Galileo on Sense and Reason

"But I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them."

- Galileo Galilei
Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615

Book Review: The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy by Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton

In The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy, Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton set out to tell an educated but non-technical audience the story of the streams of thought that produced the science of the West, with a special emphasis on the role of Christian thought. The story they tell is perhaps too technical for their audience, and after the 17th century they have little to say about Christianity. However, they do produce a useful explanation of the Christian basis for science in the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment, and provide a good, basic explanation of key scientific findings in the 20th century and a lucid and entertaining history of the sciences in general.

They begin by explaining how most people have heard the story of Western science from the viewpoint of positivism, which claims that science was gradually set free from religious superstition. Modern historians, however, have adopted idealism and historicism, two approaches to history that recognize the role that religion played in the foundation of Western science. The result, say the authors, has been a revival of interest in the beliefs of early scientists and a greater appreciation for the role of Christianity in birthing the sciences.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (11/25 - 12/02)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Integrated apologetics
• Christian Apologetics Journal
• Let’s Not Run From “Apologetics”
• When Fallacies are not Fallacious
• Critical Thinking Or Correct Thoughts?
• Infinite Punishment for Infinite Crimes
• Mike Licona and risenjesus.com (video)
• C. S. Lewis on the Hallucination Theory
• Praxman and Meadwell on Truth (video)
• Bill Craig's Lecture 'The Origins of the Universe' video
• Mathematicians & Philosophers: Gottfried Leibniz (Part 2)
• Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics
• How Do We Investigate Whether a Resurrection Occurred?
• Can naturalism account for the origin of the 20 amino acids in living systems?
• International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism & Human Rights - Still room to sign up
• Origins of the Universe - Has Stephen Hawking Eliminated God? - William Lane Craig

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Read Along: Christian Apologetics Ch13

Today we continue with chapter thirteen of Read Along with Apologetics315, a weekly chapter-by-chapter study through Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Christianity by Douglas Groothuis. Please leave a comment on your reading below. This is where you can interact with others reading the book, ask questions, or add your own thoughts. Series index here. Click below for the audio intro, chapter 13 study questions PDF, and summary:

5 Great Apologetics Talks: The Ahmanson Lecture Series

For the past couple of years, Saddleback Church has been presenting an apologetics weekend called The Ahmanson Lectures. (For last year's audio and video, click here. In addition, a podcast feed for the first year's audio can be found here.) But this year's 2011 lineup is also excellent, with five talks relevant to the reliability and historicity of the Bible. These are available in audio or video via the following links or via iTunes. Check them out.

• Why Historians Take the Gospel Seriously - Dr. John Dickson
• The Reliability of the New Testament - Dr. Sean McDowell
• Ten Reasons We Know the New Testament is True - Dr. Frank Turek
• Following Jesus on the Reliability of Scripture - Dr. Paige Patterson
• A Biblical Philosophy of Truth - Dr. Doug Groothuis

Enjoy.
[HT: Michael]

Science & Religion - Where the Conflict Really Lies

Alvin Plantinga lectures on science and religion: where the conflict really lies. His latest book makes the full case. Pick it up here: Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism. [HT:Rob]

Apologist Interview: Winfried Corduan

Today's interview is with Christian philosopher Win Corduan. Dr. Corduan has served as a professor or adjunct professor of philosophy and religion at numerous colleges, universities, and seminaries. He has also served as president of both the International Society of Christian Apologetics and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He talks about his background and work, influences in apologetics, philosophy and apologetics, philosophical theology, philosophy of religions, comparative religions, his study in Buddhism, the neglect of Buddhism, the need for scholars in all areas, advice for apologists, and more. His books include Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions, No Doubt About It: The Case for Christianity, Pocket Guide to World Religions, Handmaid to Theology: An Essay in Philosophical Prolegomena, Reasonable Faith: Basic Christian Apologetics, and a number of others.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (50 min).
Enjoy.
Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

The Only Foundation of Sound Knowledge and Learning

"Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him."

- Rule of Harvard College 1646
Quoted from Mind Your Faith: A Student's Guide to Thinking and Living Well

Book Review: Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality by David Baggett and Jerry L. Walls

Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality by David Baggett and Jerry L. Walls is a spirited defense of both the moral argument (MA) for God’s existence and a specific version of Divine Command Theory (DCT). The MA claims that morality is based in God and DCTs attempt to specify how morality is based in God. While the book briefly addresses the that question, the bulk is devoted to answering the how question.

Baggett and Walls make very clear that the kind of God one believes in affects the plausibility of both the MA and DCT. The authors affirm the existence not only of God, but of God as the Greatest Possible Being (GPB)—that is, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, and necessary (existing in all possible worlds). This view of God as the GPB informs the rest of the book.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (11/18 - 11/25)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Argument from Desire
• Questions Christians Fear
• The “I Could Do It Better” Fallacy
• Apologetics And Christmas
• Lee Strobel responds to Bart Ehrman
• tothesource interviews Chuck Colson
• Copan and Wallace on Licona and Geisler
• Reasons to Believe Monthly E-Zine (PDF)
• What Are Four Things Science Will Never Explain?
• Alvin Plantinga & Properly Basic Beliefs (video)
• Audio of C.S. Lewis on God, time, and Christian living
• Why Demanding Extraordinary Evidence Makes Little Sense
• Former Atheist Keener’s “Miracles” Challenges Skeptics
• 10 Surprisingly Simple Tips for Talking with Cult Members – Part 3
• Intelligent design theorist Stephen C. Meyer debates evolutionist Keith Fox

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Read Along: Christian Apologetics Ch12

Today we continue with chapter twelve of Read Along with Apologetics315, a weekly chapter-by-chapter study through Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Christianity by Douglas Groothuis. Please leave a comment on your reading below. This is where you can interact with others reading the book, ask questions, or add your own thoughts. Series index here. Click below for the audio intro, chapter 12 study questions PDF, and summary:

7 Ways for Your Church to Engage

Looking to get apologetics into your church? (There's a podcast about that.) To get started sometimes all it takes is an idea and the vision to make something happen, even if it is small. In Jonathan Morrow's book Think Christianly (interview here) he lists 21 ways for your church to engage at the intersection of faith and culture. Are you ready to look at just seven of them and think about how you might be able to incorporate them into your own church?

