233 of 246 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
packs in a lot of information in 400 pages, May 21, 2000
This review is from: Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Paperback)
This is one of the books that brought me back from the brink of agnosticism. Christianity is a worldview that is based on historical evidence and rational arguments. The Handbook of Christian Apologetics provides a firm basis for defending Christianity by offering a wide range of reasons for belief. It is aimed at both believers and non-believers alike. Its goal is to help believers defend their faith and to help non-believers see the reasonableness of believing in Christianity.
Kreeft and Tacelli write in a lively and intelligent manner. Their train of thought is fairly easy to follow, althought it wouldn't hurt if the reader has a bit of knowledge of philosophical terms under her belt. The authors begin with a look at faith and reason. They note how both are vital, and that faith and reason can never contradict each other.
In the following chapters they tackle topics such as, Does God Exist? (they offer 20 arguments for the existence of God), The Problem of Evil, The Divinity of Christ, Life after Death, Objective Truth, just to name a few. Each chapter is followed by a number of discussion questions to help the reader digest and cogitate on what was just read. A bibliography is provided for those who wish to delve more deeply into each of the subjects presented. The authors confine themselves to the core beliefs common to all orthodox Christians. As a result, this is a book that can be read and used by all orthodox denominations and traditions.
One section I found particularly interesting was where they discuss how a person receives salvation by asking if a good pagan like Socrates could have been saved. Another good section (there's so many of them) is where they discuss free will in the chapter on evil. For example, they write, "the simplest argument for the existence of free will is observation of how we use words. We praise, blame, command, counsel, exhort, and moralize to each other. Doing these things to robots is absurd. We do not hold machines morally responsible for what they do, no matter how complicated the machines are. If there is no free will, all moral meaning disappears from language - and from life."
I highly recommend Handbook of Christian Apologetics for all who have ever yearned for answers to life's most important questions.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Single Apologetics book - must for Christian library, October 27, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Paperback)
I think the two books that best speak to a modern audience regarding the truth of Christianity are Lewis' Mere Christianity and Kreeft and Tacelli's Handbook of Christian Apologetics. They compliment each other well. If you know a hardened skeptic, Mere Christianity can get the camel's nose under the tent, and then Handbook can mop up any remaining questions. I had developed a curiousity regarding Catholic apologetics several years ago and an interest in Kreeft's work. I was excited when Handbook was released. I was not disappointed. Lucid, accessible and comprehensive. I read and re-read sections constantly. I have used the arguments for the existence of God many times and refer to The Handbook to answer questions of skeptics in real life and in on-line correspondence. A must for any Christian library. Can't praise it enough. If you like this but want more depth, you might want to read his Summa of the Summa. Very difficult but worthwhile. It's used to train priests in many seminaries.
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103 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent discussion book, but weak in certain areas, August 10, 2000
This review is from: Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Paperback)
This is an excellent book for discussion groups (includes great, thought-provoking discussion questions at the end of each chapter) and an excellent overview of Christian apologetics with a good list of recommended reading in the appendix. Also, the chapters on Hell and Heaven are perhaps the best I've read (even though the information in these chapters is based mostly on quotes from C.S. Lewis) On the downside, being that the authors are both professors of philosophy, I would have expected more information about reasoning, logical fallacies and the nature and limitations of proof. I think the majority of apologetic problems can be dealt with if people understood what consistutes a valid argument to begin with as well as the common fallacies BOTH believers and skeptics fall for. Also, some of the objections they grapple with in the book are dismissed a little too easily --- especially with the arguments for God's existence. While many of their replies may be effective for someone with little philsophical knowledge, they are often too simplistic for answering more sophisticated and philosophically-informed objections. This is a great introductory book, but readers seriously interested in apologetics and in answering intellegent objections to the Christian faith, will need to dig much deeper into these issues.
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