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Summary: packs in a lot of information in 400 pages
Review: This is one of the books that brought me back from the brink of agnosticism. Christianity is a worldview that is based on historical evidence and rational arguments. The Handbook of Christian Apologetics provides a firm basis for defending Christianity by offering a wide range of reasons for belief. It is aimed at both believers and non-believers alike. Its goal is to help believers defend their faith and to help non-believers see the reasonableness of believing in Christianity. Kreeft and Tacelli write in a lively and intelligent manner. Their train of thought is fairly easy to follow, althought it wouldn't hurt if the reader has a bit of knowledge of philosophical terms under her belt. The authors begin with a look at faith and reason. They note how both are vital, and that faith and reason can never contradict each other. In the following chapters they tackle topics such as, Does God Exist? (they offer 20 arguments for the existence of God), The Problem of Evil, The Divinity of Christ, Life after Death, Objective Truth, just to name a few. Each chapter is followed by a number of discussion questions to help the reader digest and cogitate on what was just read. A bibliography is provided for those who wish to delve more deeply into each of the subjects presented. The authors confine themselves to the core beliefs common to all orthodox Christians. As a result, this is a book that can be read and used by all orthodox denominations and traditions. One section I found particularly interesting was where they discuss how a person receives salvation by asking if a good pagan like Socrates could have been saved. Another good section (there's so many of them) is where they discuss free will in the chapter on evil. For example, they write, "the simplest argument for the existence of free will is observation of how we use words. We praise, blame, command, counsel, exhort, and moralize to each other. Doing these things to robots is absurd. We do not hold machines morally responsible for what they do, no matter how complicated the machines are. If there is no free will, all moral meaning disappears from language - and from life." I highly recommend Handbook of Christian Apologetics for all who have ever yearned for answers to life's most important questions.
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Summary: Fantastic Encyclopidia of Apologetics
Review: As a Christian missionary working in France, I try to be well read on intellectual arguments regarding apologetics. This book has the best treatment of the subjects of Hell and Salvation that I have ever read. He logically establishes his points and covers a lot of material. He tackles a lot of issues from a philosophers stand point. I didn't give a 5 because I thought a few good points were left out, especially in his "20 Arguments for God's Exsistance", he leaves out such possibile topics as Bible prophesy, Resurrection of Christ, exsistance of Free Will. He also doesn't cover the reliability of the Scriptures. This sort of thing would fall into an Archeologists realm and Kreeft is almost all philosophy. For Information on reliability of scriptures and the resurrection, I recommend "The Best of Josh McDowell" or "Evidence that demands a Verdict". A lot of good thought is in this book. I recommend it as a pentecostal missionary who does have certain theological diffrences with The Catholic Church (as Peter Kreeft is Catholic) Yet the things he covers are basic foundamentals that all Christians can stand upon. It can give a non-christian a good understanding of Christian thought and it's a great help and tool for christians.
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Summary: aren't we smart?
Review: This is a glib romp through difficult terrain. The authors seem to answer lots of questions, but after a while their answers become predictable and increasingly superficial. No problem is so tough that they can't solve. No doubt is so deep that they can't dispel. They write as if they are the C. S. Lewis of the 21st Century. They aren't.
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Summary: Excellent discussion book, but weak in certain areas
Review: This is an excellent book for discussion groups (includes great, thought-provoking discussion questions at the end of each chapter) and an excellent overview of Christian apologetics with a good list of recommended reading in the appendix. Also, the chapters on Hell and Heaven are perhaps the best I've read (even though the information in these chapters is based mostly on quotes from C.S. Lewis) On the downside, being that the authors are both professors of philosophy, I would have expected more information about reasoning, logical fallacies and the nature and limitations of proof. I think the majority of apologetic problems can be dealt with if people understood what consistutes a valid argument to begin with as well as the common fallacies BOTH believers and skeptics fall for. Also, some of the objections they grapple with in the book are dismissed a little too easily --- especially with the arguments for God's existence. While many of their replies may be effective for someone with little philsophical knowledge, they are often too simplistic for answering more sophisticated and philosophically-informed objections. This is a great introductory book, but readers seriously interested in apologetics and in answering intellegent objections to the Christian faith, will need to dig much deeper into these issues.
