Featured Resource: 100 Christian Apologists

Just wanted to quickly highlight an awesome post from Apologetics 315 entitled 100 Christian Apologists.

Check it out here.

Many thanks to Brian Auten for all his hard work in compiling the page.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Book Preview: Signature in the Cell by Dr. Stephen Meyer

Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute, has recently released a book entitled Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design. You can take a sneak peek inside the book here.

As the book's website explains:

"In Signature in the Cell, Dr. Stephen Meyer shows that the digital code embedded in DNA points powerfully to a designing intelligence and helps unravel a mystery that Darwin did not address: how did the very first life begin? Follow Dr. Meyer as he investigates how new scientific discoveries are pointing to intelligent design as the best explanation for the complexity of life and the universe."

For more about the book, see here.

On recent podcasts of ID the Future, Meyer discusses how he began to study the origin of life and the contents of his new book.

Part I: The Making of an ID Theorist: Stephen C. Meyer and the Origin of Life

Part II: Delving into Science at Cambridge: Stephen C. Meyer and Signature in the Cell

Part III: DNA Evidence for Design: Stephen C. Meyer and Signature in the Cell

Part IV: The Design Argument is Unrefuted: Stephen Meyer responds to Critics with Signature in the Cell

The book's website also offers some wonderful resources for those wanting to learn more about the book or study the evidence for ID more in-depth.

Check out the following:

Research and Scholarship; this page also includes a complete list of Dr. Meyer's articles. There are tons of articles here!

Media Appearances

News- Follow Dr. Meyer and the latest happenings with his new book

Finally, you can view Dr. Meyer's presentation of Signature of the Cell at the Heritage Foundation here.

I would encourage our readers and team members to check out the books complimentary website, www.signatureinthecell.com. I hope these resources are helpful!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

The Apologist's Quiver- The What, Why, and How of Apologetics

What is Apologetics?

Christian Apologetics: An Introduction by Rick Wade

What is Apologetics? by Multiple Authors

What is Apologetics?- taken from The Apologetics Resource Center

What is Apologetics? by Kyle Butt

Why do Apologetics?

Eight Reasons why we need Apologetics by Matthew Slick

An Apologetic for Apologetics by Ravi Zacharias

The Christian, Apathy, and Apologetics by Chad A. Gross

A Case for Apologetics by Brian Auten

Rediscovering Apologetics by Paul Copan

The Need for Apologetics by Norman Geisler

How to do Apologetics...

Advice to Young Aspiring Apologists by Jonathan McLatchie

Where Do I Start? by Nick Pollard- Part I Part II

Six Rules of Apologetic Engagement by Doug Groothuis

Christian Apologetics Manifesto 2003: Sixteen Theses by Doug Groothuis

Studying...Apologetics? by Tom Price

Apologetics and Evangelism by Jimmy Williams

10 Pitfalls of the Foolish Apologist by Brian Auten

Who Were the First Apologists?  A Look at the Apostles by Eric Chabot

Tips for Apologetics by Nick Peters NEW!

Audio

Advice to Christian Apologists by William Lane Craig
*View the transcript of this lecture here.

The Ultimate Apologetics MP3 Audio compiled by Brian Auten

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

How Did Jesus Argue? Jesus and Logic

As we bring our series on "The Greatest Apologist who Ever Lived: Jesus" to a close, I want to share an essay by Dr. JP Moreland entitled How Did Jesus Argue? Jesus and Logic.

It seems appropriate to end this series with an article by Dr. Moreland because he is one of the apologists leading the movement to restore the view of Jesus as "the smartest man who ever lived."

Dr. Moreland's book, Love Your God with All Your Mind, co-authored with philosopher Dallas Willard, is considered by many to be essential reading for the apologist and layman alike.

In today's essay, Moreland expands on this idea. He writes:

"To my mind, Jesus was the greatest thinker who ever lived. And while he did not come to develop a theory about logic or to teach logic as a field of study, it is clear that he was adept at employing logical forms and laws in his thinking and reasoning. We who are his followers should go and do likewise."

Regardless of your level of education in regard to logic, this article will challenge you and hopefully assist you in viewing Jesus in a new way: as an intellectual.

Check out this short essay here.

To find other great works by Dr. Moreland [and others], check out The Scriptorium.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

For further research, you may want to view these other essays by Dr. Moreland:

How did Jesus Act? Jesus as a Moral Teacher

How did Jesus Train?

