Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• What Is Physicalism?
• Can Evolution Explain Morality? (MP3)
• So You Want to be a Jesus Mythicist?
• Visual Illustration of the Trinity
• Reasonable Faith Android Apps
• Apologetic Resources On Easter Issues
• The Gospels: Oral History, Not Oral Tradition
• Longings and Needs as Reasons for Belief in God
• Lee Strobel interviews Mike Licona (video)
• Unbelievable? The Conference, May 2012: London
• William Lane Craig: The Evidence for God
• Free Audio Sample: Critical Thinking & Apologetics
• Stand to Reason: Challenge and Response Video Resources
• Challenge Response: Men Don’t Rise From the Dead (vid)
• Radiation Could have Caused the Image in the Shroud of Turin
• Fight, Explore, Dance: Effective Communication in Apologetics Part 2
• Philosopher Doug Groothuis explains the logic of the pro-life position
• What is intelligent design? Dr. Stephen C. Meyer explains in this video
Some good deals on Kindle for cheap:
• Wayne Grudem's Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know
• Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Gregory Koukl
• True Reason: Christian Responses to the Challenge of the Challenge of Atheism
• Downloaded: "Come Let Us Reason: New Essays in Christian Apologetics" by William Lane Craig and Paul Copan

• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315. Also, Apologetics 315 is also now a registered 501c3 non-profit.

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Six months ago Apologetics 315 started a Read Along project with the excellent apologetics textbook Christian Apologetics by Doug Groothuis. (The index can be found here.) It was only 700+ pages. But now it's time to move on to the next Read Along project.

This time around we'll be tackling a much shorter book, under 300 pages, just 18 chapters... but it is another excellent book: Is God Just a Human Invention: And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow. (Hear the interview with the authors here and book review here.)

Why choose this book? For a number of reasons:
First, the quality of the content is excellent. The authors have a wonderful ability to distill key ideas concisely without sacrificing depth. Second, the size is right. The chapters are a manageable size and the book isn't overwhelming. The diversity of content keeps it fresh, while staying relevant to key apologetic topics. Third, it introduces the reader to the key voices on the apologetic landscape. It also provides helpful pointers to key resources for further reading. This is a great place to get started down the right path in dealing with each particular issue. Finally, this book covers the kind of issues that we deal with everyday in conversation, on the internet, and as we grapple with the issues ourselves.

So what's the plan? For those who did the Read Along previously, you'll see that things will flow the same way: Audio will be provided each week with chapter summaries, a PDF study guide, and a place to discuss the reading online.

Okay, so when do we start? We'll announce that soon. (It will be about two weeks.) But in the meantime, you can pick up the paperback or the Kindle version of the book so you'll be ready to start.

Looking forward to reading along with you again!

In this lecture, entitled External Evidences for the Truth of the Gospels, Dr. Timothy McGrew maps out the external and internal evidence bearing on the authenticity of the Gospels and explores some of the positive external evidence for their truthfulness. These include non-Christian sources and incidental historical confirmations. This is one hour of content followed by thirty minutes of Q&A. PowerPoint file is here. Visit the Library of Historical Apologetics.

Full MP3 Audio here. (1hr 30min)
Video on YouTube here.
Enjoy.

Want to learn the ins and outs of logic and critical thinking? Want to be a more discerning thinker when defending the faith? It's not too late to hop in for the Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking Course (part 2) at the Online Apologetics Academy. Taught by Brian Auten of Apologetics 315, this four-week course will be working through Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide (3rd Edition) by Bowell & Kemp. Along with reading and assignments, audio is supplied that applies these ideas and concepts to apologetic engagement.

---> Here's a sample audio from the first week. (36 min)
(This sample will only be available for a week)
Interested? Go to the Online Apologetics Academy for more.

From the book's page at Amazon: While New Atheists like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and others proclaim loudly their rationality, clear thinking, and incontrovertible scientific arguments, others are beginning to wonder how genuinely rational they are. Have they proved anything? Have they argued convincingly? Have they pinpointed any real challenges to the credibility of Christian faith?

True Reason, edited by Tom Gilson and Carson Weitnauer, brings together a compendium of writers—philosophers, apologists, ethicists, theologians, historians—who look carefully at the best arguments atheism has and evaluate their validity, logic, assumptions, and naturalist conclusions.

Authors include noted philosopher William Lane Craig and popular apologist Sean McDowell, along with Gilson, Weitnauer, John DePoe, Chuck Edwards, Matthew Flannagan, Peter Grice, Randy Hardman, David Marshall, Glenn Sunshine, David Wood, and Samuel Youngs. Each chapter tackles a different atheist argument and brings reason fully into the discussion. See the book website.

