In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.
David Foster Wallace
Exploring Christianity?
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“But all people know, in cooler moments, that this strange thing we call justice, this longing for things to be put right, remains one of the greatest human goals and dreams. Christians believe that this is so because all humans have heard, deep within themselves, the echo of a voice which calls us to live like that. And they believe that in Jesus that voice became human and did what had to be done to bring it about.”
N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (HarperOne, 2010) Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader is starting from ground zero with no predisposition to and perhaps even some negativity toward religion in general and Christianity in particular. His goal is to describe Christianity in as simple and accessible, yet hopefully attractive and exciting, a way as possible.
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Tim Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (Dutton, 2008). First half deals with common objections to Christianity. The middle seeks to make a positive case for the rationality of belief. Finally, there’s a basic treatment of the main Christian beliefs.
“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Harper San Francisco, 2009). Most complete single volume to read. Gives both explanations of the beliefs of Christianity along with arguments for their validity. However, while popular in style, Lewis demands that the reader follow long sequences of logical argument.
“History can be messy business and there is a lot we don’t know. (I think Christians are afraid of that proposition, although — again if they are thinking about their faith rightly — they shouldn’t be.) In response to new intellectual challenges we need more Christians trained to think analytically and less Christians who claim to have it all sorted.”
Nicholas Perrin, Lost in Transmission: What We Can Know About the Words of Jesus (Thomas Nelson, 2009) In an approachable, compelling style, Perrin gives us a layman’s guide to textual criticism so that readers can understand critiques and provides firm evidence to suggest that the New Testament can, indeed, be trusted.