Jesus the Logician

As we continue our series, "The Greatest Apologist Who Ever Lived: Jesus," we will take a look at an article by Dallas Willard that really serves to compliment Willard's lecture, featured on Truthbomb here, entitled Jesus as an Logician and Apologist.

In Willard's article, Jesus the Logician, he writes:

"In understanding how discipleship to Jesus Christ works, a major issue is how he automatically presents himself to our minds. It is characteristic of most 20th century Christians that he does not automatically come to mind as one of great intellectual power: as Lord of universities and research institutes, of the creative disciplines and scholarship. The Gospel accounts of how he actually worked, however, challenge this intellectually marginal image of him and help us to see him at home in the best of academic and scholarly settings of today, where many of us are called to be his apprentices."

Check it out here.

Be sure to check back tomorrow as we will be featuring an essay by Dr. J.P. Moreland entitled How Did Jesus Argue? Jesus and Logic.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

The Apologetics of Jesus

Book Preview

Norman L. Geisler and Patrick Zukeran have teamed up and written a book entitled The Apologetics of Jesus: A Caring Approach to Dealing with Doubters.

Baker Books, the books publisher, offers the following synopsis:

"Jesus was the ultimate defender of the faith. Learn from his example how to give a valid defense of your beliefs. Apologetics books abound, but how did Jesus defend the faith? The Apologetics of Jesus presents the Savior at his convincing best. The most tentative Christian--or belligerent skeptic--will find meaty arguments for the godhead of Christ through his parables, prophecies, and more.

This hard-hitting resource shows how Christ led the curious to commitment. In this original book, readers will find a new way of looking at the message and miracles of Christ and will be revived by the example of Christ's caring approach to dealing with doubters. Recommended for both laypeople and ministry leaders alike."

Publishers Weekly had the following to say about the book:

"Jesus is presented as the ultimate apologist, as one who 'was familiar with and utilized all the basic laws of rational thought and reasoning processes.' This is quite a claim, and one that may not be evident from a simple reading of the gospels. But in the competent and skilled hands of Geisler and coauthor Zukeran . . . the thesis gains some credibility."

Make no mistake, this book is on the top of my summer reading list! Check out this interview with co-author Pat Zukeran, as he explains how the book came about and sustains that Jesus "presented reasons and compelling evidence to support His claims."

Finally, today's featured article is also written by Zukeran and shares the same title as his book: The Apologetics of Jesus.

Check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Featured Audio: Jesus as a Logician and Apologist

As we continue our series on the "Greatest Apologist Who Ever Lived," I ponder the question, "Why are so many believers in Christ reluctant to see Jesus as an intellectual?" After all, it was Jesus Himself who said:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37, ESV, Emphasis mine).


Moreover, Jesus Himself engaged in intellectual conversations and used brilliant parables to illustrate and communicate truths.

Charles Sheldon once wrote a book entitled In His Steps and from it spawned the often repeated question, "What would Jesus Do?" My hope and prayer is that by the end of the week, you may answer that question with a resounding, "He would engage His audience intellectually!"

In today's featured audio, philosopher Dallas Willard presents a lecture called Jesus as a Logician and Apologist.

You can check it out here.

Later this week, as a complement to this audio, we will be viewing an article by Dr. Willard entitled Jesus the Logician.

Enjoy!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

The Greatest Apologist Who Ever Lived: Jesus Christ

Hello everyone! This week's series stems from a comment I once heard Dr. JP Moreland make while attending an apologetics conference:

"Jesus Christ is the smartest man who ever lived."

I must confess, up until that time, I had not thought of Jesus Christ as an intellectual. I thought of Him as Savior; I thought of Him as "meek and mild;" but I never thought of Him as "the smartest man who ever lived."

Since then, I have come across numerous resources that present Jesus as a master apologist, philosopher, and logician.

As Dr. Moreland stated in his message, [the message provided here is not exactly like the one I heard, but similar] the church has lost this view of Jesus and the consequences have been numerous. Sincere questioners have been discouraged from thinking about their faith and feelings have been elevated above good, sound thinking. As Moreland puts it, "It should be a both/and."

This week, our goal is to present various articles and lectures that hopefully serve to restore a valid, actual view of Jesus as an intellectual. Perhaps you have never viewed Jesus as an "intellectual;" I pray that this week's series will challenge you. After all, if Jesus Christ truly is God's own Son, it logically follows that He is "the smartest man who ever lived..."

To kick off this series, we offer an article from philosopher Doug Groothuis entitled, Jesus: Philosopher and Apologist [PDF file] or here.

Added 6-16-09

Also, check out another article by Groothuis entitled What would Jesus Think?

