Apologetics 315 Podcast

Today's interview is with David Instone-Brewer, Senior Research Fellow in Rabbinics and the New Testament at Tyndale House, Cambridge. He talks about the goal and content within The Jesus Scandals, the criteria of embarrassment, the punishment of crucifixion and the shame of the cross, the uniqueness of the resurrection, the betrayal by Judas, Jesus' "scandalous" teachings, the teaching about hell, the virgin birth, the cumulative power of the Gospel accounts, advice for apologists, and more. Pick up David's book The Jesus Scandals here. Book website and excerpts here at BibleScandals.comEnjoy.

Today's interview is with C. Michael Patton, president of Reclaiming the Mind/Credo House Ministries (www.reclaimingthemind.org), a ministry of theological development for lay-people. He blogs at Parchment and Pen (www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog) and is also responsible for the development of the Credo House of Theology (www.credohouse.org), a theological coffee house and bookstore. He talks about getting theology to the layperson, the relationship and interface between theology and apologetics, theological equipping for apologists, the importance of wresting with theological issues, pitfalls from neglecting theological training, advice for those considering seminary, the importance of community, important lessons and advice for doing theology and apologetics, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Tom Price and Vince Vitale, academic tutors at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. They talk about their work with RZIM and OCCA, finding Christ in University, cultural differences and Christianity, the value of formal study in apologetics, the pastoral and community dimension of apologetics training, the opportunities and programs at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (certificate program and masters program), and advice for apologists. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Ravi Zacharias, perhaps one of the greatest Christian apologists of our time. He is author of over twenty books, and his most recent is Why Jesus: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality. In this interview he talks his new book, the "new spirituality," secularism and spiritual hunger, how the media can make a lie seem like the truth, how we arrived at the new spirituality, Deepak Chopra and Oprah, avoiding the dangers of the new spirituality, reasons for hostility against Christianity, how people "reshape" Jesus, the most frequent misconceptions about Jesus, advice for Christian apologists, the hardest lesson to learn when defending the faith, planning devotions, pitfalls to guard against, the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Dr. Ken Boa, president of Reflections Ministries. He talks about his background and education, gifting or calling in the area of apologetics, possible imbalances in doing apologetic/theological studies, spiritual disciplines to be especially mindful of, the role of prayer and intercession in evangelism, advice for education for apologists, disciplines and skills for reading and retaining content, when to speed read and when not to speed read, the Great Books Series, how to make wise reading choices, guarding the reading of Scripture, advice for the budding apologist, dealing with discouragement and burnout, an integrative approach to doing apologetics, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Holly Ordway, professor of composition and literature at MiraCosta College in North County San Diego and author of Not God’s Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith. She is also director of ACM's Literary Apologetics Certificate program. She talks about literary apologetics, what it is and is not, excellence and creativity, what apologetics looks like through literature and the arts, developing and sharpening the skills of the literary apologist, the Literary Apologetics Certificate, and more. Visit Holly's blog: Hieropraxis.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Dr. Craig Keener, professor of the New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is especially known for his work as a New Testament scholar on Bible background. He is also author of Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. He talks about his background and current work, how his newest book came about, defining miracles, unpacking Hume's objections against miracles, assessing miracle claims outside of Christianity, appealing to naturalistic explanations for miracles, the theological context of miracles, reasons to trust New Testament miracle claims, contemporary miracle claims from around the world, miracles in the west, verifiable and non-verifiable miracle claims, asking for "miracles on demand," miracles and naturalism, the place for miracles and an apologetic for Christianity, and more.To purchase Dr. Keener's courses on Logos: http://www.logos.com/craig-keenerEnjoy.

Today's interview is with Peter J. Williams, Warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge. He talks about his work and background in biblical languages, the reliability of the Gospels, internal vs. external evidences, the genre of the Gospels, the authorship of the Gospels, the Gospels as eyewitness testimony (link to talk here), historical methods past vs. present, oral culture and literacy in the first century, the dating of the Gospels (years vs. generations), approaching apparent contradictions, correcting substandard approaches to defending the Gospels, looking at morally difficult subjects in the Old Testament, tips for answering moral objections, advice on doing apologetics, and more. For resources from Tyndale House, see:www.bibleandchurch.com www.tyndal.cam.ac.uk/resources2Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Daniel Rodger and Calum Miller, founders of the Apologetics UK Blog and UK Apologetics Facebook group. They talk about the state of apologetics in the United Kingdom, unique cultural challenges, the goal of the Apologetics UK blog, blogging as an apologetic/evangelistic tool, the growing UK Apologetics Facebook group, and the future of apologetics in the UK.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Casey Luskin, Research Coordinator for the Discovery Center's Center for Science and Culture. In this interview Casey talks about his background and interest in Intelligent Design, defining terms (ID, evolution, creationism, Darwinism), common objections to ID as a scientific endeavor, some milestones in the history of the ID movement, the Dover trial, responding to critics who say "ID is dead," "not science," and more. This is a good overall introduction to Intelligent Design.Enjoy.