Want more friends? Better conversations? Frequent, life-changing spiritual encounters? But wait, there’s more! What if you could also avoid dead-end discussions, pointless arguments, and go-nowhere debates? Then you should be interested in Tactics, a book by Greg Koukl, the president of Stand to Reason Ministries. The fact is that many Christians feel intimidated by … [Read more...]
Why is apologetics so important?
All the polls in the past few years show a rapid increase in those who have left their religion, and a rapid decrease in church attendance. Robert Putnam and David Campbell presented research showing "young Americans are dropping out of religion at an alarming rate of five to six times the historic rate (30 to 40 percent have no religion today, versus 5 to 10 percent a … [Read more...]
Fallacy Friday: The Genetic Fallacy
A fallacy related to the one we looked at last week (the Ad Hominem fallacy) is the genetic fallacy. One commits the genetic fallacy if one argues that a proposition is false on the basis of where the idea originated from. Like the ad hominem, this fallacy invokes a kind of psychological transference where one transfers one’s disapproval of the source of an idea to the content … [Read more...]
Who is the Angel of the Lord?
Throughout the Old Testament, we routinely encounter the mysterious character who goes by the title "The angel of the Lord." By looking at the numerous appearances of this individual, we can piece together clues as to His identity. The first time the angel of the Lord is introduced, he makes an appearance to Hagar, the servant of Abraham's wife Sarai. In Genesis 16:7-13, we … [Read more...]
Frustrations of a Lay Apologist, Part 2
About a month ago, I wrote about my frustration with being a lay apologist and I stated my frustration often came from two camps, both fellow Christians and unbelievers. I mentioned in that post how it seemed I could not win sometimes because unbelievers told me I was not intellectual enough, while my fellow church members often said I made things too complicated. In my first … [Read more...]
The Top 10 Philosophy, Science, and Theology Podcasts
The following are a list of podcasts that I’ve been following and listening to that have been quite helpful in my philosophical, scientific, and theological studies. The criteria for consideration are based on 1) quality of content, 2) accurate presentation of the material, 3) constructive and respectful criticism of opposing views, 4) frequency of podcast release, and 5) a … [Read more...]
Converting from Atheism — 7 years ago today
I spruced up the old testimony for Brian Auten's Former Atheist Project on Apologetics 315, just in time for my approaching born-again birthday. If you're a former atheist, Brian would love to hear your story--and so would I :) Mine begins here... Before I became an atheist, I had grown up in church, a preacher’s kid who prayed to receive Christ when I was four. I never … [Read more...]
Fallacy Friday: The Ubiquitous Ad Hominem
In my previous posts, What is an Argument? and Assessing Arguments, I spelt out some basics as to what an argument is and how to assess arguments. There I noted that a sound argument is one where the premises of the argument is trueand the argument is valid. It is impossible for an argument which is sound to have a false premise, this fact means that one cannot rationally … [Read more...]
RC Misunderstood: It Is All About Evangelism (Part Two)
By Rick Schenker, President of Ratio Christi One of the main reasons I left public office in 2006 was because I wanted to be more involved in evangelism—the spreading of the gospel. Yet, in a self-assessment of my own abilities, I knew I would make a pretty mediocre preacher. I figured the last thing the world needed was another mediocre preacher. Not knowing what to do, I … [Read more...]
Cataloguing the Historical Anachronisms in the Qur'an
Muslim apologists often contend that the Qur'an is free, in its entirity, from contradiction, inconsistency or historical inaccuracy. I have seen many Muslims assert that the historical and scientific accuracy of the Qur'an was what impressed them about this book and convinced them that Islam is true. Previously on this blog, I have addressed Muhammad's wildly inaccurate … [Read more...]