Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Resources: Analysis and Responses to Zeitgeist


Charlie Campbell of Always Be Ready has put together an excellent page of responses to the now infamous Zeitqeist movie.

You'll find:

  • point by point responses
  • videos
  • articles
  • audio
  • quotes from scholars
  • book recommendations


Courage and Godspeed,
Chad



Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Video: The War of Worldviews by John Mark Reynolds


If you have not had the opportunity to listen to Dr. John Mark Reynolds, I suggest you take the time to watch this presentation.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad


Monday, July 29, 2013

Resource: Seeds Family Worship CDs

The members of Truthbomb Apologetics all have young families and we understand the desire and need for Christian parents to bring up their children in the faith.

One of the most important things to teach your children is the value of memorizing Scripture.  Seeds Family Worship is an outstanding ministry that offers an excellent way to encourage you and your family to do just that!

Seeds Family Worship offers a series of CDs that features Scripture put to great music!  My own girls (they are 4 and 6) really enjoy them and I hear them singing the songs around the house.  The songs are contemporary and of a high quality.

If you are looking for a fun, creative way to memorize scripture with your family, the CDs offered by Seeds Family Worship are for you!

You can check them out here!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sunday Praise: "All Over the Earth" by Leeland


Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! Psalm 108:5

Stand firm in Christ,

Chase

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Do Animals Display Morality? A Reasonable Faith Podcast

In this Reasonable Faith Podcast, Dr. William Lane Craig responds to CNN's interview of Frans de Waal, director of Emory University's Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia.  He recently published a book entitled "The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates."


Here is small sample of CNN's Interview:

CNN's Kelly Murray: Tell us about the title of your book.

Frans de Waal: Well, the reason I chose that title is, when I bring up the origins of morality, it revolves around God, or comes from religion, and I want to address the issue that I think morality is actually older than religion. So I'm getting into the religion question, and how important is religion for morality. I think it plays a role, but it's a secondary role. Instead of being the source of morality, religion came later, maybe to fortify morality.

See how Dr. Craig responds here.



Friday, July 26, 2013

Four Portraits, One Jesus

Dr. Mark Strauss, New Testament scholar and professor at Bethel Seminary in San Diego, California, sat down with Haven Today this week to discuss how each of the four gospels gives us a unique picture of Jesus.  He concisely discusses that:
  • Mark mainly focuses on Christ's power and authority
  • Matthew shows how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy
  • Luke proclaims that Jesus is the savior for all people
  • John overwhelmingly describes the deity of Christ and calls its readers to make a decision about who He is 
You can find this five part audio series, which is based off of Strauss' book Four Portraits One Jesus:  A Survey of Jesus and the Gospelshere.

Stand firm in Christ,

Chase

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Article: Was There an Exodus and Conquest? by Ted Wright

In this featured article, Ted Wright argues for the historicity of the biblical account of the Exodus and the Conquest.

He writes:

"...I will focus attention on what is perhaps one of the biggest hang-ups that critics have with the historical trustworthiness of the Old Testament – the Exodus & Conquest. In the biblical record the two events stand or fall together. If there was an exodus as the Bible states, then there was also a military conquest which followed it. Both of these events (if they happened), should be discernible from the historical and archaeological record. If we follow the Pentateuch’s exact account, then we know that there was a 40 year interval between the exodus and conquest."

You can checkout the article here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Article: The Self-Evident Nature of Objective Moral Truths by J. Warner Wallace

In this featured article, J. Warner Wallace demonstrates how to argue that objective moral truths are self-evident in nature.

You can check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Same-Sex Marriage: Equal Rights, Religion, and Bigotry

Aaron Brake of pleaseconvinceme.com tackles the oft repeated slogan to the right that arises during the same-sex marriage debate.  In response he writes:
Let’s set the record straight:
1. No one is being denied equal rights when it comes to marriage. Same-sex marriage is not about equal rights but rather is about what marriage is and whether or not we can define it as we like.
2. Christianity is a knowledge tradition which makes objective truth claims.
3. Name-calling is not an argument.
Each of these points are discussed in more detail here.

Stand firm in Christ,

Chase

Friday, July 19, 2013

The Logic of the DOMA Decision


In this Reasonable Faith podcast, Dr. Craig discusses the United States Supreme Court Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) decision recently issued.  What the decision actually establishes, the Court's rationale in making the decision, and what the future implications are as a result of the decision are the extent of the discussion.

