Apologetics 315

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Ultimate Apologetics MP3 Audio Page

Welcome to the Ultimate Apologetics MP3 Audio Page.
The goal of this page is to create the largest single page of quality apologetics Mp3's on the web. Please help make this page grow by suggesting your own links to high quality apologetics audio and debates.

Continue to check this page as more links will be added as they are acquired. Certain audio series may be podcasted in iTunes. Last updated: April 4, 2011.

AUDIO FEEDS

Does God Exist? 1 2
The Absurdity of Life Without God 1 2
Evidence for God 1 2
The Case Against Evolution 1 2
The Case For Creation 1 2
The Cumulative Case for God 1 2
Historical Evidence for Christ 1 2
The Jesus of History 1 2
Did Jesus Really Rise? 1 2
The Resurrection of Jesus 1 2
Is Jesus the Messiah? 1 2
The Shroud of Turin 1 2
The Historical Jesus in a Postmodern Age 1

Evil and Human Suffering 1 2
The Problem of Evil 1 2
Refuting Arguments for Atheism 1
Old Earth, Young Earth debate 1
Is Christianity Intolerant? 1 2
Christology 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Basic Christian Beliefs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Hermeneutics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Biblical Reliability 1 2
Refuting the Jesus Seminar 1 2
DaVinci Code 1 2 3
The Word of Faith Movement 1 2
Refuting Oneness Pentecostalism 1 2
Roman Catholicism 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Jehovah's Witnesses 1 2
Jehovah's Witnesses 1 2 3 4
Mormonism 1
Mormonism 1 2 3 4
Buddhism & Hinduism 1 2
Eastern Religions 1 2
Islam Unveiled 1 2
Islam and Judaism 1 2
The New Age Movement 1 2
New Age and the Occult 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Cults 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Advanced Cults 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Cults 2006-1 Common Beliefs
Cults 2006-2 Mormons 1
Cults 2006-3 Mormon Writings
Cults 2006-4 Mormons 2
Cults 2006-5 Scientology
Cults 2006-6 Theosophy, Moon, The Way
Cults 2006-7 Jehovah’s Witnesses
Cults 2006-8 Problem Passages 1
Cults 2006-9 Problem Passages 2
Cults 2006-10 Christian Science
Cults 2006-11 Unity School, 7th Day
Cults 2006-12 Jesus Only,Children of God
Wicca 1

Do All Faiths Lead to God? 1
World Religions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
World Religions 2006 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
World Views 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Secular Religions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Refuting Religious Pluralism 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Moral Relativism 1 2
Morality and Tolerance 1 2
Pluralism 1 2 3
Refuting Globalism 1 2
Postmodernism 1 2
Refuting Atheism and Pantheism 1 2
Communism 1 2 3

America's Spiritual History 1 2
A Christian Philosophy of Education 1 2
Abortion 1 2
The Sanctity of Human Life 1 2
Homosexuality 1 2
Ethics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Debate: Fernandes vs. Barker 1 2 3 4
Debate: Fernandes vs. John 1 2 3
Debate: Fernandes vs. Lowder 1 2 3 4
Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality 1 2 3

Many more Dr. Phil Fernandes MP3's can be found here.

William Lane Craig Debate Mp3:
William Lane Craig vs. Hector Avalos MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Brian Edwards #1 MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Brian Edwards #2 MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Austin Dacey MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Garrett Hardin MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Frank Zindler MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Peter W. Atkins MP3
William Lane Craig vs. John Dominic Crossan MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Gerd Ludemann MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Jamal Badawi MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Ray Bradley MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Eddie Tabash MP3
William Lane Craig vs. Arif Ahmed MP3 (Q & A)

Dr. Douglas Groothuis Apologetics MP3:
Introductory Lecture
Nature of Apologetics, 1
Nature of Apologetics, 2
Developing an Apologetic Mind, 1
Developing an Apologetic Mind, 2
Worldviews, Truth, and Knowledge, 1
Worldviews, Truth, and Knowledge, 2
Truth and Knowledge
Conventionalism
Testing Worldviews
Natural Theology
Atheism
Cosmological Arguments, 1
Cosmological Arguments, 2
Cosmological Arguments, 3
Design Arguments, 1
Design Arguments, 2
Design Arguments, 3
Design Arguments, 4
God and Moral Meaning, 1
God and Moral Meaning, 2
God and Moral Meaning, 3
Argument from Religious Experience
Question and Answers
Pascal's Wager
Miracles, 1
Miracles, 2
Reliability of the New Testament, 1
Reliability of the New Testament, 2
Reliability of the New Testament, 3
Apologetic Role Playing
Claims of Jesus and Resurrection
Easternism and New Age, 1
Easternism and New Age, 2
Easternism and New Age, 3
Testimony on New Age
Religious Pluralism and Exclusivism
Islam, 1
Islam, 2
Brief Comments on the Medium of Video
Intelligent Design and Science, 1
Intelligent Design and Science, 2 (Closing Comments)
God and the Problem of Evil, 1
God and the Problem of Evil, 2
Notes for these lectures can be found here.

Stefan Gusavsson: New Testament Case for Apologetics I - Jesus as Apologist

David Robertson - The Dawkins Letters

John Frame - Christian Apologetics: 27 Lectures on iTunes

Gregory Boyd and Paul Eddy - Jesus: Lord or Legend? MP3
Kenneth Samples - Veracity of the Christian Worldview MP3
Mark D. Roberts - Historicity of the Gospels MP3
Rob Bowman - Jehovah’s Witnesses and Jesus Christ MP3
Rob Bowman, Gary Habermas, Mike Licona - The Talpiot Tomb MP3
Paul Copan - God as the Best Explanation MP3
James Sire - Worldviews Analysis MP3
William Lane Craig - Arugments for the Existence of God MP3
J. P. Moreland - The Christian Mind MP3
Dan Wallace - Reinventing Jesus MP3
Greg Koukl - Moral Relativism MP3
John Frame - Presuppositional Apologetics MP3
M. James Sawyer - Canonicity of Scripture MP3

John Robbins - An Introduction to Apologetics:

1. Introduction to Apologetics
2. Historical Apologetics: The Early Church
3. Historical Apologetics: Augustine
4. Historical Apologetics: Anselm
5. Historical Apologetics: Thomas Aquinas
6. Historical Apologetics: John Calvin and Martin Luther
7. Historical Apologetics: Joseph Butler and William Paley
8. Historical Apologetics: Friedrich Schleiermacher and Soren Kierkegaard
9. Contemporary Apologetics: Twentieth-Century Confusion
10. Contemporary Apologetics: Scientific Creationism
11. Biblical Apologetics: The Two Temptations
12. Biblical Apologetics: Jesus and Scripture
13. Biblical Apologetics: Jesus and Logic
14. Biblical Apologetics: Paul and Scripture
15. Biblical Apologetics: Paul and Logic
16. Biblical Apologetics: Summary and Conclusion

John MacArthur's Podcast episodes on the Creation Account of Genesis: The Battle for the Beginning Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Apologetics Audio Interviews:
Darrell Bock: Apocryphal Gospels
David Beck: Cosmological Argument
Gary Habermas: The Resurrection
Paul Copan: Relativism
William Lane Craig: Arguments for God
Clark Berryman: The Mormon Church
Craig Keener: Gospel Evidence for Historical Jesus
Thomas Schreiner: Apostle Paul
Mike Edens: Islam
Craig Hawkins: Occult
Daniel Wallace: Reliability of New Testament Text

John MacArthur's audio series on Making a Case for the Bible:
Assorted Attacks on the Bible
Why We Believe The Bible Is True
Why We Believe While Others Reject
The Bible Is God's Word
The Doctrine of Inspiration Explained

John MacArthur's audio series: Is the Bible Reliable?
The God Who Speaks
God Has Spoken
God Has Spoken--But Why?
Our God-Breathed Bible
The Defense of Inspiration
The Amazing Truth of the Bible
The Bible Verifiable by Miracles
The Miraculous Jesus
Science and Scripture
Prewritten History, Part 1
Prewritten History, Part 2
The Foolishness of God, Part 1
The Foolishness of God, Part 2

Can Historians Prove that Jesus Rose from the Dead?
Mike Licona vs. Bart Ehrman MP3 | Video

Debate: On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Mike Licona vs. Richard Carrier MP3 | Video

Debate: Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?
Mike Licona vs. Dan Barker MP3 | Video

What Was the 1st Century Fate of Jesus?
Mike Licona vs. Ali Ataie MP3 | Video

Christianity and Islam - Did Jesus Rise?
Mike Licona vs. Shabir Ally MP3 | Video
James White: Apologetic Methodoloy: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Deductive Logic, by George William Joseph Stock by Lit2Go on iTunes
(the ebook can be found here)

Basic Sentential Logic and Informal Fallacies
Audio with PDFs. by Rick Grush, UCSD - podcast on iTunes

LOGIC MP3 Audio by John Robbins
1. Introduction to Logic
2. Definition of Terms
3. Logic and Theology: The Westminster Confession
4. Informal Fallacies, Part 1
5. Informal Fallacies, Part 2
6. Logic and Theology: Christ's Use of Logic
7. Definitions
8. Formal Logic
9. Logic and Theology: Paul's Use of Logic
10. Categorical Forms
11. Immediate Inference, Validity, Euler Circles
12. Logic and Theology: Empirical Apologetics
13. Homework Review
14. The Syllogism
15. Logic and Theology: Why Science Is Always False
16. Homework Review
17. Conclusion
18. Logic and Theology: Vantillian Apologetics

Critical Thinking
01 - Arguments
02 - Conditionals
03 - Perception
04 - Memory
05 - Sources
06 - Emotions
07 - Relevance
08 - Fallacies
09 - Probabilities
10 - Conditional Probabilities
11 - Samples
12 - Applications
13 - Heuristics
14 - Biases
15 - Dissonance

Dinesh D'Souza vs. Dan Barker MP3 Audio.

