Resources

Recommended Reading

Have questions about faith? You're not the first. These books and essays take the big questions seriously, from whether God exists to whether we can trust the Bible. Start with the easy reads, then go deeper by topic.

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Easy to Read

  1. 01

    Confronting Christianity

    12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion

    Rebecca McLaughlin

    Crossway, 2019

  2. 02

    Mere Christianity

    C.S. Lewis

    Harper SanFrancisco, 2009

  3. 03

    Unapologetic

    Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense

    Francis Spufford

    HarperOne, 2013

  4. 04

    Gunning for God

    Why the New Atheists are Missing the Target

    John C. Lennox

    Lion, 2011

  5. 05

    The Reason for God

    Belief in an Age of Skepticism

    Tim Keller

    Dutton, 2008

  6. 06

    Making Sense of God

    Tim Keller

    Viking, 2016

  7. 07

    Basic Christianity

    John Stott

    Inter-Varsity, 2012

Go deeper

Topical Reading

    • “The Flag of the World”G.K. ChestertonChapter 5 in Orthodoxy: The Romance of Faith (Doubleday, 1990). Also see excerpt in G. Koloszyc, The Journey: Our Quest for Faith and Meaning (NavPress, 2001), pp.159–163.
    • “The World is Dew”IssaIn G. Koloszyc, The Journey: Our Quest for Faith and Meaning (NavPress, 2001), pp.148–149.
    • Beyond IdentityDick KeyesFinding Yourself in the Image and Character of God (Destinee, 1998).
    • The Prodigal GodT. KellerDutton, 2008.
    • Counterfeit GodsT. KellerDutton, 2009.
    • “On Living in an Atomic Age”C.S. LewisIn Present Concerns (Mariners Books, 2002).
    • “De Futilitate”C.S. LewisIn Christian Reflections, W. Hooper, ed. (Eerdmans, 1967).
    • “The Weight of Glory”C.S. LewisAvailable online.
    • Making Sense of It AllThomas MorrisPascal and the Meaning of Life (Eerdmans, 1992).
    • Hope Has Its ReasonsRebecca PippertHarper, 1990.
    • Creed or Chaos?Dorothy SayersHarcourt and Brace, 1949.
    • Inventing the IndividualLarry SiedentopThe Origins of Western Liberalism (Allen Lane, 2014).
    • A Secular Age and Sources of the SelfCharles TaylorA Secular Age (Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2007) and Sources of the Self: The Making of Modern Identity (Harvard University Press, 1992).
    • “Christianity and the Roots of Human Dignity in Late Antiquity”Kyle HarperIn Shah and Hertzke, Christianity and Freedom, pp.123–148.
    • The Idea of Natural RightsBrian TierneyStudies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law (Emory University Press, 1997).
    • “The Fatal Flaw of Liberalism”W.H. AudenIn G. Koloszyc, The Journey: Our Quest for Faith and Meaning (NavPress, 2001), pp.75–78.
    • “The Victory of Christianity over Greek Philosophy”Luc FerryChapter 3 in A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living (Harper, 2010).
    • Atheist DelusionsDavid Bentley HartThe Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies (Yale, 2009).
    • “Letter from Birmingham Jail”Martin Luther King, Jr.In G. Koloszyc, The Journey: Our Quest for Faith and Meaning (NavPress, 2001), pp.125–131.
    • “The Poison of Subjectivism”C.S. LewisIn Christian Reflections, W. Hooper, ed. (Eerdmans, 1967).
    • The Decline of the Secular UniversityC. John SommervilleOxford, 2006.
    • The Rise of ChristianityRodney StarkHarper, 1997.
    • Exclusion and EmbraceMiroslav VolfA Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (Abingdon, 1996).
    • Atheist OverreachChristian SmithWhat Atheism Can’t Deliver (Yale, 2018).
    • Scientism and SecularismJ.P. MorelandCrossway, 2018.
    • Science and the GoodJames Davison Hunter & Paul NedeliskyThe Tragic Quest for the Foundations of Morality (Yale University Press, 2018).
    • Mind and CosmosThomas NagelWhy the Materialist, NeoDarwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False (Oxford University Press, 2012).
