Of the most common approaches to apologetics, which is most effective?
The goal of apologetics is to persuasively defend Christianity against charges of falsehood, inconsistency, or credulity. It's an intellectual discipline that serves to bolster the faith of Christian believers and to aid the task of evangelism, but are some methods more effective than others?
Five Views on Apologetics examines the "how-to" of apologetics, putting five prominent techniques under the microscope:
- Classical – represented by William Lane Craig
- Evidential – represented by Gary Habermas
- Cumulative Case – represented by Paul D. Feinberg
- Presuppositional – represented by John M. Frame
- Reformed Epistemology – represented by Kelly James Clark
Offering a forum for presentation, critique, and defense, this book allows the contributors for the different viewpoints to respond to the others. Your own informed conclusions can then guide you as you meet the questions of a needy world with the claims of the gospel.
The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.
Stanley N. Gundry (PhD, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago) is an author, editor, and theologian with graduate degrees in historical theology. After serving in pastoral ministry, he taught as an adjunct professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and as Professor of Theology at Moody Bible Institute, where he taught for eleven years. He was a founding board member of Christians for Biblical Equality, serving two terms and later receiving the organization’s Priscilla and Aquila Award along with his wife. He is also a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Gundry is the author or coauthor of seven books and has contributed numerous articles to a wide range of publications. Beyond theological circles, he is known for his writings on the restoration of the Studebaker Avanti automobile. He and his wife, Patricia, have four grown children. In recognition of his more than forty years of influence in Christian publishing, he received the ECPA Kenneth N. Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
Steven B. Cowan (M.Div.; Ph.D.) is associate professor of Philosophy and Apologetics at Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham, AL.
William Lane Craig (PhD, University of Birmingham, England) is research professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University and lives in Marietta, GA.
Gary Habermas (PhD, Michigan State University) is distinguished professor and chair of the department of philosophy and director of the MA program in apologetics at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Paul D. Feinberg, (ThD, Dallas Theological Seminary) was professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