You can find it here.

Stand firm in Christ,

Chase

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Video Interview: Gary Habermas- The Minimal Facts Approach to the Resurrection


Text originally found here:

In this interview with staff apologist Jacob Daniel (apologetics.com), world-renowned scholar and authority Dr. Gary Habermas presents his 'Minimal Facts' approach for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He argues that, today, the scholars in the secular world are moving more towards accepting the data on the resurrection as credible facts. He encourages serious thinkers by pointing out that, it is truly a favorable and positive era to study the resurrection and one must go where the evidences lead.

For more of Habermas's work, go here.

Further, I highly recommend his books which you can checkout here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Article: The Case for the Historicity and Deity of Jesus by J. Warner Wallace

In this featured article, author and speaker J. Warner Wallace presents a cumulative case for the historicity and deity of Jesus Christ.  I often feature Jim's work on the blog because in my opinion it is some of the most clear and concise stuff out there.

You can checkout the article here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Monday, July 15, 2013

Book Review: Darwin's Doubt by Frank Turek

Author and apologist Frank Turek has written an excellent review of Dr. Stephen Meyer's newest book, Darwin's Doubt.

Turek writes:

"Using the same investigative forensic approach Darwin used over 150 years ago, Meyer investigates the central doubt Darwin had about his own theory. Namely, that the fossil record did not contain the rainbow of intermediate forms that his theory of gradual evolutionary change required. However, Darwin predicted that future discoveries would confirm his theory.
Meyer points out that they haven’t. We’ve thoroughly searched the fossil record since Darwin and confirmed what Darwin originally saw himself: the discontinuous, abrupt appearance of the first forms of complex animal life. In fact, paleontologists now think that roughly 20 of the 28 animal phyla (representing distinct animal “body plans”) found in the fossil record appear abruptly without ancestors in a dramatic geological event called the Cambrian Explosion."

You can read the rest of the review here.

To learn more about Meyer's new book, go here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Sunday Praise: "Here is Our King" by David Crowder Band


If you there is a great praise song you would like to see featured here, please let us know in the comments!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Saturday, July 13, 2013

William Lane Craig on the Relationship between Doctrine and the Holy Spirit

"To have Christ involves having the correct understanding of who Christ is. Otherwise you don’t really have Christ; you just have an emotional experience. Therefore doctrine is vitally important to the Christian life. Doctrine without the Holy Spirit leads to legalism. The Holy Spirit without doctrine leads to fanaticism. But doctrine with the Holy Spirit leads to true power in the Christian life. And this should be our goal – to have both the correct doctrine, the correct understanding of Christian truth, conjoined with a Spirit-filled Christian life. So we have both Word and the Spirit." [1]

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnote:

1. http://www.reasonablefaith.org/defenders-2-podcast/transcript/s1-1

Friday, July 12, 2013

Article: Are All Sins Equal? Are Some Sins Worse Than Others? by Matthew Slick

You've heard the popular phrases in evangelical circles:

"All sin is sin."

"God looks at all sin the same."

"No sin is is any worse than other sins."

However, is that true?  In this featured article, apologist Matthew Slick examines this question.

You can check it out here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad


Thursday, July 11, 2013

Article: Jesus in the Qur'an by Patrick Zukeran

In this featured article, author Patrick Zukeran explains what the Qur'an teaches about Jesus and what Muslims believe about Him.

He also examines whether or not the New Testament's claims or the Qur'an's claims are better supported by the available historical evidence.

You can check it out here.

For more great resources like this one, check out Probe Ministries.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Video: What Does C.S. Lewis Say to Us Today? featuring Alister McGrath


Video and text originally found here:

Alister McGrath has recently written a new biography of C.S. Lewis based on newly available material and also re-interpreting some of the older material. C.S. Lewis - A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet is a result of McGrath's reading of all of Lewis's writings in chronological order. He suggests that Lewis's conversion has actually been wrongly dated (even by Lewis himself!). Published 50 years after Lewis's death, the biography throws fascinating new light on Lewis. A second volume will be published later in the year, arising from the same research, with detailed scholarly analysis of eight major topics from Lewis's life and work.
This talk touches on aspects of the biography and asks the key question:"What does Lewis say to us today?
McGrath examines here four themes:
1. Christianity as a 'Big Picture'.
2. The argument from desire.
3. The importance of imagination and stories.
4. Why we need to translate our ideas.
For more great resources like this one, go here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad 


Monday, July 08, 2013

Article: Do you Think I'm Going to Hell? by Melinda Penner

Taken from here:

Let's say I'm discussing spiritual truth with someone who is not following Christ and she comes out of the blue with this question: "Do you think I'm going to hell?"

