Wednesday, 13 December 2006

Handbook of Christian Apologetics by: Peter Kreeft & Ronald K. Tacelli

Handbook of Christian Apologetics
Peter Kreeft & Ronald K. Tacelli
IVP Intervarsity Press
ISBN 9780830817740

This is a full version of the Pocket Handbook for Christian Apologetics written by the same authors. Recently updated with a fresh new cover, it doesn't appear that much else changed. Yet this has been considered a classic on the subject since its publication back in 1994. Used extensively in Campus ministries, and in both Catholic and Evangelical traditions, this book is very unique. This book used to be required reading for Campus Crusade for Christ Staff in Canada, and because it is an Intervarsity Press book, is used widely in that campus ministry also. Even the Navigators of Canada Resource center always keeps it in stock.
With such wide usage and varied acclaim, this book hardly even needs more of a plug. But it is truly a treasure. It answers hundreds of questions crucial to a deep understanding of Christianity and the claims of Christ. It tackles such large issues as: Do faith and reason conflict? Does God exist? Is the bible myth? Was Jesus more than a man? How can God allow evil to exist? Is there life after death? Miracles? And there are many more.

The sections of the book are:

  • Part 1: Introduction
  • Part 2: God
  • Part 3: God & Nature
  • Part 4: God & Grace
  • Part 5: God & Glory
  • Part 6: Conclusions
The chapters are nearly the same as the Pocket Handbook, and it also contains an extensive bibliography, scriptural index and subject index. These two indexes make the book great as a quick reference guide or for research purposes.

This book will become indispensable in your Christian toolbox. It is a valuable resource and well worth reading through, then going back to again and again. It will give you all the basics of the Christian faith in one book that has all the answers you will need. Check it out. Like all of Kreeft's other works I have reviewed, I would have to highly recommend this book. And I doubt that you will have a complaint after you have worked through it.



Book by Peter Kreeft:
C. S. Lewis: A Critical Essay (1969)
Love Is Stronger Than Death. 1979.
Heaven: The Heart’s Deepest Longing (1980)
Yes or No? — Straight Answers to Tough Questions about Christianity (1984)
Making Sense Out of Suffering (1986)
Fundamentals of the Faith, Essays in Christian Apologetics (1988)
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Heaven... But Never Dreamed of Asking (1990)
Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions (1990)
You can understand the Old Testament : a book-by-book guide for Catholics (1990)
Summa of the Summa (1990) 
Three Philosophies of Life (1990) 
Prayer: The Great Conversation (1991)
Back to Virtue (1992) 
Shorter Summa (1993) 
Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal's Pensees (1993)
Your Questions, God's Answers (1994) 
Handbook of Christian Apologetics (with Ronald K. Tacelli) (1994)
C. S. Lewis for the Third Millennium (1994) 
Shadow-Lands of C.S. Lewis: The Man Behind the Movie (1994)
The Angel and the Ants: Bringing Heaven Closer to Your Daily Life (1994)
Talking to Your Children About Being Catholic (1995) — A treasure trove of ideas
Angels (and Demons): What Do We Really Know About Them? (1995)
Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture Wars (1996)
The Snakebite Letters Devious Secrets for Subverting Society (1998)
Refutation of Moral Relativism (1999)
Prayer for Beginners (2000)
Socrates Meets Jesus (1987/2002) 
How to Win the Culture War: A Christian Battle Plan for a Society in Crisis (2002)
Celebrating Middle Earth: Lord of the Rings (2002) 
Three Approaches to Abortion: a thoughtful and compassionate guide to today's most controversial issue (2002)
Philosophy 101 by Socrates (2002) 
Socrates Meets Machiavelli (2003) 
Socrates Meets Marx (2003) 
The God Who Loves You (2004)
Socratic Logic (2005) 
You Can Understand the Bible (2005) 
Socrates Meets Sartre: Father Of Philosophy Meets The Founder of Existentialism (2005) 
The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (2005)
Socrates Meets Descartes (2007) 
The Philosophy of Jesus (2007) 
Before I Go (2007) 
I Surf Therefore I Am (2008)
Because God Is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer (2008)
Jesus-Shock (2008)
Socrates Meets Kant (2009) 
If Einstein Had Been a Surfer (2009) 
Between Allah & Jesus: what Christians Can Learn from Muslims (2010)
Socrates Meets Hume (2010) 
An Ocean Full of Angels (2011)
Summa Philosophica (2012) 
Jacob's Ladder (2013) 
Charisms: Visions, Tongues, Healing, etc. (feat. Dave Nevins) (2013) 
Socrates Meets Kierkegaard (2014) 
52 Big Ideas (2020) 
Practical Theology (2014) 
Letters to an Atheist (2014) 
Philosophy 101 by Socrates: An Introduction to Philosophy Via Plato's Apology : (Forty Things Philosophy is According to History's First and Wisest Philosopher (2014)
I Burned for Your Peace: Augustine's Confessions Unpacked (2016)  
How to Be Holy (2016) 
Catholics and Protestants (2017) 
Between One Faith and Another (2017) 
Forty Reasons I am a Catholic (2018)
The Platonic Tradition (2018) 
Socrates' Children, 4 vols. (2019) 
How To Destroy Western Civilization And Other Ideas From The Cultural Abyss (2021)
The Greatest Philosopher Who Ever Lived (2021)
Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings 3 vols. (2023)
What Would Socrates Say? (2024) 
 

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