In Defense of the Christian Faith

"When you say there's too much evil in this world you assume there's good. When you assume there's good, you assume there's such a thing as a moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil. But if you assume a moral law, you must posit a moral Law Giver, but that's Who you're trying to disprove and not prove. Because if there's no moral Law Giver, there's no moral law. If there's no moral law, there's no good. If there's no good, there's no evil. What is your question?" ~ Ravi Zacharias, in response to the objection, "There cannot be a God, because there is too much evil in this world"

Saw this over at the Stand To Reason blog and just had to share it. In this video, Brett Kunkle talks about the laws of the Old Testament versus those of the New Testament and explains that the teachings of the Old Testament are not at all inconsistent with Christian beliefs today as some would have us believe. This was a video response to the  Backyard Skeptics  who tore some pages out of a Bible in an effort to demonstrate that "when given a immoral biblical law, nearly all Christians agree with atheists that the law should not be used in today's society." If you like what you see in this video, be sure to stop by the STR blog for a weekly Challenge and Brett's Challenge Response. Enjoy!

I just finished watching the phenomenal movie 180 . The movie, a 33 minute film by Living Waters , shows a series of discussions Ray Comfort conducts with 8 pro-choice people who change their minds about abortion in a matter of seconds! What was it that got them to change their minds? The film releases today, September 26. My personal opinion of the movie is that it was very hard-hitting, yet compassionate towards pro-choice individuals as it got to the root of the issue -- that abortion and murder are synonymous -- while sharing that there is hope in Christ. Personally, while I thought the film was excellent, even as a staunchly pro-life advocate, I don't necessarily expect all supporters of abortion to change their minds after watching this film, but I do believe it will get them thinking -- which is, in my view, one step in the right direction. I applaud Ray's efforts; this is much needed in our culture today. Whether you're pro-life or pro-choice , this is a ...

I stumbled across this video today, and I think whoever put it together did a pretty good job. It demonstrates the inconsistency of atheists denying objective morality while affirming that there is moral good and evil. And while we're on the topic of atheism and morality, I would like to point out that no one is claiming that atheists are immoral; when Christians say that atheists can't be good without God , we are merely pointing to the obvious fact that there must be a moral standard in order for an atheist to claim that something is right or wrong (which they do, often contradicting themselves as this video will show) -- and if there must be a moral standard, then there must be a Moral Lawgiver (whom we Christians say is God). Keep that in mind as you watch this video...

Here are this week's apologetics finds: 1) Yesterday evening, William Lane Craig debated Sam Harris on the topic "Is Good from God?" Photo courtesy of Apologetics315  Here are two reviews of the debate: Wintery Knight's review of the debate: http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/audio-and-summary-of-the-william-lane-craig-vs-sam-harris-debate/ Randyeverist's (Possible Worlds) review: http://randyeverist.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-of-craig-vs-harris-debate.html?spref=fb Listen to audio of the debate here: http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/2011/04/william-lane-craig-vs-sam-harris-debate.html 2) Here is an awesome video that demonstrates the importance of objective truth in a humorous way: That's all for now! Until next time, happy Friday! Disclaimer: Due to the overwhelming amount of apologetics material being put forth almost daily, I cannot guarantee that I will cover everything in a single post. However, it is my objective to pres...

In recent weeks, it seems that attacks upon some of Christianity's core beliefs have been escalating in several major areas, so I wanted to share my thoughts on these in today's post -- from a purely Christian perspective. 1) A few months before Christmas last year, the American Atheists erected a billboard claiming that true message of Christmas was all just a myth. Now, an ad stating, "You Can Live Moral, Meaningful Lives without God" has been posted at Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C. Craig Hazen made some good points for a moral lawgiver in the article. For my thoughts on this, see a guest post that apologetics speaker and trainer Mikel Del Rosario wrote for the DCF blog. (Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments under that post!) 2) It seems that the issue of homosexuality has taken a turn for the worst recently, with many Christians "coming out of the closet" and claiming to be both Christian...

