books

Can I Believe? Christianity for the Hesitant (Oxford University Press)

Christianity has become the most popular religion in the world—which makes it the most popular Theory of Everything in world history. How did such a strange story—at the centre of which is a victim writhing on a Roman cross—become the world’s most popular explanation of the meaning of life? Why do over two billion people, not all of them psychologically or intellectually deficient, find this to be the best Way of all?

“John Stackhouse offers a refreshing combination of intellectual rigor and personal courtesy, conceptual clarity where possible and commendable humility at the limits of our understanding. We all live at the nexus of knowledge, faith, doubt, and decision. John Stackhouse provides for us an invaluable guidebook to that vexed territory.”
Hans P. Halvorson, Princeton University

 

Why You’re Here: Ethics for the Real World (Oxford University Press)

This book simplifies, rearranges, and adds new material to Part III of “Making the Best of It,” so as to be a more user-friendly guide to John Stackhouse’s ethics. If you’re trying to avoid the two prominent options of “taking it over for Jesus” or “withdrawing into safe enclaves” and want to engage our world faithfully, effectively, and realistically, this is for you.

“Single-minded but not simple-minded, Stackhouse recognizes the complexities of answering one’s call in the real world. Yet he never allows the reader to lose sight of the signposts: shalom and salvation. Lucid, wise, and passionate.”
Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University

 

Need to Know: Vocation as the Heart of Christian Epistemology (Oxford University Press) 

Between radical doubt and arrogant certainty stands this book that grounds knowledge firmly in—of all places—faith in God. God calls us to do things, and therefore can be trusted to tell us what we need to know in order to do them.

“This is a stimulating, enriching and invigorating reexamination of some of the oldest and greatest questions of philosophy and theology.”
Alister McGrath, Oxford University

 

Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today (Oxford University Press)

Used in classrooms around the world, including at Oxford and London universities, this book surveys the current cultural context and then sets out a way of sharing one’s religious convictions as respectful gift-giving, rather than as aggressive battle-winning.

“John Stackhouse’s Humble Apologetics is a witty, lucid, and extremely intelligent analysis of what Christian apologetics is and how it should be practiced at the beginning of the third millennium.”
Paul Griffiths, Duke University

 

Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century: An Introduction to Its Character (University of Toronto Press; reprinted by Regent College Publishing)

This volume literally rewrote the textbooks in Canadian religious history, rescuing evangelicalism from stereotypes and describing it instead as the mainstream, grassroots, national movement it was and is.

“Thoroughly researched, elegantly written, and provocatively argued, it is sure to stand as a seminal work on the evangelical experience.”
Harry S. Stout, Yale University

 

Church: An Insider’s Look at How We Do It
Evangelical Landscapes: Facing Critical Issues of the Day (Baker)

Punchy, but with scholarly force behind the blows, these essay collections answer questions ranging from “Why Johnny Can’t Produce Christian Scholarship” to why everyone wants your opinion except church leaders.

 

“These remarkable essays cover a spectrum of issues facing evangelicalism in North America. John Stackhouse is thoughtful and engaging, at times cranky, but always provocative.”
Randall Balmer, Dartmouth College

 

 

 

Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender (Baker Academic)

Don’t let the “f-word” scare you off: This book treats both sides of the Christian gender debates with respect and carves a novel and persuasive path through the thicket of Biblical, theological, historical, and practical issues involved.

“Full of intriguing theological and exegetical suggestions and written with disarming frankness, Stackhouse’s book seeks to stimulate good argument and counter-argument, and it surely deserves to be debated long and hard.”
John Webster, University of Aberdeen