Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Review of CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS by Douglas Groothuis

Rating: 4 out of 5

Some find Christian faith more difficult to believe than others. Before I came to faith in Jesus and even afterward, I was one of the people who needed to be convinced by some really good evidence. Fortunately, I had access to some great books that carefully and thoughtfully defended the faith. Though I didn't have it at the time of my journey toward faith, CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS by Douglas Groothuis is one of those types of books.

This thick book contains all of the best and most logical arguments of why belief in a Creator God and specifically the God of Christianity makes sense. After some helpful discussions on worldview as a preliminary before getting into the evidence, Groothuis launches into some arguments for belief in God such as the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, and the fine-tuning of the universe. The book also discusses intelligent design against Darwinian evolution. Then the book looks specifically at Jesus, defending his historical existence, the incarnation, and his resurrection.

The last part of the book covers common objections, of which the problem of evil I found to be the most interesting. This was the only area of the book I didn't feel provided an adequate defense as it embraced the greater good theodicy. Groothuis also proposes compatibilism as the correct and biblical model of free will. While I don't agree with his assessment entirely in this area, I did feel he made a concise and good argument for it.

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS is a solid resource for anyone wanting to know how to defend the Christian faith.

Review copy provided by InterVarsity Press

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