The Ultimate Apologist's Book List

In this episode Trent shares nearly 50 book recommendations that will help anyone better defend the Catholic faith.

Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction
03:50 – Atheism
09:39 – Jesus/Resurrection
14:23 – The Bible
18:36 – General Catholic Apologetics
27:59 – The Papacy
30:00 – Saints and Salvation
35:00 – Life Issues
37:00 – Marriage and Sexuality

The List:

I'm not including classic works, the Bible, or magisterial texts. Also, inclusion on this list does not mean I agree with everything an author has ever said or even everything they say in the works listed. I simply find their works to be helpful overall in equipping the faithful. Finally, the fact that a work is not included is not indicative of my opinion toward the work or its author.

Note: (A) means the work is an advanced treatment of a topic.

Atheism
• Five Proofs of the Existence of God by Edward Feser
• One Less God than You by John DeRosa
• A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos by Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes
• God and Cosmos: Moral Truth and Human Meaning by David Baggett and Jerry L. Walls
• How Reason Can Lead to God by Joshua Rasmussen
• Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig (A)
• An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion by Brian Davies (A)

Jesus/Resurrection
• The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ by Brant Pitre
• The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona
• Investigating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: A New Transdisciplinary Approach by Andrew Loke (A)
• The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition by Paul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory Boyd (A)

The Bible
• Hard Sayings: A Catholic Approach to Answering Bible Difficulties by Trent Horn
• The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
• The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel by Craig Blomberg
• On the Reliability of the Old Testament by K.A. Kitchen
• The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible by Curtis Mitch and Scott Hahn
• A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre

Scripture, Tradition, and Authority
• The Bible is a Catholic Book by Jimmy Akin
• The Meaning of Tradition by Yves Congar
• Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger by Gary Michuta
• Teaching with Authority by Jimmy Akin
• Not by Scripture Alone, ed. Robert Sungenis (A)
• True or False Pope: Refuting Sedevacantism and other Modern Errors by John Salza and Robert Siscoe (A)

General Catholic Apologetics
• The Case for Catholicism by Trent Horn
• Meeting the Protestant Challenge by Karlo Broussard
• A Daily Defense: 365 Days (plus one) to Becoming a Better Apologist by Jimmy Akin
• The Early Church Was the Catholic Church by Joe Heschmeyer
• The Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church by Jimmy Akin
• The Real Story of Catholic History by Steve Weidenkoppf

The Papacy
• The Papacy: What the Pope Does and Why It Matters by Steve Ray and Dennis Walters
• Pope Peter by Joe Heschmeyer
• Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy by Patrick Madrid
• The Papacy: Revisiting the Debate Between Catholics and Orthodox by Erick Ybarra (A)

Saints and Salvation
• Purgatory is for Real by Karlo Broussard
• Any Friend of God’s Is Friend of Mine: A Biblical and Historical Explanation of the Catholic Doctrine of the Communion of Saints by Patrick Madrid
• Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines by Tim Staples
• The Drama of Salvation by Jimmy Akin
• Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know by Michael Barber
• Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre
• The Biblical Basis for the Mass by Tom Nash

Life Issues
• Persuasive Pro-life: How to Talk About Our Culture’s Toughest Issue by Trent Horn
• Start with What: 10 Principles for Thinking about Assisted Suicide by Stephanie Gray Connors
• Conceived by Science: Thinking Carefully and Compassionately about Infertility and IVF by Stephanie Gray Connors
• The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice by Christopher Kaczor (A)
• Catholic Bioethics and the Gift of Human Life by William E. May (A)

Marriage/Sexual Ethics
• Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom by Ryan Anderson
• Living the Truth in Love: Pastoral Approaches to Same-Sex Attraction, eds. Janet Smith and Fr. Paul Check
• Catholic Sexual Ethics: A Summary, Explanation, & Defense by William E. May
• The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography by Matt Fradd
• When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by Ryan Anderson
• Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
• One Body: An Essay in Christian Sexual Ethics by Alexander Pruss (A)
• The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics by Robert Gagnon (A)