Urban Apologetics: Answering Challenges to Faith for Urban Believers

by Christopher Brooks

A unique and timely guide for relating the gospel to the complex and distinct issues of inner city America Much of the New Testament was written in urban settings, in which the Christian communities had to deal head-on with issues such as race, equality, justice, sexuality, money, and economics. But much of today’s apologetics (engagement with the questions that people are asking about Christianity) come from suburban churches and academic studies. Urban believers—those who live and minister in America’s inner cities—often face unique issues, not often addressed by the larger Christian community. These questions aren’t neat or easy to answer but need to be addressed by applying biblical truth in the culture and challenges of urban life. Author Chris Brooks has ministered for years in the urban environment as well as received extensive theological training. In Urban Apologetics, he seeks to connect the riches of the Christian apologetic tradition with the issues facing cities—such as poverty, violence, and broken families. He brings an urban rhythm and sensitivity to the task of demonstrating the relevance of faith and the healing truth that Christ provides.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Religion

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jeremy Mueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was another seminary read, and I was intrigued by the book’s premise – apologetics to an urban area takes on distinctive challenges due to the complexity of issues there. The book gives many helpful insights related to apologetic questions and challenges in an urban area, and particularly to minority people. I am most grateful for the way this books calls for the need to contextualize ministry – our message remains the same, but if there are any unnecessary cultural barriers we can remove to make the message more clear, then we should by all means seek to remove them. A significant drawback to the book is that it lacks a clear direction. It plays hopscotch with a number of different issues that deserved more attention than they were given. The result? A book that is full of vague generalities and fails to truly equip the reader to engage in urban apologetics. The best thing a short book can do is to provoke curiosity to further study, and unfortunately, I don’t think Urban Apologetics meets that standard.

[Sarah Mullen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really interesting points made about “urban” apologetics. Don’t like the term “urban”, it felt a little outdated culturally. But that’s probs cause it is. Good knowledge tho! Nice textbook read for school!

[Rex Blackburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some really careless (I hope!) language at the front of the book that really casts a pall over the rest. For instance: "Our mission...is to present a Christianity that is AS concerned with human flourishing [defined above as: 'issues such as economics, health care, hunger, energy, homelessness, and immigration'] as it is with doctrinal orthodoxy" (29-30, brackets and emphasis mine). 🤮 This means that the task of the urban apologist is to take tertiary effects of the gospel and make them as central as the core truths of the gospel. No way! "Wind or solar?" is so obviously not as important as "Who was Jesus?"

Also, the reality that people seem "unable to hear" the message means "we have to do a better job at the work of anthropology." As if the hostility of a sinner's heart towards God is the result of poor evangelistic strategies. This leads Brooks to say, "The church must ask, why are people the way they are?" And instead of looking to Biblical teaching about sin, the answers are to be found in "trends in human behavior," leading to these sorts of ideas: When trying to give the gospel to African-Americans, address the public school crisis. With Hispanics, address illegal immigration. This will allow us to "penetrate the souls of many living in these communities." It all reminds me of Andy Stanley's "unhitching" of the Old Testament. We look at the unbelief in the culture around us, we don't give proper weight to the sinfulness of sin in man's will, so we conclude that the problem must be our message or our delivery. What do we do? We start tinkering. And what is our desired result? Brooks says it plainly: "This, I believe, is our pathway to recapturing our cultural relevance." That statement fell right out of an Andy Stanley sermon.

All of that came from the first chapter. Most of the rest of the book wasn't nearly as difficult as chapter 1!

[Will Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent little volume. Will provide deeper interaction in the future. Some initial thoughts:

Positives: 1. Covers a wide range of topics. Covers them well even if a bit shallow; 2. Relationship of apologetics to praxis is exceptionally strong; 3. Focus on apologetics and the church. They need each other; 4. Christ is the apologetic hope of the city. Did okay arguing sub title but I would have preferred a bit stronger here. 5. Ch on family was solid. 6. Some good resources presented for further study. 7. Important focus on Islam (and it’s variants).

Weaknesses: 1. Classical apologetic approach but doesn’t hinder work too much; 2. Brevity. Tried to cover a lot and did it well in 176 pages but a book like this could easily be doubled or tripled; 3. Doesn’t address key concerns of black lives matter, mass incarceration, etc.; 4 view of economics is a bit too naive; 5. Seeks to answer questions being raised but not all questions being raised are questions that we need to be addressing. Don’t base entire apologetic on culture. Need a different starting point for apologetics.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beginning discussion on the apologetic challenges that Evangelicals face in reaching American cities with Christianity. Those who grew up in primarily white, middle-class, suburbia will find this a helpful read to understand the religious, racial, and cultural roadblocks that need practical as well as theological answers. The cities need to be reached with the Gospel and Brooks gives Christians the first steps to engage them.

[Will Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give less than 1* I would. The author shows a surprising lack of understanding on pretty much every topic from a secular standpoint and creates ridiculous strawman arguments which render his arguments idiotic from the secular view. His positions have zero chance of changing someone's mind who has put any amount of thought into it.

Even from a Christian world view it is evident the author doesn't know the bible nor Christian positions that oppose his own, while he pretends his is THE Christian view. Of the apologists I have read and watched this is probably the least informed one that I have seen which is a lofty distinction as none ever seem too informed.

