WORKS OF 18TH CENTURY APOLOGISTS: Resources for Study

Below are links to the works of 18th Century apologists, which are FREE!....

Most of the questions and allegations brought against Christianity today were already answered soundly by these brilliant and godly men. 

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*Clicking on the apologist's name will take you to the search results at the University of Pennsylvania's "Online Book" search.

APOLOGISTS OF THE ERA

• Joseph Butler (1692-1752). The Analogy of Religion is recommended reading by Dr. Timothy McGrew and there is a brief summary of the book and links to find it online at the Library of Historical Apologetics.
• William Paley (1743-1805). A View of The Evidences of Christianity is "mandatory" reading by Dr. Timothy McGrew and there is a brief summary of the book and links to find it online at the Library of Historical Apologetics.
• George Campbell (1719-1796). A Dissertation on Miracles is recommended reading by Dr. Timothy McGrew and there is a brief summary of the book and links to find it online at the Library of Historical Apologetics.
• Nathaniel Lardner (1684-1768). An introduction and links to Credibility of the Gospel History is available at the Library of Historical Apologetics. Dr. McGrew calls this massive work "the apologetic masterpiece of the 18th Century."
• William Adams (1706-1789). An introduction and links to An Essay on Mr. Hume's Essay on Miracles is available at the Library of Historical Apologetics.
• Thomas Sherlock (1678-1761). An introduction and links to The Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus is available at the Library of Historical Apologetics.
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). Find his Theodicy: Essays on the Goodness of God, The Freedom of Man and the Problem of Evil (1710) FREE at title link and also here.
• Digital Public Library of America has 75 ebooks in the category "Apologetics--History--18th Century."
• Resources for 18th Century Philosophers (Hume, Locke, Voltaire, Berkeley, Bentham, Spinoza, etc.)

GENERAL
ONLINE RESOURCES
*Works of Dead Apologists: Resources for Study
*The Library of Historical Apologetics: An excellent resource by Dr. Timothy McGrew.
*"A Course of Readings in Apologetics": Dr. Timothy McGrew's recommended readings include many books from this period.
*"Juridical Apologists 1600-2000 AD: A Bio-Bibliographical Essay" by Philip Johnson
*Dead Apologists Society: An evangelical Facebook group for discussing the works of past apologists. I encourage you to join.
*Top 10 *FREE* Classic Apologetics Books in ebook and audio
*Brief profiles of apologists from the past at Apologetics315

BOOKS
*A History of Apologetics by Avery Cardinal Dulles. You can find a 3-part review of this book here.
*Christian Apologetics Past and Present (Volume 1, To 1500 AD): A Primary Source Reader, edited by William Edgar and K. Scott Oliphint
*Christian Apologetics Past and Present (Volume 2, From 1500 AD): A Primary Source Reader, edited by William Edgar and K. Scott Oliphint

*Christian Apologetics: An Anthology of Primary Sources, edited by Khaldoun A. Sweis and Chad V. Meister

*I have plans to greatly expand this page, so keep coming back.

10 MORE GREAT APOLOGETIC BOOKS THAT ARE *FREE!*

Here is a list of 10 more FREE! apologetics books that I highly recommend....

My good friend and expert apologist Dr. Timothy McGrew includes the first three among his "Mandatory Reading" and the fourth comes from his annotated bibliography at the Library of Historical Apologetics.

