Wednesday, July 31, 2013

What is the Kalam Cosmological Argument? Video


Enjoy this video on the kalam cosmological argument, brought to you by the drcraigvideos YouTube channel.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Terminology Tuesday: Pantheism

Pantheism: Greek for "everything is God," the belief that God and the universe are essentially identical. More specifically, pantheism is the designation for the understanding of the close connection between the world and the divine reality found in certain religions, including Hinduism. One variety of pantheism speaks of God as the "soul" of the universe, which is thought to be God's "body." Pantheistic religions often suggest that our experience of being disconnected from each other and from the divine is merely an illusion.1

1. Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 88.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Free: Essential Apologetics PowerPoint Series

In partnership with The PowerPoint Apologist, Apologetics 315 is offering a series of 12 Free PowerPoint presentations, released monthly. These cover 12 essential topics in apologetics. These are free to download, modify, and use for your own apologetics presentations. (However, please retain the final two slides featuring the PowerPoint Apologist and Apologetics 315 resources.)

The seventh in the series looks at the claims of those who doubt Jesus’ life and presents a case against the idea that Jesus was just a copycat of other pagan gods:
"Why Jesus?—The Historical Jesus"
Download it here. Slideshare here.
Enjoy.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Book Review: Jesus The Son of God by D.A. Carson

The past year saw a massive increase in theological conversation about Jesus’ divine Sonship for how Christians think and speak about Christ, especially in relation to Bible translation and missionary engagement with Muslims across the globe. Some may think that this whole discussion is unimportant, but they would be mistaken. Understanding the truth of Jesus as the Son of God is not only important, it is vital to a healthy and robust biblical Christianity as it seeks to make much of Jesus by spreading His fame to the nations. In his helpful new book Jesus The Son Of God A Christological Title Often overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood And Currently Disputed, D.A. Carson writes to help the Church and its leaders to think through Son of God as a Christological Title, examine Son of God in Select Passages and then concludes his book by examining Jesus The Son of God in Christian and Muslim contexts.

At the outset of this review it must be noted that in Dr. Carson’s own words he does not desire this book to be “primary a contribution to the current disputes, as important as those debates may be. It is meant to foster clear thinking among Christians who want to know what we mean when we join believers across the centuries in confession, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in his only Son Jesus, our Lord” (12).

Friday, July 26, 2013

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (07/19 - 07/26)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315.
Canada here. UK here.

• Would you like to help with interview transcriptionIf so, contact Ap315 here.

Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.
For daily post links, please follow on Facebook.

Read Along: Ch 16—Is Evil Only a Problem for Christians?

Today we continue with Chapter Sixteen in the Read Along with Apologetics 315 project. This is a chapter-by-chapter study through the book Is God Just a Human Invention? And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow. (Hear an interview about the book here.) Below you will find an audio intro for Chapter Sixteen, a brief summary of the chapter, a PDF workbook with questions for the chapter, and some notable quotes. You're also encouraged to share your comments and feedback for each chapter in the comment section below. Feel free to interact!  Index page here.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Good God & Evil World by Paul Copan: MP3 / Video

In this 18-minute video (found here) Paul Copan discusses the issue of how a good God could allow a world containing evil. More Paul Copan resources here. Paul Copan books here.

Full MP3 Audio here. (18 minutes)

Video here.

