In my recent blog, An Apologist in Every Church, I wrote that pastors are often too busy to keep up with things like The Da Vinci Code or The Lost Tomb of Jesus or the Gospel of Judas and that these issues trouble many congregants and so build a wedge between them and complete confidence […]
Should Every Pastor Be an Apologist? Yes and No. Read More »
On 27 September I posted a blog entitled “My 200 Word Resurrection Witness.” My 200 word witness ended with this: “So here’s my question: if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, then why would the first disciples die for what they knew was a lie?” Subsequently, several skeptics have challenged the concept that the first
Did Peter and Paul Die for Their Belief that Jesus Rose? Read More »
It is my heartfelt contention that every church in the world needs an apologist. Here’s why I say that. I have found that the average member of the average congregation is riddled with doubt. They hear The Da Vinci Code proclaim that the Council of Nicaea suppressed contrary gospels. They hear that James Cameron has
An Apologist in Every Church Read More »
Last week I talked about the folly of basing your ministry success on the worldly point of view. Related to that is a mistaken notion that troubles many Christians: that they might be way down towards the bottom rung when it comes to who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. The mistake
Who Will Be Greatest? Read More »
Being born in October, I entered kindergarten as a four-year-old and, as a result, I wasn’t as physically or intellectually capable as the other students. In fact, I didn’t feel like I was able to, in some sense, catch up, until I was in high school. Anyway, on one overcast third-grade day, my teacher told
Self-Worth and Ministry Read More »
I mentioned two weeks ago that I would share my 200 word resurrection witness (it’s actually a little shorter). I use this constantly. Often someone will ask me what apologetics is (that happens a lot). And here’s my reply: In apologetics we provide argument and evidence for the truth of historic Christianity. For example, consider
My 200 Word Resurrection Witness Read More »
I’ve often heard Christians say that when witnessing Christians should “just share the love of God,” meaning: don’t talk about hell or judgment. In this context I have also heard things like, “you can’t draw flies without honey” and “I don’t want to scare people into heaven; I want to love them in.” This sounds nice
Sharing Only God’s Love Is Confused Read More »
In 1993 I started working for Simon Greenleaf University (now Trinity Law School) which offered an M.A. in Christian apologetics (Craig Hazen was the director). Much of my job was to promote the school and although I had studied Christian apologetics since my sophomore year in high school, I decided I needed to see whether
Should We Use Evidence In Witnessing? Read More »
We’ve all heard someone say, “People shouldn’t argue.” Well, my answer to that is to ask, “Can you give me some reasons for why you believe that?” Of course the reason is: “because arguing doesn’t do any good.” To this I will point out that they have just argued. After all, “argue” simply means to
Arguing Doesn’t Do Any Good? Sure It Does! Read More »
Last week I was asked by a reporter from the African-American newspaper, Our Weekly, to respond to the notion that Jesus wasn’t a historical person but really just a reheated myth based on religious myths that preceded it. What follows, with few changes, are the notes that I prepared for that interview. Extremely little of
Jesus Wasn’t a Real Person? That’s Dumb! Read More »
