Book Review: Providence and the Problem of Evil by Richard Swinburne

“In order rationally to believe that there is a God, despite [evil], we need either strong positive evidence for the existence of God, or a record of discovering with respect to many apparent bad states that a theodicy works with respect to them, or a theodicy for each kind of bad state which seems to count against the existence of God.”1

The problem of evil is considered by many to be the greatest challenge to theism.2 Richard Swinburne offers a defense against this problem in his work Providence and the Problem of Evil.3

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (11/04 - 11/11)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• 48 arguments against naturalism
• Ehrman / Wallace debate DVD now on sale
• Frank Turek Interviews William Lane Craig
• Another William Lane Craig Interview (Video)
• Affirming the Bible's Reliability (course)
• Reliability of the Old Testament Documents MP3 Audio
• Demanding Extraordinary Evidence Makes Little Sense
• “Is Naturalism Natural?” by Goetz and Taliaferro
• Evidence for the soul from science in the book “The Spiritual Brain”
• Don’t Put the Bart Before the Horse: review of the Ehrman Wallace debate
• Book Review: “Existential Reasons for Belief in God” by Clifford Williams
• What you need to know: videos about the Borde-Guth-Vilenkin theorem (BVG theorem)
• Audio and Video of "Is God a Delusion?" - William Lane Craig's Oxford lecture on Richard Dawkins' book

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Read Along: Christian Apologetics Ch10

Today we continue with chapter ten 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 10 study questions PDF, and summary:

Featured Resource: One-Minute Apologist Podcast

Today's featured resource is the One Minute Apologist Podcast. This is a great short-format video resource dealing with scores of topics, answered by some of today's most credible apologists. Here's where to go:

• Podcast in iTunes (videos via podcast)
• Youtube Channel (videos via youtube)
• OneMinuteApologist.com (the hub)
• Twitter (for apolo-tweets)
• Facebook (for liking, sharing)

This is a great growing resource, and a good way to get quick, concise answers to start your journey on a variety of topics. Check it out.

Is God a Delusion? William Lane Craig in Oxford

Richard Dawkins was invited by the Oxford student Christian Union to defend his book The God Delusion in public debate with William Lane Craig. The invitation remained open until the last minute. However, Dawkins refused the challenge and his chair remained empty. Craig then gave a lecture to a capacity audience on the weaknesses of the central arguments of the book and responded to a panel of academics. The event, which was chaired by atheist Prof. Peter Millican, was part of The Reasonable Faith Tour 2011 sponsored by UCCF, Damaris & Premier Christian Radio.
Audio version in MP3 here. Enjoy.

Apologist Interview: Angus Menuge

Today's interview is with Dr. Angus Menuge, Professor of Philosophy  at Concordia University, and author of Agents Under Fire: Materialism and the Rationality of Science. He talks about his background and work, the philosophy of mind, what reason (or reasoning) is, what materialism is as a worldview, things excluded from a materialistic worldview, methodological naturalism and materialism, accounting for free will, materialistic accounts of reason, the epistemological argument from reason, the ontological argument from reason, finding the best explanation for reason, problems with methodological naturalism, implications of materialism, practical application of the argument from reason, advice for apologists, the International Academy of Apologetics, and more.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here. (57 min)
Enjoy.
Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

William J. Abraham on the Christian Worldview

"Religious belief should be assessed as a rounded whole rather than taken in stark isolation. Christianity, for example, like other world faiths, is a complex, large-scale system of belief which must be seen as a whole before it is assessed. To break it up into disconnected parts is to mutilate and distort its true character. We can, of course, distinguish certain elements in the Christian faith, but we must still stand back and see it as a metaphysical system, as a world view, that is total in its scope and range."


- William J. Abraham

"Soft Rationalism," in Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, 2nd ed., ed. Michael Peterson et al. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 99.

Book Review: With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies by S. Morris Engel

Many are familiar with deductive arguments (where the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises) and inductive arguments (where the conclusion follows from the premises with a varying degree of probability and strength). But how well acquainted is one with “seductive”(40) arguments?

