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Apologetics (Historical Survey)

  1. Evidential approach to apologetics
    1. Jonathan Witt. Greg Bahnsen – Complementary to Presuppositional Approach
    2. The Intelligent Design Movement
      1. Jonathan Witt – “Origin of Intelligent Design: A brief history of the scientific theory of intelligent design.”
  2. Presuppositional approach to apologetics
    1. Introduction by John Frame – Part 1: Introduction & Creation | Part 2: Fall & Redemption, Summary & Conclusion
    2. Cornelius Van Til (father of presuppositional apologetics) – Biography | Jump down to his major works
  3. Readings from apologetics classics
    1. For a history of apologetics, see Avery Dulles, History of Apologetics
    2. For an anthology of apologetics readings, see Classical Readings in Christian Apologetics, A.D. 100–1800 by L. Russ Bush
    3. Ancient period
      1. Justin Martyr (ca. 100-ca. 167) – First Apology: ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 9 | ch. 10 | ch. 11 | ch. 12 | ch. 13 | ch. 18 | ch. 19 | ch. 20 | ch. 21 | ch. 22 | ch. 23 | ch. 24 | ch. 25 | ch. 26 | ch. 28 | ch. 30 | ch. 31 | ch. 32 | ch. 33 | ch. 34 | ch. 35 | ch. 36 | ch. 37 | ch. 38 | ch. 39 | ch. 43 | ch. 44 | ch. 46 | ch. 52 | ch. 53 | ch. 54 | ch. 55 [TOP]
      2. Athenagoras (2nd Century) – A Plea for Christians
      3. Irenaeus (120-203) – Against Heresies bk. 2 | bk. 3
      4. Tertullian (160-230) – The Apology ch. 10 |  ch. 17 | ch. 18 | ch. 19 | ch. 20 | ch. 21
      5. Origen (185-253) – On First Principles (Preface) | Against Celsus – bk. 2, ch. 48 | bk. 2, ch. 49-50 | bk. 2, ch. 51 | bk. 2, ch. 52 | bk. 2, ch. 53 | bk. 2, ch. 54 | bk. 2, ch. 55 | bk. 2, ch. 56 | bk. 2, ch. 57 | bk. 2, ch. 58 | bk. 2, ch. 59 | bk. 2, ch. 60 | bk. 2, ch. 61 | bk. 2, ch. 62 | bk. 2, ch. 63 | bk. 2, ch. 64 | bk. 2, ch. 65 | bk. 2, ch. 66 | bk. 2, ch. 67 | bk. 3, ch. 1 | bk. 3, ch. 2 | bk. 3, ch. 3 | bk. 4, ch. 14 | bk. 24 ch. 15 | bk. 4, ch. 16 | bk. 4, ch. 17 | bk. 4, ch. 18 | bk. 6, ch. 78 | bk. 6, ch. 79 | bk. 7, ch. 53 | bk. 7, ch. 54 | bk. 7, ch. 55 | bk. 7, ch. 56 | bk. 7, ch. 57 | bk. 8, ch. 72 | bk. 8, ch. 76
      6. Athanasius (298-373) – Against the Heathen pt. 1, ch. 1 | pt. 3, ch. 35 | pt. 3, ch. 38 | pt. 3, ch. 39 | pt. 3, ch. 40 | pt. 3, ch. 45 | pt. 3, ch. 46 | pt. 3, ch. 47 | On the Incarnation of the Word ch. 1-5 | ch. 21-25 | ch. 26 | ch. 30-32 | ch. 33-40 | ch. 41-45 | ch. 46-55 | ch. 56-57 [TOP]
      7. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) – Concerning the Freedom of the Will (summary only) | Confessions bk. 11, ch. 3-12 | The City of God bk. 1, preface – ch. 2 | bk. 1, ch. 6-11 | bk. 1, ch. 14 | bk. 1, ch. 28-30 | bk. 1, ch. 33-35
    4. Medieval period
      1. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) – Monologium | Proslogium |  | In Behalf of the Fool | In Reply to Gaunilon
      2. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) – The Summa Contra Gentiles bk. 1, ch. 3-4 | bk. 1, ch. 6-13 | The Summa Theologiae 1st part, Q. 2 | 1st part, Q. 2, articles 1ן
    5. Modern period
      1. John Calvin (1509-1564) – Institutes of the Christian Religion | bk. 1, ch. 1 | bk. 1, ch. 2 | bk. 1, ch. 3 | bk. 1, ch. 5 | bk. 1, ch. 6 | bk. 1, ch. 7 | bk. 1, ch. 8
      2. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) – Pensées | Online version
      3. Joseph Butler (1692-1752) – The Analogy of Religion – online version | The Analogy of Religion
      4. William Paley (1743-1805) – Natural Theology or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (12th ed., 1809) | online text | A View of the Evidences of Christianity(1794, reprint: 1851)
      5. K. H. Sack – Christian Apologetics (1829)
      6. John W. Burgon – Inspiration & Interpretation: Seven Sermons Preached before the University of Oxford (1861)
      7. W. H. Hetherington – Apologetics of the Christian Faith (1867)
