Apologetics 315 Podcast

Today's interview is with Johnny V. Miller, professor emeritus at Columbia International University and co-author with John M. Soden of the book In the Beginning... We Misunderstood: Interpreting Genesis 1 in Its Original Context. He talks about the goal and motive behind the book, the most important question to ask when approaching any passage of scripture, the concordist view and possible troublesome approaches to scripture, the original readers of Genesis 1 and their cultural context, the cosmogony of the Egyptians, similarities and differences between creation stories, the goal of the Biblical creation account, the historicity of Genesis, objections to the thesis, his own journey on issues of the age of the earth debate, apologetics applications & implications, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Dr. John Bloom, professor of physics at Biola University. He's also the Academic Director of the MA Program in Science and Religion at Biola, and the Chair of the Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering Dept. He talks about how he got into science, the faith/science "conflict", countering the faith/science conflict, the history of science and Christianity, naturalism and methodological naturalism, Hume & Darwin, "non-overlapping magisteria", the integration of faith and science, the MA program in Science & Religion at Biola, advice for those defending the faith, Saddleback's Conference on Creation, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Matthew Burford of Tactical Faith, a grassroots apologetics organization promoting events and resources (for instance, the recent SALT Apologetics Conference). He talks about the growth of the organization, how to put on apologetics events, apologetics at a grassroots level, roadblocks to doing events, and lots more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with apologist Frank Turek. This is our second interview with Frank. In this interview, he talks about lessons from Christopher Hitchens, the moral argument for the existence of God, two different versions of the moral argument, the meaning of objective morality, illustrations to help the argument, common objections to the moral argument, volitional reason for people rejecting God, the Cross Examined Instructor Academy, and more. Check out Frank's ministry, Cross Examined.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace, author of Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. He talks about his present work, his journey from atheism, how the tools of the detective apply to investigating the Gospels, how we reason abductively, the value and use of circumstantial evidence, eyewitness evaluation, the difference between what's possible and what's reasonable, how we know the disciples didn't fabricate their story, biased witnesses, the tactics of defense attorneys and skeptics, making an impact when you're not a "full-time apologist," encouragement for Christian case-makers, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with apologist Douglas Jacoby. He talks about his background and ministry, the importance of apologetics and training, being widely read, common objections to the Bible, building a case for Bible reliability, archaeology evidence and the Bible, touring the Holy Land, where the Bible gets its authority, knowing through experience, objections based in the disagreement amongst Christians, the benefit of formal debates, his debate with Robert M. Price, the role of rhetoric on both side of the engagement, advice for better communication, being a good reader, advice for apologists, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Chad Meister, professor of philosophy at Bethel College. He talks about his background and how he got into philosophy and apologetics, a defense of philosophy as a tool in apologetics, what philosophy is and isn't, his book Building Belief: Constructing Faith from the Ground Up, the starting points for apologetic/evangelistic engagement, ontology/epistemology distinctions when reasoning about God's existence, the role of the Holy Spirit, advice for communicators, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Lou Markos, Professor in English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University. And he's a C.S. Lewis expert. He talks about literary apologetics (or cultural apologetics), why and how Christians should write and be involved in culture, his recent book On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, the different approaches of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, how we need cultural apologists today, HBU's apologetics program, advice for apologists, and the biggest apologetic lesson he has learned from C.S. Lewis.Enjoy.

Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics 315.This week I'd like to ask for your support for the ongoing work at Apologetics 315.In particular, this is related to the ongoing project to transcribe the interviews that you are listening to in this podcast. Personally, I find these interviews some of the most valuable resources on Apologetics 315. However, not everyone is a podcast listener; I believe many more people can gain access to the content of these interviews if they were written.So here's the vision: to transcribe all of them. This will take some time, but it is doable with the help of volunteer transcribers as well as with the help of financial support to fund some of the transcription. Do you feel like you can help with transcription? If it seem that it's the sort of thing that's right up your alley, then please contract me at interviews@apologetics315.com. If you can't even type, but still would love to see this happen, then why not donate 10, 20, or 50 dollars toward the project? Just click on the support tab on the Ap315 homepage. So that's a bit about the transcription project. But I'd like to ask for your help with Apologetics 315 in another way... and that's by considering supporting us through year-end giving. Apologetics 315 is a registered non-profit organization and donations are tax-deductible. If you are considering year-end giving, please keep us in mind with your gift toward the work we're doing to make the best apologetics resources available and accessible to as many people as possible.Finally, there's one more easy way to help Apologetics315 a whole lot by doing very little. If you do your shopping online through amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, or amazon.ca, by using Apologetics315's affiliate link a portion of your purchases actually is credited to our organization. So maybe you want to buy a book for yourself... well, just use the link found at apologetics 315 (look along the right hand side of the page with the amazon logo) and click that link... it takes you to amazon where you buy your book as normal. And that's it... that helps us. And if you do your Christmas shopping there... whether it's buying baby clothes or a BBQ, that all counts in a very real way toward our goals here. So please use that link—and bookmark it if you like in your browser for whenever you shop with Amazon.Thanks again for being a listener and a visitor to apologetics 315. And as always, feel free to recommend future interview guests, topics, or even second interviews of past guests. This is Brian Auten of apologetics 315 and thanks for listening.

Today's interview is with apologist Mary Jo Sharp, founder of Confident Christianity and assistant professor at Houston Baptist University. She talks about apologetics ministry, exploring Masters programs in apologetics, her recent LifeWay DVD Bible study: Why Do You Believe That? A Faith Conversation, tips for conversations and communication, overcoming roadblocks to dialogue, women in apologetics ministry, and more. Also check out her book: Defending the Faith: Apologetics in Women's Ministry.Enjoy.