Philosophy and Apologetics (12 Lectures) Cornelius Van Til
Part 1-The New Evangelicalism, Part 2-Greek Philosophy #1, Part 3-Greek Philosophy #2, Part 4-Church Fathers #1, Part 5-Church Fathers #2, Part 6-St. Augustine, Part 7-The Middle Ages, Part 8-Modern Philosophy Before Kant, Part 9-Immanual Kant, Part 10-Modern Philosophy After Kant, Part 11-Karl Barth #1, Part 12-Karl Barth #2.

Lecture on Apologetic (16 Lectures - MP3) Gordon H. Clark.
Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, Class 4, Class 5, Class 6, Class 7, Class 8, Class 9, Class 10, Class 11, Class 12, Class 13, Class 14, Class 15, Class 16

Introduction to Apologetics by Ronald Nash
These lectures are a summary of Dr. Nash's introductory course to Christian Apologetics. Now you have to go right to biblicaltraining.org to get the audio. They do not allow direct linking to their audio files.
• Introduction
• Epistemology
• Existence of God - Introduction
• Existence of God - Proofs
• Problem of Evil
• Closing Remarks

History of Philosophy and Christian Thought by Ronald Nash
This course is a basic introduction to the history of philosophy and Christian thought.
Now you have to go right to biblicaltraining.org to get the audio. They do not allow direct linking to their audio files.
• Worldviews
• Naturalism
• Plato: Introduction and Summary
• Plato: Theory of Knowledge
• Aristotle, Plotinus, and Aquinas
• The Case against Open Theism

More files are going to be added to the above list because it is a podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed for more.

Kenneth Samples Audio Lectures

A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Test
Part 1 - A Worldview Model For Christian Theism
Part 2 - Christian Theism’s Logical Consistency
Part 3 - Christian Theism’s Explanatory Power and Cumulative Support
Part 4 - Christian Theism’s Correspondence and Verification
Part 5 - Christian Theism’s Practicality and Existential Livability

Lectures on A Christian World View
Part 1 - What in the World Is a World View?
Part 2 - Naturalism: A Secular Worldview Challenge
Part 3 - Postmodernism: A Skeptical Worldview Perspective
Part 4 - Pantheistic Monism -- An Eastern Mystic Point of View

Series on St. Augustine
Part 1 - St. Augustine's Spiritual Quest (Intro missing)
Part 2 - Apologetic Factors in Augustine's Conversion
Part 3 - Augustine as Bishop and Theologian
Part 4 - Augustine: Philosopher and Saint

Islam and Christianity
Part 1 - Islam, Growth, Influence and Divsersit y
Part 2 - Islam: Five Core Beliefs
Part 3 - Islam: The Five Pillars and Jihad
Part 4 - Islam's Revelatory Achilles Heel
Part 5 - Islam: Unknowable and Unfathomable
Part 6 - Why Can't Islam and Christianity Both Be True

Jesus and the Other Religious Faces in the Crowd
Part 1 - Part 1
Part 2 -  Gautama (Buddha)
Part 3 - Krishna & Mahavira
Part 4 - Confucius & Lao-Tzu
Part 5 - Muhammad
Part 6 - Zoroaster, Nanak & Baha'ullah

John Warwick Montgomery Audio

The Life and Thought of Francis Schaeffer by Kim Riddlebarger
Part 1 - The Life and Significance of Francis Schaeffer - MP3
Part 2 - Francis Schaeffer: Sources of His Thought (Old Princeton) - MP3
Part 3 - Francis Schaeffer: Sources of His Thought (Van Til) - MP3
Part 4 - Francis Schaeffer: Apologetic Methodology (Epistemology) - MP3
Part 5 - Francis Schaeffer: Taking the Roof Off  - MP3
Part 6 - Francis Scaheffer -- A Critical Evaluation - MP3

Defending the Faith by Todd Swift / Omaha Bible Church (Reformed Perspective)
1. The Meaning and Goal of Apologetics - MP3
2. Obstacles to Biblical Apologetics (Part 1) - MP3
3. Obstacles to Biblical Apologetics (Part 2) - MP3
4. Solutions in Biblical Apologetics (Part 1) - MP3
5. Solutions in Biblical Apologetics (Part 2) - MP3
6. Unbiblical Apologetics (Part 1) - MP3
7. Unbiblical Apologetics (Part 2) - MP3
8. Models of Biblical Apologetics - MP3
In Defense of Theistic Arguments - William Lane Craig, Alister McGrath, & Daniel Dennett
Mary Jo Sharp vs. Ehteshaam Gulam Debate: Did Jesus Die on the Cross? MP3 Audio
The Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God - Matt Slick MP3 Audio
Astrophysics Points to the God of the Bible by Hugh Ross MP3 Audio
Fatherhood and Atheism: Paul Vitz Interview MP3 Audio
The Psychology of Atheism by Paul Vitz MP3 Audio
John Lennox Audio
• Engaging the New Atheism - MP3
• Engaging the Mind: The Defense of Christianity - MP3
• Using Scripture to Engage the Mind and Imagination - MP3
Apologetics Interview with Norman Geisler MP3 Audio
Where is God in Failure? MP3 Audio by William Lane Craig
The Importance of Defending the Faith MP3 by Charlie Campbell
SBTS Conference Audio Resources
• Understanding Universalism, Inclusivism, Pluralism, Exclusivism - MP3
• Teaching the Only Savior to Atheists - MP3
• Teaching the Only Savior to Postmoderns - MP3
• Teaching the Only Savior to Other Cultures - MP3
• The Gospel is an Offense–Don’t You Be - MP3
• Do All Roads Lead to Heaven? - MP3
Historical Apologists: MP3 Audio by Mike Reeves
• Introducing... Athanasius - Part 1 | Part 2 - [MP3]
• Introducing... Augustine - Part 1 | Part 2 - [MP3]
• Introducing... Irenaeus - Part 1 - [MP3]
• Introducing... John Calvin - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 - [MP3]
• Introducing... Justin Martyr - Part 1 - [MP3]
• Introducing... Martin Luther - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 - [MP3]
• Introducing... The Apostolic Fathers - Part 1 | Part 2
Reaching Out to Muslims MP3 Audio by Keith Small
Atheism: Simply Lack of Belief in God? MP3 Audio by William Lane Craig
Dead Sea Scrolls MP3 Audio by Probe
Introduction to Worldviews: Greg Bahnsen MP3 Audio
Why Am I A Christian? MP3 Audio by James White
Richard Dawkins and John Lennox: Has Science Buried God? MP3 Audio
The Veracity of the New Testament MP3 Audio by Gary Habermas
5 Reasons God Exists MP3 Audio by William Lane Craig
Phil Fernandes vs. Eddie Tabash Debate: Does God Exist? MP3 Audio
Whatever Happened to Apologetics MP3 Audio by Craig Parton
That's Just Your Interpretation MP3 Interview with Paul Copan
Trusting the New Testament MP3 Audio by Dr. Bill Cook
God, Evil and Suffering MP3 Audio by Bruce Little
Session 1 - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Session 2 - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
How Can a Good God Allow Suffering and Evil? MP3 Audio by William Lane Craig
Old Earth Young Earth Debate MP3 Audio
Plantinga's Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism MP3 Audio
Against Materialism by Alvin Plantinga MP3 Audio
A Brief Historical Critique of the Zeitgeist Movie - MP3
New Atheism by Norman Geisler MP3 Audio
Problems of Evil by Douglas Geivett MP3 Audio
Habermas, Flew & Wright Dialogue MP3 Audio
Gary Habermas and Tim Keller Audio Interviews
Dan Barker vs. Douglas Wilson Debate MP3 Audio
Things That Matter Most Radio Program (podcast here)
• What Spiritual Knowledge Can Do for You - Dallas Willard
• National Geographic’s The Lost Gospel of Judas - Bart Ehrman and Darrell Bock
• Beyond Death: Evidence for Immortality - Gary Habermas
• The Persuasiveness of Jesus - John Coleman and Pat Zuckeran
• Discussion about Evolution’s "Flaws" - Paul Nelson and Karl Giberson
• Can You Believe in Evolution and Still be A Christian? - Karl Giberson and Paul Nelson
• Is God Really Good? - Wade Bradshaw
• A Seeker’s Roadmap to the Quest for Meaning - Os Guiness
• The Birth of Christianity and The Dead Sea Scrolls - Weston Fields
• Faith and Doubt - John Ortberg
• What Does it Take to Believe in God? - William Lane Craig
• Does Science Make Belief in God Obsolete? - Gary Rosen
• How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind - Roy Varghese
• 10 Books That Screwed Up the World - Benjamin Wiker
• Did Jesus Exist or Was He Just a Myth? - Paul Maier
• The New Atheist Crusaders - Becky Garrison
• EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed - Mark Mathis
• How Can We Know What Is True? - J.P. Moreland
• How Reliable Is the Bible? - Pat Zukeran
• Putting Worldviews to the Credibility Test - Ken Samples
• Alister McGrath Responds to Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion
• Answering Tough Faith Questions - Ken Samples
• The Case for the Real Jesus - Lee Strobel
• Nothing: Something to Believe In - Nica Lalli
• Edge of Evolution - Michael Behe
• Why Good Arguments Often Fail - James Sire
• The Privileged Planet - Guillermo Gonzalez
• Did God Write the Bible? - Dan Hayden
• The Lost Tomb of Jesus - Gary Habermas
• Evidence for God Within Our Souls and Desires - Erwin McManus
• Seeing Through Cynicism - Dick Keyes
• Secret Gospels: Sorting Through Alternative Christianities - Darrell Bock
• What a Million Monkeys Can and Can't Do - Benjamin Wiker
• I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist - Frank Turek
• Answers to some of life's toughest questions - R.C. Sproul
• Science & God: How We Harmonize the Two - Francis Collins
• Near-death experiences: life after death or just hallucinations? - Gary Habermas
• Does God Answer Prayer? - Duane Miller and Beth Irwin
• Does archaeology tell us about the reliability of Scriptures? - Walter Kaiser
• Am I More Than My Body and My Brain? - Peter Russell
• Near-Death Experiences: Christian & Atheist Perspective - Hemant Metha & Howard Storm
• Truth Decay - Doug Groothuis
• Resurrection: Fact or Fiction? - Gary Habermas
• Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Part 1 - Darrell Bock
• Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Part 2 - Darrell Bock
• Scientific Evidence for Answered Prayers - Rich Deem
• The Case for Christmas - Lee Strobel
• Darwin vs. Design - Nancy Pearcey
Dr. Dan Olinger Apologetics Course (use this feed to podcast it)
1. Intro 1: The Believer’s Responsibility
2. Intro 2: Key Questions That Seekers Ask
3. Intro 3: Winning People, Not Arguments
4. What the Bible Says About Itself
5. Development of Theme
6. Absence of Contradiction, Part 1
7. Absence of Contradiction, Part 2
8. Accuracy: Archaeological Confirmation
9. Canon: How Do We Know These Are the Right Books?
10. Are the Words Accurately Preserved in Our Translations? Part 1
11. Are the Words Accurately Preserved in Our Translations? Part 2
12. Questions including DaVinci Code
13. How Do We Know There’s a God?
14. Evolution & Natural Selection
15. Circular & Selective Dating
16. Problems with Old Earth Creationism
17. 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
18. Right and Wrong
19. Why Does God Allow Evil?
20. The Book of Job
21. Joseph & Habakkuk
22. Daniel; Psalm 37
23. Ecclesiastes
24. Psalms 32 and 1
25. Concluding Principles
26. Divine Sovereignty & Free Will
27. Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? Pt 1
28. Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? Pt 2
29. Biblical Teaching on Baptism

