Dear Colleague: It’s time for Christianity to reclaim the intellectual high ground we once held. That means you and I have a lot of work to do. Chances are some of it will be different from what we've been doing. There is a new frontier in apologetics today. The big questions are no longer what they used to be. And most of us are just beginning to see it. It’s no longer … [Read more...]
Can We Trust the New Testament?
Can the New Testament documents be trusted? Do the Gospels accurately report what Jesus said and did? In this presentation, I investigate the historical data bearing on the dating of the New Testament documents, and ask whether there is good reason to think the four canonical gospels are written by the individuals with whom they are traditionally associated, and whether they … [Read more...]
The Naturalness Of Narrative
If I told you that South Korean soap operas can teach us something useful as Christian apologists, you might call me crazy. Please prepare to do so although somewhat indirectly. A story was written in the New York Times on January 24 by Choe Sang-Hun about the appeal of smuggled South Korean soap operas in the oppressive North Korean regime. The North Korean government has … [Read more...]
The Value of Extra-Biblical Knowledge (Tolle Lege)
Christians are sometimes afraid of claims of knowledge that come from sources outside of the Bible, especially if those claims are being made by non-Christians. It's sometimes tempting to think that if a statement can't be backed up by a Scriptural reference, or if the speaker or writer hasn't been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, then whatever they say is suspect at best. … [Read more...]
Apologists, Christian Bookstores, and "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven"
This week was a bad week for fans of the book The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven. Alex Malarkey, son of author Kevin Malarkey, issued a brief but brutal retraction of the events that took place in The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, a book which has sold very well along with other books in the “heavenly tourism” genre. The publisher, Tyndale House, has agreed to take the book … [Read more...]
A List of My Recorded Interviews, Debates and Talks To-Date
Over the past couple of years, I have been privileged to have the opportunity to participate in a number of radio and podcast interviews and debates, as well as present a number of lectures on subjects of interest to Christians. Those that have been recorded lie scattered around the internet, and so I thought it would be a good idea to compile the links to these resources into … [Read more...]
On The Eternality Of The Soul
Isn’t time a perplexing thing? As we celebrate another year that has gone into the archives of our past and look forward to our immediate future in 2015, it made me think about how fast time goes by. It seems like just yesterday that I was an eight-year-old kid sitting in my living room waiting to see if Y2K was really going to shut down our national infrastructure. I had my … [Read more...]
On the Importance of Studying Greek
By Dax R. Bennington Introduction The reasons for studying Greek are numerous. This essay will address a number of the benefits of studying the ancient language. Some of the benefits are intrinsically valuable, that is they are good in and of themselves, not sought out for any particular means, and some of the benefits for studying New Testament Greek (Koine) are meant for more … [Read more...]
Was Jesus Born in a Stable?
Nativity scenes dotting the coffee tables of most Christian homes or the brightly lit lawns of churches display the holy family gathered in a stable beside a lowly ox and a few sheep. Most people probably assume this stems from Luke 2:7, which reads: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no … [Read more...]
Did Jesus Inherit The House Of Joseph?
Christianity is founded on the idea that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Out of all of the requirements for the Messiah, being born in the House of David is the most important one. Yet in order to inherit that house in the Old Testament sense, Jesus would have to be counted as the son of a male descendant of David. Given the Biblical account (which I believe to be the true … [Read more...]