Update on my Daughter

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you and yours! Thank all of you so much for your prayers, comments, and emails. We greatly appreciate it!

I wanted to let everyone know that my daughter's surgery went wonderfully and she is at home recovering very well. We will have a test done in July to see if everything "took," so to speak. It was a very long, trying week, but prayers were answered and my wife and I feel very blessed.

Once again, we thank each of you for your kind words and prayers and I look forward to getting back to the blog this week!

Also, if you have emailed me lately and I haven't gotten back to you, I will do so this week. Thank you for your patience!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

To Readers and Visitors

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to let each of you know that I will not be posting this week. My daughter will be having kidney surgery on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009. This will obviously require my utmost attention so I have decided to take this week to focus on her surgery and recovery. I appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Admittedly, I have not been as diligent in keeping up with emails, comments, and phone calls in the past week and for that, you have my apologies. I have been preparing things at my job to compensate for my absence.

If you are searching for an answer to a pressing question, I would encourage you to check out our Apologetics Arsenal. This resource lists numerous sites and articles that cover a large variety of topics.

Lord willing, I will begin posting again the first of June, when we will be looking at some of the following topics:

• Has prophecy been fulfilled?
• The "Problem" of Evil
• The Greatest Apologist Who Ever Lived (Take a guess?)
  
• and more!

Again, I greatly appreciate all of your patience in this matter and look forward to the future topics we plan to cover here at Truthbomb. Please feel free to comment or send an email; however, please understand that it may take some time on my part to respond.

My family and I would greatly appreciate your prayers regarding my daughter's surgery and recovery.

We greatly appreciate your readership!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Socrates: Is Intelligent Design Science?

In a recent ID the Future podcast, host Casey Luskin interviewed philosophy student James Hoskins regarding a fictitious dialogue he wrote between Socrates and a created skeptic named Hector Dawkins.

Hoskins writes:

"My latest fantasy involves Socrates questioning the archetype of the philosophical materialist, whom I will call Hector Dawkins, on the definition of science and the justification of Guillermo Gonzalez’ tenure denial from Iowa State University." [1]

This is an utterly fascinating dialogue that deals with questions such as:

1. What is science?
2. Is Intelligent Design(ID) science?
3. Is ID a religion or religiously motivated?
4. What is the relationship between science and philosophy?

Here is a short preview:

Hector:
I would say that Science is the search for truth.

Socrates:
Ah, now we’re getting somewhere! And how does the definition you just gave exclude Intelligent Design theory?

Hector:
Well, because ID posits a Creator God, therefore it is religion, not science.

Socrates:
You are mistaken. Intelligent Design theory does not mention a God of any sort. It simply concludes that certain aspects of the universe are better explained as the product of intelligence, rather than chance and necessity.

Hector:
Socrates, have you been duped by the ID proponents? If you looked into it at all, you would see that the overwhelming majority of ID-ists are Christians. They are being dishonest when they say they are not promoting religion.

Socrates:
Interesting. Hector, you are an atheist and also an advocate of Darwinian evolution. So, when you teach Evolution are you promoting atheism?...

Hector:
Science is the search for causes. It can only deal with natural things. Intelligent Design posits a God, which by definition is outside nature and therefore outside science.

Socrates:
Intelligent Design also searches for causes. It simply concludes that some causes are intelligent. Again, ID, the theory, does not posit a God. It simply posits intelligence and the intelligence is not necessarily outside nature.

Hector:
Oh, give me a break! An ‘intelligence’ that designed life or the universe? Everyone knows that means God!

Socrates:
So you are rejecting Intelligent Design theory not because it is unscientific, but because it has theistic implications?

Hector:
No, no, that’s not right. It’s not science. Science must be restricted to methodological naturalism. ID falls outside that boundary.

Socrates:
Well, then Science cannot also be the search for truth. If Science is restricted to methodological naturalism then a more accurate definition would be: Science is the search for exclusively materialistic theories of the world. That is much more narrow and agenda driven than simply “the search for truth.”

Hector:
No, I still believe that Science is the search for truth, I’m just having trouble explaining how ID is unscientific.

