Kregel Apologetics Collection (17 vols.)

by Gary P. Stewart; William R. Cutrer; Timothy J. Demy; Dónal P. O’Mathúna

and

16 more

Publisher:

Kregel

, 1997–2013

Overview

Western culture is more diverse than ever, and the resources in this collection equip you to engage with people from a variety of religious, philosophical, and theological perspectives. Interact with arguments made by the “new atheists,” and see how their claims hold up against rational Christian responses. Try out a new evangelism method—one based not on manipulative sales pitches but genuine questions and caring interaction. Familiarize yourself with Mormon beliefs and compare them to historical, orthodox Christianity. With resources on creating rational arguments, engaging with a pluralistic culture, and evangelism, this collection presents apologetic methods designed for the unique challenges of the twenty-first century West.

Key Features

• Equips readers to engage with people from a variety of religious beliefs
• Includes resources on interacting with Mormons, atheists, and more
• Presents apologetic methods suited to the pluralistic West
• Provides answers to questions on Jesus, heaven and eternity, angels and demons, and the end times

Product Details

• Title: Kregel Apologetics Collection
• Publisher: Kregel
• Volumes: 17
• Pages: 3,151
• Resource Type: Topical
• Topic: Apologetics

A Visual Defense: The Case for and against Christianity

• Author: Robert Velarde
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 240

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

A logical argument contains premises, objections, conclusions, and rebuttals. Yet when it comes to arguments defending the Bible and faith, too often people defer to assumptions rather than logical analysis. It may be that they don’t fully understand what they believe or that they have never been shown how to explain their beliefs.

Robert Velarde has developed an accessible means for visually mapping apologetics. In A Visual Defense, he shows that visual representations of arguments are not only useful critical thinking tools, but also can help Christians understand how arguments flow. After a discussion of why apologetics is necessary and how argument diagrams can help, Velarde gives readers specific arguments for and against God and Christianity so they can put their mapping skills into practice.

Faith and reason are related. When armed with a solid analytical strategy and biblical knowledge, Christians can be equipped to tackle any challenge of faith. Christians can both make a robust, positive case for truth and demonstrate that the Christian faith can withstand the most difficult intellectual attacks.

Robert Velarde is the author of The Heart of Narnia, Inside the Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Bible.

Answering Mormons’ Questions

• Authors: Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson
• Edition: Updated and Expanded
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 336

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints currently boasts millions of members, thousands of missionaries, and congregations on every continent as well as in the vast majority of the world’s countries. It’s clear that their influence is still growing in our communities, places of business, and in the political arena. It’s also clear that Christians need to be prepared to answer questions from Mormon friends, neighbors, coworkers, and fellow believers.

With more than six decades of combined experience, the authors tackle such tough questions as: Why don’t you accept Mormons as Christians? Do you believe Mormonism is a cult? If the LDS church is not true, which church is? How can you explain the many contradictions found throughout the Bible?

After offering analysis and responses to these and other questions, McKeever and Johnson provide helpful appendices that summarize Mormon beliefs, provide 101 Bible references to use in conversation, and expose common logical fallacies. Originally published in the 1980s, this volume has been a classic resource to help Christians become more successful in sharing their faith with Mormons.

Bill McKeever is a Christian apologist specializing in the differences between Mormonism and Christianity. He is the founder of Mormonism Research Ministry and is the author of Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-Day Saints and Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friend: Effective Ways to Challenge a Mormon’s Argument without Being Offensive.

Eric Johnson is a Christian apologist speciailizing in equipping the church to respond to the claims of Mormonism. He is the associate editor of Apologetics Study Bible for Students and is a regular contributor to the Christian Research Journal.

Answers to Common Questions about Angels and Demons

• Authors: Timothy J. Demy and H. Wayne House
• Series: Common Questions
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 160

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Spiritual forces are very real, but often misinterpreted. In Answers to Common Question about Angels & Demons, authors H. Wayne House and Timothy J. Demy discuss such questions as:

• What are the differences between angels and humans?
• What is the origin of demons?
• What is the future of Satan?
• Do infants who die become angels?

H. Wayne House is distinguished professor of biblical studies and apologetics at Faith Seminary in Tacoma, Washington, and professor of law at Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, California. He is author or editor of more than 20 books, including Christian Ministries and the Law: Revised Edition, The Christian and American Law and Israel: The Land and the People.