    • “The Suicide of Thought”G.K. ChestertonChapter 3 in Orthodoxy: The Romance of Faith (Doubleday, 1990). Also in Francis S. Collins, Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith (HarperOne, 2010), pp.281–288.
    • Straw DogsJohn GrayThoughts on Humans and Other Animals (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2002).
    • “Excerpt from Ends and Means”Aldous HuxleyIn G. Koloszyc, The Journey: Our Quest for Faith and Meaning (NavPress, 2001), pp.214–216.
    • “Reason for Hope (in the Postmodern World)” and “Faith and Reason”Michael J. Murray & Caleb MillerIn Reason for the Hope Within, Michael J. Murray, ed. (Eerdmans, 1999).
    • “The Wager”Blaise PascalIn G. Koloszyc, The Journey: Our Quest for Faith and Meaning (NavPress, 2001), pp.186–196.
    • Knowledge and Christian BeliefAlvin PlantingaEerdmans, 2015.
    • Natural Signs and Knowledge of GodC. Stephen EvansA New Look at Theistic Arguments (Oxford, 2010).
    • The Blackwell Companion to Natural TheologyW.L. Craig & J.P. Moreland, eds.Blackwell, 2011.
    • Reasonable FaithWilliam Lane CraigChristian Truth and Apologetics (Crossway, 2008).
    • “Theistic Arguments”William C. DavisChapter 2 in Reason for the Hope Within, Michael J. Murray, ed. (Eerdmans, 1999).
    • The Experience of GodDavid Bentley HartBeing, Consciousness, Bliss (Yale, 2014).
    • The Language of GodFrancis CollinsA Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (Free Press, 2006).
    • “A Scientific Argument for the Existence of God: The Fine-Tuning Design Argument”Robin CollinsIn Reason for the Hope Within, Michael J. Murray, ed. (Eerdmans, 1999).
    • “Religion and Science” and “Miracles and Christian Theism”W. Christopher Stewart & J.A. CoverChapters 13 and 14 in Reason for the Hope Within, Michael J. Murray, ed. (Eerdmans, 1999).
    • “Unspeakable Ethics, Unnatural Law”Arthur Allen LeffDuke Law Journal (Dec, 1979). Available online.
    • True ParadoxDavid SkeelHow Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World (IVP Books, 2014).
    • “Is A Secular Grounding of Human Rights Possible?” and “A Theistic Grounding of Human Rights”Nicholas WolterstorffIn Justice: Rights and Wrongs (Princeton, 2008).
    • “God, Evil, and Suffering”Daniel Howard-SnyderChapter 4 in Reason for the Hope Within, Michael J. Murray, ed. (Eerdmans, 1999).
    • Walking with God through Pain and SufferingT. KellerChapters 1–5 (Dutton, 2013).
    • “Religious Pluralism” and “Eastern Religions”Timothy O’Connor & Robin CollinsIn Reason for the Hope Within, Michael J. Murray, ed. (Eerdmans, 1999).
    • Can We Trust the Gospels?Peter J. WilliamsCrossway, 2018.
    • Who Chose the Gospels?Charles E. HillProbing the Great Gospel Conspiracy (Oxford, 2010).
    • The Jesus LegendPaul R. Eddy & Gregory A. BoydA Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition (Baker Academic, 2007).
    • The Historical Reliability of the New TestamentCraig BlombergBroadman and Holman, 2016.
    • Confronting Old Testament ControversiesTremper LongmanPressing Questions about Evolution, Sexuality, History, Violence (Baker Academic, 2019).
    • The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?F.F. Bruce6th ed. (Eerdmans, 1981).
    • “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism”C.S. LewisIn Christian Reflections, W. Hooper, ed. (Eerdmans, 1967).
    • Can We Trust the Gospels?Mark D. RobertsInvestigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (Crossway, 2007).
    • A Doubter’s Guide to JesusJohn DicksonAn Introduction to the Man from Nazareth for Believers and Skeptics.
    • Finding the Historical ChristPaul BarnettEerdmans, 2009.
    • Encounters With JesusT. KellerUnexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions (Dutton, 2012).
    • “What Are We To Make of Jesus Christ”C.S. LewisFrom God in the Dock (Eerdmans, 1972).
    • “Excerpt from Surprised by Joy”C.S. LewisIn G. Koloszyc, The Journey: Our Quest for Faith and Meaning (NavPress, 2001), pp.200–205.
    • The Resurrection of JesusMichael R. LiconaA New Historiographical Approach (Inter-Varsity, 2010).