100+ Books Exploring the Case for Christianity
By Bob. Filed in Apologetics, Atheism, Atheists, Case for Christ, Christ, Christianity |
100+ Books Exploring the Case for Christianity
How do you examine and answer life’s most important questions?
• Why believe in God?
• Why believe in the God of the Christian faith?
I’ve collated for you some Christian responses to these vital questions. The 110 books listed below provide each author’s perspective on reasons to believe in Christ; on the reasonableness of Christianity; on the case for Christ.
I don’t “agree” with every word each author pens. I respect you, my readers, and your ability to read any of the books intelligently and discerningly. For anyone interested in different ways Christians view how to develop and present the case for Christ, you may want to read Five Views on Apologetics.
Of course, literally thousands of additional books can be added to this list. In fact, in the Join the Conversation section at the end of this post, I encourage you to do just that. These are simply a few of the books you may want to consider.
I’ve embedded within the title of each book a direct link to the Amazon.com page where you can read more about the book, read reviews of the book, and purchase the book if you desire. I’ve also organized each book within one of three general categories.
• Books Written in Response to the “New” Atheism: The “new” atheists are represented by authors such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris. These authors not only attempt to create a case for non-belief, they attempt to craft a case against belief. They write with something of a “bravado” that can be intimidating to the “average” reader at first glance. However, there are logical, rational responses to their aggressive critiques of faith. The books in this category generally are written as a Christian response to these authors.
• Books Written for the “Everyday Reader”: I’m not sure how to word this “header.” I’m contrasting these books with the third category of books that have more of an “academic” audience in view. However, these books for the “everyday reader” are still “deep,” though they are something of an “easier” read than those listed in the “academic” category.
• Books Written for an “Academic” Audience: The final category collates books written more at an “academic” level. Don’t be intimidated by these book, but realize that you will need to read them with great precision as you follow their in-depth development of their perspective.
One almost final word before providing you with my collated and alphabetized list. Some might ask, “Why not provide a listing of books by atheists?” First, I do encourage people to be well-read, and I have personally read dozens of such books. Second, the focus of this post is The Case for Christianity. I’m a Christian, and I’m writing for my Christian friends who frequently ask me for recommendations on resources for “thinking Christians” (which should be all Christians, of course). Third, if you read any of these books, they will reference a host of books by those who do not believe, and thus you will be able to decide, in context, which of those books you may want to believe. Fourth, we are all at different “levels of readiness” to read books that “attack our faith.” The “new” atheism tends to be “aggressively against” Christ, Christianity, and Christians. As a counselor and human being, I happen to be sensitive to the tender faith of my fellow Christians and I think it is wise that they have a solid, informed, and reasonable foundation if they choose to read books attacking their faith.
Now a final word—to my unbelieving friends. I would encourage you to consider reading, with an open mind, some of the books on this list. Of course, I’d also encourage you to read with an open mind the Bible. Some of you have read books “supporting” your unbelief. Some of you have not read many books that make a case for Christ. Here’s an opportunity to explore life’s most important questions.
Books Written in Response to the “New” Atheism
Berlinski, David. The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions
Copan, Paul. Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God
Copan, Paul (Ed.) and William Lane Craig (Ed.). Contending with Christianity’s Critics: Answering New Atheists and Other Objectors
Coppenger, Mark. Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians: Pushing Back Against Cultural and Religious Critics
Craig, William. God Is Great, God Is Good: Why Believing in God Is Reasonable and Responsible
D’Souza, Dinesh. What’s So Great about Christianity
Hitchens, Peter. The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith
Lamb, David. God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?
Lennox, John. God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?
Lennox, John. Gunning for God: A Critique of the New Atheism
McGrath, Alister. The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine
McGrath, Alister. The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World
McGrath, Alister, Why God Won’t Go Away: Is the New Atheism Running on Empty?
Mohler, Al. Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheists
Pearcey, Nancy. Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning
Schmidt, Alvin. How Christianity Changed the World
Spiegel, James. The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief
Wilson, Douglas. Letter from a Christian Citizen – A Response to “Letter to a Christian Nation” by Sam Harris
Zacharias, Ravi. The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists
Zacharias, Ravi. The Real Face of Atheism.
Books Written for the “Everyday Reader”
Alcorn, Randy. Heaven
Cabal, Ted (Ed.). The Apologetics Study Bible: Understand Why You Believe
Chesterton, G. K. Orthodoxy
Copan, Paul. When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics
Craig, William. On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision
D’Souza, Dinesh. Life After Death: The Evidence
Flew, Antony. There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind
Flew, Antony, Habermas, Gary, and David Bagget (Ed.) Did the Resurrection Happen?: A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew
Geisler, Norman. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties: Clear and Concise Answers from Genesis to Revelation
Geisler, Norman. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
Geisler, Norman. Who Made God?: And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith
Habermas, Gary. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
Keller, Tim. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
Lennox, John. God and Stephen Hawking: Whose Design Is It Anyway?
