Apologetics &amp; Worldview

Choosing the Best Story

By Joe Boyd The world is a dangerous place. Issues like extremist terrorism, systemic racism, and constant political backbiting seem insurmountable. As a Christian, I believe there is a way through God to a better future. But how? Where is that way? And how do I walk in it? I”ve come to believe that the kingdom (the Way of Jesus) comes in only one form: story. The problems I see associated with the world today all boil down to the big stories, the metanarratives we all live within. For many people, the biggest story they live inside is their personal

July 15, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

A Conversation with Rich Knopp and Mark Mittelberg

CHRISTIAN STANDARD Editor Mark A. Taylor speaks with Rich Knopp and Mark Mittelberg about an apologetics initiative called Room for Doubt that is designed to both reinforce Christians in their faith while also reaching non-Christians. The idea is to defend Christian faith with mercy and grace.Â Knopp is a professor of philosophy and Christian apologetics at Lincoln (IL) Christian University and Mittelberg is a Christian writer and speaker. Watch the interview.

May 31, 2015

Advancing Apologetics at Lincoln

By Jennifer Johnson In May 2013, a representative of the Loftis Foundation contacted Lincoln (IL) Christian University with a perceived need and a solid solution. The result is Lincoln”s new “Room for Doubt” initiative. “John Loftis lost his faith when he went to college,” says Dr. Richard Knopp, professor of philosophy & Christian apologetics at Lincoln. “He returned to church as an adult but says his faith at the time was shallow. The turning point, he says, was when he came across apologetics material in his 50s and it changed his life and his commitment to Christ. He wondered if

August 27, 2014

The Thread that Leads to God

By Jim Tune In Modern Man in Search of a Soul, Carl Jung wrote these penetrating words: “About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and the emptiness in their lives. This can be described as the general neurosis of our time.” The late philosopher and author Francis Schaeffer said, “The damnation of this generation is that it doesn’t know that it has any meaning at all.” Solomon put it this way: “Everything is meaningless. . . . I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all

August 13, 2014

Real Hope

By Jim Tune Last spring I taught a course on apologetics. We devoted considerable attention to the resurrection. I wanted students to sink deep roots in the ground of real hope””not optimism, not wishful thinking, but hope! I remember a story about a painful time in the life of a young missionary woman. This woman had married a Rwandan pastor, a Tutsi, and they had established a home together in that country. She was visiting Kenya on a mission trip when the dreadful Rwandan tragedy erupted. Hutu militia moved in, butchering men, women, and children wherever they went. The ensuing

June 24, 2014

Room for Doubt””Reason for Hope

By Mark Mittelberg “Mom, Dad . . . I don”t want to hurt you, but you need to know that since moving away from home I”ve started to have a lot of doubts about spiritual stuff you taught me growing up. I”ve been thinking about it quite a bit and, well, the whole idea that there”s a supreme being who made everything and who hears all our prayers and is trying to guide our lives””I just can”t accept it any longer. . . .” I can”t tell you have many times I”ve heard words like these when I talk with

June 23, 2014

Where Will We Go Without God?

By Richard Knopp Those who refute the possibility of cosmic intelligence””they won”t allow that God created the universe””make several demands on those who do believe. Are their demands reasonable? And do they abide by them themselves? Many Christians are aware that apologetics involves “defending” the faith. Peter says we are to be ready always to “make a defense [Greek, apologia] to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15, New American Standard Bible). The need for apologetics is illustrated by the disturbing number of churched young people who are wandering

June 20, 2014

Failure to Convince

By Jonathan Williams “I don”t need your God to make me good.” I was having lunch with Tom, a close friend and devout atheist. I ordered the Reuben. He went light with the salad. The topic was heavy. “Then what”s your foundation for goodness and morality?” I asked him. “What stops you from being a compulsive liar or a career con artist?” “Morality and goodness are biological,” Tom replied, “they”ve been with us from the beginning. That”s how our species not only survives, but also thrives.” I brought up the late Jeffrey Dahmer, a convicted murderer and sex offender, who,

June 16, 2014

Postmodernism & Apologetics

By Bob Mink As postmodernism”s influence continues to grow, many wonder what impact it is having on Christian apologetics. Does it require an approach different from what Christian apologists have been saying for the past 500 years? The short answer (given in a way postmodernists might appreciate) is yes and no. Three relatively recent books directly and indirectly address the issue. Direct Answer Ironically, the oldest of these books most directly answers the question. Christian Apologetics in the Postmodern World (IVP Academic, 1995) is a collection of essays edited by Timothy R. Phillips and Dennis L. Okholm. The 11

June 15, 2014

An Interview with Ravi Zacharias

By David Faust Why have you devoted so much of your life and ministry to Christian apologetics? I come from India, where the Christian faith is clearly a minority.1 When you believe something out of deep conviction that has cost you quite a bit and is not in the mainstream, then you have to answer the questions that arise. There is no escaping it, internally or externally. You are constantly surrounded by deep-seated questions of truth. I myself had many questions as a young person, and came to Christ on a bed of suicide at the age of 17. Thus,

June 14, 2014

A Day with Ravi Zacharias

By David Faust Visiting someone in the hospital doesn”t seem like a big deal. For many of us, it”s a routine part of ministry. About 50 years ago in India, a Christian named Fred David visited a forlorn 17-year-old in the hospital. The young man David visited was hospitalized because he had tried to end his own life by drinking poison. Fortunately, the attempted suicide failed and the teenager was going to recover. Fred handed a Bible to the patient”s mom, showing her the page containing John 14:19, where Jesus says, “Because I live, you also will live.” The young

June 13, 2014

What”s So Distinctive about the Christian Faith?