Timothy J. Demy is a military chaplain and author of numerous books, including Basic Questions on Sexuality and Reproductive Technology: When is it Right to Intervene? He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Answers to Common Questions about Heaven & Eternity

• Authors: Timthoy J. Demy and Thomas Ice
• Series: Common Questions
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 128

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Heaven is very real, but often misinterpreted. In Answers to Common Question about Heaven & Eternity, authors Timothy Demy and Thomas Ice discuss such questions as:

• What will heaven be like?
• Does everyone go to heaven?
• What do other religions teach about heaven?

Timothy J. Demy is a military chaplain and author of numerous books, including Basic Questions on Sexuality and Reproductive Technology: When is it Right to Intervene? He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Thomas Ice is a former pastor and the executive director of the Pre-Trib Research Center located at Liberty University, where he also teaches the bible and theology. He is the author of What the Bible Teaches about Spiritual Warfare.

Answers to Common Questions about Jesus

• Authors: H. Wayne House and Timothy J. Demy
• Series: Common Questions
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 144

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Answers to Common Questions about Jesus explores the life and miracles of Christ by answering questions such as:

• Who were Jesus’ siblings?
• What languages did Jesus speak?
• Where was Jesus before His birth?
• Why did Jesus need to be baptized?
• Did Jesus really descend into hell?

H. Wayne House is distinguished professor of biblical studies and apologetics at Faith Seminary in Tacoma, Washington, and professor of law at Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, California. He is author or editor of more than 20 books, including Christian Ministries and the Law: Revised Edition, The Christian and American Law and Israel: The Land and the People.

Timothy J. Demy is a military chaplain and author of numerous books, including Basic Questions on Sexuality and Reproductive Technology: When is it Right to Intervene? He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Answers to Common Questions about the End Times

• Authors: Timothy J. Demy and Thomas Ice
• Series: Common Questions
• Publisher:Kregel
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 144

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Answers to Common Questions about the End Times explores what the Bible teaches about the end times by answering questions such as:

• What is the rapture?
• What is Armageddon?
• What is the relationship between Christ’s first and second comings?

Timothy J. Demy is a military chaplain and author of numerous books, including Basic Questions on Sexuality and Reproductive Technology: When is it Right to Intervene? He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Thomas Ice is a former pastor and the executive director of the Pre-Trib Research Center located at Liberty University, where he also teaches the bible and theology. He is the author of What the Bible Teaches about Spiritual Warfare.

Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine: What is Good and What is Not?

• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 96

People sometimes turn to alternative therapies after a negative or unsatisfying experience with the modern health-care system. This booklet examines various therapies and treatments and evaluates each from a professional and biblical perspective. It serves as a map to help steer people through the maze of alternative medicine so they can make confident choices about health care. Some of the practices examined in this work are:

• homeopathy
• biofeedback
• yoga
• acupuncture
• holistic medicine
• applied kinesiology
• chelation therapy
• meditation
• osteopathy
• chiropractic

Basic Questions on End of Life Decisions: How Do We Know What’s Right?

• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 89

The choices that we make throughout life are products of what we value. And the value we place on human life will determine the way we treat ourselves and other throughout the end-of-life process. Now, more than ever, Christians need to address the crucial questions pertaining to the end of life. Some of the questions answered in this work include:

• How do I adequately prepare for the dying process?
• Should I consider organ donation?
• How can I cope with suffering that God doesn’t relieve?
• Do I have a right to determine my medical treatment?
• If I remove life support, am I responsible for the death?

Basic Questions on Sexuality and Reproductive Technology: When is it Right to Intervene?

• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 77

Questions surrounding the issues of sexuality, reproduction, and infertility are some of the most personal and emotionally difficult questions that couples face. A bewildering array of modern technologies, however, challenges our most deeply held traditions concerning childbearing and parenting. Some of the questions answered in this work include:

• Is it okay for me to use a donor’s egg or sperm?
• What about surrogate motherhood?
• What are the legal issues with reproductive technology?
• Is it okay to use any form of birth control?
• What about human cloning?

Basic Questions on Suicide and Euthanasia

• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 80

Many in our society champion suicide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia as acceptable answers to intractable physical and emotional problems. There are alternatives to this contemporary "culture of death," however, that uphold the sanctity of human life and seek to meet the problems of fear, pain, and despair with compassion and dignity. Some questions answered in this work include:

• How do active and passive euthanasia differ?
• Do I have a "right to die"?
• Is suicide the unpardonable sin?
• Why hasn’t Dr. Kevorkian been convicted of a crime?
• What should I do if I feel suicidal?

Christianity on the Offense

• Author: Dan Story
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 191

What is Truth? In an age of cultural relativism, how does one defend his or her Christian faith? Theologian and Christian apologist Dan Story shows the reader how most arguments against Christianity can be answered by ordinary Christians. Story provides powerful evidence for the uniqueness of Christianity.

