Contending with Christianity's Critics: Anwering New Atheists and Other Objectors Book

Good book offering concise answers to an array of today's more popular-level challenges to Christianity brought out by New Atheists, Bart Ehrman, Internet Atheists, da Vinci Code/Jesus Seminar stuff, etc. All of the chapters are short, and that might matter more in other venues, but the critics this book interacts with are not known for the sophistication and erudition of their challenges to Christianity. The kind of criticisms the book addresses are those you're more likely to hear from your local village atheist, or just-History-channel-informed rank unbeliever.

Here's some of what you'll get: William Lane Craig consigns Dawkins's main argument against God in The God Delusion to dustbin of "the worst atheistic argument in the history of Western thought", thus relieving Stephen Hawking of that weighty title (so given to Hawking by atheist Quentin Smith). Victor Reppert offers his argument from reason, looking at some recent criticisms of it. Mark Linville addresses evolutionary ethics, and show the moral poverty of evolutionary naturalism, Greg Ganssle looks at Dawkins's "bets argument against God's existence," Robert Stein discusses the Gospel's authenticity, while Daniel Wallace critiques Bart Ehrman's arguments against New Testament Reliability, Gary Habermas discusses the early witness to Jesus Resurrection, and Craig Evans discusses how scholars fabricate Jesus. These are just some of the chapters in this volume.

There is a section on the coherence of Christian doctrine, but I generally found that to be less than helpful and something I wouldn't recommend without qualification. However, I found two notable contributions in this section: David Hunt critiqued Open Theism and Steve Porter defended Penal Substitution.

Overall, this book is a fine edition to the growing literature of responses to the new atheism, as well as other popular-level criticisms you'll find being made of Christianity.