1. A Lecture on the Historic Evidence of The Authorship and Transmission of the Books of the New Testament (1852) by Samuel Prideaux Tregelles. Lucidly and cogently written by an eminent 19th Century scholar. A brief biography and overview of his greatest scholarly accomplishment are found at The Center for The Study of New Testament Manuscripts (and a slightly longer biography here). An extensive list of his works available online is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
2. A View of The Evidences of Christianity (1794) by William Paley. A powerful cumulative case by one of the foremost scholars and apologists of the 18th Century. Also available for FREE on Kindle. A brief summary of the book at the Library of Historical Apologetics. A brief biography of Paley at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
3. The Four Gospels from a Lawyer's Standpoint (1893) by Edmund Bennett. A concise biography and overview of the book is found at the Library of Historical Apologetics. It is a brief 88 pages.
4. The Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection (1729) by Thomas Sherlock. A short introduction to the book is available at the Library of Historical Apologetics. (Only 114 pages). Also available for FREE on Kindle.
5. Heretics (1905) by G.K. Chesterton. Also available on Kindle at Amazon or Audiobook from Librivox. Chesterton was one of the great writers of the early 20th Century and had a huge influence on C.S. Lewis. He is well known for his works of apologetics, especially Orthodoxy, The Everlasting Man, and Heretics. But he is also well known for his poetry and fiction, especially his "Father Brown" mysteries, which have been adapted for television. You can find 49 of his works in audiobook at Librivox. A brief biography, list of quotes and collection of his works is found at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. There is a wealth of information about Chesterton and his writings at The American Chesterton Society (including some notable theological essays).
6. Dialogue with Trypho (c. 150 AD) by Justin Martyr. We can learn a lot from this relatively short but important writing from one of the early church fathers. Not only does it give us some important historical information that confirms the historicity of the Gospels, but it also gives us some insight into Messianic Prophecy and how apologetics was done among the Jews in the 2nd Century. The first 8 chapters of this work describes Justin's pursuit of philosophy and his conversion. Then he begins answering Jewish objections about Christians not keeping the Old Testament laws. In chapter 31, he begins giving detailed responses related to messianic prophecy. (Chapters 55-63 deal with Jewish objections to the Incarnation--and Justin's view seems to be quite Arian! A brief biography of Justin, his collected works, and other resources can be found at Early Christian Writings (my favorite web site for researching the writings of the early church).
7. St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen  (1895, 1907) by William Ramsay. FREE at Christian Classics Ethereal Library, where you will also find a nice summary of the book and a short biography of Ramsay. And here is a short article by Don Stewart quoting from this book and showing how Sir William Ramsay is related to settling the question of the historicity of Acts.
8. The Gospel of Thomas (mid-2nd Century) is available at Early Christian Writings, along with a "collected commentary" and a significant bibliography. The so-called "gnostic gospels" have been making quite a stir in the world for the last few decades--and especially in the past decade. The Gospel of Thomas is raised up by critics of the Bible as representing a picture of Jesus that is just as worthy of our attention as the New Testament. Reading this short document for yourself will help you to understand the issues more clearly and to see firsthand that it is really no gospel at all.
9. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis. Lewis explores ideas important to the moral argument, which he establishes quite solidly in the first section of Mere Christianity. You can find a brief biography of Lewis (and much more) here.
10. The Apostolic Fathers by Joseph Barber Lightfoot. A standard collection of the writings of the apostolic fathers with introductions and commentary. Reading and understanding the writings of the apostolic fathers is important in assessing the evidence for the New Testament canon and the historicity of Jesus. See my article "Who Are the Apostolic Fathers? for a brief explanation of who they are and why they are important and also a concise bibliography of resources.

10 MORE HERE!
1000s MORE HERE!

Looking for more great resources for apologetics and Bible study?....
....then check out my growing MASTER LIST OF APOLOGETIC RESOURCES....

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“You cannot evade the issue of God, whether you talk about pigs or the binomial theory, you are still talking about Him. Now if Christianity be. . . a fragment of metaphysical nonsense invented by a few people, then, of course, defending it will simply mean talking that metaphysical nonsense over and over. But if Christianity should happen to be true – then defending it may mean talking about anything or everything. Things can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is false, but nothing can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is true.”

– G.K. Chesterton
Daily News, December 12, 1903

THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: Resources for Study

The New Testament is historically reliable, confirmed by many other ancient documents and other evidence, based on eyewitness accounts of Jesus, and written under the supervision of men who were commissioned by Jesus to speak for him (apostles).

