TRUTH, WORLD VIEW and The CROSS
Dr. Janet McMullen
Woodmont Baptist Church, August 23, 1998
Limited Apologetics Bibliography: Resources further exploration
(Dr Mc's Picks!)
Marshall, Peter and David Manuel
McDowell, Josh
Noebel, David Understanding the Times: The Religious Worldviews of Our Day and the Search for Harvest House (Available through Summit Ministry)
Wilson, Bill The Best of Josh McDowelll: A Ready Defense Thomas Nelson
Zacharias, Ravi
Notes on the above:
The Marshall and Manuel books (and they have completed a third about the Civil War period) are excellent for historical background. They also provide insight into the intellectual and spiritual perspectives of historical figures of the time. These are excellent foundational books to place the development of Western Thought in the context of our own history. I promise you will be greatly moved by them, and never think that you are reading a "history book"
The McDowell books are excellent and detailed. As a graduate student seeking to prove the falsity of the Bible and Jesus claims, Josh McDowell methodically lays out the arguments AGAINST both and then refutes those arguments in a clear and impeccably logical manner.
Bill Wilson edited a collection of Josh McDowell's writings in this one volume. They are topically arranged for ease of reference. This is a "must" for your library!
Understanding the Times is the most thorough book of its kind I have ever seen. A key part of the Summit Ministries Curriculum, it is essentially a text/reference book at the upper-division collegiate level. It is organized by discipline (hard sciences, social sciences, political science, history, literature, etc.) and provides information and even charts which lay out the major world views as they are applied to each discipline. This is perfect if you have a question in biology, for example, because you can go to the appropriate chapter and find the information you need.
For the hard-core philosophers and logicians, Ravi Zacharias is hard to beat. He is both philosopher, logician and Bible believing Christian, who makes the case for Christianity powerfully, precisely and most persuasively. His books are excellent, and his web site is great as well. If you do not have some basic background in philosophy, this might take a little more time to get through, but even at that, it is clear and not difficult to read. Do yourself a favor, and read a chapter or two and let it soak in for a day or so before you go to the next! This is a book you will definitely want to read with a HIGHLIGHTER so you can go back to key points!
Additional Recommended books: (for a great and far more complete bibliography, see http://www.rzim.org/ bibliography.htm)
Secular Books of interest:
Both of these are favorites of mine. They will really impact how you think about media and about our society.
You might also want to read some of the works of Francis Shaeffer, Watchman Nee and others. It is also important to understand the beliefs of the other world religions so that you can understand how those beliefs differ from our own and how they weigh against scripture.
I also understand that William Bennett has a new book coming out this week or next. It is currently available at Amazon.com. It is concerned with the decline of morality in our society.
WHEN YOU READ:
Happy reading!!!!
Copyright, 1998
Dr. Janet McMullen