In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross discuss Blaise Pascal’s Pensées. They discuss the topics of apologetic methodology, Pascal’s “Night of Fire,” Pascal’s reflections on distraction, the state of man, the hiddenness of God, the need for humility in approaching God, and Pascal’s appeal to the seeker.Further resources:The Pensées, FREE for Kindle:https://a315.co/FreePenseesThe best audiobook version of The Pensées:https://a315.co/AudioPenseesBrian’s Review of The Pensées:https://a315.co/PenseesReview We welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten interviews Brett & Erin Kunkle on the topic of parenting and apologetics. A great discussion!https://maventruth.com/team/brett-erin-kunkle0:30 - Intro to the topic1:06 - About MAVEN and Brett & Erin2:30 - What is MAVEN?4:12 - What is a worldview approach so important when parenting?10:04 - How can parents adopt an intentional approach to discipleship?22:20 - How to integrate practices of discipleship with our kids31:10 - It’s okay to feel inadequate; just learn with your kids!32:10 - If parents could only learn ONE thing, it should be THIS…39:36 - What about the fear that we’re not doing enough as parents?45:50 - Encouragement for parents who think they’ve failed their kids54:55 - About the Strong Women PodcastFurther resources:MAVEN: https://maventruth.com/MAVEN Parent Podcast: https://maventruth.com/podcast/Strong Women Podcast: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women/We welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Christian philosopher Doug Groothuis about the argument from beauty, as well as the objection of divine hiddenness.https://douglasgroothuis.com0:21 - Intro to Doug Groothuis 3:06 - Welcome to Dr. Groothuis3:30 - Why write a second edition and what is new in this book?5:37 - Why take a cumulative case approach to apologetics?9:15 - What is the argument from beauty?18:09 - Why don’t we hear more from this argument?21:00 - How can this argument be used more in evangelism?24:30 - What is the objection from divine hiddenness?30:45 - Are there non-resistant non-believers?34:26 - Are atheists taking the wrong approach when seeking is required?38:30 - Skepticism as a prelude to Christian faith?41:28 - Conditioned cognitive access as it applies to divine hiddenness45:39 - Are we hiding and not God?46:00 - Advice to those who are seeking49:50 - Where to find more resources…Further resources:https://douglasgroothuis.comChristian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Christian Faith 2nd Edition: https://a315.co/3wBZcZcMore Dr. Groothuis’ books: https://a315.co/36tE7pgWe welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross speak with Doug Geivett and Holly Pivec about the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) movement. This is a must-listen for those who have encountered the teachings about modern-day apostles and prophets in the church.0:51 - Intro to the topic of the NAR1:25 - Listener feedback about NAR6:23 - Intro to our guests and the topic of the New Apostolic Reformation8:36 - Welcome of guests9:20 - What got Holly interested in the NAR movement?11:37 - How Doug got involved in the book project14:57 - When people leave the NAR movement…16:57 - What is the NAR movement and what are its teachings?19:08 - What distinguishes this movement?22:07 - What do NAR prophets mean when they say “thus saith the Lord”?30:51 - Where do apostles and prophets get their authority?37:14 - How do you know if your church has been influenced by the NAR?45:06 - Key leaders of the movement47:07 - The “Passion Translation” of the Bible49:00 - “But isn’t God working in this church?” Response...58:48 - What’s happening with all the false “Trump prophecies”?1:06:00 - Does the NAR point out any false prophets or apostles?1:13:32 - Has this caused people to walk away from the faith?1:18:49 - How to “rebuild” after the disillusionment of the NAR1:23:40 - Books to read and what’s to comeFurther resources:God's Super-Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement: http://a315.co/GodsSuperApostlesA New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement: http://a315.co/NewApostolicReformationDoug Geivett Biohttp://a315.co/DougGeivettHolly Pivec’s website:https://www.hollypivec.com/Episode 063 - Brian talks about his NAR experienceshttp://a315.co/NAR-ExperiencesWe welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross speak with Travis Dickinson about his recent book Logic and the Way of Jesus: Thinking Critically and Christianly. 0:35 - Review of Peter Kreeft’s book: Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s Pensées Edited, Outlined, and Explainedhttp://a315.co/ChristianityForModernPagans5:16 - Intro to Travis Dickinson and his book Logic and the Way of Jesus: Thinking Critically and Christianly http://a315.co/LogicAndTheWayOfJesus9:37 - Welcoming Travis Dickinson11:45 - Travis’s background and journey14:12 - The structure of Logic and the Way of Jesus15:57 - The cultural decline of Christendom and how to combat it19:00 - “But I’m not an intellectual type!”23:35 - Jesus as a brilliant thinker29:00 - Unpacking the argument from reason39:58 - What’s the best argument against the argument from reason?43:18 - Discussion of inference to the best explanation (abduction), and the accusation of “God of the gaps” appeals52:21 - Intellectual virtues and Christian persuasion54:43 - Teaser for Travis’s next book Wandering Toward Godhttp://a315.co/WanderingTowardGod57:12 - Advice for those who are discouraged with lack of intellectual engagement in their churchFurther resources:www.travisdickinson.comhttp://a315.co/LogicAndTheWayOfJesusWe welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross are joined by Jacob Varghese (of SAFT Apologetics) to have a conversation about “Rules of Engagement.” How do we interact with gentleness and respect? How