1. Briefly mention current events relevant to faith and culture and include a reference to an article or blog for further exploration.
   
   
2. Sponsor a debate on the existence of God. Consider partnering with another church to sponsor a live event, or you can show a recent one on a DVD. This will provide opportunities for conversations to occur.
   

Apologist Interview: Jonathan Morrow

Today's interview is with apologist, author and equipping pastor Jonathan Morrow. He is author of Welcome to College and co-author of Is God a Human Invention? His latest book is Think Christianly: Looking at the intersection of Faith and Culture. He talks about faith and culture, what it means to think Christianly, practical ways to equip the local church, crucial areas of cultural engagement, the themes of his latest book, and more. Previous interviews here and here. Book trailer here.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here. (33 min)

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

Timothy McGrew on the Internet and Scholarship

"One of the most disastrous illusions of the internet age is that an amateur plus Google is equivalent to a scholar. A search engine offers information, more or less relevant according to the skill of the searcher. But it does not sift that information; it does not sort fact from fancy, wheat from chaff. It does not explain which facts are relevant and which are beside the point. It does not weigh the merits of competing arguments and tell the user where the balance of evidence lies. A bright amateur armed with the internet may at best be better informed than he would otherwise have been, and he may occasionally catch a real scholar in a factual error. But it will not turn him into a scholar himself. There is no such thing as effortless erudition."

- Dr. Timothy McGrew

Book Review: The Last Superstition by Edward Feser

The title of Edward Feser's book The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism sets the tone for the entire work, as it asserts in bold letters across the cover that atheism is the ultimate 'superstition'. This alone may tell you whether or not this book is 'for you' or not – it introduces Feser's polemic style, and it also tells you its goal. The contents, however, may surprise you.

This is not a book filled with the author's own opinions, rather it's a book that tries to lay out basic underlying foundations. Feser himself does little in the way of speculation. In fact, he is hardly even writing anything new at all. The tactic of The Last Superstition is to simply appeal to the classical philosophical tradition that has already been around for thousands of years, and show how that great tradition bears on the atheist claims that we hear so much of today.

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (11/11 - 11/18)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Debunking apostasy
• McGrew on Evidence
• Could Jesus read, and did He know Greek?
• Review: Lectures on Francis Schaeffer Early Years
• When is an Appeal to Authority Fallacious?
• Conception to Birth Visualized (absolutely amazing)
• Think Christianly by Jonathan Morrow (Book Trailer)
• Lennox event on Seven Days the Divide the World
• Richard Dawkins: "I am ashamed of my university!"
• Ten Great Philosophy, Science, and Theology Podcasts
• The difference between a skeptic and a constant questioner
• Eight Points of Encouragement for Those Who Are Doubting Their Faith
• Review: The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is by N.T. Wright
• Looking forward to this book: Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts by Craig S. Keener

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

Read Along: Christian Apologetics Ch11

Today we continue with chapter eleven of Read Along with Apologetics315, a weekly chapter-by-chapter study through Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Christianity by Douglas Groothuis. Please leave a comment on your reading below. This is where you can interact with others reading the book, ask questions, or add your own thoughts. Series index here. Click below for the audio intro, chapter 11 study questions PDF, and summary:

Debate: Douglas Jacoby vs. Robert Brotherus Debate

On September 10, 2011, apologist Douglas Jacoby debated atheist Robert Brotherus in Helsinki on the topic: Is Christianity Rational? A very interesting debate with cross-examination, plenty of dialogue, and Q&A. Original audio via youtube here.

Full Debate MP3 Audio here. (1hr 50min)

Enjoy.

15 Ways to Detect Nonsense

How do you avoid bad thinking? How do you detect nonsense? By nonsense we mean fallacious reasoning. Robert J. Gula's book Nonsense is a great place to start to begin to think critically and to spot fallacies in reasoning. (Review here.) It's a book that is thorough with an informal style with plenty of entertaining examples. If it's a fallacy, it's probably in this book. In the final note of the book, Gula distills the book into 15 principles. Here is that content: 15 Ways to Detect Nonsense:

1. Be alert to anyone who speaks in absolutes: who uses words such as all, none, no one, never, always, everyone, must, immediately, or who refers to a group of people as if all the members have identical characteristics, beliefs, or attitudes.
   

Apologist Interview: David Horner

Today's interview is with David Horner, professor of philosophy and biblical studies at Biola University. He also serves as research scholar for Centers for Christian Study International, an effort to develop intellectual Christian communities within secular university contexts. He talks about the challenges facing those in college/university, the themes in his book Mind Your Faith: A Student's Guide to Thinking and Living Well, the Christian roots of our educational system, developing better thinking skills, the art of asking good questions, dealing with doubts, the development of character, advice for those who want to be better apologists, and more. See the book webpage here.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here. (54 min)
Enjoy.
Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

John Dominic Crossan on Jesus' Death

"Jesus’ death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate is as sure as anything historical can ever be. For if no follower of Jesus had written anything for one hundred years after his crucifixition, we would still know about him from two authors not among his supporters. Their names are Flavius Josephus and Cornelius Tacitus."

- John Dominic Crossan
Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, p. 145
[HT:Eric]