Enjoy!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Note to readers:

We plan on continuing the "Apologist Profiles" series next week. This week, we want to focus on THE Apologist!

Interesting Atheism Links

In the past few weeks, I have read, or come across, numerous articles regarding atheism and wanted to draw attention to them for your reading pleasure:

Atheism Is Dead (AiD)

Mariano, of AiD, offers the following articles and resources:

Is Richard Dawkins still Alive?

Sam Harris- Letters to a Christian Nation

From Zeitgeist to Poltergeist- A massive essay focusing on Hitler, Communism, Atheism, and Darwinism. Enjoy!

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: The Premise and the Narrow Argument and On Stalin, Hitler, Communism and Nazism

Part 3: Hitler the Christian? and Hitler the Anti-Christian!

Part 4: The Faulty Conclusion and The Deicidal and Misanthropic Prophecies

Part 5: Would the Holocaust have happened if Hitler had been a Buddhist?

Part 6: If you were God would you have let the Holocaust happen? and God Exists and is Not Evil or Impotent But Still Let the Holocaust Happen and If God Does Not Exist

Part 7: Hints at the Other Side of the Story and Hitler as Bible Expositor and Nazism and Abortion

Part 8: What Smith and Dawkins Did Not Bother Mentioning

Part 9: Anti-Christian Nazism

Part 10: Imagine Utopia

Part 11: Atheist and Darwinist Communists

Part 12: Hitler’s and Nazism’s Darwinism and Use, Abuse and Misuse of Darwin

Part 13: Was Hitler a Christian or an Atheist?

[New]Atheists are Boring?

At least, that's what Charlotte Allen, in the Los Angeles Times, thinks! Allen writes:

"What primarily seems to motivate atheists isn't rationalism but anger -- anger that the world isn't perfect, that someone forced them to go to church as children, that the Bible contains apparent contradictions, that human beings can be hypocrites and commit crimes in the name of faith. The vitriol is extraordinary. Hitchens thinks that "religion spoils everything." Dawkins contends that raising one's offspring in one's religion constitutes child abuse. Harris argues that it "may be ethical to kill people" on the basis of their beliefs. The perennial atheist litigant Michael Newdow sued (unsuccessfully) to bar President Obama from uttering the words "so help me God" when he took his oath of office.

What atheists don't seem to realize is that even for believers, faith is never easy in this world of injustice, pain and delusion. Even for believers, God exists just beyond the scrim of the senses. So, atheists, how about losing the tired sarcasm and boring self-pity and engaging believers seriously?"

Check out her entire article, entitled Atheists: No God, No Reason, just whining...superstar atheists are motivated by anger-and boohoo victim hood.

Further, you can check out PZ Myers' (who was mentioned in Allen's article) response here. I believe Myers serves to prove a few of Allen's points. Can you include anymore straw men than he does here?

You can also hear Dr. William's Lane Craig's (Craig has debated Christopher Hitchens) comments about Allen's article here.

Finally, in this short little audio (2:17), Dr. Craig and Kevin Harris discuss the oft repeated claim that an atheist is someone who simple "lacks belief in God..." Check it out here. Thanks Apologetics 315.

Please enjoy these resources.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Book Excerpt: Examine the Evidence by Ralph O. Muncaster

Book Excerpt:

Why Did God Create This Kind of Earth?

God's ultimate purposes for human beings are often mentioned in the Bible, our only reliable authority about him. Among his many purposes, God created the earth and its creatures for the dominion of human beings (Genesis 1:26-28). But his ultimate objectives for humans are that they:

• freely love him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)
• worship him forever (Revelation 4:21-22)
• enjoy direct fellowship with him (Revelation 21:3)
• enjoy an eternal life that is beyond earthly imagination (Matthew 13:44-46)

How God's Objectives Fit with the Kind of World We Live In

1. God had to create something. Otherwise his objectives could not have been expressed.

2. God could have created a world without evil. Humans could have been "programmed" to always choose the right and holy path. This would have resulted in a world of God-directed "robots." Love would not exist, because love requires a free-will choice. You cannot program something to love you. (For example, one could program a computer to say "I love you"- but naturally that would not be real love.)

3. Since God loves perfectly, and since he desires human beings to love him perfectly in turn, mankind was allowed free will. This gave human beings the opportunity to choose to love both God and others. However, it also allowed them the choice not to love. God's decision to allow free will resulted in a perfect world- but one that has been and is being used for imperfect choices.