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity
Licona, Michael (Ed.) and William A. Dembski (Ed.) Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy, and Science
Lutzer, Erwin. Christ Among Other gods
Lutzer, Erwin. One Minute After You Die
Lutzer, Erwin. Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible
McDowell, Josh. Evidence for Christianity
McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict: Fully Updated to Answer the Questions Challenging Christians Today
Mittelberg, Mark. The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask: (With Answers)
Mittelberg, Mark. The Reason Why: Faith Makes Sense
Morrison, Frank. Who Moved the Stone?
Ortberg, John. Faith and Doubt
Sproul, R. C. Defending Your Faith: An Introduction to Apologetics
Stackhouse, John. Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
Strobel, Lee. The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ
Strobel, Lee. The Case for the Resurrection: A First-Century Investigative Reporter Probes History’s Pivotal Event
Wright. N. T. Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
Zacharias, Ravi. Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message
Books Written at the “Academic” Level
Bahnsen. Greg. Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith
Barnett, Paul. Is the New Testament Reliable?
Bavinck, Herman. Our Reasonable Faith
Becwith, Francis, William Lane, and J. P. Moreland. To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview
Beilby, James. Thinking About Christian Apologetics: What It Is and Why We Do It
Blomberg, Craig. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels
Blomberg, Craig. Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey (Second Edition)
Bruce, F. F. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?
Carson, D. A. How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil
Chesterton, G. K. The Everlasting Man
Collins, Francis. Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith
Collins, Francis, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
Collins, Francis and Karl Giberson. The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions
Copan, Paul (Ed.) and William Craig (Ed.). Come Let Us Reason: New Essays in Christian Apologetics
Copan, Paul (Ed.) and William Craig (Ed.). Passionate Conviction: Contemporary Discourses on Christian Apologetics
Cowan, Steve (Ed.). Five Views on Apologetics
Craig, William. Hard Questions, Real Answers
Craig, William. Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (3rd Edition)
Edgar, William and Scott Oliphint. Christian Apologetics Past and Present (Volume 1, To 1500): A Primary Source Reader
Edgar, William and Scott Oliphint. Christian Apologetics Past and Present (Volume 2, From 1500): A Primary Source Reader
Frame, John. Apologetics to the Glory of God: An Introduction
Geisler, Norman. If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think About the Question
Geisler, Norman. When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences
Groothuis, Douglas. Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith
Groothuis, Douglas. Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism
Grudem, Wayne, John Collins, and Thomas Schreiner. Understanding Scripture: An Overview of the Bible’s Origin, Reliability, and Meaning
Habermas, Gary and J. P. Moreland. Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality
Henry, Carl. God, Revelation, and Authority (6 Vols.)
House, Wayne and Dennis Jowers. Reasons for Our Hope: An Introduction to Christian Apologetics
Keener, Craig. The Historical Jesus of the Gospels
Keener, Craig. Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts
Koenig, Harold (Ed.) and Harvey Cohen (Ed.). The Link between Religion and Health: Psychoneuroimmunology and the Faith Factor
Koenig, Harold. Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet
Koenig, Harold. Spiritual and Health Research: Methods, Measurements, Statistics, and Resources
Little, Bruce (Ed.) and Mark Liederbach (Ed.). Defending the Faith, Engaging the Culture: Essays Honoring L. Russ Bush
Mayers, Ronald. Balanced Apologetics: Using Evidences and Presuppositions in Defense of the Faith
McGrath, Alister. The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind
McGrath, Alister. A Scientific Theology: Nature.
McGrath, Alister. A Scientific Theology: Reality.
McGrath, Alister. A Scientific Theology: Theory.
McGrath, Alister. Surprised by Meaning: Science, Faith, and How We Make Sense of Things
Meister, Chad (Ed.) and Khaldoun Sweis. Christian Apologetics: An Anthropology of Primary Sources
Oswalt, John. The Bible among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature?
Plantiga, Alvin. God and Other Minds: A Study of the Rational Justification of Belief in God
Plantiga, Alvin. Warranted Christian Belief
Plantinga, Alvin. Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism
Polkinghorne, John. Belief in God in an Age of Science
Polkinghorne, John. Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science, and Belief
Polkinghorne, John. Testing Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible
Poythress, V. S. Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach
Sanders, Fred. The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything
Stackhouse, John. Can God Be Trusted?: Faith and the Challenge of Evil
Stott, John. The Cross of Christ
Van Til, Cornelius. Christian Apologetics
Van Til, Cornelius. The Defense of the Faith
Wilkins, Michael (Ed.) and J. P. Moreland (Ed.). Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus
Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God
Join the Conversation
What books would you recommend for exploring the case for Christianity?
Tags: Apologetics, Atheism, Atheists, Case for Christ, Evidence for Christianity, New Atheism
Sunday, November 13th 2011 at 5:09 pm |
Bob,
Thanks for the resource. I appreciate the topic, especially in light of biblical counseling itself – apologetics applied.
