With our Foundations series, we are putting theology back where it belongs: in the Church. We believe that Christian scholarship in important doctrinal areas should no longer be the sole prerogative of the academician. Too many professional theologians write from a purely academic perspective that limits their usefulness because their studies have become detached from the life of the Church. Instead, we believe good theology should be the fruit of pastoral labor from those who have spent much time in the text and among the people of God. But we are also concerned that the Church by and large has lost its vision for careful thinking and rigorous scholarship. Therefore, we also desire to bring theology back to the Church for the sake of her health and joy.
Apologetics by the Book | Cliff McManis – For years Christian apologetics has suffered from an identity problem. What constitutes the practice of apologetics? How should engage unbelieving arguments? Should we separate apologetics and evangelism? Examine the latest books on the topic of apologetics and you will find a vast and irreconcilable array of answers to these questions. By rooting his discussion first and foremost in Scripture while examining the most popular apologetic approaches and arguments, Cliff McManis demonstrates that the practice of apologetics is not the prerogative of a few scholars, but the privilege of every Christian. Read the PDF for free here. Purchase a physical copy here.
Redeeming Apologetics | Cliff McManis – Jesus was the Master defender of the faith. And Jesus always used special revelation to defend it. Special revelation was His starting point. His favorite phrases when talking with skeptics, detractors, and unbelievers were, “Have you not read?” and “It is written.” He never resorted to natural theology. His Apostles never relied on sheer human reason to advance or defend the gospel, but like their Master, they also began and ended with special revelation. So also, Christians today should defend the Christian faith with special revelation, just as Jesus and the Apostles did. And for us today, special revelation is found in Scripture, God’s infallible, inerrant, authoritative, holy Word—the Bible. This approach to defending the faith has been given various labels, most commonly presuppositionalism. And far from being recent, it is a tradition rooted in history tracing its roots back to Christ and the Bible itself. That is the argument Dr. Cliff McManis makes in this volume, while at the same time exposing the folly of the many common approaches to apologetics that lean on secular philosophy and unredeemed ideologies for their systems. Read the PDF for free here. Purchase a physical copy here.