Apologetics315 Interviews

Today's interview is with Peter J. Williams, Warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge. He talks about his work and background in biblical languages, the reliability of the Gospels, internal vs. external evidences, the genre of the Gospels, the authorship of the Gospels, the Gospels as eyewitness testimony (link to talk here), historical methods past vs. present, oral culture and literacy in the first century, the dating of the Gospels (years vs. generations), approaching apparent contradictions, correcting substandard approaches to defending the Gospels, looking at morally difficult subjects in the Old Testament, tips for answering moral objections, advice on doing apologetics, and more. For resources from Tyndale House, see:www.bibleandchurch.com www.tyndal.cam.ac.uk/resources2Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Daniel Rodger and Calum Miller, founders of the Apologetics UK Blog and UK Apologetics Facebook group. They talk about the state of apologetics in the United Kingdom, unique cultural challenges, the goal of the Apologetics UK blog, blogging as an apologetic/evangelistic tool, the growing UK Apologetics Facebook group, and the future of apologetics in the UK.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Casey Luskin, Research Coordinator for the Discovery Center's Center for Science and Culture. In this interview Casey talks about his background and interest in Intelligent Design, defining terms (ID, evolution, creationism, Darwinism), common objections to ID as a scientific endeavor, some milestones in the history of the ID movement, the Dover trial, responding to critics who say "ID is dead," "not science," and more. This is a good overall introduction to Intelligent Design.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and an authority on Koine Greek grammar and New Testament textual criticism. He is founder of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. He talks about his background and current work, photographing NT manuscripts, the current number of manuscripts, some of the most important manuscripts (and some great stories), his testimony journey into textual criticism, the trustworthiness of the Bible, the meaning of textual variants (how they are really counted, and what they affect), how he approaches apparent Bible contradictions, the doctrine of inerrancy, his interactions and debates with Bart Ehrman, comparing the popular vs. the scholarly Ehrman, "we don't have the originals!", determining the authorship of the Gospels, advice for apologists (great stuff), and do's and don'ts for defending the Bible. Visit CSNTM.org to assist his work.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Peter S. Williams (blog here). He talks about his recent projects, including his debate alongside William Lane Craig at Cambridge, and his recent book: Understanding Jesus: Five Ways to Spiritual Enlightenment. He discusses a cumulative case approach, the Gospels as testimony and the role of testimony, the historical sources for Jesus, Jesus' self-centered teaching, the trilemma argument, Jesus' miracles, non-Christian miracle claims, the argument from prophecy and common objections, religious experiences, Jesus' spirituality, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Alvin Plantinga, emeritus John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He talks about his background and how he got into philosophy, theistic arguments (for two dozen or so, see here) and some he'd like to see worked on (the argument from evil & the argument from abstract objects), the use of the ontological argument, how he would speak to other about the faith, his view on the use of arguments for convincing others, properly basic belief, his air conditioner, the shift toward theism in philosophy, reading recommendations for up-and-coming philosophers, study and reading habits, character traits for the Christian philosopher, topics he'd like to see Christian philosophers tackle, advice on apologetics, his latest book, Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Christian philosopher Win Corduan. Dr. Corduan has served as a professor or adjunct professor of philosophy and religion at numerous colleges, universities, and seminaries. He has also served as president of both The International Society of Christian Apologetics and The Evangelical Philosophical Society. He talks about his background and work, influences in apologetics, philosophy and apologetics, philosophical theology, philosophy of religions, comparative religions, his study in Buddhism, the neglect of Buddhism, the need for scholars in all areas, advice for apologists, and more. His books include Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions, No Doubt About It: The Case for Christianity, Pocket Guide to World Religions (IVP Pocket Reference), Handmaid to Theology: An Essay in Philosophical Prolegomena, Reasonable Faith: Basic Christian Apologetics, and a number of others.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with apologist, author and equipping pastor Jonathan Morrow. He is author of Welcome to College and co-author of Is God a Human Invention? His latest book is Think Christianly: Looking at the intersection of Faith and Culture. He talks about faith and culture, what it means to think Christianly, practical ways to equip the local church, crucial areas of cultural engagement, the themes of his latest book, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with David Horner, professor of philosophy and biblical studies at Biola University. He also serves as research scholar for Centers for Christian Study International, an effort to develop intellectual Christian communities within secular university contexts. He talks about the challenges facing those in college/university, the themes in his book Mind Your Faith: A Student's Guide to Thinking and Living Well, the Christian roots of our educational system, developing better thinking skills, the art of asking good questions, dealing with doubts, the development of character, advice for those who want to be better apologists, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Dr. Angus Menuge, Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University, and author of Agents Under Fire: Materialism and the Rationality of Science. He talks about his background and work, the philosophy of mind, what reason (or reasoning) is, what materialism is as a worldview, things excluded from a materialistic worldview, methodological naturalism and materialism, accounting for free will, materialistic accounts of reason, the epistemological argument from reason, the ontological argument from reason, finding the best explanation for reason, problems with methodological naturalism, implications of materialism, practical application of the argument from reason, advice for apologists, the International Academy of Apologetics, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Nabeel Qureshi, former Muslim and now Christian defender. He is director of Creed 2:6 ministries found at www.creed26.com. He talks about Creed2:6, his journey from Islam to Christianity, his interactions with the Muslim community and Muslim apologists, his response to critics of his conversion, the occurrence of visions and dreams from God to Muslims, the greatest challenges to sharing the Gospel with Muslims, the social consequences for leaving Islam, cultural vs. religious opposition, common errors to avoid, key factors to focus on, recommended resources on Islam, his personal message to those in Islam, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Biblical scholar Professor Craig Evans. He talks about his background and how he got into this area of scholarship (Jesus, the Gospels and Biblical manuscripts), what impresses him most about the Bible, handling manuscripts, the quest for the historical Jesus (and its overall timeline), the scholarly opinion on the "Jesus never existed" claim, the consensus of scholarship (and why scholarship is important), the contemporary distortion of Jesus, the demonstrable flaws in the thinking of particular scholars, evaluating presuppositions, a case for the reliability of the Gospels, the contrasting view of the "other" gospels, how to investigate the miracle claims within the Gospels, responding to the "failed apocalyptic prophet" objection, the faults in Bart Ehrman's reasoning, advice for those taking their Biblical studies seriously, the do's and don'ts of arguing for Bible reliability, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with John Warwick Montgomery, Emeritus Professor of Law and Humanities, University of Bedfordshire, England, Distinguished Research Professor of Apologetics and Christian Thought, Patrick Henry College, Virginia., and Director of the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism & Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.He talks about how he became a Christian and became a defender of the faith, the thinkers and authors that have been most influential for him, his approach to apologetics (evidentialism) and why he takes it, the traditional proofs for God's existence (are they needed?), taking a legal approach to the case for Christianity, the meaning of burden of proof and its proper use, the concept of "beyond reasonable doubt," how to defend the resurrection of Christ historically, making a concise case, the two most common objections to the resurrection, answering the textual claims of Bart Ehrman, spiritual and intellectual disciplines for the apologist, pitfalls to avoid, advice fo

