodoxy is a book by G. K. Chesterton that has become a classic of Christian apologetics. Chesterton considered this book a companion to his other work, Heretics...
. - Lewis, C. S.C. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
1955. Mere ChristianityMere ChristianityMere Christianity is a theological book by C. S. Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, while Lewis was at Oxford during World War II...
. Fontana, Glasgow. - Meynell, Hugo AnthonyHugo Anthony MeynellHugo Anthony Meynell , Meynell Langley, Derbyshire, England, shortly after the death of his father, Captain Godfrey Meynell, who won the Victoria Cross in action against Afghan raiders in India's Khyber Pass. Hugo grew up as a member of an English family which arrived in England with the Norman...
Is Christianity true?,Washington, D.C. : Catholic University of America Press, 1994 - McGrath, AlisterAlister McGrathAlister Edgar McGrath is an Anglican priest, theologian, and Christian apologist, currently Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at Kings College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture...
. 1992. Bridge-Building: Effective Christian Apologetics. InterVarsity Press, Leicester, UK. - Schaeffer, Francis A.Francis SchaefferFrancis August Schaeffer was an American Evangelical Christian theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He is most famous for his writings and his establishment of the L'Abri community in Switzerland...
1982. The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer. 5 Volumes. Crossway Books, Westchester, Illinois. - R.C. Sproul 2003. "Defending Your Faith: An Introduction to Apologetics" Crossway Books; Wheaton, Illinois.
- Norman L. Geisler & Frank Turek 2004. "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist" Crossway Books; Wheaton, Illinois.
- Kenneth Richard Samples 2004. "Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions". Baker Books; Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Overview and reference
- Dulles, Avery. 1999. A History of Apologetics. Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon.
- Geisler, Norman L.Norman GeislerNorman L. Geisler is a Christian apologist and the co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he formerly taught. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Jesuit Loyola University...
1999. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Introductory evidential
- McDowell, JoshJosh McDowellJoslin "Josh" McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and writer. He is within the Evangelical tradition of Protestant Christianity, and is the author or co-author of some 77 books. His best-known book is Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which was ranked 13th in Christianity Today's list of...
, New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Thomas Nelson, Inc, Publishers, 1999 - Strobel, LeeLee StrobelLee Patrick Strobel is a writer, creationist, former journalist and former megachurch pastor. He is the author of several books, including four which received ECPA Christian Book Awards and a series which addresses challenges to a Biblically inerrant view of Christianity...
. 1998. The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. - Hanegraaff, HankHank HanegraaffHendrik "Hank" Hanegraaff also known as the Bible Answer Man is an American author, radio talk-show host and advocate of evangelical Christianity. He was born in the Netherlands and raised in the United States since childhood. He is married with 12 children...
. 2002. Resurrection: The Capstone in the Arch of Christianity. W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee.
Other evidential
- Habermas, GaryGary HabermasGary Robert Habermas is an American evangelical Christian apologist, historian, and philosopher of religion. He is a prolific author, lecturer, and debater on the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus...
, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (College Press: Joplin, MI 1996). - Habermas, GaryGary HabermasGary Robert Habermas is an American evangelical Christian apologist, historian, and philosopher of religion. He is a prolific author, lecturer, and debater on the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus...
and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Kregel, 1994) - Kitchen, KennethKenneth KitchenKenneth Anderson Kitchen is Personal and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology and Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, England...
, On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids and Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8028-4960-1, 2003
Prophetic
- Stoner, PeterPeter StonerPeter Stoner was Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College until 1953; Chairman of the science division, Westmont College, 1953–57; Professor Emeritus of Science, Westmont College; Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Astronomy, Pasadena City College.Stoner...
Science Speaks (Chapter 2: Prophetic Accuracy and Chapter 3: The Christ of Prophecy), Chicago, Moody Press, 1963
Philosophical
- Clark, GordonGordon ClarkGordon Haddon Clark was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years...
