Excellent guide to Disputations
589793
While this book is an excellent (and the only non-academeic) guide to Jewish-Christian disputation in all periods, I will point out one area in which it does not reflect current biblical scholarship:  WIth respect to Psalm 22:16, the book states that "they pierced" is a mistranslation from the Hebrew.  But the oldest Hebrew version of this passage, recently discovered near the Dead Sea and published in The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible (Abegg, Flint and Ulrich 1999), indicated that the original Hebrew in fact should be translated as "they have pierced", as in the Septuigint and the KJV.
4609448
Many years ago, Hank Hanegraff (radio's Bible Answer Man) took aim at discrediting and dismantling the "Word of Faith" movement, most notably Kenneth Copeland.  He recently revised that work and updated it for the 21st century.

The Book takes aim at many of the old names in the movement, such as Copeland, Kenneth Hagan, Benny Hinn, and has added some of the newer members of the "Name it, Claim it" cult, such as Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, and TD Jakes.  Hanegraff does an excellent job of using the quotes and writings of each of these "preachers" to demonstrate that they are all indeed cut from the same cloth.  Extensive footnotes and references take up a significant portion of the end of the book.  He has definitely done his homework, almost to the point of repetition as he reuses quotes throughout the book.

He throughly deconstructs all of the pilars of belief that these "ministers" lean on.  Backed by extensive scripture references, and a vast knowledge of the church and it's history, when you are done, you can't help but to agree with him.

He closes out with a call to return to the basics of the Christian faith, with solid steps and habits to grow in a true Christian faith.  If you have been involved in these ministries, or have family or friends who have, this is an indispensable book for your library.
3414391
Peter Stuhlmacher's criticism against recent N.P.P. (New Pauline Prespectivism) approach to justification. This is a well written book. Although sometimes it uses a very formal language, it is not difficult to read. The argument is well constructed and based on deep research, it is a fair contribution on Pauline writtings analysis.
Even though Stuhlmacher's prespective of Paul is Lutheran, he rejects Lutheran dogmatic view of Paul.
His defence of Luteran' view of Paul is conservative and solid and deals with most of the New Perspectivism core teachings, lifting up a sound discussion on the doctrine of Justification.
I seriously recommend this book for any research on Pauline writings and Theology.
1662435
This book covers a wide range of topics around the Bible and the immediate science therein.  Needless to say, he points out specific facts that the Bible states his truth and which can clearly be seen as truth well before it's time. The science and the Bible cannot be refuted. He points out numerous facts which point to the divine origin of the Bible and which no intelligent, scientifically oriented human being can truly refute without being intellectually dishonest. For the thinker, I truly recommend this book
3230642
Peter Kreeft of Boston College has performed a work of mercy for those of us who were cheated in college by being kept in blithe ignorance of the greatest Christian philosopher. Ironically, I was cheated at a Catholic university of exposure to Aquinas! But Peter Kreeft has provided selections of Aquinas with generous footnotes explaining and enlightening various passages and even including diagrams for those of us trying to catch up. I can comfort myself with the thought that a well annotated book by Kreeft, who is also a skilled Catholic apologist, is assuredly better than what I probably would have received anyway as an undergraduate in a decidedly confused Catholic university.
2524726
Os's book concisely explains foundational Christian truth and the character of God.  It's an excellent tool and support for clearing away misconceptions of belief. His observations about trust are simple and complex. Brilliant.
784241
An unfortunate fact of modern life is that much of the truth about the Bible has been buried beneath massive clutters of faulty eschatology penned by liberal skeptics and misguided conservatives.  In this book, Steve Hawk has prepared a thick tome that focuses on the faulty ideas of many of those who have claimed to be "conservative" defenders of the Bible's integrity, such as those who insist on assigning a late date for the writing of the Book of Revelation in order to throw the fulfillment of its prophecies into the future.  The Bible's prophecies do have much relevance for us today, he amply demonstrates, especially for America, but the understanding of those prophecies has been butchered by people who claimed to be its defenders.

This book contains much sound analysis of biblical prophecy and will serve as a useful reference source for the increasing number of students of the Bible who are catching on to the wrong turns that have been taken in eschatology and want to get on the right road.  It will amply reward the time taken to examine it.
24861
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Christian Mysteries by Ron Benrey provides the reader from the point of view of a believer a comprehensive introduction to inter-denominational christian doctrine that serves very well as a reference guide to those tenets of christian belief that christians and non-christians alike find most perplexing. The short suggested reading list on page 289 is a very representative and authoritative selection of books on christian theology that offers those interested in expanding their understanding a more than adequate starting point.  To this list I would add The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
4760516
This book provides, in my judgment, the best popular treatment of presuppositional apologetics I have encountered.  The author has done a masterful job presenting the biblical method of defense in simple and clear language.  In two chapters on logic and logical fallacies, he has managed to communicate some complex ideas in an attainable way.  (He has written two additional books on logical argumentation that expand on the two logic chapters in this book, and these are also models of clarity.)  This book is a great teaching tool as well as a competent defense of the Christian faith beginning with its basis in creation.

