Paul Herrick is professor of philosophy at Shoreline Community College. He is the author of multiple textbooks in formal logic, critical thinking, and philosophy, including The Many Worlds of Logic, Think with Socrates, and Philosophy, Reasoned Belief, and Faith (University of Notre Dame Press, 2022). The University of Notre Dame Press is thrilled to publish his newest book, Christian Apologetics and Philosophy: An Introduction (October 2024). He recently answered some of our questions about his research and writing processes.
When did you first get the idea to write this book?
Five years ago, while I was working on Philosophy, Reasoned Belief, and Faith: An Introduction. In that text, I developed the classical theme, going back to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, that reason, when employed carefully, elevates the heart, soul, and mind toward God. I defended nine historically significant arguments for God’s existence in that text, with the implication that each aspect of the universe reflects God in its own unique way. At the same time, I was thinking a lot about the human journey to God and the belief I hold as a Christian that mere theism alone is not the last step in the journey. The idea of a sequel began forming: a philosophically oriented Christian apologetics text that would extend the reasoning to Christian theism, to God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. As I reviewed the many apologetics texts available, I saw a need for one more closely aligned with contemporary analytic philosophy—a text that would appeal to philosophy students and those with a philosophical bent. I couldn’t find a book that quite carried out the project I had in mind, hence this book.
Certainly these are unprecedented times in the United States, Europe, and around the world. What can readers find in your book that will resonate with them during this era?
We are certainly living in an age of worldview confusion. Many students in the classes I teach have given up their faith and see the world as a chaotic mess that may never be cleaned up. Intellectually and spiritually, they seem to be adrift. In this book, readers will find absorbing reasons to believe not only that God exists, but that God works within history and that God’s plans will not ultimately be thwarted. Readers will also encounter strong reasons to seriously consider the miraculous origin of the Christian faith. The thrust of the book is that the universe is not a meaningless, unintended accident; there is a safe harbor where our deepest hopes, projects, and loves can find refuge, an anchorage rooted in the eternal, in the permanent, in God as revealed by Jesus Christ.
How did you research this book?
Over the course of several years I read just about every apologetics book available as I looked for one that took the approach I had in mind. Many came close but not one developed the subject in the manner I envisioned: tie everything together in the style of today’s analytic philosophy using the common reasoning we employ every day when we try to figure out why the coffee tastes different or why the traffic is heaver then usual: inference to the best explanation.
What did you learn while writing it?
I learned that Christian apologetics today is far more rigorous and philosophically sophisticated than it was when I studied the subject long ago during my philosophical infancy when I was questioning my faith. The arguments developed by such greats as William Lane Craig, Douglas Groothuis, J. P. Moreland, Craig Blomberg, Stephen Davis, and the McDowells stand up well to the standards of contemporary analytic philosophy. I believe they deserve more attention than they get within the academic philosophical world today.
How was the book you wrote different from the book you set out to write?
I originally wrote the book in reverse order to the way it turned out. After defining apologetics, the early drafts turned to the historicity of the New Testament and the commonsense case for the Resurrection. After that, the case moved through the major objections to belief, from the reply that God doesn’t exist to arguments against belief in miracles and life after death. A very astute reviewer for the University of Notre Dame Press convinced me that reversing that order is preferable, and the book then fell into place.
Who is the biggest influence on you and your work?
In philosophy: Alvin Plantinga, Richard Swinburne, Peter van Inwagen, Robert Adams, William Alston, Larry BonJour. In apologetics: William Lane Craig, J. P. Moreland, Josh and Sean McDowell, Douglas Groothuis, C. S. Lewis, Stephen Davis, Craig Blomberg.
What is your writing schedule like?
I’m up early every morning and I write for two or three hours before getting ready for the classes I teach. I usually get in a couple hours during the afternoon or evening.
What advice would you give to a writer who wants to start a book?
First, do lots of reading in the area you are writing about. Make sure you have something unique and worthwhile to contribute. Talk about your ideas with others. Go through your manuscript over and over again from front to back until you can’t improve it. Set it aside for awhile and then begin the process again. Each time I go through something I’ve written, I read it word for word the way I would read a new book, making minute improvements as I go. Also, be prepared to do a lot of work after you have finished your book—the review process, the rewriting, and then putting the manuscript into proper form for a particular publisher can take a great deal of time and effort.
Who would you like to read Christian Apologetics and Philosophy and why?
Christian high school and college students who are questioning their faith or who need grounding in their faith. Christian parents who need help defending their faith to daughters and sons asking tough questions. Christian colleges and homeschool teachers who want to try out a new Christian apologetics text. Generally, Christians questioning their faith and spiritual seekers willing to consider Christianity. The book would serve well as a college-prep book for Christian youth about to go off to a college where their faith might be under attack. It also has food for thought that can help almost anyone who is looking for reasoned answers to the great worldview issues of today.
What books are you currently reading?
Two books by Brian Leftow: Divine Necessity and Anselm’s Ontological Argument. I have long been interested in issues clustering around the relation between God, abstract objects, mathematics, and necessary truth. And out of this, versions of the ontological argument presented in terms of possible worlds semantics. Leftow’s works are monumental contributions, in my opinion.
What books are you working on now?
I recently finished Saint Anselm on God’s Nature: A Philosophical Defense but have not yet found a publisher. I am also putting the finishing touches on two very short books, Plato for the Avid C. S. Lewis Reader and Rene Descartes: Finding God and Certainty in an Uncertain World. Neither has a publisher yet. All three are written for thinkers pursuing the Anselmian project of faith seeking logical understanding. I believe that in the typical introductory philosophy class taught at a secular college today, traditional theism is dismissed too quickly, without taking into account the full depths of the theistic position. I wrote these books for introductory level philosophy students interested in a deeper than usual case for a God-centered worldview.