4. Though God created everything perfect, perfect things can be and are used for evil.

• Fire can heat or cook, but it can also injure and kill.
• Nuclear energy can generate electricity, but it can also be used for bombs.
• Metal can be used for many wonderful things, but it can also be made into guns.
• Our minds can be used to help people, but they can also be used to hate people.

5. Evil is a choice to misuse perfect things, thus bringing corrupt results. Evil is not a "thing;" it is the absence of a thing- the absence of purity and holiness. It is the misuse of things that were created perfect and were meant to be used perfectly. In other words, evil could not be defined, nor could it even exist, if there were no holy, pure things in the first place. To give a couple of rough examples, if no sight existed, how would we know the evil of someone's gouging out another's eyes with his perfect thumbs? If humans had no legs to begin with, how would we know the evil of becoming paralyzed in an accident caused by a drunk driver- the result of misusing God's perfect gift of a mind and a properly functioning car?

6. A loving God could let everyone-even very evil people-into heaven. After all, wouldn't that be perfect forgiveness and love? However, it would contradict the other attributes of God's character-his perfect holiness and justice-because evil would enter the holy place where God lives, and because it would be unjust-evil would not receive its proper penalty. Consequently, the world God created required 1) choice, so that we can show perfect love for him; and 2) redemption, so that his perfect justice and holiness can be expressed (Romans 3:21-26).

Through Jesus we can be "made perfect" (Hebrews 10:1-4). But we need to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, turning from evil, so we can gain his ultimate perfection. Jesus came to earth as a human, suffering all temptations and trails of a human being so we could relate to him. Then he allowed himself to be executed in one of the most horrible, painful, and humiliating ways ever conceived by humans- to demonstrate God's great love for us and to provide forgiveness for all who want it. Rejecting, or not accepting, this free gift of love and forgiveness is the ultimate demonstration of disdain for God.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Featured Video: Can Good Come from Suffering and Evil?

In this brief video(3:53), Dr. William Lane Craig answers the question, "Can Good Come from Suffering and Evil?"

You can check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Featured Article: A Good Reason for Evil by Greg Koukl

In this week's featured article, A Good Reason for Evil, apologist Greg Koukl presents a "an adult rather than a childish perspective" on evil.

A Truthbomb team member, Chasen, summarizes the article quite well:

"I found A Good Reason for Evil a great read. Koukl destroyed the atheist argument that there is no God because evil exists. To concede that evil exists also concedes an objective moral law because how do we know something is evil? Therefore, there must be a moral lawgiver. So, they cannot even use evil as an argument. In fact they cannot even call it evil based on their system of belief. If there is no God, no life after this one, then it is just the way things are, it does not even matter.

His case [Koukl's] for God not creating evil was also amazing. God created all things, evil is a thing, therefore God created evil. Evil is not a thing. It is the absence of good the same way cold is the absence of heat and shadow is the absence of light. God created freewill, a good thing, for us. But with that free will we chose to disobey Him thus causing evil. Our actions cause evil."

You can check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Flash Video: The Problem of Evil

The Problem of Evil has challenged both believer and unbeliever for centuries. If God exists, then why does He allow pain and suffering? Why doesn't He just eradicate it?

This week's flash video from the Apologetics Study Bible Curriculum seeks to answer the question, "How Can a Good and Loving God allow Evil?"

Check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Apologist Profile: Dr. Dallas Willard

Dallas Willard is a professor in the school of philosophy at the University of Southern California. He also publishes and lectures on the topic of Christianity. Willard, in my view, is one of the best Christian philosophers writing today. He has the ability to communicate the gospel message in a clear, logically sound manner that challenges the listener to consider the claims of Jesus Christ.

Learn more about Dr. Willard here.


Educational Background

His undergraduate studies were at William Jewell College, Tennessee Temple College (B.A., 1956, Psychology) and Baylor University (B.A., 1957, Philosophy and Religion); and his Graduate education was at Baylor University and the University of Wisconsin (Ph. D., 1964: Major in Philosophy, Minor in the History of Science). [1]

Publications

Logic and Objectivity in Knowledge: A Study of Husserl's Philosophy

The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives

Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ

Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God

To check out Willard's other publications on logic and Christianity, see here.

Articles

Philosophy Articles

Blind Science vs. Blind Faith: Some thoughts on Breaking the Deadlock

Faith of Unbelief (The)

Knowledge and Naturalism

Why it Matters if You are Moral

The Redemption of Reason

Reflections on Dawkins' The Blind Watchmaker

Moral Rights, Moral Responsibility, and the Contemporary Failure of Moral Knowledge

Realist Analysis of the Relationship between Logic and Experience

To view the complete list of Willard's philosophy articles, go here.