Check it out.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

10 Basic Facts About the NT Canon that Every Christian Should Memorize

New Testament scholar Michael J. Kruger has been working through a blog series entitled 10 Basic Facts About the New Testament Canon that Every Christian Should Memorize. Check out his book Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books for more. Hear the interview with Michael Kruger here.
  1. The New Testament Books are the Earliest Christian Writings We Possess
  2. Apocryphal Writings Are All Written in the Second Century or Later
  3. The New Testament Books Are Unique Because They Are Apostolic Books
  4.   Some NT Writers Quote Other NT Writers as Scripture
  5.   The Four Gospels are Well Established by the End of the Second Century
  6.   At the End of the 2nd Century, the Muratorian Fragment lists 22 of 27 NT Books
  7.   Early Christians Often Used Non-Canonical Writings
  8.   The NT Canon Was Not Decided at Nicea—Nor Any Other Church Council
  9.   Christians Did Disagree about the Canonicity of Some NT Books
  10.   Early Christians Believed that Canonical Books Were Self-Authenticating
Enjoy.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Terminology Tuesday: Inductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning: In a strict sense, reasoning to a generalization on the basis of particular instances of that generalization. An example would be the following: "The swan is white; the next swan is white; and so is the next one. Therefore swans are white." With the exception of mathematical induction, where the premises of the argument do necessarily imply their conclusion, inductive arguments do not lead to certainty. In a broader sense, inductive reasoning is any form of reasoning in which the conclusion is not logically entailed by the premises (or in other words, any form of reasoning other than deductive reasoning). Inferences from effect to cause or from cause to effect, and probabilistic inferences in general, are inductive arguments."1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 60.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Jay Smith Interview Transcript

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Jay Smith. Original audio here. Transcript index here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.


BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics 315. Today, I interview Jay Smith. Jay is a Biblical scholar specializing in Islam. He spent much of his life in evangelistic ministry to Muslims in the U.K. He regularly engages in Islamic debates from the Chambers of the Oxford Union to his regular debates at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park.

The purpose of this interview is to gain some insights from Jay about Christian interaction with Islam, find out more about what Muslims believe, and ask for his advice for Christians seeking to share with their Muslim friends.

Thanks for joining me today, Jay.

JS: Thank you, Brian. It's good to be with you.

BA: Now, you, like me, are an American but don't live in the U.S. So what brought you to the U.K.?

JS: That's correct. In fact, though I am an American, my accent gives me away. I was not born here nor in the States nor have I lived much in the States. I think, though, I'm 57 years old now, I think I've only lived ten years in America.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Book Review: Faith and Reason by Richard Swinburne

Faith and Reason (henceforth FAR) is the final volume in Richard Swinburne’s trilogy on the philosophy of religion.  In The Coherence of Theism Swinburne examined the claims of theism and came to the provisional conclusions that (a) theism was not demonstrably incoherent and (b) a more feasible but indirect way of arguing for the coherence of theism was to provide grounds for thinking theism was true. So in The Existence of God Swinburne examined the arguments for and against the existence of God and concluded that the preponderance of evidence indicated God exists.  In FAR Swinburne is concerned with the relevance of such judgments of probability (i.e., ‘God exists’) to religious faith.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (07/12 - 07/19)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315.
Canada here. UK here.

• Would you like to help with interview transcriptionIf so, contact Ap315 here.

Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.
For daily post links, please follow on Facebook.

Read Along: Ch 15—Can People Be Good Without God?

Today we continue with Chapter Fifteen in the Read Along with Apologetics 315 project. This is a chapter-by-chapter study through the book Is God Just a Human Invention? And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow. (Hear an interview about the book here.) Below you will find an audio intro for Chapter Fifteen, a brief summary of the chapter, a PDF workbook with questions for the chapter, and some notable quotes. You're also encouraged to share your comments and feedback for each chapter in the comment section below. Feel free to interact!  Index page here.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Biblical Training App Now Available

BiblicalTraining.org is one of the best online resources for great lecture series on theology, apologetics, and other discipleship resources. Now their app is available on the iTunes app store for iPhone/iPad. You can now access and listen to all the BiblicalTraining lectures on your mobile device. (If you don't have an Apple device, you can also use their mobile site.) For more about the app, go here.

Download the BiblicalTraining App here.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Free: Essential Apologetics PowerPoint Series

In partnership with The PowerPoint Apologist, Apologetics 315 is offering a series of 12 Free PowerPoint presentations, released monthly. These cover 12 essential topics in apologetics. These are free to download, modify, and use for your own apologetics presentations. (However, please retain the final two slides featuring the PowerPoint Apologist and Apologetics 315 resources.)

