Mere Apologetics: How To Help Seekers And Skeptics Find Faith

Alister McGrath put together a concise (only 185 pages) manual on apologetics. He calls it “an introduction to apologetics” (p.11). In this book, Alister seeks to introduce readers to the leading themes of apologetics, while not attempting to be a comprehensive work on the topic. His intent seems to be to inspire people to embrace the intellectual, moral, and imaginative depth of the Christian faith, and to be equipped to share it with others. This manual of apologetics was a thorough run-through of apologetics generally. It gives an introduction, a theological basis, and a journey through various approaches to engagement. Although the book does not claim to be comprehensive, I would say that the book does a thorough job. The author covers various aspects of apologetics in a balanced manner. He approaches the matter topically. The book begins in chapter 1 with definitions. He defines apologetics, and lays out a pattern for “defending,” “commending,” and “translating,” as the process to communicate the faith to others. Defending and commending are simple enough, but by translating, he means that we need to take religious terminology and make it plain for the hearer to understand. This chapter continues by laying out the connection of apologetics with evangelism. Then he ends with a small section on the limitation of apologetics. In chapter 2, he moves on to cultural implications. Specifically, he explains my newest favorite topic, the intersection of modernity and postmodernity in our culture. He takes the stance that neither modernity nor postmodernity are the “right” way to view the world. Rather, these are cultures that need to be addressed in culturally appropriate ways. He clarifies “In this book, I will neither defend nor criticize either modernity or postmodernity. I will simply take them as cultural ‘givens’” (p.31). He then lays out some tactics for engaging those who have a postmodern worldview, which McGrath calls a “cultural mood” (p.34). He exhorts believers that a life well lived is a valid apologetic, in addition to robust intellectual arguments. Chapter 3 lays out a theological basis for apologetics. Here he explains using the scriptures various approaches depending on the audience. He emphasizes the “come and see” approach. Which calls people to come and meet Jesus. He explains this by saying, “Faith is not about a mere change of mind; it is about personal transformation through an encounter with the living God.” (p.45). This chapter also has an interesting take on models of the atonement (p.48-54). He explains that each of the various models of the atonement “has particular relevance to certain groups of people” (p.45). It is fascinating that he did not make a case for a particular model (ie. Christus Victor, Penal Substitution, Moral Influence, etc). Rather he shows that the cross can, in a sense, heal whatever ails you. He takes us to various interactions in the book of Acts, in chapter 4. What he does here, is show that the approach needs to be aimed at the people to whom you are speaking. Then chapter 5 takes us to a defense of the reasonableness of the Christian faith. He does not assert that reason alone is sufficient, but quoting Austin Farrer he says, “Though argument does not create conviction, lack of it destroys belief.” (p.79). In chapter 6, he gives us eight “pointers to faith.” These are eight approaches to apologetic engagement, which can be used cumulatively, or as jumping-off points for apologetic conversations. Here he looks at creation, fine-tuning of the universe, order of the physical world, morality, innate desire for God, beauty, relationality, and eternity (which he calls the intuition of hope). He goes on in chapter 7 to show four gateways to apologetics. These are various ways we can approach people, explanation, argument, stories, and images. Each person is unique and “we need to adapt our apologetics to our audiences,” (p.128) says McGrath. Here he pushes forward his case for approaching the postmodern world in a way that they can receive the truth of the gospel, most notably with stories and images. He lays out a case that for many centuries before the Enlightenment, people were able to grasp Truth by and through the telling and hearing of stories. He includes biblical narratives, Jesus' parables, and our own stories as ways to reach people. He also says, “the way in which Christians embody their faith can serve an important apologetic function.” (p.154). In chapter 8 he works through two case studies of apologetic issues. One is “why does God allow suffering,” and the other is “God as a crutch.” He begins by laying down some ground rules for engaging people, 1) Be gracious 2) What is the real question? 3) Don’t give prepackaged answers to honest questions and 4) Appreciate the importance of learning from other apologists. He concludes with Chapter 9 as a short exhortation to develop your own style of apologetics. He emphasizes learning from others and practicing. Then the reader is challenged to continue their study of these issues, for more growth. Moving on the critique the book, I must first say that it was an enjoyment to read. It contained much information that was not new to me, regarding the basics of apologetics. Although, the topics are well worded and addressed in ways that helped me to grasp them at a deeper level. Furthermore, he engages postmodern thought with the gospel, without castigating it as somehow worse than modernism. This is a current idea that I have been delighted to engage in. His handling of the topic was delightful and faithful to the gospel. I enjoyed it. The book did well what it set out to do, which was to give a hearty introduction to apologetics. The book did not have one main argument that the author sought to develop throughout. Rather the case was multifaceted, including an explanation for apologetics and a theological and cultural argument for apologetics. Furthermore, he then lays out his apologetic itself, with his multiple approaches. He also gives instructions on how to do apologetics. His argument, therefore, is multi-faceted. His defense of apologetics was well stated and convincing, and this was not a new argument for me. Furthermore, his case for using “whole person” approaches, especially in engaging those who have a postmodern mindset or worldview, was well done. He did not undermine truth or its value. His main argument was to lay forth the truth in a way that they can receive it. When going through the book of Acts, he extracted principles from three accounts. These were helpful and distilled the Bible’s overall depiction of apologetics well. I loved his eight “Pointers to Faith.” They laid out a cumulative case for faith and were sufficiently stated. Finally, his exhortations to the reader to develop their own apologetic were moving, and exciting when I think of others who will read this book and be challenged to do the same. From this book, I received a renewed inspiration as to the validity of apologetics, especially in evangelism. Moreover, I love the addition of a “lived apologetic” in addition to rational thoughts and ideas for faith, morality, God, etc. This is a huge burden of mine, this three-fold approach to apologetics. First, the people of God would have answers to the deep questions in their own hearts. Second, they would have answers when seekers come asking for answers to their questions. And finally, that the saints of God would live lives that decorate the gospel of God (see Philippians 1:27). I recommend this book, to those who know apologetics well, as well as to those who want an entry-level run through of apologetics at various levels.