can we disagree without being divisive?0:30 - Obligatory “witty banter”1:45 - A discussion of Star Wars: what to watch first?3:50 - Introduction to today’s topic of online engagement/social media8:05 - Who are we talking to and who is watching?10:34 - Love your enemies13:08 - Ken Samples’ post about promoting unity when disagreeinghttps://a315.co/3Mgx9nj16:43 - Are we getting drawn into the “drama”?20:40 - Building up, rather than being divisive24:12 - Being labelled according to “camps”25:00 - You can disagree without being divisive26:30 - Lack of understanding on how to have healthy disagreements30:26 - The tendency to want to “win” - win what? Argument or person?31:34 - Galatians 5:1532:02 - Should Christians use memes? What about sarcasm?33:15 - Chad’s view on memes34:34 - Brian’s view on memes: zingers37:28 - When is sarcasm legitimate?45:13 - “Don’t take the bait” - “Don’t feed the trolls” (Prov 19:11)49:01 - Drawing out some principles for application* Principle of Charity/Love* Principle of Edification* Principle of Prayer* Principle of Environment/Audience* Don’t equate the person with the view* Principle of Understanding* The foundation of ChristCheck out the SAFT Apologetics Podcast here: https://a315.co/3C7jo5JWe welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross talk about Brian’s experiences with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) in the past, and what can be learned. They give a book preview of "God’s Super Apostles" by Doug Geivett and Holly Pivec.This podcast describes some of the common terms and phrases you hear amongst those in the NAR movement, explores a bit about the idea of apostles and prophets among us today, and expresses serious concerns about the movement as a whole.Suggested Reading:God’s Super Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movementhttps://a315.co/3ho5T8mA New Apostolic Reformation? A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movementhttps://a315.co/3hpcOxXWe welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross talk to Mary Poplin about her book Is Reality Secular?: Testing the Assumptions of Four Global Worldviews. About Mary Poplinhttps://a315.co/3IcprrW0:26 - Intro to Mary Poplin’s book5:00 - About Mary and her work7:00 - Mary’s radical conversion to Christianity10:00 - What was Mary’s worldview like before becoming a Christian?11:00 - A dream that impacted Mary’s journey13:32 - Why write a book about worldviews?15:56 - What do we mean when we say “secular”?18:39 - Why take a “worldview” approach?22:27 - Exploring secular humanism26:06 - How do we address secular humanism?27:11 - Material naturalism30:58 - Pantheism and Western Pantheism32:57 - How Christianity is different37:28 - What was most impactful during Mary’s time in Calcutta41:08 - What was Mother Theresa like? And reflections on Christopher HitchensWe welcome your feedback!If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross talk to Christian philosopher Ken Samples about the importance of logic for Christians.0:30 - Peter Kreeft’s audio series on the Philosophy of Thomas Aquinashttps://a315.co/3gZwXuB2:45 - Geisler’s book on Thomas Aquinashttps://a315.co/3HZKzl23:34 - Intro to Dr. Ken Samples of Reasons to Believehttps://a315.co/3LvRZij6:00 - Why Christians should not be intimidated by logic10:12 - Isn’t the Bible enough? Do we really need logic too?13:05 - How do you define logic, Ken?16:01 - “But Jesus didn’t teach logic!”18:49 - How Jesus modeled the use of logic20:33 - But isn’t logic contrary to being filled with the Spirit?25:29 - How does critical thinking relate to logic?29:46 - Where should the logic learner begin?36:34 - How logic can help us in doing good theology40:34 - How NOT to turn into the fallacy police45:38 - Recommended resourcesPatrick Hurley’s books on logic:https://a315.co/3HOCxvuAttacking Faulty Reasoning:https://a315.co/3gG3xRZKen Samples’ Logic 101 podcast: ALL lectures on YouTube here:http://a315.co/KenSamplesLogicWe appreciate your feedback.If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross look at some timeless advice from Christian apologists for those doing apologetics. 0:45 - Intro to the topic today2:39 - Advice from Mark Mittelberg5:57 - Advice from J.P. Moreland10:43 - Advice from John Warwick Montgomery14:53 - Advice from Edgar Andrews21:48 - Advice from Ken Samples23:52 - Advice from Rob Bowman27:42 - Advice from Bruce Little29:25 - Advice from Craig Blomberg31:06 - Advice from Peter J. Williams33:39 - Advice from Lee Strobel37:24 - Advice from Greg KouklLinks mentioned in the show:Mark Mittelberg transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/10/mark-mittelberg-interview-transcript/J.P. Moreland transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/02/j-p-moreland-interview-transcript/John Warwick Montgomery transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2012/11/john-warwick-montgomery-interview-transcript/Edgar Andrews transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/10/edgar-andrews-interview-transcript/Ken Samples transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/06/kenneth-samples-interview-transcript/Rob Bowman transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/05/robert-bowman-interview-transcript/Bruce Little transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/04/bruce-little-interview-transcript/Craig Blomberg transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2012/12/craig-blomberg-interview-transcript/Peter J. Williams transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/12/peter-j-williams-interview-transcript/Lee Strobel transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2012/10/lee-strobel-interview-transcript/Greg Koukl transcripthttps://apologetics315.com/2013/09/greg-koukl-interview-transcript/We appreciate your feedback.If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com