Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century [eBook]

The vibrant and persuasive arguments of C. S. Lewis brought about a shift in the discipline of apologetics, moving the conversation from the ivory tower to the public square. The resulting strain of popular apologetics—which weaves through Lewis into twentieth-century writers like Francis Schaeffer and modern apologists like William Lane Craig, Josh McDowell, and Lee Strobel—has equipped countless believers to defend their faith against its detractors.

Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century uses Lewis’s work as the starting point for an absorbing survey of the key apologists and major arguments that inform apologetics today. Like apologists before him, Markos writes to engage Christians of all denominations as well as seekers and skeptics. His narrative, “man of letters” style and short chapters make Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century easily accessible for the general reader. But an extensive and heavily annotated bibliography, detailed timeline, list of prominent apologists, and glossary of common terms will satisfy the curiosity of the seasoned academic, as the book prepares all readers to meet the particular challenges of defending the faith today. 

LOUIS MARKOS (PhD, University of Michigan) is professor of English and Honors, and Scholar-in-Residence at Houston Baptist University, where he holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities. His publications include Apologetics for the 21st Century, From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics, and Restoring Beauty: The Good, the True, and the Beautiful in the Writings of C. S. Lewis.

“Providing an overview of almost a century of Christian apologetics, Lou Markos’s volume Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century moves all the way from G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis to postmodernism, the New Atheists, and former atheist Antony Flew’s newly found belief in the existence of God. Covering the relevant authors as well as their ideas and works, Markos writes in a popular, highly readable style that could be viewed as a conversational journey through each of these topics. Those interested in apologetics will find several major items of significance in this far-reaching and fast-paced text.”
—Gary R. Habermas, Distinguished Research Professor and Chair, Philosophy Dept, Liberty University and Theological Seminary

“This is a terrific book. I’ve read hundreds of books on the defense of the faith in recent years, and this is a stand out. Professor Markos uniquely weaves together theology, literature, history, science, and philosophy to produce a work of apologetics that is both erudite and thoroughly accessible. I enjoyed every page of it.”
—Craig J. Hazen, Professor of Comparative Religion, Biola University

“It is in some ways shocking that every generation of Christians has to remind the broader culture that we in fact have arguments and reasons for our faith. But given the cultural hegemony and intellectual ubiquity of atheistic materialism and the way it has shaped our understanding of the good, the true, and the beautiful, it should not surprise us that our antagonists want to maintain that faith and reason are adversaries rather than, as John Paul II put it, ‘like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.’ Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century is a readable antidote to a conventional wisdom that is indeed conventional but not wise.”
—Francis J. Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies, Baylor University; author of Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice

“Lou Markos has joined the top rank of commentators on the work of C. S. Lewis and is a powerful apologist for the Christian faith in his own right. His command of the two great streams of Western thought—Christianity and classics—has enabled him to develop a winsome, sophisticated, and convincing body of work.”
—Robert B. Sloan Jr., President, Houston Baptist University

“Happily, the discipline of apologetics is having something of a renaissance today. In the mix, it would make no sense to neglect the considerable significance of C. S. Lewis. He brought about a great resurgence of interest in the defense of the faith. Louis Markos has done us a great service by posting Lewis’s work in dialogue with the issues of the day, some which were surely contemporaneous with the Oxford pundit and some coming to prominence a bit later, though still issues he would have enjoyed engaging. This volume will help readers see how Lewis would have dealt with the issues of our day. In the end, it will remind readers of the vitality of the claim that the Christian faith is true.”
—William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

“Louis Markos is the Platonic form of the Christian college professor. His love of the Scriptures and his broad mastery of the Western tradition of the humanities makes him the model for a new generation of apologists rising from the universities. His lectures have been a great success with students young and old at the university and with the global audience of The Teaching Company. Readers will discover he is just as delightful in print as he is when roaming the front of a classroom.”
—Hunter Baker, Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, Union University; author, The End of Secularism

“Louis Markos has proved once again that he is one of today’s foremost Christian apologists. Writing with the eloquence and accessibility that characterizes the work of his mentor, C. S. Lewis, he makes the rational case for faith with potency and aplomb. Mirroring the Bible in its structure, Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century begins with an “old testament” (part 1) in which the works of those latter-day prophets, Chesterton, Lewis, and Sayers, lay the foundation for the “new testament” (part 2) in which today’s apologists defy and defeat the “new atheists” and other fashionable dragons. Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century shows Markos to be a twenty-first century apologist of the first and highest order.”
—Joseph Pearce, Writer in Residence and Associate Professor of Literature, Ave Maria University; author, Through Shakespeare’s Eyes and Literary Converts

“Drawing on the rich resources of leading twentieth-century apologists, Louis Markos has crafted a brilliant work of Christian defense. Like Lewis and Chesterton before him, Markos uses his literary wit and scholarly precision to capture both heart and mind as he presents Christian arguments and evidences. Whether you are a skeptic, seeker, or solid believer, your faith will grow as you read this book!”
—Chad V. Meister, Director of Philosophy, Bethel College; Author of Building Belief