Is it still possible, in an age of religious and cultural pluralism, to engage in Christian apologetics? How can one urge one's faith on others when such a gesture is typically regarded with suspicion, if not outright resentment? In Humble Apologetics John G. Stackhouse brings his wide experience as a historian, philosopher, journalist, and theologian to these important questions and offers surprising--and reassuring--answers. Stackhouse begins by acknowledging the real impediments to Christian testimony in North America today and to other faiths in modern societies around the world. He shows how pluralism, postmodernism, skepticism about our ability to know the truth, and a host of other factors create a cultural milieu resistant to the Christian message. And he shows how the arrogance or dogmatism of apologists themselves can alienate rather than attract potential converts. Indeed, Stackhouse argues that the crucial experience of conversion cannot be compelled; all the apologist can do is lead another to the point where an actual encounter with Jesus can take place. "Our objective," Stackhouse writes, "is to offer whatever assistance we can to our neighbors toward their full maturity: toward full health in themselves and in their relationships, and especially toward God." In the last part of the book, he shows how an attitude of humility, instead of merely trying to win religious arguments, will help believers offer their neighbors the gift of Christ's love. Drawing on the author's personal experience and written with an engaging directness and humility, Humble Apologetics provides sound guidance on how to share Christian faith in a postmodern world.

About the Author
John G. Stackhouse, Jr. is Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology and Culture at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada. His previous book, Can God Be Trusted?: Faith and the Challenge of Evil (OUP, 1998) was named one of Christianity Today's books of the year.

Reviews
[Stackhouse's] style is winsome, and his argument lucid ... this is as good a vision of apologetics as I have seen for a long time. * Theology *
Stackhouse provides a perceptive, incisive and gentle exploration of the difficulties and possibilities of commending the faith in contemporary culture. * Theology *
John Stackhouse offers a defence of and approach to commending the Christian faith 'to its cultured despisers' which is both sensible and sensitive. * Theology *
Clues to the eminent clarity and charity of Stackhouse's writing lie in his numerous autobiographical asides ... Stackhouse's plain and simple accounts of postmodernism and consumerism could hardly be bettered. * David Martin, Times Literary Supplement *


Awards
Winner of Christianity Today Book Award (Apologetics/Evangelism) 2003.



Book Information
ISBN 9780195138078
Author John G. Stackhouse
Format Hardback
Page Count 280
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 467g
Dimensions(mm) 217mm * 145mm * 25mm