      8. Stanley Leathes. The Witness of the Old Testament to Christ: Boyle Lectures for 1868
      9. James A. Hessey. Moral Difficulties Connected with the Bible – First Series: Boyle Lectures for 1871 | 2nd Series: Boyle Lectures for 1872
      10. Henry Wace. Christianity and Morality or the Correspondence of the Gospel with the Moral Nature of Man: Boyle Lectures for 1874 and 1875
      11. G. H. Wright – Logic of Christian Evidence (1884)christian apologetics
      12. J. H. A. Ebrard – Apologetics, or The Scientific Vindication of Christianity (1886-87) –  Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3
      13. L. F. Stearns – The Evidence of Christian Experience (1891)
      14. A. B. Bruce – Apologetics, or Christianity Defensively Stated (1892)
      15. Randolph H. McKim – Christ and Modern Unbelief (1893)
      16. P. Schanz – A Christian Apology (1894) Vol. 1: God and Nature | Vol. 2: God and Revelation | Vol. 3: The Church
      17. W. Devivier – Christian Apologetics: A Defense of the Catholic Fatih (1903)
      18. A. Harnack – What is Christianity? (1902) [TOP]
      19. F. R. Beattie – Fundamental Apologetics (1903)
      20. James Orr
        1. A Christian View of God and the World (8th ed., 190 | online text
        2. Resurrection of Jesus (1905)
        3. Problem of the Old Testament (1906)
      21. J. Gresham Machen
        1. The Origin of Paul’s Religion (1921)
        2. Christianity & Liberalism (1923)
        3. The Virgin Birth of Christ (1930)
        4. The Fundamentals (1909-1915) – articles by many leading conservative scholars of the day.
      22. E. Y. Mullins – Why is Christianity True? | The Axioms of Religion (1908) | The Christian Religion in Its Doctrinal Expression (1908)
      23. Burnett Hillman Streeter (1874–1937) – Reality
  4. Recent works on apologetics (1940 to Present)
    1. E. J. Carnell – Introduction to Christian Apologetics | Philosophy of the Christian Religion | Christian Commitment: An Apologetic | Case for Orthodox Theology
    2. Gordon Clark – Christian View of Men and Things | Karl Barth’s Theological Method | Historiography | The Philosophy of Science and Belief in God | Thales to Dewey | Religion, Reason, and Revelation
    3. Bernard Ramm – The Pattern of Religious Authority | Protestant Christian Evidences | Special Revelation and the Word of God | The God Who Makes a Difference: A Christian Appeal to Reason | Types of Apologetic Systems | A Christian View of Science and Scripture | Varieties of Christian Apologetics
    4. Cornelius Van Til – Complete Works on CD | Christian Apologetics (2nd ed., 2003) | Christian Theistic Evidences | The Defense of the Faith (1967) | The New Evangelicalism | Christianity in Conflict |A Christian Theory of Knowledge
    5. E. R. Geehan – Jerusalem and Athens: Critical Discussions on the Philosophy and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til [TOP]
    6. C. S. Lewis
      1. Biography
      2. cslewisThe Screwtape Letters
      3. The Problem of Pain
      4. The Great Divorce
      5. Miracles: a preliminary study
      6. Mere Christianity
      7. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
      8. The World’s Last night and Other Essays
      9. A Grief Observed
      10. Letters to Malcolm: chiefly on prayer
      11. Christian reflections
      12. God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics
      13. Abolition of Man
      14. Essential Lewis Classics – Of those above, includes a, c, d, e, f, i, and m.
    7. Austin Farrer – Finite and Infinite
    8. E. L. Mascall – He Who Is: A Study in Traditional Theism | Christian Theology and Natural Science | The Secularization of Christianity
    9. Alan Richardson – Christian Apologetics | History: Sacred and Profane
    10. F. F. Bruce – The Apologetic Defense of the Gospel  | New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? —on-line version