The nature, outline and purpose of McGrath's newest contribution, Mere Apologetics ("MA"), is best captured in a footnote in Chapter 6 whereby he borrows from American poet Edna Millay who spoke of a "`meteoric shower of facts' raining from the sky. These facts are like threads that need to be woven into a tapestry, clues that need to be assembled to disclose the big picture . . . we are overwhelmed with information, but cannot make sense of the `shower of facts' with which we are bombarded. There seems to be `no loom to weave it into fabric.' We need a way of making sense of this shower of information. Christianity gives us a way of bringing order and intelligibility to our many and complex observations of the natural world, human history, and personal experience. It allows us to integrate them and see them as interconnected aspects of a greater whole" (page 93). McGrath lays out the same purpose in MA on page 11, and the second paragraph rehearses what is laid out above. Even his conclusion alludes to the tapestry.Like McGrath's spectacular onslaught of rich, insightful and (many) true statements about the Christian worldview, this book reads more like a book written by Dallas Willard--it is not the number of pages that makes the book slow to read--it is the depth and richness packed in every paragraph.This is not a book on apologetics, although some creative "existential apologetic arguments (called "threads") are certainly unpacked--and some may may complain that McGrath pays too much homage to the impact and utility of post-modernity, but McGrath does dissect the bad from the usable aspects of postmodernism. The focus here being on story-telling and the alleged equal footing of all metanarratives--so there is some room for argument--but this is not the place or time given the scope of the book. Moreover, it is not a book on meta-apologetics (I highly recommend Kenneth Boa's `Faith Has Its Reasons.' There is also a book by James Beilby, `Thinking About Christian Apologetics' which I have not have had the pleasure of reading but somewhat appears to be similar to McGrath's present book).Rather, like the footnote above, MA is a book about the historic, existential, biblical, theological and philosophical reasons regarding the importance of apologetics taken in conjunction with other ministries such as evangelism, and using apologetics in this present clash of orthodoxies, or clash of worldviews.[As a side note which you are welcome to ignore, for those uninitiated in these matters, apologetics, in general, can be misleading as the days of reading oversimplified books about Aquinas 5-ways or Cartesian arguments for the existence of the soul have long been updated, revised, and made into specialties, such as a branch of apologetics that deals with the logical existence of God's existence, handled by the Doctrine of God and philosophical theology. Such training and reading can propel one into issues such as God's eternal nature subsequent to creation (timeless or temporal), or God and the existence of abstract objects--very overwhelming issues for the initiated. Please do not respond to these two issues in your comment as this is only collaterally related to the book. Higher-level apologetics finds itself attached to in-depth natural theology, and the sheer number of a `meteoric shower of facts' that lay at the fingertips of our generation (the church and its institutions), and can leave one confused, apathetic, disconcerted, or diplomatic. Moreover, anything but the use of apologetics as a loom to thread together a tapestry of facts reveals a tapestry and pattern of the Cross)].Getting back to the book, there is 9 chapters to MA are self-explanatory and laid out as follows: I will fill-in the major themes subsequent to the following:1. Getting Started: What is Apologetics2. Apologetics and Contemporary Culture: From Modernity to Postmodernity3. The Theological Basis of Apologetics4. The Importance of the Audience: Possibilities and Issues5. The Reasonableness of the Christian Faith6. Pointers to Faith: Approaches to Apologetic Engagement7. Gateways for Apologetics8. Questions about Faith: Developing Approaches9. ConclusionBecause of the richness of the chapters, I will provide a chronological commentary and briefly review of each section primarily because of the depth. However, there may be a directionality that could be quickly gleaned over less anyone miss McGrath's major points. Again, the only problem for some readers may be the lack of a well-deserved critique of postmodernism. Any budding or practicing apologist for the past 10+ years, including readers and teachers that care about balanced and creative approaches in reaching our youth should embrace this book. What follows are merely the high points from each chapter.Chapter 1 is a standard historical perspective of apologetics, why we engage in apologetics, the important fact that we are all biblically called to engage in apologetics. That is, you are an apologist but you may be real horrible in executing this biblical mandate because you have failed to exercise the spiritual discipline of study, and McGrath does well to emphasize that this is a battlefield, and apologetics is a discipleship of the mind--not