Francis Schaeffer on Apologetics

‎"I am only interested in an apologetic that leads in two directions, and the one is to lead people to Christ, as Saviour, and the other is that after they are Christians, for them to realize the lordship of Christ in the whole of life... if Christianity is truth, it ought to touch on the whole of life... Christianity must never be reduced merely to an intellectual system... After all, if God is there, it isn’t just an answer to an intellectual question... we’re called upon to adore him, to be in relationship to him, and, incidentally, to obey him."

- Francis Schaeffer
‘The Undivided Schaeffer: A Retrospective Interview with Francis Schaeffer, September 30, 1980’ in Colin Duriez, Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life (Nottingham: IVP, 2008), pp.218 & 220..

[HT: Daniel]

Book Review: The Only Wise God by William Lane Craig

This reviewer has long been fascinated with the debate about God's knowledge of the future and man's free will. William Lane Craig has done much theological and philosophical research into the attributes of God and the nature of time. He condensed his research into a relatively short and concise presentation that focuses specifically on how to reconcile the scriptural claims that God knows what every person will do, yet every person is free to do something else. The book is The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom. It is only 154 pages and is broken down into two parts with 12 bite-sized chapters.

Book Introduction
William Lane Craig prepares the reader for his presentation by distinguishing between determinism and fatalism. He recognizes that in the attempt to reconcile God's knowledge of future events with man's free will, many have decided to give up the pursuit and appeal to theological mystery—the idea that its not something we can know now, but will know when we get to heaven. He looks at the proper and improper use of mystery in Christianity and concludes that this debate does not need to end in an appeal to mystery.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (03/22 - 03/29)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.

• Is Faith Opposed to Reason?
• Did Abe Lincoln really exist?
• The Rise of the Alincolnists
• Does Easter have Pagan Origins?
• Are You Skeptical of Your Faith?
• Did Abraham Lincoln Exist? Overview
• Review of a “New New Testament”: Part 1
• Cheap on Kindle! Cold-Case Christianity
• The historical case for the empty tomb
• Happy two year anniversary to the CAA
• Planck Satellite Image of the Early Universe
• Didn't God Create Evil, Too? Audio lectures
• Is There Proof that Jesus Rose from the Dead?
• Did the Apostles Lie So They Could Die as Martyrs?
• Free on Kindle: Why Trust Jesus? by Dave Sterrett
• Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ in a Nutshell
• A New New Testament: Are You Serious? by Daniel B. Wallace
• Fifteen More Myths about Bible Translation by Daniel Wallace
• William Lane Craig on historical reliability of the gospels
• Mike Licona debates Bart Ehrman on the Unbelievable radio show
• We Can Corroborate the Gospels without Verifying Every Detail
• Book Review: Christian Apologetics An Anthology of Primary Sources
• Four ways that the progress of science conflicts with naturalistic speculations
• N.T. Wright lectures on the resurrection of Jesus: did Jesus rise from the dead?
• When We Spend More Time Arguing About How to Make the Case than We Spend Making the Case

Apologetics 315 is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Would you support us monthly?

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Evidence Jesus is Alive by Timothy McGrew

In this audio from the CrossExamined Radio show, Dr. Timothy McGrew presents five evidences that make a case for Jesus' resurrection. The brief outline of these can be found here. This is a great interview by Frank Turek, and more great content from McGrew. Be sure to visit the Library of Historical Apologetics as well. The CrossExamined podcast archive is here; subscribe to it in iTunes or RSS.

Full MP3 Audio here. (51min)
Enjoy.

Casey Luskin Interview Transcript on Intelligent Design

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

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BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten, of Apologetics 315. Today’s interview is with Casey Luskin, Research Coordinator for the Center For Science and Culture. He’s an attorney in the Seattle area, with graduate degrees in both science and law. Some listeners may be familiar with Casey, from listening to the “ID the Future” podcast, or from his writing at the “Evolution News and Views” blog. The purpose of this interview is to look a bit more at the idea of Intelligent Design, explore some of the common objections to ID, and see what Casey’s view is about the future of Intelligent Design as a movement. Thanks for joining me for this interview, Casey.