“Seductive” arguments are another name for informal fallacies, the subject S. Morris Engel takes up in his excellent book entitled With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies. In addition to the great content one will find in each chapter, the book is full of exercises (with an answer key at the end of each chapter for selected questions), diagrams, cartoons, and examples to help illustrate and reinforce the various points being made throughout the book on fallacies.
The book is divided into two parts: “Logic and Language” and “Informal Fallacies.”

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (10/28 - 11/04)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• The Role of Intuition
• Whats your worldview?
• Q&A with Lee Strobel
• Is it okay to critique the sermon?
• Who wrote the Gospels? - video
• A (Not Too) Serious Christian History Quiz
• Holly Ordway: The Role of Imagination (video)
• Can We Trust the Bible? – Prof Craig Blomberg
• Theologian R.C. Sproul interviews Stephen C. Meyer
• 12 Questions I Found Useful Asking Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Christian Parenting – Raising Your Kids to Be Lifelong Believers
• Relationship between God and Morality by JP Moreland (video)
• John Lennox talks about his book "Seven Days that Divide the World" (MP3)
• Audio, summary and review of the Wiliam Lane Craig vs Peter Millican debate
• The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology on Kindle for cheap!
• Peer-Reviewed & Peer-Edited Scientific Publications Supporting Intelligent Design
• Just Downloaded: Where the Conflict Really Lies : Science, Religion, and Naturalism by Alvin Plantinga

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Apologetics and Women's Ministry: A Heart for the Mind

This week, in partnership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics, Apologetics315 will be featuring a series of essays from women in apologetics. This following essay has been contributed by Sarah J. Flashing, entitled: Apologetics & Women’s Ministry: Having a Heart for the Mind.

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Knowing what you believe and why should be a requirement for everyone, no matter their worldview. And as Christians, there is a direct correspondence to the gospel we proclaim and the components of the worldview we say we represent. So as a young mother over 13 years ago, struggling with all kinds of trials, I found myself no longer satisfied with the very sincere and genuine consolations that “God knows your struggles” or “Jesus loves you” or “I’m praying for you.” Of course, I appreciate such affirmations and continue to do so today, but these were statements that, when left unpacked, made a little impact in my spiritual growth. For instance, without or with little understanding of Christ’s substitutionary atonement, “Jesus loves you” offers little more solace than being told by a friend that she loves you.

Read Along: Christian Apologetics Ch09

Today we continue with chapter nine 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 9 study questions PDF, and summary:

An ApoloWhat?

This week, in partnership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics, Apologetics315 will be featuring a series of essays from women in apologetics. This following essay has been contributed by Judy Salisbury, entitled: An ApoloWhat?

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I think most of us will agree that men dominate the Christian apologetics ministries. I am perfectly comfortable with this fact, and I thank God for these wonderful gentlemen. They produce excellent materials so that many of us can stand on their shoulders in our attempt to lead people to Christ.

Yes, most apologetics ministries are predominantly male; so when a woman states that apologetics is the focus of her ministry, folks scratch their heads and ask, “How did you become an apologist?” I chuckle when people ask me this question since I never set out to become one. It happened by listening to one of the best apologists as he offered not simply an answer, but the answer to my greatest question and obstacle to conversion: Was Jesus truly God?

Implementing Apologetics in Women’s Ministry

This week, in partnership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics, Apologetics315 will be featuring a series of essays from women in apologetics. This following essay has been contributed by Mary Jo Sharp, entitled: Implementing Apologetics in Women’s Ministry.

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In Matthew 22:37, Jesus replies to the question, “What is the greatest commandment?”  His reply is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  Though Jesus’ words here mean to love God with our whole being, he specifically emphasizes three aspects.  The last aspect is to love God with all of our mind. Are we, as ministry leaders, providing opportunities for the women in our church to love the Lord with all their mind?  Women need to be challenged in the area of growing in knowledge of the Lord.

Women Called to the Front Lines of the Faith

This week, in partnership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics, Apologetics315 will be featuring a series of essays from women in apologetics. This following essay has been contributed by Tricia Scribner, entitled: Women Called to the Front Lines of the Faith.

