Apologetics Books - Page 12

The Stones Cry Out: What Archaeology Reveals About the Truth of the Bible

Randall Price

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Concept - poor writing! 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I was really excited to receive this book... however, I've had a difficult time enjoying reading it. The run-on sentences, poor grammer, and loose sentence structure are so distracting, that as a reader, you loose interest. I spent more time editing in my mind, then pulling together what the author was saying. Rather long-winded, I kept having the feeling of "let's get to the point." On a positive note, there are some fun pictures and the author does string together some interesting concepts. Personally, I just couldn't get past the writing. Summary - although interesting, don't expect concise writing.

Definitely worth a read for everyone interested in archeology 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book has so many strong points:

First of all, the author's uncompromising integrity gives his information tremendous plausibility. He rejects popular theories that lack true evidence, even if those theories would support his own beliefs. He's very honest about the limits of archeology, whether you are a biblical skeptic or a believer. He also admits that, due to ongoing discoveries, any book on archeology is outdated before it goes to print. Such humility is a refreshing change from how many archeologists, both minimalists (biblical scholars who minimize the authority of biblical text as a reliable source of historical and factual information about the past)and maximalists (biblical scholars who give maximum authority to the Bible as a source of, etc.), present their finds. Regardless, the finds that have stood the test are presented here in fascinating detail, both photographic and literary.

Price also emphasizes archeology's limits (mostly do to financial constraints). For example, Price writes that only 10% of discovered cuneiform tablets have been published. So yes, 50,000 tablets is a lot, but remember that means that there are 450,000 tablets that haven't been published. There is a lot of information like this in the book.

The discoveries and their conclusions are fascinating. I particularly liked the chapter discussing Sodom, its possible location, and the evidence discovered there showing that the houses had burned from the rooftops and downward.

Great photos throughout the book, and good organization,including a glossary.

Price maintains an admirably respectful tone when writing about minimalist archeologists, even though their beliefs and archeological philosophies must totally contradict his.

Price is obviously and enthusiastically Christian, but he doesn't in any way force his religious views on the reader, nor does he put down other religions. I'm Jewish, so I think I would've picked up on any slights (to my own religion, at least).

The style and tone of his writing is enjoyable. He has a sense of fun and wonder about his work that really comes through. It could be a dry subject, but Price gives it life.

Just a FYI: Here in Israel, a minimalist archeologist repeatedly insists that archeological evidence shows that camels were absolutely not domesticated in the time of Abraham. When a maximalist archeologist showed him clear and numerous evidence that camels WERE domesticated then, and that the Bible wasn't lying, the minimalist said he didn't care, and continues to this day to restate his original (and proven false) claims. Minimalists are obviously no more objective than maximalists, which is why I think it's very important to read books by straight-shooting archeologists (regardless of their religious views)like Randall Price in order to get the whole story.

It goes without saying: I loved this book!

Editorial Review:

Recently uncovered ancient artifacts shed light upon the lives of the patriarchs, the Ark of the Covenant, the fall of Jericho, King David, and more. More than 80 photos demonstrate the incontrovertible facts that support biblical truth.

Introduction To Christianity (Communio Books)

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, Benedict

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

(Revised Edition) One of Cardinal Ratzinger's most important and widely read books, this volume is a newly revised second edition with an improved translation and an in-depth 20 page preface by the Cardinal. As he states in the preface, since this book was first published over 30 years ago, many changes and significant events have occurred in the world, and in the Church. But even so, he says he is firmly convinced that his fundamental approach in this book is still very timely and crucial for the spiritual needs of modern man. That approach puts the question of God and the question about Christ in the very center, which leads to a "narrative Christology" and demonstrates that the place for faith is in the Church.

Thus, this remarkable elucidation of the Apostle's Creed gives an excellent, modern interpretation of the foundations of Christianity. Ratzinger's profound treatment of Christianity's basic truths combines a spiritual outlook with a deep knowledge of Scripture and the history of theology.