Socrates:
Perhaps you are having trouble because ID is in fact a valid scientific theory, regardless of whether it is true or not. The problem is that you are trying to reject it a priori. It cannot be done, except by arbitrary and dogmatic means. If you want to reject ID you must engage its arguments and falsify it empirically, not avoid the debate entirely. [2]

No matter what your worldview is, I highly recommend this piece. It is an outstanding read!

Check out the PDF here.

Also, Part II of this literary debate, entitled, "Are ID proponents liars?," can be viewed here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Reference:

1. A Debate Between Socrates and Hector Dawkins by James Hoskins

2. James Hoskins, On the Definition of Science: A debate between Socrates and Hector Dawkins, http://www.arn.org/_idarts/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/on-the-definition-of-science-by-james-hoskins.pdf

Featured Resource: The Truth about Angels and Demons

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, also wrote a novel entitled Angels and Demons(A&D). The events in this novel take place before the events in The Da Vinci Code.

A film adaption of A & D has been released in theaters and stars Tom Hanks and is directed by Ron Howard.

The Truth about Angels and Demons seeks to provide a balanced look at the content presented in A & D. As Dan Brown has proven in the past, he has a talent for presenting fiction in the guise of fact.

Check out this resource here.

This resource was originally found here.

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad A. Gross

Featured Article: What Makes the Christian God Unique?

In this week's featured article, apologist Kenneth Samples of Reasons to Believe shares just 3 of the ways that the Christian God is unique.

Check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Featured Flash Video: Is There One True God?

Have you ever been asked the question, "What makes you think your God is the only true God?"

This week's featured flash video from the Apologetics Bible Study Curriculum, deals with the question "How Can We Know the Christian God is the One True God?"

Check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Apologist Profile: Mike Licona

Mike Licona is the Apologetic Coordinator at the North American Mission Board. He was interviewed by Lee Strobel in his recent book The Case for the Real Jesus and appeared in Strobel’s recent video The Case for Christ.

He has engaged in public debate on Jesus’ resurrection with Bart Ehrman (UNC), Elaine Pagels (Princeton), and numerous others. He is the author of Paul Meets Muhammad (Baker, 2006) and co-author with Gary Habermas of the award-winning book The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Kregel, 2004).

On April 22, 2009, Mike will receive a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies which will be awarded with distinction from the University of Pretoria. He is a member of the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the Institute for Biblical Research, and the Society of Biblical Literature. Mike is a frequent speaker on university campuses, churches, and has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs. [1]

Educational Background

1. Ph. D in New Testament Studies from the University of Pretoria, March 09

2. M.A. in Religious Studies from Liberty University, April 2000

Publications

The Case for the Resurrection, co-authored with Dr. Gary Habermas

Paul Meets Muhammad: A Christian-Muslim Debate on the Resurrection

What to Say to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses when they Knock on your Door (Free Online E-book)

Articles

Historical Jesus

The Family Tomb of Jesus

The Gospel of Judas

The Early Church Fathers on Jesus

Jesus-Son of God

Jesus-The Son of Man

Jesus-God

Intelligent Design

Ex nihilo, nihil fit (Out of nothing, nothing comes)

Don't Be Flanked: Answering Lenny Flank's Article Against Intelligent Design

God Spoke and "Bang!" It Happened!

Who Made God?

Critiques and Reviews

Exploring The Da Vinci Code with Mike Licona

A Review of Brian Flemming's DVD "The God Who Wasn't There"

A Critique of the Essay "The Intrinsic Flaws Inherent in Christianity"

A Refutation of Acharya S's book, The Christ Conspiracy

Licona Replies to Acharya: Part 2

Miscellaneous

Gladiators, The Roman Circus, and Christians

Graduation Day!

