Apologetics

(this list is still under construction, many more books will be added)

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1. Apologetics (General)

	Fundamentals of the Faith : Essays in Christian Apologetics. By Peter Kreeft. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1988.	Order the Hardback version with: Amazon UK Amazon US B & N (US) Proxis (Europe)
Difficulty: 2	Many very fine essays, written with wit and not a dry style (like apologetics books usually are) caution for protestant readers, the last essays criticize protestantism	Contents; review

	When Skeptics ask. By Norman Geisler & Ronald M. Brooks. Wheaton, Il: Victor, 1990.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 19.19; you save $4.80 or 20% (Hardback: info. on the site is wrong)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 12.84; you save £ 1.43 or 10% (Hardback)
Difficulty: 2 (popular)	the most complete introduction to apologetics: a popular defense of theism, Christianity, etc. and a refutation of other views and religions	Contents; review

	Christian Apologetics. By Norman Geisler . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 15.99 (about 13.3 euros); you save $4 or 20% (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 10.70 (about 15 euros); you save £ 1.19 or 10% (Paperback)
Difficulty: 4 (difficult)	The masterpiece of apologetics Any Christian with an academic level should master the philosophical parts of this book! weaker the NT part, and on wrong on the Biblical canon	Contents; review by Bruno Granger

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Scaling the Secular City.
By James P. Moreland.
Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.

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Difficulty: 4
(difficult)

Excellent independent arguments for the existence of God (or some gods), for the resurrection of Christ, against scientism, etc.

Contents; review

	Handbook of Christian Apologetics. By Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity, 1994.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 14.39: you save $3.60x (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 9.73: you save £ 1.08y (10%) (Paperback)
Difficulty: 3 (academic)	exhaustive presentation and outline of all apologetical arguments: this is the "catalog" of apologetics!	Contents; review

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Baker Dictionary of Christian Apologetics
By Norman L. Geisler.
Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999.

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Difficulty: 3 (academic)

entirely written by the leading apologist, this work represents the culmination of the American protestant apologetic revival at the end of the 20th century

Contents; review

	Classical Apologetics: a Rational Defense of the Christian Faith and a Critique of Presuppositional Apologetics.. By Robert C. Sproul et al. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1984.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 18.39: you save $4.60 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 9.50 (Paperback)
Difficulty: 4 (difficult)	lays down some theological and philosophical bases for apologetics and the Christian mind, in response to Barth, Dooyeweerd, etc. a calvinist refutation of the neo-calvinist view of the total depravity of the human mind also shows the absurdity of the "presuppositional apologetics"	Contents; review

Pragmatic Apologetics

	Heaven : The Heart's Deepest Longing. By Peter Kreeft. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1989.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 10.36: you save $2.59 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 7.00: you save £ 0.78 (10%) (Paperback)
Difficulty: 2 (popular)	a fascinating quest for real joy and hope	Contents; review

God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World..
By Patrick Glynn.
Add. info
Rocklin, CA: Prima, 1997.

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Difficulty: 2 (popular)

The evidence that converted back the atheist and postmodern philosopher Glynn
covers design, NDEs, effect of religion on psychic, sociological and physiological well-being, and the meaning of life

Contents; review

	What if Jesus had never been born? The Positive Impact of Christianity on History.. By D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 13.29: you save $5.70 (30%) (Hardback)
		Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 10.39: you save $2.60 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 4.75 (Paperback)
Difficulty: 2 (popular)	The biggest compilation of pragmatic apologetics: shows how much Christianity is culturally needed	Contents; review by Name

The Existence and Nature of God

The three best books (Garrigou's being the most scholarly):

Mascall, Eric L. He who is: a Study in Traditional Theism. New York: Longmans, 1943.
Geisler, Norman L. & Winfried Corduan. Philosophy of Religion. Grands Rapids: Baker, 1988.
Garrigou-Lagrange, Réginald. God: His Existence and His Nature: a Thomistic Solution of Certain Agnostic Antinomies. Trans. 2 vols. St Louis: Herder, 1934.

are unfortunately out of print (but may be found at bibliofind). Other books will be added in this section.

