Reddit mentions: The best religious faith books

Coming as a reformed guy, the presuppositional approach is the school of thought most of us come from. The books in this tradition worth reading would be:

Defense of the Faith by Cornelius Van Til

He was the founder of the movement and this is an intro to his ideas. He was a philosopher and English wasn't his first language, so it might be a but dense in a few places. But it's worth the read.

Always Ready by Greg Bahnsen

Bahnsen was one of Van Til's best students and probably one of the best debaters of that method til his tragic death at 45. This is a really good intro to the theory and practice as he applies the method to popular questions including the problem of faith, miracles, and knowing the supernatural.

Apologetics to the Glory of God and Doctrine of the Knowledge of God by John Frame

Van Til's other best student who is also considered his best living expositor and friendliest critic. Apologetics to the Glory of God (AGG) is his attempt at making the method user friendly. He deals with evil, the existence of God and the reliability of the gospel and he even has a funny sample dialogue at the end showing how the method could be applied in real life. His other book, is the first in his Theology of Lordship Series covering in depth various topics. His Doctrine of the Knowledge of God is a theology of epistemology. That is, he looks at the Bible and asks, "What does it mean to "know" God?" TONS of Scripture. A brilliant book with great application at the end, especially in terms of apologetics.

The Francis A Schaeffer Trilogy by Francis Schaeffer

One of Van Til's most famous students (The only one to ever be on the cover of Time Magazine), he was a very influential voice in evangelicalism in the 60's and 70's. Van Til never felt Francis truly "got" his method, but the influence of Van Til on his work is pretty evident. Francis wrote these three books in order to be read together and they were developed as a result of his work in Europe working with college kids at his home called L'Abri They cover cultural trends in Europe and the US and why they were happening. He saw that the idea of truth was in decay and only God could truly be the anchor to hold society together. Broad brush strokes indeed, but philosopher Richard Taylor would make a very similar (but more detailed) case in his book A Secular Age. They aren't apologetics books (I would almost say prophetic as he saw many of our current cultural trends years before they happened), but they do have his approach to apologetics and it is one that has influenced many current evangelicals. To be honest, any of his many books would be worth your time. His book and documentary How Then Shall We Live, while a bit dated, are both worth your time. They both look at the history of art and what it tells us about mankind. Here's a clip from the documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdLejdyNpik

Every Thought Captive by Richard Pratt

One of Frame's students who took the method and wrote this book for High School/College age students. Great intro to the method. Lot's of scripture.

Reasons for Faith: Philosophy in the Service of Theology and Covenantal Apologetics by Scott Oliphint

He is currently teaching in Van Til's old position and has written a lot on the subject. The first book is just what it sounds like, it's a look at the role of reason in apologetics. The second book comes out next month and it is his explanation of the presuppositional method of apologetics. It's a highly anticipated book.

The Divine Challenge: On Matter Mind Math and Meaning by John Byl

A physicist, he uses the presup. approach while looking at the materialistic worldview. He deconstructs the view and shows that things like mind matter math and meaning can only make sense in a Christian worldview.

Religion, Reason, and Revelation by Gordon Clark

Clark was a one time friend of Van Til and later would become his rival-their students to this day keep the rivalry going! This is his own kind of presuppositionalism and well worth your time. His other works like The Christian View of Men and Things are a great intro to his approach.

Faith and Reason by Ronald Nash

A student of Clark's, he wrote this intro to philosophy of Religion with some great thoughts on worldviews.

A World of Difference by Kenneth Samples

A student of Nash's who looks at different tests of world views and show show Christianity can deal with all of them.

Articles

Van Til Info is run by Christian philosopher James Anderson and it has tons of articles from the presupp approach
http://www.vantil.info/bysubject.html

Monergism
Links to various writers and on the pressuppisitional method.
http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Apologetics/

Yeah, the counterpoints series is a GREAT introduction on each of the five major apologetic approaches.