Greater Than You Think: A Theologian Answers the Atheists About God

Thomas D. Williams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Outstanding 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

There appears no editorial review of this book anywhere I looked, and in my eyes reviewers miss a little book whose author really did his homework and presents the result in a most concise and readable manner.

The book's title (and its cover design) is a takeoff on Christopher Hitchens's "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything", but is, as "Greater Than You Think", instead ingratiating, leaving to the reader to "think" to whom it refers and whom it addresses, compared to the crude, absolutist, and indeed poison-spewing title by Hitchens. It makes me wonder whence his reputation as a wordsmith.

The reviewed author of course counters the recent atheist "bestsellers...accompanied by reams of lesser works, attesting to the power of atheism as the newest cottage industry" (p.xii). He takes these wonderfully apart and supplies cogent arguments against them. This may be the more rewarding considering that he is a clergyman, of whom usually is no more expected than a defense of his religion as compatible with scientific contentions, for an approach that might be exemplified in the book I last reviewed here.

To be sure, author Williams and myself strongly part company in that I am of Jewish birth and, though a theist, am not an adherent of any organized religion. This means I am decidedly in disagreement with him about his justifications for his persuasions. He offers reasonable arguments for the historicity of Jesus and to some extent of the events associated with him. Perhaps not surprisingly, although he mentions the atheist complaint regarding inconsistencies in the Gospels, he doesn't respond to it. The accuracy of those writings then is doubtful, let alone a proof of the divinity in question. As indicated, he doesn't shy away from reason in demonstrating the validity of one's position, defending for instance (p.92) the attempted proofs by Aquinas. But he is less than logical when defending proselytizing as "believers' insistence on trying to share their beliefs with others and to convince them of their truth" (p.57), using as example (p.59) the possible discovery of "a cure for cancer or AIDS", which one "would be negligent not to" inform others about.

One can hardly speak in the same breath of "believers", "their beliefs", and correspondingly "their truth" without inconsistency. A medical discovery must be well substantiated before even attempted to be applied to patients. Plausibly the author writes, regarding God's existence, (p.89), "The difference between belief and nonbelief...often reflects a deeper willingness or unwillingness to venture into a domain where we do not hold all the cards in our hands" or (p.94), "A simple analysis of the facts cannot compel a person to belief or unbelief". I happen to dispute this impossibility of a proof, finding one in fact quite simple, but go into the matter elsewhere.

Now I just want to add congratulations to the author for his praiseworthy elucidation of his stand.

Editorial Review:

The recent runaway bestsellers God Is Not Great and The God Delusion have left Christians feeling defensive but not necessarily equipped to refute the accusations of nonbelievers. The bestsellers have also provoked those who are the fence about whether God exists, and if so, whether He's good. In his trademark elegant prose, Father Williams provides accessible but intellectually rich answers for both groups. Questions include "Isn't religion just another name for superstition (or magic or myth)?""If God is all-good and all-powerful, how can evil exist in the world?" and "Hasn't science disproved God's existence?" For believers and those searching for something to believe in, Father Williams offers an easy-to-use resource for building up one's own faith and igniting others'.

A Biblical Defense of Catholicism

Dave Armstrong

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Solid and Compelling 4 out of 5 stars.
13 of 16 people found this review helpful.

This is a solid intro to Catholic apologetics, with a focus on lucid explanations of what the Church teaches and arguments for her biblical roots.

One of the aspects of this book I appreciated is the authors exegetical method: Instead of just asserting that certain biblical passages absolutely teach doctrine X, a case is made for its relative probability, often compared to protestant views.

One of the weaknesses is the book's reliance on long quotes from Catholic luminaries like James Cardinal Gibbons and John Cardinal Newman. While these explanations are impressive, I'd prefer to read them in their own contexts.

Editorial Review:

This exciting book shows that, far from straying from the Bible, Catholicism is eminently and thoroughly biblical. Indeed, Catholicism is the only Christian religion that is in full conformity with what the Bible clearly teaches.

To demonstrate this, Catholic author Dave Armstrong ( a former Protestant campus missionary) focuses on those issues about which Catholics and Protestants disagree the most: the role of the Bible as a rule of faith, whether we are justified by faith alone, whether doctrine develops, what the Eucharist really is, veneration of Mary and prayer to the saints, the existence of purgatory, the role of penance in salvation, and the nature of infallibility of the papacy.

