Apologetics 315 Podcast

This interview is with Sean McDowell (also check out his first interview and second interview). In this audio Sean talks about his current projects and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's PhD program, advice for those looking at Masters programs, the size of the need for apologetics in the local church, his small-group resource called GodQuest, the goal of the project, the content of the program (the six 'signposts' and the contributing interviews), how the resource can be used (for believers and nonbelievers), and more. He calls this resource a kind of apologetics-lite that can introduce your church to apologetics.Find the GodQuest resources here.

Today's interview is with Clifford Williams, teacher of philosophy at Trinity College in Deerfield, IL. He is an author of Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires & Emotions for Faith. He talks about his background and how he got into philosophy, the role of philosophy in theology and apologetics, the meaning of "existential" and the existential argument for belief in God, needs and desires and their role in the existential argument, various objections to the argument, the role of the argument in a cumulative case for God, practical application for apologetics, further resources, and more.

Today's interview is with Tony Watkins, speaker, writer and editor with Damaris and Managing Editor of Culturewatch.org. He talks about his background and work, CultureWatch and looking at the message behind the media, the definition of culture and media, the importance of critically examining culture and media, the influence of film on us personally and in culture, what movies tell us about ourselves and the world, identifying redeeming themes and issues that echo Christian truths, being culturally aware, the definition and importance of worldviews, discerning worldviews and the messages in film, and more.Tony's webpage is: www.tonywatkins.co.uk. Check out books by Tony Watkins:• Focus: The Art and Soul of Cinema• Dark Matter: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Philip PullmanEnjoy.

Today's interview is with David Wood, a former atheist who converted to Christianity after examining the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. As well as being a Teaching Fellow in Philosophy, David directs Acts 17 Apologetics Ministries, defending the Christian Faith against atheistic and Islamic objections. He talks about the Dearborn Arab Festival, the growth of Islam, the crucifixion of Jesus (Christian view compared to Islam), the usage of the word "Allah," Muslim arguments for the Qu'ran, the question of Jihad, assessing arguments in favor of Islam, inaccuracies in the Qu'ran, recommended resources on Islam, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with David T. Lamb, associate professor of OT at Biblical Theological Seminary. He is author of a newly released book "God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament God Angry, Sexist, and Racist?"He talks about his background in Old Testament studies, dealing with difficult passages in the OT, the angry God and the loving God, principles for reading OT passages for better understanding, responding to the claims that the Bible is sexist, racist, and violent, law versus grace in the Old Testament and the New, the importance of working through and discussing tough questions, using the OT to point people to Christ, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Pastor David Robertson of St Peter’s Free Church in Dundee, Scotland and Chairman of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity. He talks about his interaction with Richard Dawkins' God Delusion book, his open letters to Dawkins (and the Dawkins Letters book), his thoughts on persuasive evangelism, the goals of evangelistic conversation, the positive effect from the new atheism, how being a pastor overlaps with evangelism and apologetics, the problem with American apologetics, the importance of practical application, connecting with an audience, the top issues that always seem to come up, the state of the new atheism today, the influence of postmodernism, stopping calling yourself an apologist, our tone with others, the starting point for conversations, and more.Enjoy.Apologies: the audio quality was substandard this week because of a technical glitch.

Today's interview is with Marcia Montenegro, founder of Christian Answers for the New Age (CANA). She talks about the difference between the New Age and the occult, how people tend to get into these areas, her journey into the occult and work as a professional astrologer, the nature of spiritual experiences and what's going on, spirit guides, astrology, her conversion to Christianity, and her advice to those interacting with those caught up in the New Age or occult.Marcia is also the author of the book SpellBound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today's Kids. Find her website and resources online at www.christiananswersforthenewage.orgEnjoy.

Today's interview is with Stephen Bedard, pastor of Woodford Baptist Church and First Baptist Church Meaford, Ontario. He talks about his background, influences, his book Unmasking the Pagan Christ, responding to the notion that "Jesus never existed," his upcoming book responding to the Jehovah's Witness publication What Does the Bible Really Say?, the apologetics of JWs, the Hope's Reason Apologetics Journal and podcast, advice to pastors on creating an apologetic culture within the church, articulating the Gospel, apologetics and raising children, and more.

Today's interview is with apologist Norman Geisler, Distinguished Professor of Apologetics at Veritas Evangelical Seminary and author of over 70 books. He answers a variety of questions and topics: how he got into apologetics, his greatest influences on his own thinking, the change on the apologetics landscape in the past decades, his suggested required reading for all apologists, the kinds of arguments he has encountered and how they have affected him, advice for studying arguments, the growth of apologetics in the church, the top three topics to focus on, skills apologists should develop, pitfalls to avoid, areas that should be strengthened, the necessity of theology, what he feels the strongest argument is for God's existence, learning from those who disagree, one's prayer life and integrity, favorite illustrations, advice for studying in the field, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Mike Felker. Mike blogs on apologetics at TheApologeticFront, with an emphasis on interacting with Jehovah's Witnesses. He talks about his background, the overall belief system of JWs, The Watchtower Society, their various teachings regarding salvation, the afterlife, Jesus, the trinity, etc. He also discusses strategies for interaction including what to focus on and what to avoid.Enjoy.