Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith, 2nd ed.

by Douglas Groothuis

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2022

Overview

People are hungry for hope. They want to understand our human condition—its origin, nature, purpose, and destiny. The Christian faith offers hope for individuals and the entire universe, grounded in absolute truth. But how can we know that Christianity is true? And how can Christians confidently present their beliefs in the face of doubts and competing views?

In this comprehensive text, Douglas Groothuis makes a clear and rigorous case for Christian theism. Demonstrating how apologetics must be both rational and winsome, he addresses the most common questions and objections people raise regarding Christianity. After laying a foundation with the biblical basis for apologetics, apologetic method, and a defense of objective truth, he presents key arguments for the reality of God, a case for the credibility of Jesus, and evidence for the resurrection. Groothuis also evaluates alternative views and responds to challenges such as religious pluralism and the problem of evil.

The second edition of this landmark work has been updated throughout to address current issues and sources. It includes new chapters on topics such as doubt and the hiddenness of God, the atonement, the church, and lament as a Christian apologetic. To know God in Christ, Groothuis argues, means that we desire to make Christian truth available to others in the most compelling form possible. Students, ordinary Christians, and seasoned philosophers will all find a wise guide for this endeavor in Christian Apologetics.

Key Features

• Provides a clear and rigorous case for Christian theism
• Addresses the most common questions and objections people raise regarding Christianity
• Second edition includes new chapters and has been updated throughout to address current issues and sources

Contents

Part One: Apologetic Preliminaries

• The Biblical Basis for Apologetics
• Apologetic Method
• The Christian Worldview
• Distortions of the Christian Worldview—Or the God I Don't Believe In
• Truth Defined and Defended
• Why Truth Matters Most
• Faith, Risk, and Rationality

Part Two: The Case for Christian Theism

• In Defense of Theistic Arguments
• Original Monotheism
• The Ontological Argument
• Cosmological Arguments
• The Design Argument: Cosmic Fine-Tuning
• The Argument from Beauty
• Origins, Design, and Darwinism
• Evidence for Intelligent Design
• The Moral Argument for God
• The Argument from Religious Experience
• The Uniqueness of Humanity
• Deposed Royalty
• Doubt, Skepticism, and the Hiddenness of God
• Jesus of Nazareth—by Craig L. Blomberg
• The Claims, Credentials, and Achievements of Jesus Christ
• The Atonement: Stating It Properly
• The Atonement: Defending It
• Defending the Incarnation
• The Resurrection of Jesus: Prolegomena on Miracles
• The Resurrection of Jesus: The Evidence
• In Defense of the Church

Part Three: Objections to Christian Theism

• Religious Pluralism
• Apologetics and the Challenge of Islam
• The Problem of Evil
• Lament as Christian Apologetic

Top Highlights

“Kant claims that while being almighty is necessary to the idea of God, existing is not necessary to the idea of God.” (Page 187)

“Through a worldview, one orients oneself intellectually to the universe” (Page 68)

“Epistemology gives us two basic accounts of knowledge: internalism” (Page 41)

“Many polls indicating massive biblical illiteracy, which may at least partially account for the dearth of evangelical influence in the world of ideas.” (Page 71)

“The law of identity simply states that something is what it is: A = A. A thing is itself and nothing other than itself.” (Page 39)

Praise for the Print Edition

Douglas Groothuis is a master of Christian apologetics. In this comprehensive guide, he positions apologetics within a Christian worldview, answering the thorny questions that thoughtful people are actually raising about the credibility of the faith. These are not simply academic questions but the questions to which people need answers if they are to stand firm against the assaults of skepticism and agnosticism. We can do better than simply hope that Christianity is true. As Groothuis demonstrates, solid evidence and sound philosophy make a convincing case that Christianity is indeed true. This book draws on many years of teaching and writing about apologetics by the author, distilling the most effective arguments in defense of the Christian faith.

—William A. Dembski, author of The Design Inference

The first edition of Groothuis's massive work, Christian Apologetics, rose quickly to the top of the pack. But this revised second edition is over the top. Encyclopedic in its range, careful and precise in its argumentation, and readily accessible to a wide audience, this is the go-to book in Christian apologetics. Since it is thoroughly updated and expanded with important new topics, if you have the first edition, you really need to get this one. Thanks go to Groothuis for exerting such a Herculean effort to bring us up to date and serve God's people.

—J. P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and author of A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles

Product Details

• Title: Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (Second Edition)
• Author: Douglas Groothuis
• Edition: Second Edition
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2022
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 834
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Apologetics; God (Christianity)
• ISBNs: 9781514002766, 9781514002759, 1514002760, 1514002752
• Resource ID: LLS:CHRSTNPLGGRTHS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:41:58Z

About Douglas Groothuis

Douglas R. Groothuis (PhD, Philosophy, University of Oregon) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado. He has also been a visiting professor or adjunct faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary (Colorado Springs extension), Metropolitan State College of Denver, Westminster Theological Seminary (California campus), University of Oregon, New College Berkeley and Seattle Pacific University. His articles have been published in professional journals such as Religious Studies, Sophia, Theory and Research in Education, Philosophia Christi, Themelios, Think: A Journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, Christian Scholar's Review, Inquiry and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. He has written several books, including Truth Decay, In Defense of Natural Theology (coeditor), Unmasking the New Age, Jesus in an Age of Controversy, Deceived by the Light, The Soul in Cyberspace, and, in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series, On Pascal and On Jesus.