Non Sequitur (Looks Can Be Deceiving)

Peter Pan Theology

The Sweet Words of an Enemy

Audio

1. New Testament historian Mike Licona and Princeton distinguished professor of religion Elaine Pagels discussed the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus on
The Ron Insana Show, 2005. (37 minutes) Click Here

2. Elaine Pagels and Mike Licona met on Lee Strobel's television program Faith Under Fire and debated on "The Missing Gospels," 2005. (14 minutes) Click Here

3. Shabir Ally and Mike Licona met on Lee Strobel's television program Faith Under Fire and debated the question "Who was Jesus? Divine or Prophet," 2004. (14 minutes) Click Here

4. Panelists William Lane Craig & Mike Licona discuss topics such as the divinity of Jesus, the formation of the Canon, early Christianity, and other issues. This 67-minute event was held at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in front of a live audience. Although it was intended as a response to The Da Vinici Code, most of the topics discussed here have ongoing relevance. Click Here

I encourage our readers and team members to checkout Mike Licona's work.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

References:
1. http://www.risen-jesus.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=50

Follow-up: Stand to Reason and Greg Koukl

Hello everyone! I want to begin by thanking all of those who made it possible for Greg Koukl to speak at Faith Christian Fellowship yesterday:

• Pastor Vance and the office staff


• All our ministry leaders for their flexibility


• The Truthbomb Apologetics team for their servant's heart


• On the Job Ministries for reproducing the CD audio on site


• Steve Schrader of Mt. Airy Bible Church


• Melinda Penner of Stand to Reason


• My wife for her patience


• Most of all, God Almighty for opening the door of opportunity

I am grateful to all of you (and anyone I forgot to include) and really witnessed the body of Christ in action.

After Greg's messages yesterday, many of you had questions about Stand to Reason's resources. If you were not able to be there yesterday and are interested in seeing Greg present the Columbo Tactic, see here. Further, Greg mentioned the Tactics Blog Tour that he participated in on Truthbomb in February; if you are interested in checking out the interactions he had with blog visitors, please see here.

In this post, I want to include links to some of STR's excellent materials that I myself find useful. Moreover, I would encourage you to explore their site for yourself.

Stand to Reason Resources (About STR)

Commentaries and Articles

STR Radio

STR Blog

Solid Ground Archives

Lesson Outlines

Quick Thoughts- on various topics dealing with apologetics, theology, ethics, etc.

Video Resources

STR Podcasts

Apologetics Web Links

Many thanks go out to Greg for his willingness to come to Faith Christian Fellowship. I believe that we were all challenged and encouraged.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

A Great Bible Verse to Remember

When studying any given topic, I always find this verse to be extremely helpful to keep in mind:

"The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him."

- Proverbs 18:17, CSB

I just wanted to share. If you have a verse (or verses) that you find to be helpful for apologetic study, please feel free to share them in the comments!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Featured Audio: Interview with Daniel Wallace on the Reliability of the New Testament Text

As we continue to look at the reliability and historicity of the New Testament text, I thought that an interview with Dr. Dan Wallace would be helpful. Wallace is one of the only speakers I have listened to that can make Bible history and manuscript evidence exciting and is one of the world's leading experts in biblical textual criticism.

In this interview he answers common questions about the reliability of the New Testament text: How many copies of the New Testament books do we have? How close to the time of writing are they? What kinds of mistakes did copyists make? Was anything lost in the process of copying the manuscripts? Dr. Wallace’s answers to these and several other questions will strengthen your confidence in the reliability of the New Testament. [1]

You can check out the audio here.

The original audio was found at 4truth.net, a great apologetics resource.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Resources:
1. Audio Interview with Daniel Wallace on the Reliability of the New Testament Text, http://www.4truth.net/site/c.hiKXLbPNLrF/b.3632711/k.9C0E/Audio_Interview_with_Daniel_Wallace_on_the_Reliability_of_the_New_Testament_Text.htm

Featured Article: Why I Believe the New Testament is Historically Reliable by Dr. Gary Habermas

In this week's featured article, Dr. Gary Habermas offers compelling reasons to believe that the New Testament is historically reliable.

Check it out here.


Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Featured Flash Videos: Is the New Testament Reliable and Where did it Come From?

Hello everyone! This week we will take a look at two flash videos from the Apologetics Bible Study Curriculum:

• Is the New Testament Reliable?
• Where did the NT come from?

I encourage you to take the time to view these two informative flash videos and share any thoughts or questions you may have.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Apologist Profile: Dr. Peter Kreeft

Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and at the King's College (Empire State Building), in New York City.