Evidence That Demands a Verdict

Josh McDowell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 58 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

This skeptic was convinced 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book convinced this skeptic over thirty years ago, and now I'm using it to convince my skeptical friends. The other books are good, but this one is small, easy to understand, and something that a skeptic might actually pick up and read.

Informed apologetics 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Too often, apologetics ranges into the "the Bible said it, that settles it." McDowell takes it a bit deeper: identifying common arguments that Christians will face from non-believers and giving counter-arguments backed up not only with Biblical testimony, but with testimony from scholars. Also to be noted and employed by the reader is McDowell's urging that the arguments shared be used in a pastoral spirit--good evangelism and good apologetics shouldn't be used as a club to beat someone over the head with, or used to shove belief down the throat of a non-believer. This book is a useful resource for those who are concerned with communicating their faith to the non-believers in their midst.

Editorial Review:

Among important books in the defense of Christianity, this one has few equals. Evidence That Demands a Verdict is an easy-to-read, front-line defense for Christians facing the tough questions of critics and skeptics. Using secular evidences and other historical sources, Josh McDowell's faith-building book is a "must read" for every Christian.

Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal's Pensees

Blaise Pascal

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Let's not get carried away with Kreeft 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I have used this book in my college classes for several years. The reason why is that Kreeft knows how to get the students going. He is, and sounds like, a crotchety old Catholic. He is very opinionated - which is good (and bad). If you like that, then you will love his book on apologetics. But this does get him in trouble several times when he states somewhat imperiously that "Pascal REALLY means this..." (or that). He does this contra Pascal himself who is obviously being subtle. But a good teacher lets the students decide, and often they decide against Kreeft. The other major problem with Kreeft is that in spite of his (imperious?) pronouncement in the beginning of the book that he only included the truly worthy Pensees he nevertheless managed to leave out some of my big favorites. In spite of these somewhat minor criticisms this book is still a classic commentary and can be a terrific way to get in on Pascal.

Editorial Review:

Peter Kreeft believes that Blaise Pascal is the first post-medieval apologist. No writer in history, claims Kreeft, is a more effective Christian apologist and evangelist to today's uprooted, confused, secularized pagans (inside and outside the Church) than Pascal. He was a brilliant man--a great scientist who did major work in physics and mathematics, as well as an inventor--whom Kreeft thinks was three centuries ahead of his time. His apologetics found in his Pensées are ideal for the modern, sophisticated skeptic.

Kreeft has selected the parts of Pascal's Pensées which best respond to the needs of modern man, and offers his own comments on applying Pascal's wisdom to today's problems. Addressed to modern skeptics and unbelievers, as well as to modern Christians for apologetics and self-examination, Pascal and Kreeft combine to provide a powerful witness to Christian truth.

The Philosophy of Jesus

Peter Kreeft

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Tiny book; HUGE questions and answers 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Kreeft asks the big questions--what is?, how can we know what is real?, who are we?, and then, how should we live? He points out that "philosophers have thought profoundly about these four questions for over two millennia. Why have they not found answers that are adequate, final, and universally acknowledged?" (p 9)

He finds answers in the philosophy of Jesus, and compares those answers to those that are found in other religions and by other philosophers.

Against the God of the Christians who declares "I AM" there stands the many gods of Hinduism. Kreeft finds it significant that the "East never developed a morality or a politics of human rights" (p 121). The Hebrew God was a God of absolute goodness who instituted a covenant with his people. He was infinite love.

As for what we must know and be, that is also answered by Jesus. We must know ourselves and God, and to know God we must pray.

Buddhism seeks to overcome "the reality of the subject-object dualism" (p 71). Philosophers have fallen into the trap of either materialism or pantheism. Only in Christianity and in learning to become little Christs are these problems solved.

C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity (Shepherd's Notes)

Terry L. Miethe, C. S. Lewis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Don't buy this unless you already own Mere Christianity 1 out of 5 stars.
12 of 14 people found this review helpful.