I can't lie and say "no." But I?d better not waffle around either. Saying "Um, well, um?" will only lead my friend to say, "Just give me a simple yes or no answer." Then my simple "yes" will shut down the dialogue because my friend will feel offended. A simple yes will lead her to believe I think she is going to hell only because she doesn't put her trust in Jesus like I do. Instead, I use a simple sound bite response that captures why the doctrine of hell makes sense and avoids the condescension communicated by the statement "Yes, you're going to hell."

"Do you think I'm going to hell?" My response? "Only if you're as bad as I am."

With this response, I locate myself squarely in the camp of those who deserve hell as a punishment for the seriously wrong things that I've done. This communicates why hell makes sense (we go to hell as a punishment for wrongdoing, not for disbelieving in Jesus). And notice, I've said nothing about whether I am actually going to hell. Instead of shutting down dialogue, this response invites my friend to ask lots of additional questions. And now there's a proper context for making sense of the gospel. I've shown I'm not arrogant and I've prepared my friend to hear about Jesus? unique solution: Jesus took the punishment all of us deserve.

For a more in-depth look at this question, see here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Saturday, July 06, 2013

Short Film: Cruel Logic



Is it society that decides what is right or wrong?  Is morality simply the by-product of evolution?  Are we merely dancing to the music of our DNA?  Checkout the above video that puts these claims to the test in a very thought-provoking way.

One version of the Moral Argument for God's existence is as follows:

1. Every law has a law giver.

We know this to be true.  There can be no legislation with a legislator.

2. There is a Moral Law.

One of the ways we know this is by our reactions.  This is what the video brilliantly demonstrates.

3. Therefore, there is a Moral Law Giver.

Note to Readers: Please keep in mind that while this video is not violent, it is intense.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad




Thursday, July 04, 2013

Author H. Michael Brewer on the Crucifixion

“If half the world’s stories are about good overcoming evil, the other half are love stories. Both themes meet in the crucifixion. God purposely chose a means of salvation that would reveal the depths of God’s love for us. The cross is His way of saying, 'Look how much I love you! See how much you matter to me…no price is too high to pay for you, not even the death of my own Son.'”

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnote:
1. Michael Brewer, Who Needs a Superhero?, p. 200.

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Mp3 Audio: William Lane Craig Critiques "The Unbelievers" Movie

In these 3 audios, Dr. William Lane Craig critiques the new movie out featuring atheist celebrities Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawkins entitled, "The Unbelievers."

Part I- This first installment deals with what the movie is about and whether or not there are any actual arguments in the film.

Part IIDr. Craig continues his analysis of the film and speaks to the church about attitudes toward science.

Part III- In this final installment, Dr. Craig points out the unscientific assertions made in the film.


Finally, for those interested, you can listen to or watch Lawrence Krauss debate Dr. Craig here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad


Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Debate Video: Fazale Rana vs. Michael Ruse on Evolution vs. Design


In this debate, evolutionist Dr. Michael Ruse and Reasons to Believe scholar Dr. Fuz Rana discussed the question "Are natural processes sufficient to explain the origin and the complexity of the cell?" 

This debate was moderated by Craig Hazen, and recorded live at the University of California, Riverside on Thursday, May 16, 2013.

For more about the debate and the debaters, go here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Monday, July 01, 2013

Special Feature: One Sought Me- One Family's Calling to Adopt



Philosopher William Lane Craig has rightly said that one's greatest apologetic is their life.  Todd and Erin Vogtman are great examples of this truth.  Todd and his wife were instrumental in my coming to know Jesus Christ and they are embarking on a new journey that I wanted to share with each of you.

Todd and Erin have been burdened for the orphans of the world.  As Scripture teaches:

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" [James 1:27; ESV]

This video tells their beautiful story.  I invite you to watch it with your family and prayerfully consider supporting them as they strive to share God's heart for the orphan with His people through both word and deed.

You can checkout their blog here.

Upcoming events are here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad