Friday, December 31, 2010

2010 Year in Review for Apologetics315

As I look back at 2010 it seems liked it was such a busy year for Apologetics 315. So this post will just take a quick look back at some of the notable posts and projects here at Apologetics 315.

First, the Apologist Interviews Podcast became a weekly feature of the blog. There have been about 50 interviews this year with some notable apologists. Check out this link for a partial listing and links to subscribe to the podcast.

There were two large essay projects that involved many other contributors. The Is Christianity True? Podcast & Essay Series was a series of 23 1000-word short essays by apologist bloggers as they presented concise reasons why they believe Christianity is true. Each weekday during April a different blogger presented his essay and interacted with comments. Designed to be an outreach tool and brief introductory tool to some basic apologetic arguments, this series generated good interaction and is still being commented on.

The second podcast and essay series was designed to answer the common question: "How Do I Get Apologetics in My Church?" This was also a very enjoyable time of interacting with a wide variety of lay-apologists as they shared how they started apologetics classes, ministries, and outreaches in their own church homes. A great resource! Find it here.

As for book reviews, it was a fun year. There were over 25, with an emphasis on books dealing with atheism. The Grand Design review was also featured in Areopagus Journal, as was On Guard by William Lane Craig and The Future of Atheism by McGrath & Dennett. Be sure to check out the full listing of book reviews here.

In addition to reviews, products have been reviewed, such as the Tactics in Defending the Faith DVD series, the Biola Distance Learning Certificate in Apologetics, and The Reason for God DVD / study, and William Lane Craig's Philosophy of Religion Course.

Another new regular feature of the blog has been the weekly apologetics bonus links. Every week a summary of notable links is provided from around the web, highlighting some of the best or most useful items for reading or review along the lines of apologetics. Those can be found here.

Notable debates featured this year included:
Lewis Wolport vs Russell Cowburn
Stephen Meyer vs. Peter Atkins
Matt Slick vs. Eddie Tabash
Jay Richards vs. Christopher Hitchens
Dinesh D'Souza vs. John Loftus
Hugh Ross vs. Jason Lisle
Craig Evans vs. Bart Ehrman
Sean McDowell vs. James Corbett
Michael Brown vs. Bart Ehrman
Michael Licona vs. Richard Carrier
William Lane Craig vs. Massimo Pigliucci
Peter S. Williams vs. Peter Cave
Walter Martin vs. Van Hale
Alister McGrath vs. Daniel Dennett
Matthew Flannagan vs. Raymond Bradley
William Lane Craig vs. Yusuf Ismail
Matt Slick vs. Dan Barker
Alan Schlemon vs. Ceclili Chadwick
Craig, Geivett & Wolpe vs. Dawkins, Shermer & Ridley

This year Ap315 also reached a milestone in the number of posts -- passing the 1000-mark. Also featured was a small series of posts called the Apologist's Toolkit, which covered things like tips for lifelong learning and living an apologetic life.

On a personal note, it was also a fulfilling year starting Reasonable Faith Belfast, earning a Competent Communicator Award with Toastmasters (and winning a prize in a speech competition), doing a few radio interviews, and teaching apologetics.

In sum, 2010 has been a really great year. I want to thank all of the great apologists who contribute so much to the defense of Christianity. Also, I want to thank all of the wonderful contributors to the essay series, my fellow apologetics bloggers (you know who your are!), and all the loyal readers and commenters. Thanks for your contribution!

May God bless you in 2011!
- Brian Auten of Apologetics 315

5 comments :

Nick Potts said...

hey man, I know I'm not the only one, but let me say this, us readers are indebted to you greatly. for all of your hard work, all of your countless hours reading, writing, interviewing, etc. And with a gracious and giving heart, you give it back to us, and for this, I thank you so much. You have given me many of the resources that has helped me grow in my faith and to defend it passionately. Like John Calvin once said, "A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent" and I thank you for not being silent on this issue, but even more than just not being silent, you are training others with your internet ministry and your Reasonable Faith ministry.

May the peace and power of God fill your life, and the love of Christ overwhelm, overtake, and flow through you as you minister and defend the Gospel.

Ex N1hilo said...

Ditto to what Nick said. Great site.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Brian, for your outstanding work, which is an enourmous encouragement to me and I am sure to thousands of others!

Devin said...

Not to mention the debates that James White did with:

Tim Staples, Abdullal al Andalusi, Adnan Rashid, Michael Brown, Dr. Robert Price, Sheikh Awal, Christopher Ferrara, David Silverman, Robert Sungenis, Abdullah Kunde, and Sir Anthony Buzzard

Brian said...

Devin, if you see any of those debates available to be freely listened to, let me know and I can feature those too.

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