Saturday, January 21, 2012

"Reasons We Believe: 50 Lines of Evidence that Confirm the Christian Faith" by Nathan Busenitz - Kindle Edition

This short book is a perfect starting point for those who have an interest in Christian apologetics, but do not know where to begin. The author has done some thorough research, and the footnotes will provide the reader with many other fine resources for further study and reading.
I applaud Nathan Busenitz for producing a book that has all of the scholarly work presented in an easily-comprehended manner. Even Christians who do not consider themselves "readers" will find this book to be helpful.
The author states that the book can be read straight through (which I did) or used as a topical reference. There are disadvantages and advantages to both approaches. First, the disadvantage to reading it straight through is that many of the items are repetitive. Some of the same verses and facts are used to back different arguments, so you will read them many times.
In my opinion, the disadvantage to reading it topically is that some of the evidences do not hold so powerfully when they are taken by themselves. For instance, one evidence for Christianity is the lives of the many people who have been changed by the Gospel. While this is true, it is not necessarily important evidence in the search for truth - because an atheist could claim that his or her life was changed when he or she denied the existence of God; or a buddhist could claim the same thing, etc. Therefore, a budding apologist may think this a powerful argument if he just read this chapter individually. However, if one were to debate this line of evidence with an intellectual atheist, one would quickly be silenced and confounded.
The greatest advantage to reading the book straight through is to see the CUMULATIVE evidence for Christianity. When approached this way, all of the evidence mounts up to form an impenetrable wall of facts that the atheist, agnostic, or antagonist may beat their head against but never beat down.
It is always encouraging to see that the Christian faith is built upon fact. That is one good reason for all Christians to study apologetics.
5 out of 5 stars!
Many thanks to Bro. Paul Lowe for loaning me this Kindle edition!

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