Book Review: The Testimony of the Evangelists by Simon Greenleaf

The Testimony of the Evangelists by Simon Greenleaf is a short and concise book that aims to evaluate the claims of the Gospel writers by the rules of evidence. Simon Greenleaf, a law professor at Harvard from 1833-48, wrote a three-volume work entitled, “A Treatise on the Law of Evidence.” Because of the author’s fame in the area of law, this book has been heralded many times as powerful testimony to the reliability of the Gospels. This reviewer found the book a disappointment.

Greenleaf spends fifty pages in his examination of the Gospels by the rules of evidence. In this brief section the reader will find some true nuggets. He addresses the burden of proof in law cases, showing that, “The burden of showing [the Gospel witnesses] to be false and unworthy of credit, is devolved on the party who makes that objection.” Greenleaf elaborates on a number of helpful perspectives from the rules of evidence and makes the case that the Gospel writers pass the tests very well.

The rest of the book (another fifty pages or so) delves into an evaluation of the trials of Jesus before Caiaphas and Pilate. From an apologetic standpoint, the second half of the book is worthy of a mere skim, as it simply goes into deeper detail of the trial accounts and evaluates the law methods employed. This somewhat dry section may be very interesting to the student of law.

In summary, The Testimony of the Evangelists by Simon Greenleaf falls short in living up to its hype. It would seem that Simon Greenleaf’s testimony of being a skeptic-turned-Christian due to his own critical evaluation of the Gospels is the selling point of the book. Although the goal of evaluating the Gospels strictly by the rules of evidence is interesting and the goal is achieved, those looking for a more comprehensive case for Gospel reliability should look elsewhere.

Book Review: The Canon of the New Testament by Bruce Metzger

There is a detailed history behind the Christian writings that were acknowledged as authoritative and that eventually came to be part of the New Testament. In The Canon of the New Testament, Professor Bruce Metzger discusses the history of the canon and shows how the New Testament developed into the collection of books that it is today.

Metzger welcomes the reader by providing a concise overview. He shows that the early church recognized the authority of the Old Testament, the words of Jesus, and the teachings of the apostles. These were circulated in both oral tradition and written form. The teachings were circulated between congregations and therefore began to be translated into other languages for further circulation. The development of a list of these authoritative works came about only after a long period of time due to various external pressures exerted on the church. The first record of any sort of written canon came in the fourth century.

Metzger’s writing style is very systematic and thorough. He retells the history of the early church fathers and their involvement with early church writings. His purpose here is to glean from their writings any reference to the books of the New Testament in order to show how these writings were regarded and treated by the church. He shows that even before a theory of authority had been developed, the early writings were implicitly authoritative. And of course, the words of Jesus are taken as the supreme authority.

Next the author discusses the influences affecting the development of the canon. Most notably would be the early syncretistic religion and philosophy of Gnosticism, which began to create its own set of writings to instruct its followers. Metzger characterizes the Gnostic belief system: it rejected the visible world; it believed in a subordinate deity (one that created the world and another higher god); and it made a radical distinction between Jesus and Christ. Gnostic writings reflect these concepts and borrow themes from what are now our canonical books. Because of these Gnostic influences, a clear distinction needed to be made between what was authoritative and what was not.

In addition to Gnostic heresies, the persecution of the early church played a role in the development of the canon. When believers were being tortured and killed for the faith, it became more and more important to define that faith. In addition, many church writings were being confiscated and destroyed. At that point, a Christian would do well to know which writings are worth dying for and which are not.

Metzger goes on to discuss the various early writings that sought to define the canon. It should be acknowledged that these early lists showed very little variance in the majority of the writings. The four Gospels and the majority of the apostles’ writings, for example, were never questioned. Metzger shows that the long process was in part due to the distance of separation and difficulty of communication between the churches and their leaders. For the most part, the only books in the New Testament that were questionable were ones that were short, less circulated, or whose authorship was in doubt. Non-canonical books were excluded because they were not broadly accepted, did not edify the church, or were clearly inauthentic.

