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mid-week apologetics booster (6-25-2026)

Good morning friends,

Quotes of the week:

Appealing to mystery makes your position unfalsifiable-even in the presence of contrary evidence. While it is sometimes appropriate to appeal to mystery when an answer is unknown, it is inappropriate to appeal to mystery in the face of contrary evidence to one’s own position. – James M. Rochford

Forgive me for stating something so obvious, but there is a difference between choosing an ice cream flavor and choosing a medicine. When choosing ice cream, you choose what you like. When choosing medicine, you have to choose what heals. Many people think of God like they think of ice cream, not like they think of insulin. In other words, they choose religious views according to their tastes, not according to what is true. The question of truth hardly even comes up in the conversation. – Greg Koukl

Now, here are your weekly links:

Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon – YouTube – this is a fantastic playlist where there are 22 videos from Alan Shlemon of Stand to Reason on various apologetics topics: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoCtBcnaHo6N564sV2_YW6FOTzmEU55LK
Intelligent Design and Evolution – YouTube – Frank Turek, a much younger Frank (from 2010)! Great lecture!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpRPTYVi5nY
Are You a Good Person? | Living Waters: https://livingwaters.com/are-you-a-good-person/
You are asking nonsensical questions; An atheist told Dr Frank Turek. watch this video to hear it. – YouTube – In this thought-provoking apologetics discussion, Dr. Frank Turek responds to five challenging questions raised by atheists regarding Christianity, the New Testament, God’s existence, eternal punishment, and the nature of the universe. The questions include: If embarrassing stories are evidence for the reliability of the New Testament, why do mythical stories also contain embarrassing accounts? If God can exist without a beginning, why can’t the universe itself be eternal and timeless? Is there any sin or inappropriate behavior that truly deserves eternal punishment? Could our galaxy actually be another universe? How should Christians respond to these skeptical challenges? Dr. Frank Turek carefully examines these objections using logic, philosophy, science, history, and biblical evidence. Whether you are a Christian, atheist, skeptic, agnostic, or someone searching for truth, this discussion provides valuable insights into some of life’s biggest questions. Watch until the end and share your thoughts in the comments. Subscribe for more Christian apologetics, evidence for Christianity, debates with atheists, biblical answers, and faith-building content. Topics Covered Reliability of the New Testament Criterion of Embarrassment Evidence for Christianity Does God Exist? Eternal Punishment Heaven and Hell Cosmological Argument Beginning of the Universe Science and Faith Christian Apologetics Atheism vs Christianity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1kXDSepa4c
10 Self-Refuting Statements You Must Know | Sean McDowell: https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/self-refuting-statements-you-must-know
Do I need to be an apologist? | Creation.com – Every person has an eternal soul that will exist forever, either enjoying eternal life in Heaven or eternal death and conscious punishment in Hell. That reality should make it clear that apologetics is not simply about winning an intellectual argument-or even worse, coming out on top of a social media spat that doesn’t even rise to the level of an argument.: https://creation.com/en/articles/apologist
What does it mean to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16)? | GotQuestions.org: https://www.gotquestions.org/wise-serpents-harmless-doves.html
Evolution: not a Theory | Biblical Science Institute – It is certainly the case that neo-Darwinian evolution has not been proved. But we probably shouldn’t say that it is “just a theory” because a theory (in the primary, scientific sense of the word) has supporting evidence, whereas neo-Darwinian evolution does not. When people say, “evolution is just a theory,” they probably mean it is unproved. But a scientist will be inclined to interpret the word “theory” in the scientific sense of something with supporting evidence – perhaps something that should be believed like the theory of relativity. But the theory of relativity is truly a theory in the scientific sense and thus has supporting evidence. Neo-Darwinian evolution does not. Therefore, it would be best to refer to evolution as a speculation or unsubstantiated conjecture about the past.: https://biblicalscienceinstitute.com/origins/evolution-not-a-theory/
How Should The Church Engage Those With Same-Sex Attraction Or Gender Dysphoria?: https://crossexamined.org/how-should-the-church-engage-those-with-same-sex-attraction-or-gender-dysphoria/