Some will find the author's commitment to young-earth creationism objectionable, but in fairness to the author, his main purpose in this book is not to defend that perspective by providing a detailed justification based on the biblical and scientific evidence.  Rather, he points the reader to other resources that attempt to provide that support.  He is really taking that position for granted as the biblical view, but he does not do so by simply asserting it dogmatically.  To understand his case for young-earth creationism, you must go to other sources.  While some will disagree with his specific position on creationism, a different position on the subject does not invalidate the defense of Christianity provided here.  Even old-earth creationists who are opposed to Darwinism should find nothing objectionable in the method of defense recommended by this book, although the author does affirm the idea that rejecting a literal interpretation of Genesis is ultimately a rejection of the Bible's teaching on creation.  While I disagree with him on that point, it would be too bad if someone chose not to read this book simply due to a difference of interpretation on the days of creation or on whether the flood of Genesis is global or local.  The proof for creation is ably made by this book; the proof for a specific interpretation of creation and flood is argued elsewhere.
2783802
A very well written debunking of much of Church orthodoxy.  It returns faith back to the believer where Christ left it.  It debunks much of the silly power structure and exposes as a remnant of the Pharasitical power structure that Christ deplored.  Very well footnoted which are fun and informative.
4822405
I am a layman and found that I could easily understand this book.  In discussing this book with different Pastors, some Calvinist and some not, I found that it did two things.  First it gives a fair treatment of Calvinist teachings.  It doesn't distort the meanings and it provides Scriptures that most Calvinsists would claim support their doctrine.  The second thing it does is argue fairly (and in my opinion) convincingly against Calvinist doctrine with plenty of Scriptural evidence.

All in all an excellent read.
4186368
David Robertson has done a fine job of honing in on the most glaring weaknesses in Richard Dawkins's book THE GOD DELUSION, and subjecting them to the light of reason and logic. It's all done in a non-vitriolic, even light-hearted fashion, but it's very effective. You can tell its significance by the hate mail it has received from Dawkins's disciples.
3185269
An excellent book for those who want to examine in detail the conservative, evangelical, inerrancy view of scripture and prophecy interpretation that is promoted by dispensationalism.  The Forward is abundantly clear about its dispensational, premillennial, anti-supersessionism point of view and there is no attempt to present a "neutral" perspective, as a previous reviewer suggested.  If you are a dyed-in-the-wool Replacement theologian, amillennialist, postmillennialist, or preterist, you are not likely to appreciate this book.  I like it very well.
2633699
The authors do a great job of collecting a large amount of secular data from scientists from around the globe to refute evolution. They provide a great deal of data in a small number of pages. Plus, it is easily accessible for those who don't have a background in science. This is an excellent introduction into the refuting the distortions, dishonesty and hoaxes that are the foundation of evoltuion.

Another similar read is Hanegraaff's book The FACE that demonstrates the farce of evolution.
3087209
Schaeffer's book was a godsend to me, answering and echoing the questions that rang in my mind when trying to figure out what it really means to be a follower of Christ, and whether or not being one entails leaving reason behind in favor of revelation. This work goes a long way in answering the questions of HOW I know what I know; and exposing presuppositions about the nature of the universe that shape our thinking. It prepared me for many onslaughts against a reasonable faith, showing that there is another way other than accepting either the dissolution of absolute truth in postmodernism or the anti-reason/anti intellectualism of certain branches in fundamentalism. This is an excellent help to anyone experiencing a personal paradigm shift in Jesus' direction, or as a primer to exploring and examining competing worldviews.
4187259
I'm an atheist blogger who's spent years following the debate over Jesus' resurrection, and have read countless books by authors on both sides of the debate. Having done this, I can say without a doubt that Kris Komarnitsky's book is one of the best skeptical takes out therepossibly the best.

My only complaint is that Komarnitsky decided not to cover some of the basic issues in Biblical scholarship, such as the authorship of the gospels. If don't know your Biblical scholarship 101 (which you don't, if you know only what Christian apologists say about the Bible), I recommend reading Doubting Jesus' Resurrection alongside Bart Ehrman's Jesus, Interrupted.

In spite of this caveat, I hope everyone who cares about the subject of Jesus' resurrection reads this excellent book.
2793639
Perhaps the best feature of this book is the fact that it is structured as one large outline.  This makes the material extremely easy to follow.  It also allows for the individual subjects to be accessed easily.  For example, if one is looking for information on "The Trinity and the  Deity of Jesus Christ" (an important topic when dealing with the  JW's), they will have little trouble finidng the information because the  book has a format that is user-friendly.
If you enjoy "doing"  counter-cult apologetics, I cannot think of any resource I would give a  higher recommendation to than this one.  It has the three key features  everyone should look for...1) an easy to follow format; 2) an objective  presentation of the particular false teaching being discussed; and 3) a  solid, Biblically-based refutation that can be appreciated by the Pastor,  as well as the layman.