After examining the evidence, cosmologists and physicists have largely embraced the fact we live in a universe that began to exist at a point in the distant past. At this point of “cosmic singularity” all space, time and matter came into existence abruptly, beginning in an extremely hot and dense state and expanding rapidly. Everything came from nothing. This view of the … [Read more...]
The Difference Between Believing the Gospels and Trusting the Gospel
I leaned over and said, “I think it may be true.” “What may be true?” asked Susie. “Christianity,” I responded. “The more I look at the Gospels, the more I think they look like real eyewitness accounts.” I spent months examining the claims of the Gospels, evaluating them with the template I typically apply to eyewitnesses in my criminal investigations. At the end of my … [Read more...]
Why a Christian Response Needs to Be Different Than a Mormon Response
Last week I had the opportunity to train a group of high school students in preparation for an upcoming Berkeley Missions trip. These students will spend the next eight weeks learning about the evidence supporting the Christian worldview and examining many of the most popular objections to Christianity. Since we were very early in the process, I began by asking the students to … [Read more...]
Why Pastors Ought to Be Apologists
If you scan the pages of Scripture looking for a list of “offices” (leadership positions within the Church), you’re likely to find eight roles described in the New Testament: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers (Ephesians 4:11), elders, deacons and bishops (1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:8-13; Titus 1:6-9). One thing you’ll never find in any Biblical list of … [Read more...]
The Impressive Community of “Tent-Making” Christian Case Makers
The Christian community is experiencing an apologetics “renaissance”, and this resurgence of interest in Christian Case Making is being driven by an unexpected group of “tent-making” Christian Case Makers. Like the Apostle Paul, these avocational apologists draw their income from “conventional” careers (Paul was described as a tent-maker in Acts 18:1-3) as they evangelize, … [Read more...]
Ten Steps to Becoming an Effective “Tent-Making” Christian Case Maker
Many observers have noted a renaissance in Christian apologetics (aka: Christian Case Making) over the past several years. Much of this resurgence is taking place in the ranks of “tent-making” Christian Case Makers. “Tent-makers”, like the Apostle Paul, draw their income from conventional careers (Paul was described as a tent-maker in Acts 18:1-3), so they can evangelize, … [Read more...]
Ten Reasons “Tent Makers” Make Great Christian “Case Makers”
People often ask me, “How can I make a living as a full-time Christian apologist (aka: Christian Case Maker) like you?” Even though I’m semi-retired from my career as a Cold-Case Detective (I still have one case pending this year), I’ll never be a vocational Christian Case Maker. My income continues to come from my law enforcement employment, and it always will. For many years, … [Read more...]
Testing the Gospels From John to Hippolytus
I am confident the Gospels were written early and were not corrupted or altered over time. As a new investigator of the claims of Christianity, I examined the case for early dating and became convinced the Gospels were written within the generation of the eyewitnesses. But how do we know whether or not the early accounts were corrupted over the years? One way to test the … [Read more...]
The Case for the Reliability of the Old Testament (Bible Insert)
We’ve been investigating the case for the reliability of the Old Testament by examining the process of transmission, the verification of archaeology and the appearance of fulfilled prophecy in the text. The ancient scribes employed a trustworthy system of checks and balances as they copied the original texts, and the accuracy of transmission process was successfully tested with … [Read more...]
Why Christian Case Makers Need to Learn a New Language
I worked as a member of our Gang Detail for two years prior to entering our undercover team. It was a great season in my career and I still think of it often. I had a partner who was younger (and more culturally relevant) than I was, and he connected with street gangsters almost immediately. He knew how to “talk the talk” and “walk the walk,” and he had a better understanding … [Read more...]