Click on the title links to find the great resources listed below 
(and then check out my growing MASTER LIST OF APOLOGETIC RESOURCES)....


SPECIFIC ISSUES
*Archaeological Confirmation of the New Testament
*Undesigned Coincidences: A unique and underutilized internal evidence for the historicity of the Bible. I have tried to make this bibliography as exhaustive as possible.
*EhrmanProject.com. A collection of resources in response to popular skeptic Bart Ehrman. Also, see this,
*Pagan Parallels to Jesus?: Is Jesus really a myth based on earlier pagan myths? An extensive collection of resources dealing with this issue.
*Contradictions in the Bible?: A list of several excellent resources for dealing with seeming contradictions in the Bible.
*The So-Called Synoptic Problem: A brief but helpful bibliography with a link to a more detailed bibliography.
*So-Called Lost Gospels (Gnostic Writings)
*Jesus' Historicity
*Jesus Mythicism


INTRODUCTORY
Videos

*Turek, Frank. "Is The Bible Historically Accurate?" Frank Turek is interviewed by the "One Minute Apologist." (2 minutes)

*Wallace, J. Warner. "Haven't the Gospels Been Altered?" Famous L.A. cold-case detective is interviewed by the "One Minute Apologist." (3 minutes)

*Keener, Craig. "Dr. Craig Keener on the Historicity of the Book of Acts." (11 minutes) Dr. Keener is probably the greatest living scholar on the book of Acts. He has recently completed a four-volume commentary on Acts that totals nearly 5000 pages and has over 45,000 references from ancient extrabiblical documents. (See below.)

Articles

*Last Seminary hosts 18 articles on the historical reliability of the New Testament that can be download for FREE--with brief abstracts for each.

Books
*Blomberg, Craig L. The Historical Reliability of the New Testament. (816 pages) Hot off the press in late October 2016!

*Bruce, F.F. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Download for FREE! here. A classic by one of the greatest New Testament scholars of the 20th Century. An easy read and only 124 pages.

*Wallace, J. Warner. "Cold-Case Christianity." My top pick for anyone new to apologetics. 

*"Equipped," the Journal of the Christian Apologetics Alliance (multiple authors). "Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible." A FREE! electronic journal.

*Is the Bible Relaiable? by John Piper: a FREE! 13 page booklet

INTERMEDIATE
Videos

*Williams, Peter. "Lecture by Dr. Peter Williams: New Evidences The Gospels Were Based on Eyewitness Accounts." (62 minutes) Highly recommended.

*McGrew, Tim. "The Gospels and Acts as History." (106 minutes) Highly recommended.

*Inspiring Philosophy. An excellent series of 7 videos (11 to 19 minutes each)

Articles (& Book Chapters)

*McGrew, Lydia. "The Annotated Rawlinson." Historical accuracy of the Gospels.
*Moreland, J.P. "The Historicity of the New Testament."
*McRay, John. "Archaeology and the Book of Acts." (14 pages)
*Geisler, Norm and Frank Turek. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist, Chapter 11: "The Top Ten Reasons We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth" (p.275-298).

Audio

*Bock, Darrell. "Can We Trust the Bible?" (73 minutes). Includes slides and notes.

Books

*Wilder, Terry L. and Steven B. Cowan, editors. In Defense of the Bible. I highly recommend this book. Top experts cover the spectrum of issues for both the Old and the New Testaments.

*Blomberg, Craig. Can We Still Believe the Bible?

Online Course

John PIper, Craig Blomberg & Bill Mounce. "Why I Trust My Bible." (20 hours) FREE!

ADVANCED

Articles

*Habermas, Gary. "Recent Perspectives on the Reliability of the Gospels."

Books
*Hemer, Colin. The Book of Acts in Its Hellenistic Setting. The definitive book on the subject.

*Rawlinson, George. Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Scripture Records. (1860?) Download it for FREE! here.

*Evans, Craig. Jesus and His World: The Archaeological Evidence.

