Apologetics for the Twenty-First Century
271 pages, $17.99 (paperback), ISBN-13: 978-1-4335-1448-7
When you study the evidence for the existence of God, there are certain scholars and writers whose names come up again and again. These include C.S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, Francis Schaeffer, Josh McDowell, William Dembinski, Dinesh D'Sousa, Norman Geisler, Michael Behe, F. F. Bruce, Gary Habermas, Phillip Johnson, Alvin Plantinga, John Stott, Lee Strobel, and Ravi Zacharias. This book analyzes all of these as well as their rebuttals of atheists like Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens.
The book is divided into two sections. The first is titled “The Legacy of Lewis and Chesterton.” This section traces the history of the work of Lewis, Chesterton, Sayers, and Schaeffer, and ends with Josh McDowell. The second section is titled “Making the Case for Faith in a (Post) Modern World.” Markos takes the challenges of the new atheists and shows the work of modern apologists in answering those challenges. There are good explanations of Intelligent Design proponents, and answers to Hume, Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris by apologetic scholars.
Markos writes clearly and explains things well. There is a great deal of philosophy in the book, but it is not so abstract as to detract from the answers it gives. Issues like human suffering, the validity of Christ as God in the flesh, the Da Vinci Code, Gnosticism, and why Christianity is the only way to God are all included in the book. There is a series of useful appendices which include a timeline of apologetics starting in 1908, a glossary, a “Who's Who of Apologetics,” an annotated bibliography, and a list of websites.
We recommend this book to the serious student of apologetics. It will be helpful to anyone who is teaching classes on the evidence for the existence of God, and it will be helpful to workers on state university campuses. For the average reader in the pew, it will be a book to read carefully. Reading it will build anyone's faith and help them to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).