By Donald S. Tingle The world is full of religions. If Christianity is just one of many faith traditions, what makes it so special, so distinctive from all other religious claims? The answers Christian have given to that question often fit somewhere between two extremes. But somewhere in the middle lie the answers we need to show followers of other religions why Christianity alone truly leads us to God. On the extreme right some might say, “Christianity is true; therefore all non-Christian religions are false. Non-Christians are so thoroughly blinded by Satan that nothing worthwhile can be found among their

June 12, 2014

John Polkinghorne: A Bottom-Up Thinker

By C. Robert Wetzel It must have been sometime in the mid-1980s that I saw the notice that Dr. John Polkinghorne would be giving a lecture at the University of Birmingham. What I did not know when I set out for the university that day was the special occasion that brought John Polkinghorne to Birmingham. He was to give an address on the topic of science and religion to the Joseph Priestly Society, the national professional organization of chemists. Polkinghorne was himself a nationally recognized mathematical physicist who had shocked his colleagues at University of Cambridge when he announced

June 11, 2014

Who Needs Apologetics?

By Chad Ragsdale While attacks abound on faith in general and Christianity in particular, some claim the time for apologetics is past.Â But I say apologetics will always be relevant and essential for two reasons: the nature of our faith, and the nature of our call. “Apologetics is a wonderful thing,” the guest speaker said. “If you live in the 1950s. And in Kansas.” It was an awkward moment. And not just because the crowd included a large number of Kansas students sometimes sensitive about their home state being used as the universal standard for lameness. But also because it

June 9, 2014

Science or Faith?

By Tim Stafford I”ve interviewed 11 scientists who, while disagreeing withÂ each other, share the conviction that a person can embrace both science and faith in God. These days, almost every young American believes he has a choice to make. He can choose faith or he can choose science, but he can”t choose both. It”s extremely hard to choose faith over science, though some do. After all, if you breathe the air around any academic institution, you imbibe the belief that all the good jobs involve math and science. Watch college commercials during bowl or tournament games. Don”t they always””always“”include a

June 7, 2014

The Late Great Ape Debate (Part 2)

By Bayard Taylor What should a Christian believe about God and creation? Some Christians hold firmly to one view, but not all Christians agree about which view is correct. Some have rejected God or the Bible as they”ve studied the science surrounding creation theories. And others, confused by the controversies, just try to avoid the subject. Here, adapted from Bayard Taylor”s book, is a survey of five main creation views, with arguments for or against each of them. (We published Part 1 yesterday — CLICK HERE to read it. And the entire book is available for download fromÂ Standard Publishing’s website.)

June 6, 2014

The Late Great Ape Debate (Part 1)

By Bayard Taylor What should a Christian believe about God and creation? Some Christians hold firmly to one view, but not all Christians agree about which view is correct. Some have rejected God or the Bible as they”ve studied the science surrounding creation theories. And others, confused by the controversies, just try to avoid the subject. Here, adapted from Bayard Taylor”s book, is a survey of five main creation views, with arguments for or against each of them. (The entire book is available for download from Standard Publishing’s website.) Part 1: Two Kinds of Creation Almost 90 years out from

April 4, 2014

After the Facts

By Jennifer Johnson The men at our church LOVE to study apologetics. I think it”s because they like to argue. One reason I contacted Bob Hall after reading about the apologetics group he created was the wording of the announcement in Velocity Christian Church“s e-news: “This team has kicked off a long-term effort to understand our culture”s perceptions, assumptions, questions and issues that are barriers to faith in Jesus. We”re now assembling well-documented, thoughtful and effective responses and preparing to use them in a respectful way.” The guys at our church aren”t at all disrespectful, but they do have a

December 20, 2013

What a Bunch of Hard-core Vegan Pagans Taught Me About Jesus

By Ryan Rasmussen Quite possibly the scariest moment in my life came at age 22, whereupon graduating from Bible college, I was embarking upon my first full-time ministry. I had taken a job as youth pastor at a little church just north of Indianapolis, Indiana. The church sat comfortably between cornfields and was on the outskirts of a blue-collar factory town the Beach Boys used to sing about (Kokomo). The people were nice, the church was great, but I still felt all alone in this new world I had taken by storm. In an effort to kill time and distract

November 2, 2013