Pro: A largely solid list of contributors. A top-tier editing duo (Bruce Little and Mark Liederbach). A great introduction to some up and coming authors.
Con: No footnotes (it is all endnotes). A strange (in my opinion) inclusion to an apologetics book, Paige Patterson. Some rehashed and overly published essays.
B&H Academic has released a number of apologetics books over the past few years that are composed of essays from numerous authors. Defending the Faith: Engaging the Culture is the newest such book with this series of essays being written in honor of L. Russ Bush.The essays contained in Defending the Faith are both new and old.
New in the sense that there are a number of authors who are breaking into the world of apologetics. These authors include James Dew. Editor Mark Liederbach (Dr. Liederbach has been around for sometime but his work has been under appreciated in my estimation) is also someone whose name may be to new to most readers. The essays are old in the sense that there are numerous items from the late Dr. Bush and Norman Geisler has contributed with his classic and oft-printed essay, An Apologetic for Apologetics. Likewise, Gary Habermas has contributed one of his well-known essays on the resurrection of Jesus.
Overall, Defending the Faith is an interesting mix. There is at least one contribution that makes little sense to me. Paige Patterson makes an appearance in this book contributing an essay on the atonement (solid essay). Certainly, Patterson is included because of his working relationship with Dr. Bush. However, Patterson is anything but an apologists and this is an apologetics book. So, his contribution seems out-of-place to me.
Most of the essays are quite good with the essays Thomas Nettles and James Dew being two of the more intriguing contributions. Both do a fine job and raise some interesting points. Whether or not you agree with their conclusions, they are worth considering.
In conclusion, Defending the Faith is a solid contribution to the ever-growing collection of popular level apologetics books. Nothing ground breaking occurs in its pages but you may be introduced to some authors that are worth your attention.
Presentation: 4/5
Structure: 4/5
Scholarship: 4/5
Readability: 4/5
Content: 3/5
*Review copy provided by B&H Academic.
April 25, 2011
Book Review