CL: Thanks so much for having me.

BA: Well, first off, Casey, would you mind telling our listeners a bit more about yourself, and what kind of work you’re involved in?

Apologetics Audiobook Directory

When you don't have the luxury of sitting down to read for extended periods, but still want to work your way through great books, audiobooks are a great solution. Whether you are driving, exercising, or working around the house, listening to audiobooks is an excellent way to redeem the time. So below is a growing Apologetics Audiobook Directory, in alphabetical order by author.

Michael Behe
The Edge of Evolution

Jim Nelson Black
The Death of Evolution: Restoring Faith and Wonder in a World of Doubt

Darrell Bock
Breaking the Da Vinci Code

William Dembski
The Design Revolution

Dinesh D'Souza
What's So Great About Christianity
Life After Death (The Evidence)
God Forsaken

Joni Eareckson Tada & Steven Estes
When God Weeps

Gordan Fee
How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth
How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth

Norm Geisler
I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

Phillip E Johnson
Darwin on Trial

Timothy Keller
The Reason for God
King's Cross
The Meaning of Marriage
The Prodigal God

Greg Koukl
Tactics

John Lennox
Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science

CS Lewis
Mere Christianity
The Screwtape Letters
What Christians Believe
Miracles

Paul E. Little
Know Why You Believe

Walter Martin
The Kingdom of the Cults

Josh McDowell
More Than a Carpenter Today
The Unshakable Truth

Sean McDowell
The Unshakable Truth

JP Moreland
Love Your God with All Your Mind
Kingdom Triangle

John Ortberg
Faith and Doubt

Nancy Pearcey
Total Truth

Scott Rae
Moral Choices

Jay Richards
The Privileged Planet
Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom

Francis Schaefer
How Should We Then Live?
He Is There and He Is Not Silent
True Spirituality
A Christian Manifesto
The Mark of the Christian
Art and the Bible

James W. Sire
Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalogue

RC Sproul 
Defending Your Faith
What is Reformed Theology?
The Holiness of God
Saved from What?
Knowing Scripture
The Work of Christ
Justified by Faith Alone

Rodney Stark
God's Battalions

Lee Strobel
The Case for Christ
The Case for Faith
The Case for a Creator
The Case for the Real Jesus
The Unexpected Adventure
The Case for Christmas
God's Outragous Claims
God's Outrageous Claims (abridged)

Inside the Mind of the Unchurched Harry and Mary

The Ambition
Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage

Frank Turek
I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist

J. Warner Wallace
Cold Case Christianity

Jonathan Wells
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design
Icons of Evolution

Ben Witherington
The Gospel Code

NT Wright
Simply Jesus
After You Believe
Paul: In Fresh Perspective
Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is
Evil and the Justice of God
Simply Christian
Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today

Ravi Zacharias
Why Jesus?
Jesus Among Other Gods
Can Man Live Without God?
The Lotus and the Cross
The End of Reason
The Grand Weaver
Has Christianity Failed You?
The Lamb and the Fuhrer
New Birth or Rebirth
Walking from East to West

Terminology Tuesday: Cumulative Case Arguments

Cumulative Case Arguments: Arguments for the existence of God (or some other complex claim) that do not consist of a single decisive argument but rather try to show that God's existence makes more sense than any alternative hypothesis in light of all the available evidence. Richard Swinburne, for example, presented a large number of arguments, none of which has decisive force. But since each argument has some evidential force, the cumulative case is alleged to make the existence of God probable.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 30.

Top Ten Myths About the Resurrection

This Easter Week, Credo House Ministries is presenting a new video each day on Ten Myths About the Resurrection, featuring Dr. Michael Licona. If you subscribe to their newsletter, they will send one to your inbox every day. Check out the Credo House Vimeo Channel for Mike Licona's presentation of all ten myths:

Myth 1: Contradictions in the Gospels
Myth 2: Pagan Parallels in the Mystery Religions
Myth 3: The Fraud Theory
Myth 4: Hallucinations
Myth 5: It's a Matter of Faith
Myth 6: Apparent Death Theory
Myth 7: It Was Merely Legend
Myth 8: Science Proves that Resurrections Cannot Occur
Myth 9: Not Enough Evidence
Myth 10: Lost Gospels

If you find this information helpful, you'll want to get the Case for the Resurrection of Jesus DVD with Mike Licona. This is a two-disc set with 8 sessions. An excellent small group resource!