If you're like me, you devour apologetics material (or, at least you look for material that will bolster your faith). Every week, I find a small collection of apologetics material -- be it articles, audio/podcasts, downloads, etc. -- that I would like to start sharing with my readers in hopes that it will provide you with information to "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15). So here are this week's picks: Apologetics: Does God Exist? - featuring a number of articles on the subject including some articles and videos by Dr. William Lane Craig Greg Koukl Offers Eight Tips on Witnessing 9 Points for Preaching on the Problem of Evil by Norman Geisler (You can also read an excerpt from his book "If God, Why Evil?" here .) And lastly, I wanted to share a little frugal tip with all you bookworms out there: When looking to purchase a book, never underestimate your local bargain ou...

I recently had the chance to review Accessible Apologetics , a curriculum by apologetics speaker and trainer Mikel Del Rosario . Accessible Apologetics is a compilation of Mikel’s teaching notes (based on other apologist’s works and ten years of teaching and training) put into 5 easy-to-understand lessons on defending Christianity. “This class in defending the faith is all about increasing your confidence as a Christian by exploring the reasons and evidences for the faith, and preparing yourself to be a more effective ambassador of Jesus Christ.” Each lesson includes a Power Point presentation, Leaders’ Notes and suggested correspondence follow-ups (before and after class), Student Notes with room for student answers, interactive activities to aid in learning the material, and Student absentee handouts. All of the above make for a very enjoyable 5 to 10 week learning experience in Christian apologetics with your group or church. Lesson 1 - “What is Christian apologetics?” and “Wh...

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade case which legalized abortion in America. I have never really talked about abortion on this blog before, but today, I make an exception. I believe that abortion is wrong; the Bible says that life is precious -- it is sacred. Too many women have been lied to when they walk into an abortion clinic. They are told that it is just a harmless procedure, and that "it's just a fetus." Excuse me, but "fetus" is Latin for "baby"; yet abortion clinics like Planned Parenthood are making millions of American tax dollars off of this lie! But often, the women who enter such clinics are scared, and they think that having an abortion will alleviate all of their problems. However, the psychological effects of such an action are enormous, as any woman who has experienced an abortion will tell you. That being said, I also believe that if any woman reading this has had an abortion (or is contemplating having one), there...

Can we be good without God? Apologetics speaker and trainer Mikel Del Rosario takes a look at this question in the following guest post. ---------- Do the Right Thing? Guest post by Mikel Del Rosario ApologeticsGuy.com Driving from Sacramento to the Bay Area, I saw a billboard that read, "Are you good without God? Millions Are." Apparently, a theistic tagger added the words, "Also Lost?" at the end of the message. Now, I think the original question probably meant, "Do you feel comfortable without a belief in God? Millions feel the same way." Kind of like if you offer someone a drink, and they go, "No, thanks. I'm good." But that got me thinking, "Can't people be good without God?" I mean, could an atheist do a bunch of good deeds without God? If we mean "doing the right thing while not believing in God," then sure. An atheist could do the right thing in any given circumstance. She could honestly report her incom...

A few days ago, I received this comment from Heather, who wrote: Ravi is either not being honest here, or doesn't fully understand the atheists view on value.  Sure, its subjective, but so are a lot of the sports in the olympics.  Most people can agree that a 9.7 high dive is better then someone tripping off the high dive board and doing a belly flop - even though its all subjective. Ravi's response wouldn't be as clever or as good if there was an atheist up there next to him discussing ethics and humanism.  Straw man arguments are easy to dismantle... If anyone is interested in discussing objective/subjective morality as it relates to this particular video , I'd love to give my side. My response is below, and I invite anyone wanting to discuss this subject with us to comment (but please keep things respectful, and please watch the video before commenting): Hi Heather, Thank you for your comment. I would be happy to discuss this with you albeit in a dialogue (n...