*Blomberg, Craig. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels.

*Robertson, A.T. Luke the Historian in the Light of Research. (1920) FREE! here.
*Ramsay, William. St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen. (1895, 1907) FREE! here.
*Keener, Craig. Acts: An Exegetical Commentary. Dr. Keener is probably the greatest living scholar on the book of Acts. This recently completed (October 2015) four-volume commentary on Acts totals nearly 5000 pages and has over 45,000 references from ancient extrabiblical documents.

Still looking?.... Check out this excellent list of resources from my friend Eric Chabot .....or this excellent bibliography.....or this long list of links....or The New Testament Gateway: a large directory of academic internet resources, though sadly lacking in some of the best evangelical scholarship.

Image Source

MIRACLES: Resources for Study

"This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." 

(Hebrews 2:3b-4; also see Acts 2:22; John 14:11)

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"That's the trouble with miracles, Sebastianus--In order to explain them away you have to introduce theories so nonsensical that they are less believable than the miracle itself."

A character in Louis de Wohl, Citadel of God, p. 103

(4-minute video)

Videos
*The Special Divine Action Project: This is the #1 place to go for scholarly discussion of miracles. This YouTube channel features dozens of lectures by top scholars on the philosophical discussion of miracles, especially featuring the work of Timothy McGrew. There are also several videos by Craig Keener (another foremost expert on this issue), Richard Swinburne (one of the foremost Christian philosphers), Sir Roger Scruton, Ian Hutchinson, Susan Eastman, Peter Harrison, Neal Audenaert, Raymond C. Tallis, and Lenn Goodman.  There are two sets of Dr. McGrew's lectures here: "The Deist Controversy" and "The Great Debate"....the latter of which I have listened to in its entirety at least three times now. Excellent!
*Keener, Craig. "Miracles" (The BaraInitiative): 4 minute video.
*Keener, Craig. "Miracles Symposium": 44 minute video

*McGrew, Timothy. "Baylor ISR....Plantiga Conference" (45 minutes) 
*Newman, Robert C. "Miracles" (7 lectures: the first 7 in the list). Also available in audio.

*Shenvi, Neil. "Miracles, materialism, and quantum mechanics": "A 39-minute video discussing the history, fundamental postulates, and philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. In particular, I examine how quantum mechanics challenges naive naturalistic assumptions about the existence of miracles, the role of consciousness and the nature of reality."

*"About Miracles" is a 59 minute documentary that "features four dramatic, true stories about modern day miracles. Told by the actual people involved and featuring gripping reenactments...." Produced by Vision Video. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can watch it for FREE. 

Articles: Miracle Accounts
*Cooper, Brad. "I Will Tell the World of His Amazing Deeds!": My account of being healed of a deadly tumor on my kidney. (Note: This is not technically a miracle account but there were many signs of God's sovereignty and care for me.)
*USA Today. "Mom prays, dead son comes back to life.": Includes video interviewing the mom and the attending physician, who calls it a "bona fide miracle."

Articles (& Book Chapters): Towards Understanding (Philosophical Issues)
*Cooper, Brad. "Miracles: An Objection": If Jesus healed everyone, why do we not see everyone being healed today?
*Cooper, Brad. "Jesus' Amazing Miracles". An article with many resources including audio for my class by the same name.

*McGrew, Lydia. "Epistemology, Miracles, and the God Who Speaks."

*Lantz, Joel. Bridges for Honest Skeptics has a chapter documenting miracle accounts.

