Author | Paul E. Little |
---|---|
Subject | Christian apologetics |
Publisher | Scripture Press Publications InterVarsity Press |
Publication date | 1967 |
Know Why You Believe is a book of Christian apologetics written by Paul E. Little. It was first published by Scripture Press Publications in 1967, and then by InterVarsity Press in 1968. It was selected by Christianity Today magazine as one of the 50 most influential books among evangelicals over the last fifty years. [1] J. P. Moreland notes that the book sparked his "lifelong interest in Christian apologetics" after he was given a copy shortly after his conversion. [2]
Know Why You Believe is written from the perspective of evidential apologetics, and Little expands Lewis's trilemma into four possibilities: Jesus was either a liar, lunatic, legend, or Lord. [3] Writing from a presuppositional point of view, Richard L. Pratt Jr. argues that "Little encourages the Christian apologist to present Christianity as a view to be examined and judged by independent human reason," and that he "treats rationality and logical analysis as something neutral for both Christians and non-Christians." [4] In regards to Little's use of Lewis's trilemma, Pratt writes that "Little's arguments are sound from a Christian perspective, but they hold little or no weight for non-Christians." [5]
The Christian countercult movement or the Christian anti-cult movement is a social movement among certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist and other Christian ministries and individual activists who oppose religious sects that they consider cults.
Mere Christianity is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: Broadcast Talks (1942), Christian Behaviour (1943), and Beyond Personality (1944). The book consists of four parts: the first presents Lewis's arguments for the existence of God; the second contains his defence of Christian theology, including his notable "Liar, lunatic, or Lord" trilemma; the third has him exploring Christian ethics, among which are cardinal and theological virtues; in the final, he writes on the Christian conception of God.
Francis August Schaeffer was an American evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He co-founded the L'Abri community in Switzerland with his wife Edith Schaeffer, née Seville, a prolific author in her own right. Opposed to theological modernism, Schaeffer promoted what he claimed was a more historic Protestant faith and a presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics, which he believed would answer the questions of the age.
Open theism, also known as openness theology, is a theological movement that has developed within Christianity as a rejection of the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology. It is a version of free will theism and arises out of the free will theistic tradition of the church, which goes back to the early church fathers. Open theism is typically advanced as a biblically motivated and logically consistent theology of human and divine freedom, with an emphasis on what this means for the content of God's foreknowledge and exercise of God's power.
James Robert White is a Reformed Baptist theologian. He is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a Christian scholar and has authored several books.
Peter John Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College. A convert to Catholicism, he is the author of over eighty books on Christian philosophy, theology and apologetics. He also formulated, together with Ronald K. Tacelli, Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics.
Clark H. Pinnock was a Canadian theologian, apologist, and author. He was Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at McMaster Divinity College.
Norman Leo Geisler was an American Christian systematic theologian, philosopher, and apologist. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational evangelical seminaries.
John Warwick Montgomery was an American-born lawyer, academic, Lutheran theologian, and author. From 2014 to 2017, he was Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University, Wisconsin. He was Professor-At-Large, 1517: The Legacy Project. He was named Avocat honoraire, Barreau de Paris (2023), after 20 years in French legal practice. He continued to work as a barrister specializing in religious freedom cases in international Human Rights law until his death.
Christian apologetics is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity.
Douglas R. Groothuis is an American Christian philosopher who is a professor of philosophy at Cornerstone University. Groothuis was a campus pastor for twelve years prior to obtaining a position as an associate professor of philosophy of religion and ethics at Denver Seminary from 1993 to 2024. In August 2024, he joined Cornerstone as the Distinguished Professor of Apologetics and Christian Worldview. He was educated at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Oregon. He was married to Rebecca Merrill Groothuis until her death on July 6, 2018.
Southern Evangelical Seminary is a Christian college and seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.
Lewis's trilemma is an apologetic argument traditionally used to argue for the divinity of Jesus by postulating that the only alternatives were that he was evil or mad. One version was popularized by University of Oxford literary scholar and writer C. S. Lewis in a BBC radio talk and in his writings. It is sometimes described as the "Lunatic, Liar, or Lord", or "Mad, Bad, or God" argument. It takes the form of a trilemma—a choice among three options, each of which is in some way difficult to accept.
David Wood is an American evangelical apologist, philosopher and YouTube personality, who is the head of the Acts 17 Apologetics ministry, which he co-founded with Nabeel Qureshi. He also runs Foundation for Advocating Christian Truth, which is the organization behind AnsweringMuslims.com. Wood is known for his criticism of Islam, particularly Islamic views on theology and morality, as well as the Quran in general, hadith, sīrah and Muhammad.
Cornelius Van Til was a Dutch-American Reformed theologian, who is credited as being the originator of modern presuppositional apologetics.
The believers' Church is a theological doctrine of Evangelical Christianity which teaches that one becomes a member of the Church by new birth and profession of faith. Adherence to this doctrine is a common defining feature of an Evangelical Christian church.
Evangelical theology is the teaching and doctrine that relates to spiritual matters in evangelical Christianity and a Christian theology. The main points concern the place of the Bible, the Trinity, worship, salvation, sanctification, charity, evangelism and the end of time.
Paul Eagleson Little was an American evangelist. He served as Director of Evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship from 1965 to 1975. He was also assistant professor of Evangelism at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.