C.S. Lewis on Daily Devotion

‎"That is why daily praying and religious reading and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed."

—C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 125.

HT: KS

Book Review: Science and Human Origins

If humans did evolve from ape-like ancestors, the process by which it happened is shrouded in mystery. This isn’t because evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, anthropologists, and geneticists have not been working hard to understand it. Instead, the mystery that surrounds the process stems from the data themselves. As Science and Human Origins makes very clear, what little data we have on the supposed evolution of man is fragmentary and contradictory. The book’s five chapters each discuss a different set of data related to the subject, and when they are all put together, they produce a devastating case against the oft-heard claim that human evolution is well supported by the scientific evidence.

Chapter 1 is written by Dr. Ann Gauger, a developmental biologist who did postdoctoral research at Harvard University. She is now a research scientist at the Biologic Institute, an organization that spearheads original research using the Intelligent Design paradigm. In this chapter, she attempts to make the case against the assumption that common genetic characteristics must be the result of common ancestry via an unguided, neo-Darwinian process.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (03/15 - 03/22)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.

• No Liars in Heaven

• New Manuscripts On-line

• Study with Greg Koukl in France

• The Circular Reasoning of Atheists

• The Early “High Christology” of Jesus

• Answering 'God of the Gaps' Objections

• Free on Kindle: "Did the Resurrection Happen?"

• Thomas Nagel on Why Materialism Fails to Explain Reason

• The Fine-Tuning of the Universe for Life Just Got Finer

• The Discovery Institute’s Summer Seminars on Intelligent Design

• New study: formation of life-permitting elements carbon and oxygen is fine-tuned 

• The Disciples Were Not Afraid to Worship Jesus (Even Though They Should Have Been)

Apologetics 315 is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Would you support us monthly?

• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315.
Canada here. UK here.

• Would you like to help with interview transcription? If so, contact Ap315 here.

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

Jeff Zweerink Interview Transcript

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

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BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics315. Today’s interview is with astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink. Jeff is a Research Scholar with Reasons to Believe in southern California, and serves part-time on the physics and astronomy research faculty at UCLA. He is author of Who’s Afraid of the Multiverse? And that’ll be the main topic of our interview today. We’ll be discussing the multiverse hypothesis and its implications for Christian theism. Thanks for joining me today, Jeff.

JZ: It’s good to be here Brian, I’m looking forward to the interview here.

BA: I appreciate you being with me. RTB and all of its resources have been a real blessings, through all your podcasts. I hope our listeners find our discussion helpful as well.

JZ: I would agree, and I’ve found, even before I came to RTB, I kind of found that same thing, it’s kind of a unique set of resources to help integrate both science and the Christian faith. So, I’ve found them useful in the past, that’s part of why I’m here on staff.

Eight Issues That Do NOT Make or Break Christianity

The following is a guest post by C. Michael Patton of Credo House Ministries. (Hear his interview with Apologetics 315 here; transcript here.) Find out more about Credo House resources here.

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I realize that posts such as these have the potential to create quite a bit of heat and get me in a lot of trouble. As well, I don’t really want to be seen as one who is always trying to unsettle things. I like to be settled, and in a very pastoral way, I like to settle others. However, in Christianity, both for our personal faith and our public witness, we need to speak with the emphasis necessary to carry our faith truly. It is my argument that often – far too often – conservative Christians become identified with issues that, while important, do not make or break our faith. This creates extremely volatile situations (from a human perspective) as believers’ faith ends up having a foundation which consists of one of these non-foundational issues. When and if these issues are significantly challenged, our faith becomes unstable. I have seen too many people who walk away from the faith due to their trust in some non-essential issue coming unglued. That is why I write this post. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope this discussion will cause you to think deeply about what issues create the bedrock of our (and your) faith.

