The Augustine Way: Retrieving a Vision for the Church's Apologetic Witness

by Joshua D Chatraw, Mark D. Allen

What can we learn from Augustine about apologetics? This book shows how Augustine defended the faith in late antiquity and how his approach to engaging the culture has great significance for the apologetic task today.

Joshua Chatraw and Mark Allen, coauthors of the award-winning Apologetics at the Cross (an Outreach magazine and Gospel Coalition Resource of the Year), recover Augustine's mature apologetic voice to address the challenges facing today's church. The Augustine Way offers a compelling argument for Christian witness that is rooted in tradition and engaged with contemporary culture. It focuses on Augustine's best-known works, Confessions and The City of God , to retrieve his scriptural and ecclesial approach for a holistic apologetic witness.

This book will be useful for students as well as for pastors, church leaders, and practitioners of Christian apologetics. It puts pastors and churches back at the center of apologetics, transcending popular contemporary methods with a view to a more effective witness in post-Christendom.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Church, Philosophy, Evangelism, Catholic

208 pages, Hardcover

Published May 30, 2023

Reviews

[Matt Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the vision of a wholistic and culturally aware apologetic advocated in this book. I had so many thoughts as I was reading about how to better approach apologetics as a teacher in a way that will engage not only my students’ minds but also their hearts and imaginations.

The authors gleaned their approach primarily from Augustine’s Confessions and The City of God, two of Augustine’s most enduring works. But their aim is not to reproduce Augustine’s arguments so much as imbibe the spirit of Augustine’s approach and thoughtfully consider how his principles might work in our setting.

I hope their proposal catches on and encourages many to glean from Augustine.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chatraw and Allen offer a detailed introduction to Augustine's employment of many apologetic methods (classical, logic, evidential, aesthetic, and narrative) like a skilled surgeon serving under the Great Physician. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this retrieval! I especially appreciated their emphasis on Augustine's willingness to speak to each hearer as a pastor, trying to understand their spiritual needs and uncover the pride and twisted counter-gospel narratives which hold them captive.

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A promising path forward for apologetics. Chatraw and Allen do a great job in drawing together a lot of the recent literature around cultural apologetics - while offering a few helpful criticisms of other apologetic methods - and helping us see how Augustine's approach (mostly in Confessions and The City of God) offers an apologetic that accounts for a more robustly biblical anthropology and also late modernity's assumptions. Because many apologists operate with a "reductionist anthropology," their defenses miss the mark, only addressing one dimension of human experience (like a classical apologist would only engage the rational element). Instead, Augustine's understanding that humans are fundamentally desirous and yearning creatures is the lodestar upon which an aesthetic and moral vision for apologetics can be created. This multidimensional approach incorporates both rational and existential dimensions, addressing each in turn and as needed.

I'm glad the book aims to move the locus of apologetics to the local church, though I don't think the fourth chapter gives a lot of specifics on how this could take root in a congregation. To that end, I think Chatraw and Allen could/should have spent more time in Augustine's sermons, perhaps especially his homilies in 1 John.

In an age moved by symbol, story, and artifact, Augustine helps us to see that Christianity's greatest apologetic force is its metanarrative that accounts for all of our experiences of the world. To be happy in hope is the Christian vocation. Augustine's vision is simply Paul's (Titus 2:11-15). And it's a lovely one. Chatraw and Allen help us to see it.

"Augustine would remind us that, as the city of God on pilgrimage, we are we apologetic people who are experiencing the cure and thus turning from pride to humility and from love of self to love of God and others. At the same time, the bishop is realistic about what we can expect in this life: our pilgrimage is not marked by perfection in virtue but by forgiveness, though true forgiveness does leave its marks." (126)

[Griffin Gooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly just above average

[Kristjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts with the proposition that current day apologetics is not working because it is missing a spiritual/pastoral element. In other words, the goal is to win the argument and not convert the sinner. Ultimately this approach fails because the focus on attack just makes the target defensive (and at best unengaged). Anecdotally I find a lot of support for this idea and I was very curious as to how this book would tackle the problem. It does so by looking at two primary works of St Augustine: Confessions and City of God. Rather than a detailed interpretation of what Augustine actually said in each of these, the authors are more concerned with how he does it … the method he uses and how that method can be adapted to our current day circumstance.