Today’s relativistic culture says that all paths lead to the same mountaintop, that dozens of religions and secular philosophies are all equally legitimate (or equally fraudulent, depending on the critic). Is there such a thing as absolute truth by which religious truth-claims can be tested? How does a person defend his or her Christian faith as the only path to the "mountaintop"?

Author and Christian apologist Dan Story confirms the validity and necessity of absolute truth and shows the reader that any Christian can learn how to defend his or her faith. By understanding non-Christian worldviews, believers will know how to respond to critical arguments. The author encourages the reader with the fact that Christianity is unique among the world religions. The Christian faith rests on a firm foundation of objective facts that can be tested and verified.

In a society that has become increasingly antagonistic toward those who do not rally around the banner of tolerance, this book will encourage the reader to stand firm in the Christian faith.

Dan Story received his BA in theology from San Diego Bible College and Seminary and his MA in Christian apologetics from Simon Greenleaf University. He is the author of Engaging the Closed Minded, Christianity on the Offense, Defending Your Faith and more than fifteen apologetics booklets.

Defending Your Faith

• Author: Dan Story
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 1997
• Pages: 234

This book answers the most common questions raised by unbelievers and by young people exploring their faith. This book answers the most common questions and issues raised by non-Christians and by young people exploring their own faith or wanting to answer the questions of their skeptical friends. It simplifies scholarly apologetic material without being simplistic. Some of the seventeen questions answered are: How do we know God exists? Why is there evil and suffering in the world? Is God an environmentalist? Why don’t Christians practice what they preach?

Whether you want to grow in your own understanding of truth or need trustworthy responses to the questions of friends, Dan Story has the answers. Some of the many questions discussed are:

• How do I know that God exists?
• Can I trust the Bible?
• Why is there evil and suffering in the world?
• Is God an environmentalist?
• Are the Bible and science in conflict?

Defending Your Faith is designed to help Christians see that Christianity is a reasonable and intelligent faith grounded on objective, verifiable evidence. It will also enable readers to share these answers with family, friends, and coworkers who have questions about Christianity. Dan Story will challenge you to share your faith with others while knowing that you are not alone as you witness for Christ.

It is apologetics that needs no apology." 

—R.C. Sproul

This may be the most important apologetics book for lay readers since Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict.

—Elliot Miller, Editor-in-Chief, Christian Research Journal

Dan Story received his BA in theology from San Diego Bible College and Seminary and his MA in Christian apologetics from Simon Greenleaf University. He is the author of Engaging the Closed Minded, Christianity on the Offense, Defending Your Faith and more than fifteen apologetics booklets.

Engaging the Closed Minded

• Author: Dan Story
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 1999
• Pages: 112

A practical guide for engaging those who profess to be confirmed nonbelievers. The author addresses many of the positions people take and demonstrates how to open up meaningful dialogue and identify the basic obstacles to an honest discussion of faith.

You know them: friends and coworkers, family members you love. They aren’t interested in the Bible or Jesus. Period.

Author Dan Story tackles one of the most difficult problems you may ever face in sharing your faith—engaging minds that are tightly closed against the good news of Jesus Christ. Some people may talk about religion—for the sake of a good argument—but they don’t really listen to what you are saying with an open mind.

Tough situations like these demand more than good intentions—they require insight into the thinking and attitudes of people who have shut themselves off from the truth. Engaging the Closed Minded not only provides principles that work but shows how to use them in real-life conversations and situations. You will learn:

• How to get a fair hearing in discussions
• How to respond to misconceptions about Christianity
• How to identify obstacles to faith that surface during conversations
• How to address non-Christian worldviews and beliefs
• How to reason persuasively and logically
• How to establish a point of contact as a springboard

Engaging the Closed Minded not only provides principles that work but shows how to use them in real-life conversations and situations.

—Covenant Communicator

The seven chapters in this short book are packed with helps for the believer in giving a defense of the faith.

—Douglas M. Cecil, Bibliotheca Sacra

Every Christian serious about evangelism should add this tactical book to their apologetics library. This is one of the best ‘how to’ apologetics books in print today.

—Dr. Frank Harber, Professor of Evangelism
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Dan Story received his BA in theology from San Diego Bible College and Seminary and his MA in Christian apologetics from Simon Greenleaf University. He is the author of Engaging the Closed Minded, Christianity on the Offense, Defending Your Faith and more than fifteen apologetics booklets.

Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did

• Author: Randy Newman
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 272

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

This is a much-needed look at sharing Christ with unbelievers, based not on guerrilla hard-sell tactics, but on engaging questions and caring interaction. Filled with humor and stories, this book provides a challenging yet encouraging look at evangelism in our world today. It argues that asking questions and starting meaningful conversations is a far better method for sharing faith than prepared lectures or statements. It gives advice on what people need to hear in response to the world around them.

Questioning Evangelism is the most insightful, illuminating and heartening book I’ve read on the subject in the last 10 years.

—Barry Cooper, contributor, The Briefing

Randy Newman is a minister with Campus Crusade for Christ and is the author of Corner Conversations: Engaging Dialogues about God and Life and Bringing the Gospel Home: Witnessing to Family Members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well.

Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss the Real Jesus and Mislead Popular Culture

• Authors: J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 352

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Reinventing Jesus cuts through the rhetoric of extreme doubt to reveal the profound credibility of historic Christianity. Meticulously researched yet eminently readable, this book invites a wide audience to take a firsthand look at the primary evidence for Christianity’s origins.

J. Ed Komoszewski is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ.

M. James Sawyer has taught theology, church history, and historical theology for nearly 30 years. He is professor of theology at Pacific Islands Evangelical Seminary in Guam and is director of Sacred Saga ministries. He is the author of Survivor’s Guide to Theology.

Daniel B. Wallace is professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is a noted textual critic, head of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, and author of Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament, and New Testament Syntax (2 vols.).

The Diversity Culture: Creating Conversations of Faith with Buddhist Baristas, Agnostic Students, Aging Hipsters, Political Activists & Everyone in Between

• Author: Matthew Raley
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 176

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

A new culture is emerging—one of spiritual openness, moral flexibility, and social diversity. This diversity culture makes evangelicals uncomfortable, not because they feel threatened, but because they feel excluded. Writing from the perspective of a conservative evangelical, author Matthew Raley tackles the social tensions between evangelicals and the diversity culture. Drawing on analysis of contemporary media, ancient sources, and Scripture, The Diversity Culture examines cultural barriers and how they can be broken. This incisive and much-needed book gives believers the understanding and tools they need to cross socioeconomic, ethical, and ideological barriers and heal relationships in the name of Christ.

Matthew Raley is senior pastor of the Orland Evangelical Free Church in Northern California. He is the author of the novel Fallen.

True Reason: Confronting the Irrationality of the New Atheism

• Authors: Tom Gilson and Carson Weitnauer
• Publisher: Kregel
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 320

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Today’s “new atheists” proclaim themselves to be our culture’s party of reason. It is a claim they cannot sustain. Reason is the new atheists’ weakness, not their strength—and in fact, the Christian faith is a far better place to look for true reason.

In 16 carefully constructed essays by more than a dozen Christian thinkers including William Lane Craig, Sean McDowell, and Timothy McGrew, True Reason unmasks the frequent irrationality displayed by leading atheists like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. The authors go on to show the great extent to which the Christian faith has historically supported sound reasoning, and that Christian thinkers, past and present, have demonstrated real excellence in reasoned, rational thinking.

Contents

• “The Party of Reason?” by John Stonestreet
• “The Irony of Atheism,” by Carson Weitnauer
• “Dawkin’s Delusion,” by William Lane Craig
• “Richard Dawkin’s Illusions,” by Chuck Edwards
• “Unreason at the Head of Project Reason,” by Tom Gilson
• “John Loftus and the Insider-Outsider Test for Faith,” by David Marshall
• “Atheism and the Argument from Reason,” by Lenny Esposito
• “The Explanatory Emptiness of Naturalism,” by David Wood
• “Reason in a Christian Context,” by Peter Grice
• “The Marriage of Faith and Reason,” by David Marshall
• “Faith and Reason in Historical Perspective,” by David Marshall and Timothy McGrew
• “A Sun to See by—Christianity, Meaning, and Morality,” by Samuel J. Youngs
• “Are Science and Christianity at Odds?” by Sean McDowell
• “God and Science Do Mix,” by Tom Gilson
• “The Problem of Evil and Reasonable Christian Responses,” by John M. DePoe
• “Historical Evidences for the Gospels,” by Randall Hardman
• “Did God Command the Genocide of the Canaanites,” by Matthew Flannagan
• “Christianity and Slavery,” by Glenn Sunshine

Tom Gilson is the national field director for the student apologetics alliance Ratio Christi, and the author of numerous blogs, articles, and columns appearing on the web and in print. His articles have appeared in Discipleship Journal, Touchstone Magazine, and Salvo.

Carson Weitnauer is US director for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and president of the Christian Apologetics Alliance.