Here is a list of what I believe to be eight issues that do not make or break our faith:

1. Young Earth Creationism
There are many people who spend an enormous amount of money holding seminars, building museums, and creating curricula attempting to educate people on the importance and evidence for a six-thousand (give or take) year-old earth. There is certainly nothing wrong (in my opinion) with holding to and defending such a view. The problem comes when those who hold to this view teach that to deny a literal six-day creation is to deny the Gospel (or close to it). There is simply no sustainable reason to believe that one’s interpretation about the early chapters of Genesis determines his or her status before God.

Featured Resource: Answers for Atheists

Today's featured resource is the website Answers for Atheists. The purpose of the site is to offer concise, 500-word responses to some of the common objections to Christianity. Categories include Jesus, hell, God, exclusivity, evil, evidence, and the Bible. A great place to get started when exploring or formulating your own answers.

Check out Answers for Atheists.
Enjoy.

Terminology Tuesday: Principle of Sufficient Reason

Principle of Sufficient Reason: The claim that there must be an explanation for every positive fact, some reason why that fact obtains rather than not obtaining. This principle is generally attributed to Gottfried Leibniz, for whom it took the form of the assumption that God has a sufficient reason for every choice he has made. The principle, or some variation on it, often plays a key role in cosmological arguments for the existence of the finite universe. Those who deny the principle of sufficient reason are committed to the claim that some facts obtain for no reason, and thus that there is a surd (nonrational) element to the universe.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 112.

What was last year's post? See here: James White's debate with Bart Ehrman.

Peter S. Williams on C.S. Lewis vs the New Atheists

Today's interview is with Christian philosopher, apologist and author Peter S. Williams. He talks about his most recent book C.S. Lewis vs. the New Atheists, Lewis's views as an atheist, the arguments that the new atheists have neglected, the impact of Lewis for the last 50 years, the "mere Christianity" approach (is it enough?), the argument from desire, the argument from reason, arguments by the new atheists, the moral argument, elements in Lewis's journey to Christianity, where to start when reading Lewis, and more.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (45 min)
Check out the trailer for C.S. Lewis vs the New Atheists here.
Pick up C.S. Lewis vs the New Atheists here.

Enjoy.
Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

Paul L. Maier on the Empty Tomb

"If all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed justifiable, according to the canons of historical research, to conclude that the sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea, in which Jesus was buried, was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter. And no shred of evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources, epigraphy, or archaeology that would disprove this statement."

- Historian Paul L. Maier

Review: What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense

If the traditional view of marriage is to survive in the secular West, it must begin by explaining why lifelong, exclusive heterosexual relationships deserve a recognition denied to other types of relationship. Hence What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense by Sherif Girgis, Robert P. George, and Ryan T. Anderson. This book develops their Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy article of the same name. It opposes the “revisionist” view of marriage, which describes marriage as an emotional union, or romantic attachment, between two people. Revisionists view marriage as a union of hearts and minds, enhanced by whatever forms of sexual intimacy both partners find agreeable. This union need not be procreative – that is, the type of union that creates families.

Against the revisionists, Girgis, George and Anderson argue that only the traditional, or “conjugal”, definition can give a robust and comprehensive explanation of marriage. While they are convincing, and What is Marriage is rigorously argued, they won’t win points for readability. Here is their definition of marriage:

 Marriage is that type of community that is both a comprehensive unity (a unity on all levels of the human person, including the bodily-sexual) and a community that would be fulfilled by procreating and rearing children together. Moreover, there is an intrinsic link between these two aspects of the community; the comprehensive (and therefore intrinsically sexual) relationship is fulfilled by, and is not merely incidental to, the procreating and rearing of children.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (03/08 - 03/15)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.

