Just as in any "career" we might pursue, we should be progressively preparing ourselves to be increasingly better at it. No one becomes an expert overnight, if ever (!), but we should be gradually, faithfully increasing in knowledge and ability as time goes by. I think this is especially true in our Christian witness. It is one thing to say "I don't know my Bible well" or "I don't know how to respond to what people are thinking" when we are first saved. But if 5, 10, 20 years have passed and we're STILL where we were, then that's a shame!
Now, of course, the REAL #1 Book to know well is the Bible. With that as a "given", lets encourage one another with suggestions for apologetics books that have enhanced our witness.
1a. Christian Apologetics, Norm Geisler
This isn't a "quick-read", but I found it quite useful for historically tracing philosophical thought. If you get this down, a lot of other things will suddenly make sense to you and you'll begin to recognize how the different elements of modern thought developed. It's worth the work! Take notes. Type it up on your computer and save it for future reference. Review your notes periodically. You'll remember.
1b. Tearing Down Strongholds and Defending the Truth, R.C. Sproul, Jr.
If the first book is a bit more than you can take in, try this one instead.
1c. Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
Lewis also approaches from the philosophical angle. It's true this isn't a one-size-fits-all approach, but you WILL find a lot of people who like to reason and meditate on things. God may use that approach to reach them, so it's good to know enough to ask them a few questions they can chew on.
2. When Critics Ask, Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe
The approach in this book is to highlight difficult Biblical sections, book by book. For example, Jeremiah15:6 talks about God repenting. What does that MEAN? I like this one for people who have been trivialized to death by cult members. Cults love to confuse people by majoring on trivialities out of context, so it's good to be able to give someone an accurate answer when they ask you about something they have been told. And don't just "tell" them... open up your Bible and SHOW them HOW you came to that conclusion. Ask them questions such as "Who is the author addressing?" and have them find the answer; "What is he talking about in this context?" and have them find the answer. Just "telling" someone an answer seldom convinces them. Taking them to God's Word and having them come to a correct conclusion on their own lays it on the line. Once they get it, then they must choose whether or not to acknowledge it. It's not so easy to discount once YOU are convinced you know what it says!
If you don't know the answer off the top of your head, tell them that's a good question and you want to look at it and get back to them. We've all done that. It is absolutely amazing, though, how the Holy Spirit so often uses the very Scripture you have been studying that week! I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me! And I usually don't even realize it until I reflect upon it later. How good God is!
3. Whatever Happened to Truth?, Andreas Kostenberger, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., J.P. Moreland, Kevin J. Vanhoozer
This little book gives you a good overview of the Postmodern thought so prevalent in modern Western culture. There are other books going into more detail, but this is a good intro.
3a. From God to Us, Norman L. Geisler & William Nix
Ummm...I just happened to notice a pattern here. That's probably because Geisler is so well known for Apologetics and is a good writer to boot. It's a good idea to have a little Bibliology under your belt for those who talk about the supposed unreliability of the Bible.
3b. On the Reliability of the Old Testament, K.A. Kitchen
Kitchen is an Archaeologist and Egyptologist. [Hard to go wrong there! ;)] While I don't completely agree with his dating, he does a good job defending the accuracy of the Bible. This is a thick book you might want to break down into chunks as you study through the books of the OT.
3c. John J. Davis, an Archaeologist and Professor of OT at Grace Theological Seminary, has a series of Commentaries on OT books with an apologetic flavor. The next time you go through the OT, I strongly recommend you use these books as you read and study. Read discerningly, though, and be humble. Archaeology is in constant change and these books were written a while ago. But they will give you a solid head start.
Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis
Moses & the Gods of Egypt: Studies in Exodus
A History of Israel: Studies in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel and 1 Kings, with John Whitcomb
4a. The First Seven Ecumenical Councils: Their History and Theology, Leo Donald Davis
The next time you run across someone who read The DaVinci Code , and they start to tell you what supposedly happened at The Council of Nicaea, wouldn't it be nice to tell them the TRUTH?
4b. Exploring Church History, Howard F. Vos
If you'd like your church history "short and sweet", then this would be a good choice.
5. The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel
I'm not a fan of all his books, but I found this one really useful. I admit I have not run across hoards of people who would necessarily find this enlightening, but there ARE some. This would have been a good book to give ME before I knew the Lord. It's how my mind works. It would have gotten me thinking at least. Loren used books like this to get me thinking and growing. He'd always hit me with the line, "Would you mind reading this and telling me what you think?" [It took me years to figure out what he was doing. ;)]
OK, I admit I cheated a little on "5", but it's nice to give choices! What apologetic books would YOU recommend?
2 comments:
Like I told you, your list is very much on the Classical approach side of apologetics.
the shocking omission is Van Til. Now, I know Van Til isn't exactly 'readable', but he has done more for apologetics in the last 100 years than anyone. He is basically the father of what we call Presuppositional Apologetics.
you should read up on the differences in the two approaches. I'd reccomend the 'Four Views' book Frame edited as well as his book "Apologetics to the Glory of God".
You're right. I didn't include Van Til because I thought nobody would read it.
Thanks for your other suggestions. I have John Frame's "The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God", which Ian mostly worked his way through last summer. I was not aware of this other book. Thanks for the heads up! "Classical" is what I am most familiar with, but I can't say that I have very often USED that approach in witnessing.
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