Apologetics 315 Podcast

Today's interview is with Dr. Angus Menuge, Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University, and author of Agents Under Fire: Materialism and the Rationality of Science. He talks about his background and work, the philosophy of mind, what reason (or reasoning) is, what materialism is as a worldview, things excluded from a materialistic worldview, methodological naturalism and materialism, accounting for free will, materialistic accounts of reason, the epistemological argument from reason, the ontological argument from reason, finding the best explanation for reason, problems with methodological naturalism, implications of materialism, practical application of the argument from reason, advice for apologists, the International Academy of Apologetics, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Nabeel Qureshi, former Muslim and now Christian defender. He is director of Creed 2:6 ministries found at www.creed26.com. He talks about Creed2:6, his journey from Islam to Christianity, his interactions with the Muslim community and Muslim apologists, his response to critics of his conversion, the occurrence of visions and dreams from God to Muslims, the greatest challenges to sharing the Gospel with Muslims, the social consequences for leaving Islam, cultural vs. religious opposition, common errors to avoid, key factors to focus on, recommended resources on Islam, his personal message to those in Islam, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Biblical scholar Professor Craig Evans. He talks about his background and how he got into this area of scholarship (Jesus, the Gospels and Biblical manuscripts), what impresses him most about the Bible, handling manuscripts, the quest for the historical Jesus (and its overall timeline), the scholarly opinion on the "Jesus never existed" claim, the consensus of scholarship (and why scholarship is important), the contemporary distortion of Jesus, the demonstrable flaws in the thinking of particular scholars, evaluating presuppositions, a case for the reliability of the Gospels, the contrasting view of the "other" gospels, how to investigate the miracle claims within the Gospels, responding to the "failed apocalyptic prophet" objection, the faults in Bart Ehrman's reasoning, advice for those taking their Biblical studies seriously, the do's and don'ts of arguing for Bible reliability, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with John Warwick Montgomery, Emeritus Professor of Law and Humanities, University of Bedfordshire, England, Distinguished Research Professor of Apologetics and Christian Thought, Patrick Henry College, Virginia., and Director of the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism & Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.He talks about how he became a Christian and became a defender of the faith, the thinkers and authors that have been most influential for him, his approach to apologetics (evidentialism) and why he takes it, the traditional proofs for God's existence (are they needed?), taking a legal approach to the case for Christianity, the meaning of burden of proof and its proper use, the concept of "beyond reasonable doubt," how to defend the resurrection of Christ historically, making a concise case, the two most common objections to the resurrection, answering the textual claims of Bart Ehrman, spiritual and intellectual disciplines for the apologist, pitfalls to avoid, advice for apologists, the International Academy of Apologetics, recommended books, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Jeremiah J. Johnston, founder of Christian Thinkers Society at New Day Church in Kansas City. He is also He talks about his background and how he got into apologetics, how apologetics should be seen before it is heard, a memorable way to visualize the number of New Testament manuscripts, the Christian Thinkers Society (a church-based apologetics program within the local church featuring scholar interviews), advice for those considering starting apologetics ministries within their church, challenges that may need to be overcome when doing this sort of ministry, strategies in adapting scholarly content for lay-audiences, the future vision for CTS, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Mark Mittelberg, author, speaker, and evangelism strategist. He talks about his background and ministry work, the relationship between apologetics and evangelism, integrating apologetics into the local church, his book The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense, the goal and content of the book (it's a great apologetic evangelistic tool), the idea of spiritual seekers, advice for apologists, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Andrew Fellows, the Director of L’Abri Fellowship in the United Kingdom. L’Abri is a community dedicated to both demonstrating and explaining the truthfulness of Christianity. He talks about his work at L'Abri, the heritage of Francis Schaeffer, the contribution and unique impact of Schaeffer on apologetics, dealing with the "big questions" that people are exploring, the question behind questions, the greatest obstacles people have, the demeanor of the apologist, the importance of hands-on training and mentoring, the church's interaction and relationship with culture (cultural apologetics), Jesus the subversive apologist, following Jesus' example, speaking to the heart, the hiddenness of God, advice (and challenge) for apologists, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Anthony Horvath, the director of Athanatos Christian Ministries. This October, the Online Apologetics Academy fall semester will commence. Anthony talks about the Academy, the upcoming semester, the speakers and courses, the Gary Habermas lectures, how the courses work and the workload, the optional certificate course available, and how to sign up.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Dr. Doug Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, and author of the newly-released apologetics textbook: Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. He talks about the scope and purpose of this book, the overall structure, the uniqueness of this book as an apologetics textbook with a cumulative case, the spiritual discipline of study and the life of the mind, the benefits of study and intentional reading, and strategies for working through large books/material. This interview is the introduction to the Read Along with Apologetics315 project, which begins Friday, September 9th. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Brian Auten, interviewed by the blogger WinteryKnight about topics and ideas in apologetics. WinteryKnight's blog focuses on worldview, marriage and chastity, politics, and apologetics.Questions for WK:• Why not use your real name?• What's the focus on WinteryKnight.com?• What's your goal in interviewing Brian?Questions for Brian:• How did you come to be in Northern Ireland?• How did you get interested in apologetics?• What would you do with unlimited funding to propagate apologetics resources?• What arguments are the most persuasive for you?• What arguments should we use with others?• Do we need a million "one dollar" apologists, or one "million-dollar" apologist?• How important do you think it is for apologists to focus on scientific evidences?• How can the lay person get up to speed on these evidences?• What's the best way to make the case for the resurrection?• Use a sledgehammer approach, or a velvet glove approach?• What about psychological reasons for rejecting the arguments ?• How does apologetics benefit Christians?• What about dealing with fear when speaking with people?• What are the unique resources on the blog?Thanks to WK for doing the interview!Enjoy.