To conclude, Metzger’s book is an excellent work that thoroughly covers the history of the New Testament canon. This book is highly recommended for an understanding of how the New Testament developed.

Book Review: The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce

How did the Christian Bible come to be? How did each of the sixty-six books it contains come to be included as scripture? Who made these decisions and when? The Canon of Scripture by F. F. Bruce seeks to answer these questions in a complete treatise on the subject. Bruce explores the history behind the formation of the Bible and unfolds a very complex, lengthy process: the formation of the canon of scripture. This review will not cover all the ground the author does, but instead will briefly summarize the overall process.

Bruce sets out chronologically and shows the formation of the Old Testament. Of course, for Christians today, one main element giving authority to the Old Testament is Jesus’ use of the Old Testament in his ministry. Jesus considered the Old Testament as inspired scripture; the Word of God. However, at the time of Christ, the Old Testament had for the most part already been formed and accepted as authoritative.

The author describes at length the formation and collection of the Old Testament writings. He shows that at the time of the writings of the Old Testament, they were immediately received as authoritative words from God. The Old Testament was extremely well preserved and copied. By the time of Christ, the law, prophets, and writings were well received and used as the Jewish scriptures. By the time of the early church, Christians realized that the scriptures bore witness to Christ Himself, and the Old Testament became accepted as a book about Christ among early believers.

Bruce takes care to fully detail each step along the way from the earliest canonical lists of books to the time of the reformation – showing how the writings of the Old Testament became a complete and closed book. This was not a process of deciding what was authoritative; rather, it was a process of recognition and acknowledgement of authority. A sort of closing of the canon was not arbitrary but natural.

Moving on to the New Testament, Bruce has even more recorded history to work with. Because the writings of the apostles were considered on par with scripture and equally authoritative, they were immediately accepted as such. The author shows that most of the New Testament writings were undisputed in their authority; there was no question of ‘canonicity’ in the minds of their readers. In fact, Bruce shows that canonicity was more of an afterthought centuries later when heretical writings began to proliferate.

The four Gospels were authoritative because they preserved the words of Jesus – the highest authority. Paul’s writings carried authority because of his apostleship to the Gentiles. Tying these together was the book of Luke, a sort of natural bridge between the Gospel narratives and the writings of the apostle. This was an initial shell of the New Testament to which was added the other authoritative apostolic writings.

Not only does Bruce thoroughly detail the process of acceptance of the New Testament writings, he also shows how conflicts and tensions within the early church seemed to force a canon of scripture to be formed. Heretical teachings and Gnostic writings started to abound. The church was under persecution. How was a Christian to know what writings were authoritative? It was pressures such as these that caused the formation of a definitive list to be recognized and affirmed.

The criteria of canonicity, as summarized by Bruce, were apostolic authority, antiquity (early writing), orthodoxy, wide acceptance, traditional use and inspiration. However, these are factors that are shown to be the case after the fact; they were not rules to be followed at the time. Rather, these factors all played a role in the acknowledgement of New Testament scripture.

This review admittedly only skims the surface of the canon of scripture, as it is a multifaceted study. Much credit must be given to Bruce for covering such an intricate and extensive subject in a very readable book. The Canon of Scripture by F. F. Bruce is highly recommended for a good overall understanding of the topic.

Book Review: The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig Blomberg

The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig Blomberg is probably the quintessential book on the topic, as Blomberg covers the subject masterfully. The goal of the book is to inform the reader of the methods of studying the gospels historically, present the difficulties and challenges in the gospels, to address the issue of reliability in light of these methods and difficulties, and to demonstrate that the New Testament holds up very well to historical criticism.

First Blomberg covers the methods of gospel study, including form criticism, redaction criticism, Midrash, and hermeneutical methodology. He shows the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, as well as the motive and history of each approach. This is a very helpful section that introduces the reader to an overall history of textual criticism and makes the methodology familiar.

