Understanding the Faith: A Survey of Christian Apologetics

Top Highlights

“What we’re shooting for in this book is what C. S. Lewis called mere Christianity: agreement on the nonnegotiable basics of the faith while exercising charity in the areas where we disagree.” (source)

“Flannery O’Connor said, ‘Truth does not change by our ability to stomach it emotionally.’” (source)

“Steven Pinker, a professor at Harvard University, defines faith as ‘believing something without good reasons to do so.’²¹ But this is far too simplistic if not downright misleading. Certainly, biblical faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8), and it involves trusting that God is who he says he is and will do all that he has promised to do.²² But biblical faith is based on knowledge, not blind obedience.” (source)

“What makes faith valid is not that we have it but that the object of our belief is actually worthy of belief. Theologian David Clark says, ‘Faith derives its value not from the intensity of the believer but from the genuineness of the one she believes in. True faith is faith in the right object; faith in an unfaithful person is worthless or worse.’” (source)

“The world is desperate for truth, but without knowing God’s Word, through which he reveals his nature and character, our attempts to communicate it will be nothing more than the offering of an opinion.” (source)