I just pre-ordered two books, both by two favored authors of mine. C. Stephen Evans is a solid and seasoned Christian philosopher who is also an especially lucid writer. His work on Kierkegaard and Christian existentialism is some of the finest. Harold Netland‘s Dissonant Voices was one of the assigned texts in a graduate course on religious pluralism and is what piqued my interests in writing my thesis (see “The Mystery of God Incarnate: An Analysis and Critique of John Hick’s Christology”).
Netland's newest is...
entitled Christianity and Religious Diversity: Clarifying Christian Commitments in a Globalizing Age and I look forward to reading it and blogging about it. The catalog description reads:
Christianity & Religious Diversity explores how religions have changed in a globalized world and how Christianity is unique among them. Harold Netland, an expert in philosophical aspects of religion and pluralism, offers a fresh analysis of religion in today’s globalizing world. He addresses some central issues in understanding religion and religions today, challenging common misunderstandings of the concept of religion itself and its relation to culture. He also shows how particular religious traditions, such as Buddhism, undergo significant change with modernization, secularization, and globalization. Netland then responds to issues concerning the plausibility of Christian commitments to Jesus Christ and the unique truth of the Christian gospel in light of religious diversity and disagreement. The book concludes by considering basic principles for Christians living as Christ’s disciples in religiously diverse contexts.
Combining theological resources with insights from history, religious studies, and philosophy, Christianity & Religious Diversity will be useful for professors and students in intercultural studies, world religions, and mission courses. Scholars, missionaries, and pastors will also benefit from this book.
Evan's newest is...
Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense: A Response to Contemporary Challenges. That, too, will be on the docket for a few upcoming blog posts. Description reads:
In recent years the Christian faith has been challenged by skeptics, including the New Atheists, who claim that belief in God is simply not reasonable. Prominent Christian philosopher C. Stephen Evans offers a fresh, contemporary, and nuanced response in Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense. He makes the case for both belief in a personal God and belief that this God has revealed himself through the Christian revelation. Belief in God is grounded in natural “signs,” and belief in the Christian revelation stems from three “signs” God has provided: miracles, the paradoxical nature of revelation, and the existential power of revelation.
After beginning with a brief introduction to New Atheist claims, Evans shows how natural theology can undermine an anti-naturalistic view of the world, opening the way for theism. He next discusses natural signs for God and their evidential value. But natural signs only open our minds to theistic possibilities; revelation is required for Christian belief. Evans concludes with a thorough discussion of the reasons God’s self-revelation is both authoritative and authentic.
This sophisticated yet accessible book provides a clear account of the evidence for Christian faith, concluding that it still makes sense to believe. It will be of use to undergraduate professors and students of apologetics and philosophy as well as pastors, church leaders, and campus ministries.