Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense

In recent years the Christian faith has been challenged by skeptics, including the New Atheists, who claim that belief in God is simply not reasonable. Here prominent Christian philosopher C. Stephen Evans offers a fresh, contemporary, and nuanced response. He makes the case for belief in a personal God through an exploration of natural "signs," which open our minds to theistic possibilities and foster belief in the Christian revelation. Evans then discusses why God's self-revelation is both authoritative and authentic. This sophisticated yet accessible book provides a clear account of the evidence for Christian faith, concluding that it still makes sense to believe.

In recent years the Christian faith has been challenged by skeptics, including the New Atheists, who claim that belief in God is simply not reasonable. Here prominent Christian philosopher C. Stephen Evans offers a fresh, contemporary, and nuanced response. He makes the case for belief in a personal God through an exploration of natural "signs," which open our minds to theistic possibilities and foster belief in the Christian revelation. Evans then discusses why God's self-revelation is both authoritative and authentic. This sophisticated yet accessible book provides a clear account of the evidence for Christian faith, concluding that it still makes sense to believe.

Unapologetic is a brief, witty, personal, sharp-tongued defence of Christianity, taking on Dawkins' The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great. Its argument is that Christianity is recognisable, drawing on the deep and deeply ordinary vocabulary of human feeling, satisfying those who believe by offering a ruthlessly realistic account of the bits of our lives advertising agencies prefer to ignore. It's a book for believers who are fed up with being patronised, for non-believers curious about how faith can possibly work in the twenty-first century, and for anyone who feels there is something indefinably wrong, literalistic, anti-imaginative and intolerant about the way the case for atheism is now being made. Fresh, provoking and unhampered by niceness, this is the long-awaited riposte to the smug emissaries of New Atheism.

Ideal for new teachers and group studies, this very readable apologetic presents a clear, rational defense for Christianity to those unfamiliar with the Bible. Readers will consider the validity of Christian beliefs, overcome barriers to faith, and be challenged to meet Christ personally.

Everyone wants to believe in something beyond or someone bigger than themselves, but nobody wants to be duped. In order to provide answers to people who are seeking the truth, Mark Mittelberg updates for today the classic book by Robert Laidlaw that sold millions, The Reason Why. This short book gives clear, concise reasons why belief in God makes sense.

The complexity of the contemporary world is sometimes seen as an embarrassment for Christianity. But law professor David Skeel makes a fresh case for how Christianity offers plausible explanations for the central puzzles of our existence and provides a comprehensive framework for understanding human life as we actually live it.

Pastor and author Martin Thielen has compiled a list of ten things people need to believe, and ten things they don't, in order to be a Christian. This lively and engaging book will be a help to seekers as well as a comfort to believers who may find themselves questioning some of the assumptions they grew up with. With an accessible, storytelling style that's grounded in solid biblical scholarship, Thielen shows how Christians don't need to believe that sinners will be "left behind" to burn in hell or that it's heresy to believe in evolution. And while we must always take the Bible seriously, we don't always have to take it literally. At the same time, Christians do need to believe in Jesus--his life, his teachings, his death and resurrection, and his vision for the world. A great benefit of those beliefs is that they provide promising answers to life's most profound questions, including: Where is God? What matters most? What brings fulfillment? What about suffering? Is there hope? Thielen articulates centrist, mainline Christianity in a way that's fresh and easy to understand, and offers authentic Christian insights that speak to our deepest needs. This new edition includes a leader's guide, previously only available online, and a new introduction from the author that reflects on the book's reception. The leader's guide features unique and easily implemented aids for carrying out a seven-week, congregation-wide initiative that will help local churches reach out to their communities. More information is available at thielen.wjkbooks.com.

A New York Times bestseller people can believe in—by "a pioneer of the new urban Christians" (Christianity Today) and the "C.S. Lewis for the 21st century" (Newsweek). Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics, and even ardent believers, have about religion. Using literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, Keller explains how the belief in a Christian God is, in fact, a sound and rational one. To true believers he offers a solid platform on which to stand their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics, he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.

We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs. Written for both the ardent believer and the skeptic, Making Sense of God shines a light on the profound value and importance of Christianity in our lives.

C. Sephen Evans has written a pointed and personal book directed to those who want to have faith but whose thinking has been obscured by the static of prevailing philosophies, illuminating the attraction and reasonableness of Christianity.

We've all heard the arguments that Christianity is irrelevant, irrational and even immoral. But what if the Christian faith makes sense of all that matters? In this thoughtful, engaging book, Simon Edwards challenges the assumptions that may lead us to reject a faith and doubt something that we've never really had the chance to understand in the first place. From our need for meaning and significance, to our desires for truth, goodness, love and hope, he explores the things that matter to us as human beings and shows us why the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ might just make sense of them all. The Sanity of Belief is a fresh take on apologetics, faith and doubt, that will leave you with a stronger understanding of Christian belief and how it relates to today's world. It is ideal for anyone looking for a clear, down-to-earth introduction to Christianity, or for those wanting to reaffirm the foundations on which their faith is based.

Portraying themselves as challenging blind religious dogma with evidence-led skepticism, the neo-atheist movement claims that the New Testament contains unreliable tales about a mythical figure who, far from being the resurrected Lord of life, may not even have lived. This comprehensive critique documents the falsehood of these neo-atheist claims, correcting their historical and philosophical mistakes to show how we can get at the truth about the historical Jesus.