A low price for a great ebook: $2.99
Get it here.

Today's interview is with C. Michael Patton, president of Reclaiming the Mind/Credo House Ministries, a ministry of theological development for lay-people. He blogs at Parchment and Pen and is also responsible for the development of the Credo House of Theology, a theological coffee house and bookstore. He talks about getting theology to the layperson, the relationship and interface between theology and apologetics, theological equipping for apologists, the importance of wresting with theological issues, pitfalls from neglecting theological training, advice for those considering seminary, the importance of community, important lessons and advice for doing theology and apologetics, and more. Get the Theology App here. See the Theology Program here. Theology Unplugged Podcast here.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (40 min)

Enjoy.
Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

"Apologetics needs to be applied to the whole of life under the lordship of Jesus Christ. We should hear apologetics ringing out from the pulpit and being discussed in every level of Christian education. Apologetics should be part of the core curriculum at Christian seminaries, colleges and high schools. Campus ministries should train their workers to defend Christianity and understand the weaknesses of other worldviews. Every level of publishing-Christian and secular-should feel the force of Christian persuasion, both at the academic and more popular levels. Christian academics, whether at Christian or secular institutions, should strive to develop a Christian perspective on their disciplines, being unashamed of the gospel, yet wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16)."

- Douglas Groothuis (Christian Apologetics, p. 649)

A new spirituality has crept into our culture, and spiritual truth, specifically the truth about Christ is often its target. In today’s culture, young and old alike are bombarded from many directions by false teachings about spiritual matters. Many in the Western society are departing from traditional beliefs to embrace a New Spirituality rooted in Eastern mysticism as our culture seeks to be less “religious” and more “spiritual.”

In his latest book, Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality, Dr. Ravi Zacharias shows why Jesus alone is the Truth in a world of spiritual relativism. Having been born and raised in India, Ravi Zacharias provides a unique perspective as he defines what the New Spirituality is, how it came to have such an influence in Western society, and examines the teachings of its primary advocates.

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Q&A with Lee Strobel
• Do You Pray for Apologists?
• Mormon Scriptures Revealed
• Ten Great Quotes on Apologetics
• Ap315 Recent Book Winner
• Lee Strobel's Interview with Ratio Christi
• How Does God Provide Meaning and Purpose?
• An Interview with Alvin Plantinga (MP3)
• The Intellectual Persecution of the Church
• Conceptualizing God’s Relationship to Time
• Blaise’s Best Bet, Part 6: Pascal’s Wager Continued
• Logic, Critical Thinking, and Apologetics Course
• 7 Days that divide the world - video by John Lennox
• Does intelligent design theory require that the designs be perfect?
• Unbelievable? The Conference 2012 - Giving a Sceptical World Reasons to Believe

• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315. Also, Apologetics 315 is also now a registered 501c3 non-profit.

Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.
Or just add this feed to your RSS reader.
For daily post links, please follow on Facebook.

Today we conclude with chapter twenty-six of Read Along with Apologetics315, a weekly chapter-by-chapter study through Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Christianity by Douglas Groothuis. This is the last week of the series! The series index is here. Below you will find final questions for the chapter, as well as the audio intro and conclusion audio to the series:

In this audio from Beacon Church, Andrew Wilson (author of Deluded by Dawkins) delivers a talk entitled: 7 Rules for Apologetics. This talk includes do's and don'ts for doing apologetics. 35 minutes followed by questions and answers. Worth listening to so you stay sharp and avoid pitfalls. Original audio found here. [HT: Daniel Rodger]

Full MP3 Audio here. (56 min)
Enjoy.

Want to learn the ins and outs of logic and critical thinking? Want to be a more discerning thinker when defending the faith? Consider taking the Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking Course (part 2) at the Online Apologetics Academy. Taught by Brian Auten of Apologetics 315, this four-week course will be working through Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide (3rd Edition) by Bowell & Kemp. There will be weekly assignments, and weekly audio lectures discussing the application of the content to Christian apologetics. Part 1 of the course is helpful, but not required for enrolling in part 2 of the course. This course will give you a solid grasp of the foundations of critical thinking, the use and evaluation of arguments, and how these apply to the task of apologetics.

Interested? Go to the Online Apologetics Academy for more.
Questions welcome below.

Infinity: The characteristic of having no bounds or limits. In classical theism, many of God's attributes, such as knowledge, power and love, are viewed as infinite. In set theory, infinite is often defined as the property of a set that has a subset whose members can be placed in a one-to-one correspondence with the original set, as is the case for the natural numbers and the even integers. With respect to a series, there is debate among philosophers as to whether an actual infinite is possible, as opposed to a procedure that can in principle be repeated endlessly. Those who deny an actual infinite must also deny that the universe is infinitely old.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 61.