The sixth in the series is
"Why Scripture?—A Defense of the New Testament"
Download it here. Slideshare here.
Enjoy.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Terminology Tuesday: Free Will

Free Will: The ability of an agent to make genuine choices that stem from the self. Libertarians argue that free will includes the power to determine the will itself, so that a person with free will can will more than one thing. Compatibilists typically view free will as the power to act in accordance with one's own will rather than being constrained by some external cause, allowing that the will itself may ultimately be causally determined by something beyond the self. Hard determinists deny the existence of free will altogether. Most Christian theologians agree that humans possess free will in some sense but disagree about what kind of freedom is necessary. The possession of free will does not entail an ability not to sin, since human freedom is shaped and limited by human character. Thus a human person may be free to choose among possibilities in some situations but still be unable to avoid all sin.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 46-47.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Kerby Anderson Interview Transcript

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Kerby Anderson. Original audio here. Transcript index here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.


BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten with Apologetics 315. Today’s interview is with apologist Kerby Anderson. Kerby serves as the president of Probe Ministries as well as host of Point of View radio talk show. He is the author of over a dozen books covering a wide array of biblical and apologetic topics. The purpose of this interview is to learn a bit more about Kerby and his ministry with Probe, explore the importance of worldview thinking and get his advice on equipping young people in the area of apologetics. Well, thanks for joining me for this interview today, Kerby.

KA: Well good to be with you Brian.

BA: Well first off, would you mind just telling our listeners a bit more about yourself and what your background is?

KA: Certainly. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and became a Christian in the 1960s and got involved with a number of different campus groups like Navigators and especially Campus Crusade for Christ. But the way I became a Christian in large part is due to this area of apologetics. I had gone to an event and heard somebody talking about Jesus in a very personal way and he mentioned some books, and I was able to find them. One was Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. The other was a book of basic Christianity by John Stott. And so after reading those books, I really pretty much became a Christian. In a sense lead myself to Christ because I saw the sheer weight of evidence and then early on I had a chance to cross paths with people like Josh McDowell and others, so I was always even when I went to graduate school interested in apologetics. That was back in the day when we didn’t have that many books out. One of the first books I ever edited when I joined Probe Ministries was a book by Norm Geisler, so again, that got me into that area. And that’s something that Probe Ministries was very much involved with anyway. So I’ve really got a testimony in large part of being interested in knowing how to defend the Christian faith, knowing how to show some of the logical inconsistencies of a different world view. So in some respects, what I’m doing today after being with Probe 36 years is just sort of a culmination of what really was instrumental in my own conversion.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Doug Groothuis on Biblical Truth

"Without a thorough and deeply rooted understanding of the biblical view of truth as revealed, objective, absolute, universal, eternally engaging, antithetical and exclusive, unified and systematic, and as an end in itself, the Christian response to postmodernism will be muted by the surrounding culture or will make illicit compromises with the truth-impoverished spirit of the age. The good news is that truth is still truth, that it provides a backbone for witness and ministry in postmodern times, and that God's truth will never fail."

—Douglas Groothuis

Truth Decay, p. 81-82.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Book Review: The Nature of God: An Inquiry into Divine Attributes by Edward R. Wierenga

Although the problem of evil (in its various formulations) has long been the predominate anti-theistic argument, another family of arguments against traditional theistic belief attacks what has been called “the coherence of theism.” These arguments question whether the standard divine attributes (such as omnipotence, omniscience, and perfect goodness) are coherent notions, and whether they are consistent with each other. Christian apologists, therefore, will take considerable interest in the work of philosophers of religion who develop, defend, or critique various formulations of the standard divine attributes. Edward Wierenga’s book The Nature of God: An Inquiry into Divine Attributes is an excellent contribution to this discussion.

Wierenga opens the book by noting that, despite the immense diversity evident in the various theistic traditions, there is broad agreement on which properties are central to the divine nature. In particular, the variety of sources that influence theistic thought, “…concur in attributing wisdom, power, and goodness to God. With somewhat less universality, they also ascribe eternity, immutability, timelessness, and other attributes to God.”[1] Accordingly, after introducing possible worlds semantics and laying out some of the metaphysical assumptions that will operate throughout the remainder of the book, Wierenga proceeds to analyze these divine attributes one at a time, with the aim of finding “historically adequate and philosophically defensible formulations of claims about the nature of God.”[2]

Friday, July 12, 2013

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (07/05 - 07/12)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315.
Canada here. UK here.

