Phil Fernandes
About the Author
Dr. Phil Fernandes is the pastor of Trinity Bible Fellowship and the president of the Institute of Biblical Defense. He is also the director of the Doctor of Ministry program for Veritas International University and an adjunct professor for Northwest University, Kirkland, WA. He is currently the vice-president of the International Society of Christian Apologetics. He has debated leading atheists at universities such as Princeton, UNC Chapel Hill, Washington State University, and the State University of New York. He and his lovely wife Cathy live in Washington State. They have two daughters and three grandsons.
About the Book
The Bible commands all believers to defend the faith. But, how are we to do apologetics? The author discusses seventeen different ways Christians can defend their faith. He discusses the methods of some of the greatest apologists, past and present, to educate readers, thus helping them to “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
Publisher : True Freedom Press (January 19, 2024)
Language : English
Paperback : 346 pages
ISBN-10 : 1998917053
ISBN-13 : 978-1998917051
Endorsements
“Fernandes’s new book, The Fernandes Guide to Apologetic Methodologies, is a stunning achievement. It is meticulously documented and easy to read. I know of no other book by anyone that covers so many apologists and carefully delineates their unique methodology. If you want to learn how to do anything well, you should start by seeing how the experts go about doing it, and Fernandes’s book is the very best on the market in this regard. It is a treasure trove of help to the reader. But there is a second feature to this book that sets it apart from all the others: It provides a precis of the evidence and arguments used by each apologist. In this way, the reader is treated to a plethora of arguments and evidence that can be used in doing apologetics, all of which are quickly and easily accessed with a minimum of effort. This book should be required reading in seminary and Christian-college courses on apologetics, as well as the first place to go for any apologist interested in learning about the issues. There is nothing like this high-quality book. I enthusiastically recommend it!”
—JP Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University and author of A Simple Guide to Miracles
“Dr. Phil Fernandes does a wonderful job of showing you how the greatest minds in the history of the church have made their case for the truth of Christianity. And I love how he gets to the point quickly and clearly. You’ll get the essence of what these amazing apologists believed. Highly recommended!”
—Frank Turek is an American apologist, author, public speaker, and radio host. He is best known as the founder and president of Christian apologetics ministry CrossExamined.org. Turek co-authored two books with Christian philosopher Norman Geisler.
“Virtually no other volumes on this subject of apologetic methods either covers this many individual apologists and their approaches, includes such a host of related questions, or is as complete as is this text by my former student, friend and scholar Phil Fernandes. The author of more than a dozen other books in this field, Phil knows his way exceedingly well around this terrain. I heartily recommend this volume for use in courses on this and related subjects, as well as for those students who just wish to study the apologetic lay of the land in recent decades.”
—Gary R. Habermas, Distinguished Research Professor, Liberty University PhD in Divinity program
“Dr. Phil Fernandes is a veteran Christian scholar and apologist who has debated a number of leading contemporary critics of Christianity. In this well-reasoned and clearly written handbook he provides a wealth of information about the Christian apologetics enterprise. Readers of this text will be introduced to many of the key defenders of the faith in church history as well most of today’s leading Christian apologists and their specific apologetic methodologies. Fernandes introduces the reader to various fields and categories of apologetics analysis. This is a valuable educational, theological, and apologetics tool. Highly recommended.”
—Kenneth Samples is a senior research scholar at Reasons to Believe. He has made guest appearances on programs such as FOX News and Stand to Reason.
“Phil Fernandes’s new book makes two important contributions to the study of Apologetics. He has a more thorough analysis of the methodological options than we have seen before and a more complete coverage of apologists both current and historical than is available anywhere else. Budding apologists who
want to learn from the masters will get an outstanding survey of the field, and veterans will find gaps in their own knowledge closed in a very useful way. I recommend the book with great enthusiasm.”
—Donald T. Williams, PhD Professor Emeritus, Toccoa Falls College Past President, International Society of Christian Apologetics
“Among evangelical Christians, apologetics has become an increasingly popular field, both on the academic level and in the world of so-called popular thought. Consequently, onslaughts on Christian beliefs outside of the evangelical perimeter have also become more sophisticated, spawning an atheist movement characterized by a virtually missionary zeal, which in turn should lead Christian to an even greater effort in apologetic. However, different apologists use different methodologies, and Christians studying the arguments on behalf of Christianity may find themselves confused by names, terminology, and specific topics. Now, Phil Fernandes has stepped into the needed space, and his book is giving us a guide to the diverse traditions and the writers who represent them. To understand them is to come to terms with the unity underlying the goals of different approaches, not to accept them all uncritically (which would be logically impossible), but to come together in the recognition of a common goal and an appreciation for the contributions made by the various advocates on behalf of Christian truth.”
—Winfried Corduan, author of In the Beginning God: A Fresh Look at Original Monotheism
“Dr. Phil Fernandes has done a tremendous service for the body of Christ in several ways. He has helped us see the bigger picture of how the church has defended the faith from the early church to today, simplifying the thoughts of these great defenders and noting the significant contribution each has made in the church’s history. Furthermore, Dr. Phil has provided an insightful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of certain apologetic methodologies after giving us some help in better understanding their characteristics. He also provides every follower of Christ a treasure trove of the best arguments from the best apologists of the last 100 years that can be used in our daily witness. This book is by far the best one-volume summary of the apologetic landscape I’ve ever read and should be an essential resource for every church library and every Christian institution.”
—Dr. David Geisler is President of Norm Geisler International Ministries Inc. and Executive Producer and Co-Writer of Norm Geisler: Not Qualified.
“The Fernandes Guide to Apologetic Methodologies is a veritable treasure trove of information and insight into the various apologetic methodologies. Dr. Fernandes has made it easy to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the numerous approaches to defending the Faith. This makes this resource a must read for pastors, students, apologists, or anyone wishing to understand the field of apologetics and become more efficient in sharing their faith. I highly recommend this resource!”
—Joseph M. Holden, PhD President, Veritas International University
“The Fernandes Guide to Apologetic Methodologies provides a panoramic view of seventeen apologetic methodologies—seventeen ways ancient and contemporary apologists have confronted the seemingly irresolvable, catastrophic problems of their cultures with the resolve offered by the timeless, transcendent truth of the Christian faith!
Contemporary Western Civilization is sharply divided—socially, culturally, politically, religiously, and familiarly. The West is on the verge of two extremes: (1) A totalitarian regime ruled by elites who, through intimidation and coercion, control people’s lives or (2) A society turned-over to itself and controlled by its own narcissistic impulses and consequently, distracted from critical, evaluative thinking by constantly changing technology that thinks for them—either an Orwellian “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1949) or a Huxleyan “Brave New World (1932), or a combination of both, is about to be fulfilled in Western Culture.
Western culture is divided; but on one thing, a significant portion of the populous is united in their angst: What is so terribly wrong with my country? Will this madness pass or will it continue until it radically transforms America and Western Civilization in irreversible ways?
This is a call to spiritual arms (2 Cor. 10:4) for the Church, for this is ultimately a metaphysical fight—“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph.
6:11b-12). Governments are not called for this kind of fight.
With the skill of a seasoned craftsman, the precision of a steady-handed cardiologist, and Soloman-like wisdom gained through time, and scholarship, Dr. Fernandes offers to be his readers’ guide in answering the pressing questions about Western Culture, and providing the solution, “in Christ”!
The Fernandes Guide to Apologetic Methodologies is far more than an academic contribution, it offers means to timely answers regarding the West’s cultural crisis— The need to include this work in all apologetics curriculums, to include, Institutes, Bible Colleges, Seminaries, and Graduate Schools as required reading is URGENT!”
