A friend recently reached out to say that he’s preparing to teach a course on Christian apologetics at his church. He asked me to suggest key books and articles to help him prepare.

Here’s the list I shared with him.

General Apologetics

1. Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions (Kreeft and Tacelli)
2. Faith and Reason: Searching for a Rational Faith (Ronald Nash)
3. New Dictionary of Apologetics (Campbell-Jack et. al., editors)
4. Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (Groothuis)

Faith, Reason & Science

1. Faith & Reason: Searching for a Rational Faith (Ronald Nash)
2. “Reason and Belief in God” (Alvin Plantinga, in Faith and Rationality)
3. Warranted Christian Belief (Alvin Plantinga)
4. “Introduction to Dogmatics,” especially pages “Is Theology a Science?” (38-40) and “Theology and Faith” (40-46) in Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 1 (Herman Bavinck)
5. Philosophy of Revelation (Herman Bavinck)
6. Epistemology: Becoming Intellectually Virtuous (Jay Wood)

Miracles & the Resurrection of Christ

1. Miracles (C. S. Lewis)
2. “The Resurrection of Jesus” in Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (William Lane Craig)

The Integrity and Reliability of the Bible

1. The Journey from Texts to Translations: The Origin and Development of the Bible
2. Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible (Meade & Gurry)
3. Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? (Hoffmeier & Magary, editors)
4. Various articles in Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions (Kreeft and Tacelli) and New Dictionary of Apologetics (Campbell-Jack et. al., editors)

Critical Theories and Origins

1. Reason in the Balance Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law & Education (Phillip E. Johnson)
2. Darwin on Trial (Phillip E. Johnson)
3. Biblical Critical Theory (Chris Watkin)

Religious Pluralism and Truth Claims

1. Encountering Religious Pluralism: The Challenge to Christian Faith Mission (Harold Netland)
2. Dissonant Voices: Religious Pluralism & the Question of Truth (Harold Netland)

The Problem of Evil

1. “The Problem of Evil” (Part 4 of Faith and Reason: Searching for a Rational Faith by Ronald Nash)
2. The Problem of Pain (C. S. Lewis)
3. “Rebellion” and “The Grand Inquisitor” (chapters in The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Books that Commend the Christian Faith

Most of the books above are written for people who are interested in Christian apologetics as a branch of study. The following books are especially suited for addressing people who may not be interested in apologetics, but who do want to discover whether Christianity is a trustworthy faith.

1. Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion  (Rebecca McLaughlin)
2. Mere Christianity (C. S. Lewis)
3. Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (Tim Keller)
4. Basic Christianity (John Stott)