Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today [Hardcover]

John G. Stackhouse Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2002

Is it still possible, in an age of religious and cultural pluralism, to engage in Christian apologetics? How can one urge one's faith on others when such a gesture is typically regarded with suspicion, if not outright resentment?
In Humble Apologetics John G. Stackhouse brings his wide experience as a historian, philosopher, journalist, and theologian to these important questions and offers surprising--and reassuring--answers. Stackhouse begins by acknowledging the real impediments to Christian testimony in North America today and to other faiths in modern societies around the world. He shows how pluralism, postmodernism, skepticism about our ability to know the truth, and a host of other factors create a cultural milieu resistant to the Christian message. And he shows how the arrogance or dogmatism of apologists themselves can alienate rather than attract potential converts. Indeed, Stackhouse argues that the crucial experience of conversion cannot be compelled; all the apologist can do is lead another to the point where an actual encounter with Jesus can take place. "Our objective," Stackhouse writes, "is to offer whatever assistance we can to our neighbors toward their full maturity: toward full health in themselves and in their relationships, and especially toward God." In the last part of the book, he shows how an attitude of humility, instead of merely trying to win religious arguments, will help believers offer their neighbors the gift of Christ's love.
Drawing on the author's personal experience and written with an engaging directness and humility, Humble Apologetics provides sound guidance on how to share Christian faith in a postmodern world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Classic Christian apologetics involved a defense (apologia) of the faith, often in the face of questions generated by non-Christians. Generally, the practice of apologetics has gone out of fashion in an era of ecumenical dialogue and religious pluralism, leaving mostly fundamentalists to engage in the hard-nosed form of apologetics that is more a condemnation of other religions than a defense of Christianity. Stackhouse, who teaches theology and culture at Regent College in Vancouver, rather shakily attempts to restore the dignity of apologetics in the contemporary world. He examines several of the challenges that today's apologists face, including the relativism of postmodernism and pluralism as well as the self-centered nature of consumerism. He argues that apologetics involves more than a defense of the faith; its goal is conversion, though this should be achieved by competently defending the Christian faith, not unduly condemning other religions. Finally, Stackhouse offers helpful guidelines for apologetic conversations, such as "teach first, preach second," "clarify the most important questions," "focus on Jesus" and "read the Bible." Stackhouse's examination of postmodernism and pluralism depends too heavily on second-hand evangelical sources for definitions of these phenomena, and sets up a false picture of the challenges facing Christian apologetics. At the same time, his emphasis on conversion misses the point of apologetics, and it is perhaps more proper to say that Stackhouse has here offered a humble theory of proselytizing rather than a humble apologetics. Unfortunately, Stackhouse's simplistic guidelines will not go very far toward reviving apologetics from disuse.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Stackhouse (theology and culture, Regent Coll., Vancouver; Can God Be Trusted?) provides an overview of the difficulties of engaging in Christian apologetics in the postmodern, "post-Christian," pluralistic 21st century. His goal is to instruct Christians on how best to present their faith to others. He argues, for instance, that contemporary apologists do not have the luxury of the homogeneous, largely receptive audience available to C.S. Lewis when he wrote his classic Mere Christianity. Though a conservative evangelical, Stackhouse states that all he can do is to affirm that Christianity presents the best belief system of all the religious faiths with which he is familiar and to explain why this is true for him personally. He encourages apologists to tailor their message to their specific audience and to listen and empathize as much as to talk. He makes a lucid and thoughtful case that this humble approach, will be the only effective one for sharing one's faith with others in these times. Though literal evangelicals will bristle at the author's compromising approach, this book will have broad appeal and is recommended for public and undergraduate libraries.
Richard S. Watts, San Bernardino Cty. Lib., CA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First edition (November 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195138074
• ISBN-13: 978-0195138078
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #771,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John G. Stackhouse, Jr., was born in Canada and raised in southwestern England and northern Ontario. A graduate of Queen's University in Ontario (B.A., History, with First Class Honours), Wheaton College Graduate School in Illinois (M.A., Theological Studies, with Highest Honor), and The University of Chicago (Ph.D., History and Theology of Christianity), he taught European history at Northwestern College, Iowa, and Modern Christianity at the University of Manitoba before taking up his current post. Dr. Stackhouse is the Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology and Culture at Regent College, an international graduate school of Christian studies affiliated with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He is the author of seven books; co-author, editor or co-editor of seven more; and author of more than 500 articles and reviews in scholarly and popular periodicals and books. He has been interviewed by most of the major North American television networks (ABC, NBC, PBS, CBC, CTV, and Global) and his work has been featured by print media as diverse as the Times Literary Supplement, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic Monthly, Time, Reader's Digest, and even Maxim. He has lectured at major universities such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Edinburgh, and Fudan, and has addressed audiences throughout North America as well as in the United Kingdom, China, Malaysia, Korea, Israel, India, and various locales in Europe. He is currently an Advisory Editor to Christianity Today magazine, a Contributing Editor to Books & Culture magazine, a columnist for Faith Today and a blogger with The National Post. He lives in North Vancouver with his family and enjoys hiking and skiing the area mountains. Dr. Stackhouse is also a jazz musician, and occasionally gives performances on piano, guitar, electric bass, or trumpet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and thoughtful approach to Apologetics, January 26, 2003

