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The IVP Pocket Reference Series
Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion: 300 Terms Thinkers Clearly Concisely Defined
For philosophers, the pursuit of truth travels on precise definitions. For Christian apologists, the defense of the faith is founded on the defining Word. And for beginning students of either discipline, the difference between success and frustration begins with understanding the terms and ideas and identifying the thinkers and movements.
The Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion is designed to be a companion to your study of these two related disciplines. Among its 300 entries are
terms, from a posteriori to worldview
apologists, from Abelard to Van Til
philosophers of religion, from Alston to Wolterstorff
movements, from analytic philosophy to voluntarism
apologetic arguments, from the cosmological to the wager
theologies, from Arminianism to Zoroastrianism
Here is an affordable and easily accessible "help key" for your readings, lectures, writing assignments and exam preparation. It's a must-have study aid for any student who expects to cogitate on coherentism or ruminate on Ricouer.
The Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion is designed to be a companion to your study of these two related disciplines. Among its 300 entries are
terms, from a posteriori to worldview
apologists, from Abelard to Van Til
philosophers of religion, from Alston to Wolterstorff
movements, from analytic philosophy to voluntarism
apologetic arguments, from the cosmological to the wager
theologies, from Arminianism to Zoroastrianism
Here is an affordable and easily accessible "help key" for your readings, lectures, writing assignments and exam preparation. It's a must-have study aid for any student who expects to cogitate on coherentism or ruminate on Ricouer.
125 pages, Paperback
First published January 4, 2002
17 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
C. Stephen Evans
59 books34 followersC. Stephen Evans (b. Atlanta , Georgia) is an American historian and philosopher, he is one of the United States' leading experts on Søren Kierkegaard having published six books on Kierkegaard over 25 years. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Baylor University. He holds a B.A. with High Honors (philosophy), from Wheaton College, an M.Phil. (philosophy) from Yale University, and a Ph.D. (philosophy) from Yale University.
He has won numerous awards, and reviews manuscripts for several university presses, including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Princeton University Press, as well as Harper and Rowe. He does the same for several academic journals. He was curator of the Howard V. and Edna H. Hong Kierkegaard Library. He has organized several major conferences. He served five years on the the editorial board for Kierkegaard Monographs and for the International Kierkegaard Commentary Series. He is a past president of the Society of Christian Philosophers and the Søren Kierkegaard Society.
He has won numerous awards, and reviews manuscripts for several university presses, including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Princeton University Press, as well as Harper and Rowe. He does the same for several academic journals. He was curator of the Howard V. and Edna H. Hong Kierkegaard Library. He has organized several major conferences. He served five years on the the editorial board for Kierkegaard Monographs and for the International Kierkegaard Commentary Series. He is a past president of the Society of Christian Philosophers and the Søren Kierkegaard Society.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 6, 2026
Another excellent entry in the IVP pocket dictionaries. In my opinion, the IVP concise dictionaries are the best among the host of concise dictionaries in theological studies! So many good and crucial entries in here. I must admit that after reading the entries on phenomenology, Edmund Husserl, and Martin Heidegger, I still don’t understand what they are trying to say. This is also the first concise dictionary I have come across that includes an entry on Thomas Torrance:
“Torrance, Thomas F. (1913-2007). An important contemporary Scottish theologian. Torrance is both a student and an interpreter of Karl Barth. Strongly influenced by the Greek church fathers and by John Calvin, Torrance has been a leader in theological reflection on science and scientific method. He conceives of theological doctrines such as the Trinity as analogous to scientific constructs that open an imaginative door into a reality that cannot be fully understood.”
I also found the entry on Neo-Platonism to be very informative as that philosophical system is crucial to my study of Maximus the Confessor:
“Neo-Platonism. One of the schools of Hellenistic philosophy, loosely inspired by Plato. Plotinus (205-270) was the seminal figure and most famous representative of Neo-Platonism. Neo-Platonism emphasizes that all of reality emanates through a hierarchical series from the One, the Form of the Good, and that it is destined to return to the One. This philosophy’s tendencies toward the depreciation of matter and cultivation of ascetic practices made a strong impact on many of the church fathers.”
Also helpful is the entry on time:
“time. The relation that successive events in the universe have to each other. It seems impossible to describe the nature of this relation without employing some notion such as “before and after.” This confirms Augustine’s famous comment that he knows what time is until someone asks him to define it. Philosophers have disagreed vigorously about the reality of “tense” and “becoming.” Time is experienced by us as a series of “nows” that quickly become past and that anticipate future “nows.” However, many philosophers have argued that temporal events are simply an ordered sequence (the “B series”) and that what might be called “becoming” is only an appearance. Theologians have disagreed over the relation of God to time, with the majority of traditional theologians holding that God is eternal in the sense of being timeless.”
The absence of an entry on Maximus the Confessor was unfortunate!
“Torrance, Thomas F. (1913-2007). An important contemporary Scottish theologian. Torrance is both a student and an interpreter of Karl Barth. Strongly influenced by the Greek church fathers and by John Calvin, Torrance has been a leader in theological reflection on science and scientific method. He conceives of theological doctrines such as the Trinity as analogous to scientific constructs that open an imaginative door into a reality that cannot be fully understood.”
I also found the entry on Neo-Platonism to be very informative as that philosophical system is crucial to my study of Maximus the Confessor:
“Neo-Platonism. One of the schools of Hellenistic philosophy, loosely inspired by Plato. Plotinus (205-270) was the seminal figure and most famous representative of Neo-Platonism. Neo-Platonism emphasizes that all of reality emanates through a hierarchical series from the One, the Form of the Good, and that it is destined to return to the One. This philosophy’s tendencies toward the depreciation of matter and cultivation of ascetic practices made a strong impact on many of the church fathers.”
Also helpful is the entry on time:
“time. The relation that successive events in the universe have to each other. It seems impossible to describe the nature of this relation without employing some notion such as “before and after.” This confirms Augustine’s famous comment that he knows what time is until someone asks him to define it. Philosophers have disagreed vigorously about the reality of “tense” and “becoming.” Time is experienced by us as a series of “nows” that quickly become past and that anticipate future “nows.” However, many philosophers have argued that temporal events are simply an ordered sequence (the “B series”) and that what might be called “becoming” is only an appearance. Theologians have disagreed over the relation of God to time, with the majority of traditional theologians holding that God is eternal in the sense of being timeless.”
The absence of an entry on Maximus the Confessor was unfortunate!
April 9, 2012
Very handy reference volume.
December 5, 2014
Awesome resource, I keep it close at hand
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews