Back to list

mid-week apologetics booster (4-7-2022)

Good morning friends,

Quote of the week:

Pastors will need to play a role in shoring up those they are called to shepherd. But there is another group that can help take some of the weight off our already overly burdened ministers: lay apologists. Lay apologists are Christians not already in full-time or paid ministry, but have the interest and equipping to carry out the task of apologetics. As a former lay apologist myself, I know how capable they are of carrying out this task. Unfortunately, too many of them are wasting their talents in endless debates with internet-based atheists. If you’re a lay apologist, I hope you’ll heed this call: This church needs your skills and training. – Joe Carter (from, New Age Beliefs Are Common in America and in Our Churches)

Now, here are your weekly links:

Jesus Is the Only Cure – People will go to hell not because they merely had a theological point wrong, but because they had a real disease (sin) and never got the only effective cure.: https://www.str.org/w/jesus-is-the-only-cure
Jesus: The Antidote – Jesus is an antidote to a deadly disease. Some people have the symptoms of the disease more obviously or in a greater manner than others. But everybody is sick.: https://www.str.org/w/jesus-the-antidote
Are You Telling Me I’m Going to Hell Because I Don’t Believe in Jesus? | Thinking to Believe: https://thinkingtobelieve.com/2006/04/12/are-you-telling-me-im-going-to-hell-because-i-dont-believe-in-jesus/
A Ten Minute Witness – bethinking.org – I had a conversation today that I wish you could have eavesdropped on. It was that precious. I was preparing for the show about an hour ago at my home and I heard a knock at the door.: https://www.bethinking.org/apologetics/a-ten-minute-witness
Persuasion the Centre Piece of Effective Evangelism – bethinking.org – Persuasion is a pivotal word in understanding evangelism, but it has for a long time been overlooked. I have been to countless training sessions and read numerous books on evangelism, where neither the word nor even the idea have been mentioned at all. Even a Dictionary of Apologetics and an Encyclopedia of Apologetics on my shelves do not have entries under the P word. Yet, if you take persuasion out of evangelism, you are left with unpersuasive evangelism.: https://www.bethinking.org/apologetics/persuasion-the-centre-piece-of-effective-evangelism
New video series on intelligent design starts off discussing the Cambrian explosion | WINTERY KNIGHT: https://winteryknight.com/2022/03/31/new-video-series-on-intelligent-design-starts-off-discussing-the-cambrian-explosion/
What if your science class contradicts the Bible? – YouTube – What if something you learn in science class seems to totally contradict something you read in the Bible? Does that mean either your professor or pastor can’t be trusted? Or is it better to separate the scientific data from our Biblical beliefs? So many questions! In this video, Frank breaks it all down and explains how we can believe both science and the Bible to be true.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjcQeBYmbhY
How Free Grace Theology Diminishes the Gospel – We can’t preach the full gospel without preaching repentance.: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/free-grace-theology/
What is the difference between a Christian and a disciple? | GotQuestions.org: https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-disciple.html
What does it mean to take up your cross daily? Luke 9:23 commentary: https://activechristianity.org/what-does-it-mean-to-take-up-your-cross-daily
When Debating Biblical Inspiration, Let God Do the Heavy Lifting. A woman I once spoke with expressed frustration with a friend who had dismissed the Bible as only written by men. Her insistence that the words were inspired by God was no help. Instead, it led to a fruitless cycle: The Bible is God’s Word. But it was just written by men. But God inspired those men. But men make mistakes. Round and round they went, going nowhere. Maybe you’ve encountered this problem, too. Here’s one way you might respond: Give specific reasons why it’s reasonable to believe the Bible is a supernatural book of divine authorship and not merely the musings of men.: https://www.str.org/w/when-debating-biblical-inspiration-let-god-do-the-heavy-lifting
Can We Trust the Bible? Brett Kunkle – Classically, Christians have defended their view of God not with mere appeals to subjective experience but from what they take to be Gods voice recorded in the Bible. Do Christians have good reason to think God has spoken through the Bible? Yes. Not only do we have overwhelming evidence the Bible has been reliably passed down for almost 2,000 years, but there is good reason to think it is covered with divine fingerprints.: https://www.str.org/w/can-we-trust-the-bible-
Can a Person Be Saved through General Revelation? Greg and Amy consider examples of salvation from the Old Testament next to what Paul writes about general revelation and salvation in Romans. (clip from the #STRAsk podcast – 12 min): https://www.str.org/w/can-a-person-be-saved-through-general-revelation-1