Today's interview is with Tom Price and Vince Vitale, academic tutors at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. They talk about their work with RZIM and OCCA, finding Christ in University, cultural differences and Christianity, the value of formal study in apologetics, the pastoral and community dimension of apologetics training, the opportunities and programs at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (six-week program, one-year program and masters program), and advice for apologists. Find out more about OCCA here.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (48 min)

Enjoy.
Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

“Do you believe in the existence of Socrates? Alexander the Great? Julius Caesar? If historicity is established by written records in multiple copies that date originally from near contemporaneous sources, there is far more proof for Christ’s existence than for any of theirs.”

- Dinesh D’Souza
What’s So Great About Christianity, p. 296.

Christianity and politics has always been an interesting mix. A mix that has caused loads of controversy and confusion among Christians. For example, what exactly is separation of church and state, and how exactly should a Christian get involved in politics and in the public square? These are some of the issues that Francis J. Beckwith hopes to bring some clarity to with his book Politics for Christians which is another book that is part of the Christian Worldview Integration Series edited by J.P. Moreland and Beckwith himself.

This book is not about what political ideology you should have, and it is not about which party you should choose, although Beckwith will note how our values as Christians will play a role in determining a party and/or ideology that best fits.

Here are this week's recommended apologetics links. Enjoy.
• Prayer And Apologetics
• The Scale of the Universe
• Important Heresies and Orthodoxy
• One Good Myth Deserves Another
• Theistic Evolution Incompatible
• The Argument From Cosmic Fine Tuning
• The Moral Argument for God's Existence
• The Case for Jesus - JP Moreland video
• Book Review — Early Christian Thinkers
• Blaise’s Best Bet, Part 5: Pascal’s Wager
• What To Expect If You Become An Apologist
• Occam’s Razor and the Moral Argument for Theism
• Quantum Physics: How Small? How Fast? How Long?
• Summer Seminar on Intelligent Design in the Natural Sciences
• Fight, Explore, Dance: Effective Communication in Apologetics Part 1
• How Does William Lane Craig Make Time for a Personal Life with a Busy Schedule?
• William Lane Craig: The Evidence for Jesus's Resurrection - Video

• Shopping via Amazon? If you use this link, a bit of your purchase goes to fund Apologetics 315. Thanks for those of you using the link, as it helps Ap315 while we wait for our 501c3 approval. Apologetics 315 is also now a registered 501c3 non-profit.

Get these sorts of links and more by following on Twitter.
Or just add this feed to your RSS reader.
For daily post links, please follow on Facebook.

Today we continue with chapter twenty-five of Read Along with Apologetics315, a weekly chapter-by-chapter study through Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Christianity by Douglas Groothuis. Please leave a comment on your reading below. This is where you can interact with others reading the book, ask questions, or add your own thoughts. Series index here. Click below for the audio intro, chapter 25 study questions PDF, and summary:

Today Apologetics 315 will be giving away a copy of Alister McGrath's new book: Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers & Skeptics Find Faith. From the press release: "In the spirit of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, Alister McGrath's Mere Apologetics seeks to equip readers to engage gracefully and intelligently with the challenges facing the faith today while drawing appropriately on the wisdom of the past. Rather than supplying the fine detail of every apologetic issue in order to win arguments, Mere Apologetics teaches a method that appeals not only to the mind but also to the heart and the imagination. This highly accessible, easy-to-read book is perfect for pastors, teachers, students, and lay people who want to speak clearly and lovingly to the issues that confront people of faith today."
This is a great book for those new to apologetics.

Congrats to Chad who won the drawing!

What sort of history are the Gospels? In this audio, biblical scholar Richard Bauckham presents this lecture on the topic of: The Gospels as Historical Biography. This talk was presented at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and video can be found here. You may also be interested in Bauckham's excellent book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony.

Full MP3 Audio here. (70 min)

Enjoy.

Compatibilism: In philosophy of action, the view that causal determinism is logically compatible with free will. The compatibilist who accepts both determinism and free will is called a soft determinist. Compatibilism usually defines free will as an action that is caused by the individual's own desires or wishes, rather than being coerced by some external power. The alternative possibilities that seem necessary for genuine free will are interpreted by compatibilists as hypothetical in character. For example, the individual who freely gave money to a charity could have refrained from giving money if the individual had wished to do so or if the situation had been different. Critics of compatibilism argue that genuine freedom requires an individual to have more than one possibility that is actually possible at the time of choosing, not merely possibilities that would be open if certain facts that do not obtain were to obtain.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 25.