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Summary: Very technical
Review: Was looking for a general apologetics book, but this is more of a textbook. Not exactly for sitting down for a causal read.
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Summary: This book is great! I always carry it with me!
Review: This is a must for any apologetics library as well as anyone interested the truth of Christianity! It has tons of great info and Kreeft writes it in a way that keeps your interest. I have 50+books by atheists and Christians, this is the one I like the most; I have given answers to many atheists from this book. I gave this book a 4 star rating because it does not go too deep into some things, but it does cover many many subjects and gives great answers/arguments on most subjects. thanks, chris
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Summary: my #1 apologetic book.
Review: This book lists,outlines,and explains all the arguments for and against all the major Christian teachings. It covers the existance and nature of God, cosmology, evil,divinity of Christ, resurrection, historicity of the bible, heaven, hell, salvation and other religions. It also provides study questions and would be an excellent textbook. It is precise, logical and a joy to read.
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Summary: The best apoligets book I've read
Review: When I first purchased this book, I was a 20 year old college student looking for an easy, but in-depth read. This book was that.
To start, the book is huge. I hate seeing these books that claim to answer all these questions, and then find it has about 100 pages.
The H.o.C.A. does a great job of explaining each arguement to the point where they even include common objections to the answers, and THEN answering those objections.
This book is so detailed I took about half a year to carefully highlight and take notes.
To those who dismiss a lot of the authors' explinations to questions, read it again, and this time stop and think about it. People so often want clear cut answers that they never stop and think. In reading this book, I often found myself taking a day to reflect and think on one or two points in this book.
Besides content, this book is carefully and wonderfully laid out. I love how the table of contents is laid out in order that the reader can jump straight to the meat of an argument without having to read through 4 or 5 pages of random explinations to pointless arguments.
To those thinking about buying this book, remember. Christianity is so simple that people often dismiss it for it's simplicity. This book is the same way. Many people will speed read through it, toss out a handfull of big words on why this book didn't answer their questions, and walk away. The reason their questions are not answered is not their intellegence, but rather their lack of patience. Buy this book. Take your time. Reflect and discuss what you read.
I can guarantee if you do you'll love this book. It broke down walls I had built between God and myself that existed for over six years. This book is worth the money.
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Summary: Very Nice Introduction to Apologetics
Review: Handbook of Christian Apologetics accomplishes exactly what its authors intend, as stated in the introduction. Most particulary striking is the insistence by the authors of "Restoring the Older Notion of Reason." The entire volume reads more like a Philosophy 101 text than a self-help guide for would-be evangelistas, and certainly leads me to hope that it's being used as a textbook in at least some of the nation's Christian colleges & universities (my alma mater is probably burning it as "anti-ecumenical and counter to post-Christian Christianity", if they have had time to look up from their Call-to-action newsletter). The consistently syllogistic approach that the authors take is the great benefit of the work. I am not aware of any instance in which they stooped to polemic or let eloquence and passion overcome the larger effort. Of particular worth, outside the scope of apologetics but invaluable nonetheless, is the chapter on Objective Truth (15). The authors do a great service by summarizing the fundamental differences between Eastern & Western thought with regard to objectivity and subjectivity. The resultant conclusions (not always drawn) are very instructive when one seeks to understand the moral relativism and cultural relativist dynamics at play in the United States. In any case, this is an invaluable reference to jumpstart an understanding of typical apologetic arguments, and makes a darn good read from page one, if you prefer to do it that way.
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Summary: I've never liked a book this much before.
Review: I know I shouldn't write a review half way through a book, but I have never read such a good book. I have 4 children and little time to read, but I scrape up as much as possible to read this book. It's basic (just what I need) but still requires my full attention when reading. I can't wait to finish it and start lesson plans for a Sunday School class to share this well written information with others.
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