apologia

	Bookreview
	The number of books that defend the Christian faith on basis of clear historical and rational arguments – as opposed say to theology or emotion – continues to grow. Recent classics you might have seen on the Crossroads book table include the – highly recommended - trilogy by former atheist and journalist at the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel: "The Case for Christ", "The Case for Faith" and "The Case for a Creator". The only trouble with this proliferation of publications - especially if you want to present a seeking friend with something to consider - is that no single book covers the whole subject. In “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist”, Norman Geisler and Frank Turek try to meet this demand in around 400 pages. The result is an exceptional work, which presents a convincing argument that Christianity requires the least faith of all religions (including no religion at all!) because it is the most reasonable. Geisler and Turek lay out the evidence for truth, God, the Bible and Jesus being who he said he was in logical order and in a readable and attractive style. One of the issues tackled head on is the popular modern fallacy that there is no such thing as truth… A vital one to all of us who find ourselves defending the concept of Jesus being ‘the way, the truth and life’. The subject of Intelligent Design – very much in the news right now in Holland since the Dutch Education minister proposed this being discussed in schools – is covered in great depth. Geisler and Turek’s arguments on the differences between macro and micro evolution - “From the Goo to You via the Zoo” - are especially revealing. And they come up with some great quotes, including this gem from Ron Carlson: “In grammar school they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fairytale. In University they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fact." The second part of “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist”, starts by focusing on the historic reliability of the New Testament. The section on early and eyewitness testimony is very clear cut, not to mention persuasive. Having established the credentials of the New Testament, which of course says that Jesus claimed to be God, the authors then specifically analyse this claim. Key areas covered include the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, his seamless life and miraculous deeds, and his prediction and accomplishment of his resurrection.