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On Giant's Shoulders - Studies in Christian ApologeticsON GIANTS' SHOULDERS: Studies in Christian Apologetics Edgar Powell has set himself the task of confronting the secular approach to life and to evaluate the alternatives (p.14) and believes that he has shown 'that there is sufficient evidence and arguments to vindicate the Christian faith' (p.196). Each of the 12 chapters ends with recommended reading, end-notes, questions for further study and food for thought. This makes it suitable for a study guide, but the material is of a level that will make it most suitable for students rather than the average church study group. The book is liberally filled with quotations which some will find a valuable resource and others will probably find it irritating. They do prevent the smooth flow of the argument that would follow from the author's own words. However, the quotes are a relevant and useful compendium of material. After presenting an apology for apologetics, Eddie goes on to review the arguments for the existence of God. One message comes clearly from this book and that is that the anti-Christian attacks on God are based on a non-Christian view of him. The thoughtful reader will probably be thinking of other arguments for believing in God such as the problem of evil, the desire for justice and so on. Never fear - they come up in a later chapter! The author deals with the nature of man, showing that the materialistic view is illogical. It is interesting that Richard Dawkins, the leading Darwinist in this country, rejects social Darwinism because of its implications. He admits that 'love' makes no evolutionary sense. After a chapter demonstrating the reliability of Scripture, Edgar Powell moves on to the problems arising from materialistic science. It would have been useful if he had developed the critique of complementarianism (that science and Scripture are different approaches to the same subject). I am less convinced from the evidence that Darwin was converted (p.112) as he approached the end of his life (though I would love to know it was true!). He rightly challenges branches of creationism that seek to present it as science. Creation is a biblical doctrine (indeed, Genesis 1 and 2 are clearly miraculous). He recommends that we should be exposing the false naturalistic assumptions of materialistic science and evaluating its ideas scientifically. The final chapters deal with the uniqueness of Christianity, the issue of justice and hell, of suffering and miracles. Before summarising his case in the last chapter, the author uses his own expertise as a geologist to challenge the evolutionary assumptions in the interpretation of the geological record. This is a thought-provoking book which I imagine I will be returning to from time to time. JHJPJohn Peet© Evangelicals Now - April 2000 |