Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics
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THE IVP POCKET REFERENCE SERIES

POCKET HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS

PETER KREEFT and RONALD K. TACELLI

Academic

An imprint of InterVarsity Press

Downers Grove, Illinois

InterVarsity Press

P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426

World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com

Email: email@ivpress.com

©2003 by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at <www.intervarsity.org>.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This edition is abridged and revised from Handbook of Christian Apologetics, copyright 1994 by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple

ISBN 978-0-8308-2702-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kreeft, Peter.

Pocket handbook of Christian apologetics/ Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli.

p.cm

Rev. ed. of: Handbook of Christian apologetics. 1994.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8308-2702-1 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Apologetics. I. Tacelli, Ronald K. (Ronald Keith), 1947– II. Kreeft, Peter. Handbook of Christian apologetics. III. Title.

BT1103.K725 2003

239—dc21

2003006757

To Cyndi and Rich—

what more could a brother ask for?

To John Kreeft

who had a large role in shaping this book

and a larger role in shaping

one of its authors

Contents

1 Apologetics

2 Faith and Reason

3 Arguments for the Existence of God

4 The Nature of God

5 Creation and Evolution

6 Miracles

7 The Problem of Evil

8 The Divinity of Christ

9 The Resurrection

10 The Bible: Myth or History?

11 Life After Death

12 Heaven and Hell

13 Salvation

14 Christianity and Other Religions

15 Objective Truth

Conclusion: The Bottom Line

1

Apologetics

Be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15). Apologetics is the enterprise of obeying that command.

Reasons for Apologetics

Many people scorn apologetics because it seems very intellectual, abstract and rational. They contend that life and love and morality and sanctity are much more important than reason.

Those who reason this way are right; they just don’t notice that they are reasoning. We can’t avoid reasoning; we can only avoid doing it well.

Further, reason is a friend to faith (see chapter two).

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About Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics

“Be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you,” wrote the apostle Peter. That is what apologetics is all about. Here is a concise, informative guide for anyone looking for answers to questions of faith and reason. Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli have condensed their popular Handbook of Christian Apologetics, summarizing the foremost arguments for major Christian teachings and offering compelling responses to the most common arguments put forward against Christianity. In this book, you’ll find answers to questions about faith and reason, the existence of God, creation and evolution, the reliability of the Bible, and life after death, among others. The Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics is the place to begin for people with questions about Christianity.

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