Apologies Accepted

 

                                  The cover I was expecting.

The cover I got. Whether there is any difference between the editions, I do not know.

 Handbook of Christian Apologetics, by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

“Voted one of Christianity Today's 1995 Books of the Year.

Reasonable, concise, witty and wise, Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli have written an informative and valuable guidebook for anyone looking for answers to questions of faith and reason. Topics include:

• faith and reason
• the existence of God
• God's nature
• how we know God
• creation and evolution
• providence and free will
• miracles
• the problem of evil
• the Bible's historical reliability
• the divinity of Christ
• the resurrection
• life after death
• heaven and hell
• salvation
• Christianity and other religions
• objective truth

Whether you are asking the questions yourself or want to respond to others who are, here is the resource you have been waiting for.” – Amazon. 

“We are writing this book because we have been besieged with requests for it. We both teach philosophy of religion at Boston College, and students often ask us where they can find a book that lists, outlines, or summarizes all the major arguments for all the major Christian teachings that are challenged by unbelievers today – such as the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, the trustworthiness of Scripture, and the divinity and resurrection of Christ – and answers the strongest and commonest objections against these doctrines. We were amazed to find that no such book exists! There are thousands of books on apologetics, and some very good ones, but not one of them summarizes apologetic arguments as Aquinas summarized theological arguments … This book is written to begin to fill that vacuum.” – from Chapter 1.

          And why do I need a Handbook of Christian Apologetics if I already am a Christian, you might ask? The answer is simple. In the atmosphere of our modern culture, we are increasingly challenged to defend our faith and beliefs, and to have an organized and cogent answer at hand is a great help. I spent forty years of reading and study before I made my decision, and the reasoning and explanations that went into it were protracted and diffuse. To have them here in a concentrated and orderly form (including many supporting arguments that never occurred to me) is a useful and encouraging convenience.   

Amazon delivered this book yesterday by laying it on the ground, behind a bush, at the end of the driveway, basically just a few feet from the road. The distance between that spot and the house itself could accommodate two other moderately-sized houses (but was easily spanned by a looping driveway leading to the comparative safety of the distant porch); the package was basically in the well-traveled street, almost literally screaming “Grab me and tote me home.” Luckily, I had been keeping a sharp look-out for its arrival via my computer and was able to rush out and retrieve it before anything untoward could happen. I went to grumble on Amazon’s website, but none of choices of complaint offered was “Delivered to the Stupidest Place Possible”, so I just let it go.