Is the Book of Mormon True? - Aaron Brake
Josh McDowell: Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
RONALD NASH LECTURES at Biblicaltraining.org
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT
Saddleback Apologetics Weekend 2009
RSS feed here. Subscribe directly in iTunes here.
• How Can I Know God Exists? - Dinesh D'Souza - MP3
• How Did the Universe Begin - William Lane Craig - MP3
• If God Exists, Why is there Evil? - Norman Geisler - MP3
• Has Science Made Belief in God Obsolete? - J.P. Moreland - MP3
• What Do the Gospels Really Say About Jesus? - Darrell Bock - MP3
• How Can I Defend My Faith Without Sounding Defensive? - Greg Koukl - MP3
William Lane Craig Q&A
Get all the MP3s in an RSS feed here. Or add directly to iTunes here.
• The Relationship Between Faith and Reason - MP3
• The Best Argument for Belief in God - MP3
• Can We Be Good Without God? - MP3
• Is God a Logical Necessity - MP3
• Can We Trust the Bible Written 2000 Years Ago - MP3
• Why Is Richard Dawkins So Popular? - MP3
• Who Designed the Designer? A Response to Dawkins - MP3
• The Flying Spaghetti Monster & Evidence for God - MP3
• Can We Trust Religious Experiences? - MP3
• Can There Be Meaning Without God? - MP3
• How Can Christianity Be the Only One True Religion? - MP3

Ravi Zacharias: Is Atheism Dead, is God Alive?
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Os Guinness on the Essence of Apologetics
Part 1: What is the essence of apologetics? (MP3)
Part 2: A Biblical basis for the essence of apologetics (MP3)
Part 3: How to communicate in apologetics (MP3)
Part 4: Persuading the hard-hearted (MP3)

Michael Ramsden Apologetics Workshop (RSS Feed here)

• Apologetics Workshop (part-1) - MP3
• Apologetics Workshop (part-2) - MP3
• Apologetics (evening session) - MP3
• Broken world, broken lives - MP3
• Certainty in an uncertain world - MP3

Ken Boa - Answering the Tough Questions about Life and God. (RSS Feed here)

1. Postmodernism

2. Three World Views: Humanism, Transcendentalism and Theism

3. Does God Really Exist? I

4. Does God Really Exist? II

5. Why Believe in Miracles? I

6. Why Believe in Miracles? II

7. Isn't Christianity Just a Psychological Crutch?

8. Is the Bible Really Trustworthy? I

9. Is the Bible Really Trustworthy? II

10. Why Do the Innocent Suffer? I

11. Why Do the Innocent Suffer? II

12. How Can Christ Be the Only Way to God? I

13. How Can Christ Be the Only Way to God? II

14. Will God Judge Those Who Never Heard About Christ? I

15. Will God Judge Those Who Never Heard About Christ? II

16. If Christianity Is True, Why Are There So Many Hypocrites?

17. Isn't a Good Moral Life Enough to Get into Heaven?

18. Isn't Just Believing in Christ Too Easy? What does it Mean to Believe?

19. Can People Really Be Sure of Their Salvation?

Ron Rhodes Lectures

• Where's the Discernment - MP3

• Witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses, the Deity of Christ - MP3

• Interpretive Principles - MP3

• The Emergence of Mysticism in the Modern Church - MP3

• Reasoning From the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses - MP3

• Reasoning From the Scriptures with the Catholics - MP3

• The Truth Behind Ghosts, Mediums, and the Psychic Phenomenon - MP3

• Subjectivism, Emotionalism, Mysticism in the Modern Church - MP3

• Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Doctrine of Christ - MP3

• Wrestling with the Problem of Evil - MP3

• Three Biggest Errors Cultists Make - MP3

Robert M. Bowman Lectures
World Religions (RSS)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

The Historical Jesus (RSS)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Science and the Bible (RSS)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Apologetics Methods (RSS)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Understanding Mormons & Jehovah's Witnesses (RSS)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Introduction to Christian Apologetics (RSS)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Does God Exist? Greg Bahnsen vs. Gordon Stein

There are a lot of great theism/atheism debates out there. But this one is surely a classic. For those not familiar with the transcendental argument for the existence of God or Greg Bahnsen, this should be a good introduction.

Here is the transcript of the debate.

Enjoy.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Book Review: The Historical Jesus by Gary Habermas

The Historical Jesus by Gary Habermas is a thorough and solid presentation of the historical evidences of the life of Jesus. Countering much of the skeptical authorship and questionable scholarship that can be seen in today’s treatment of the Jesus of history, Habermas takes a simple and straightforward approach to the subject. He presents a clear picture of Jesus and shows the reader the evidence from a wide array of historical sources.

Part One of the book addresses the challenges to the historicity of Jesus. Some make the claim that we cannot know the true Jesus of history. Others deny that he ever lived. Still others bend history to a sort of mythology that cannot be expected to be taken literally. Habermas shows that each of these claims simply do not comport with the evidence and with a reasonable reading of the historical sources.

Another key element addressed by Habermas is the presuppositions that historians and scholars are bringing to their reading of history. For example, an a priori rejection of miracles: “An a priori dismissal cannot be allowed, even if we do not like the conclusion that is indicated by the facts. One must decide on the basis of the known evidence.” The author shows that philosophies of naturalism and the rejection of miracles cause these scholars to disallow the plain meaning of the texts.

Habermas devotes a chapter to rebutting the Jesus Seminar, a group of mixed scholars that form a sort of liberal think-tank – whose conclusions are commonly regarded as on the fringe of credible scholarship. The seminar reports that eighty-two percent of the words ascribed to Jesus in the Gospels were not actually spoken by him. Clearly, Part One of The Historical Jesus shows the reader that the problem is not the lack of evidence, but the lack of honest interpretation of the evidence.

Part Two delves into the historical data for the life of Jesus. Habermas builds his case using the following data: creeds, archeology, non-Christian sources, and non-New Testament Christian sources. There is no shortage of evidence here to show that the New Testament itself is well supported by external historical sources.