Christianity Articles

Truth: Can we do without it?

What Significance has 'Postmodernism' for Christian Faith?

Spiritual Formation: What it is, and How it is Done

Spiritual Formation in Christ: A Perspective on What it is and How it Might be Done

Keys to the Keys of the Kingdom

How does the Disciple Live?

God and the Problem of Evil

Being a Christian in a Pluralistic Society

To view the complete list of Willard's Christianity articles, go here.

Other Resources

On-line Listening

Video

Recommended Reading

Audio

Conference Notes

Please enjoy Dr. Willard's work.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Quotes Worth Thinking About, compiled by Charlie Campbell

As an atheist friend of mine once quipped, "I love a good quote." Who doesn't?

Charlie Campbell, of the Always Be Ready Ministry, has compiled an ever growing list of quotes from well-known skeptics, apologists, theologians, and atheists.

You can check it out here.

Enjoy!

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad

Special Feature: Confessions, a short story by James Hoskins

In James Hoskins' short story, Confessions, Adam is a young man who is losing his faith in the Church...the Church of Chance. And try as he may to hold on to his beliefs, they seem to be slowly dying.

As Father Anthony, a Church clergymen, tries to offer Adam council from the "Holy Canon," he becomes noticeably uncomfortable with Adam's probing questions. And not even the words of the apostle Dawkins, or a reference to Saint Darwin, serve to ease Adam's angst.

Check out this thought-provoking short story here.

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad

Featured Article: Fulfilled Prophecy: Evidence for the Realiability of the Bible by Dr. Hugh Ross

In this week's featured article, Dr. Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe discusses:

"a few [fulfilled prophecies] that exemplify the high degree of specificity, the range of projection, and/or the "supernature" of the predicted events."

You can check out the article here.


Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Featured Flash Video: Has Prophecy Been Fulfilled?

As we continue to work through the Apologetics Study Bible Curriculum, this week's featured flash video deals with the topic of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

Check it out here.

Enjoy!

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad A. Gross

Apologist Profile: Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell's story is well known. As a young man, he considered himself to be an agnostic and believed that to become a Christian, he would have to "throw his brain out."

Then, McDowell was challenged to intellectually investigate the claims of Jesus Christ and Christianity. During this investigation, in which McDowell claims to have studied the resurrection for 700 + hours, he found compelling and convincing evidence that Christianity was indeed true.

Josh gave his life to Christ and his life changed drastically.

Although McDowell's focus has changed in recent years (much of his ministry is geared toward families and teens), I believe his work is valuable; especially for the believer or non-believer who is just beginning to study the various evidences for Christianity. Josh's work is simple, easy to understand, and provides a fairly solid base for the Christian who desires to defend their faith.

To read more about Josh and his ministry, click here.

Educational Background

Josh McDowell completed his college degree at Wheaton College and later attended Talbot Theological Seminary where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Master of Divinity degree. [1]

Publications

More Than a Carpenter

New Evidence that Demands a Verdict

Answers to Tough Questions

The Best of Josh McDowell-A Ready Defense

Evidence for Christianity

Evidence for the Resurrection

You can check out Josh's other apologetics books, many geared toward children and teenagers, visit here.

Articles

Evidence for the Historicity of the Bible

Hasn't the New Testament been Changed?

How Can Anyone Believe the New Testament?

Was Mark the First Gospel?

Does Archaeological Evidence Prove the Bible?

Bible Difficulties

Isn't the Bible Full of Contradictions?

How could Moses have written the Book of Deuteronomy when it contains the account of his death?

How do you explain the Contradictions in the Resurrection Story?

Don't Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 Contain Contradictory Accounts of Creation?

Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

Questions about God

How do you know God Exists?

Where Did God Come From?

Why Does a Good God allow Evil to Exist?

Questions about Christianity

If Christianity is so Great, why are there so few Christians?

Why should I become a Christian? The worst hypocrites are in church.

What Hope does Christianity offer the World?

Is Christianity a Crutch?

What about alternatives to Christianity - agnosticism, atheism & humanism?

What are some differences between Christianity & Eastern religions?

To Check out more of McDowell's online articles, see here.

Other Resources

Research

Watch and Listen

Josh Talks

Free Book Downloads

Supplemental Resources

I hope readers find McDowell's work useful.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Resources
1. Josh's Bio, http://www.josh.org/site/c.ddKDIMNtEqG/b.4169767/k.F42D/Joshs_Bio.htm