*Triablogue. "Evidence For Modern Miracles." Links to numerous articles by the authors of Triablogue.
*Paley, William. "On Miracles: William Paley's Response to David Hume"
*McGrew, Tim. "Miracles" (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
*McGrew, Tim. "Science, Doubt, and Miracles": An article in the Enrichment Journal (an online publication of the Assemblies of God)
*McGrew, Lydia. "There Are No Slippery Prior Probabilities": A refutation of Hume's assertion about miracles.
*Leland, John. "John Leland on the evidence of miracles." An excerpt from 4 pages of one of Leland's books (published in 1837) as hosted at the "Library of Historical Apologetics" (authored by Tim McGrew).
*French, David. "Yes, There Is Evidence God Exists": A lawyer's personal testimony and reflections on miracles.
*"Are Miracles Possible?": A compendium of articles by both leading Christian thinkers (such as Tim McGrew and Craig Keener) and skeptics.
*Hume, David. “Of Miracles”: Available for FREE. The relevant section of Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748, 1777) and the source of most modern confusion about miracles. "Mandatory" reading in Tim McGrew's "A Course of Readings in Apologetics."
*McDowell, Josh and Sean McDowell. Evidence That Demands A Verdict (2017 edition), Chapters 31 & 32
*Geisler, Norm and Frank Turek. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist, Chapter 8: "Miracles: Signs of God or Gullibility?" (p.197-220). An excellent refutation of objections followed by a solid Biblical defining of miracles.

Books: Miracle Accounts
*Keener, Craig. Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World. Highly recommended. If you don't have the time to read the massive 2-volume work by Keener listed below, this is the next best thing. Available in Audiobook, Kindle, paperback and hardcover. 

*Keener, Craig. Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (2 volumes). Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011. Available at OverDrive.
*Muller, George. Answers to Prayer from George Muller's Narratives. FREE on Kindle (at title link). This book and many more by or about George Muller can be found in audiobook at GeorgeMuller.org.
*Stafford, Tim. Miracles: A Journalist Looks at Modern Day Experiences of God's Power. Bloomington, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 2012. An easy read that is available cheap in used paperback, and also in Kindle, Audible audio or audio CD (at title link). Also available at OverDrive in ebook and audio.
*Clark, Randy. Eyewitness to Miracles: Watching the Gospel Come to Life 
*Connelly, Douglas. Miracles: What the Bible Says. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997. Hosted at CCEL to read online for FREE.
*Goode, Reema. Which None Can Shut: Remarkable True Stories of God's Miraculous Work in the Muslim World. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010. A missionary retells her own personal experiences of God's divine intervention. An page-turning read that is available cheap in used paperback, and also in Kindle, Audible audio or audio CD (at title link). Also available at OverDrive in ebook and audio.
*Duffin, Jacalyn. Medical Miracles: Doctors, Saints, and Healing in the Modern World. Oxford University Press, 2008. A distinguished doctor and medical historian investigates the Vatican's use of physicians in verifying miracles (during the canonization process) over the last 400 years.
*Wilson, Darren. Filming God: A Journey from Skepticism to Faith. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania: Destiny Image Publishers, 2011.
*Garlow, James L. Real Life, Real Miracles: True Stories That Will Help You Believe.
*Jacobson, Don. It's a God Thing: When Miracles Happen to Everyday People.
*Jacobson, Don. It's a God Thing: When Miracles Happen to Everyday People: Volume 2.
*Restagno, Allison C. Modern-Day Miracles: 50 True Miracle Stories.
*Muller, George. Edited by A.E.C. Brooks. Answers to Prayer from George Muller's Narratives. FREE!
*Goyer, Tricia. Prayers That Changed History. From the Christian Library Journal review: "Though suggested for a grade and middle school audience, Prayers that Changed History would be a compelling and enjoyable book for all ages, particularly history enthusiasts." Currently only $1.99!

Books: Towards Understanding (Philosophical Issues)
*Keener, Craig. Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (2 volumes). Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011. Available at OverDrive.
*Lewis, C.S. Miracles. A classic that is available cheap at Amazon, and also in Kindle version or in audiobook through Audible (all in the title link). You can also find the ebook and audiobook versions for loan through OverDrive (additional audiobook version here).  "Recommended" reading in Tim McGrew's "A Course of Readings in Apologetics."

