Why I Am a Christian: Leading Thinkers Explain Why They Believe [Paperback]

Norman L. Geisler (Editor), Paul K. Hoffman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2006

First published in 2001, Why I Am A Christian is now available in a revised trade paper edition. Its all-star cast of contributors, including Gary Habermas, William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Peter Kreeft, and J. P. Moreland, offer popular and accessible defenses of essential aspects of orthodox Christian belief.

Now with a new chapter on "Why I Am Not a Muslim" by Ergun Mehmet Caner, an ex-Muslim, Why I Am a Christian is an even more helpful resource in our global times. It also now includes a thorough subject index for easy reference and a useful apologetics resource list.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite contributions from high-profile writers such as Ravi Zacharias, Josh McDowell and Peter Kreeft, this anthology adds nothing to the age-old genre of Christian apologetics. It opens with essays defending both truth and theism against postmodern atheists, and eventually moves to specifically Christian teachings: "Why I Believe the Bible Is the Word of God," "Why I Believe Jesus Is the Messiah and Son of God," and "Why I Have Chosen to Follow Christ." Some essays, such as J.P. Moreland's autobiographical discussion of his choice to follow Jesus, are stirring. Others are dull and predictable: Barry Leventhal (Southern Evangelical Seminary), for example, tediously rehearses the Old Testament prophecies that he believes Jesus fulfilled. As a collection, the book is unbalanced. There are, for instance, too many contributions from some writers; editor Geisler offers two essays, as does Liberty University's Gary Habermas. Given the abundance of Christian "leading thinkers," one wishes the editors had been a bit more imaginative and included a greater diversity of voices. Particularly troubling is the total absence of female contributors. In an era in which many women leave the evangelical churches for spiritual homes more friendly to feminism, this book would have been strengthened immeasurably by an essay or two by leading women thinkers explaining why they, too, believe. This disappointing collection of apologetic essays will send readers scurrying back to Cardinal Newman and other bolder, more invigorating defenses of the faith.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Divided into six parts, this book presents 16 separately authored chapters on such topics as "Why I Believe in Miracles" and "Why I Have Chosen To Follow Christ." These are not just personal testimonies; each of these well-written chapters engages antireligious assumptions found in today's culture and education. As such, each offers thought-provoking ideas even for those who may disagree. The "leading thinkers" promised in the subtitle, however, turn out to be a group of evangelical professors, many with seminary connections. Few of these names will be familiar to anyone outside of the evangelical community. Contributions from a broad range of Christian thinkers would have widened the book's appeal while strengthening its point. Recommended for public libraries. C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., Lafayette, IN
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books; Rev Exp edition (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080106712X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801067129
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 5.9 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Doug Geivett is a native a southern California who has been teaching philosophy at Biola University (La Mirada, CA) since 1993. He was educated at Multnomah University (B.S.), Gonzaga University (M.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (M.A.), and the University of Southern California (Ph.D.). He has participated in public debates on the question of God's existence with Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, Paul Draper, Bruce Russell, John Shook, and Gordon Stein. He lectures nationally and internationally on an assortment of topics related to his publications.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thinking essays about a thinking faith June 25, 2002

By E. Johnson

Format:Hardcover

Too many Christians "feel" that the exercise of the mind is not important when it comes to the Christian faith. How wrong these believers are! In this day of easy-believism, where the intellect is forsaken for a spiritual diet of cotton candy and bon bons, it is refreshing to know that there are important Christian apologists who make it a point to write thinking pieces such as "Why I Am a Christian." Indeed, Jesus Himself said that we are to worship God with our whole heart, soul, MIND, and strength.

Although I don't remember seeing if the editors, Geisler and Hoffman, were attempting to respond to Russell's "Why I Am Not A Christian," this book certainly serves as a lob back to the atheist's court. Included in the book are essays on truth, God, miracles, the Bible, Jesus, and evil and suffering. Taking some of the better apologists who have already written on the topic at hand, the book's top two strengths were:

* William Lane Craig's chapter 4 entitled "Why I believe God exists." Using the same arguments that he used in a Willow Creek debate against an atheist in the early 1990s--Kalam, Design, and the Moral arguments--Craig's chapter is solid and is a good reference to utilize when determining strong rational arguments for the Christian faith. I think the following chapter by Geisler was very redundant and not as clear as Craig's. It would have been good had the editor perhaps narrowed his chapter since he commissioned Craig to work with the cosmological and teleological arguments.

* Although he offered very little new material, Barry Leventhal's chapter on Jesus as the Messiah was enjoyable to read. The chapter was well-laid out, fully supported, and summarized its points better than perhaps any other chapter in the book.

The book's top two weaknesses were:

* Beckwith's look at moral relativism. He tries to pack too much into too short of a chapter, and though I admire the man for his brilliant mind, I think he needed more room to complete his thoughts. Geisler does an admirable job with the next chapter (Why I believe Truth is Real and Knowable), but I don't think this issue is still fully resolved with these two chapters. Rather, I would recommend Beckwith and Greg Koukl's book entitled Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air to get a better look at this important issue.

