Saturday, July 31, 2010

Book Review: The Twilight of Atheism by Alister McGrath

The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World is Alister McGrath’s 2004 book tracing the history of atheism from eighteenth-century Europe to present. In Part One: The High Noon of Atheism, McGrath outlines significant historical points in the history of atheism, the primary historical figures and personalities, and key cultural movements. Part Two: Twilight, McGrath offers his own personal narrative, reflections on atheism and social change, and what he sees as the fading appeal (at least, at the time of his writing) of atheism in general. McGrath’s style is engaging and readable, which makes this book an easy, interesting read. This review will highlight some notable points by McGrath.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (07/16 - 07/30)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Currently Reading Science & Its Limits by Del Ratzsch 

Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.

Or just add this feed to your RSS reader

Alister McGrath & Daniel Dennett Debate: God & Religion MP3 Audio

Alister McGrath and Daniel Dennett discuss God and religion. The content of this 2006 dialogue is somewhat similar to their contribution to the book The Future of Atheism: Alister McGrath & Daniel Dennett in Dialogue. Dennett presents his views (based on his book Breaking the Spell) explaining religion as a natural phenomenon, pointing to memes as a primary explanation. McGrath offers his critiques of Dennett's book and meme theory.

Full MP3 Audio here. (90 minutes)
Enjoy.

[HT: bringyou.to]

See also Alister McGrath's Gifford Lectures Texts on Fine-Tuning here.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Pro-Life Logic by Peter Kreeft MP3 Audio

In this lecture given at Georgetown University, philosopher Peter Kreeft discusses the logic of the pro-life position. He discusses scientific law, natural law, civil law, and human rights. Another good pro-life audio resource.

Full MP3 Audio here. (70 min)

Listen.

What was last year's post? See here.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Bible and Apologetics Mp3 Series by R.C. Sproul

R.C. Sproul presents this 5-part audio series entitled The Bible and Apologetics, dealing with the trustworthiness of the Bible and apologetic considerations. This audio is from Sproul's Renewing Your Mind podcast.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Enjoy.

See also R.C. Sproul's book Can I Trust the Bible?

[HT: Seth]

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Real Problem with Buddhism MP3 by Ellis Potter

Ex-Zen Buddhist Ellis Potter gives this talk evaluating Buddhism. (Hear an interview with him here, and another MP3 evaluating Eastern Religions here.) This talk explores the concepts of monism, dualism, trinitarianism, and the concept of unity and diversity. A number of other Ellis Potter lectures can be found here. Original audio hosted at Christian Heritage.

Full MP3 Audio here. (90 min)

Enjoy.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday Quote: C.S. Lewis on Explanation

"You cannot go on 'explaining away' for ever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on 'seeing through' things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it."

- C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Book Review: Inference to the Best Explanation by Peter Lipton

Inference to the Best Explanation (International Library of Philosophy)Inference to the Best Explanation (2nd  Edition) by Peter Lipton  is a 200-page philosophy text dealing with the process of how we come to conclusions from the evidence available to us. The book is technical, yet readable. The first three chapters provide an initial survey of the problems of induction and explanation. The middle section explores inference to the best explanation, methods of induction, and compares other models of explanation. The final section deals with some problems and common objections to the inference to the best explanation (IBE) model. This review will provide a general overview of some of the key ideas presented in the text.

Friday, July 23, 2010

An Islam Primer: Five Parts MP3 Audio

UCCF's excellent apologetics site BeThinking.org has a nice primer on Islam in five parts. Mark Ryan presents these five talks:

1. Islam's Holy Prophet - MP3 / visit
2. The Qur'an - MP3 / visit
3. The Pillars of Islam - MP3 / visit
4. Islam's One and Only God - MP3 / visit
5. Why I am not a Muslim - MP3 / visit

Enjoy

What was last year's post? Free ebooks!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Why We Believe the Bible: MP3 Series by John Piper

In this 5-part audio seminar, Pastor John Piper teaches on the Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Authority of the Bible. This is from Piper's website here. Notes for this seminar can be viewed here.

Why We Believe the Bible:
Part 1 MP3 | Part 2 MP3 | Part 3 MP3 | Part 4 MP3 | Part 5 MP3

Enjoy.

