"Good" Protestant Apologists

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Granting that none of them could be called “great” from our perspective, many of them have an approach to and/or explanation of things we agree on that can be helpful to us.

And to boot, when we know their take on the things we disagree on, we can learn how to better answer to those issues ourselves, right?

As a fairly strict Historical Apologist myself, I like Josh McDowell.

Can any of you share the names of the Protestant Apologists that you like, admire, find worthy opponents, etc.?

Thanks!
 
catholica said:
Granting that none of them could be called “great” from our perspective
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I think you’re wrong. Most Catholics I have talked to would consider C.S. Lewis a great apologist. He’s certainly in a league far above any of the “Catholic apologists” currently active in the U.S. of whom I’m aware.

Most apologists are propagandistic hacks. It’s an intrinsically demoralizing pursuit. It wasn’t even very good for Lewis, as he recognized in his great poem “The Apologist’s Evening Prayer.” An apologist is like a lawyer in the U.S. adversarial system–he (or she) sets out to make the best case possible for one side. That means that it’s possible for an apologist or a lawyer to be honest, but it’s very, very difficult, and in practice almost none are.

Edwin
 
Amen,
Most Catholics would count C.S. Lewis as a great apologist.

I believe Ravi Zacharias is one of the best Protestant Apologists alive these days.

God Bless
Scylla
 
Contarini said:
An apologist is like a lawyer in the U.S. adversarial system–he (or she) sets out to make the best case possible for one side. That means that it’s possible for an apologist or a lawyer to be honest, but it’s very, very difficult, and in practice almost none are.

Edwin
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I can’t speak for apologists, but I’ll disagree with you as to lawyers. In practice most are.
 
Excellent points. C.S. Lewis is more than great, he’s awesome. Of course, though, he’s a rare breed. I think if he’d have lived longer, he would have converted.

My mindset while posting the question was such that I was not thinking of CS Lewis.

…is there another non-Catholic apologist that we’d call great?

I’ve not read Ravi Zacharias. I’ll check him out.
 
scylla said:
.

I believe Ravi Zacharias is one of the best Protestant Apologists alive these days.
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I second Zacharias–I always get something from his talks and books. I really like how he takes on secularism.

I’ve also become a big fan of Hank Hanegraff. He has some mistaken notions about Catholicism, but he’s fair and not anti-Catholic.

I’ve never read C.S. Lewis, I’m going to have to!
 
scylla said:
Amen,
Most Catholics would count C.S. Lewis as a great apologist.

I believe Ravi Zacharias is one of the best Protestant Apologists alive these days.

God Bless
Scylla
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C.S. Lewis was great. Ravi Zacharias is one of my favourite current apologists, Catholic or Protestant. His show is about the only non-music program that I listen to on Moody Broadcasting Network.
 
catholica said:
FYI, I’d add D. James Kennedy to my list…but I have a hard time with “great” so I’ll call him “almost great” 🙂
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Beware of Dr. Kennedy I have listened to him for years. Yes, he’s a great orator but I have heard him misrepresent the Catholic faith a couple of times (St. Patrick not being a Catholic or a saint and his explaination of our belief in the Communion of Saints). I have come to the conclusion that he is either ignorant or prejudice of Catholics. You decide. If you think he is ignorant on certain Catholic issues then even more shame on him for not doing proper research before passing it on to his many listeners.
 
Contarini said:
That means that it’s possible for an apologist or a lawyer to be honest, but it’s very, very difficult, and in practice almost none are.

Edwin
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My best friend is an attorney and is one of the most honest men I know. And he’s an Episcopalian!

Add Alvin Plantinga to the list. In my opinion, the most intelligent and reasonable Reformed thinker alive today.
 
R.C. Sproul.

He is against Catholicism, but he has never, at least that we have seen, misrepresented Catholicism. In fact, he corrects a lot of Protestant misconceptions about Catholicism. It’s really cool to read or hear how he blasts some of the anti-Catholic lies that some of his own Reformed teachers have propagated.

He has a wonderful logical mind and argues very effectively for belief in God as opposed to atheism. He’s also a good communicator.
 
My HERO, and one of the reasons I converted to Catholicism: CHARLES COLSON!!!

This is the man who co-started Evangelicals and Catholics Together. He has the absolute best mind and deepest insights of any Protestant today. I would go so far as to call him the Protestant Pope, except that many Protestants don’t accept him because of his support of Catholicism.

Read Being the Body by Chuck Colson. It is in this book that he outlines the importance of Christians coming together and working against Satan and his evil. His description of the fall of communism is the best I’ve seen, even from Catholics–Mr. Colson gives so much credit to Pope John Paul II.

