Speaking Topics
Immortal
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What We Can Do About It
Hebrews 2:15 tells us that Jesus came to free those who all their lives are held in bondage by their fear of death. This fear of death drives people to seek literal immortality and symbolic immortality. In this session, Clay explains how the pursuit of these immortality projects are always futile and always destructive. Instead, Christians not only don’t have to fear death, they can revel in the thought that upon their deaths they will be glorified, resurrected, perfected, resplendent, and renowned.
This session is 60 minutes but can be easily expanded into a 1- to 4-hour presentation. In longer presentations Clay presents how atheists cope with death through meaningless mortality mitigation projects.
Why Does God Allow Evil?
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
Why Does God Allow Evil?
No question troubles believers more than the various issues related to why God allows evil. In this session Clay explains the four essential things we must know to answer this question: Why we suffer for Adam’s and Eve’s sin; Why bad things happen to good people; What is free will and why is it valuable?; How is God using suffering to prepare us for a glorious eternity where we will reign with Christ forever.
Audiences from London to Calgary to Singapore have found this talk not only informative but even transformative. Clay’s most popular talk is 65 minutes but Clay has also taught this in sessions ranging from 90 minutes to fourteen hours. In longer presentations he includes the presentations listed below. There is no PowerPoint for the 65 minute version but PowerPoint is required for longer versions.
What is the Destiny of the Unevangelized?
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
What is the Destiny of the Unevangelized?
Seekers, skeptics, and many Christians ask, What is the fate of those who never hear the good news that saves? In this session Clay explains the extent of the gospel’s proclamation; the gospel’s suppression; the fate of children and the mentally handicapped; and how God is able to reach those He knows would receive the gospel.
This session is 45 minutes but can be given in a one to two hour presentation. This is included in longer presentations of Why Does God Allow Evil? PowerPoint optional but preferred.
How Could Eternal Punishment Be Fair?
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
How Could Eternal Punishment Be Fair?
Seekers and skeptics ask, and many Christians are troubled by, how it could be fair for God to punish the rebellious forever? In this session Clay explains how many Christians misunderstand and even falsely proclaim the nature of hell; the necessity of proper preaching of hell; how many people misunderstand the Bible’s imagery of hell; how some try to falsely resolve the problem of hell; the nature of the occupants in hell; and how eternal punishment is justified.
This session is 45 minutes but can be given in a one to two hour format. This is included in longer presentations of Why Does God Allow Evil? PowerPoint required.
How Could It Be Fair for God to Order the Killing of the Canaanites?
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
How Could It Be Fair for God to Order the Killing of the Canaanites?
How it could be fair for God to order the killing of the Canaanites troubles many Christians and is a favorite point of attack for skeptics. But there are solid answers. In this session Clay explains the horror of Canaanite sin using Canaanite primary source documents; how we have become inoculated against the horror of their sin; how the Canaanites had the opportunity to flee; how this was capital punishment, not genocide; why Israel couldn’t adopt Canaanite children; and how God knows those who will or will not turn from their sin.
This session is 45 minutes but can be given in a one to two hour format. This can be included in longer presentations of Why Does God Allow Evil? PowerPoint required. Clay has blogged on this extensively. Click the “Canaanite” category at the bottom of the home page to view them.
Crusades, Slavery and the Oppression of Women.
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
Crusades, Slavery and the Oppression of Women.
If Christians have the Good News, why are they so often bad news for society? In this session Clay explains what it really means to be a Christian; that we must separate the call of the Crusades from the actions of the crusaders; how the Bible really views New World slavery; how the world, including modern feminism, are the real oppressors of women; and how Christianity is the true and only liberator of women.
This session is 45 minutes but longer versions can include Inquisitions, witch-hunts, and Nazi Christians. This can be included in longer presentations of Why Does God Allow Evil? PowerPoint required.
That’s True for You But Not For Me
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
That’s True for You But Not For Me
Because they embrace relativism, most people today do not believe that there is objective moral truth and therefore “absolutely anything goes.” In this session Clay will give his Truth SERUMM: relativism is Self refuting, Evil enabling, Racist befriending, Utterly hypocritcial, Morally stagnating, and Mind Closing.
This session is 45 minutes but can be given in a one to two hour format. PowerPoint not required.
The Reliability of the New Testament
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
The Reliability of the New Testament
Most non-Christians contend that we cannot trust the New Testament. In this session Clay demonstrates that we do know who wrote the New Testament; that we should reject anonymous source talk; how we know that the New Testament has been accurately transmitted to us; and that the New Testament, as primary source documents, provide reason to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. Clay wrote a ground breaking article on this subject entitled “The Bibliographical Test Updated.”
This session is 45 minutes but can be given in a one to two hour format. PowerPoint required.
The Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
The Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Many think that the disciples’ proclamation of seeing the risen Lord can’t be true. In this session Clay will show that even most academic skeptics agree that Jesus died, that Jesus was buried, that Jesus’ tomb was later found empty, and that the disciples began to proclaim that they saw the risen Jesus. Most academic skeptics agree with these points! Clay will debunk the skeptics’ counterargument that what really happened is that the disciples only hallucinated what they thought were actual appearances of the resurrected Jesus. On the contrary, Clay will show that the best explanation of the evidence is that Jesus really was raised from the dead.
This session is 45 minutes (it’s also a really good sermon) but can be given in a one to two hour format (or longer! I have taught In Defense of the Resurrection at for the Talbot Apologetics department many times and and lecture on the topic for up to 24 hours). PowerPoint is preferable but not required.
Healing Sexual Insanity
APOLOGETICS AND WOLDVIEW TALKS
Healing Sexual Insanity
Although talking openly about sexual temptation may embarrass some Christians, we live in a sex crazed world and Christians need to discuss it openly. After all, countless single and married men and women are addicted to porn, most singles are sexually promiscuous, many commit adultery, many proclaim they are attracted to the same sex, some proclaim they are the opposite sex, and some even want to have sex with animals. In this session Clay explains the reasons our world has gone sexually insane, puts sex in its proper perspective, and provides real help to succeed in escaping worldly lusts.
This session is 45 minutes but can be as long as two hours. Clay wrote his master’s thesis on sexual temptation and has blogged extensively on that topic: click the “Sex” category on the bottom of the home page to view them.