He is a regular contributor to several Christian publications, is in wide demand as a speaker at conferences, and is the author of over 45 books. [1]

Although Kreeft and myself differ on numerous theological issues (he is Catholic), I find his work to be extremely thought-provoking and relevant. For those not familiar with Dr. Kreeft, you may have read an interview with him in Lee Strobel's book, The Case for Faith.

Educational Background

Kreeft took his A.B. at Calvin College (1959), and an M.A. at Fordham University (1961). In the same university he completed his doctoral studies 1965. He briefly did post graduate studies at Yale University.

Dr. Kreeft has received several honors for achievements in philosophical reasoning. They include the following: Woodrow Wilson, Yale-Sterling Fellowship, Newman Alumni Scholarship, Danforth Asian Religions Fellowship, and Weathersfield Homeland Foundation Fellowship. [2]

Publications

Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions

Because God is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer

Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Critical Questions

How to Win the Culture War: A Christian Battle Plan for a Society in Crisis

To check out a complete list of Dr. Kreeft's books, see here.

Articles

Christianity

Bible: Myth or History?

Case for Life after Death

The Uniqueness of Christianity

Resurrection Evidence

The Divinity of Christ

Culture

Culture Wars

Personhood

A Refutation of Moral Relativism-Transcript (Audio Included)

Existence of God

Can you Prove God Exists?

20 Arguments for the Existence of God

4 Arguments for Transcendence

Other Religions- Compares each to Christianity

Judaism

Islam

Hinduism

Buddhism

The New Paganism

Pillars of Unbelief

Kant

Nietzsche

Freud

Marx

Sartre

To view other articles and works by Dr. Kreeft, see here and here.

Audio Resources

Arguments for God's Existence

Making Sense Out of Suffering

How to Win the Culture War

Pro-Life Philosophy

Moral Theology and Homosexuality

To view a complete list of Dr. Kreeft's Featured Audio, click here.

I hope that our readers find Dr. Kreeft's work beneficial.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

References:
1. About this site, http://www.peterkreeft.com/about.htm
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kreeft#Academic_career

Book Excerpt: The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible by Robert J. Hutchinson

Book excerpt:

Religion the greatest danger to world peace? Think again

Contrary to what anti-religious zealots such as [Sam] Harris assert, throughout history far more lives have been snuffed out by faith-hating fanatics than by religious believers.

Historical demographers estimate that, in the 350 years between 1478 and 1834, the Spanish Inquisition was responsible for the execution of between 2,000 (Encyclopedia Britannica) and 32,000 people (Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews, 1987.)

That works out to about ninety-seven people a year- a ghastly number, to be sure, but a far cry from the "millions" routinely cited by secular fundamentalists.

As for the "witch hunts," another example Harris and others give as irrational religious fanaticism, the British historian Norman Davies estimates 50,000 people, primarily women, were executed as witches over a four-hundred year period-an average of about 125 a year.

Yet as horrible as these examples of religious intolerance may be, they pale in comparison with the single-minded, bloodthirsty, satanic fury unleashed upon the innocent by secular fundamentalists-those militantly atheistic regimes that sought to expunge religious belief and "bourgeois" morality represented intolerable obstacles to social progress.

According to research conducted by the political scientist Rudolph Rummel at the University of Hawaii, the officially atheist states of the Communist bloc committed more acts of genocide than any societies in governments in the twentieth century-communist, socialist, fascist-equals about 170 million.

• USSR: 61 million people murdered 1917-1987
• Communist China: 35,2 million people murdered 1949-present
• Mao's army: 3.4 million people murdered 1923-1949
• Nazi Germany: 20 million people murdered 1932-1945
• Communist Poland: 1.6 million people murdered 1945-1948
• Communist Cambodia: 2 million people murdered 1975-1979
• Communist Vietnam: 1.6 million people murdered 1945-1975
• Communist Yugoslavia: 1 million people murdered 1944-1987
• Anti-Christian Mexican Revolution: 1.4 million people murdered 1900-1920
• Turkey:1.8 million people murdered 1900-1918
• Pakistan: 1.5 million people murdered 1958-1987
• Japan: 5.9 million people murdered 1936-1945

...Rummel's conclusion is as shocking as it is inescapable: War wasn't the most deadly evil to afflict humanity in the twentieth century. Government was! And not just any government, but atheist government.