The basic idea is something of a trojan horse approach. First acknowledge that some truths are possible in other traditions and by exploring their belief together without simply attacking. Then you may highlight the parts of their belief that don’t work for you (in other words, ask questions about the parts that don’t makes sense for you and explore the answers together). This is referred to in Chapter 5 Step 1. After that, you may introduction your own [christian] beliefs and illustrate how they offer a more complete answer for you and invite them to try it out. This is Chapter 5 step 2.

Over all I didn’t find anything particularly earth shattering or hard to accept (there were a few places that I had trouble understanding); I can say that it put words and structure (with supporting citations) to much of what I already felt to be true, so I can say that this is an excellent addition to a conversation that should be happening amongst christian apologists and evangelists.

Part 1: Going Back for the Future
1. A Prodigal Son Returns Home … as an Apologist
2. An Augustinian Assessment of Contemporary Apologetics

Part 2: An Augustinian Visions for Today
3. A Renewed Posture
4. An Ecclesial Pilgrimage of Hope
5. A Therapeutic Approach
Step 1: Exploratory Surgery — an Immanent Critique
Step 2: Holistic Therapy — Subversive Fulfillment through a Better Story

Conclusion: The Return of the Bishop

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheAugustineWay #NetGalley

[Tyler Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both an impressive work of theological retrieval, and an appeal to modern apologetics to “move through the storm of secularism” by implementing Augustine’s approach from his major apologetic works. They also masterfully engage the apologetic climate of the day, showing why the methods of the last 50 years have proven ineffective in this new age.

In their own analysis of Augustine’s apologetics, the authors also describe what they’ve accomplished here. They have “offered us a trajectory to follow, resources to build on, and a rhetorical strategy flexible enough to be employed in different contexts.”

I’d encourage anyone to read it, but especially church leaders. The discussions on the church as “an apologetic hospital for sinners” will help you see your role and your church in a new light.

[Joshua Bremerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is enjoyable if only for the Augustine interaction. As a macro-level strategy for apologetics, I can't help but feel that this is a "neutral world" strategy, one that would require a lot of compromise to be implemented as the way for a church to engage with the neighborhood. At an individual level, however, I think that the care of souls and approaching others through stories could really benefit us and others. I also think there are a lot of potential applications to counseling or community life.

[Brad Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! So good.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book of 2024 so far. Been looking for a book that sort of accurately and fairly describes the structure of church (and religion as a whole) in this day and age, and got the bonus of how to view it through a more nuanced lens (than what to me has been “everyone just wants a liberal/conservative social club and no one wants actual church”). This handily delivers that and more. Great historical analysis, thoughtful discussion of present trends, and real “suggestions” for how to approach difficult conversations with grace and the right orientation to the problem at hand. Great bibliography too - already bought a book cited a few times in here lol.

[Justin Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My blurb: "In contemporary times, it is easy to associate apologetics with winning rather than witnessing, where apologetic training becomes an exercise in controlling the conversation. Chatraw and Allen show us a more excellent way: a nonanxious posture of persuasion that is critical and constructive, intellectual and imaginative, humble and hopeful. This accessible retrieval of an Augustinian apologetic calls us to recenter the local congregation and to renew the polluted cultural ecosystems where we live."

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not big on apologetics, at least in the way it's often done. Usually, it's an intellectual exercise that tries to prove the truth of Christianity but rarely convinces anyone. Though the authors are clearly part of a conservative evangelical community, I was pleasantly surprised by the direction taken here. They recognize the problematic nature of what goes by the name of apologetics, especially when it comes to the relationship of apologetics to its connection to the church.

