As Christians engage controversial cultural issues, we must remember that "all things hold together in Christ" (Col. 1:17)--even when it comes to science and faith. In this anthology, top Christian thinkers--including Robert Barron, Timothy George, Stanley Hauerwas, Alasdair MacIntyre, Mark Noll, and N. T. Wright--invite us to find resources for faithful, creative thinking in the riches of the church's theological heritage and its worship traditions.

Francis A. Schaeffer offers a biblical perspective on the arts.

Nearly everyone finds beauty compelling, so Christian apologists should devise ways to present an ""aesthetic Christian apologetic."" Nearly all apologists admit that the beauty of a life well lived and the beauty of the Christian community (along with the use of media and the arts) are not only helpful for apologetics but essential in a postmodern culture. In fact, it is frustrating to see how many apologists mention the need for such an approach but go on devoting most of their energies to traditional approaches. This book is different. It clearly shows the pros and cons of traditional approaches and offers a fresh perspective as well, arguing that beauty is the most compelling apologetic, and suggesting ways to implement such an approach. It demonstrates how Western culture arrived in its current unfortunate situation and uses both Scripture and figures like Athenagoras and Jonathan Edwards to challenge current views on apologetics. ""For too long, evangelical Christians have sometimes acted as though apologetics were simply a matter of reaching the intellect with more data. Joe Wooddell, one of the brightest lights in evangelical Christian philosophy, continues the conversation in another direction with this fascinating book. I commend it to you, and long for the day when evangelical Christianity clearly engages the mind, the heart, and the imagination with the gospel of Jesus Christ."" --Russell D. Moore Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ""This is a timely, careful book bringing together the neglected topics of apologetics and of beauty and aesthetics. Joe provides a detailed, constructively critical analysis of various apologetic approaches and sets it in an historical discussion of beauty as a tool for reaching people for Christ, the Beautiful One. Well worth an informed read. It will excite and inspire. --E. David Cook Holmes Professor of faith and Learning Wheaton College ""Wooddell's emphasis on aesthetics in the field of apologetics is as needed in today's Christian community as it is demonstrated in his own life. With singular focus, Wooddell uses the complex relations between beauty, knowledge, virtue, and faith to demonstrate that purely evidentialist and logical arguments for faith are insufficient in a postmodern context. The Christian community will do a better job of fulfilling our greatest commission if we heed Wooddell's advice and reincorporate the beauty of our lives, world, and faith into our apologetic and ministry."" --Barry Creamer Associate Professor of Humanities Criswell College Joseph D. Wooddell is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Criswell College in Dallas, Texas. He is coeditor of The Baptist Faith and Message 2000: Critical Issues in America's Largest Protestant Denomination (2007).

In our increasingly disenchanted age, can we still regard the Bible as God's Word? Why should we consider it trustworthy and dare to believe what it says? Top Old Testament theologian R. W. L. Moberly explains why the Bible is unlike any other book by exploring the differences between it and other ancient writings. He explains why it makes sense to turn to the Bible with the expectation of finding ultimate truth in it, offering a robust apology for faith in the God of the Bible that's fully engaged with critical scholarship and reasonable in the twenty-first century.

How the Five Solas Can Renew Biblical Interpretation

In recent years, notable scholars have argued that the Protestant Reformation unleashed interpretive anarchy on the church. Is it time to consider the Reformation to be a 500-year experiment gone wrong?

World-renowned evangelical theologian Kevin Vanhoozer thinks not. While he sees recent critiques as legitimate, he argues that retrieving the Reformation's core principles offers an answer to critics of Protestant biblical interpretation. Vanhoozer explores how a proper reappropriation of the five solas--sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (in Christ alone), and sola Deo gloria (for the glory of God alone)--offers the tools to constrain biblical interpretation and establish interpretive authority. He offers a positive assessment of the Reformation, showing how a retrieval of "mere Protestant Christianity" has the potential to reform contemporary Christian belief and practice.

This provocative response and statement from a top theologian is accessibly written for pastors and church leaders.