Customer Reviews

Handbook of Christian Apologetics

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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.

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.

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.

Although I am not Catholic and did not agree with every one of the authors' conclusions, I must say that this book is a good overall defense of the historic Christian church. I appreciate that these men were Christian first and Catholic second, and so there were no real noticeable diatribes on the issues that could separate Catholics and Protestants. Their reasoning was extremely sound, in the vast majority of cases, and I have even used some of their information (i.e. 20 reasons for the existence of God) in lecture notes in a Christian apologetics class that I teach. A book like this and When Skeptics Ask by Geisler work well side by side on the old bookshelf, and it's a wonderful experience to compare the two books on a number of parallel issues. It's well worth the read, for both the Christian and the skeptic who has never challenged himself to compare his beliefs with the teachings of Christianity.

This book is fairly comprehensive in scope, and yet detailed in presentation. The topics covered range from the nature of God to Salvation. Each topic is presented and then disected, and rational explanations, often step by step, are given as to why Christians believe it, and why it must be so.
The writing is very clear and engaging, and I found the book not only extremely informative but also enjoyable to read. I suppose you can read it straight through as I did or use it as a reference when questions arise.

this is the first book that i've read on apologetics. The arguments are mainly philosophical in nature (with the exception of the deity and resurrection of Jesus) and for the uninitiated (ie. people who only read Stephen King or Janette Oke)it may seem somewhat ponderous. However, if you stick with it you'll find the experience a most gratifying one.

I'd always wondered why Christians believed what they believed. The answer I always got was "because the Bible says so". I would respond, "How do you know the Bible is true?". With a straight face they would respond, circularly, "because the Bible says so." And so it went.

It's unfortunate that most people don't bother to look at whether their religious belief is actually true or not. So what if it makes you feel good? Puppies make me feel good but I'm not going to put my faith in them.

HBOCA makes a very convincing and compelling case for the authenticity of the Christian faith. I'd highly recommend it to anyone seeking answers to the big questions of life.

This is a full version of the Pocket Handbook for Christian Apologetics written by the same authors. Recently updated with a fresh new cover, it doesn't appear that much else changed. Yet this has been considered a classic on the subject since its publication back in 1994. Used extensively in Campus ministries, and in both Catholic and Evangelical traditions, this book is very unique. This book used to be required reading for Campus Crusade for Christ Staff in Canada, and because it is an Intervarsity Press book, is used widely in that campus ministry also. Even the Navigators of Canada Resource center always keeps it in stock.

With such wide usage and varied acclaim, this book hardly even needs more of a plug. But it is truly a treasure. It answers hundreds of questions crucial to a deep understanding of Christianity and the claims of Christ. It tackles such large issues as: Do faith and reason conflict? Does God exist? Is the bible myth? Was Jesus more than a man? How can God allow evil to exist? Is there life after death? Miracles? And there are many more.

The sections of the book are:
· Part 1: Introduction
· Part 2: God
· Part 3: God & Nature
· Part 4: God & Grace
· Part 5: God & Glory
· Part 6: Conclusions
The chapters are nearly the same as the Pocket Handbook, and it also contains an extensive bibliography, scriptural index and subject index. These two indexes make the book great as a quick reference guide or for research purposes.

This book will become indispensable in your Christian toolbox. It is a valuable resource and well worth reading through, then going back to again and again. It will give you all the basics of the Christian faith in one book that has all the answers you will need. Check it out. Like all of Kreeft's other works I have reviewed, I would have to highly recommend this book. And I doubt that you will have a complaint after you have worked through it.

Someone once told me that he thought Art with a capital A was the antithesis of logic. I suppose that from his point of view, fully in line with the "Art for Art's sake" school of thought, he was right, but from my point of view, I have always thought that art and logic were two sides of the same coin, as it were, both tools to be used to learn about the nature of Ultimate Reality. And, as art transcends, so often does logic, and in this book we find an example of that. Kreeft and Tacelli's book is so finely-crafted and well-presented that it is a thing of beauty to behold, and art form in itself perhaps.

The book begins at the beginning, with a discussion of the nature of Apologetics and a realistic appraisal of its scope and limitations. It then moves on through Faith and Reason, with a description of each and the differences between them, and their mutual interdependence. I particularly enjoyed the little paragraphs on Dualism and how it fits in with private vs. public experiences.

Section Two gives twenty arguments for the existence of God. They are called "arguments" here, and not "proofs" and the discussion was more realistic in this book than in other philosophy books I have read over the years. The authors are careful to sort them out and explain each one thoroughly, including objections and limitations, from the most often seen "First Mover" and "Argument by Design" to the very short and delightful "Argument from Aesthetic Experience" which reads: "There is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Therefore there must be a God." The authors' comment is: "You either see this one or you don't." Bravo! My favorite argument!

The balance of section two discusses the nature of God, and what we can, and cannot know, by reason.

Section three talks about God and Nature. This includes the section that discusses the problem of evil. I found this to be well written, but there was one little part in it that was of particular interest to me. I have been reading a lot Alan Watts' books lately, because he wrote well from a certain viewpoint. One of the themes that comes up over and over throughout his books is non-dualism. He is writing from a rather classic Hindu perspective, and I have been trying to understand this from a Catholic Christian point of view. Was not having too much success in this, until I got to pp. 124-125 and the section on evil and the 'mystery of solidarity.' This was brilliantly done and very useful to me.

Part four goes into the Divinity of Christ and the Resurrection. Pretty standard argumentation here, but very well thought out and presented. The section titled "The Bible: Myth or History," was magnificent. Especially having read Watts' "Myth and Ritual in Christianity," this was a refreshing antidote. Also useful if you need, as I do, to sort out the competing views of Scripture from liberal to conservative to fundamentalist point of views.

Part five covered life after death, heaven, hell, and salvation. Typical arguments; very well presented.

Part six was the best part of a wonderful book. It discussed the similarities and differences between Christianity and other religions, both Eastern and Western. The chapter on Objective Truth was a real gem. You should read this chapter first before going through the rest of the book. The final chapter contained a lenghthy and wonderful quote from C.S. Lewis called "Man or Rabbit?" Which identity do we choose and why?

The index is very, very thorough and useful.

I have read this book so many times and it never fails to satisfy. If you are a Catholic or mainstream Protestant with perhaps just a little philosophical training (maybe just Phil. 101 from college), or even a non-believer who is interested in understanding WHAT Christians believe and WHY they believe it, you might find this book to be both interesting and beneficial.

This is a tremendously important "one-stop" shop for most of the crucial Christian questions. It bears re-reading since at different times of life there are different obstacles to faith. There is also an essential honesty to the work. One of my favorite quotes is: "The tension is between appealing to free choice and appealing to divine providence and grace to solve the problem of evil. Sin is explained, on the one hand, by our free will. On the other hand, God's providential plan foresaw and used even sin. God brings good out of evil, and makes all things work together for good for those who love him. The argument between those who emphasize free will and those who emphasize providence is largely one of emphasis, for both are parts of our scriptural data. The difference in emphasis is between those who see human history as a novel, written by God, and those who see it as a play, enacted by man. The two images are not exclusive. The novel, though completely the author's creation, is about free people, not trees or robots; and though the play has a script, the actors are free to obey the script or not. If the emphasis is on God's predestination, our attitude to life will emphasize trust and faith and acceptance and hope; while if the emphasis is on human free will, our attitude to life will emphasize morality and spiritual warfare and the will to make the right choices. The first emphasizes wisdom, the second morality; the first contemplation, the second action; the first seeing, the second doing; the first faith, the second works. They are two sides of the same Christian coin."

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.