Christian Apologetics UK: Six short Pro-life responses to Six popular Pro-choice slogans – Part 1: https://apologeticsuk.blogspot.com/2013/07/six-short-pro-life-responses-to-six.html
Ten Reasons Why Birds Are Not Living Dinosaurs | Science and Culture Today: https://scienceandculture.com/2021/04/ten-reasons-why-birds-are-not-living-dinosaurs/
“But Paul Never Met Jesus” And Other Bad Arguments About Paul On The Internet – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM: https://chab123.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/but-paul-never-met-jesusand-other-bad-arguments-about-paul-on-the-internet-3/
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/
Why Christians Must Continue to Guard the Truth of the Gospel | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/why-christians-must-continue-to-guard-the-truth-of-the-gospel/
“If the Gospel is True, Why Don’t We See More Transformation in the Lives of Christians?” – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM: https://chab123.wordpress.com/2018/07/06/if-the-gospel-is-true-why-dont-we-see-more-transformation-in-the-lives-of-christians/
J.P. Moreland: The Relevance of Rational Apologetics – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM: https://chab123.wordpress.com/2024/10/17/j-p-moreland-and-the-revelance-of-rational-apologetics-2/
The Prophecy of Isaiah was Clearly Fulfilled by Jesus Christ – Think Divinely: https://thinkdivinely.com/the-prophecy-of-isaiah-was-clearly-fulfilled-by-jesus-christ/
If Evolution Is True, Our Cognitive Faculties Cannot Be Trusted & Atheism Cannot Be Rationally Held | Reasons for Jesus: https://reasonsforjesus.com/if-evolution-is-true-our-cognitive-faculties-cannot-be-trusted-atheism-cannot-be-rationally-held/
How Should We Share Our Faith On-line (or Should We Do It At All)? | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/how-should-we-share-our-faith-on-line-or-should-we-do-it-at-all/
Was Mark 16:9-20 Originally Part of Mark’s Gospel?: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/was-mark-16-9-20-originally-mark-gospel/
Do We Really Need to Teach Our Kids Apologetics When God is in Control Anyway? – Natasha Crain: https://natashacrain.com/do-we-really-need-to-teach-our-kids-apologetics-when-god-is-in-control-anyway/
Why Should a Child Conceived in Rape Pay for the Crimes of Her Father? – LifeNews.com: https://www.lifenews.com/2015/11/06/lila-rose-why-should-a-child-conceived-in-rape-pay-for-the-crimes-of-her-father/
What is the Wailing Wall / Western Wall? | GotQuestions.org: https://www.gotquestions.org/Wailing-Wall.html
Is It Reasonable to Believe in Minds Even If We Can’t Explain How They Interact with Brains? | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-it-reasonable-to-believe-in-minds-even-if-we-cant-explain-how-they-interact-with-brains/
When Spiritual Heroes Fall: https://www.str.org/w/when-spiritual-heroes-fall
Eight Ways Satan Tempts You To Question Your Salvation | Tim Challies: https://www.challies.com/vlog/eight-ways-satan-tempts-you-to-question-your-salvation/
Don’t Forget Why We Do What We Do – Justin Brierley says, “Like the Star Wars collector who keeps his original 1979 Millennium Falcon toy pristine and unopened in its original box, and has never actually played with it, too many apologists are guilty of spending more time arguing for the truth of their faith than experiencing its living reality. I sometimes fear that those non-believers whose only exposure to Christianity is a weekly dose of the ‘Unbelievable?’ podcast may assume that debating the theories, doctrines and truth claims of Christianity is the main point. But it really isn’t…. What begins in the head should eventually become a matter of the heart. Sadly, apologetics can often end up resembling a game of chess in which clever moves advance an argument, but the victory amounts to little more than an intellectual exercise. Yet people can’t entrust their lives to an argument, however well made. Faith involves more than that. If our arguments are worth making, it is because they open the door to trusting in a person-Jesus Christ-and then living our lives in the light of that reality.”: https://www.str.org/w/don-t-forget-why-we-do-what-we-do
As Science Frauds Go, Haeckel Beats Piltdown Man | Science and Culture Today: https://scienceandculture.com/2020/11/as-science-frauds-go-haeckel-beats-piltdown-man/
How to Read More Books Every Year – Sarah Geringer: https://www.sarahgeringer.com/read-more-books/
Anti-slavery activist William Wilberforce: Christian hero | Creation.com: https://creation.com/en/articles/anti-slavery-activist-william-wilberforce-christian-hero
Do Christians Need to Choose Between Science and God? – Onward in the Faith: https://onwardinthefaith.com/i-believe-in-science-not-god/

They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. Acts 14:21-22

Blessings to you all