mere memory of facts such as in a Trivial Pursuit game. McGrath displays wisdom in assuming an eclectic meta-apologetic. He is inspired and borrows from Schaeffer, CS Lewis, William Lane Craig, and Ravi Zacharias. McGrath provides "clues" as to how we ought to frame questions and he leans towards an existential approach in MA. Moreover, McGrath is quick to point out the contextual issue that every person is different, let alone every culture, so "we must learn the language of our audience" (page 20). Numerous reasons as to why we engage in apologetics are laid out, and McGrath ends by summarizing the following purposes of apologetics:1. Identify and respond to objections or difficulties concerning the gospel, and helping to overcome these barriers of faith.2. Communicating the excitement and wonder of the Christian faith, so that its potential to transform the human situation can be appreciated.3. Translating the core ideas of the Christian faith into language that makes sense to outsiders.Chapter 2 takes off the theme of knowing your audience, listening, and basic contextualization. It is here that we hear of the rise or modernity and postmodernity, and the importance of one aspect of postmodernism, which is basically the emphasis on the private, first-person introspective awareness and story-telling. This is problematic in a "naked public square" lacking any epistemic or moral compass, but McGrath plows through regardless of the postmodern references. Again, there is a point to McGrath's arguments, but the reader may not have too much charity for this particular theme. As J.P. Moreland once stated, "do I need to be a postmodernist in order to know the value of story-telling?" There is not much more to speak about regarding this chapter.Chapter 3 is about the realization of the answers we can provide to people's questions and concerns, and of the "theological" basis for engaging in apologetics. Again, each paragraph is rich and full so I leave much up to the imagination to the reader. It is here that the utility of apologetics is shown side-by-side with other ministries such as teaching and evangelism. There are fantastic analogies that can be used by teachers at churches and colleges if they decide to use this book as a compliment to primary readings, including natural theology and philosophical theism. Aside from the theological utility, McGrath uses this chapter to unpack possible (and existential) arguments regarding the death and resurrection of Christ.Chapter 4 highlights the importance of one's audience, and listening. There are some wonderful and historical tidbits about the apostle Paul, and McGrath trifurcates preaching to Jews, Greeks and Romans (not to mention the every day individual). According to McGrath, "the gospel proclamation must be receptor-oriented" (page 57). McGrath uses Paul's idea of "adoption" as a powerful image of redemption, and he uses the concept of "images" as images taken from the Christian worldview can be used to tap into the hearts of unbelievers, such as statements like `too much pleasure leads to emptiness.' Why? McGrath switches to older and modern audiences to make his points, which are laid out as (1) addressing the specific audience; (2) identifying the authorities that carry weight with the audience (e.g., biologists, physicists); and, (3) the importance to use lines of argument that will carry weight with the audience.Chapters 5 and 6 are the heart of MA as there are many inspirational quotations to make multiple points, such as CS Lewis' famous statement that "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything" (page 71). Chapter 5 talks about the reasonableness of the Christian Faith contrary to Richard Dawkins' (et seq.) assertion that "faith is about running away from evidence." I will leave it to the reader to locate relevant defeaters to Dawkins sophomoric statements that are an insult to village atheism (just ask Paul Kurtz). McGrath focuses on the nature of proof, scientific, spiritual and philosophic, and the reader may also take McGrath to task on these issues for the simple reason that he chooses to stay on task and not expand too much on issues that are prone to undermine one's project. (For the inquisitive, read Robert Spitzer's book `New Proofs for the Existence of God' for supplemental information on the issue of proof--it is an amazing book). It is also within these 2 chapters we receive the heart of McGrath's tapestry, which is a visual concept that should be utilized in every institutional church and ministry.Page 132 has a summary of traditional arguments for God's existence touched upon throughout both chapters, but McGrath's real strong point here is his emphasis on the existential and creative (common ground) arguments meant for differing individuals as we are to be all things to all men. It is here that McGrath lays out existential clues with direction, and this clues, which can be derived from nature, begins to take on the image of a thread. Gather enough clues, and with the right "loom," a picture of the cross and the Christian worldview begin to emerge as a "tapestry." Chapter 5 is about the capacity of the Christian faith to make sense of things. McGrath has more to say about the nature