Books, Viola!

I promised those who attended last night’s second session on Atheism, Agnosticism, and Theism that I would have in hand some books I would recommend on the topic. I produced nada! So it is with utmost apology that I produce this list today. Some of these I have read, others I have read in part, one I just found. All of them I recommend because they make the case that at least theism, and most of them that Christianity, are reasonable positions to hold.

Contend, a Survey of Christian Apologetics on a High School Level by Jason Dollar and Bradley Pinkerton. I know, I know, it says “on a high school level”, but let’s be honest for a moment. Most of us haven’t read a book since high school and furthermore, when it comes to this topic “a high school level” may be a good place to start.

Thinking About God, First Steps in Philosophy by Gregory E. Ganssle.

A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism by Gregory E. Ganssle. I don’t own this one “yet”, as a matter of fact I just stumbled across it. If it mirrors Thinking About God in that Ganssle takes a heady topic and makes it highly readable, then I would say go for it. Nikki P. will probably beat us all to the end of this one, so Nikki, let us know.

The Case for Faith, A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity, by Lee Strobel.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. THIS ONE IS A MUST! It is in some respects the standard.

There is A God, How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind by Anthony Flew.

Christian Apologetics by Norman L. Geisler

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be An Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek

When Skeptics Ask, A Handbook of Christian Evidences by Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks. This one is now a bit dated, but I still use it and enjoy it.

Simply Christian by N.T. Wright. I have read many reviews that regard Simply Christian as the modern version of Mere Christianity. I can see where someone may make that case, both are similar in that they pull from natural theology. At the same time there are enough differences in the two that I would recommend both. N.T. Wright is such a good writer it is hard not to like his books even if you don’t agree with everything he says. Personally, I am a fan.

The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine by Alister E. McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath. If you have read anything Dawkins or Dennett, you must read McGrath and McGrath. I have read both sides of the aisle. McGrath and McGrath win. Yet, let’s be honest. If I did not think McGrath x 2 won the debate I probably would not be a Christian pastor and the title of my blog would change to “Feel My Loss of Faith.”

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins. I recommend this knowing that there will be some who scorn my decision. Yet I must say that this book rocked my world. For too long Christians have handed over the keys of science to atheists mistakenly assuming that if evolution is proven true then there is no God. Collins espouses theistic evolution, the idea that God used the vehicle of evolution to “create” the world. This book was very freeing to me personally as I held a secret fear of the next scientific announcement. Collins helped me to realize that evolution, even if it were true, does not have the ability to disprove God, and as such it does not have the needed capital to support atheism. Since science seems to be atheism’s holy scripture, taking evolution out of their court is a radical move in the right direction.