Following the discussion of textual criticism, its history, and methodology, Blomberg spends an interesting chapter discussing the subject of miracles and their effect on the historicity of the gospels. He addresses scientific, philosophical, and historical objections by describing the arguments against miracles, and then shows some of their weaknesses. It is a fair treatment of the skeptical arguments as well as a strong critique of an anti-supernatural view. Blomberg points out that none of the objections to miracles completely rules out their possibility. He also shows the importance of the resurrection as a key to the rest of the miraculous accounts. In presenting four possible interpretations of the facts, Blomberg presents an actual physical resurrection as the most plausible hypothesis with the most explanatory power and scope. Although not a comprehensive treatment on the subject of miracles, the author does show that you cannot separate the miraculous accounts from the historical narratives.

Blomberg next deals with the topic of alleged contradictions among the gospel accounts. This also includes a chapter on John’s gospel and its unique attributes. Blomberg categorizes the various conflicts in to multiple categories: conflicting theology, paraphrase, chronological problems, omissions, composite speeches, apparent doublets, and variations in names and numbers. Most of the issues fall into these categories and the author shows that there are many harmonizations that can be proposed as very plausible solutions. In short, many of these are misunderstandings that really do nothing to discredit or threaten the historical reliability of the gospels. One quote stands out: “It is remarkable to observe how often the alleged contradictions among the gospels are cited without a discussion of the many proposed solutions which can fit them together in a very plausible and natural manner.”

In the last section of the book, Blomberg covers the tradition of Jesus outside the gospel narratives. He includes non-Christian sources, extra-biblical Christian traditions, and the writings of Paul. The author ends with an exposition on historical methodology. The historical methodology chapter may have been just as welcome in the introduction of the book.

If only one book could be recommended as a thorough overview of the historical reliability of the gospels, Blomberg’s would be it. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels has a large scope, it covers of a wide variety of objections and apparent contradictions, and is an excellent history lesson on textual criticism.

Intelligent design film: Volunteer's account of what really happened when Darwinist was kicked out of the screening

If you are following the buzz about Ben Stein's upcoming movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, you may find this of interest.

Post-Darwinist: Intelligent design film: Volunteer's account of what really happened when Darwinist was kicked out of the screening

Another first-hand account at this link.

Ben Stein interview with R.C. Sproul - MP3 audio

R.C. Sproul interviews Ben Stein on his upcoming movie release: Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed. MP3 audio. Enjoy.

See the movie trailer here.

Book Review: Is the New Testament Reliable by Paul Barnett

Is the New Testament Reliable? by Paul Barnett is a great read for those looking for a good overview of New Testament reliability. Barnett’s argument throughout is that Jesus and the first Christians are genuine figures of history and that they are faithfully and truthfully written about in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles.

Before looking at the New Testament itself, the author presents non-biblical sources and their references to the life of Christ. Citing Josephus, Pliny, Suetonius, Tacitus, and the Talmud, Barnett demonstrates that without reference to the New Testament documents, a core of facts exists about Jesus that confirms and supports the New Testament accounts.

Next, Barnett covers the dating of the New Testament documents and details their method of transmission. The author shows the dating of Paul’s letters before the Gospels, and then shows that “post-New Testament” writings were notably later than our New Testament documents. The short time lapse between the events and the original writings, in addition to the number of contributing authors is a strong point in their reliability. The writings were copied and used throughout the early church and provide us with a large amount of documents, far surpassing other historical works of the same time frame. These can be cross-examined with one another as well as with quotations from other early church writings and leave us with a very accurate representation of the originals.