The reviews on this page are erroneously coupled with The Shepherd's Notes (like Cliff notes, but by the Shepherd, one supposes) to Mere Christianity, NOT the book itself. I bought this thing, and since I do my own reading and can generally keep up with Mr. Lewis' excellent writing style, this was the last thing I needed. The reviews posted here are good and accurate, but the book you're buying is not the one you think it is. Be careful!

Diamonds or coal, take your pick. 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 14 people found this review helpful.

As a young man trying to decide whether or not to believe the things I grew up in, this book was very helpful to me. I remember reading the chapter on pride, "The Great Sin," one night at a camp in Alaska where I was counseling. The Holy Spirit showed me myself in that chapter. I poured over this book in those days, internalized it, even learned Chinese hoping to translate it.

I have since "moved on" to more detailed and empirically-oriented books by Christians, skeptics, and followers of other religions. Many of these offer interesting facts and insights. But the only place I have found as much wisdom as here (outside the Bible) was G. K. Chestertons's Everlasting Man, which influenced Lewis to faith. (As for Conversations With God, the innane "revelation" one reader recommends instead, a single paragraph of Lewis or Chesterton contains more wisdom than the whole first volume.)

Lewis has a marvelous gift for explaining things in simple terms without patronizing or talking down. Some may find his argument difficult, and others, too simple. In that case I recommend further reading; Lewis is not trying to be thorough.

I agree with the skeptic below that Lewis does not offer "proof" of God, or even logically-compelling evidence. He dismisses atheism with amazing abruptness. "Atheism is too simple. . . If the universe has no meaning, we would never have found out." (How does he know that? Does he have a control universe in his pocket?) But don't misunderstand. Lewis does not really offer "proof" of God. Notice he calls section one, "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe." Lewis views our relationship with God not in scientific but in personal terms. God does not force faith on His wayward children, but drops hints for those who are seeking, is his assumption. Life is not an equation, but an adventure, even a romance with truth.

Some also suggest a loophole in Lewis' famous "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord" argument for the deity of Christ. Jesus' words were misrepresented by his followers, they say: he didn't really make the claims the Gospels say he did. Here again, remember that Lewis is trying to be concise. If you want his answer to that objection (still a very devastating answer, if you are familiar with Jesus Seminar material), you'll find it in his essay, Fernseed and Elephants. The argument is also more fully developed in the first chapters of "On the Man Called Christ," in part two of Everlasting Man, where I guess Lewis found it in the first place.

There are books with a more empirical approach to the existence of God; Hugh Ross' book on the Anthropic Principle, Creator and the Cosmos, for example, or Don Richardson's Eternity in Their Hearts, that shows how God has worked in cultures around the world. My new book, Jesus and the Religions of Man, argues for the existence of God from comparative religion and miracles. It also discusses the divinity of Jesus in relation to other religions. But I don't know any modern popular author of any viewpoint who can hold a candle to Lewis or Chesterton in terms of expressing deep truths in simple words. Reading Mere Christianity and finding only "a mess of holes," would be like going into a mine full of precious jewels and coming out with bucket of coal. There are truths here that will enrich you the rest of your life, if you lay hold of them.

d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

25 Basic Bible Studies

Francis A. Schaeffer

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Does the Bible speak to the real problems of real people in the real world? Does it offer viable solutions to those problems? You can weigh the evidence and decide for yourself with these 25 Bible studies, which show what the Bible actually teaches regarding our most fundamental questions about God.

Compiled and written by one of modern Christianity's greatest thinkers, this book highlights Scripture passages on the central doctrines of Christianity--such as creation, man's sin and God's grace, the person and work of Christ, future events--and briefly explains how each passage supports the biblical teaching on that particular theme. It's all right here. Laid out simply. So you can see for yourself what the Bible says--in God's own words.

This volume also contains Two Contents, Two Realities, Schaeffer's essay on the four things Christians need to make an impact in the current age. Together these two works serve to show the coherence and credibility of the Scriptures and their relevance to the critical issues in your life.