Is religious belief reasonable? Of course the so-called New Atheists, such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, energetically say, "No!," Many others, including some believers, insist that faith is utterly beyond reasoned argument. Faith, they declare, is believing something that reason tells you can't be so. In this way they think they shield belief from rational criticism. But philosopher Richard Purtill will have none of that approach to religion. In this newly updated classic work, Purtill carefully applies the power of the mind to understanding whether there is a rational basis for certain religious beliefs. His focus is on widely held Christian beliefs, although much of what he says applies also to other religious traditions. Purtill assesses the common objections to religious belief the claims that religious tenets are nonsensical, wishful thinking, the result of gullibility, immoral, or refuted by modern discoveries. Then he considers the arguments in favor of Christian belief by studying the nature of faith, of the universe, of morality, of happiness, and the world with God in it. He also scrutinizes certain beliefs involving claims of Christian revelation Ñ the credentials of revelation, the idea of God, Jesus as God's Son, organized religion, and the last things (death, judgment, heaven and hell). The two appendices tackle the Christian doctrine of the Atonement and the influence of certain Christian writers on the revival of Christian belief in the 20th century. An updated For Further Reading section is included. Reason to BelieveÊis not a work of revealed theology or religious devotion; it is a highly readable book on the philosophy of religion, aimed at the reader who wants to think seriously about religion but who doesn't know all the philosophers' and theologians' jargon and who may or may not be a committed believer.

No one likes to be told they are wrong; but is that any reason not to listen? Seeking to burst the 'Christian bubble' that many believers find comfort in, Justin Brierley began to invite atheists, sceptics and non-believers onto Premier Christian Radio to unpack and understand the so-called 'unbelievables' of the Christian faith. Now, over ten years later, Premier's Unbelievable? podcast continues to captivate hundreds of thousands of listeners and has even spawned its own annual conference. But how has ten years in the atheist-argument-firing-line affected the presenter's faith? Taking the best from conversations with Richard Dawkins and many more, Unbelievable? the book, will invite readers to look behind the scenes at how ten years of talking with atheists, sceptics and non-believers has stirred, shaken but ultimately strengthened Justin's own belief in the not-so-unbelievable Christian faith. Suggested contents: Bursting the Christian bubble God: The best explanation for human existence God: The best explanation for human value God: The best explanation for human purpose When the internet tells you Jesus didn't exist A few facts that only fit the resurrection Making sense of suffering What about the other religions? My 5 minutes with Richard Dawkins Faith: Choosing to live in the Christian story of reality

While the Bible declares, "The fool has said in his heart that there is no God," our culture has turned that statement on its head. The mantra of today's intellectual crowd is that the fool is the one who believes in God. Sadly, some Christians are starting to believe this, too. Will Davis Jr. says this is nonsense. You don't have to stop thinking to be a Christian. In fact, faith is the logical, natural progression of good reasoning, and it is less foolish to believe in God than not to believe. With common language, humor, biblical teaching, and real-life stories, Why Faith Makes Sense helps everyday believers understand why belief is the rational outcome of clear thinking about the evidence that surrounds us.

In the classic Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis, the most important writer of the 20th century, explores the common ground upon which all of those of Christian faith stand together. Bringing together Lewis’ legendary broadcast talks during World War Two from his three previous books The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality, Mere Christianity provides an unequaled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to hear this powerful apologetic for the Christian faith.

Christianity, the largest religion in the world, no longer makes sense. The human authors who penned the words that became holy scripture lived in a world far removed from ours. They held prescientific beliefs and ancient moral standards. Naturally, the Bible reflects the views of its ancient authors. The problem is that, for Christians, the Bible is supposed to be more than just an interesting record of ancient Near Eastern beliefs. The Bible reveals the will and teachings of God and provides the foundation from which Christian doctrine is built. But the ancient ideas found in the Bible have collided with modernity. Over the last 500 years defenders of the faith have fought scientific and moral change. Once the new science or morality prevails, defenders of the faith then endeavor to adapt (or mute) their scriptural and theological positions. At some point, these efforts must lose credibility. At some point, the cognitive dissonance must be too apparent. This potent little book makes the case that we have indeed reached this point. Topics covered: - Over the centuries, Christians have been able to smooth over most of the scientific inaccuracies in the Bible. For example, verses that imply a geocentric cosmology have been reinterpreted as poetic. But the story of Adam and Eve is different. The historicity of this couple and their fall from grace is foundational to the Christian story. Christianity No Longer Makes Sense examines the various attempts by Christian theologians to harmonize the biblical view of human origins and human fallenness with the one uncovered by science. - Traditional Christian theology holds that non-Christians are destined for an eternity in hell. For some reason, most pastors don't seem keen on advertising this position anymore, yet it is still official doctrine for the vast majority of churches. - It's no secret that the Bible contains its fair share of curious content. God is seen supporting animal sacrifice, violence, slavery, and sexism. Are such depictions compatible with the God people believe in today? Have defenders of the faith adequately addressed these troubling passages?

A Mere Christianity of the 21st century, coming out as Tom Wright's popularity grows and grows, and at a peak point of interest in CS Lewis. The book provides an intelligent, grownup introduction to Christianity - what Christians believe, and why, how should we live? - with a passionate sense of personal engagement.

Apologist Joe Boot provides a readable introduction to presuppositional apologetics for the average layperson. Boot invites the nonbeliever to step inside the Christian worldview to see whether or not it all makes sense.