• Apologetics in 3D
• Does Religion Cause War?
• The Inspiration of Scripture
• Five Myths About Bible Translation
• Two famous near-death experiences
• Jesus Specifically Said, “I Am God”
• Was Jesus Just a Good Moral Teacher?
• Why is the Resurrection so important?
• Christian Renaissance Apologia Conference
• The New Atheism is Here to Stay: Deal With It
• Video: A Stunning Animation of DNA Polymerase
• The Circumstantial Statements of Jesus’ Divinity
• If God Caused Everything, Then Who or What Caused God?
• What If Atheism Really Is Just A “Lack of Belief in God”?
• Is Belief in God the Same as Belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
• Richard Dawkins defends the moral goodness of infanticide and adultery
• Video: Is Metaphysical Naturalism Viable? featuring Dr. William Lane Craig
• Did the divinity of Jesus emerge slowly after many years of embellishments?
• The Disciples Were Not Afraid to Worship Jesus (Even Though They Should Have Been)
• William Lane Craig lectures against naturalism at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland
• McDowell and Shermer talk about the Fine-Tuning of the Universe, Objective Morality, and the Evidence for God

Apologetics 315 is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Would you support us monthly?

• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315.
Canada here. UK here.

• Would you like to help with interview transcription? If so, contact Ap315 here.

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

The Ontological Argument: Malcolm's Formulation

This is an excerpt from Philosophy of Religion by C. Stephen Evans in the chapter for classical arguments for God's Existence. In this excerpt, Evans describes Norman Malcolm's formulation of Anselm's second ontological argument, which deals with the concept of necessary existence.
The gist of the second argument, as Malcolm formulates it, is as follows: God is by definition a being who does not merely happen to exist. God can neither come into existence nor pass out of existence, since a being who could do either simply would not be God. It follows from this that if God exists at all, then his existence is necessary. If he does not exist, then his existence is impossible. But either God exists or he does not exist, so God's existence is either necessary or impossible. Since it does not seem plausible to say that God's existence is impossible, then it follows that his existence is necessary. So if God's existence is possible, then it is necessary. More formally the argument can be put like this:

1. If God exists, his existence is necessary.
2. If God does not exist, his existence is impossible.
3. Either God exists or he does not exist.
4. God's existence is either necessary or impossible.
5. God's existence is possible (it is not impossible).
6. Therefore God's existence is necessary.1

1 C. Stephen Evans, Philosophy of Religion: Thinking About Faith (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press., 1982), p. 48.

David Robertson Interview Transcript

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

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BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics 315. Today I’m speaking with Pastor David Robertson. David is the Minister of Saint Peter’s Free Church in Dundee Scotland. A church that is best known for being the church of Robert Murray M’Cheyne. He is the author of Awakening, (a contemporary account of M’Cheyne’s life) and The Dawkins Letters. The latter has resulted in him being invited to debate and discuss all over the UK and elsewhere in Europe. And this has been done in cafes, bars, libraries, universities, pubs, restaurants, village halls, and even occasionally in churches. David is a Chaplain at the University of Dundee, and Chairman of the “Solas - Centre for Public Christianity”. David has preached through Ecclesiastes twice, and is currently working on a contemporary edition of the book Suitable for Evangelism. In our interview today, I’ll ask David more about his encounters with Dawkins, skeptics, and doing apologetics.

BA: Thanks for joining me today, David.

DR: Well, it’s a privilege to join you.

BA: Would you mind telling our listeners a bit about yourself, and where you’re from, and the ministry you’re involved in?

Sean McDowell vs. James Corbett Debate MP3 Audio

Sean McDowell (blog) debates James Corbett (news) on the topic: Is God the Best Explanation of Moral Values? Moderated by Craig Hazen. The flyer for this debate can be found here. Original debate video at ConversantLife.

Full MP3 Audio here. (95min)

Enjoy.

Also check out Sean McDowell's ethics book here.

(Please note there are few audio glitches due to feed interruptions during Corbett's opening statement.)

Terminology Tuesday: God-of-the-Gaps Argument

God-of-the-Gaps Argument: A type of argument that invokes God as an explanation for what cannot be explained naturally or scientifically. Critics of this style of argument claim that such a strategy will inevitably make God's role in the universe appear to diminish as scientific explanation advances. Critics of the intelligent design movement allege that the attempt to argue for an intelligent cause of biological order is a God-of-the-gaps argument, but proponents of intelligent design argue that there is positive empirical evidence for intelligence as the cause of complex systems in nature.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 50.

See also this video by John Lennox on God-of-the-gaps arguments.

Apologist Interview: Ron Rhodes

Today's interview is with Ron Rhodes, president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries. He talks about his background and ministry, how he became a Christian, how to define the word "cult," the difference between cults an denominations, the growth of the cults and the new atheism, principles and ground rules for Mormons & Jehovah's Witnesses, how to speak with friends who are part of a cult, mistakes to avoid, dealing with emotional and psychological barriers, advice for apologists, and more.

Full Interview MP3 audio here (48 min)

Over 60 books by Ron Rhodes here.
Enjoy.
Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

John MacArthur on the Resurrection of Jesus

“The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest event in the history of the world. It is so foundational to Christianity that no one who denies it can be a true Christian. Without resurrection there is no Christian faith, no salvation, and no hope. ‘If there is no resurrection of the dead,’ Paul explains, ‘not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vaim’ (1 Cor 15:13-14). A person who believes in a Christ who was not raised believes in a powerless Christ, a dead Christ. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then no redemption was accomplished at the cross and ‘your faith is worthless,’ Paul goes on to say; ‘you are still in your sins’ (v. 17).”

—John MacArthur

Book Review: The Christian God by Richard Swinburne

In The Christian God, Richard Swinburne examines basic metaphysical categories[1]. Only when that task is done does he turn to an analysis of divine properties, the divine nature, and the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation.

I have found it necessary to develop at length views on straight philosophical questions, which could then be applied subsequently to the philosophy of religion….Since religious issues are more contested even than general secular philosophical issues, we are more likely to reach clear and justified conclusions about the former if we start with a firm base in the latter. My strategy in The Christian God is the same. Part I is concerned with general metaphysical issues….Part II then expounds the account of the divine nature given by Western religion, with the aid of these concepts, and shows how it can naturally be extended to embrace the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. (Location 54, Kindle edition)

The Christian God is a very dense work of metaphysics, and not all of the metaphysical distinctions Swinburne makes in Part I are central to the goings-on in Part II. Of those that are central, even fewer are justified by arguments that can be easily fit into a succinct review. So in outlining Part I, I will mention only those distinctions which are central to Part II. Further, in discussing those distinctions, I will simply state the conclusion of Swinburne’s argument(s) supporting those distinctions.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (03/01 - 03/08)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.

• Four Good Reasons to Read Good Books

• Discovery Institute Summer Seminars

• Tackling the Issue of Homosexuality

• How to teach a basic pro-life seminar

• How Can God be Without Beginning or End?

• Give Me that Old Testament Religion #1

• On Guard by William Lane Craig only 4.99 on Kindle

• Only 3.00 on kindle: "Arguing with Friends"

• Why Would a Scribe Deliberately Change the Biblical Manuscript?

• Want to Get Paid for Full-Time Pro-Life Work After Graduation?

• Video: Resurrection Evidence from Critical Scholars by Gary Habermas

• New Book: C. S. Lewis - A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Alister McGrath

Apologetics 315 is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Would you support us monthly?

• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315.
Canada here. UK here.

• Would you like to help with interview transcription? If so, contact Ap315 here.

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

Follow Apologetics 315 on Facebook and Twitter

If you are not yet a follower of Apologetics 315 on Facebook and Twitter, please consider following today. Twitter followers get all the best apologetics links in a steady stream on a daily basis, while Facebook followers get each day's links, as well as special offers. So please follow today and help spread the word about good apologetics  resources.

