Catholic Apologetics Guidebook

God's Nature and Existence

Topics on This Page:

The Existence of God
Suffering or Evil as an Objection to God's Existence
The Divinity of Christ
The Uniqueness of Christianity
The Trinity

The Existence of God

Articles:

• Can You Prove God Exists? by Peter Kreeft
• The Argument from Design by Peter Kreeft
• The First Cause Argument by Peter Kreeft
• The Argument from Conscience by Peter Kreeft
• The Argument from History by Peter Kreeft
• The Argument from Pascal's Wager by Peter Kreeft
• The Argument from Desire by Peter Kreeft
• Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God by Peter Kreeft

Audio:

• Peter Kreeft - Arguments for God's Existence
• Peter Kreeft - God's Existence

Books:

• Fundamentals of the Faith by Peter Kreeft
• Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli
• Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

Suffering or Evil as an Objection to God's Existence

There are really only two classical objections to the existence of God.  One is the apparent ability of science or reason to explain the universe without God, and the other is the existence of suffering or evil in the world.  The first objection is dealt with in several of the resources above, listed under The Existence of God, and also on the Science and Religion page of this site.  The resources listed below seek to answer the second objection, the problem of suffering or evil in the world.

Articles:

• The Problem of Evil by Peter Kreeft
• What is God's Answer to Human Suffering? by Peter Kreeft
• C. S. Lewis: The Problem of Pain by Jacek Bacz

Audio:

• Peter Kreeft on C. S. Lewis's "The Problem of Pain"
• Peter Kreeft - The Dark Side

Books:

• The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis
• Making Sense Out of Suffering by Peter Kreeft

The Divinity of Christ

Articles:

• The Divinity of Christ by Peter Kreeft – Kreeft argues for Jesus's divinity based on the well-known "Lord, liar, or lunatic" trilemma.
• Catholic Answers: The Divinity of Christ – This article argues for Jesus's divinity based on the Bible and on the beliefs of the earliest Christians, and therefore it is targeted specifically toward non-Trinitarian Christians who reject Christ's full divinity, but who nevertheless accept the Bible as authoritative.
• Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ by Peter Kreeft

Books:

• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
• Fundamentals of the Faith by Peter Kreeft
• Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli
• Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

Video:

• Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? A Critical Examination of the Facts about the Resurrection of Jesus (DVD)

The Uniqueness of Christianity

Articles:

• The Uniqueness of Christianity by Peter Kreeft
• Comparing Christianity and Judaism by Peter Kreeft
• Comparing Christianity and Islam by Peter Kreeft
• Comparing Christianity and Hinduism by Peter Kreeft
• Comparing Christianity and Buddhism by Peter Kreeft
• Comparing Christianity and the New Paganism by Peter Kreeft

Books:

• Fundamentals of the Faith by Peter Kreeft
• Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli
• Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

The Trinity

Objections to the Trinity may come from non-Christians or from non-Trinitarian Christians.  The resources below tend to address the objections of non-Trinitarian Christians (by assuming the authority of the Bible as a common starting point), rather than the objections of non-Christians (who obviously would not accept the authority of the Bible as a starting point).  This makes sense, considering that Catholics believe that the doctrine of the Trinity, in its full and complete form, can be known only through divine revelation, not through unaided reason or philosophy.  (On the other hand, the existence of God, including many of the attributes of God, can be known without the help of divine revelation.)

Articles:

• CUF Faith Facts: The Trinity
• CUF Faith Facts: The Personhood of the Holy Spirit
• Catholic Answers: The Trinity

Books:

• Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed – Contains an excellent theological explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity.
• Theology for Beginners by Frank Sheed – A condensed version of the above book, again with an excellent theological explanation of the Trinity.