• Would you like to help with interview transcriptionIf so, contact Ap315 here.

Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.
For daily post links, please follow on Facebook.

Read Along: Chapter 14—Is Christianity the Cause of Dangerous Sexual Repression?

Today we continue with Chapter Fourteen in the Read Along with Apologetics 315 project. This is a chapter-by-chapter study through the book Is God Just a Human Invention? And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow. (Hear an interview about the book here.) Below you will find an audio intro for Chapter Fourteen, a brief summary of the chapter, a PDF workbook with questions for the chapter, and some notable quotes. You're also encouraged to share your comments and feedback for each chapter in the comment section below. Feel free to interact!  Index page here.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Darrell Bock on the Jesus Seminar - MP3 Audio

What is the Jesus Seminar? Who is behind the Jesus Seminar? What is the purpose of the Jesus Seminar? Dr. Darrell Bock presents a workshop on the answers to these questions.

Full MP3 Audio here.

Another great resource from The European Leadership Forum.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Ted Turnau Interview Transcript

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Ted Turnau. Original audio here. Transcript index here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.


BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics315. Today’s interview is with Ted Turnau. Ted is a college lecturer who teaches Cultural Studies and Religion in Prague, Czech Republic. His interest is in issues of popular culture, imagination, and how they relate to the Christian faith. He is also author of Popologetics: Popular Culture in Christian Perspective. I had the privilege of meeting Ted at the European Leadership Forum in Hungary, where he was teaching about apologetics and popular culture, and evaluating the worldviews of popular movies. The purpose of today’s interview is to explore the relationship between popular culture and the task of apologetics, and get Ted’s insights into how we can be better apologists. Well, thanks for joining me today, Ted.

TT: It’s great to be here, thanks Brian.

BA: Well, first off, can you tell our listeners a bit about your background, and how did you end up in the Czech Republic?

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Terminology Tuesday: Equivocal

Equivocal: Adjective that describes the status of a term when is it used in more than one sense in the course of an argument, so that the argument commits the logical fallacy of equivocation. Note the equivocal use of terms in the following humorous example: "I love you. Therefore I am a lover. All the world loves a lover. You are the world to me. Therefore you love me."1

1. Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 40.

Monday, July 08, 2013

The Gospel According to Bart Ehrman

A June 3rd article that appeared on Christianpost contained an interview with Dr. Bart Ehrman who is a noted author and professor of religion. Ehrman is most famous for his criticisms of the New Testament’s reliability, with various books he’s produced on the topic reaching the top of certain best seller lists.

The Christianpost interview focused on his skepticism of the New Testament, with very predictable results occurring in the reader comments that followed. Atheists and skeptics high-fived each other, reveling in the fact that they had a credible champion who fuels their hope that the Bible cannot be trusted, while some believers cast disparaging remarks at Ehrman saying he’s not worth listening to.

Both sides need to step back from their rhetoric.

Atheists who believe Bart fully sides with them may be surprised to learn what he does support on the topic of Jesus (and what that foundation points to). And Christians who call into question Ehrman’s intelligence or skill should understand that he is indeed a very smart and well-trained scholar who deserves respect.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Augustine on Repentance

"God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination."

- St. Augustine of Hippo

Saturday, July 06, 2013

Book Review: Simplicity as Evidence for Truth
by Richard Swinburne

“I seek in this essay to show that—other things being equal—the simplest hypothesis proposed as an explanation of phenomena is more likely to be the true one than is any other available hypothesis, that its predictions are more likely to be true than are those of any other available hypothesis, and that it is an ultimate a priori epistemic principle that simplicity is evidence of truth.” (p. 1)

In this lecture, Simplicity as Evidence for Truth, Richard Swinburne expounds the importance of the criterion of simplicity at great length. He begins by discussing the structure of explanation. He briefly compares scientific explanation with personal explanation. He further delineates between several theories of scientific explanation, contrasting Humean laws- initial conditions (LIC) type of explanations with substances-powers-liabilities (SPL) explanations. Here, as elsewhere, he plumps for the SPL account. 1 For something to truly explain something else, it should be able to ‘license counterfacturals’ and must be an actual cause of the phenomenon in question—not just a correlated effect of a common cause.2 He further delineates between full causation (deterministic) and partial (statistical) explanation, deep (fundamental laws of nature) and superficial (less fundamental laws).