of proof, scientific and philosophic (and one can derive more in depth information from his other writings).Chapter 6 unpacks the "tapestry" image better than any other in the book, and it is here that he teaches the budding apologists about clues ("threads") within our hearts, our actions, thoughts and nature, which are common to all mankind. Following Dallas Willard, faith is only opposed to sight, not reason. We are reminded that Christians are not being asked to take things on blind trust, which is broadly logically impossible, psychologically speaking. This is where McGrath's book provides tools for the reader to think. For example, take the statement prior to the previous statement as a result of my own doing. As a result of reading McGrath's book, I look at words such as "taking," "things," and "trust." As Christians we turn our beliefs into knowledge because our beliefs may be wrong. And, trust is having reason(s) in what I believe to be true--a mantra I borrow from J.P. Moreland--and faith as such a trust, which makes faith (faith a specific type) as based on reason--not running from reason. This personal exercise is a direct consequence of reading about "clues" and thinking about pointers to faith throughout McGrath's book.Chapter 7 explores the issue of the simplest ways someone can engage in Christian apologetics, and McGrath uses four "gateways" for purposes of such an engagement. The first is "explanation," or simply removing obstacles to Christianity--a major purpose of apologetics. The second gateway is through "argument" and McGrath quickly lays out 4 which are the argument from design, the argument from origination (i.e., did the universe begin to exist), the argument from coherence (i.e., does Christianity make sense of the world), and the argument from the ontological foundation for morality. We are provided some historical approaches to these questions through the likes of Schaeffer and C.S. Lewis. The third gateway is through "stories" which is where we address the ultimate questions of life, and the final gateway is the use of "images." Here, one can think of adoption as was spoken of above. Films, poetry and works of art are major vehicles for these images.Chapter 8 is about developing a manner in which to engage apologetically. McGrath provides us the biblical parameters in which we engage and speak with others, and provides theological meat to the importance of being gracious, getting to the real question (i.e., listening), straying from prepackaged responses, and learn from watching videos of other apologists. McGrath ends the chapter by using two real life examples taken from his talks to non-Christian audiences and provides the reader an application of the parameters laid out above. Chapter 9 is a small conclusion.I am presently reading numerous other books, but wanted to take time and provide a review of McGrath's book because, unlike the others, it is somewhat difficult to put down. It will not be difficult for some to see a few holes here and there, but this is a small book and not meant to be exhaustive. I believe it would make a great addendum to any book on apologetics for church and college teachers. I am now reading James Beilby's new book, which is actually written for the classroom. Until I am finished, I recommend McGrath's book for seasoned veterans of apologetics, Christian philosophers, teachers and beginners. We should cast away our theological inclinations if they are contrary to McGrath--like my own--and allows ourselves to learn from a very Spirit-filled and intelligent teacher.

I enjoyed the reading of this book. I appreciate the way the author prods the reader to explore their own personal understanding to life’s difficult questions. His materials were helpful in setting the stage to the search of my own answers. He does not give easy answers but rather suggests other ways of looking at the issues. He has given me a desire to fashion the response that will be both meaningful and satisfying to me. It was a good read!

This book has definitely given me food for thought. It's very well written, setting out various styles of apologetics and explains how to construct & pitch answers suitable to your audience and where they're coming from.My only criticism would be that much of the book is quite "wordy" and meant I had to re-read certain passages to grasp the meaning. I also needed to look a few words up but maybe that shows more about me than the book!I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn more about the art and science of Christian apologetics.

A great book which really helped me dig deeper into the reasoning of my faith, it helped me construct and think about how authentically share my beliefs and the important things to consider.

As always with Alister McGrath he sets out with a clear vision of what he wants to say and does it well. Lots of useful pointers for any preacher, outreach worker, evangelist or in fact anyone who regularly shares matters of faith or gets into discussion with others about Christianity. Buy it!

Thank you first class service great condition

Informed, inspiring, easy to read, exceptional responses and a great overview to 2000 years of apologetics and who best to use them today.