Customer Reviews

Love, the Ultimate Apologetic: The Heart of Christian Witness

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dr. Art Lindley's book Love, the Ultimate Apologetic is a wonderful apologetic work that combines the best of apologetic scholarship with practical Christianity. Lindsley accomplishes the difficult task of both defending the Christian faith with reason and providing an explanation of how we should live. This book stimulates the mind and engages the heart.
The framework for the book is love is never sure apart from commitment, love is never sane apart from conscience, love is never safe apart from character, love is never stimulated apart from community, and love is never seized apart from courage. Commitment, conscience, character, community, and courage are the defining qualities that make up agape love. Within this framework Lindsley challenges the Atheistic and Pantheistic worldviews by asking the question: Can either worldview provide an adequate reason for why we should be committed to anyone, feel a need to do what is right in our conscience, do that which we feel is right, love others in community, or be courageous about the future? With wonderful precision Lindley breaks down Atheistic materialism and all levels of Pantheism (New Age spirituality, Buddhism, Hinduism, and occult spirituality) to show that the only worldview that provides a basis for genuine love for another person or God is Christianity. He does this not only through careful scholarship, but by opening and closing each chapter with dialogue between members of an imaginary group of people from all walks of life that is lead by a Christian man name John. John leads the discussion and helps the other characters (an atheist man, a pantheist woman, a nominal Christian man, and a woman "seeking" to learn more about love). Lindsley uses the group to show how many time what people believe and what they do are for the most part inconsistent and uses the chapters to explain why they are inconsistent.
I would recommend this book to all readers of all different faiths and backgrounds. This book is wonderful if you wish to have your mind engaged and your heart stimulated.

Art Lindsley has brought a new tool to the apologist's toolkit with this excellent book. His premise is that while atheists and pantheists can love, their religion provides no basis for promoting "outward love"; that is love that is concerned for others over self. Only Christianity promotes "outward love" and as often as Christians practice outward love, they are providing the most effective apologetic (defense) of the truth and relevance of the Christian faith.

This book is an excellent read for people of all faiths. Art shows great respect for both Atheism and Pantheism (New Age Spirituality) while taking the premise of each faith to its logical conclusion.

Thanks for a great read Art.

This book is all about love and how it was central to the message of Jesus. Author Art Lindsley points out how there is often a contradiction in many church families. Love is spoken about, but often not felt. Christianity is often lived out as a set of rules to be followed, leaving much to be desired in our relationships. The author also takes a deeper look at sin and guilt and how love does indeed cover a multitude of sins.
This book wasn't light reading, but it is worth the time. I learned a lot.

I rarely review books that I read, but I am so impressed with Art Lindsley's thoughts on love that I had to give this book 5 stars. Art does an excellent job explaining how Christianity is the unique faith that can explain love and evil better than any other religion.

The topic and concepts of Lindsley's book are right on target for the church today. Jesus said that his disciples would be known as his followers by their love for one another. The church today lacks, on the whole, a radical, distinguishing love like Jesus and the early church possessed and demonstrated.

Lindsley focuses on love as being the chief characteristic of Christianity. He contrasts this characteristic with the materialism and sentimentalism of atheism and new age spirituality. Both of these, he writes lack the truthful, life-changin substance of Christianity.

He discusses love and commitment, love and conscience, love and character, love and community, and love and courage. This is a relatively short book that does not delve deep enough into these topics to make a strong case as an apologetic. He more than anything introduces the topics, provides some Scriptural and theological support for them and also contrasts the Scriptural basis with atheism, etc.

He leaves some holes in the apologetics unaddressed...for example, if love is the ultimate apologetic then why do Christians not stand out in our culture more than they do. He also is easy on the Western church that has eased into a lifestyle barely distinguishable from non-Christians. I think to be fair Lindsley needs to challenge the church in addition to challenging non-believers.

This is a good introduction to the topic, but Christians need more challenge and substance and so do non-believers who want a greater witness of love from Christians. Lindsley does identify the contradictions that abound in atheistic and new age worldviews.

Lindsley uses a motif of a fictional small group discussion throughout the book. This fictional discussion consists of an atheist, a new age person, an agnostic, a new Christian and a Christian leader who discuss issues related to the book. I thought this was creative but ultimately a distraction to the subject matter.

This book can serve well to initiate small group discussion among Christians or general readers.

Lindsley speaks of the centrality of love to Jesus' message, not in general vague terms, but in concrete ways. He writes, "Love requires commitment, character, conscience, community and courage. ... Love is never sure apart from commitment. Love is never sane apart from conscience. Love is never safe apart from character. Love is never stimulated apart from community. Love is never seized apart from courage" (26). Throughout the book he spars with atheism and New Age philosophies.