In all, Habermas examines 45 ancient sources for the life of Jesus. From this he gathers 129 reported facts concerning the life, person, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. From these facts, all of them corroborate the claims of the New Testament, many of which affirm central teachings and doctrines found in the New Testament.

What sets this book apart for this reviewer is its straightforward approach. Habermas does not try to read between the lines, redefine, or reinterpret history. He just plainly presents evidence after evidence that all attest to the historicity of the life of Jesus. He rebuts the most notable liberal and skeptical claims using evidence and a logical plain reading of history. The plain facts make a powerful argument for the New Testament as the most reliable historical record of the life of Jesus Christ.

Book Review: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona is a simple and powerful treatment of the most powerful evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic strategy employed by the authors is what they refer to as the “minimal facts” approach. The authors understand that there are a wide variety of opinions held regarding the facts surrounding the Gospels and the resurrection. Using the minimal facts approach, the Habermas and Licona focus on fours facts that are almost universally attested to by all scholars, whether conservative or liberal, Christian or atheist. The “common ground” can then be used to show that a powerful case can be made that the best conclusion is that God raised Jesus from the dead.

The four facts that virtually all scholars and historical critics agree upon are as follows: 1) Jesus died by crucifixion; 2) the disciples believed Jesus rose from the dead; 3) the conversion of the church persecutor Paul; and, 4) the conversion of the skeptic James. They also cite one more fact in addition to the main four – the empty tomb of Jesus. Again, these facts are powerful in making a case for the resurrection because they are agreed upon by almost everyone. This allows one to focus on the subject of the resurrection, rather than peripheral discussions on topics like the accuracy of the Bible or other matters of possible disagreement.

The authors build a very strong case with the four facts (plus one), and in doing so support each one of the facts with the non-biblical historical sources that attest to the facts. This strengthens the argument, as evidence is presented that is external to the Bible, which some people may not readily assume as authoritative historically.

The authors move on to deal with the opposing theories and arguments that will normally arise from the evidence that has been presented. This section causes one to realize that there are not very many good opposing theories to the resurrection. For a theory to really hold water, it must be plausible as well as have good explanatory power and scope. Also, an opposing theory must account for all of the facts for it to be strong.

Strong rebuttals are given each opposing theory. These would include the fraud, hallucination, visions, delusions, deceptions, apparent death, and a number of other combinations. The reader quickly finds that no other opposing theory has greater explanatory scope, explanatory power, or accounts for all the facts better than the claim that God raised Jesus from the dead.

One more strong point of the book is that it deals with the topic of naturalism. Naturalism is the belief that the only thing that exists is matter – there is nothing supernatural. The authors dismantle this worldview by showing its inconsistencies and contradictions. Habermas and Licona then make a strong case for miracles and overcome some of the more common objections.

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus is a solid work. Simple and effective, it is written in a way that its contents will be easily remembered and applied as a means of evangelism and the defense of the Gospel. If the reader can defend the four facts presented in this book, he can present a strong case for the resurrection.

A Case for the Lordship of Jesus Christ

by Brian Auten

Christianity makes two astounding claims. First, it claims that its central figure, Jesus Christ, was raised from the dead. Second, it claims that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then Christianity is false. In fact, the Apostle Paul said “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:17 NIV). Paul freely admitted that if the resurrection of Jesus from the dead was not an actual historical event, then the Christian faith is pointless. However, if Jesus did rise from the dead, he truly is Lord. No other religion bases its entire truth upon the veracity of an actual historical event. This paper will make a concise case for the Lordship of Jesus Christ based upon the historicity of the resurrection. The thesis is this: if Jesus actually rose from the dead, then he is Lord.

The proper name of God used by the Hebrews was Jehovah (YHWH), which is rendered LORD in the Old Testament. It denotes one with absolute control. In the New Testament the Greek word for Lord is kurios: a supreme master.1 When we speak of Lordship in this paper, we refer to the Biblical understanding of Lord as being one with God and absolute master of all.

The Historical Context of the Resurrection
One could claim that an event like the resurrection of Jesus doesn’t prove anything. If removed from any sort of context, this statement is true. However, within its historical context, the resurrection proves a great deal. If Jesus were no particular person living in no particular time in history, who made no claims, taught and influenced no one, made no predictions, died uneventfully— and then rose from the dead—what could be made of it? There would be no significant context for such an event, rendering it utterly meaningless and lacking any reason to be taken as true. Without any historical context, a resurrection could be reasonably considered an anomaly of some sort—dismissed with skepticism. William Lane Craig pointed out that “a miracle apart from the religio-historical context is inherently ambiguous.”2

However, the resurrection of Jesus is by no means without context. Most people would consider Jesus to be the greatest figure in history. He was not a typical person. He has had an undeniable effect upon the world like no other person in history. By all accounts, Jesus lived a faultless life on earth. His moral teachings are unparalleled in their depth and simplicity. He worked miracles and healed the sick. In addition, he made extreme claims to be equal with God, one with God, Messiah, and Son of God. Jesus even predicted his own death—and moreover—his own resurrection after three days. This is the kind of context that makes the historical account of a resurrection considerably meaningful.

British theologian and scholar N. T. Wright points out the importance of taking all the events surrounding the resurrection into account:

Thus neither Jesus’ life, deeds and teachings on the one hand, nor his resurrection on the other, could by themselves have had the effect of making people say at once, ‘He really was and is the Messiah.’ But put them together – which is what the early Christians did . . . and the result is clear.3

Resurrection historians Gary Habermas and Michael Licona also stress the significance of the resurrection in its context:

The context of Jesus’ life and claims cannot be ignored. For if God exists, there is no reason why the Author of life could not raise the dead. And Jesus was just the sort of person we might expect God to raise.4

The Self-Identity of Jesus
It is important to recognize the fact that the identity of Jesus as Son of God and Messiah was not something attributed to him after his time on earth. During his ministry, Jesus himself made the claims of divinity. First, Jesus referred to himself as the Son of God. During his trial in Matthew 26:63-66, he answered clearly:

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” “He is worthy of death,” they answered. (NIV)

The reason that Jesus was sent to the cross to be executed was for the charge of blasphemy—making himself out to be God. Jesus agreed to their statements knowing full well what the penalty would be for admitting to such a thing. Second, Jesus referred to himself as Son of Man. In the scripture cited above, Jesus refers to himself not only as the Son of God, but as the Son of Man. This is Jesus’ preferred way of referring to himself, and it occurs in all four Gospels. It appears thirty times in Matthew, fourteen in Mark, twenty-five in Luke, and thirteen in John.

The title “Son of Man” is significant in that it refers to a Messianic prophecy in Daniel 7:13-14:

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (emphasis added, NIV)

When Jesus used this title, it was clear both to himself and to his listeners that he was referring to himself as the Son of Man spoken of in Daniel’s vision. Third, Jesus spoke and acted as if he was God. Consider John 8:58-59: “‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him…” Here Jesus uses the title that God assigned himself when He spoke to Moses. Obviously the Jews understood his meaning and tried to stone him for blasphemy. Christian philosopher Phil Fernandes elaborates:

Christ probably spoke these words in Aramaic (the common language of the Hebrews of his day). Therefore, He probably did not use the Greek words “ego eimi” for “I AM.” Rather, He would have used the Hebrew “YHWH.” This was the title for the eternal God. Out of reverence for God, the Jews never spoke this word. So here, Christ was not only speaking the unspeakable title of God (YHWH), but He was using it to refer to Himself. Properly understood, this was probably Christ’s most unambiguous claim to deity.6

Additionally, Jesus regularly called God his father (John 10:30). He declared himself the only way to God in John 14:6. He forgave sins in Luke 7:48 and Matthew 9:2. He even accepted others’ statements of his deity and also their worship (Matthew 14:33, 28:17). In a very clear way, Jesus identified himself to be God. It was clear to those who worshiped him, and clear to those who crucified him.

The Fulfillment of Prophecy
The Old Testament contains over three hundred references to the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus.7 In Isaiah 53 alone, there can be found twelve specific prophetic aspects fulfilled by Jesus:

1) was rejected; 2) was a man of sorrow; 3) lived a life of suffering; 4) was despised by others; 5) carried our sorrow; 6) was smitten and afflicted by God; 7) was pierced for our transgressions; 8) was wounded for our sins; 9) suffered like a lamb; 10) died with the wicked; 11) was sinless; and 12) prayed for others.8

Predictions elsewhere about Christ’s death include the piercing of his hands and feet (Ps. 22:16); the piercing of his side (Zech. 12:10); and the casting of lots for his garments (Ps. 22:18).9 The fact that these prophecies (not to mention over two hundred others) were written hundreds of years before Jesus lived, yet were fulfilled with such accuracy, suggests a divine author. The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy also places the death and resurrection of Jesus at the heart of a very significant religio-historical context.

The Historicity of the Resurrection
The New Testament Gospels give a very straightforward account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. However, despite the New Testament’s over five thousand manuscripts, its very early authorship, its astounding accuracy, and its overall historical reliability, some scholars still doubt its report of miracles. This skepticism is due to a naturalistic bias—an underlying view of the world that rejects the supernatural.

