some works on apologetics

Recently, I was "tagged" by John Smulo and asked to provide some opinions on books that (1) have been influential in the realm of apologetics and (2) should be influential. Eventually, I'll "tag" someone else, but for now here are my quick responses.

Three Influential Works on Contemporary Apologetics

The most influential have probably already been mentioned (McDowell, etc.). These had some positive impact on me, especially in the very early days of my personal search. Thus, I’m not ready to throw everything out. However, I do think there are serious limitations (and even errors) in some of these traditional approaches.

There are some other books, however, that played a major role in the development of Christian apologetics. These include the following:

Darwin on Trial by Philip Johnson

This was a truly revolutionary book, for it demonstrated that it was possible to doubt Darwinian evolution without being a fundamentalist. In many ways Johnson was a trailblazer for the entire Intelligent Design movement. A great analysis of ID, which I’m currently reading, is Doubts About Darwin by Thomas Woodward.

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

A classic by Lewis, who should not be neglected by postmodern readers. Indeed, I think he shows that there is something to be said for including some of the insights of modernism. Indeed, I also believe that he demonstrates, to some degree at least, that some (not all!) of the gripes against modern thinking are based on caricatures. Furthermore, he shows that not all “moderns” were completely bound by their modernism.

Three Lesser Known Books Almost Everyone Should Read

Faith Has It’s Reasons: An Integrative Approach to Defending Christianity by Ken Boa and Robert Bowman

This resembles in some ways the approach taken in the Views series called Five Views on Apologetics. It shows that there is a legitimacy to a number of approaches to apologetics. Sometimes, we shoot past one another in defending our views. Other times, we allow errors (real or simply perceived) to so turn us off to the views of others that we fail to take into account the helpfulness of certain aspects of what they say. Personally, I went through a period where I experienced the tension between evidentialism and presuppositionalism. At that time, I was taking a class that was taught by a very sound and balanced evidentialist (Robert Newman, Biblical Theological Seminary), while I was simultaneously immersed in a lot of the ideas fostered by presuppositionalist John Frame. I discovered at that time that it was possible to embrace the best of both worlds and that an “either-or” approach was not very helpful or intellectually honest.

Finding Faith by Brian McLaren

During the early days when I began to move in a more postmodern direction, I read a number of helpful works. This sort-of apologetic work by McLaren resonated with me a lot. Good reading!

Proper Confidence by Leslie Newbigin

Not an apologetics book, per se, but a great treatment of subjects that are related, things like knowing, doubting, believing, etc. Very good.

Obviously, there are plenty of others. :)