	God Is: From Question to Proof to Embracing the Truth. By Joseph H. Casey. University of America, 1999.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $32.50 (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £19.87 (Paperback)
Difficulty: 3 (academic)	very accessible and still with contents of very high quality; also very clear (chapter conclusions) and excellent annoted bibliography complete approach to the problem (cultural, historical, personal-experimental and philosophical) Casey, a prof. a philo. who was a student a Flew and is well acquainted with the works of prominent atheists (Mackie, Martin, ...) answers with a powerful thomist argumentation although written without any sophistication, this book may be the best one among those recently published on this subject	Contents; review

	God, Reason, and Theistic Proofs. By Stephen T. Davis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $20.00: you save $5.20 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £14.95 (Paperback)
Difficulty: 3 (academic)		Contents; review

	The Existence of God. By Richard. Swinburne. Rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford U., 1991.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $41.95 (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £y.y: you save £15.99 (Paperback)
Difficulty: 4 (difficult)	an inductive case for the existence of God within the framework of analytical philosophy	Contents; review

	The Coherence of Theism. By Richard. Swinburne. Oxford: Oxford U., 1993.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $59.00 (Hardback)
		Order in the US with Amazon US for $24.95 (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £40.00 (Hardback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £14.99 (Paperback)
Difficulty: 4 (difficult)	an analytical presentation of the divine attribute and a defense of their coherence unfornately not always orthodox (Swinburne sees God as everlasting rather than eternal)	Contents; review

	Providence and the Problem of Evil.. By Richard Swinburne. Oxford: Oxford U., 1998.	Order the HARDback edition in the US with Amazon US for $ 65.95
		Order in PAPERback edition the US with Amazon US for $ 19.95
		Order in the HARDback edition in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 35.00
		Order in the PAPERback edition in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 11.87; you save £ 3.12 or 20%
Difficulty: 4 (difficult)	The final book by the famous Oxford philosopher, with which he ends his career	Contents; review

Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God.
By Marilyn McCord Adams.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell U., 2000.

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Difficulty:

not analytical, but original, dealing with those evils that really seem meaningless like extreme cases of suffering and that are not answered with usual theodicees (free will, souil-making)
try to make sense of suffering not only as a global good, but also in the narrow perspective of the individual
uses Christian insights such as Chalcedonian christology

Contents; review

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Creating God in the Image of Man?: the New Open View of God: Neotheism’s Dangerous Drift..
By Norman L. Geisler.
Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1997

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Difficulty: 3 (academic)

an exposition of neotheism, the trend to reject the attributes of God such as eternity, ominiscience, immutability, simplicity, etc.
a much needed defense of theism and a refutation of neotheism

Contents; review

Does God Change? : The Word's Becoming in the Incarnation.
By Thomas G. Weinandy.
Still River, Mas: St Bede, 1985.

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Difficulty: 3

A critical and historical review of the different incarnational christologies, sorting out the good one and the bad ones
philosophically sound - and with an introduction / recommendation by Eric Mascall!

Contents; review

	Divine Infinity in Greek and Medieval Thought. By Leo Sweeney. New York: Peter Lang, 1992.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 52.95 (Hardback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 31.46 (Hardback)
Difficulty: 5 (research)	a masterly study of the arguments for divine infinity through the Greek, patristic and medieval periods	Contents; review

	Free Creatures of an Eternal God. By Harm J. M. J. Goris Nijmegen, Netherlands: Sticthing Thomasfonds, 1996.
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 25.00 (Paperback)
Difficulty: 5 (research)	an answer to the recent attacks against divine ominiscience by Christian philosophers (including Craig, unfortunately): this the best book on the subject makes extensive use of the subtibilities of the philosophy of St Thomas: much of the contemporary debate is a waste that could be avoided by a careful study of the thomist nuances	Contents; review

Miracles

	In defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God's Actions in History. Edited by R. Douglas Geivett and Gary R.Habermas Downer Groves, IL: InterVarsity, 1997.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 14.39: you save $3.60 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 9.73: you save £1.08 (10%) (Paperback)
Difficulty: 3 (academic)	a defense of the possibility, meaningfulness and knowability of miracles with the resurrection of Jesus as case study	Contents; review