    11. Clark Pinnock – Set Forth Your Case | Reason Enough
    12. Norman Geisler – Christian Apologetics | Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (1998) ed. by Geisler
    13. Carl F. H. Henry – God, Revelation, and Authority (6 vols.)
    14. Francis Schaeffer
      1. Complete Works (5 vols.)
      2. Escape from Reason
      3. The God Who is There
      4. Death in the City
      5. He is There and He is not Silent
      6. The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century
      7. Pollution and the Death of Man
      8. True Spirituality
      9. Genesis in Space and Time
      10. Back to Freedom and Dignity
      11. How Should We Then Live?
      12. A Christian Manifesto [TOP]
    15. Josh McDowell
      1. More than a Carpenter
      2. New Evidence That Demands a Verdict
      3. Beyond Belief to Convictions (with Bob Hostetler)
      4. Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door (with Bob Hostetler)
      5. Evidence for Christianity
      6. A Ready Defense
    16. John Warwick Montgomery
      1. The Shape of the Past
      2. Where is History Going?
      3. Suicide of Christian Theology
      4. History and Christianity
      5. How do we know there is a God?
      6. Christianity for the Tough-Minded, ed. by JWM
      7. Faith Founded on Fact: Essays in Evidential Apologetics
      8. Defending the Gospel Through the Centuries
    17. Henry Morris
      1. The Genesis Record
      2. Science & the Bible, Revised ed.
      3. Many Infallible Proofs
      4. Scientific Creationism
      5. Biblical Creationism: What Each Book of the Bible Teaches About Creation & the Flood
      6. Evolution & the Modern Christian
      7. The Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Revised ed.
      8. Defending the Faith: Upholding Biblical Christianity & the Genesis Record
      9. Miracles: Do They Still Happen?
      10. The God Who is RealThe Bible Has the Answer with Martin E. Clark
    18. Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990)
      1. Intro.
      2. Jesus Rediscovered | online text
      3. The Humane Holocaust
      4. Index of writings
    19. James Oliver Buswell –  Christian Apologetics |  Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective (with Paul D. Feinberg) |  When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties |  Inerrancy |  When Skeptics Ask (with Ronald Brooks) |  The Battle for the Resurrection [TOP]
    20. Gordon Lewis –  Testing Christianity’s Truth Claims: Approaches to Christian Apologetics
    21. Basil Mitchell –  The Justification of Religious Belief |  The Philosophy of Religion |  How to Play Theological Ping Pong and Other Essays on Faith and Reason |  Faith and Criticism: The Barum Lectures |  Law, Morality, and Religion in a Secular Society
    22. R. C. Sproul
      1. Chosen by God
      2. Choosing My Religion
      3. When Worlds Collide: Where is God in Terrorism, War, & Suffering?
      4. Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science and Cosmology
      5. Defending Your Faith: An Introduction to Apologetics
      6. Essential Truths of the Christian Faith
      7. Tearing Down Strongholds and Defending the Truth
      8. Reason to believe
      9. Classical apologetics : A Rational Defense of the Christian Faith and a Critique of Presuppositional Apologetics (co-authored with John Gerstner and Arthur Lindsley)
    23. C. Stephen Evans
      1. Why Believe? Reason and Mystery as Pointers to God
      2. New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics
    24. Richard Mouw – Distorted Truth: What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Battle for the Mind
    25. John Newport – Life’s Ultimate Questions
    26. Kelly James Clark
      1. Return to Reason
      2. Philosophers Who Believe: The Spiritual Journeys of 11 Leading Thinkers
    27. Alister McGrath
      1. Intellectuals Don’t Need God and Other Myths of the Modern World
      2. The foundations of dialogue in science and religion
      3. Glimpsing the face of God : the search for meaning in the universe
      4. Why Does God Allow Suffering?
      5. The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World
      6. A Scientific Theology: 1. Nature
      7. A Scientific Theology: 2. Reality
      8. A Scientific Theology: 3. Theory
      9. Science and Religion: An Introduction
    28. Lee Strobel
      1. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
      2. The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
      3. The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God
      4. The Case for Easter: A Journalist Investigates the Evidence for the Resurrection
    29. Phillip Johnson
      1. Darwin on Trial
      2. Reason in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law & Education
      3. Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds
      4. The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism
      5. Darwin’s Nemesis: Phillip Johnson & the Intelligent Design Movement
      6. The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate (with Nancy Pearcey)
    30. Nancy Pearcey
      1. Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (rev. ed.)
      2. The Soul of Science: Christian Faith & Natural Philosophy
      3. How Now Shall We Live? (with Charles Colson)
      4. The Christian in Today’s Culture (with Charles Colson) [TOP]
    31. John Clayton – Check out his great website: Does God Exist?
      1. A Practical Man’s Proof of God
      2. Help in Understanding What God Is
      3. Who Created God?
      4. What Was the Cause of the Beginning?
      5. Why I Left Atheism
      6. God’s Revelation in His Rocks and in His Word
      7. The Problem of Human Suffering
      8. The Whiner’s Guide to Chemotherapy
      9. The Real Jesus of History
      10. Checkable Bible Accuracy
      11. Evidence for Design in the Universe
      12. Apologetics Bibliography
      13. How Do I See? (for children)
      14. Free Online Correspondence Course: Intermediate Evidences
      15. Catalog
      16. Subscribe to Does God Exist? newsletter (free)