(1961). Religion, Reason, and Revelation, 3rd ed. Trinity Foundation (1995). ISBN 978-0940931862 - Kreeft, PeterPeter KreeftPeter John Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College, and author of numerous books as well as a popular writer on philosophy, Christian theology, and specifically Catholic apologetics. He also formulated together with Ronald K. Tacelli, SJ, "Twenty...
and Ronald Tacelli (1994). "Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions". InterVarsity Press - William JamesWilliam JamesWilliam James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
. "Pragmatism's Conception of Truth" (1907) and "The Will to Believe" (1896). Reprinted in Pragmatism: A Reader, Louis Menard, ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1997. - Meynell, Hugo AnthonyHugo Anthony MeynellHugo Anthony Meynell , Meynell Langley, Derbyshire, England, shortly after the death of his father, Captain Godfrey Meynell, who won the Victoria Cross in action against Afghan raiders in India's Khyber Pass. Hugo grew up as a member of an English family which arrived in England with the Norman...
The Intelligible Universe: A Cosmological Argument, Totowa, N.J. : Barnes & Noble, 1982 - Ramm, BernardBernard RammBernard L. Ramm was a Baptist theologian and apologist within the broad Evangelical tradition. He wrote prolifically on topics concerned with biblical hermeneutics, religion and science, Christology, and apologetics...
(1962). Varieties of Christian Apologetics: An Introduction to the Christian Philosophy of Religion. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. - Geisler, NormanNorman GeislerNorman L. Geisler is a Christian apologist and the co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he formerly taught. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Jesuit Loyola University...
and Chad Meister (2007). Reasons for Faith: Making a Case for the Christian Faith. Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois - Craig, William LaneWilliam Lane CraigWilliam Lane Craig is an American analytic philosopher, philosophical theologian, and Christian apologist. He is known for his work on the philosophy of time and the philosophy of religion, specifically the existence of God and the defense of Christian theism...
(2010) On Guard . - Madrid, PatrickPatrick MadridPatrick Madrid , is an American Catholic author, radio host, apologist, the host of several EWTN television and radio series, and the publisher of Envoy Magazine....
and Hensley, Kenneth (2010), The Godless Delusion: A Catholic Challenge to Modern Atheism. Our Sunday Visitor.
Biblical
- Archer, GleasonGleason ArcherGleason Leonard Archer, Jr. was a Biblical scholar, theologian, educator and author.-Early life:Archer's father was Gleason Archer, Sr., the founder of Suffolk University in Boston. Archer graduated in 1938 with a B.A. from Harvard University and received an LL.B...
, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties; ISBN 0-310-24146-4; 2001. - Bruce, F. F.F. F. BruceFrederick Fyvie Bruce was a Biblical scholar and one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible...
, The Canon of Scripture; InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois; 1988. - Geisler, NormanNorman GeislerNorman L. Geisler is a Christian apologist and the co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he formerly taught. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Jesuit Loyola University...
and Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties; Baker Books, Grand Rapids Michigan; 1992. - Geisler, NormanNorman GeislerNorman L. Geisler is a Christian apologist and the co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he formerly taught. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Jesuit Loyola University...
(ed.), Inerrancy; ISBN 0-310-39281-0; 1980. - Kaiser, Walter C.Walter Kaiser, Jr.Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. is an American evangelical Old Testament scholar, writer, public speaker, and educator. Kaiser is the Colman M. Mockler distinguished Professor of Old Testament and former President of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, retired June 30, 2006...
, Peter H. Davids, F. F. BruceF. F. BruceFrederick Fyvie Bruce was a Biblical scholar and one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible...
, and Manfred Brauch, Hard Sayings of the Bible; Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois; 1996.
Scientific
- Collins, FrancisFrancis Collins (geneticist)Francis Sellers Collins , is an American physician-geneticist, noted for his discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project . He currently serves as Director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to being appointed Director, he founded and...
2006. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for BeliefThe Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for BeliefThe Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief is a bestselling book by Francis Collins in which he advocates theistic evolution. Francis Collins is an American physician-geneticist, noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes, and his leadership of the Human Genome Project ....
, Free Press - Miller, Kenneth R.Kenneth R. MillerKenneth Raymond Miller is a biology professor at Brown University. Miller, who is Roman Catholic, is particularly known for his opposition to creationism, including the intelligent design movement...
, Finding Darwin's GodFinding Darwin's GodFinding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution is a 2000 book by the American cell biologist and Roman Catholic Kenneth R. Miller wherein he argues that evolution does not contradict religious faith...
: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution, Cliff Street Books, 1999. - Polkinghorne, JohnJohn PolkinghorneJohn Charlton Polkinghorne KBE FRS is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. He was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest...
. Quarks, Chaos and Christianity: Questions to Science and Religion, New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1996. - Ross, HughHugh Ross (creationist)Hugh Norman Ross is a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist.He has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics, and later established his own ministry called Reasons To Believe, that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism...