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I was a 20-year-old newly married woman when a Jehovah’s Witness boldly informed me that the word “Trinity” was nowhere in the Bible. Though I had been a believer in Jesus Christ since childhood, I stood mute with no response. This would not be the last time I would be caught off guard by those with other worldviews who seemed much better equipped than I to discuss the evidence for their faith.

J.P. Moreland on the Christian Worldview

Argument and the Woman Apologist

This week, in partnership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics, Apologetics315 will be featuring a series of essays from women in apologetics. This following essay has been contributed by Holly Ordway, entitled: Argument and the Woman Apologist.

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Why are there so few Christian women apologists and intellectuals?

They do exist; I should know, I’m one of them. But it’s a small sisterhood. I see women’s ministry leaders, yes; writers of Christian fiction and devotionals, yes; but active apologists and scholars, not many.

Furthermore, in my own experience, I find that my most interesting and stimulating conversations about books and ideas are usually with men rather than women. Yet my female friends are just as intelligent and thoughtful as my male friends. What’s going on?

Heads for Men and Hearts for Women?

This week, in partnership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics, Apologetics315 will be featuring a series of essays from women in apologetics. This following essay has been contributed by Mary Decker, entitled: Heads for Men and Hearts for Women?

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The trend
If you like to potter around apologetics blogs on the internet (my guess, if you’re reading this, is that you do), or if you attend apologetics events, you’ll notice that the ratio of men to women is skewed somewhat towards there being a lot more men involved in such things than women.

International Society of Women in Apologetics

This week, in partnership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics, Apologetics315 will be featuring a series of essays from women in apologetics. The series starts with an introduction to ISWA by its founder and president, Sarah Ankenman.

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Why ISWA?

Most often, while sitting at the ISWA table at Apologetics conferences, I get quite a few women who come up to me and ask me the same three questions. First, “why does there need to be something special just for women in the field of apologetics?” Second, “why apologetics at all?” which is usually followed by the statement, “all I need is the Word of God”. Finally, I get the million-dollar inquiry of, “can women even do apologetics? What about Paul saying that women need to keep silent in the church?” In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to answer those questions.

Sir Robert Anderson on Reason and Truth

"[W]hile Divine truth is spiritual, and can only be spiritually discerned, human error is natural, and can be met on its own ground. We cannot “reason” men into the kingdom of God, but by reasoning we can expose errors which prejudice them against it."

- Sir Robert Anderson, The Bible and Modern Criticism, 5th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1905), p. 27

[HT: Tim McGrew]

Book Review: The Case for Life by Scott Klusendorf

In a culture that does not regard an embryo to be a human person with rights, we have organizations like Planned Parenthood receiving millions of dollars to fund abortions. Pro-lifers have been forced to retreat into a corner as they continue to lose the abortion debate in both the legal and social arena. Does the pro-life position have any merit? Can pro-life Christians enter the marketplace of ideas and defend their views while making an impact in our culture? Scott Klusendorf in his book The Case For Life delivers a powerful resource that aims at not only providing a philosophical, biblical, and scientific pro-life case, but equipping Christians to dismantle the common pro-choice arguments and rhetoric that are steeped in our culture. Klusendorf divides the book into four main parts:
1. Pro-Life Christians the Debate
2. Pro-Life Christians Establish the Foundation for the Debate
3. Pro-Life Christians Answer Objections Persuasively
4. Pro-Life Christians Teach and Equip

Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links (10/21 - 10/28)

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
This week Apologetics 315 celebrates 4 years of blogging.
• Translation Of the Word “Slave”
• Profile of William Lane Craig
• Helpful Resources from Truthbomb Apologetics
• Confident Christianity Apologetics Conference
• One Minute Apologist Interviews with Mike Licona
• BBC London Radio: William Lane Craig Interview
• One Minute Apologist Interviews with William Lane Craig
• 10 Surprisingly Simple Tips for Talking with Cult Members
• The Missing Ontological Argument in the Craig vs. Law Debate
• UK Independent joins UK Guardian in call for Dawkins to debate Craig
• Richard Dawkins's refusal to debate is cynical and anti-intellectualist
• Video review of the 2011 William Lane Craig vs Peter Atkins debate
• Ten resources to help you defend the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection

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