*Twelftree, Graham (editor), The Nature Miracles of Jesus: Problems, Perspectives, and Prospects
*Metaxas, Eric. Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life. New York, New York: Plume, 2015. Available at OverDrive in ebook and audio.
*Wardlaw, Ralph. On Miracles, 1853. FREE on Google (at title link).
*Adams, William. An Essay in Answer to Mr. Hume’s Essay on Miracles, 3rd ed., 1767. FREE. "Mandatory" reading in Tim McGrew's "A Course of Readings in Apologetics."
*Campbell, George. A Dissertation on Miracles, 1824. FREE. "Recommended" reading in Tim McGrew's "A Course of Readings in Apologetics."
*Douglas, John. The Criterion, 1832. FREE. "Recommended" reading in Tim McGrew's "A Course of Readings in Apologetics."
*Connelly, Douglas. Miracles: What the Bible Says. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997. Hosted at CCEL to read online for FREE.
*Geivett, R. Douglas and Gary Habermas (editors). In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God's Action in History. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 1997. "Recommended" reading in Tim McGrew's "A Course of Readings in Apologetics."
*Lennox, John. Miracles (VeriTalks Book 2). Only 99 cents on Kindle (at title link). A 63 page book that is an adaptation of a talk given at the Veritas Forum at Harvard University in 2012.
*Stafford, Tim. Miracles: A Journalist Looks at Modern Day Experiences of God's Power. Bloomington, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 2012. An easy read that is available cheap in used paperback, and also in Kindle, Audible audio or audio CD (at title link). Also available at OverDrive in ebook and audio.
*Brown, Colin. That You May Believe: Miracles and Faith Then and Now. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1985, 1996.
*Twelftree, Graham. The Cambridge Companion to Miracles. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Amazon editorial review: "The miracle stories of the founders and saints of the major world religions have much in common. Written by international experts, this Companion provides an authoritative and comparative study of miracles in not only Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism, but also, indigenous religions. The authors promote a discussion of the problems of miracles in our largely secular culture, and of the value of miracles in religious belief. The miracles of Jesus are also contextualized through chapters on the Hebrew Bible, classical culture to the Romans, Second Temple and early rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. This book provides students with a scholarly introduction to miracles, which also covers philosophical, medical and historical issues."

Still looking?....Here is a great bibliography on answering Hume's objection to miracles....and another excellent bigliography on "The Miracles of Jesus" (with links and many FREE pdf files).

Jesus feeding the crowd of 5000 men (heads of household) plus women and children--an account in all four of the Gospels for which there are undesigned coincidences (Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; John 6). Image source: Wikimedia Commons.

A COURSE OF READINGS IN APOLOGETICS by Dr. Tim McGrew

A Course of Readings in Apologetics

Dr. Timothy McGrew

[Thanks to Dr. McGrew for allowing me to publish this on my blog. The bibliography is all his. I tracked down the availability of these resources on several venues in order to make them available to as wide an audience as possible. Many/most are available for free download, free loan through OverDrive (if your library uses this service), on Audible, or cheap on Amazon. Enjoy! Brad]

Items preceded by an asterisk (*) are available free online in Google Books or other sources. Items marked with a dagger (†) are works by adversaries of Christianity. Items on OverDrive (for free through libraries that use this service) are noted after the title and will specify the formats available: eBook or audio. Items on Audible (audiobooks) will be noted after the title, also. Clicking on the title itself will take you to that book's listing on Amazon.

Click on the title links to find the great resources listed below 
(and then check out the growing MASTER LIST OF APOLOGETIC RESOURCES)....

