Conviction Without Compromise: Standing Strong in the Core Beliefs of the Christian Faith

by Norman L. Geisler, Ron Rhodes

Ever wondered about how to talk with believers who disagree with your beliefs without compromising sound doctrine? In this remarkably clear presentation, Norman Geisler, one of the nation's leading apologetics experts, teams with Reasoning from the Scriptures president Ron Rhodes to explore the well-known saying "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity." Beginning with essential doctrines such as the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, Christ's deity, and 14 others, Conviction without Compromise provides solid scriptural defenses while showing how various movements have moved away from historic, biblical Christianity. Then the authors show why Christians can disagree agreeably about more than a dozen important but nonessential beliefs such as the nature of spiritual gifts, the role of women in the church, and the nature of sacraments. Finally, the section on charity highlights some "rules of engagement" and explores lessons learned from church history. A must-read for Christians who care about sharing their faith.

Genres: Christian, Theology

400 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2008

About the author

Norman L. Geisler (PhD, Loyola University of Chicago) taught at top evangelical colleges and seminaries for over fifty years and was a distinguished professor of apologetics and theology at Veritas Evangelical Seminary in Murrieta, California. He was the author of nearly eighty books, including the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics and Christian Ethics. He and his wife lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Bevin Hayward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book. It's a good introduction for a young Christian believer or for someone interested in knowing the basic beliefs of the Christian faith. It also serves as a refresher for the mature Christian and encourages one to move beyond this book to seek for deeper answers beyond the scope of this book.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book. Its value lies less in its details (there are some inaccuracies, some less-than-stellar arguments, and so on) than in its overall paradigm. Geisler and Rhodes distinguish between doctrines and practices that are worth dividing over and those which are not. And they add the qualification that the doctrines worth dividing over (i.e. believe in the inerrancy of Scripture) are not necessarily doctrines one must believe in order to be saved. Having grown up in the churches of Christ, in which it is usually assumed that people who disagree with you simply aren't interested in following the Bible, this book and the distinctions it makes helped bring much clarity to my thinking. I'd love to see more books like it written by other authors.

[Ashish Jaituni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book! Very well written as usual like all other Norman Geisler books. It explains very well the essential doctrines which must be help with conviction without compromise but fails when it comes to non-essentials. It offers no 'Why', no convincing answers on the controversial beliefs of different sects in Christianity. Nevertheless, it is a good read!

[Amydeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It will supply you with a wealth of information on most topics you can think of! While you can read the books straight though, I would suggest keeping it as a reference book when you need help! That’s how I’ll be using it.

[Ed Powazki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider this a must-read for all Christians. The authors do a fantastic job of defining the essential doctrines of the faith, and the non essential doctrines.
Especially helpful is the connection of the 16 essentials to specific parts of the Apostles Creed.
Great for a group study.

[Glyn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I disagree in a couple of places in terms of the criteria for whether or not a belief is essential or not, this book gives some good arguments on issues that are not properly dealt with in the church today.

Well presented and an easy read.