Apologetics
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Apologetics is very important. There are different schools of thought on apologetics.
Five Views on Apologetics is probably a good foundational book to read to understand the differences in apologetics.
For instance, the people who are saying "The Bible and the Bible only!" are either pre-suppositionalists or Reformed Epistemologists. There are three other main schools of apologetics. I would highly recommend you start with a book like this, which has Stephen B. Cowan and Stanley N Gundry as editors, and published by Zondervan.
Reasonable Faith, by William Lane Craig, and a bunch of other books by him are quite helpful.
Is God just a Human Invention: and Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists Edited by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow is a great book to learn to defend Christianty to atheist.
To Everyone An Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview, edited by Francis Beckwith, William Lane Craig and J P Moreland has a bunch of good essays on many topics on apologetics.
One final book that I have not read, but was recommended to me is Why Good Arguments Often Fail, by James W. Sire.
I have some other books, Seminary and doctoral level, if you are interested I can also post the names. I use them for reference, they are a hard read!
I think it is wonderful you are interested in pursuing apologetics, and if there is anything I can do to help, let me know.
Five Views on Apologetics is probably a good foundational book to read to understand the differences in apologetics.
For instance, the people who are saying "The Bible and the Bible only!" are either pre-suppositionalists or Reformed Epistemologists. There are three other main schools of apologetics. I would highly recommend you start with a book like this, which has Stephen B. Cowan and Stanley N Gundry as editors, and published by Zondervan.
Reasonable Faith, by William Lane Craig, and a bunch of other books by him are quite helpful.
Is God just a Human Invention: and Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists Edited by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow is a great book to learn to defend Christianty to atheist.
To Everyone An Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview, edited by Francis Beckwith, William Lane Craig and J P Moreland has a bunch of good essays on many topics on apologetics.
One final book that I have not read, but was recommended to me is Why Good Arguments Often Fail, by James W. Sire.
I have some other books, Seminary and doctoral level, if you are interested I can also post the names. I use them for reference, they are a hard read!
I think it is wonderful you are interested in pursuing apologetics, and if there is anything I can do to help, let me know.
D
A good starting point -- Foundations of the Christian Faith.
(And, actually, there isn't a lot of work to be done before. Profs tend to like to fill empty vessels, not fill a vessel that already thinks its full. They're going to start from scratch, so what you really need is a good foundation, so you know if they're filling you with truth or opinion.)
(And, actually, there isn't a lot of work to be done before. Profs tend to like to fill empty vessels, not fill a vessel that already thinks its full. They're going to start from scratch, so what you really need is a good foundation, so you know if they're filling you with truth or opinion.)
I actually viewed a website for Apologists this morning and some of the books they listed you also did. Right now I'm thinking "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist" is a good start I hear good things about it. I really should read up on my bible before I do anything else, though.
Is God just a Human Invention: and Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists sounds like a good one. If I'm to talk about Jesus I'll need to be able to defend him. Honestly, I detest confrontation but I feel God is calling me to do this. I also would like to start writing my books again, fantasy with Christian values, kind of stuff. I also have the Book the Four Loves by C.S. Lewis I need to read. I got a lot of reading to do lol
Is God just a Human Invention: and Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists sounds like a good one. If I'm to talk about Jesus I'll need to be able to defend him. Honestly, I detest confrontation but I feel God is calling me to do this. I also would like to start writing my books again, fantasy with Christian values, kind of stuff. I also have the Book the Four Loves by C.S. Lewis I need to read. I got a lot of reading to do lol
I do agree that when apologists debate atheists, it is often the audience that becomes convinced. The University of Alberta Student's Union sponsored William Lane Craig and Richard Dawkins. The seats were sold out months in advance!
They polled people coming out of the debate, and the majority agree that not only had Craig won the debate hands down, but they were going to look into Christianity.
But that is part of the purpose of apologetics. To draw people to Christ! I believe God wants us to use every avenue to let the gospel be heard, and open up the doors for the Holy Spirit to do the work he is planning to do!
They polled people coming out of the debate, and the majority agree that not only had Craig won the debate hands down, but they were going to look into Christianity.
But that is part of the purpose of apologetics. To draw people to Christ! I believe God wants us to use every avenue to let the gospel be heard, and open up the doors for the Holy Spirit to do the work he is planning to do!
I'd beg to differ. Maybe not the cookie cutter apologist, but an apologist nonetheless...
C.S. Lewis and the Language of Apologetics - bethinking.org
C.S. Lewis and the Language of Apologetics - bethinking.org
May I ask what kind of job you are looking to get with a degree in apologetics? I understand that simply having a degree in anything will look good on a resume, but I'm curious as to what job you see yourself working at after college. I only ask because many of my high school friends (I went to a private Christian school) ended up going to Christian universities and majoring in things like Biblical studies, Christian studies, etc. None of them currently have jobs that have anything to do with their major. Now, several of them do have decent paying and promising jobs right now, so I'm not saying anything negative about their decision. I'm just curious what your expectations are going into this.
Likewise, I feel obliged to give you a warning. Dabbling deeply in the field of apologetics is like playing with fire. There is great potential to grow in the faith by diving so deeply into it, but there is also the potential to get burned. People have lost their faith after delving deeply in this subject. So if you want to ensure the constant testing won't turn into irreversible doubt, the safest thing you can do is not surround yourself with constant arguments and reasonings against Christianity.
Likewise, I feel obliged to give you a warning. Dabbling deeply in the field of apologetics is like playing with fire. There is great potential to grow in the faith by diving so deeply into it, but there is also the potential to get burned. People have lost their faith after delving deeply in this subject. So if you want to ensure the constant testing won't turn into irreversible doubt, the safest thing you can do is not surround yourself with constant arguments and reasonings against Christianity.
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I actually plan on being a writer. Thats a big IF though. I'm going to self-publish one of my books next month and see where it goes. I don't plan on getting into too many debates. Although I understand that's the point of Apologetic's. I just want to be able to defend my faith and turn people to Jesus.