* Chapter 7 regarding the miracles of Jesus was pretty dull and was written with little life. It seemed like Habermas could have simplified his approach with this chapter. The next chapter on divine creation by Hugh Ross had some excellent tables incorporated in it, but truly it just seemed dry. Also, not everyone will agree with Ross' view of the age of the earth--nor with Walter Bradley, a Progressive Creationist who in chapter 10 says on page 168 that the earth is at least 4 billion years old--Ross' ideas about the world being designed would not be quibbled with by the theistic thinker. However, I could see some of the Young Earth folks become offended with these chapters, and I'm wondering if perhaps the other side should have also been represented with an issue that, while important, is peripheral to the essential Christian faith.

Overall, I would say that the book as a collection of essays is worthwhile for readers who like to think, but the average lay reader would probably be best served in looking for other avenues, including Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Kreeft) or When Skeptics Ask (Geisler).

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best collections of apologetics essays August 2, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This collection represents the best essays on apologetics, a must read for any person serious on Christian faith. If one thinks that there are no new ideas from these essays, he/she might have overlooked that these essays are deep rooted in the rich apologetics tradition and built on previous scholarly research, so any reader can get a quick overview on what arguments have been put forth for the topic discussed. Having said that, the overviews are not overly simplified. They are really high quality review essays and intellectually stimulating. This book is a must unless you have read all the literature on apologetics written over the entire course human history.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Compromised Evangelical Apologetics July 4, 2008

By Philip S Roeda

Format:Hardcover

Why I am a Christian edited by Norman L. Geisler and Paul K. Hoffman. As a subtitle of the book Leading Thinkers Explain Why They Believe. Six topics and sixteen subtopics are included in this book. Fourteen squarely focus on the theme of the book. The articles are focus on a particular subtopic. The first two subtopics: Why I Am Not a Moral Relativist & Why I Believe Truth is Real and Knowable is an argument for one truth. The rest of book is an argument that the Bible is the source of that truth and why I believe it to be so. This is a book for a student of some philosophy and logic, but one need not have studied it in college. Written by fourteen writers, one can tell that the topics were assigned by the editors and each writer knew what the previous writers wrote dealt with.

Part 2; Why I Believe in God
3 Why I Am not an Atheist written by J. Budzisewski
4 Why I Believe God Exists written by William Lane Crain
5 Why I Believe the God of the Bible Is the One True God written by Norman L. Geisler

If one accepts the first three arguments the rest of the argument should follow.

Part 3: Why I Believe in Miracles
6 Why I Believe in the Possibility of Miracles written by R. Douglas Geivett
7 Why I Believe the Miracles of Jesus Actually Happened written by Gary R. Haberness
8 Why I Believe in the Miracle of Devine Creation written by Hugh Ross

Truth is knowable; this is what is argued in the first part. The second part attempts to prove God exists and is the God described in the Bible. The third part is an argument for the belief in signs and wonders. It is an argument the God that exist is in control of all nature and the Human condition, except it is not. The item written by Hugh Ross is an argument for intelligent design of the universe, but not as described in Genesis. According to Him, God created the material then set the Big Bang into motion. Every else in Nature is like Darwin taught.

Part 4: Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God
9 Why I Believe the New Testament is Historically Reliable
written by Gary R. Haberness
10 Why I Believe the Bible is Scientifically Reliable written by Walter Bradley
11 Why I Believe the Bible Alone Is the Word of God
written by Winfred Corduan

I agree with the subtitles listed but the conclusions of Walter Bradley I do not. His arguments are consistent to Hugh Ross thoughts. The thoughts are not clear with the clear meaning or the historic accuracy of the first eleven chapter of Genesis. I would think this means he does not believe these chapters are scientifically reliable.

Part 5: Why I Believe Jesus is the Messiah and The Son of God
12 Why I Believe Jesus is the Promised Messiah written by Barry Lebenthal
13 Why I Believe Jesus is the Son of God written by Peter Creft

Barry Lebenthal shares how he accepted Jesus as Messiah, Lord, and Savior. Lebenthal was born into a Jewish home and raised in the Hebrew Faith. He became A Christian when he accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah of the Jews.

Part Six: Why I Have Chosen to Follow Christ
14 Why I Still Believe In Christ, in Spite of Evil and Suffering
written by John S. Feinberg
15 Why I Have Jesus Christ Lord of My Life written by J.P. Moreland
16 Why I Believe Jesus Christ is the Ultimate Source for Meaning
Written by Ravi Zacharias

I do not think John S. Feinberg arguments are convincing. I think he is on the right track. When he argues those who believe suffering is a reason to not to believe, that person should question why God made it possible for Adam to sin therefore all mankind to merit suffering?

I found this book an interesting read even though I disagree with a good portion of the argument and compromise with the World.