Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

Apologia Report 17:5 (1,097)
February 9, 2011

APOLOGETICS
Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith, by
Douglas Groothuis [1] -- as a fellow educator at Denver Seminary
with Groothuis (though part-time), reviewer Robert Velarde uses this
review to laud his colleague's latest book concluding that "no
single volume of apologetics has, in recent years, approached the
comprehensive qualities of Christian Apologetics.
"Intended by the author primarily for use in seminary-level
apologetics courses ... a few portions may pose some challenges to
the lay reader [but] on the whole Christian Apologetics offers an
intermediate level of content that is both scholarly and accessible.
"The approach is that of cumulative case apologetics (chap. 3),
which Groothuis views as superior to fideism, presuppositionalism,
Reformed epistemology, and evidentialist approaches. This, however,
does not mean that Groothuis entirely dismisses competing
apologetics approaches (fideism being the exception).... Cumulative
case apologetics builds a case for the Christian worldview: 'Several
lines of evidence converge on the hypothesis that Christian theism
is the best-attested worldview. ...
"Christian Apologetics strives for a nonpolemical approach, but
in a few instances it will invariably perturb some. ...
"The book is divided into three parts, Part One addresses
'Apologetic Preliminaries' such as methodology, the Christian
worldview, and truth. Part Two, the lengthiest portion, offers 'The
Case for Christian Theism,' in what may be described as a thorough
'systematic theology' of Christian apologetics. ... Part Three
capably confronts three 'Objections to Christian Theism:' religious
pluralism, Islam, and evil." Christian Research Journal, 34:6 -
2011, p53. [3]

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