Audiobooks by Mitch Stokes

We learn about life through the lives of others. Their experiences, their trials, their adventures become our schools, our chapels, our playgrounds. Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church through prose as accessible and concise as it is personal and engaging. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. Whether the person is Galileo, William F. Buckley, John Bunyan, or Isaac Newton, we are now living in the world that they created and understand both it and ourselves better in the light of their lives. Their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires uniquely illuminate our shared experience. HERO OR HERETIC? GENIUS OR BLASPHEMER? It's no mystery how profound a role Galileo played in the Scientific Revolution. Less explored is the Italian innovator's sincere, guiding faith in God. In this exhaustively researched biography that reads like a page-turning novel, Mitch Stokes draws on his expertise in philosophy, logic, math, and science to attune modern ears with Galileo's controversial genius. Emerging from the same Florentine milieu that produced Dante, da Vinci, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Amerigo Vespuci, Galileo questioned with a persistence that spurred his world toward an unabating era of discovery. Stokes confronts the myth that Galileo's stance on heliocentricity stood astride a church vs. science divide and explores his calculations for the dimensions of Dante's hell, his understanding of motion, and his invention of the pendulum clock. To read this volume is to journey through Galileo's remarkable life: from his inquisitive childhood to his dying days, when, although blind and decrepit, he soldiered on, dictating mathematical thoughts and mentoring young proteges.

Mitch Stokes (Author), John Behrens (Narrator)

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Isaac Newton

In this Christian Encounter Series biography, author Mitch Stokes explores the life of Isaac Newton, the man behind the atomic theory. As an inventor, astronomer, physicist, and philosopher, Isaac Newton forever changed the way we see and understand the world. At one point, he was the world's leading authority in mathematics, optics, and alchemy. And surprisingly he wrote more about faith and religion than on all of these subjects combined. But his single-minded focus on knowledge and discovery was a great detriment to his health. Newton suffered from fits of mania, insomnia, depression, a nervous breakdown, and even mercury poisoning. Yet from all of his suffering came great gain. Newton saw the scientific world not as a way to refute theology, but as a way to explain it. He believed that all of creation was mandated and set in motion by God and that it was simply waiting to be "discovered" by man. Because of his diligence in both scientific and biblical study, Newton had a tremendous impact on religious thought that is still evident today.

Mitch Stokes (Author), Michael Haney (Narrator)

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A Shot of Faith (to the Head): Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheists

Secular, skeptical, disillusioned. These are the traits that mark our age-encouraged by outspoken atheists who insist that faith is naïve and belief is dangerous. But what if the atheists are the irrational ones? Can their beliefs withstand the rigorous examination that they demand from others? In A Shot of Faith of Faith to the Head, Mitch Stokes, Senior Fellow of Philosophy at New Saint Andrews College, dismantles the claims of skeptics and atheists, while constructing a simple yet solid case for Christian belief. This profound yet accessible book proves the rationality, consistency, and reliability of the Christian approach to science and life. If you have ever doubted that your beliefs can stand up to scrutiny-if you've ever doubted your beliefs-this book dissolves the questions. For atheists, it is a wake-up call. For Christians, it's A Shot of Faith to the Head. Endorsements: 'A Shot of Faith to the Head is much more than a defense of Christianity; it takes the offensive against the secularist thinking that enamors so many in the West. With the thoroughness of a scholar and the confidence of experience, Mitch Stokes demonstrates the intellectually dubious nature of the so-called 'New Atheism' and provides Christians with a much needed handbook for the questions they will surely face once they are outside of the safe confines of their Christian communities. I highly recommend it.' -Larry Taunton, founder of the Fixed Point Foundation and author of The Grace Effect "A fine book: lively, clear, accessible, but also deep, and deeply competent." -Alvin Plantinga,Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, author of Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism, Oxford University Press "The Bible identifies Jesus as the Word and as the Light, available therefore to the mind as well as the heart. Of all religions, Christianity most invites one to think as well as to believe, and in this troubled time that invitation is still more urgent to take up. Here is a book by a skilled thinker, showing how better to think about faith. It is a worthy task, ably achieved." -Larry P. Arnn, PhD, president, Hillsdale College "This book is what snarky atheists have coming to them for their dismissive claims and unfounded arrogance. Written not to convince atheists but to help Christians defend themselves and the Christian faith, A Shot of Faith to the Head takes the best tools of top-notch apologetics and philosophy and puts them in the hands of every believer. Even better, it's easy and fun to read, winsome, witty, filled with sharp thinking, and well-researched. As a professor and pastor, I'll be assigning this book in my apologetics courses and would recommend it to every Christian. It displays strategic answers to questions and objections every Christian has encountered." -Justin Holcomb, pastor, Mars Hill Church; executive director of the Resurgence; adjunct professor of theology, Reformed Theological Seminary

Mitch Stokes (Author), Tom Parks (Narrator)

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How to Be an Atheist: Why Many Skeptics Aren't Skeptical Enough

Atheists talk a lot about the importance of skepticism. But the truth is, they're not nearly skeptical enough. While atheists champion the importance of a critical stance toward religion, they often fail to take that same stance toward their own beliefs. This double standard results in grandiose claims about the certainty of their unbelief―which is logically inconsistent at best and intellectually dishonest at worst. Turning atheists' skepticism around on their own naturalist worldview, philosopher Mitch Stokes critically examines two things that such skeptics hold dear―science and morality―and reveals deep inconsistencies among their most cherished beliefs, inconsistencies that threaten to undo atheism itself.

Mitch Stokes (Author), Chris Abell (Narrator)

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