Faith Has Its Reasons : Integrative Approaches to Defending the Christian Faith

Ever since the apostle Paul addressed the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens, relating the Christian worldview to a non-Christian world has been a challenge. And despite Peter's charge to be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks youto give an account for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15), most Christian laypeople have left apologetics―the defense of the faith―to the ecclesiastical pros. Faith Has Its Reasons is a study of four different models of how apologeticsshould be done, an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, and a proposal for integrating the best insights of each. Kenneth Boa and Robert Bowman have assembled a wealth of information about what Christians believe and how to present that faith to an unbelieving world. Remarkable both in its depth of content and ease of accessibility, Faith Has Its Reasons gives Christian laypeople the tools to address such critical questions as:

• Why is belief in God rational despite the prevalence of evil in the world?
• What facts support the church's testimony that Jesus rose from the dead?
• Can we be certain Christianity is true?
• How can our faith in Christ be based on something more secure thanour own understanding without descending into an irrational emotionalism?

Kenneth Boa is the president of Reflections Ministries, Omnibus Media Ministries, and Trinity House Publishers. His many books include Faith Has Its Reasons, Rewriting Your Broken Story, Life in the Presence of God, andShaped by Suffering. He resides in Atlanta.

Robert M. Bowman Jr. (M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary; Ph.D., South African Theological Seminary) is the director of research for the Institute for Religious Research (www.irr.org). His books include Jehovah's Witnesses, TheWord-Faith Controversy, Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ (with J. Ed Komoszewski) and Faith Has Its Reasons (with Kenneth D. Boa). He has updated and expanded this booklet from his chapter in A Guide toNew Religious Movements, edited by Ronald Enroth.