Book Review: Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case by Frank Turek

It was with great anticipation that I began reading Frank Turek’s latest book, Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case. It was just this past October I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Turek speak in Mt. Airy, MD on the topic of “Is Jesus Intolerant?” I walked away from that talk impressed with Turek’s ability to address culturally “hot button” issues with razor sharp logic coupled with winsome grace. I hoped that Turek’s book would offer more of the same and I wasn’t disappointed.

Introduction
From the very onset of the book, it is clear that Turek has the so-called “new atheists” in his crosshairs and his main contention is that “atheists are using aspects of reality to argue against God that wouldn’t exist if atheism were true. In other words, when atheists give arguments for their atheistic worldview, they are stealing from a theistic worldview to make their case. In effect, they are stealing from God in order to argue against Him.” [p. xviii]

Apologist Interview: Frank Turek

Today's interview is with apologist Frank Turek, author of a number of books, including his newest: Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case. He talks about the Cross Examined Instructor Academy, the goal of his new book, how atheists can steal from God in making their case for atheism, arguing from reason, arguing from science, defining atheism (not a lack of belief in God), lessons he's learned in speaking with atheists, the subject of hell, and much more. Visit CrossExamined here. Get the CrossExamined App on iTunes or Android.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (40 min)

For Apologetics315 podcast listeners: Enter the FREE drawing for your chance to win a copy of Frank's new book Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case. Just FILL OUT THE FORM HERE for your chance to win. (Winners will be announced here in one week.)

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

Is God a Moral Monster?—MP3: Paul Copan

This audio is from the The Defend the Faith Conference, held January 4-9, 2015 on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The event was organized by ICA, and streamed and recorded by Tactical Faith, and had scores of lectures in apologetics and evangelism by some great apologists. (Tactical Faith past events lectures can be found here.) Watch this blog post for information on accessing all the talks from the event.

In this lecture, Christian philosopher Paul Copan speaks on: Is God a Moral Monster?

Full Lecture MP3 Audio here (1hr)

Enjoy.

The Atheist Manual—MP3: Tim McGrew & Tom Gilson

This audio is from the The Defend the Faith Conference, held January 4-9, 2015 on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The event was organized by ICA, and streamed and recorded by Tactical Faith, and had scores of lectures in apologetics and evangelism by some great apologists. (Tactical Faith past events lectures can be found here.) Watch this blog post for information on accessing all the talks from the event.

In this lecture, Dr. Timothy McGrew and Tom Gilson discuss the tactics and content of Peter Boghossian's book A Manual for Creating Atheists, offering an analysis and critique.

Full Lecture MP3 Audio here (1hr)

Enjoy.

Apologist Interview: Graham Veale

Today's interview is with Graham Veale, author of New Atheism: A Survival Guide, and he a co-founder and writer at saintsandsceptics.org. He talks about religious education, the resources at the blog, the influence of the atheist movement, atheism amongst students, the arguments in his book, the "flying spaghetti monster," the non-conflict between Christianity and science, the rhetorical strategy of the new atheists, the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the new atheism, the centrality of Christ in apologetics & evangelism, and more.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (45 min)

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

Confessions of a Former Atheist

In this audio, found on William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith Podcast, former atheist Peter Byrom shares some of the details of his  interaction with Richard Dawkins and his journey from atheism to Christianity. You can subscribe to the Reasonable Faith podcast here.

Full MP3 Audio file here. (20 minutes)
Enjoy.

"Why I am a Christian" Testimony by David Wood

Former atheist David Wood (of Acts 17.net) shares his testimony about how he became a Christian. The video explains why he left atheism and surrendered to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Hear Apologetics 315's interview with David Wood here: Audio / Transcript.

Richard Dawkins and the ‘Absence of Belief’

Richard Dawkins and the New Atheists have popularized the idea that atheism, contrary to other positions, is not a belief; it is simply ‘the absence of belief’ in God or a supreme being.  It almost sounds esoteric. Theists believe that God exists and atheists merely lack that belief. Well, on that view, my Chevy is just as much of an atheist as Richard Dawkins, for it, too, lacks the belief that God exists. And I don’t say that lightly; I love my Chevy.

Now, there is some truth to the idea that atheists ‘lack belief.’ They do. But that’s not enough. Like I said, what is it that separates an atheist from my Chevy? My Chevy lacks belief in God. Animals lack belief in God. Newborn babies lack belief in God. There are lots of things that lack belief in God and yet aren’t atheists. It takes more than ‘lack of belief’ to define an atheist.

David Wood Interview Transcript

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with David Wood. 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 David Wood. David is a former atheist who converted to Christianity after examining the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. As well as being a teaching fellow in philosophy, David directs Acts 17 Apologetics ministries defending the Christian faith against atheistic and Islamic objections. In this interview I will be asking David more about his testimony, his insights into Islam and his advice for Christians doing Islamic Studies and apologetics.