The author moves on to a thorough evaluation of each of the gospel authors, describing their dates of authorship, their intended audiences, their styles, and likely sources for their content. Other particulars are examined here, such as the parallel accounts within the Gospels, the historical qualities of each author, and geographical and archeological evidence that confirms that the accounts can be trusted as accurate historical accounts of actual events.
Barnett moves to the topic of miracles in the gospels. He presents four reasons for confidence in the historicity of the miracles of Jesus: 1) Evidence from non-Christian sources such as Josephus and the Talmud affirm Jesus did such works; 2) Peter refers to the miracles of Jesus in his two major speeches in the book of Acts; 3) some scholars find the sayings of Jesus about miracles particularly significant, especially those that are readily translatable back into Aramaic, the language he spoke; and 4) there are many examples of multiple attestation to exorcism, nature miracles, healings and the raising of the dead in the primary Gospel sources Mark, John, Q, L, and M. Finally, Barnett spends a large chapter covering the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus and the failed alternative hypotheses to the resurrection. For this reviewer, the resurrection miracle unlocks the door to further support the account of miracles in the Gospels.

Finally, Barnett covers the letters of Paul and the book of Acts. He shows that Luke (the writer of Acts) is an excellent historian and is applauded as extremely accurate in the details. In addition, the author shows that the dating of Paul’s letters between 50-65 is probably before the Gospels were written. However, the content of his letters shows the circulation of early creeds and traditions about Jesus found in the Gospels.

The author concludes with a brief overview of archeological evidence in support of the New Testament, and then ends with a profile of the significance of the historical Jesus. Barnett lays out the facts, draws careful conclusions, and does a good job in making a case for New Testament reliability.

Book Review: Can We Trust the Gospels? by Mark D. Roberts

Can We Trust the Gospels? by Mark D. Roberts is a brief and excellent overview of the subject of Gospel reliability. Roberts makes the case that the Gospels can be trusted and hold up very well to the scrutiny of critical scholarship. The author covers a wide scope of topics concerning the gospels and makes the subject matter easy to understand for the layman.

Roberts presents the standards for evaluating the reliability of the gospel manuscripts: 1) antiquity; 2) multiplicity; 3) trustworthy scholarly methodology; and 4) quality and quantity of textually ambiguous passages. He breaks down each of these standards and shows that the gospels pass the test very well. His point here is that we can know what the original manuscripts actually said.

Next the author covers the authorship of the gospels. Roberts affirms that the gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, while detailing the level of each author’s personal knowledge of Jesus. Matthew and John probably knew Jesus personally, but Mark and Luke did not. However, according to Roberts, the reliability of the gospels does not hinge on who wrote them so much as on the nature and purpose of the writings themselves.

Roberts goes on to discuss the dating of the gospels. Here he presents the overall date ranges for contemporary scholarship to be between 30 and 70 years after the death of Jesus. He compares the dates of the canonical gospels with those of the noncanonical gospels, showing that our four New Testament gospels are much earlier and closer to Christ than the noncanonical gospels. This shows that much more confidence can be given to the New Testament gospels because of their early dating.

Roberts also discusses the sources for the gospels, including oral traditions and written sources. He shows that the authors relied upon first-hand accounts, oral traditions, and some probably borrowed from earlier gospel material that was available to them. Roberts explains how the genre of the gospels closely resembles Hellenistic biographies. This style was somewhere between biography and history. According to the standards of scholarship prevalent in that day, they hold up very well. The author points out the importance of judging the documents according to their genre and not making the error of anachronism by judging them according to modern standards.

After making a strong case in the first half of the book for the overall reliability of the gospels, Roberts shifts to cover a number of opposing thoughts regarding the gospels. These would include apparent contradictions, theology and history, the “problem” of miracles, and personal agendas that may have influenced the writings. Roberts does a masterful job in answering these obstacles with thorough reasoning and good evidence. He also spends a few chapters dealing with archeological and historical support for the gospels.

Mark D. Roberts shows that the gospels we have in the New Testament today can be trusted as accurate and reliable. Can We Trust the Gospels can be highly recommended as an excellent and very approachable overview of the subject of gospel reliability. Not only does the author cover a wide subject in a short and readable way, he makes his case very well.

