Apologia

February is “I Love to Read” month, so I am delighted to announce that my new book – APOLOGIA: The Columns: A Defence of Mere Christianity – is now available! It can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Hull’s Family Bookstores (in Winnipeg and Steinbach).

This book is a collection (668 pages!) of my newspaper/blog columns – also titled APOLOGIA – many of which appeared over the past 10 or so years in The Carillon (a newspaper in southeast Manitoba). In these columns I present important evidences and philosophical arguments in support of the major truths of basic Christianity and as replies to objections. But it’s not just a collection of my newspaper/blog columns. The columns (chapters) are now complete with extensive explanatory notes – sometimes longer than the original articles! – plus include suggestions for further investigation. Also, some columns are new, written specifically for this book.

Who should read APOLOGIA: The Columns? I recommend the book to high school students, university students, teachers, professors, pastors, parents, politicians, doctors, nurses, lawyers, journalists, mechanics, grocers, farmers, electricians – pretty much anybody who wishes to think carefully about worldview matters in general and Christianity in particular.

The book is also a good introduction to critical (careful) thinking. The book’s section about critical thinking tools – truth, logic, and language – is quite lengthy. This is deliberate. I firmly believe that these tools are crucially important for us today. Why? Because many people today have lost sight of what truth is, lack proficiency in the art of argument, and tend to misuse language. The result is that we live in culture of falsehoods, fallacies, and fog. Part of the purpose of my book is to help clean up this mess.

Here are some endorsements that may be of interest to potential readers of my book:

“Hendrik van der Breggen’s APOLOGIA: The Columns: A Defence of Mere Christianity provides readers with a comprehensive case for what C. S. Lewis famously termed ‘mere Christianity.’ Like Lewis, Hendrik has a gift for making philosophical arguments accessible, without sacrificing rigor. Those new to exploring the credentials of Christianity cannot do better than this book and those of us familiar with Christian apologetics will appreciate the wealth of suggestions provided for further study. This is a book that deserves a wide readership both within and outside Christian faith.”

– Robert A. Larmer, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Philosophy Department Chair, University of New Brunswick

“This collection of newspaper columns by Hendrik van der Breggen is unlike most other books you will read… These columns include intriguing questions, interactive dialogues, and even humorous anecdotes as issue after issue is concisely dissected and explained. In the process, readers will encounter a fresh and well-reasoned defense of the central teachings Christians have always believed along with a number of the philosophical foundations upon which they rest… This book will be an invaluable resource for many.”

– Paul Chamberlain, PhD, Professor of Ethics and Leadership, Director of Institute for Christian Apologetics, Trinity Western University

“I had the pleasure of reading many of these columns in their original form: as op-ed pieces in a local newspaper. And it is a great privilege to read them again, expanded, noted, and gathered together in one place. Dr. van der Breggen is the rare scholar who strives to express complex ideas simply, and to lead readers to reflect on often unintended, and always unhappy, but logically inevitable conclusions of popular positions in religious and moral debate today. This is an accessible, broad, and lively book. It deserves a readership as large as it is!”

– Rev’d Tim Perry, PhD, Professor of Theology, Providence Theological Seminary

“For anyone looking for a comprehensive, yet easy-to-read defense of the Christian faith, I highly recommend this book. Dr. Hendrik van der Breggen has helpfully compiled some of his best newspaper columns from over the years and he also added supporting references and explanatory notes. The end product is a book that is weighty in substance, sharp in argumentation, and winsome in tone. This book is a model of what Christian apologetics should look like.”

– Michael Zwaagstra, MEd, MA, high school teacher, author, Steinbach city councillor

“Ideas have consequences. What is believed matters. Thus asserts Hendrik van der Breggen in APOLOGIA: The Columns: A Defence of Mere Christianity. With highly relevant, poignant stories, fastidious attention to detail, and copious (yet not overwhelming) references, including immeasurably helpful ‘for further study’ sections at the end of each chapter, van der Breggen effectively engages (with enviable wisdom and transparent conviction) the most important evidences and philosophical arguments related to the major truths of Christianity. APOLOGIA: The Columns provides expert guidance for both the uninitiated and seasoned individuals alike concerning critical thinking, logical principles of discourse, and so-called ‘mere Christianity.’ Would that every author provided as sure footing as Hendrik van der Breggen does in this text!”

– Dustin Burlet, PhD, Instructor of Bible, Millar College of the Bible

“This book is the distillation of decades of careful Christian thinking on a wide range of important topics, from skepticism to tolerance to ethics. Dr. van der Breggen models the passion for truth and posture of humble confidence he recommends to his readers. No question or line of argument is off-limits. Whatever their views, readers will find themselves challenged to think, and think again.”

– Kevin N. Flatt, PhD, Professor of History, Associate Dean of Humanities, Redeemer University

Happy “I Love to Read” month!