Apologetics
Jesus: A Very Short Introduction by Richard Bauckham (Oxford University Press, 2011) Can We Still Believe the Bible? by Craig Blomberg (Brazos Press, 2014) The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach by Michael Licona (IVP, 2010) How God Became Jesus: The Real Origins of Belief in Jesus’ Divine Nature—A Response to […]
In his Essays, Civil, and Moral, Sir Francis Bacon wrote that the difficulty with lies is not just that truth requires hard work, or that it (truth) inconveniently imposes itself by obliging us to submit to it, but that we love lies themselves. With a glut of information at our fingertips and “credible sources” for […]
One of the hardest parts of apologetics is speaking in such a way that people who disagree with you want to interact with you. Far too often, apologists find themselves reaching those already in the choir. The choir gets excited, but few new members join. The result is an echo chamber full of very convinced […]
The Sublime Sensibility: “The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss” by David Bentley Hart
Some years ago I wrote on what I called “the aesthetic fallacy” in a small book I authored on how to do history. I am not sure if I coined the term, but what I intend by it is this: a fallacious argument that appears compelling because of the aesthetics of presentation, whether merely physical […]
When Christians see the moral foundations of American culture crumble before our eyes, we have a tendency to panic or worry. As we watch the gradual deterioration, it’s good to get a historical reminder that Christians have dealt with these situations before. During the second and third centuries in the Roman Empire, Christians were a […]
I had not unpacked my suitcase in the freshman dorm at college before Christians descended upon me like mongrel hordes. One in particular was my Resident Advisor or “RA.” He was a senior (thus worthy of genuflection) and a leader in an evangelical organization on campus. His bookshelf was stuffed with the best of apologetical […]
Why is the resurrection of Jesus so important? After all, it’s not when our sins are paid for. That was the work Jesus did two days earlier on the cross. And the resurrection is not when Christ’s perfect obedience is credited to us so we can stand before God. That work was also done by […]
Starting Out Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ Timothy Keller, The Reason for God William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith Greg Koukl, Tactics Going to University C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man C. S. Lewis, Miracles J. Budziszewski, How to Stay Christian in College K. Scott Oliphint, Reasons for Faith: Philosophy in the Service of […]
Common Objection 1: “I’m a Good Person” How good are you really? Many people will answer this question by unloading their laundry lists of volunteer activities, 501 (c) (3) donations, parenting skills, or anything else that presents them as a good person. In Christian terms, we might call this outwardly following God’s law. When Jesus […]
Louis Markos's Apologetics for the 21st Century might more aptly be entitled The Answer to Almost Every Modern Objection to Christianity Ever Asked, as Given by Almost Every Modern Apologist Who Ever Lived. The book attempts to cover all major modern apologists and just about all ancient and modern arguments marshaled on behalf of the […]
Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and author of a number of books including The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith and Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power and the Only Hope that Matters. In fall 2009, White Horse Inn […]
I am the mindfreak There’s no reality Just this world of illusion That keeps on haunting me So sings magician Criss Angel during the opening to Mindfreak, his popular television show on the A&E channel. But Angel’s popularity may be grounded in something more than his excellence in magic. The way he presents magic may […]
Western Christians and non-Christians alike are spending more time and money than ever before combating the overwhelming tide of suffering in Africa. The level of dedication brings new life to nineteenth-century missionary David Livingstone’s view of service in Africa: “In this work I truly live; in this work I hope to die.” Although Africa is […]
On October 8, 2008, the Literary & Historical Society of University College Dublin sponsored a debate on the motion that "this house finds it irrational to believe in God." In the nineteenth century, philosopher and lay theologian Søren Kierkegaard warned against such occasions; in his Concluding Scientific Postscript, he asked whether raising such a question […]
John Muether has written a noteworthy biography of the life and ministry of Cornelius Van Til, setting the theological contributions of Van Til in the historical context in which they were developed and defended. It is on this account that Muether's Cornelius Van Til: Re-formed Apologist and Churchman stands out as a unique contribution to […]