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

• Advanced Apologetics - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Apologetics315 Audio Feed
• Apologetics315 Audio Junkie Feed
• Apologetics - Dan Olinger
• Basic Christian Beliefs - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Cults - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Cults (Advances) - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Darwin or Design
• Ethics - Dr. Phil Fernandes (be advised: contains some graphic descriptions)
• European Leadership Forum
• Hermeneutics - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Historical Apologetics - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• History of Christian Thought - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Introduction to Apologetics - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Introduction to Philosophy
• Introduction to Islam
• Introduction to Philosophy - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Learning Skills - Dr. Ken Samples
• Logical Fallacies - 1
• Logical Fallacies - 2
• New Age & the Occult - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Philosophical Apologetics - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Philosophy of Religion - Dr. Paul Copan
• Philosophy of Religion - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Refuting Religious Pluralism - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Roman Catholicism - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Saddleback Apologetics Audio 2009
• Secular Religions - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• Various Phil Fernandes Apologetics (over 100 audios)
• Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology
• William Lane Craig Debate Feed
• William Lane Craig Q&A
• WorldViews - Dr. Phil Fernandes
• World Religions - Dr. Phil Fernandes

Dr. Phil Fernandes MP3:
Defending the Faith 1 2 3 4
Defenders of the Faith Conference 1 2 3 4
Introduction to Apologetics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Advanced Apologetics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 (podcast in iTunes)
Historical Apologetics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 (podcast in iTunes)
Philosophical Apologetics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 (podcast in iTunes)
Philosophy 1 2
Introduction to Philosophy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Philosophy of Religion 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
The Thought of Francis Schaeffer 1 2
History of Christian Thought 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

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

Reclaiming the Mind Ministries presents Introduction to Apologetics, taught by Rob Bowman.
Part 1a | Part 1b | Part 2a | Part 2b | Part 3a | Part 3b | Part 3c | Part 4a | Part 4b | Part 5a | Part 5b | Part 6a | Part 6b | Part 7a | Part 7b | Part 8a | Part 8b | Part 9a | Part 9b

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.

Kyle Butt Audio
The Bible and Science
The Bible and Prophecy
The Bible and Archaeology
Are There Mistakes in the Bible?
Becoming a Christian
Creation Versus Evolution
Does the Bible Leave Room for Evolution?
Does God Exist [Part I]
Does God Exist [Part II]
Evil, Pain, and Suffering
Evolutionary Hoaxes Exposed
The Fruits of Atheism
The Existence of God
The Historicity of Jesus
How Old Is the Earth?
Is the Bible from God [Part I]
Is the Bible from God [Part II]
Jesus Christ—Fact or Fairy Tale?
Miracles and the Resurrection of Christ
The Predicted Messiah
The Resurrection of Christ

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

Apologetics course taught by Eric Douma at Twin City Fellowship.
These audio files can be downloaded via podcast or RSS feed. Links below:

1 - Introduction to Logic Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
2 - Categorical Syllogisms Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
3 - Other Syllogisms Lecture | Discussion mp3 Audio | PowerPoint | PDF
4 - Informal Fallacies Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
5 - The Battle for Truth Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
6 - Proving the Existence of God to Atheists Lecture | Discussion | Powerpoint | PDF
7 - Defeating Macroevolution Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
8 - Proving the God of the Bible is the True God Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
9 - Proving the God of the Bible is the True God Part 2 Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
10 - Proving the God of the Bible is the True God Part 3 Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF
11 - Answering False Religions and Cults Lecture | Discussion | PowerPoint | PDF

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 Divsersity
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

Testing the Truth Claims of Christianity
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
• The New Atheists - MP3
• Responding to Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus" - MP3
• Answering the Objections of Unbelievers - Part 1 | Part 2
• Defending the Christian Faith in an Age of Relativism - MP3

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