Reasons for faith

by John H. Gerstner

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Christian

245 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1967

About the author

John Henry Gerstner was a Professor of Church History at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary and an authority on the life and theology of Jonathan Edwards.
He earned both a Master of Divinity of degree and a Master of Theology degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Harvard University in 1945. He was originally ordained in the United Presbyterian Church of North America, then (due to church unions) with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1990, he left the PCUSA for the Presbyterian Church in America.

Gerstner counted among his students, noted author and preacher, R. C. Sproul, founder of Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Arthur Lindsley, Senior Fellow at the C.S. Lewis Institute, and Dr. Walter (Wynn) Kenyon, Professor of Biblical Studies and Philosophy; Chair of the Philosophy Department and Division of Ministry and Human Services at Belhaven University.

In addition to the books Gerstner had written, he also recorded several lengthy audio courses giving a survey of theology, church history, and Christian apologetics, which are distributed through Ligonier Ministries. Gerstner was non-dispensationalist.

In 1976, a Festschrift was published in Gerstner's honor. Soli Deo Gloria: Essays in Reformed Theology included contributions by Cornelius Van Til, J. I. Packer, Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, John Murray, R. C. Sproul, John Warwick Montgomery, and Roger Nicole.

Reviews

[Zephan Silvy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book! Very intellectually deep!

[Jordan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Gerstner.

This books was hard to get started (mostly due to the copy I have - the formatting is poor haha). However, I got used to his writing style quickly and by the end it was like I was listening to him give a lecture.

It’s a dated book, but one I would recommend!

[Caedmon Falls · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the intellectual nature of it, and the ending was a fantastic summary.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well argued, evangelical and bold. It is suitable for the layman, with the 'scholarship in the background'.

The chapter allowing for some form of theistic evolution was a little disappointing, though.

Liked it a lot; very useful.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for free on Logos, though I suspect that I may have a paperback copy hidden away somewhere behind a couple of rows of books. It is a useful introduction to the classical apologetic approach. There are also some very useful references to older apologetic texts. The author was perhaps a bit too favourable to theistic evolution, however. The Logos edition also has numerous typos, which I dutifully reported.

[Chad A. Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many diamonds in the rough

This book has merit and sound conclusions. Whoever proofread the text, should be fired. There are a lot of typos. Also, the author makes a few leaps in his reasoning. With that said, well worth the work of finishing.

[Travis Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was a decent book. Gerstner brings up many solid points that cannot be argued from a logical and intellectual standpoint. Unfortunately, it can be a bit challenging to read through the entire point due to his writing style.

[Lorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, insightful, well-written and edifying! :)