As a result, ordinary people-whether religious or not-might be forgiven their general skepticism when today's secular fundamentalists talk about the "intolerance" and "violence" of biblical religion or the people who believe in it.

In terms of raw numbers-which is the only kind of evidence that rationalists such as Harris claim to accept-the evidence is incontrovertible: Freed of any moral restraint, believing that the ends justify the means, scoffing at the notion that they will ever answer to a power higher than themselves, the murderous dictators of atheistic regimes feel little hesitation in committing mass murder if they believe it will advance their more "rational," more "scientific" social aims.

Note from Truthbomb:

I realize that the above information does not automatically mean that atheism is false. Nor do we believe (or mean to imply) that all atheists are bad people. We know some that are very nice.

The purpose of this book excerpt was to challenge the often proclaimed statement that "religion has caused more death and wars than anything else," or an objection like it.

Added: Our friend the Wintery Knight has blogged on this topic as well. Check it out here and here.

Thanks WK!

Featured Audio: Reliability of the Old Testaments Documents by Dr. Peter Gentry

In this audio, Dr. Peter Gentry, Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, examines the question: "Are the Old Testament Documents Reliable?"

The audio was found at Apologetics 315; a very informative blog and great place to find apologetics audio resources.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Featured Articles regarding Old Testament Evidences

I decided to include a few articles that deal with evidences for the Old Testament due to the fact that I couldn't decide on just one.


They are as follows:

• Old Testament Reliability by Dr. Phil Fernandes

• Archaeology and the Bible by John McRay

• What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? by Josh McDowell

I hope you find these resources helpful and, as always, feel free to share any thoughts you may have.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Flash Video: Is the Old Testament Reliable and Where Did It Come From?

Hello to everyone and I hope all is well! This week's flash video from the Apologetics Bible Study Curriculum is entitled, "Is the Old Testament Reliable and Where Did It Come From?"

This video covers numerous topics including, but not limited to:

• The relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament (OT)
• The books of the OT
• Was the OT copied accurately?
• The relationship between the OT and the Dea Sea Scrolls
• The Apocrypha
• Archaeological finds that confirm Old Testament events and people

I encourage our readers and team members to check out this video. Skeptics who may be asking about the reliability of the Old Testament and why certain books were included in the Old Testament while others were left out, will enjoy this video as well.

Enjoy!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Book Excerpt: I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

Book Excerpt:

WHY DON'T WE SEE BIBLICAL MIRACLES TODAY?

Many people today have a very provincial view of history and of human experience. "If I personally don't see certain events happening today," they think, "they probably never happened." The implication for miracles is obvious. Namely, "If there are not public, biblical-quality miracles happening today (and if they were, they'd be on the Fox New Channel), then why should I think they happened in the past?" It's a fair question.

However, there's a common misconception behind this question. It's the belief that the Bible is filled with miracles that occur continually throughout biblical history. That's only partially true. It is true that the Bible is filled with miracles, about 250 occasions of them. But most of those miracles occur in very small windows of history, during three distinct time periods-during the lifetimes of Moses, Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus and the apostles. Why then? Because those were the times where God was confirming new truth (revelation) and new messengers with that truth.

If most of the miracles are bunched there, what's happening miraculously during the other periods the Bible covers? Nothing. In fact, there are huge gaps of time in the Bible (even hundreds of years) where there are no recorded miracles from God. Why? Because there was no new word from God, and most miracles confirmed some new word from God.

So why don't we see miracles today? Because if the Bible is true and complete, God is not confirming any new revelation and thus does not have this main purpose for performing miracles today. There is no new word from God that needs to be confirmed by God.

Now don't misunderstand us here. We are not saying that God cannot do miracles today, or that he never does. As the sovereign Creator and sustainer of the universe, he can do a miracle anytime he wants. It's just that he may not have a reason to publicly display his power the way he did during biblical times because all of the truths he wanted to reveal have already been revealed and confirmed. As with a house, the foundation only needs to be laid once. Biblical miracles were special acts of God that laid the foundation for his permanent revelation to mankind.