What was last year's post? See here.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Uninformed, Misinformed, Illogical, Incomplete

Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, in their classic book How to Read a Book (p.156-161), discuss the topic of agreeing or disagreeing with an author. There is one particular section that stands out for those who are seeking to become good critical readers, as well as good critical thinkers. The authors mention, "four ways in which a book can be adversely criticized." And their hope is that, "if a reader confines himself to making these points, he will be less likely to indulge in expressions of emotion or prejudice." These four points apply beyond just reading.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Apologist Interview: John Stonestreet of Summit.org

Today's interview is with John Stonestreet, Executive Director of Summit Ministries. He talks about his background, how Summit got started and how their conferences run, the main challenges facing youth today, the definition of worldviews, his worldview book, advice to Christian apologists, and more.

His podcast, Think Again (with Randall Niles) can be found here.
For more about Summit's conferences, click here.
Check out his book Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (38 minutes)

Enjoy.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Sunday Quote: Henry Schaefer on Science

"The significance and joy in my science comes in those occasional moments of discovering something new and saying to myself, 'So that's how God did it.' My goal is to understand a little corner of God's plan."

- Henry "Fritz" Schaefer 
Sheler, J. L. and J.M. Schrof, "The Creation", U.S. News & World Report (December 23, 1991):56-64.


What was last year's post? See here.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Debate: Is Mormonism Christianity? Walter Martin vs. Van Hale

In this lively audio, the late great Walter Martin debates Van Hale on the topic: Is Mormonism Christianity? Martin is author of a number of excellent counter-cult books, including Kingdom of the Cults.

Full Debate MP3 Audio here. (90 min)

Enjoy.

[HT: BringYouTo]

Friday, July 16, 2010

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (07/09 - 07/16)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.

Or just add this feed to your RSS reader

Why Won't God Heal Amputees? MP3 Audio from GotQuestions.org

This audio is an MP3 version of one of the many questions that are answered on today's featured website/podcast/resource: GotQuestions.org. Some people suggest that if God doesn't heal amputees in answer to prayer, this is proof that He does not exist. This audio addresses at least 7 false assumptions. The text answer is here.

If you would like to subscribe to GotQuestions.org's Bible answers podcasts, here are some feeds to use:

Check out their 2009-2010 podcast feed here.
Check out there 2005-2008 podcast here here.

Be sure to check out their Crucial Questions page as well. A good resource.

Enjoy.


Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Moral Objections to Christianity MP3 by David Horner

In this talk from BeThinking.org, Dr. David Horner deals with the topic of Moral Objections to Christianity. This lecture discusses the moral argument, the perceived immorality of Christian behavior in history, and explores strategies and approaches for engaging these objections and turning them into positive pointers to the gospel. (Notes/outline here.) More Ap315 resources on morality here.

Full MP3 Audio here. (70 minutes)

Enjoy.

What was last year's post? See here.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Apologist Interview: Matt Slick of Carm.org

Today's interview is with internet apologist Matt Slick of CARM.org. He talks about doing apologetics on the internet, specific challenges online, encouragement for bloggers, apologetic methodology, presuppositions and evidences, the transcendental argument for God's existence (TAG), cosmological arguments, advice for future apologists, and more. Check out Carm's podcast here.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (43 min)

Enjoy.

Check out Matt's debate with Eddie Tabash here.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sunday Quote: G.K. Chesterton on Science

"All science, even the divine science, is a sublime detective story. Only it is not set to detect why a man is dead; but the darker secret of why he is alive."

- G.K. Chesterton (The Thing. CW. III 191)


What was last year's post? See here.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Book Review: Atheism & Theism by Smart and Haldane

Atheism and Theism (Great Debates in Philosophy)Atheism and Theism by J.J.C. Smart and J.J. Haldane is part of the Great Debates in Philosophy Series by Blackwell Publishing. Now in its second edition, this book is an exchange between theistic philosopher J.J. Haldane and atheistic philosopher J.J.C. Smart. This brief synopsis will outline the general content and the angles presented by the authors.

The book is structured so that each author contributes a chapter laying out their position, a chapter critiquing the other’s position, and then further reflections for the second edition. Smart’s atheistic chapter is first, where he defines his position: “Atheism I take to be the denial of theism and of deism.” (8) He discusses such issues as teleology, fine-tuning and design, ethical principles, religious experience, Pascal’s wager, miracles, the New Testament, and the problem of evil. He offers his philosophical critiques of theistic arguments as surveyed above and explains where he sees their shortcomings.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (07/02 - 07/09)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.