Friday, July 05, 2013

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (06/28 - 07/05)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315.
Canada here. UK here.

• Would you like to help with interview transcriptionIf so, contact Ap315 here.

Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.
For daily post links, please follow on Facebook.

Read Along: 13—Is God a Genocidal Bully?

Today we continue with Chapter Thirteen in the Read Along with Apologetics 315 project. This is a chapter-by-chapter study through the book Is God Just a Human Invention? And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow. (Hear an interview about the book here.) Below you will find an audio intro for Chapter Thirteen, a brief summary of the chapter, a PDF workbook with questions for the chapter, and some notable quotes. You're also encouraged to share your comments and feedback for each chapter in the comment section below. Feel free to interact!  Index page here.

Thursday, July 04, 2013

An Analysis of Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus: MP3 by Peter J. Williams

Here's a good listen: Peter J. Williams critiques Bart Ehrman's book Misquoting Jesus. If you are interested in New Testament studies, this MP3 audio will be worth your time. You'll hear more about Ehrman, the claims he makes, as well as a fine critique.

Enjoy.

Be sure to visit bethinking.org for other great resources.

(audio quality starts patchy, but clears up after the intro)

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Louis Markos Interview Transcript

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Louis Markos. Original audio here. Transcript index here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.


BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics315. Today’s interview is with Lou Markos, Professor in English, and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University. Dr. Markos teaches courses in British romantic poetry, literary theory, and the classics; as well in Victorian poetry and prose, seventeenth century prose, C. S. Lewis, mythology, epic, and film. His books include, On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, Apologetics in the Twenty-first Century; From Achilles to Christ, Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics; A to Z with C. S. Lewis; and many more. The purpose of our interview today is to delve into the world of literary apologetics, explore some of the fine examples of literary apologists, and look at the lessons we can learn from the likes of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Well, thanks for joining me for this interview Dr. Markos.

LM: It’s great to be here Brian.

BA: Well first off, would you mind telling our listeners just a bit more about yourself and your work?

LM: Well, my name is Lou Markos. I’m a Professor in English and a Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University in Houston Texas. And I’ve been teaching here twenty-one years. The time has gone by fast. And my specialties are nineteenth century British and romantic and Victorian poetry, I also do film, literary theory, and for the interview today, I teach classes in C. S. Lewis, and also in J. R. R. Tolkien. Also, I teach in our honors college, and my job is to take each new honors class through the Greco-Roman curriculum. So, I get to teach them all the ancient Greek and ancient Roman classics. And so one of the things I love about teaching Lewis and Tolkien, is I also get to teach all the things that Lewis and Tolkien loved. So, I really feel in kinship with them.

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Terminology Tuesday: Belief

Belief: The fundamental positive cognitive attitude that commonly takes a proposition as its object. Most philosophers hold that propositional beliefs can be occurrent, in which case there is conscious assent to a proposition, or nonoccurrent, in which case a person has a disposition to assent to a proposition (such as 2+3=5) even though the person is not consciously thinking of that proposition. Theologians distinguish belief that something is the case from belief in a person or ideal, as when a person believes in God or democracy. The latter seems closer to the biblical concept of faith. It seems clear, however, that belief in God is not possible without some propositional beliefs as well, since one could hardly believe in God if one did not believe that God existed or believe anything about God's character.1

1. Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 17.

Monday, July 01, 2013

Apologetics 315 Interview Request Form

Apologetics 315 has a podcast feed specifically for apologist interviews. For the RSS feed, click here. If you have iTunes installed, click here to subscribe to the podcast automatically.
Do you have suggestions for guests you'd like interviewed? Do you want past guests interviewed again? Here is the place to let us know.

Just fill in the form to send us the details of your suggestion or request. Click here.

Thanks for listening.

Blog Archive

Amz