Follow on Facebook.
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Frank Turek Interview Transcript

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

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BA: Hello this is Brian Auten of Apologetics 315. Today's interview is with apologist Frank Turek. Frank is author of a number of books including I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Correct, Not Politically Correct and Legislating Morality. He speaks all over the country at universities and churches. He hosts the Cross Examined radio program on American Family Radio as well as the hour long TV program each week called “I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist”, available on Direct TV. This is my second interview with Frank and the purpose of today's interview is to talk about the moral argument, reasons for rejecting evidence for God, being involved in the community, and making an impact in the area of apologetics.

BA: Well thanks for speaking with me today Frank.

FT: Brian it's always great to be with you. You've got one of the best sites on the web for apologetics. I'm so glad you're doing what you're doing.

Reasonable Faith UK Tour 2011 Videos

Today's resources is the video playlist containing the complete archive of Dr. William Lane Craig's speaking engagements from The Reasonable Faith Tour 2011: from debates to lectures, Q&A and conference discussions. Now presented in chronological order. For more resources from Dr Craig visit: www.reasonablefaith.org.

Visit the Reasonable Faith Tour on YouTube here.
Enjoy.

Terminology Tuesday: Free Will Defense

Free Will Defense: Response to the problem of evil arguing that God may be justified in allowing evil because the possibility of evil is logically inherent in free will. If free will is a great good that makes possible other great goods, then these goods might provide sufficient reason for God allowing evil. Since not even omnipotence can do what is logically impossible, God must accept the possibility of evil if he wishes to give some of his creatures free will.1

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

Interview: J. Steve Miller on Near-Death Experiences

Today's interview is with J. Steve Miller, author of Near-Death Experiences as Evidence for the Existence of God and Heaven: A Brief Introduction in Plain Language. He talks about his background and research in near-death experiences (NDEs), defining near-death experiences, common experiences in NDEs, the evidential value of NDEs, various examples of NDEs, how worldviews come into play when evaluating evidence, common naturalistic explanations and their shortcomings, evidence for Christianity from NDEs, the existential impact of NDEs, and more.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (56 min)

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Enjoy.
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Charles Spurgeon on Christian Persuasion

“ If you are drawn into controversy, use very hard arguments and very soft words. Frequently you cannot convince a man by tugging at his reason, but you can persuade him by winning his affections.”

—C.H. Spurgeon

Lectures to My Students, p. 173

Book Review: The Intolerance of Tolerance by D.A. Carson

The Intolerance of Tolerance by D.A. Carson is a masterful exploration into one of the greatest cultural issues of our day—tolerance by one of the greatest Christian minds of our day. In post-modernism, tolerance—the affirming and celebrating of virtually any exercise of personal autonomy- is the prime value. The unforgiveable sin is being judgmental, that is, believing that an activity or lifestyle choice that does not hurt another person is wrong, immoral or sinful. A second related unforgiveable sin is claiming that what you believe is objectively true and thus binding on another person. A person who holds these beliefs is considered to be bigoted, narrow-minded, and arrogant, just as was true in Ancient Rome.

In our twenty-first century culture, Christians are be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). The Church has been charged with proclaiming the unchanging unadulterated truth of God’s Word to an adulterous, materialistic culture that lifts up itself in rebellion against the God who created them.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (02/22 - 03/01)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.

• Four Good Reasons for Belief
• April Apologetics Conference in Texas
• Junk DNA & My Foot-In-Mouth moment
• From True Belief to Confident Knowledge
• The Big Bang is Not the Enemy of Theology
• Stand To Reason's 20th Anniversary Conference
• Video: Michael Behe at the University of Toronto
• TrueU 3 "Who is Jesus of Nazareth?" Trailer on Vimeo
• Interview with Christian apologist J.W. Wartick
• William Lane Craig on The Apologetic Task (Video)
• There’s a Difference Between Evidence and Proof
• What Should Jesus Do? A Response to Richard Carrier
• An Apologetics App by Athanatos Christian Ministries
• Only 1.99 on Kindle: "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis
• What Is the Personal Experience Argument for God’s Existence?
• William Lane Craig vs Walter Sinnott-Armstrong: evil, suffering and God’s existence
• Only 1.99 on Kindle: NT Write's "Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters"
• Giveaway: I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Turek and Geisler

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