On the topic of atheism in particular, I have read
THERE IS A GOD by Antony Flew
WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY by Dinesh D’Souza
THE GODLESS DELUSION by Patrick Madrid
ANSWERING THE NEW ATHEISM by Scott Hahn
as for atheism as well as general Christian apologetics,
HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS by Peter Kreeft
REASONS TO BELIEVE by Scott Hahn
*Reasons to Believe also covers reasons for Catholicism as well.
No doubt there are probably many other good books out there, including the ones by G.K. Chesterton that I just haven’t read yet
Here are my descriptions of the books. The first three are my best choices from the books I’ve read, but you may consider the other ones too:
1. THERE IS A GOD – this book is a good choice, for its writer is a convert to theism from atheism. Antony Flew died recently, but he was once a very famous “notorious” (as book cover says) atheist. This book is very good for it goes into the natural reasons for belief in God, e.g. creation, origin of life, consciousness. It’s not very defensive (as in the aggressive sense); it’s just an account of a journey from atheist to theist with reasons why.
This book will get your friend considering God, and he won’t feel too uncomfortable reading it because the author isn’t yet a full-fledged Christian—just a theist. And I said, he writes with a tone that’s not defensive.
2. REASONS TO BELIEVE by Scott Hahn is also very good for it goes from reasons to belief in God, to Christianity, to Catholicism. It’s not necessarily apologetic in the sense that it gives proof for the resurrection (like HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS by Kreeft), but it provides an overall outlook on how God>>Christianity>>Catholicism is reasonable.
This book is written by Scott Hahn, and his style is of course never aggressive sounding, and it is easy to follow along as (I think) all Scott Hahn’s books are.
3. HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS by Kreeft is a very thorough and informative book, covering faith and reason, existence of God, his nature, proofs for the Resurrection, Christ’s claim to divinity, the problem of evill, morality, other religions, heaven, hell, salvation, etc. It’s a book concerning general Christian apologetics. It seems best for those who already Christian and who want to defend their beliefs, but its straight-forward manner may be appealing to your friend.
4. WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY covers reasons for belief in God, and it shows the inability of atheist to answer for our experience of morality and creation. It also puts light on the Christian accomplishments in history like science and the Western world. The book may seem somewhat unattractive to the atheist, for it’s rather aggressive in that it’s meant as a thorough defense of Christianity, opposing the very offensive new atheists like Dawkins and Hitchens.
**THE GODLESS DELUSION **& ANSWERING THE NEW ATHEISM are good too, but they are for more of an already-Chrsitian audience. Answering the New Atheism is a rebuttal to Dawkins’ book The God Delusion, so that may be good if the atheist has read his book.