Conversational Apologetics

Mandatory
Greg Koukl, Tactics *OverDrive (eBook and audio) *Audible

Recommended

Norman and David Geisler, Conversational Evangelism *OverDrive (eBook)

Supplementary
Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism
Randy Newman, Corner Conversations

General Bible and Historical Background

Mandatory
* James M. Gray, Primers of the Faith, chs. 1‐32 (Part I) **FREE HERE
* Samuel P. Tregelles, Historic Evidence of the New Testament  **FREE HERE
E. M. Blaiklock, The Compact Handbook of New Testament Life

Recommended
E. M. Blaiklock, The Century of the New Testament
Paul Maier, In the Fullness of Time
* G. Rawlinson, The Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Scripture Records, ch. 7  **FREE HERE
* Robert Baker Girdlestone, The Building Up of the Old Testament   **FREE HERE

Supplementary
* Thomas Cooper, The Bridge of History over the Gulf of Time  **FREE HERE *FREEAudiobook

* Isaac Taylor, History of the Transmission of Ancient Books to Modern Times  **FREE HERE
* Isaac Taylor, The Process of Historical Proof    **FREE HERE

Reference
* William Binnington Boyce, Introduction to the Study of History   **FREE HERE

Basic Reasoning Skills in Apologetics

Mandatory
Peter Kreeft, Between Heaven and Hell

Recommended
Peter Kreeft, The Best Things in Life
Peter Kreeft, The Unaborted Socrates
Peter Kreeft, Socrates Meets Jesus

Positive Biblical Apologetics: Minimal Facts Argument

Mandatory
* C. S. Lewis, “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism” (Also titled: "Fernseed and Elephants") **FREE HERE  *YouTube Audio
William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, chs. 7 and 8 *OverDrive (eBook)
Terry Miethe, ed., Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?
Copan and Tacelli, eds., Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment?

Recommended
Komoszewski, Sawyer and Wallace, Reinventing Jesus
Craig A. Evans, Fabricating Jesus

Supplementary
N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God *OverDrive (eBook)
William Lane Craig, Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus
Mike Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach

Positive Biblical Apologetics: Eyewitness Testimony Argument

Mandatory
* C. S. Lewis, “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism” (Also titled: "Fernseed and Elephants") **FREE HERE  *YouTube Audio
J. W. Montgomery, Where is History Going?, chs. 2 and 3 (Also published separately as Jesus Christ and History) *FREE17 page excperpt
* Edmund Bennett, The Four Gospels from a Lawyer’s Standpoint  *FREE
* F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?  *FREE
* William Paley, A View of the Evidences of Christianity, Parts 1 and 2  *FREE *FREE Kindle book

Recommended
* Thomas Cooper, The Bridge of History over the Gulf of Time  *FREE  *FREE Audiobook
* John James Blunt, Undesigned Coincidences, Part 4 *FREE
Jeffrey Sheller, Is the Bible True?
Mark D. Roberts, Can We Trust the Gospels? *OverDrive (eBook)

Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses
Eddy and Boyd, The Jesus Legend *OverDrive (eBook)

Komoszewski, Sawyer and Wallace, Reinventing Jesus
Craig A. Evans, Fabricating Jesus

Supplementary
N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God *OverDrive (eBook)

Reference
* T. H. Horne, An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, 8th ed., vols. 1 and 2  *FREE
* Nathaniel Lardner, Credibility of the Gospel History, 17 vols. *FREE

Positive General Apologetics: Orientation

Mandatory
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity  *FREE  *FREE Audiobook

Recommended
Craig and Copan, eds., Contending with Christianity’s Critics *OverDrive (eBook)

Sennett and Groothuis, eds., In Defense of Natural Theology: A Post‐Humean Assessment
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God *OverDrive (eBook & audiobook) *Audible (abridged)

Reference
Craig and Moreland, eds., The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology *OverDrive (eBook)

Positive General Apologetics: The Kalam Argument

Mandatory
* William Lane Craig, “The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe” FREE
William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, chs. 3 and 4 *OverDrive (eBook)

Supplementary
William Lane Craig, The Kalam Cosmological Argument
Craig and Smith, Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology

Reference
William Lane Craig, The Cosmological Argument from Plato to Leibniz

Positive General Apologetics: The Origin of Life

Mandatory
Stephen Meyer, “The Explanatory Power of Design,” in Mere Creation
Dean Overman, A Case Against Accident and Self‐organization

