APOLOGIA: The Columns: A Defence of Mere Christianity — NEW BOOK!!!
By
Hendrik van der Breggen
APOLOGIA: The Columns: A Defence of Mere Christianity is now available for purchase at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com and elsewhere!
In this collection of newspaper/blog columns (also titled APOLOGIA) a retired philosophy professor (a.k.a. Hendrik van der Breggen) presents important evidences and philosophical arguments related to the major truths of Christianity. The columns (chapters) are short, readable, and thoughtful—now complete with extensive explanatory notes and guides for further investigation.
Endorsements
“This collection of newspaper columns by Hendrik van der Breggen is unlike most other books you will read. The sheer number of hot button issues addressed, alone, makes the book a unique resource for people in need of thoughtful, yet concise, help when faced with the multitude of cultural questions currently swirling around.
Not everyone is able to boil complex issues down to their essential elements and provide thoughtful assessment and direction all in two or three pages. Doing that requires deep understanding of the issues being addressed. Hendrik van der Breggen brings a life-time of teaching philosophy and apologetics to this task and it shows.
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.
For those wanting to raise the level of precision and care in their thinking, this book is packed full of concise definitions, often followed by fuller descriptions, of important terms and concepts such as philosophy, apologetics, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, scientism, truth and the various theories of it, many logical fallacies, and others. The author has also provided assistance for those looking to dig deeper by drawing upon a large number of well-respected sources which are included under the ‘further reading’ sections. 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, author of Why People Don’t Believe: Confronting Seven Challenges to Christian Faith (Baker Books, 2011)
“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, city councillor, newspaper columnist, author of A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning (John Catt Educational, 2020)
“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, editor of The Theology of Benedict XVI: A Protestant Appreciation (Lexham Press, 2019)
“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, author of The Legitimacy of Miracle (Lexington Books, 2014)
“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, author of Judgment and Salvation: A Rhetorical-Critical Reading of Noah's Flood in Genesis (Pickwick Publications, 2022)
“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, author of After Evangelicalism: The Sixties and the United Church of Canada (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2014)