I do wonder though whether this list is helpful as a shotgun approach for those who want to get into the issue. There are a broad range of books here with competing and, in some cases, irreconcilable differences in theology and apologetic approaches. I appreciate the proviso on discernment you offer in the beginning, but it might help to clarify and specify what makes Plantinga’s work helpful and what makes Gary Habermas’s work helpful. What makes those works helpful or not largely depends on one’s theology and how that works itself out in one’s apologetics. I hope that makes sense – just joining the conversation!
Sunday, November 13th 2011 at 8:49 pm |
Jarod,
I thought about making it an annotated bibliography, but this process alone took hours to collate, copy and embed nearly 100 Amazon links, etc. Ultimately I determined that the list collated in the three categories would be much more than what’s out there now. Plus, while I agree with your insights re an evidential approach versus a presuppositional approach, I’m personally a both/and apologists. Plus, I’m not sure most blog readers would place themself in a camp, and the level of explanation necessary would make for a massive blog post. On top of all of that, there’s a decent amount of unbelievers following this “mini-series” and I think some of that “in-house” commentary about “camps” would not be very helpful or easy to explain. And, a major part of my embedding the links is that folks are able to go directly to Amazon, read the book summaries, table of contents, look inside the book, reviews, etc., so it’s pretty easy to get a decent sense of any particular book. All that said, if you or someone else wanted to take what I’ve started and annotate it, I’m all in for teamwork.
Bob
Sunday, November 13th 2011 at 9:49 pm |
Just jumpin’ in to say, maybe some of us who are in a “camp” need to read a few other ideas to test whether camping out here is worthwhile. This list represents far more than just a starting point. There seems to be much to agree on and not pick apart pieces of theoretical theology. Let’s major on the majors for the non-Christians among us, shall we?
Sunday, November 13th 2011 at 11:12 pm |
Thanks for the thoughts, Bob. For the record, I never mentioned anything about a camp, evidential, or presuppositional, I more meant the observation that the list includes competing positions on how to defend the faith and it might be useful to clarify. But point taken: those who want to explore the differences do have Amazon descriptions for more info. Having said that, I do believe that a biblical counseling approach that compromises on a Reformed approach to apologetics inevitably compromises the authority of the Bible from which he or she wishes to counsel; maybe not even in actual counseling conversation, but certainly in apologetic and counseling method. But what I say is nothing new and is said much better in Powlison’s works, specifically giving the history in The Biblical Counseling Movement, as you know. Hope that clarifies!
Sunday, November 13th 2011 at 11:31 pm |
Jared, You’re correct, I used the word “camp” and simply as a short-hand for different approaches to apologetics. It’d be interesting to read a blog post you would write on “a biblical counseling approach that compromises on a Reformed approach to apologetics…” I’m not sure if you think a presuppositional approach implies the negation of evidential writings. It’s one thing to say that it is not evidence that ultimately either draws us to or drives us away from faith, and quite another to avoid a rigorous, logical, reasoned, and evidential approach to defending the faith. That’s my “both/and.” I’d love to read a post by you on the specific implications of your view, for counseling, for sharing your faith, for interacting with unbelievers, for assisting Christians with questions raised by the “new atheists” etc. Our deeply held convictions play out in a real world of struggling people, but Christian and non-Christian, as I know we both understand. Bob
Monday, November 14th 2011 at 10:34 am |
Jared,
In response to your suggestion, I’ve added several more books on apologetics. And I’ve added the following comment in the intro to the post:
For anyone interested in different ways Christians view how to develop and present the case for Christ, you may want to read Five Views on Apologetics. http://www.amazon.com/Five-Views-Apologetics-Steven-Cowan/dp/0310224764/ref=pd_sim_b_1
Thanks for your suggestion.
Bob
Monday, November 14th 2011 at 11:06 am |
Bob,
That’s great! And good thoughts from your comment above. I would say the same thing – it’s not evidence that’s a problem; quite the opposite. Evidence apart from a Christian (read: true) worldview can’t be ultimately accounted for, but the world itself is abundant in its evidence for truth. I appreciate you bringing the topic up, especially as it relates to counseling and communicating truth to struggling people. Every fact should be marshaled to help people see the truth with clarity, but done so within that truth rather than from a supposed neutral position. I’d love to get something going regarding the question of apologetic consistency and biblical counseling! Thanks for your work.
Wednesday, November 16th 2011 at 12:43 am |
Hi Bob,
Out of curiosity, how many of these have you read?
Wednesday, November 16th 2011 at 7:49 am |
Keenan,
I own about 3/4 of them. Several are “encyclopedic in that they have many articles so those I’ve “read” the articles/chapters that are of interest. About 50 I’ve read in detail (over the course of many years). About two dozen I do not own, but I either know the author personally and the author’s work, or I know personally many of those who endorse the books. The list includes a large span of perspectives, even from within Christianity, with different Christian faith perspectives and from different perspectives on “apologetics” (which is why I suggested the book on “five views”). Hope that helps.
Bob