Or just add this feed to your RSS reader

The Meta Ethical Argument for Theism MP3 Audio by Peter S. Williams

In this recent talk given to the Tyndale Fellowship philosophy group at Tyndale House, Cambridge, philosopher Peter S. Williams presents a detailed outline of the meta ethical argument for theism - or, the moral argument for God. He discusses apologetic strengths and weaknesses of the argument as well as his unique approach using atheistic views on morality to support his premises. A good listen for those already familiar with the argument who want to explore it further. This audio is from Peter's Damaris podcast, found here.

Full MP3 Audio here.

Enjoy.

Thursday, July 08, 2010

200+ Apologetics Videos by AllAboutGod.com

Looking for some quick, short, and useful apologetics videos on a wide variety of topics? The first place to like might be at Randall Niles' collection of over 200 videos that are hosted over at the AllAboutGod.com website. Scan this list, watch, learn, and share with others. A great resource. (You might also be interested in the interview with Randall Niles here.)

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Featured Podcast: Pensées by Fixed Point Foundation

This is the Fixed Point Foundation's new podcast: Pensées: Exploring the Great Questions. The first two episodes include excerpts from discussions on intelligent design with David Berlinski, John Lennox, and Steven Fuller. Also be sure to check out Fixed Point for a number of good debates.

Subscribe in their RSS Feed or in iTunes.

Enjoy.

What was last year's post? See here.

Monday, July 05, 2010

Get a Chance to Win 3 Apologetics Books: Apologetics315 Survey

After Friday's free book giveaway, there is still a chance to get your hands on some more free apologetics books. This time, Apologetics 315 is giving away THREE apologetics books (you get to choose from a list). You get a chance to win by filling out a fairly brief survey for Ap315. This survey gets your feedback on how you use the site as well as where you would like it to go in the future. It will help me get a better idea about where to spend my energies.

Fill out the Survey Here.

Thanks for your time and input. - Brian Auten


One winner will be chosen at random at the end of the week. However, I still appreciate all input in this survey for future planning purposes. 

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Sunday Quote: John Ankerberg on Jesus' Existence


"The Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, devotes 20,000 words to the person of Jesus Christ and never once hints that He didn’t exist."

- John Ankerberg (reference here)

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Apologetics Powerpoint Directory

Do you regularly do apologetics Powerpoint presentations? Are you looking for powerpoint presentations that you can use for your own talks, lessons, or lectures?

The goal of the Apologetics Powerpoint Directory is to gather and provide a wide variety of Powerpoint files dealing with apologetics topics. This is a user-generated directory -- so if you want to share, feel free. Just email the files to apologetics315 (at) gmail (dot) com to be considered for the directory. (Or use Dropbox.)

Files will be added to the directory below, and this post will be a work in progress. So start building and sharing...

Probe Ministries Powerpoints (free)
180 Norman Geisler Powerpoints (pay)
AiG Powerpoints (free)
Erskine College: apologetics, theology, ethics, more (free)
Science and Christian Apologetics (free)
Apologetics 101 powerpoint (1 free)
"Making it from Scratch - Scientific Arguments for God"

Friday, July 02, 2010

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (06/25 - 07/02)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.

Or just add this feed to your RSS reader

Free Book: Evidence for God edited by Michael Licona & William Dembski

Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy, and Science is a new book edited by Michael Licona and William Dembski. This book is composed of fifty essays contributed by some excellent authors, including Craig L. Blomberg, Darrell Bock, L. Russ Bush III, Paul Copan, William A. Dembski, Craig A. Evans, Gary R. Habermas, Guillermo Gonzalez, Phillip E. Johnson, Andreas J. Köstenberger, Michael R. Licona, Paul L. Maier, John McRay, Nancy Pearcey, Jay W. Richards, Daniel B. Wallace, Ben Witherington III, and more.

This book looks great and we will be giving away a FREE COPY to one commenter to this blog post, chosen at random. Drawing will close on Satuday, July 3rd at 12noon EST.

Leave a comment to enter, or get your copy here.

Enjoy.

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Is God Arrogant and Egotistical? MP3 by Paul Copan

Truthbomb Apologetics recently featured this audio by Christian philosopher Paul Copan addressing the issue: Is God Arrogant & Egotistical? Originally delivered at Columbia International University, this audio is from their chapel podcasts feed.

Full MP3 Audio here. (40 min)

Listen.

More good stuff from Paul Copan here.

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