The turn to Augustine's Confessions and City of God to show how Augustine's own journey through various philosophical and religious traditions helped him respond to his own pluralistic context. The apologetic here is much more pastoral and culturally sensitive. For Augustine, the context is a world that still has a strong pagan context, and with the City of God, he responds to the pagan desire to make the empire great again.

It's an intriguing book, despite my lack of excitement about apologetics. That they turn to one of the ancient church leaders to ground their work is especially intriguing. What I take from this is that Augustine can help us better speak to the nature of our faith in our own deeply pluralistic context.

[Martin Augestad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dette var en god bok, har virkelig sansen for disse forfatterne. De viser hva vi kan lære av Augustin når det kommer til apologetikk. Det gjøres på en spennende og inspirerende måte, og jeg tror det er mye å lære av en bok som denne. Siden den er noe mer akademisk enn tidligere bøker de har skrevet, vil jeg tro denne passer bedre til kirkeledere og andre som driver med forkynnelse og undervisning.

[Kristie Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is really hard for me to rate this book. It is very academic and assumes a knowledge base that I do not currently have. I was able to understand their arguments and explanations, but it did not seem very practical for my life.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A social imaginary consists of pre-reflective assumptions that shape our loves, provide the framework for what is believable and what is unbelievable, and contribute to the context which arguments and evidence are meaningful and which are insubstantial and unconvincing.” (38)

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I'll need to chew on this more and see what I think upon reflection, but this seems like needed renewal, especially the need to have apologetics tied to the church, not to the academy or parachurch ministries.

[Christian Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

This book is a much needed corrective to the apologetic culture within contemporary society. It serves as a gateway for how to engage better with the social imagination of our times. Highly recommended!

[Keith Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a pre-publication copy after being asked by the authors to consider endorsing the volume, which I did enthusiastically upon completing the book.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all apologists, church leaders, parents, etc.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing approach and critique of popular apologetic modes in the current culture.

Full video review here: https://youtu.be/ra7sLmaGLBc

[Clint Bingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the book hard to push through rather than some but worth the effort.

Thought provoking looking at apologetics and how to start by looking at what questions people are asking.

[Evan Cruse · Rating 3 out of 5]

helpful. dense.

[Adam Bloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good reminder to put the focus of apologetics less on one's head-knowledge and factual arguments and more on the holistic view of a person, namely his/her heart, and it was interesting to get it all from the perspective of what Augustine might or might not do today.

[Declan Ellis]

This is a new work on an old way of doing apologetics effectively. Overall, I think this is well worth reading for those in ministry, even with some caveats.

One of my main concerns is the authors' troubling tendency to treat Augustine as an infallible authority in the field of apologetics. Augustine certainly has some relevant insights that I'm all for retrieving, but the book would have benefitted from the acknowledgement that Augustine didn't get things right all the time.

My second concern is that the book blames classical apologists for issues that are in fact the fault of local churches. In their discussion of deconstruction, the authors helpfully critique some apologists who promise a level of certainty they can't deliver. However, the authors also have a tendency to lump William Lane Craig and others, who are much more intellectually honest, in with these unhelpful apologists. Let's not blame classical apologetics when the fundamentalist and presuppositionalist leanings of local churches are the real culprit.

My final concern is that the apologetic approach advocated here may frustrate certain kinds of sceptics. Yes, it's helpful to diagnose the heart problem. But some people just honestly want evidence. They might even be a minority, but administering "Augustinian therapy" to them is not going to be effective. Thankfully, the authors are still in favour of providing evidence, but I worry that the counsel they give may encourage Christians to engage with certain sceptics in a way that makes no sense to those sceptics.

All this being said, I think the book has some helpful critiques of the modern apologetics scene. I generally agree with their central idea that arguments framed around a seeking after deeper reality and the answer to our existential anxiety tend to be some of the most effective, with Tom Wright being a prime example of the power of this apologetic. I may even be more inclined towards framing arguments in that way after reading the book, which shows that it's at least somewhat convincing.