However, it must be noted that this bias is not scientific or historical, but based upon philosophical presuppositions that the historian brings to the subject. However, a case can be made for the resurrection based on an appeal to data so strongly evidenced historically that nearly every scholar regards them as reliable facts.10

First, it is almost universally agreed upon among historians that Jesus died by the torturous death of crucifixion. Critical Jesus Seminar scholar John Dominic Crossan admits, “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.”11 This is attested to by multiple sources, including Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata, Mara Bar-Serapion, and the Jewish Talmud.12

Second, Jesus’ disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them. Atheistic New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann said, “It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’ death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.”13 Because of this belief they both claimed that he rose from the dead, and they went from being fearful to being bold witnesses of their experiences everywhere they went. The lives of the disciples were, undeniably, completely transformed. This is evidenced by the Gospels themselves, ancient creeds and oral traditions, the writings of the Apostle Paul, and the writings of the church fathers such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Polycarp, and others.14

Third, the church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed. Paul (formerly Saul) was previously a skeptic who violently opposed Christianity—pursuing Christians to their death and seeking to destroy the faith (Acts 22:4, Gal. 1:13). Yet this same persecutor claims to have seen the risen Jesus. Consequently, Paul changes from a killer of believers to Christianity’s most influential proclaimer. This is supported by Luke, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Tertullian, Dionysius of Corinth, Origen, and Paul’s own testimony.15 Again, this is a fact that is universally agreed to by scholars.

Fourth, the skeptical half-brother of Jesus became a believer. The New Testament records that James, Jesus’ half-brother, was a skeptic during the time of Jesus’ ministry. However, something happened that changed his opinion of Jesus. He later became a believer, and is identified as a leader of the Jerusalem church. Moreover, his belief was so strong that he later died a martyr for the faith, as attested to by Christian and non-Christian sources.16

Fifth, the empty tomb of Jesus is further evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. Habermas has concluded that roughly seventy-five percent of critical scholars agree upon this point.17 The empty tomb is also confirmed by the earliest enemies of Christianity. The Jewish opposition asserted from the beginning that the disciples stole the body—a tacit admission that the tomb was empty. In addition, any talk of the resurrection of Jesus could have been quickly silenced in Jerusalem simply by producing his dead body, but no corpse was produced. Finally, the fact that women were the primary witnesses to the empty tomb strengthens the case for an authentic empty tomb. A counterfeit story of the empty tomb would almost certainly involve men as the primary witnesses, as Habermas and Licona explain:

If the account of the empty tomb had been invented, it would most likely not have listed the women as the primary witnesses, since in that day a woman’s testimony was not nearly as credible as a man’s. Thus, the empty tomb appears to be historically credible in light of the principle of embarrassment.18

Historians often use the method of abduction (inference to the best explanation) to create a historical hypothesis. A hypothesis must adequately account for all the known facts in order to be considered plausible. From these five facts, one can reasonably come to the conclusion that God raised Jesus from the dead. This historical hypothesis accounts for these five facts (not to mention the further New Testament testimony to the resurrection), and the subsequent rise of Christianity.

The Rise of Christianity
One of the most powerful testimonies to the truth of the resurrection is the rise of Christianity. Theologian H.D.A. Major said:

Had the crucifixion of Jesus ended his disciples’ experience of Him, it is hard to see how the Christian church could have come into existence. The church was founded on faith in the Messiahship of Jesus. A crucified messiah was no messiah at all.19

In fact, the disciples based their lives on the truthfulness of the resurrection. When Christ was in the grave, they ran and hid. When he rose, they were transformed. Like the former persecutor Paul and the former skeptic James, the disciples all were willing to go to their deaths defending the truth of the resurrection. They not only died for what they believed to be true (as many people have died for what they believed), they died for what they knew to be true. It has been said that liars don’t make good martyrs. This is what drove the rapid growth of the early church, as noted by Wright:

Why did early Christianity begin, and why did it take this shape? The answer is: because the early Christians believed that something had happened to Jesus after his death, something to which the stories in the four canonical gospels are as close as we are likely to get.20

While Jesus was alive, his followers believed he was the Messiah. But they had no expectation of a Messiah that would die. However, when Jesus rose from the dead, this was undeniable proof to them that Jesus was who he said he was. Indeed, this is exactly what Jesus had predicted in Matthew 20:17-19:

Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

Had Jesus stayed in the grave, his followers would have no reason to call him Messiah, as Wright again concludes:

…the early Christians [speak] with one voice: we believe that Jesus was and is the Messiah because he was raised bodily from the dead. Nothing else will do. And to this the historian has to say: yes, this belief would produce that result. If the early Christians believed that Israel’s god had raised Jesus from the dead, they would believe that he had been vindicated as Messiah despite his shameful death.21

Only the actual resurrection of Jesus can account for the early church’s belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Only their belief that Jesus was the Messiah can explain the rise of the early church. “If Jesus was the Messiah, he was also the lord of the whole world.”22

Conclusion
This paper has presented a case for the Lordship of Jesus based upon his resurrection. If he rose from the dead, his claims as the Son of God have been authenticated, and therefore he is Lord. His resurrection took place not without historical context, but as the consummation of an extraordinary ministry in which he not only claimed he was God's Son, but he predicted his own death and resurrection. His life and death fulfilled numerous intersecting Messianic prophecies. The facts surrounding Jesus’ death and post-mortem appearances, coupled with the radically changed lives of hostile skeptics and unbelievers all point towards the historical veracity of an actual resurrection from the dead. Indeed, it has been shown that if the resurrection was not genuine, there is no plausible explanation for the subsequent rapid rise and growth of Christianity. All alternative theories have failed to match the explanatory power and scope of this simple hypothesis.

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most substantiated events in history, and entire books have been written detailing Christ's fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The stumbling block for the unbeliever is not any lack of historical evidence. Rather, the stumbling block is this: if Jesus is Lord, he is Lord of all men.

1 Easton's Bible Dictionary, Matthew George Easton, www.eastonsbibledictionary.com.
2 William Lane Craig, Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?A Debate
between William Lane Craig and Bart D. Ehrman (College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts,
March 28, 2006).
3 N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003),
p. 224.
4 Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2004), p. 171.
5 Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Publishing Group, 1999), p. 708.
6 Phil Fernandes, No Other Gods (Bremerton, WA: IBD Press, 1998), p. 155.
7 Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1999), p. 168.
8 Geisler, p. 611.
9 Ibid., p. 612.
10 Habermas and Licona, p. 48.
11 Ibid., p. 49, citing John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (San Francisco,
CA: Harper Collins, 1991), p. 145.
12 Ibid., p. 49.
13 Ibid., p. 60, citing Gerd Lüdemann, What Really Happened to Jesus? A Historical Approach to the Resurrection (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1995), p. 80.
14 Ibid., pp. 50-62.
15 Ibid., p. 65.
16 Ibid., p. 68.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid., p. 73.
19 McDowell, p. 255.
20 Wright, p. 614.
21 Wright, p. 563.
22 Wright, p. 563.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Antony Flew Says There is a God

World-famous atheist Anthony Flew's recent book "There is a God" has caused quite a stir in the atheist community. Hear more about his conversion to belief in God in a short MP3 by Probe Ministries. This article/MP3 is by Michael Gleghorn. Definitely worth a listen. So much for the "weakness" of the design argument...

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Christopher Hitchens vs. Mark D. Roberts Debate MP3

If you haven't heard this debate, I encourage you to listen. Both sides are very cordial, but the exchange is quite lively. Christopher Hitchens is author of God is Not Great. Mark D. Roberts' most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? -- which, I might add, is an excellent book.

This debate took place on the Hugh Hewitt show and full transcripts are available.

The audio is compiled into one MP3 here.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Christianity vs. Scientific Naturalism Debate MP3

A debate between Dr. William Lane Craig and Dr. Garrett Hardin.
This was an interesting debate. Hardin's answer to the question asking for the evidence for scientific naturalism was very telling. I will leave this one open to your comments. Enjoy the MP3.

Friday, February 08, 2008

European Leadership Forum Resource Center

The European Leadership Forum is aims to bridge the needs of evangelical leaders and some of the world's best resources. This means a lot of great resources are available to you.

Check out over 750 hours of excellent teaching with outlines. (lots of mp3's) There are scores of speakers, including William Lane Craig, Dr Darrell Bock, Dr Hugh Ross, Ravi Zacharias, and many more. Topics include Apologetics training, Theology, Discipleship, and many more.

Also of interest is the European Leadership Forum Conference. This takes place in Eger, Hungary on May 24-29, 2008. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who is planning to attend.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

A Case for Biblical Inerrancy

by Brian Auten

Christians consider the Bible to be the Word of God.1 It is revered as the final authority in life and doctrine. Yet what makes this book so special? How can it be considered the authoritative Word of God? How can it be believed to be inerrant? This paper will briefly explore the nature of the Bible, its historical reliability, and its claims of inspiration. The purpose of this paper is not to prove the inerrancy of the Bible, but to show that accepting the Bible as the inerrant and authoritative Word of God is logical and warranted based on the person of Jesus Christ.

The Nature of the Bible
The world’s best-selling book is also the most translated, most published, most quoted, and most influential book in history.2 The word Bible simply means “book.” It is a collection of sixty-six books, written by about forty authors over the course of approximately 1,500 years. Composed of two sections, the Old and New Testaments, it contains a variety of literary genres: law, history, poetry, prophecy, biography, letters, and apocalyptic writings. Despite the diversity of its writings, the overarching theme of the Bible is one central figure in history: Jesus Christ.

It must be understood that the Bible is wholly unique among texts that are considered sacred. The Bible displays a unity and harmony throughout that is distinct. It contains hundreds of specific prophecies that have been fulfilled with complete accuracy—something no other religious book can boast. It is historically verified and supported by archeology. No scientific inaccuracy has ever been found. From a literary perspective, the Bible’s richness, depth, and beauty are unequaled.

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament
Before the claims of the New Testament are examined, an important question must be asked: Can the New Testament be trusted as history? When you question a document’s historicity, you question the document’s authenticity, and ultimately, its authority.

There is much more evidence for the New Testament than for any other ancient writings of comparable date.3 There are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, all of which bear earlier dates than any other ancient works. F. F. Bruce, considered to be one of the greatest of New Testament scholars, said: “The evidence for our New Testament writings is ever so much greater than the evidence for many writings of classical authors, the authenticity of which no one dreams of questioning.”4

According to New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg, “…97-99% of the New Testament can be reconstructed beyond any reasonable doubt, and no Christian doctrine is founded solely or even primarily on textually disputed passages.”5 There are no variant readings among textual critics that affect issues of doctrine or historical fact. For all intents and purposes, the NT as we have it today is the same message and content as the original manuscripts. The highly respected scholar Sir Frederic Kenyon sums it up:
"The interval then between the dates of the original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established."6

Before even evaluating the spiritual claims of the New Testament, one can confidently view it as authentic, reliable, and historically accurate. This is supported by abundant manuscripts, archaeological evidence, and external historical sources. One need not believe in the inspiration or inerrancy of the scriptures to trust the New Testament as a reliable historical record.

The Life of Jesus Christ
From the New Testament documents, one is introduced to the person of Jesus Christ. His authoritative teaching and radical claims of divinity culminated in his crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection from the dead. Christ’s closest followers were eyewitnesses to the events, and their lives were transformed. Many who were unbelievers and skeptics were converted. James, the unbelieving brother of Jesus, was converted and died for his belief in the resurrection. In the same way, Saul, the persecutor of early Christians, was radically converted because he believed in the resurrected Jesus.7 The rise of the early Church in Jerusalem was considerable, as those nearest to these events believed and gave their lives by the thousands.

It is through the New Testament account of Jesus Christ, and the reality of his resurrection, that one comes to faith in the Son of God for salvation. This faith in Christ transforms the life of the believer, and enables him to receive the Bible itself as the Word of God. The point to be made here is that faith in Christ is the prerequisite for the acceptance of the Bible as the Word of God. This belief is not unwarranted or baseless.

Rather, it is warranted by one’s acceptance of Jesus Christ and based in the authority of Jesus’ teaching. The New Testament simply provides a fully trustworthy historical account for one to be introduced to Jesus Christ. Then, through Jesus Christ, the Christian can know8 that the Bible is God’s Word, as the Holy Spirit enables him.

This argument may not seem valid for the skeptic. The skeptic may balk at the idea of any “leap of faith,” or “suspension of reason.” However, it has been demonstrated that this in not an irrational jump of logic. The early Church was composed of those who had legitimate reasons to believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is who he claimed to be. The same reasons they had, we have today through the historical account of the New Testament. Once one sees that Jesus truly is the Son of God, everything changes.

Jesus’ View of Scripture
Jesus’ view of scripture is central to the Christian view of the Bible. His resurrection confirms His claim as the Son of God, and thus His ultimate authority is established. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the cornerstone for the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy.

First, Jesus considered the scriptures (what we refer to now as the Old Testament) to be historical fact. Throughout the Gospels His view does not change. Jesus refers to Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot, Isaac and Jacob, manna, the snake in the desert, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Zechariah, and Moses.9 In each of these accounts, Jesus takes the scripture as literal historical fact. Christ also affirms the account of creation in Genesis chapters one and two. Regarding the historical references of Jesus, John W. Wenham said, “the narratives that are least acceptable to the ‘modern mind’ are the very ones that He seemed most fond of choosing for illustrations.”10

Second, Jesus considered every word of scripture to be divine. Contrary to the liberal view of many scholars today, Jesus’ opinion of the scriptures was that they were fully inspired by God—even to the smallest letter: “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). Indeed, Christ considered the scriptures fully inspired even in the smallest details.

Third, Jesus considered the scripture authoritative. In John 10:35, Jesus said, “…the scripture cannot be broken…” When tempted by the devil, Jesus appealed to the authority of scripture three times (Matthew 4:4). Also, Jesus lived in full expectation that the prophecies made about him in the Old Testament would be fulfilled. John W. Wenham lists over twenty times that Jesus refers to himself as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.11

In one particularly notable passage, Jesus speaks to his disciples about his own fulfillment of prophecy: He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27). If Jesus considered the scriptures to be the Word of God, should Christians consider them to be anything less?

The Apostles’ View of Scripture
As Christ’s contemporaries and authoritative heralds of His Gospel, the apostles’ view is important to the study. Like Jesus, they considered the scripture to be the very word of God. Among the New Testament writings, at least ten percent is Old Testament material, composed of some 295 quotations, 1600 citations, and numerous allusions.12

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, who would lead and guide the apostles into all truth (John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13-15). Therefore, they wrote with the understanding that they had a commission from Christ to fulfill. As professor of theology Edwin A. Blum put it, “As the apostles were commissioned to preach the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection, they were also instructed and enabled by the Holy Spirit to teach these truths to the church.”13

Accordingly, the apostles saw their own writings as inspired scripture. For instance, Peter referred to Paul’s writing as scripture: “. . . His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16). We have the inspired writings of the apostles today in the letters of the New Testament.

The Biblical Teaching of Inspiration
The Bible itself makes the claim to be the inspired Word of God. When looking at the concept of inspiration, we must define it in the terms the Bible gives. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)” Other translations of 2 Timothy 3:16, such as the New American Standard Bible, may read, “All Scripture is inspired by God” (emphasis added).

The meaning of the word inspired is literally “God-breathed.” As Bible teacher John MacArthur put it, the word inspired could be more accurately called “expired,” because the scriptures were breathed out by God. The Bible claims to be a divinely authoritative book resulting from a process whereby Spirit-moved men wrote God-breathed words.14

While inspiration is defined as “God-breathed,” it can be described as both verbal and plenary. Verbal means that the words of scripture themselves are inspired, not the writers. Plenary means complete in all respects; the entirety of scripture. So our definition of scripture is that every word of the Bible is God-breathed.

Inspiration does not imply a word-for-word dictation from God. Throughout the scripture, one will find a diversity of authors and their particular writing styles. One will also find figures of speech, various levels of grammar, references to non-biblical documents, and many different literary genres. This does not call into question the inspiration of the Bible. The teaching of inspiration simply states that God spoke His words using human authors and human language.

The Doctrine of Inerrancy
Inerrancy has to do with truth. It means the Bible is truthful and does not err. Theologian Paul D. Feinberg proposes the following definition of inerrancy:
Inerrancy means that when all facts are known, the Scriptures in their original autographs and properly interpreted will be shown to be wholly true in everything that they affirm, whether that has to do with doctrine or morality or with the social, physical, or life sciences.15

This definition helps to clarify what is and is not implied in the doctrine of inerrancy. Inerrancy applies to the original writings (autographs), not the copies. The Bible teaches that the scriptures were inspired, not the scribes or copyists. Thus, inasmuch as the copies reflect the originals, they are considered inerrant. Any errors in copying, transmission, or preservation do not negate original inerrancy. No human interpretation is infallible, so proper hermeneutics is necessary.

Inerrancy denotes that the Bible is true in all it affirms. For instance, the Bible contains historical record of many evil acts, but it does not condone or teach those evil acts. Finally, inerrancy is not a denial that difficult passages exist within the Bible. But these difficult passages should not be assumed to be errors, contradictions, or discrepancies simply because they have not yet been understood or harmonized. One should be encouraged by the fact that for over 2000 years the Bible has stood the test of time.

Biblical inspiration implies inerrancy because of the nature of who God is. Bible teacher R. W. Glenn presents the following syllogism to describe the derivative nature of inerrancy: 1) God is always truthful in all that He does; 2) God is the author and source of scripture; 3) Therefore, scripture is always truthful.16 It follows logically that if the scripture is inspired by God in all its parts, it is inerrant and therefore authoritative.

Inerrancy, therefore, is not derived from an observation or a survey of the text itself. Inerrancy is not a proven fact; nor can it be proven. Inerrancy is a doctrine derived from the teaching of inspiration, grounded in the person and authority of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christians believe and accept the Bible to be inerrant ultimately based upon Jesus Christ.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we see that the Christian has good reason to believe the Bible to be the inerrant and authoritative Word of God in all matters. The historically reliable account of Christ’s resurrection testifies to his divine identity; Jesus’ authority as the Son of God authenticates the scripture’s claims; and the inspiration of the Bible establishes its inerrancy and ultimate authority for the believer.