Today's interview is with Jeremiah J. Johnston, founder of Christian Thinkers Society at New Day Church in Kansas City. He is also He talks about his background and how he got into apologetics, how apologetics should be seen before it is heard, a memorable way to visualize the number of New Testament manuscripts, the Christian Thinkers Society (a church-based apologetics program within the local church featuring scholar interviews), advice for those considering starting apologetics ministries within their church, challenges that may need to be overcome when doing this sort of ministry, strategies in adapting scholarly content for lay-audiences, the future vision for CTS, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Mark Mittelberg, author, speaker, and evangelism strategist. He talks about his background and ministry work, the relationship between apologetics and evangelism, integrating apologetics into the local church, his book The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense, the goal and content of the book (it's a great apologetic evangelistic tool), the idea of spiritual seekers, advice for apologists, and more. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Andrew Fellows, the Director of L’Abri Fellowship in the United Kingdom. L’Abri is a community dedicated to both demonstrating and explaining the truthfulness of Christianity. He talks about his work at L'Abri, the heritage of Francis Schaeffer, the contribution and unique impact of Schaeffer on apologetics, dealing with the "big questions" that people are exploring, the question behind questions, the greatest obstacles people have, the demeanor of the apologist, the importance of hands-on training and mentoring, the church's interaction and relationship with culture (cultural apologetics), Jesus the subversive apologist, following Jesus' example, speaking to the heart, the hiddenness of God, advice (and challenge) for apologists, and more.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Anthony Horvath, the director of Athanatos Christian Ministries. This October, the Online Apologetics Academy fall semester will commence. Anthony talks about the Academy, the upcoming semester, the speakers and courses, the Gary Habermas lectures, how the courses work and the workload, the optional certificate course available, and how to sign up.Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Dr. Doug Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, and author of the newly-released apologetics textbook: Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. He talks about the scope and purpose of this book, the overall structure, the uniqueness of this book as an apologetics textbook with a cumulative case, the spiritual discipline of study and the life of the mind, the benefits of study and intentional reading, and strategies for working through large books/material. This interview is the introduction to the Read Along with Apologetics315 project, which begins Friday, September 9th. Enjoy.

Today's interview is with Brian Auten, interviewed by the blogger WinteryKnight about topics and ideas in apologetics. WinteryKnight's blog focuses on worldview, marriage and chastity, politics, and apologetics.Questions for WK:• Why not use your real name?• What's the focus on WinteryKnight.com?• What's your goal in interviewing Brian?Questions for Brian:• How did you come to be in Northern Ireland?• How did you get interested in apologetics?• What would you do with unlimited funding to propagate apologetics resources?• What arguments are the most persuasive for you?• What arguments should we use with others?• Do we need a million "one dollar" apologists, or one "million-dollar" apologist?• How important do you think it is for apologists to focus on scientific evidences?• How can the lay person get up to speed on these evidences?• What's the best way to make the case for the resurrection?• Use a sledgehammer approach, or a velvet glove approach?• What about psychological reasons for rejecting the arguments ?

Today's interview is with astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink. Jeff is a research scholar with Reasons to Believe, and serves part-time on the physics and astronomy research faculty at UCLA. He is author of Who's Afraid of the Multiverse?, the main topic of our interview today. He talks about his background and how he got into astrophysics, scientific evidences pointing to God, the role of natural theology, the strongest (and weakest) arguments from science, the multiverse, the various types of multiverses, why scientists postulate the multiverse, various objections to the multiverse, should Christians, how to be well-informed in scientific evidences, advice for apologists, and more.Enjoy.