Recommended
J. P. Moreland, ed., The Creation Hypothesis, ch. 5
C. Thaxton, W. Bradley, and R. Olsen, The Mystery of Life’s Origin
Robert Shapiro, Origins: A Sceptic’s Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth
Stephen Meyer, Signature in the Cell *OverDrive (eBook)

Positive General Apologetics: Intelligent Design

Mandatory
† Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker, chs. 1‐4 *OverDrive (eBook) *Audible
J. P. Moreland, ed., The Creation Hypothesis, Intro. and chs. 1 & 2
Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box *OverDrive (eBook)

Jonathan Wells, Icons of Evolution *Audible

Recommended
William Dembski, ed., Mere Creation
Jon Wells, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design *OverDrive (eBook & audiobook) *Audible

Supplementary
* Tim McGrew, “Toward a Rational Reconstruction of Design Inferences” FREE

Positive General Apologetics: The Moral Argument

Mandatory
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book I  *FREE  *FREE Audiobook
* Paul Copan, “God, Naturalism, and Morality,” from The Future of Atheism

Recommended
C. E. M. Joad, The Recovery of Belief, ch. 3
Mark Linville, “The Moral Poverty of Evolutionary Naturalism,” in Contending with Christianity’s Critics *OverDrive (eBook)

Defensive General Apologetics: The Challenge of Naturalistic Science

Mandatory
C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study, ch. 3 *OverDrive (eBook & audiobook) *Audible
John Lennox, God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? *OverDrive (eBook)

Recommended
* Arthur James Balfour, The Foundations of Belief, 8th ed.

Supplementary
Rodney Holder, Nothing but Atoms and Molecules?

Defensive General Apologetics: The Problem of Evil

Mandatory
† David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Section X  *FREE  *FREE Audiobook

William Lane Craig, Hard Questions, Real Answers, chs. 4 and 5

Recommended
C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain *OverDrive (eBook & audiobook) *Audible

Defensive General Apologetics: The Objection to Miracles

Mandatory
† David Hume, “Of Miracles” *FREE
* William Adams, An Essay in Answer to Mr. Hume’s Essay on Miracles, 3rd ed. *FREE

Recommended
* George Campbell, A Dissertation on Miracles *FREE

Habermas and Geivett, eds., In Defense of Miracles

Supplementary
* John Douglas, The Criterion *FREE
C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study *OverDrive (eBook and audiobook) *Audible

Reference
* Tim McGrew, “Miracles,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy *FREE

Defensive General Apologetics: Other General Objections

Recommended
Paul Copan, When God Goes to Starbucks *OverDrive (eBook)

William Lane Craig, Hard Questions, Real Answers
Craig and Copan, eds., Contending with Christianity’s Critics *OverDrive (eBook)

Reference
* John Leland, A View of the Principal Deistical Writers, 2 vols. *FREE
Geisler and Brooks, When Skeptics Ask

Defensive Biblical Apologetics

Mandatory
* Richard Watson, An Apology for the Bible  *FREE

Recommended
Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? *OverDrive (eBook)

* Joseph Butler, The Analogy of Religion  *FREE

* William Paley, A View of the Evidences of Christianity, Part III *FREE  *FREE Kindle book

Supplementary
* B. F. Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament  *FREE

Köstenberger and Kruger, The Heresy of Orthodoxy
Eddy and Boyd, The Jesus Legend *OverDrive (eBook)

Reference
* Haley, An Examination of the Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible  *FREE

* Tuck, A Handbook of Biblical Difficulties, 2 vols.  *FREE

* John Thein, The Bible and Rationalism, 4 vols. *FREE
* T. H. Horne, An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, 8th ed., vols. 1 and 2  *FREE
Gleason Archer, Encyclopediaof Bible Difficulties *OverDrive (eBook)

Geisler and Howe, TheBig Book of Bible Difficulties

Michael Brown, AnsweringJewish Objections to Jesus, 5 vols. *OverDrive (eBook)