Five Points

Return to Reason by Kelly James Clark is a fantastic book on the virtues and methodology of Reformed Epistomological apologetics

Return to Reason

If you've noticed my username, you'll see I'm a proponent of Presuppositional apologetics. For a great introduction to it, I recommend Matrix of the Atheist by James D. Lashley

Matrix of the Atheist

and for a more in depth review and understanding of both the negative (deconstruction of a non trinitarian worldview) and positive (construction of the trinitarian worldview) argumentation I reccomend Greg Bahnsen's book Always Ready

Always Ready

If you or anyone else who happens upon this and doesn't have the means to purchase either one of the presuppositional books, PM me with your address and I'll gladly have one or both shipped to you (though they may be used).

Hope you enjoy!

Get a Bible you would read. I like the RSV-CE, but you can also go with the Douay Rheims if you want archaic English or the NAB. Of the Bibles, the Navarre Bible (RSV) has commentary sections from Saints throughout the centuries. They have a single volume version of the New Testament that I use. (Also good, the Ignatius Study Bible, also New Testament only).

I recommend Thomas Howard's If Your Mind Wanders At Mass and Healing Through the Mass by Fr. Robert DeGrandis.

Get the Official Catechism of the Catholic Church, and get the helps put out by Ignatius Press (which contain the texts of all the footnotes). The Compendium is also good, if you want an abridgement.

For Philosophy, I recommend The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin. In that book he takes the writings of seven doctors of the Church and encapsulates them so that a layperson can follow them. You can use that as a springboard to discover your own readings about St. Augustine, St. John of the Cross, etc.

These are all affiliate links, but you do not have to use them.

Yes it is passive aggressive to pretend you both know me and know I seek 'truth' from some apologetic websight pretending to translate better than scholars because it fits their interpretations better.

Yes I have sought truth and no longer feel any need to question the stories in the bible or apologetic explanations of them. I am neither your friend nor your foe, just some dude on the internet. I would strongly suggest you research more than the bible or those who seek to support it with presuppositional logic.

Read about the origins of christianity how the bible has been altered before and after the ecumenical councils. Take some classes offered by people who do not believe, study the actual history.

I suggest reading this
>http://www.amazon.com/Losing-Faith-From-Preacher-Atheist/dp/187773313X

I thank you for your sacrifice.

On a related note, I'm trying to read Why Evolution is Not True specifically to address an acquaintance's statements regarding it - he thought it raised "good questions" and brought up things that showed that evolution is false. It's a $4 Kindle book, so I figured "Why not?"

I've only made it through rather lengthy introduction, so far, and the Amazon reviews were spot on: it's going to be a summary of every "creation science" book written in the last 20 years. The thing even has extensive references...all to "creation science" books. (The writing style, however, is very decent.)

Here's one for teens. It was one of a handful that popped up on Amazon when I searched for "plain english book of mormon." I've seen others as well. They seem to be relatively popular and I can already tell you they're all better written than JS Jr.'s version.

God is Not Great. Getting it out there, I think it's probably one of the more inevitable ones.

Losing Faith in Faith and Godless each by Dan Barker.

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett.

First ones that come to mind. I think a few theologians may be worth reading as well. Not sure what ones though. If Kent Hovind wrote a book, we could keep a facepalm count.

Just got into it myself, I am reading Always Ready: Directions fo Defending the Faith: Greg Bahnsen
you can see a lecture from Brahnsen here this all comes from Cornelius Van Til but they expand on it. There is also a full class worth of lectures here, I will give a full outline and references page once I fully wrap my head around it.

But this is quite a different school of thought than the evidential kind and I think Plantinga is trying to meld the two.

Consider being a Noachide (AKA Gentiles for Moses). The Torah is binding on every human without exception. If you're not Jewish, you're obligated to observe 7 Laws (six of them are categorical prohibitions.)

"If you become the ideal type of Noachide, you will be doing a greater service to humanity than by converting to Judaism. You will be a living example for others to follow."

The Seven Gates of Righteous Knowledge is a great book on the position.

Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith - Greg Bahnsen

Apologetics to the Glory of God - John Frame

May I also recommend The Dark Side of Christian History, Losing Faith in Faith and Ken's Guide to the Bible. It doesn't hurt to get some more objective sources of information on your religion's history.

Leaving the Fold

Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists

Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

Why I Am Not a Muslim

Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships

In Search of the Light: The Adventures of a Parapsychologist

Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back

Essentially I was deconverted by an ex-preacher.


Specifically, Dan Barker, ex-evangelical preacher turned atheist. Reading his book "Losing faith in faith'" helped me to see through a lot of the subjectivity of my beliefs. https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Faith-Preacher-Atheist/dp/187773313X

https://www.amazon.com/Ever-Increasing-Faith-Smith-Wigglesworth/dp/1511670851

https://www.amazon.com/Faith-That-Prevails-Smith-Wigglesworth/dp/0882437119

https://www.amazon.com/Smith-Wigglesworth-Holy-Spirit/dp/0883685442

A tough view. The use of pop, and children's, culture icon cartoon figures, the distracting background noise, and the really slow presentation of actual information/argument make the first vid hard to watch and really dilutes any message. Though I did like the cameo from the Little Caesars Pizza-Pizza guy. From watching the first vid, there is no topic argument/position statement explicitly made/presented, though if I had to guess as to the final topic position/argument, based upon the way the very sparse information is presented, that an argument will be made that supports the listed or attributed authors of the various books of the NT - this is just a guess, the presentation of introductory material was really incoherent.

> "One of the things I have noticed about critics who say that this or that book in the NT is bogus is that they seldom seem to explain in any detail how we decide who wrote a document."

Say what? I smell a strawman argument.

The above quote was made whilst a slide show of books that discuss the New Testament was shown. Some of these books are recognizable as titles containing literary criticism of the New Testament, many are not. I could not get a good look at the "examples" presented as the screen time was very short (compared to the relatively long time given to worthless animations of smurfs or topic transition special effects), too short to get a good look at the sources that I assume supports the above statement was quoted; I had to do a frame by frame advance to see/read the titles presented.

Let's look at the first few "references" presented:

• The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, by Acharya S
  
  Just between the book title and lack of authorship identification, without even reading the book description, is enough for anyone discussing NT literary criticism to reject the book as a credible source.Does not seem to be a reference to literary criticism and authorship of the New Testament books. Nope.
  
  
• Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist, by Dan Barker
  
  A book containing the personal journey of one man losing Religious Faith. Does not seem to be a reference to literary criticism and authorship of the New Testament books.
  
  
• Secret Origins of the Bible, by Tim Callahan
  
  Examines the documentary hypothesis and other possible sources of much of the narrative of the Bible. Does not seem to be a reference to literary criticism and authorship of the New Testament books.
  
  
• The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, by John W. Loftus (Editor) , Dan Barker
  
  Look, another Dan Baker book already. A book against the reasonableness and rationality of Christian belief. Does not seem to be a reference to literary criticism and authorship of the New Testament books.
  
  
• Cutting Jesus Down to Size: What Higher Criticism Has Achieved and Where It Leaves Christianity, by George Albert Wells
  
  Finally, a book that appears to have sections that may address the authorship of selected New Testament writings (I say appears as I have not read it and am relying upon the publisher description, the TOC, and reviews) - though the book appears to be more directed towards the content of the NT rather than attributed source critism.
  
  Bummer. Out of the first 5 potential references which one would reasonably consider as being presented on the authorship of the NT (you know, the topic/vid title), none (0 for 5) of them seem to be a reference to literary criticism of the authorship of the New Testament books. And I wanted to use the very references presented above to refute the strawman argument presented in the above quote that books/references that perform a literary criticism of the NT authorship (or the Bible in general) "seldom seem to explain in any detail how we decide who wrote a document."
  
  Let's look at a popular writer on the New Testament, Bart D. Ehrman. An example, Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are. And look at that, Ehrman does indeed present extensive detail, on the how's of literary criticism and attributed authorship. Granted one example does not a strawman break, however, I have found that references literary criticism, Biblical or other, almost always include a review of the methods used.