By 

Dan Olson (Vancouver, BC CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today (Hardcover)

John Stackhouse book is lucid, winsome, and profoundly Christian - I commend it to all those who take Scripture seriously, are theologically orthodox, and desire to be a humble, earnest, and reflective witness for Christ in a world marked by relativism and religious skepticism on one hand, and defensive and insular biblicism on the other.

With reference to the previous reviewers, this book is good enough that I must defend it against those who seem to have missed the point.

To begin, Stackhouse in no way "bows to contemporary intellectual trends." He is thoroughly orthodox but merely recognizes the fact of ethical and religious pluralism (look around), and never encourages Christians to affirm the truth of other faiths. Instead, he clearly and humorously helps one understand the current epistemological situation... then encourages the Christian community to witness by example and through humble and earnest dialogue. Instead of flagrantly and arrogantly condemning other faiths, he encourages the Christian to thoughtfully and respectfully commend the Christian faith, arguing if necessary, but always in a spirit of respect and love. This seems to me the most effective, and most Christlike, approach - lovingly bringing in the Kingdom of God one relationship at a time.

With regards to religious exclusivism, it seems to me that theologically he would fall into this camp (contrary to the comments of "a reader") - however, Stackhouse rightly affirms the obvious: since we are not God, we are not privy to certaintly about the eternal status of others; therefore our only recourse is to earnestly and lovingly (and, if needed, argumentatively) commend the faith to those we meet, always respecting the other's freedom and intellectual integrity - recognizing that everyone always has reasons for what they believe... regardless of how coherent (or incoherent) they are. No doubt Paul in Athens (Acts 17) is a perfect example, even appropriating ways in which the Epicurean and Stoic philosophies pointed to Christian truth (by quoting their texts...find any commentary).

Regarding what "First Theology" writes about "humanistic and secular philosophies", I'm not certain exactly what his issue is. Stackhouse recognizes that obvious: that when we live in a religiously pluralist society, a reflective person can't but recognize that others hold other mutually exclusive positions, making certainty a bit more tenuous. However, amidst this new situation, Stackhouse rightly maintains Christianity's uniqueness - perhaps not as winsomely agressive as, say, G.K. Chesterton... but that is not his purpose. His approach merely suggests that returning to an age of heretic-burning isn't merited. (I might add that Stackhouse may agree with N.T. Wright that biblical literalists may reflect "humanist and secular philosophies" (more specifically Western materialism, a.k.a. postivism) more than other Christian traditions - thus allowing "First Theology" to know certainly and completely "what the Bible teaches"... treating scripture (particularly the N.T.) as a store-house of mere propositional and literal truth, which reflects a way of thinking about Scripture resulting from the Enlightenment (post-18th century) and narrowed during the Biblical inerrancy debates of the last 130 years... (Cf. The New Testament and the People of God, Ch. 2).)

Previous reviewers, and others immersed in a Christian sub-culture no doubt realize there are contentious issues of debate, but Stackhouse (I think rightly) outlines an appropriate (and may I reiterate, thoroughly orthodox) approach, recognizing that in commending the faith to one's neighbor, one must start from common ground. With the most important insight being that the example of Christlike love is the most cogent and convicting of arguments.

After reading this, if you want to burn me at the stake, then you won't enjoy "Humble Apologetics"... if this resonates with you - then Stackhouse is a wise and humble guide for Apologists everywhere. Remember, though, his book isn't a compendium of arguments, but an insightful and wise APPROACH to our faith's defense.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging of a gentler, more respectful apologetic, June 16, 2005

By 

M. P. Ryan (Bowen Is, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today (Hardcover)

John Stackhouse Jr., is professor of theology and culture at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada. He is an award-winning historian, philosopher, theologian, journalist, and teacher. In this stirring volume Stackhouse draws upon each of these areas of expertise in order to persuade us that defending the faith (much-maligned as it is) can be and ought to be undertaken humbly. For Stackhouse, the practice of apologetics can be interesting and important, or offensive and therefore self-defeating; to ensure that it is the former and not the latter which prevails, Stackhouse has authored this volume with the intent of presenting a way "of engaging in worthwhile apologetical conversation without perverting it into a destructive exercise in triumphalism" (p. xvi).

