Whenever I was in graduate school studying for my M.A. in Science and Religion, I was often the recipient of wide-eyed stares and exclamations of, "How on earth do you have enough hours in the day?!" After all, I was running a household, homeschooling two elementary-age boys, teaching intermittently at church, and nurturing my marriage all while working on a graduate degree. … [Read more...]
How I Came to Christ Through Apologetics
I grew up unchurched and was pretty much an agnostic up through my twenties. Even though I got baptized as a teenager into the Presbyterian USA denomination, I did it more for social reasons than anything else. There was no great care taken to make sure I was in the faith. Most of my experience with church up until I was 26 years old was about teachings of being a nice person … [Read more...]
Is Apologetic Posting on Internet Sites a Waste of Time?
I have been posting apologetic type responses and material on the Internet now going on twenty years (on other types of ‘e-communication’ even before the Internet was popular). I don’t usually hang out in atheistic discussion forums, but instead try to inject some reasoned, and/or 'salt & light,' content into secular discussions when relevant. This often leads to discussion … [Read more...]
What Does Philosophy Have to do with Apologetics?
I’m in the process of getting a Master’s in Philosophy. Right now, I’m taking a class on thesis writing and we’re working through the process of choosing a topic. Since I attend a Christian University, most, if not all, of the students are Christian. The thesis, however, as my professor said, has to be “purely philosophical.” In this case, “purely philosophical” means that it … [Read more...]
Has the Church Become an Atheist Incubator?
I suppose I should first apologize for baiting you into reading this article with a catchy title. No, I don't actually suspect the church is creating a huge number of atheists, as there simply aren't that many of them (as vocal as they may be!). While their numbers are on the rise, they are statistically few. What I am going to argue the church is often creating, might be … [Read more...]
Public Apologetics Part 1: Introvert Edition
Over the past few years I’ve noticed that many Christians have a certain sense of performance anxiety from hearing a few too many conversion stories and personal testimonies. Should I have led X number of people to Christ by now? Christians who have been studying apologetics are often particularly gripped by anxiety: shouldn’t I be Doing Something Important to Save Souls with … [Read more...]
Why I Raise My Children With God
CNN’s iReport recently carried a blog post entitled “Why I Raise My Children Without God” (which CNN says is the 2nd highest viewed post ever on their iReport site) by an atheist Texas blogger named TXBlue08. Her blog site, “Kids Without Religion,” is all about “raising kids as independent, logical thinkers”. In her post, she put forth seven reasons why she’s decided to bring … [Read more...]
The Problem of Blind Faith
In talking with skeptical students around Boston, I have learned that few things drive them as crazy as Christians with a blind faith. They are perplexed: "How can your core convictions be completely divorced from reason and logic?" Three examples, just from the past year, illustrate the problem: … [Read more...]
God's Grace and Apologetics
The Christian Apologetics Alliance has featured an incredible diversity of posts this month on "Becoming A Community Apologist." Let's review the terrific posts we've had and then consider: in light of God's grace, how might you steadily grow as an apologist? In particular, I want to talk with you about feeling overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed, how does God's grace speak … [Read more...]
Becoming a Community Apologist: The Apologetic of Not Knowing
For any lover of British humor Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a classic movie. The unique comedy of the film follows King Arthur and his knights as they search for the Holy Grail. As Arthur and his men draw closer to the end of their quest, they come across an old and dangerous footbridge guarded by an old man. In order to cross the bridge the brave knights have to answer … [Read more...]