1 The words Bible, scripture, and Word of God will be used synonymously throughout this paper.
2 Norman Geisler and William E. Nix, From God to Us (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1974), p. 7. 1
3 F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1981), p. 10.
4 Ibid.
5 Craig Blomberg and William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994), p. 194.
6 Bruce, p. 15.
7 The conversions of James and Paul are accepted as undisputed historical fact by virtually all scholars due to the substantial historical evidence. See Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2004), pp. 64-69.
8 Knowledge can be defined as, “True belief that is warranted or justified.” See C. Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics and Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press), p. 66.
9 John W. Wenham, Inerrancy (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980), p. 6.
10 Ibid., p. 7.
11 Ibid., pp. 19-29.
12 Edwin A. Blum, Inerrancy, p. 41.
13 Ibid., p. 40.
14 Geisler and Nix, p. 21.
15 Paul D. Feinberg, Inerrancy, p. 294.
16 R. W. Glenn, “Bibliology, Part 4: Inerrancy” (Redeemer Bible Church, Minnetonka, MN)

Monday, February 04, 2008

Book Review: From God to Us by Geisler & Nix

From God to Us by Norman Geisler and William E. Nix is an excellent overview of the Bible, providing a detailed explanation of its history, character, and authority. The book presents twenty chapters that paint a complete picture of the Bible. This includes the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, the explanation of the Canon, the development and preservation of the Biblical texts, the doctrine of inerrancy, a history of textual criticism, and details on translation.

The reader will find this book helpful, as it states the case for the scriptures plainly and systematically. From God to Us emphasizes the inspiration (and therefore the inerrancy) of the Bible as the core lens through which the scriptures are to be viewed. Because the Bible is inspired of God, its inerrancy logically and necessarily follows. Thus, the Bible is trustworthy and authoritative in all matters.

Building on Biblical inerrancy, the authors give evidence for its inspiration. This evidence includes the unity of the scripture, the accuracy of the manuscripts, the testimony of the Holy Spirit, the transforming ability of the Bible, the historicity of the Bible, and numerous other examples. Internal and external evidences abound that demonstrate that the Bible is what it claims to be: the inerrant, authoritative Word of God.

Many people wonder how the Bible actually came to be. From God to Us clearly expounds the history of the Canon of scripture. The authors explain that the Canon (the books that are viewed as the authoritative rule) was not “decided” upon by men, but recognized by men. Because the writings were inspired by God, men were able to recognize their authority and affirm that they were the true canon of scripture. This allowed a full collection of the written Word of God to be recognized and taught to Christians for generations to come.

As the book progresses, it can become tedious for the reader. Geisler and Nix begin to explain the elements of textual criticism, the languages of the Bible, and deeper historical elements that may be hard for the layperson to follow. Although these remaining chapters tend towards a more scholarly tone, they still show the depth and scope of the Bible’s reliability and rich legacy.

From God to Us can be recommended as an excellent and thorough overview for the Christian on the character and trustworthiness of the Bible. It will no doubt bring understanding about God’s Word and strengthen the faith of the believer.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

William Lane Craig vs Bart Ehrman: Resurrection Debate MP3

Resurrection debate between William Lane Craig and Bart Ehrman on MP3. Enjoy

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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Michael Licona vs. Richard Carrier: The Resurrection Debate MP3

The Resurrection Debate 2004: Michael Licona vs. Richard Carrier. Provided on MP3. Enjoy!

Feedback on the debate?

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A Cumulative Case for the Existence of God

by Brian Auten

The Ultimate Question

Does God exist? This is arguably the most important question that one will ever ask. The answer to this question will change how one views reality, morality, ethics, values, and life’s decisions. The existence of God determines how one sees life and interprets reality. The answer has eternal ramifications. American philosopher and author Mortimer Adler said, “More consequences for thought and action follow the affirmation or denial of God than from answering any other basic question.”[1]

For these same reasons, some would avoid the question altogether. However, it would seem wise for the uncertain or skeptical person to invest themselves seriously in finding the answer. As Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher, mathematician and physicist, wrote, “…there are only two classes of persons who can be called reasonable: those who serve God with all their heart because they know him, and those who seek him with all their heart because they do not know him.”[2]

Proof and Evidence

God cannot be proven to exist in the same way one could prove the existence of an automobile or a teapot. By his very nature, God is not substantive, tangible or physically observable. So when one asks for physical proof for the existence of God, it could be compared to asking for physical proof for a mind. In that case, absolute proof is unreasonable, but the belief is rational because the evidence is abundant. Moreover, alternative explanations for the evidence of a mind would seem absurd when compared with the simple conclusion that a mind exists.

With the nature of proof and evidence in view, a cumulative case for the existence of God can be made.[3] A cumulative case is one that does not consist of a single or decisive argument, but rather tries to show that God’s existence makes more sense than any alternative hypothesis in light of all the available evidence.[4]

Sufficient Reason

German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz asked the question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” Why does anything at all exist? There must be an answer to this question because, “nothing happens without a sufficient reason.”[5] He pointed out that for everything there must be a sufficient reason.

This basic principle can be observed from the smallest material things to the largest. There must be a sufficient reason or explanation for any state of affairs. It follows that the existence of the universe itself must have a sufficient reason. Leibniz argued that the reason for the universe must be found outside the universe, in a being whose sufficient reason is self-contained.[6]

From the principle of sufficient reason, it can be demonstrated that the existence of God is logical and metaphysically necessary.

Order, Information, and Design

English theologian and philosopher William Paley asserted that every watch requires a watchmaker.[7] He describes how someone would respond who, having never seen a watch before, happened to discover one in nature. That person would observe the watch’s intricacy, precision, complexity, and apparent purpose. He would by no means assume the watch “just happened.” Rather, he would rightly infer a watchmaker from the observable evidence of design in the watch. The watch requires a watchmaker. Paley then goes on to describe that creation itself points to a Creator.

Consider the order and complexity contained in DNA, the nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all living organisms. As leading atheistic evolutionist Richard Dawkins admits, “There is enough information capacity in a single human cell to store the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 30 volumes of it, three or four times over.”[8] This set of instructions is extremely complex, intricate, and orderly. It is considered the blueprint for all living things. It contains the design and operating instructions for life. Human DNA contains billions of “letters,” all in a specific order, all for a specific purpose. The inference of a designer from such a combination of order, information, and design is profoundly amplified when one considers the myriad forms of life on the planet.

Aside from the apparent design of life, consider the order and fine-tuning of the universe itself. There are certain specific, necessary conditions that must be in place for life to exist on earth. These constants include such things as oxygen level, atmospheric transparency, moon-earth gravitational interaction, carbon dioxide level, and gravity. If any one of these constants were adjusted even by the smallest fraction of a percent, it would render life on earth impossible.[9] Astrophysicist Hugh Ross has revealed over 122 of these constants.[10] Theoretical physicist Paul Davies said:

It is hard to resist the impression that the present structure of the universe, apparently so sensitive to minor alterations in the numbers, has been rather carefully thought out . . . the seemingly miraculous concurrence of [these] numerical values must remain the most compelling evidence for cosmic design.[11]

When one looks at the order, information, and design in nature and the cosmos, there are two options: it came about by random chance without reason, or it was created by an intelligent designer. The evidence seems to cry out for a designer.

The Beginning of the Universe

Modern cosmology has shattered the old idea that the universe is eternal; that is, that the universe had no beginning. Science has shown that the universe has not been around forever—space, time and everything that exists had a definite beginning. This can be demonstrated by such things as the second law of thermodynamics, the expansion of the universe, and cosmic background radiation.[12] Commenting on the evidence for a definitive beginning of the universe, physicist and cosmologist Robert Jastrow states:

Now we see how the astronomical evidence leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world. The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same: the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply at a definite moment in time, in a flash of light and energy.[13]

This leads a very powerful argument for the existence of God called the kalam cosmological argument. The argument is as follows: 1) whatever began to exist must have a cause, 2) the universe began to exist, 3) therefore, the universe had a cause.[14] This argument is based upon the law of causality and the scientific evidence of the beginning of the universe. Because every event has a cause, the beginning of the universe requires a cause. The beginning could not be from nothing, because nothing comes from nothing. Something cannot bring itself into existence. There must be a higher, external, cause beyond the universe. By nature, God is eternal and uncaused; he is the cause that the universe requires to reconcile the evidence of a beginning.

St. Thomas Aquinas, the most famous medieval philosopher-theologian, made a similar argument from the principle of causality. Based on the principle of motion, Aquinas argued that there must be an “unmoved mover,” or a first cause of all motion, and this is God. For example, a watch could not run without a spring even if it had an infinite number of gears; a train could not move without an engine even if it had an infinite number of cars.[15] Since something cannot cause itself, Aquinas points to God as the First Cause and the Unmoved Mover of all things.

Atheist Quentin Smith refused to accept such a conclusion and opted for another view: “the most reasonable belief is that we came from nothing, by nothing, and for nothing.”[16] One questions the rationality of such a conclusion. Because the universe is not eternal, had a beginning, and could not have caused itself, the most plausible explanation is the existence of God as Creator of the universe.