I recommend this book if you want to be introduced to an example of how uninformed Christian apologists are, but there is nothing useful in the book.

[Pig Rieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Christopher Brooks’ Urban Apologetics, the pastor lays out problems that are often unique to cities rather than rural areas. While analyzing these problems, the author offers how Christian should respond to these issues. This public Christian response to a number of social and moral issues, Brooks calls apologetics.

While much of the content in the work is commendable, the book lacks enough sharp edges to make anything stick or disagreed with. In essence, I regularly found myself agreeing but unchallenged by the book because of the generalities and vagueness with which it was composed. One walks away from the book uncertain what the mission of the church is, how churches and individuals are supposed to engage with it, and quite frankly what apologetics is. The result is an unintended cloud of obscurities that just about any evangelical could agree with.

[Marian Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I this for class. Most chapters were very good and informative. I found some of the content in chapter three concerning and somewhat insulting.

Specifically:

1. the fact that he calls lying to the Nazis in order to save Jewish lies relativism and consequentialist. Yikes! 🚩 There are many orthodox Christians who (I think rightly) believe it is good to lie in order to save lives as Rehab and the Hebrew midwives did. To just outright say this is relativism is deeply misleading.

2. Divine command theory is presented as the only solution to the question Socrates poses of the origin of goodness: "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?" And again, divine command theory is stated as the only right answer to this question when there are many orthodox believers who would disagree.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a roller coaster. It was very short and covered a lot of ground. Brooks starts by working through more conservative issues like abortion and LGBTQ ethics, and then move toward income and social justice topics. I applaud his bravery and address in a wide array of topics: some of it feels stated in the book isn’t even that old. My favorite chapter was the appendix on the major cults in urban settings.

[Keith Pinckney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. Simple. Helpful. Needed. I love the conversation Brooks opens up to us, apologetics hasn’t been meticulously dealt with in an urban context. I pray God raises up more faithful brothers and sisters who have a burden for urban areas and have the skill, wit, and wisdom to do apologetics in this context.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find my own sensibilities and Christian faith align very well with the author's beliefs. I think he offers a narrow view of apologetics. I think he elevates conversion in a way that sometimes casts conversation partners as evangelical "targets," and I don't like objectifying people that way. Even with these minor critiques, I agree with the major points of Brooks' conclusions.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really basic entry into the world of apologetics. The focus is on the ubran culture as a whole, those who may be intellectuals or are focusing on acts of social justice and humanitarian efforts. There were a few good pearls here, but mostly wiffs and misses.

[Lewis Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as one of the required books to read in the Colson Fellows. I really liked how the author shared the very practical ways he and his church was positively impacting his city for Christ. Many good thoughts in it.

[Jacob Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 overall. Decent intro book. I appreciate the desire to speak to urban environments, but am unlikely to return to this book for any reason in the future.

Unless you have to read this for class, get to other reading priorities first.

[JT Goodart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided a great and helpful insight into relating various apologetics topics with urban communities and minorities, while also provided excellent nuances and historical contextualizations. It was super helpful and worth the read!

[Bradley Blaylock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a really good job at providing answers to some questions people may face. The book however is a bit dated.

[Joshua Loftin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very simple read on apologetic topics in urban areas. This is a short read that anyone can pick up to expand their knowledge on real world issues that are faced today.

[Caroline McGill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful guide to thinking through common apologetic questions in an urban context that also emphasizes the importance of the local church.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apologetics is an important Christian discipline and I am grateful for theologians and philosophers that are doing good work. However, a lot of apologetics is focused on the academy, aimed at showiing the reliability of scripture (or a religious worldview) in the face of skeptical scholarship. This is important, especially with the growing secular trend in academia, but sometimes the objections to the Christian faith by professor types, is different from the ordinary unbeliever. Apologetics is not just about providing a rational basis for belief in theism for academics, it is about addressing the issues that keep the masses from coming to Christ.

This is what is so refreshing about Christopher Brooks's Urban Apologetics. Brooks, who is dean of Moody Theological Seminar, radio host and popular speaker on apologetics, is passionate about speaking to the issues that affect urban people. Unlike traditional apologetics, Urban Apologetics is not full of sophisticated proofs for theism Instead the apologetic that Brooks promotes focuses on the issue of religious pluralism and a range of life issues ( abortion, sexuality, family, social justice). Brooks is a conservative Christian but he is not doing apologetics from the center. He is advocating for a Christian apologetic that wrestles with the ideas and options urban people, especially minorities, face. This means he is cognizant of the dynamics of race, poverty and the Christian responsibility to act wisely and graciously in the face of them.
This is a short book (176 pages) and so is not a comprehensive answer book about what the Christian faith has to say to the issues. What Brooks does instead is offer some hints at how to answer questions biblically and relevantly. He also demonstrates a humble and generous spirit in his approach. How he says what he says, is as important as what he says.

In terms of answers to the issues, I don't agree with everything Brooks says. I won't nit-pick here, that is probably true of every book of apologetics, especially when the author is not in your own theological camp. However I agree the general tenor and tone of the book and think that Brook's attentiveness to the issues that face city people (i.e. religious options, social issues, etc) are important touch points that the Christian faith can speak to. I give this book four stars.

Thank you to Kregel Academic for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.