What is necessary for someone to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to salvation? Some would say it is only the sovereign action of God. Some would say it is the persuasive witness of a follower of Jesus, someone who shows what a life of following Christ looks like. Others might say it is the cogent argument constructing a logical arrangement of facts, principles, and reasonable conclusions. But one thing it usually takes, even with all these actions, is the presence of someone to connect to a person in a manner and with language that is familiar and understandable so that a trust relationship at the personal level can lead to a trust relationship at a spiritual level with the God who made the universe.
That is the starting point for this book on Christian apologetics, edited by Dr. Eric Mason, who draws from his own experiences as a faithful, educated, and trained Christian leader. Also included among the writers are theologians, pastors, teachers, professors, and other professionals who are serious about their faith as well as the implications of their faith in their lived expressions.
And yet this is not a standard book of Christian apologetics written for the broad audience of American Christians in Evangelical churches. Instead, this book is unashamedly Black and Christian and unwaveringly focused on the controversies that are heard on the streets and in the barbershops and with friends playing hoops or families at a barbecue, because this is a book designed for the urban experience. Here you will find questions about Black identity cults and teachings, arguments from atheists, appeals to mysticism and religions, denials of the historic faith of Jesus and the rejection of Christianity as the “white man’s religion”—and reasonable beliefs that can both push back on the arguments and lead to a saving faith in Jesus. There are firm, reasonable, confident refutations of these distractions, along with solid teaching about the true elements of the faith, expressed uniquely as views of Black Christians speaking to their own neighbors and communities and families.
The book opens with the answer to the most basic of questions: What is Urban Apologetics, and why is it needed? Dr. Mason provides several essays here, along with Jerome Gay, Jr., Tiffany Gill, and Zion McGregor. Then there are deep discussions about Black religious and ethnic identity groups, with offerings from Damon Richardson on the Nation of Islam (NOI), a discussion of Kemeticism by Vince Bantu, Black women and Black feminism by Sarita T. Lyons, Black atheism by Adam Coleman, again interspersed with essays by Dr. Mason. The book concludes with an apologia for apologetics with the tools and understanding necessary to speak truth confidently and accurately, with articles by Doug Logan on Outreach, Biblical literacy by Blake Wilson, and the conclusion of the book regarding the serious nature of apologetics by Dr. Mason.
This is a solid book and a solid resource for any Christian, but it is focused on the needs of the Black Christian in today’s America. This is a masterpiece of research and analysis from professionals who deal with these issues in their jobs, their lives, and their cities. Urban Apologetics is an instant classic, akin to earlier works of apologia, but focus on the needs of those who live in the city where the questions might differ but the needs are still the same: is there a God who sees me, loves me, wants me, and will take me into his family?
NOTE: I received a pre-release version of the book for my honest review and have also purchased a copy. I have not been paid for my thoughts and receive no benefit from sharing them.
Buy the book at https://www.urbanapologeticsbook.com/