Thanks for joining me today David.

DW: Good to be here.

Richard Dawkins Interviewed by Justin Brierley MP3 Audio

Atheist Richard Dawkins spoke to Premier’s Justin Brierley immediately after a debate he had with Christian Professor John Lennox on whether Science has disproved God.

The Oxford professor is most famous for his book The God Delusion. Surprisingly, Dawkins admits to Premier that there must have been some cause for the start of the universe.

Be sure to check out the upcoming Unbelievable Conference in May.
MP3 Audio here.

Found at Premier.org.

Book Review: The God Argument by A.C. Grayling

The Hebrew prophets, proclaiming the first commandment, railed against idolatry and urged the people to destroy all idols and return to the true, living God. Contemporary culture still worship many idolatrous images of God. Furthermore, there are many false prophets, both religious and non-religious, who preach these idols to the masses. The gods of consumerism, control and spirituality are often even proclaimed from nominally "Christian" pulpits. Unfortunately, these false idols have blurred how the larger culture understands orthodox Christianity and diminished their capacity for understanding it.

Finding value in A.C. Grayling’s recent book, The God Argument, is difficult. Before publication it had already received negative reviews from no small number of critics; most notably from fellow agnostics and atheists.^[1] They criticized the obvious biases and fundamentalist rhetoric. Both are valid criticisms of the book. For a Christian though, one possible value arises in seeing it as a sermon that evidences the futility of its idolatry. The thoughtful reader cannot help but finish the book wondering why someone would espouse the perspective it promotes.^[2]

Frank Turek vs. David Silverman Debate: Which offers a better explanation for reality–Theism or Atheism?

In this audio and video, Christian apologist Frank Turek debates David Silverman, president of the American Atheists, on the topic: Which offers a better explanation for reality–Theism or Atheism? This debate was held on April 18, 2013 at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA. Watch the debate on Vimeo here.

Full Debate MP3 Audio here (2hr 10min)
Enjoy.

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.

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.

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.

William Lane Craig vs Alex Rosenberg Debate MP3 Audio

In this debate, which took place at Purdue University on February 1, 2013, Christian philosopher William Lane Craig and atheist philosopher Alex Rosenburg debate the topic: Is Faith in God Reasonable? Watch the debate again via Biola here. Debate hosted by SymposiaChristi. Followed by Q&A session. Twitter #GodDebate. Consider these lessons from the debate.

Full Debate MP3 Audio here. (1hr 45min)
Q&A here.
Enjoy.

Audio provided with permission.

Find all of William Lane Craig's debates in one place here. 

Old Testament & the New Atheists: Peter J. Williams

Peter J. Williams of Tyndale House, Cambridge, challenges the New Atheists' interpretations and condemnation of the Old Testament. This includes addressing the destruction of the Canaanites. (Video includes PowerPoint.) This talk is part of the Bethinking National Apologetics Day Conference: Countering the New Atheism during the UK Reasonable Faith Tour in October 2011. Watch the video on YouTube, or download the MP3 audio here. Enjoy!

Book Review: Not God's Type by Holly Ordway

Dr. Holly Ordway is a poet, academic, and Christian apologist on the faculty of Houston Baptist University’s MA in Apologetics program, which focuses on cultural apologetics. She has a doctorate in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an MA in English Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an MA in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. She is also passionate about the truth. This is apparent in her book, Not God’s Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith, in which she shares her remarkable journey from atheism to Christianity.

G. K. Chesterton on Atheism

"If there were no God there would be no atheists."

- G. K. Chesterton
Where All Roads Lead, London 1922

Contending with Christianity's Critics: Conference Audio and Video

On September 29, 2012, Watermark Community Church hosted the Contending with Christianity's Critics Conference. This apologetics event had special guests, Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, Frank Turek, John Stonestreet, Daniel Wallace, and Greg Koukl. Now all the media is available online from Watermark Community Church. Go right there with this link for audio/video. Want all the audios together? Use the RSS FEED here. Want to check out individual lectures? See below:

The Importance of Apologetics for Every Believer & Every Church

Todd Wagner - Video | Audio

• The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists

Ravi Zacharias - Video | Audio

• Richard Dawkins on Arguments for God's Existence

William Lane Craig - Video | Audio (Eastwooding!)

• If God Exists, Why Does He Allow Evil?

Frank Turek - Video | Audio

• How Badly Did the Early Scribes Corrupt the New Testament

Dan Wallace - Video | Audio

• Defense and Offense: The Call to Care for Culture

John Stonestreet - Video | Audio

• Bad Arguments Against Religion

Greg Koukl - Video | Audio

Enjoy.