Has God Spoken? Evidence For The Bible pt1 – (Bible Thinker) – How could you prove that God has communicated to us? What would be a reasonable way to show that God has spoken? This video answers that question and deals with false prophecies in preparation for the next video in this series, where we will begin to look at fulfilled prophecy in the Bible as proof that God has spoken.: https://biblethinker.org/has-god-spoken-evidence-for-the-bible-pt1/
Building A Solid Christian Worldview – Focus on the Family – Greg Koukl helps listeners discover, develop, and nurture a Christian worldview by examining the story of the Bible. Based on his book The Story of Reality , Greg Koukl offers believers a glimpse of the bigger picture, along with their role in the overarching Christian Story.: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/episodes/broadcast/building-a-solid-christian-worldview/
Sing a Little Louder – Pro-life Version on Vimeo – This well-done, 10-minute video makes a powerful pro-life point.: https://vimeo.com/144427221?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=45362802&fbclid=IwAR3H83oV8Dgfb0LNairYM-m6iVx989oo1Aw6tbfzuvkFLwtus7OOZgDaOzA
Kirk Cameron is joined by Greg Koukl and Allie Beth Stuckey to discuss the importance of discerning truth.: https://watch.tbn.org/videos/hd-kct0017?fbclid=IwAR10A5UVDgdThbMYp-UkCsO295nEIj9xKYxLxdUtlrZNulXSZIK1PeV2Xu4
How to Have a Conversation: Engaging Controversial Topics – YouTube – You’re in a conversation with a coworker and they’re pretty vocal about a controversial topic. You want to say something, but you’re having a hard time gathering the confidence to respond. What would you say? Questions are a risk-free way to engage in a conversation, giving you latitude, liberty and effectiveness, without assuming too much responsibility. They can be used to engage a close friend or a complete stranger. The next time you’re in a conversation and don’t know how to proceed. Here are three things to remember: First, don’t immediately try to answer the challenge or run from it. Second, gather Intel about the challenge. Third, always ask for clarification with some form of this question: What do you mean by that?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJSG6BOWiEI
How to Have a Conversation: Difficult Circumstances – YouTube – You’re in a conversation and someone keeps interrupting you or you’re in a conversation and someone complains it’s bigoted to think that Jesus is the only way to God or you’re in a conversation, and someone says, You’re a Christian because you live in America. If you lived in Iran, you’d be a Muslim. What would you say? Here’s some other tips to help you handle difficult circumstances you may run into as a follower of Christ. Number one: When someone keeps interrupting you, stop them gently and ask for equal time. Number two: When someone raises an issue that Jesus himself has spoken about, enlist him as your ally. Number three: When someone challenges Christianity based on something about you, ask So what? : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64dZhJGmBgg
Does Science Argue for or against God? – YouTube – Why are we here? Literally. The latest science says we shouldn’t be. It says that the chance life exists at all is less than zero. So, is science the greatest threat to the idea of Intelligent Design or is science its greatest advocate? Best-selling author and lecturer, Eric Metaxas, poses this intriguing question and comes up with a very unexpected and challenging answer.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjGPHF5A6Po
Does God Exist? 4 New Arguments – YouTube – Science tells us that the universe came into being via The Big Bang. But how do you get from energy and matter to a self-aware human being? That takes three additional Big Bangs that science can’t explain. Noted theologian, Frank Pastore, unravels this compelling mystery and, in the process, poses the ultimate question that every thinking person must face.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIorXcloIac
God and Suffering – YouTube – Isn’t human suffering proof that a just, all-powerful God must not exist? On the contrary, says Boston College Professor of Philosophy Peter Kreeft. How can “suffering” exist without an objective standard against which to judge it? Absent a standard, there is no justice. If there is no justice, there is no injustice. And if there is no injustice, there is no suffering. On the other hand, if justice exists, God exists. In five minutes, learn more.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNtz5wgnopQ
Suffering and Evil: The Logical Problem – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k64YJYBUFLM
Why does God let people suffer? Why is there so much evil in the world? | WINTERY KNIGHT: https://winteryknight.com/2022/04/05/why-does-god-let-people-suffer-why-is-there-so-much-evil-in-the-world-7/
How To Raise Kids When Leaving Public Schools Is Not An Easy Option: https://thefederalist.com/2022/04/06/how-to-raise-sane-kids-when-leaving-public-schools-is-not-an-easy-option/
Cambrian Explosion: More Woes and Dodges | Evolution News: https://evolutionnews.org/2022/03/cambrian-explosion-more-woes-and-dodges/
Monthly Report April 2022 – William Lane Craig: https://pages.e2ma.net/pages/1787618/34807?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=READ%20MORE&utm_campaign=April%20MR%20-%202022

For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. 2 Corinthians 8:21

Blessings to you all