Thoughts on a Magnum Opus

By Douglas Groothuis, PhD

The first edition of Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith was published by InterVarsity Press in 2011. Some years before that, my predecessor at Denver Seminary and mentor, Gordon Lewis, told me that if you teach a subject for a decade, you should be able to write a book on it. So, about ten years after I started teaching apologetics at Denver Seminary every year, I began writing a book that was to be called What Matters Most, which I thought would take about three years to write. Then, I thought it would take four years, then five, then… the book appeared about eight years after I started writing it. The slowdown was due to two matters. First, covering everything required more pages than anticipated and the book turned into a kind of textbook, hence the change of title. Second, caring for my increasingly sick wife took time away from the project. However, Becky edited every word of that first edition, which weighed in at about 750 pages. It would be the last work of mine she ever edited, since, although we didn’t know it then, she was in the early stages of dementia. I wrote about our journey through this in Walking Through Twilight (InterVarsity, 2017).

Finishing the book was a crucible in 2010, since my dear mother took ill and would die in December of that year. Although I was on sabbatical, I had to fill in for a professor at Denver Seminar, who was suspended due to misconduct. Becky’s chronic bad health also made it difficult for her to edit a huge work. At one point, I said, “Becky, it’s just too much work. You don’t have to edit everything.” She stood up on her hind legs (an expression she loved) and said, “Doug, this book isn’t about you or me. I make you a better writer and I need to edit ever word of this book to make it all it should be.” I said, “Yes, Ma’am," and she did. Up until then, everything that either one of us published was edited and discussed by both of us—although Becky contributed much more to my writing and thinking than I did to hers.

Years later, when Becky was in the throes of dementia, she was lamenting her fate on the way to a restaurant. I told her that this was horrible but that when we were in the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21-22), this would be behind us and we would dance and sing in a world without sin and pain in the presence of God. She looked at me soulfully and said, “But Doug, is it really true?” Becky had been a Christian her entire life, and we had worked hard at our worldview for thirty years. Nevertheless, dementia can do terrible things to the brain and test the soul. I replied, “Do you think I’m smart?” She said, “Yes.” Then I said, “Do you remember that big apologetics book I wrote?” She said she did. I then replied, “You edited every word of that book, and I assure that what we believe is true.” She replied that she did believe and looked relieved. That wasn’t her last battle with doubt, but it helped her believe based on the arguments and evidence of my magnum opus. If you think apologetics has nothing to contribute to times of doubt or suffering, please reconsider your position. I know of a very bright high school student who came to faith partially through reading the book as well. I was also delighted when the book was used as a text for a course at the University of Colorado in 2012. The professor had me come the last day of class to answer questions. For me, life doesn’t get any better than that.

The Second Edition

The first edition of Christian Apologetics was dedicated to Becky, as was the second edition, which appeared in 2022, sporting eight new chapters. She died in July of 2018. As I worked on the second edition (and all my writing after she could no longer edit my work), I would always ask myself, “What would Becky think of my writing?” You might think that a 750 page apologetics textbook wouldn’t need any new material, but after teaching it for several years, I realized there was more to write. So, I added the following chapters.

1.       In Defense of the Church

2.      The Atonement: Stating it Clearly

3.      The Atonement: Defending it

4.      The Argument from Beauty

5.      Skepticism and the Hiddenness of God

6.      Lament as an Apologetic for Christianity

7.      Original Monotheism

8.     The Resurrection of Jesus: Prolegomena on Miracles.

Besides all the new material, I cut out a few dated references to the emergent church, omitted a few other matters, and made corrections. InterVarsity Press gave it a beautiful cover, and I received updated endorsements from William Dembski, Paul Copan, Sean McDowell, J. P. Moreland, and a new one from J. Warner Wallace. This all means that if you only have the first edition, you must get and read the second edition!

Given that it is fifteen years since the first edition of Christian Apologetics appeared, I offer a few reflections on its significance.

First, I am heartened that it has sold fairly well, well enough to allow for a second edition. It has been used my many Christian colleges and seminaries. Sean McDowell has taught it to advanced high school students for years. One of my students, Hysun Ku, took three years to translate the first edition into Korean, and my former Denver Seminary colleague, Professor Sun Wook Chun, wrote the foreword.

Second, given its size, many people think Christian Apologetics is a reference work, similar to Norman Geisler’s Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. It is not a reference work but, as I say in the book, “one long argument” (stealing a phrase from Charles Darwin for his Origin of Species.) It offers a deliberate logical ordering of material, moving from the need for meaning in life to an apologetic for apologetics, to what we defend, to how we defend the Christian faith given arguments from science, philosophy, and history. It then assesses major objections to the Christian worldview. So, although one can read parts of the book without reading all of it, it is best appreciated by reading it entirely.

Third, although it is a long book that covers many philosophical issues, many have told me that it is not overly abstract or annoyingly technical. I do not presume much background in philosophy or theology from my readers. We start from the beginning, but go deep, step-by-step. Many readers have told me it is well-written and interesting. That was my goal. I prize astute writing as much as cogent thinking. There is no need for philosophy or apologetics to be dense, ponderous, or opaque.

Fourth, Christian Apologetics was written to mobilize Christians to engage in apologetics, not simply to learn about apologetics or argue apologetic method with other apologists. As I often say, we need to “take it to the streets,” which has nothing to do with street fighting, but our willingness to witness to Jesus Christ in a wise and knowledgeable way. I also wrote it so that the non-Christian would be challenged to come to believe in Christ as Lord. Thus, I don’t assume the reader has a Christian worldview.

Fifth, given the heft of both editions of Christian Apologetics, I realized that many will not read all of it or even try to read it. It is so big that I call it “the brick” and say it can also be used as doorstop or for lifting weights or as a weapon. For this reason, Andrew Shepardson and I wrote a shorter apologetics book called, The Knowledge of God in the World and in the Word: An Introduction to Classical Apologetics (Zondervan, 2022). This book reprises much in Christian Apologetics, but it is not merely a digest of that book. Fresh new material is offered as well, thanks largely to my co-author.

Books and Ministry

So far in my ministry, God has empowered me to have twenty books published, starting with Unmasking the New Age, published in 1986. Lord willing, three more books will appear in 2026, and I am working on two other manuscripts. I have ideas for other books as well, such as an apologetics book for younger people that covers all the main issues in Christian Apologetics, but in a simpler way. At this stage of my ministry, I want to publish everything I know that is worth others knowing. “Never an unpublished thought,” as the adage goes—at least the good and true thoughts. But whatever other books I write, Christian Apologetics will be my major contribution to the world of thought, my magnum opus. Given that I’m sixty-nine, I doubt there will be a third edition, but you never know. I offer that book and all my books to God, asking him to use all of them to bring down error and reestablish the knowledge of God on earth (2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 1 Peter 3:15). Amen.