Faith Has Its Reasons: Integrative Approaches to Defending the Christian Faith
Ever since the apostle Paul addressed the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens, relating the Christian worldview to a non-Christian world has been a challenge. And despite Peter's charge to be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15), most Christian laypeople have left apologetics—the defense of the faith—to the ecclesiastical pros. Faith Has Its Reasons is a study of four different models of how apologetics should be done, an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, and a proposal for integrating the best insights of each. Kenneth Boa and Robert Bowman have assembled a wealth of information about what Christians believe and how to present that faith to an unbelieving world. Remarkable both in its depth of content and ease of accessibility, Faith Has Its Reasons gives Christian laypeople the tools to address such critical questions as:Why is belief in God rational despite the prevalence of evil in the world? What facts support the church's testimony that Jesus rose from the dead?Can we be certain Christianity is true? How can our faith in Christ be based on something more secure than our own understanding without descending into an irrational emotionalism?
Find this product and thousands more on ebooks.faithlife.com.
Top Highlights
“to imagine a revelation given in our time. Assuming that we acknowledge that” (source)
“What distinguishes these four basic approaches to apologetics? To put the matter as simply as possible, each places a distinctive priority on reason, fact, revelation, and faith respectively.” (source)
“Apologetics may be simply defined as the defense of the Christian faith.” (source)
“What Tertullian rejected was the project of syncretism—the attempt to combine or mix together Christianity with pagan philosophies to make Christianity more palatable.” (source)
“fideists contend that the truths of Christianity are properly apprehended by faith alone” (source)
"Applying the principle of 'unity in diversity' to apologetic systems, this book integrates the best insights of each approach. In challenging readers to maximize the stunning reasons for faith in concert with the magnetic power of transformed hearts, Faith Has Its Reasons charts the right course for the future of apologetics."
"Ken Boa is one of the most gifted writers and scholars in the Christain world. This is a brilliantly done apologetics reference. The title tells it all--our faith is not an unreasonable faith."
"I know of no better analysis of Christian apologetic systems than Faith Has Its Reasons. It is comprehensive and rigorous, yet eminently readable. However, the book's greatest virtue is its ability to locate the importance of apologetics in the life of the church as well as in the personal faith of the individual believer."
"An excellent, thorough survey of apologetic approaches."
Product Details
- Title : Faith Has Its Reasons: Integrative Approaches to Defending the Christian Faith
- Authors:
- Boa, Kenneth
- Bowman Jr., Robert M.
- Publisher: IVP Books
- Publication Date: 2012
- ISBN: 9780830858910
Reviews
4 ratings
Richard C. Hammond, Jr.
1/5/2023
Patrick
1/19/2022
What this book does wonderfully is provide an amazing overview of the history, arguments, and developments of the four main views of apologetics - classical, evidentialism, presuppositional, and feidism. If you need an overview of these types this book is one of the best resources I've read for that purpose. The authors also do a good job of articulating a fair representation of each view and the explanation power of each. It is not flawless however. It's critiques of presuppositionalism don't seem to really be negatives which is a minor point since that's the position I favor. The biggest flaw, however, is one of the main reasons for the book. It suggests an inclusive view of each of the four views and shows that the use of all of them for particular purposes is the best approach. However, with their approach in mind they seek out support. However, it appears that an appeal to John Frame's view of a tiered approach where the presupposition is developed first and the other three views can be used with intellectual honesty seems to win out. The authors fail to go back over and think about what critiques folks in the presuppositional camp would make. That being said, I would highly recommend this book as a big overview on the four views of apologetics. This book and the Five Views from the CounterPoint series would be primary. Final Grade - A-
Mark A Rioux
9/27/2021
joe_bourne1951@hotmail.com
6/30/2020
