Handbook of Christian Apologetics [Paperback]

Peter Kreeft (Author), Ronald K. Tacelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 1994

Voted one of 1995 Books of the Year!

Reasonable, concise, witty and wise, Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli have written an informative and valuable guidebook for anyone looking for answers to questions of faith and reason.

Topics include:

Whether you are asking the questions yourself or want to respond to others who are, here is the resource you have been waiting for.

Product Details

• Paperback: 406 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic; 1St Edition edition (April 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830817743
• ISBN-13: 978-0830817740
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

250 of 263 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars packs in a lot of information in 400 pages May 21, 2000

By "christianskeptic"

Format: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.

70 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Lay-Level Text With A Misleading Description July 10, 2009

By Brian Roberts

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Anyone who has been anticipating this book is probably already familiar with the Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions (hereafter referred to as "HBCA") by the same authors.

BE ADVISED: This "new" volume is that exact text (as far as I can tell, it is entirely unaltered from the last edition of the HBCA) with the exception of a new chapter - just under forty pages - of very short essays, ranging from a half a page to two pages in length, on various Catholic topics.

In other words, if you already own the old handbook, then purchasing this new handbook gets you a little less than forty additional pages. What's more, the new essays are not framed with anywhere near the deductive precision of the arguments in the old HBCA. Their polemic is more of an appeal to poetry and inspiration rather than logic (in fact, the authors sneak in an actual poem in their essay on Marian doctrines). This is all horribly disappointing since the authors are clearly capable of a full volume of deductive reasoning for Catholic doctrines (which is what I expected of this text when I bought it).

ALL THAT SAID: I still rate the book 5 stars. If you do not already own the old HBCA, then the Handbook of Catholic Apologetics is a must-own. If you do own the old volume, then this new one is not worth the price. The essays are very nice and indeed inspirational, but they would have been better released as a $5 booklet. If a friend buys the book, the essays are worth borrowing the text from your friend for a quick read. Personally, I think Dr. Kreeft's audio CD "7 Reasons to be Catholic" is much better than the forty pages provided in the Handbook of Catholic Apologetics (even though the forty pages cover certain Catholic doctrines more specifically). There is also a nice little suggested reading list for the new Catholic chapter, attached to the original HBCA bibliography.

The best books I know of for the Catholic who was looking forward to this book because of the misleading description are The New Catholic Answer Bible - Librosario, Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians", and The Spirit of Catholicism (Milestones in Catholic Theology), by Karl Adam. In fact, The Spirit of Catholicism is my favorite book on Catholicism that I have ever read. And believe me. As a convert, a theology major, and a Catholic evangelist, I've read a lot of books on Catholicism. The "Handbook of Catholic Apologetics" is a great book of Christian apologetics for the average reader but it is by no means an actual handbook of Catholic apologetics!

Google PhatMass and check out their forums if you want to know more about Catholicism or if you want some more book recommendations. Great crowd over there.

God bless you!

36 of 37 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

Format: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.