And there is a very touching part in the book where he comes to realize that there is nothing “wrong” with the Sign of the Cross. Very neat stuff to read.

Unfortunately, like I said, a lot of Protestants accuse him of “poping out.”

I pray that he will eventually become Catholic!
 
Cat said:
My HERO, and one of the reasons I converted to Catholicism: CHARLES COLSON!!!

This is the man who co-started Evangelicals and Catholics Together. He has the absolute best mind and deepest insights of any Protestant today. I would go so far as to call him the Protestant Pope, except that many Protestants don’t accept him because of his support of Catholicism.

Read Being the Body by Chuck Colson. It is in this book that he outlines the importance of Christians coming together and working against Satan and his evil. His description of the fall of communism is the best I’ve seen, even from Catholics–Mr. Colson gives so much credit to Pope John Paul II.

And there is a very touching part in the book where he comes to realize that there is nothing “wrong” with the Sign of the Cross. Very neat stuff to read.

Unfortunately, like I said, a lot of Protestants accuse him of “poping out.”

I pray that he will eventually become Catholic!
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He’s great too, because he reformed his life when he was in prison and now does prison ministry.
 
Cat said:
My HERO, and one of the reasons I converted to Catholicism: CHARLES COLSON!!!

This is the man who co-started Evangelicals and Catholics Together. He has the absolute best mind and deepest insights of any Protestant today. I would go so far as to call him the Protestant Pope, except that many Protestants don’t accept him because of his support of Catholicism.

Read Being the Body by Chuck Colson. It is in this book that he outlines the importance of Christians coming together and working against Satan and his evil. His description of the fall of communism is the best I’ve seen, even from Catholics–Mr. Colson gives so much credit to Pope John Paul II.

And there is a very touching part in the book where he comes to realize that there is nothing “wrong” with the Sign of the Cross. Very neat stuff to read.

Unfortunately, like I said, a lot of Protestants accuse him of “poping out.”

I pray that he will eventually become Catholic!
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I can’t believe I forgot about him. I thought Being the Body was one of the best books I’ve read. His story is inspirational and the good work he does truly amazing!
 
C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite writers, Catholic or non-Catholic. I would second the vote on Ravi Zacharias- I’ve heard his radio program a few times, and it was good.
I read one of Chuck Colson’s books- Loving God, and enjoyed it. One of my favorite parts in the book is where he debunked those who claim that the disciples hid the body of Jesus to make a case for the resurrection by comparing it to the Watergate scandal. With the Watergate scandal, many involved had wealth, power and prestige, and had a vested interest in covering it up, yet almost all broke and tried to make a deal to stay out of jail. OTOH, the apostles were poor, and the only thing they got was death, torture and imprisonment, If the Resurrection was simply a conspiracy, then why would they undergo torture and execution when they would be welcomed with open arms (and open purses) by the authorities for spilling the beans?
 
I think RC Sproul is probably the most prolific if not the best in America today. I’m currently reading “The Holiness of God”, which I highly recommend. (ligonier.org)

James White has written many excellent books. Most notable is his exposition on the nature of God in “The Forgotten Trinity” (which BTW carries an endorsement from Fr. Mitch Pacwa.) (aomin.org)

CS Lewis should be in every English speaking library.

Gary Demar, at americanvision.org is doing some great work trying to engage the culture from a biblical worldview. “Thinking Straight in a Crooked World.”

Greg Bahnsen provides some excellent apologetic guidance in “Always Ready.”

Finally you should also check out Lee Stoble’s series (The Case for Christ, The Case for the Creator, …etc)

I’m sure there are many others, D. James Kennedy, John MacArthur, to name two. I recently read a book titled “Christianity’s Competitors” which was very good, but I forgot the author and I can find my copy.

Hope this helps.
 
John MacArthur is not “good” and should not be on the list here.😦
 
I like Os Guinness (yes hes part of the “Guinness” beer family) although i dont know that he is actually a protestant. Hes been featured on “The Veritas Forum” quite a few times, along with Ravi Zacharias. Other ones I appreciate are Gene Cook Jr. (though hes hostile to Catholicism–calls in an apostate church with vestiges of Christianity still floating around IIRC), JP Moreland, Greg Koukl is also decent although somewhat long-winded sometimes.
 
Hellisreal said:
John MacArthur is not “good” and should not be on the list here.😦
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Nor should James White. One endorsement on one book by Fr. Pacwa does not balance the gallons of ink and spittle produced by Mr. White in his fanatical hatred of the Catholic Church. Just ask his sister.
 
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