Not dissimilar from recent texts on apologetics and evangelism by a number of L'Abri related authors (e.g. Os Guinness, Bill Edgar, Dick Keyes and Jerram Barrs); Humble Apologetics also shares some affinity with the apologetic writings of the late Francis Schaeffer. This is true not merely in terms of tone and awareness of cultural crosscurrents and their impact upon the task of witness-bearing, but perhaps most especially in the way that Stackhouse exhibits his concern for the ones to whom our apologetics are directed. (Like Schaeffer, Stackhouse is eager that our practice of apologetics open up and illumine a way forward and not wound, shut down, or cause someone to turn back from faith).

Full of sage advice and helpful pastoral notes, Humble Apologetics is nevertheless uncluttered and can be outlined quickly and easily. Parts one and two helpfully delineate the milieu in which we are called upon to defend the faith and explain what defending the faith means and involves. Here, pluralism, postmodernism and consumerism are cited as crucial challenges to Christian apologetics. The problem of plausibility-i.e. of our culture's particular resistance to biblical Christianity-is also raised and addressed. Apologetics itself is finally defined and defended and the basic epistemological matters underlying a humble apologetic are discussed. Part three," the payoff section" (p.xvii), weaves the various threads together by suggesting principles of communication, by endorsing audience-specific apologetics and by listing a dozen guidelines for apologetic conversation. Concerned that theology and philosophy not monopolize, Stackhouse draws attention to other modes of apologetics and offers a concluding chapter in which he once again drives home the importance and necessity of practicing humble apologetics.

While some have baulked at the contours of Stackhouse's proposal, labeling it "postmodern" and charging that it harbors too low a view of apologetic argumentation and its outcomes (Groothuis, Books & Culture); others have dismissed it altogether, decrying it as "unbiblical and outrageous" (Cheung, Reformation Ministries International). Though such conclusions seem hasty and tend to overlook the many strengths of this volume (too many to register here), yet there are occasions in which Stackhouse's language can be said to court the disapproval of those committed to a more corpulent and virile apologetic. Examples of this would include his insistence on speaking about worldviews, including Christianity, as "hypotheses-intelligent guesses-that are always subject to further tryouts" (p.87-89); his unnuanced assertion that "No human being knows anything for certain" (p.166); as well as his conclusion: "For all we know, we might be wrong about any or all of this" (p.232; italics are the author's). Nonetheless, while I too feel that Stackhouse may have overreached in some of his comments, yet I remain an ardent admirer of this work for two reasons.

First, it simply must be admitted that certainty is a problematic concept. For even though God wants us to be certain of our salvation and of the truth of Christianity, and even though He supplies us with the resources we need to come to a point of confident assurance regarding the essential elements of the gospel message (the concern of Groothuis and others), yet this does not prevent doubt from arising and neither does it nullify the difficulties Stackhouse addresses. Therefore, disagreement withstanding, I am certain (oops!) that I stand to gain much from interacting with this work

Second, although I reject E. J. Carnell's verificationist approach to apologetics (his offering of God and Christianity as hypotheses to be tested by autonomous man) and although I continue to have questions about the Reformed epistemology of Plantinga and Wolterstorff (which informs and gives shape to Stackhouse's epistemology); yet I can happily utilize and endorse this work when I bear in mind the author's intent. For having read and re-read Humble Apologetics, it does not seem that Stackhouse has capitulated to postmodernism and wants to topple the edifice of sure knowledge as much as he wants us to recognize the milieu we are a part of and the apologetic impact of respecting our epistemic limitations. Neither does Stackhouse suggest that other religious and philosophical options are equal to or better than Christianity, only that for various cultural and sociological reasons such alternatives may and often do appeal to others with a force that we must not underestimate or ignore. In short, Stackhouse is alert to the fact that in our present culture we cannot go out and argue from a position of obvious certainty, we must argue from a position of plausibility asking those in front of us to consider "Might not this be true?"

So then, bearing in mind the author's intent, I find Stackhouse's reflections on how we do or approach apologetics to convey a welcome and much-needed emphasis. Indeed, whatever might be said about the idiosyncrasies of this work, it remains a solid contribution towards creating and encouraging a gentler, more respectful apologetic (cf. 1 Peter 3:15). In his reconfiguring of apologetics Stackhouse has removed trumpery, clipped the wings of pride and managed to exalt character and loving respect for others without dumbing down apologetics. In essence, he pushes us to engage not just ideas, but people; to reject not only arid intellectualism but acrid uncharitability as well. Such factors make Stackhouse `highly recommended reading' for all would-be apologists.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Apologetics, December 2, 2002

By 

John Craig Colbert (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today (Hardcover)

I think Stackhouse hits the nail on the head. Apologetics is a means to an end and not an end in itself. Stackhouse is concerned that people far from God have an opportunity to see Jesus and His life and teachings in ways that are relevant to their lives. I too have been embarrassed by Christian apologists who may "win" the argument, but repel people from the truth by their smug arrogance. In the postmodern context of our culture today the messenger is, in some sense, the message. The message and the manner in which it is delivered is critical. Jesus, the Bible says, was full of truth, but he was also full of grace. Stackhouse restores a Biblical balance to the issue of apologetics