NT and Christological Apologetics

many books will be added here

	Jesus under Fire: Modern Scholarship reinvents the Historical Jesus. Edited by James P. Moreland Michael J. Wilkins. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 11.99: you save $3.00 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 14.39: you save £ 3.60 (20%) (Paperback)
Difficulty: 3 (academic)	a panel of evangelical scholars answers the ideas of the Jesus Seminar and makes a case to show that the Jesus of the Bible is the Jesus of history	Contents; review

	Pagan Resurrection Myths and the Resurrection of Jesus. By Leon R. McKenzie. 1997	Order the Hardback version with: Amazon UK Amazon US B & N (US) Proxis (Europe)
Difficulty: 3	shows that Jesus' resurrection does not derive nor can be reduced to a pagan myth, but also gives an explanation and value to these myths as a preparation to the gospel, using Jung's theory of archetypes	Contents; review

	The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. . By Gary R. Habermas. Joplin, MO: College, 1996.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 11.19: you save $2.80 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 7.56: you save £ 0.84 (10%) (Paperback)
Difficulty: 3 (academic)	lucid historical study of Jesus refutation of the revisionist hypotheses and much more	Contents; review

	Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? By William L. Craig and John D. Crossan. Elgin, IL: Turner Welninski, 1995.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 19.95 (2 audio tapes)
Difficulty: 2 (popular)	Excellent debate between two scholars: a Christian (Craig, philosopher and Biblical historian) and a naturalist (Crossan, the famous leader of the Jesus Seminar)	Contents; review

	Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up : A Debate Between William Lane Craig and John Dominic Crossan. By William L. Craig and John D. Crossan. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 11.99: you save $3.00 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 8.10: you save £ 0.90 (10%) (Paperback)
Difficulty: 2 (popular)	Excellent debate between two scholars: a Christian (Craig, philosopher and Biblical historian) and a naturalist (Crossan, the famous leader of the Jesus Seminar) also available in audio the book contains the responses of Miller, Blomberg, Borg and Witherington	Contents; review

	The Gospels for all Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences.. Edited by Richard Bauckham. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ., 1997.	Order in the US with Amazon US for $ 17.60: you save $4.60 (20%) (Paperback)
		Order in the UK with Amazon UK for £ 11.90: you save £ 1.32 (10%) (Paperback)
Difficulty: 4 (difficult)	The research of the best British NT and classical scholars definitely destroys the deist assumption that the gospels were written by and for some imaginary groups (Johanine, Pauline, etc.) By using their extensive knowledge of the Graeco-Roman world, they prove that the gospels cannot be anything else than highly accurate biographies (of Jesus)	Contents; review

Dogmatic

Unfortunately, these two excellent books are out of print :

4 Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines. London: Black, 1958.
4 Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Creeds. London: Longmans, 1950.

Bibliology, Inspiration

The Formation of the Christian Biblical Canon.
By Lee Martin McDonald.
Hendrickson, 1995.

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Difficulty: 3

Probably the best book on the subjects, covers all the issues and scrutinizes all arguments

Contents; review

The Canon of the New Testament : Its Origin, Development, and Significance.
By Bruce M. Metzger.
Rev. ed.
Oxford: Oxford U., 1988

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Difficulty: 4

thorough historical survey
deals with all major problems
apologetically interacts with liberal thinkers

Contents; review

Revelation : From Metaphor to Analogy .
By Richard Swinburne
Oxford: Oxford U., 1992.

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Difficulty: 4

argues that divine truth can be conveyed (and thus interpreted) in human language
considers the criteria for assessing divine revelation

Contents; review

An Introduction to the New Testament.
By D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.

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Difficulty: 4 (difficult)

An apologetic introduction to the books of the New Testament, defending their origin, authorship, date, etc.

Contents; review

Judaism's Strange Gods.
By Michael A. Hoffman.
Independent History, 2000

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Difficulty: 3

an apologetics work for clearing up the major confusion that judaïsm is the prolongation of Old Testament religion and should the less be used to interpret it and the less to judaïcize christianity
shows that (rabbinic) Judaism is Babylonian phariseanism and has an unbiblical worldview (talmudic, esoteric - Kabbalah. etc.)

Contents; review

	The Teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church . By Michael Azkoul. Dormition Skete, 1986.	Order the Hardback version with: Amazon UK Amazon US B & N (US) Proxis (Europe)
Difficulty: 2	Theological Fundaments of Orthodox Christianity	Contents; review

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