Universal Truths

The existence of God makes sense of universal truths. If something is true, it is true for all people, in all places, at all times. Truth is not dependent upon someone’s knowledge of it. Truth corresponds with reality.[17] A couple of examples are mathematics and the laws of logic. No one invented mathematics or logic. They exist independently and correspond with reality. They are universal, unseen, and true.

In an atheistic worldview, everything came from nothing, by nothing, and for nothing—there is no foundation for universal truths. Yet they are undeniable. In order to even argue against the laws of logic, one must use the laws of logic. Universal truths exist regardless of one’s belief.

Such truths are not the product of nature, material or the human mind, yet there must be an ultimate source for them. The existence of God is the most plausible explanation for universal, unchanging truths because only God can account for their existence.

Morality

Every person has a moral compass that they live by. This is commonly known as the conscience. The word conscience means “with knowledge.” This has also been called the moral law. One who would deny the existence of the moral law would soon admit differently if he himself were the recipient of a morally wrong action. Norman Geisler put it rightly: “the moral law is not always the standard by which we treat others, but it is nearly always the standard by which we expect others to treat us. It does not describe how we actually behave, but rather it prescribes how we ought to behave.”[18]

Man himself does not account for this moral law, for it is a prescriptive principle that is above man, which sits in judgment on him. If there were no transcendent moral law, society could not call the atrocities of the holocaust morally wrong. If there were no standard for right and wrong, the torture of innocent babies for fun would not be appalling, but simply “different.” Certain actions are always wrong, for all people, at all times. Because there is a Moral Law, there must be a Moral Lawgiver. It is God who accounts for fairness, right and wrong, justice, morality, ethics, and conscience. Without God, there would be no absolute morals. Hence, we have evidence for the existence of God because of the moral law.

The Absurdity of Life Without God

There are two options. God exists, or God does not exist. A non-theistic worldview is severely lacking in its account for the existence of the universe, the beginning of the universe, and the design of the universe. Here, the atheistic worldview relies on long periods of time and random chance to produce something from nothing, order from chaos, life from non-life, and intelligent minds from mere matter. The atheist worldview has no ultimate foundation for morality. Atheism leaves man hopeless, helpless, and meaningless. If atheism is true, then man has no inherent dignity or purpose. All is random, temporal, and empty.

Conclusion

Absolute proof is not required to believe in God. A rational person can have a reasonable faith that is based upon good evidence. However, many reject God not for intellectual reasons, but for emotional reasons. The implications of God’s existence seem too uncomfortable for some; He is ignored, excused, and denied. Someone who has chosen not to believe in God can refuse to be convinced, even in the face of abundant evidence. However, this short cumulative case has shown that the existence of God is the most plausible explanation for the evidence. It is therefore more reasonable to believe in God than to reject Him.

[1]Paul Little, Know Why You Believe (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, 1988), p. 23, citing Mortimer Adler, Great Books of the Western World (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1952), p. 561.
[2]Phil Fernandes, No Other Gods (Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 1998), p. 236.

[3]This is an approach used by such Christian apologists as Phil Fernandes, Paul Copan, and Paul Feinberg. The approach presented here draws part of its outline from Phil Fernandes’ work, No Other Gods.

[4]C. Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 30.
[5]William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994), p. 83.
[6]Ibid.
[7]Normal Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), p. 95.
[8]Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker (New York: W.W. Norton, 1986), p. 115.

[9]Geisler and Turek, p. 98-102.
[10]Ibid., p. 106.

[11]J. P. Moreland, Scaling the Secular City (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1987), p. 52, citing Paul Davies, God and the New Physics (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), p. 189.

[12]Geisler and Turek, p. 76-83.

[13]Ibid., p. 84, citing Rober Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York: Norton, 1978), p. 11.

[14]Fernandes, p. 72.

[15]Craig, p. 81.
[16]Ibid., p. 92, citing Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), p. 135.

[17]Geisler and Turek, p. 37.

[18]Geisler and Turek, p. 175.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Book Review: The New Testament Documents - Are They Reliable?

The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by F. F. Bruce is a book which answers the very question presented in its title. And the answer is yes. In this short book, Bruce gives a brief account of the dates of New Testament (NT) documents, the Canon of the NT, and a number of other sources of evidence that confirms the NT reliability.

First, Bruce informs the reader of the great importance of the reliability of the NT documents. If they are not reliable, the very identity and claims of Jesus Christ come into serious question. If these documents are shown to be less than reliable, the foundation of Christian faith crumbles. However, the author shows that there is more evidence for the NT documents than for any other ancient writing. This fact is virtually undisputed by scholars today. Reasons for this certainty include the abundance of manuscripts, their early dating, and multiple external sources.

In dealing with the issue of the NT Canon, Bruce states that the books of the NT were included in the Canon because the early Church recognized their inherent authority and inspiration. They were not “chosen” as authoritative; rather, their authority was simply affirmed.

The dating of the Gospels is addressed. Bruce focuses primarily with the dates of the four Gospels, but key to this dating was the book of Acts. Because of the early dating of the Book of Acts, it can be shown that the other Gospels most likely had an even earlier date. This early dating of the manuscripts adds to the reliability of the NT documents.

Bruce addresses what could be argued to be the chief reason people dispute the NT documents. This is the question of miracles. If there were no accounts of the miraculous in the NT, there would be no dispute over their reliability and historicity. Yet the supernatural nature of the character of Jesus cannot be explained away from the text, even if there were no miracle accounts. This is the greatest stumbling block to the acceptance of the NT: a naturalistic presupposition that disallows the very thought of supernatural claims.

Bruce closes his book by showing more evidence of reliability from archeology, early Jewish writings, and early Gentile writers. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? shows that the NT we have today can be trusted and relied upon, even in the face of its doubting opponents.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Answers in Genesis in Belfast

The Answers in Genesis ministry will be in Belfast this year. See this link for details.
May 9 & 10, 2008

Guest speakers include Dr. David Menton, Dr. Monty White, Ken Ham, and Professor Stuart Burgess.

If you plan to attend this event, I would like to hear from you at apologetics315@gmail.com.

Location:
Belfast Waterfront
2 Lanyon Place, County Antrim
Belfast, Northern Ireland
United Kingdom

Book Review: The Resurrection of the Son of God

The Resurrection of the Son of God by N. T. Wright can be considered the quintessential book on the resurrection. In this massive tome, Wright covers every aspect of what resurrection was understood to be in the ancient world. He provides a full historical profile, describing the beliefs of Judaism, paganism, and the surrounding culture. From this landscape, Wright shows how the historical account of the resurrection of Christ fits into the big picture.

The author clearly defines what resurrection is and is not. Resurrection is not the afterlife; it is not life after death, or mere resuscitation. Resurrection is clearly “life after life after death.” That is to say, resurrection is when someone dies and then, after life after death, comes back to their resurrected body in this life once again. Using numerous examples from the religious beliefs of the day, Wright shows us that no one outside of Judaism believed in resurrection. The narrow definition of resurrection quickly silences any claim that the Christian understanding of resurrection could have been borrowed by a Pagan religious belief in a dying and rising god. The resurrection of Christ was altogether original in manner and form.

The author deals with the historical evidence surrounding Christ’s resurrection appearances, the empty tomb, and the rise of Christianity. The combination of the aspects of Jesus’ unique life, teachings, subsequent death, burial and resurrection all coalesce into a strong case that Jesus was truly the Messiah. What would make the early Christians even believe that Christ was the Messiah? Wright argues that: "…the only possible reason why early Christianity began and took the shape it did is that the tomb really was empty and that people really did meet Jesus, alive again…though admitting it involves accepting a challenge at the level of worldview itself, the best historical explanation for all these phenomena is that Jesus was indeed bodily raised from the dead."

What caused this belief in the resurrection of Jesus? Wright suggests that the combination of the empty tomb and the appearances of the living Jesus together necessitate such a conclusion. The author points out that the fact that people do not ordinarily rise from the dead is itself part of early Christian belief, not an objection to it.

The book as a whole is one large cumulative case for the Lordship of Jesus Christ, based entirely upon the vast and substantial evidence surrounding this central point in history. There is no other plausible explanation for the rise of the Christian faith than the veracity of the resurrection of Christ. Perhaps a greater miracle would be the rise of Christianity without the resurrection!

The Resurrection of the Son of God is recommended as reading for the serious student, as its sheer length and detail would overwhelm the casual reader. However, for those looking for the most scholarly depth on the historicity of the resurrection, this is it.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Apologetics in Northern Ireland

Apologetics can be quite a narrow field. That is to say, most people don't know what the word means. This can be disheartening when it is your passion, and it is sometimes very difficult to find anyone who shares that passion.

It would be ideal to connect and network with other Christians with a passion and pursuit of Christian Apologetics. So are you in Northern Ireland or Europe? Let me know. We need an apologetics network in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Dinesh D'Souza & Michael Shermer Debate

Is Religion a Force for Good or Evil? Listen to the debate between Dinesh D'Souza and atheist Michael Shermer on MP3. Enjoy.

William Lane Craig MP3

William Lane Craig speaks at the California Christian Apologetics Conference 2007. Listen to the MP3. Enjoy.

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