What are the must read apologetic books?

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Just as the title says, what are the must read apologetic books?
 
Who is the audience? Lapsed Catholics? Protestants? Mormons? Jews? Atheists?

Different books are more suitable for particular audiences. Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism would not be very effective in the hands of an atheist, and only marginally effective in the hands of a high-church Anglican (who would already agree with 90% of the book).
 
The audience is atheists, agnostics, and those on the fence between faith and doubt.
 
liltike99 said:
The audience is atheists, agnostics, and those on the fence between faith and doubt.
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Ah, then you need an approach which is grounded in philosophy. A approach which relies on the Bible or the Early Church Fathers would not work.

Since they don’t have any firm belief in God, that’s the first thing you need to take care of. This is why apologetics for atheists is more difficult than any other - the starting line is way farther back. Once you can establish belief in God, then you can start to talk about how we relate to God (which would be the Church).

I recommend “Christian Apologetics” by Norman L. Geisler. Dr. Geisler is an evangelical protestant, but he is a renowned philosopher. Since you (at this point) require only a philosophical approach, this is fine. There’s nothing in this book that a Catholic would object to.

But this book is not written for a “popular” audience. It is a book of logic and proofs, one after another. I would say it is entry-level college material. It takes a disciplined mind to read this book. An atheist who read this book would do so only because he wants to prove Geisler wrong with his own logic and proofs (atheists tend to be an arrogant bunch, so this type of thing would appeal to many of them). So, in a way, the book is a trap. Offer the atheist a puzzle to solve (find the flaw in Geisler’s logic). But Geisler’s logic is absolutely sound. In the end, the atheist will be forced to either give up, or believe in God. (if he gives up, he will justify it by saying that Geisler is a professional philosopher, and thus able to construe flawed proofs that are difficult for a layman, such as himself, to unravel).

If the person does not have the determination (or, daresay I, the intelligence) to follow Geisler’s book, then you need something else. Unfortunately, I have no alternative to offer (but maybe folks here do).
 
While they fall outside the generally accepted view of orthodoxy, I greatly enjoy the writings of Terry Eagleton and Andrew Sullivan.
 
Beginning Apologetic series by Fr. Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham.
 
For me it was Scott Hahn, and Jeff Cavins is popular at our church studies. But now I read any thing with a message or parable. I like to read things that will directly relate to everyday events in life. I wish that there was a road map or guide as that is what brings the answers to questions that others have had.
 
liltike99 said:
Just as the title says, what are the must read apologetic books?
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The Bible
James Akin: The Salvation Controversy
Kreeft and Tacelli: The Handbook of Christian Apologetics
Dave Armstrong: A Biblical Defense of Catholicism
Karl Keating: Catholicism and Fundamentalism
Ludwig Ott: Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma

I could go on with many other fine books for this list, but I’ll leave that to others.

God bless.
 
liltike99 said:
The audience is atheists, agnostics, and those on the fence between faith and doubt.
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For starters:

Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
The Handbook of Christian Apologetics, by Kreeft and Tacelli
Theology for Beginners, by Frank Sheed, then…
Theology and Sanity, by Frank Sheed

The 3 volume Radio Replies, by Frs. Rumble and Carty are also helpful. Some of the many questions/answers are directed at anti-Catholic Protestants, but there are a great many directed at atheists and materialists. Here is a sample:

radioreplies.info/radio-replies-vol-2.php
 
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