. The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1993, 2nd ed., 1995, 3rd ed. 2001 - Sproul, R. CR. C. SproulRobert Charles Sproul, is a prominent American Calvinist theologian, author, and pastor of the Reformed tradition...
. Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science and Cosmology, Baker Book House: 1994 - John LennoxJohn LennoxJohn Carson Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, Fellow in Mathematics, Philosophy of Science and Pastoral Advisor at Green Templeton College of Oxford University...
God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?.
Creationist
- Johnson, Phillip E.Phillip E. JohnsonPhillip E. Johnson is a retired UC Berkeley law professor and author. He became a born-again Christian while a tenured professor and is considered the father of the intelligent design movement...
, Darwin on TrialDarwin on TrialDarwin on Trial is a 1991 book about the theory of evolution and the creation-evolution debate. It was written by Harvard graduate and University of California, Berkeley law professor emeritus Phillip E. Johnson...
. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois. 1991 - Whitcomb, John C.John C. WhitcombJohn Clement Whitcomb, Jr. is an American Old Testament theologian and young earth creationist. Whitcomb is sometimes credited for establishing the modern young earth creationist/creation science movement by authoring with Henry M...
, Henry M. MorrisHenry M. MorrisHenry Madison Morris was an American young earth creationist and Christian apologist. He was one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research...
, The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing. 1961 - Strobel, LeeLee StrobelLee Patrick Strobel is a writer, creationist, former journalist and former megachurch pastor. He is the author of several books, including four which received ECPA Christian Book Awards and a series which addresses challenges to a Biblically inerrant view of Christianity...
. The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence that Points Towards God, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2004.
Responses to postmodernism
- Meynell, Hugo AnthonyHugo Anthony MeynellHugo Anthony Meynell , Meynell Langley, Derbyshire, England, shortly after the death of his father, Captain Godfrey Meynell, who won the Victoria Cross in action against Afghan raiders in India's Khyber Pass. Hugo grew up as a member of an English family which arrived in England with the Norman...
Redirecting philosophy: Reflections of the Nature of Knowledge from Plato to Lonergan,Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1998 and Postmodernism and the New Enlightenment,Washington, D.C. : Catholic University of America Press, 1999
External links
General apologetics- Apologetics.com Website ministry that offers blogs, podcasts, and a Friday night radio show in Los Angeles on KKLA.
- Five Views of Apologetics Review of Apologetic traditions by Douglas Groothuis, Denver Seminary
- Christian Apologetic Journal
Training
Scientific
- God: new evidence – a series of six videos exploring how evidence from cosmic fine tuning points to the reality of a creator God
- Test of FAITH (Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at the University of Cambridge)
- John Lennox – Science & Ethics (Oxford University)
- Christians in Science
Historical, legal, and evidential apologetics
- Why I Believe The New Testament Is Historically Reliable by Gary HabermasGary HabermasGary Robert Habermas is an American evangelical Christian apologist, historian, and philosopher of religion. He is a prolific author, lecturer, and debater on the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus...
Debates
- Fixed Point Foundation: Debates
- The Martin-Frame Debate A written debate between skeptic Michael MartinMichael Martin (philosopher)Michael L. Martin is an American philosopher and professor emeritus at Boston University. He obtained his PhD from Harvard University in 1962....
and Christian John FrameJohn FrameJohn M. Frame is an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian especially noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, systematic theology, and ethics...
about the transcendental argument for the existence of God. - The Drange-Wilson Debate A written debate between skeptic Theodore DrangeTheodore DrangeTheodore "Ted" Michael Drange is a philosopher of religion and Professor Emeritus at West Virginia University, where he taught philosophy from 1966 to 2001. He received a B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1955 and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1963...
and Christian Douglas WilsonDouglas Wilson (theologian)Douglas James Wilson is a conservative Reformed and evangelical theologian, pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, faculty member at New Saint Andrews College, and prolific author and speaker...
. - "Is Christianity Good for the World?" A written debate between atheist Christopher HitchensChristopher HitchensChristopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
and theologian Douglas WilsonDouglas Wilson (theologian)Douglas James Wilson is a conservative Reformed and evangelical theologian, pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, faculty member at New Saint Andrews College, and prolific author and speaker...
in Christianity TodayChristianity TodayChristianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
magazine (web only, May 2007).