Andreas Köstenberger Interview – Interview Redux
Andreas Köstenberger Interview Redux Here are two of our interviews with the great Andreas Köstenberger. The first part was discussing his book in response to Bart Ehrman that we did on the show. The second being a join interview with Andreas Köstenberger and his co-author Gregory Goswell on their amazing Biblical Theology book. I have […]
Christianity Can Integrate With Science – Ep.342 – Scientism & Secularism – The Importance Of Integrating Christianity And Science – Part 2
Christianity Can Integrate With Science Christianity can integrate with science. In fact, the scientific revolution was only made possible because of the Christian worldview and those people who sought to discover just exactly how God ordered the universe. Only post-Enlightenment anachronistic history puts Christianity and science at odds with each other. So, this is our […]
Can Science Integrate With Christianity? – Ep.341 – Scientism & Secularism – The Importance Of Integrating Christianity And Science – Part 1
Can Science Integrate With Christianity? Now that we have knocked down scientism, are Christians left without being able to use science? Is science without the worldview that provided for its justification and moral guards? Why not at all, says J. P. Moreland who provides a foundation for how science integrate with Christianity. TIMELINE: 00:00 – […]
Why God Of The Gaps Is A Bad Objection – Ep.340 – Scientism & Secularism – Methodological Naturalism, Theistic Evolution, & Intelligent Design – Part 2
Why God Of The Gaps Is A Bad Objection While finishing our discussion on why methodological naturalism should be rejected, we deal with another bad objection to Christians having a place in the science world. The charge of believing in a “God of the gaps” is levied at Christians to scoff at their history in […]
Fine Tuning, Consciousness, & Morality – Ep.338 – Scientism & Secularism – 5 Things Science Can’t Explain But Theism Can – Part 2
Fine Tuning, Consciousness, & Morality Finishing up on the 5 things science can’t explain: Fine Tuning, Consciousness, & Morality. In a “physical only” science setting these ideas are best left alone. It winds up either with no reason to hold anyone accountable for anything or the need to discard scientism and possibly let theism into […]
Science Can’t Explain Origin Or Laws – Ep.337 – Scientism & Secularism – 5 Things Science Can’t Explain But Theism Can – Part 1
Science Can’t Explain Origin Or Laws Looking at how philosophy first holds its place over science, we look at five things science can’t explain – but Theism can. Two of those things it can’t explain are origin or laws. That is, the origin of the universe and the fundamental laws of nature. You’d think this […]
Philosophy’s Authority Over Science – Ep.335 – Scientism & Secularism – Examples Of The Authority And Autonomy Thesis – Part 2
Philosophy’s Authority Over Science Previously, we looked at the authority philosophy has over science, and now we look at philosophy’s authority over science. From what beaker to grab to remembering equations to what to write in that peer-reviewed study, the initial steps one makes and concludes is all philosophical. Those most hurt? Scientists and atheists. […]
The Authority Of Philosophy Over Science – Ep.333 – Scientism & Secularism – Examples Of The Authority And Autonomy Theses – Part 1
The Authority Of Philosophy Over Science If you think the atheists are mad and don’t watch our videos before commenting, wait till they don’t see this one! In continuing the argument that philosophy should be considered first before one considers their science, we look at how the authority of philosophy is not only substantiated by […]
Philosophy First! – Ep.332 – Scientism & Secularism – Scientism & 1st Philosophy
Philosophy First! The goal is not to reject science. It’s understanding the failure that scientism provides when it comes to understanding. However, adopting a philosophy first framework provides the foundation for science to function (and the presuppositions needed for the necessary preconditions of intelligibility). So he’s the case for adopting First Philosophy. TIMELINE: 00:00 – […]
Scientism Is Not All In The Head – Ep.331 – Scientism & Secularism – When Science Exceeds Its Reach
Scientism Is Not All In The Head Here’s a case study in which desiring only naturalist scientific explanations won’t get you anywhere – consciousness. When it comes to the mind, one either has to reject the mind and therefore consciousness or reject a purely naturalistic science. Scientism is not all in the head, it seems. […]
Other Sources Of Knowledge – Ep.330 – Scientism & Secularism – The Availability Of Non-Scientific Knowledge
Other Sources Of Knowledge Well, if science doesn’t give us all knowledge, what are other sources of knowledge? Well here are three areas where we not only obtain knowledge but we tend to have more confidence in it – than even science. TIMELINE: 00:00 – Introduction 02:04 – Science Is Showy, Philosophy Is Talky 05:16 […]
Weak Scientism Is Weak – Ep.329 – Scientism & Secularism – Why Weak Scientism Is No Better
Weak Scientism Is Weak Ok, strong scientism is bad because it denies any other field the ability to provide truth and in making the claim it becomes self-refuting. But what about weak scientism which lets a few areas have their claims to help support the Science(TM)? Well even weak scientism is weak and must be […]
Scientism Is Self-Refuting – Ep.326 – Scientism & Secularism – Scientism Is Self-Refuting & Scientism Is the Enemy of Science – Cave To The Cross Apologetics – Part 1
Scientism Is Self-Refuting Now that we’ve defined our terms about scientism, what makes it so dangerous? Here we introduce that scientism is self-refuting. This matters because the claims scientism makes means that it then makes science impossible to do. Moreland gives six presuppositions that actual science rests upon and in upcoming episodes we’ll look at […]
The Ugly Source Of Scientism – Ep.325 – Scientism & Secularism – How Scientism Changed The Universities – Cave To The Cross Apologetics
The Ugly Source Of Scientism Where did scientism come from? What is the ugly source of scientism? Would anyone be shocked to learn that the love of war and government overreach has led to negative outcomes? This includes universities divorcing their ethics lessons from everything but the humanities. Now, the source for moralism in college […]
Scientism Ruins Lives – Ep.324 – Scientism & Secularism – Why Scientism Matters – Cave To The Cross Apologetics
Scientism Ruins Lives Now that we’ve defined scientism, we have to talk about why it matters. How scientism ruins lives of us in our so-called modern world. It is exactly those ideas that the West, western science, and Christianity helped to bake into the culture that are eroding away. It’s almost like a foundation has […]
Defining Scientism – Ep.323 – Scientism & Secularism – The (Scientistic) Air We Breathe – Cave To The Cross Apologetics
Defining Scientism We kick off our book on scientism by doing what we always advocate for – defining our terms. Here, J.P. Moreland is defining scientism and explaining exactly why it is a dangerous ideology. We then go on to list a few examples from the world of politics, social advice, government schools, and even […]
Introduction To Moreland & His Book – Ep.322 – Scientism & Secularism – Forward & Intro – Cave To The Cross Apologetics
Introduction To Moreland & His Book We kick off our book looking at not only the introduction of the book, but the introduction to Moreland and who he is and his background. This is a wonderful reading on the science background of J.P. Moreland and shows us why he’s the guy to write a book […]
One Body, Many Gifts – Ep.285 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Speaking the Truth in Love – Perspectives on Apologetics
One Body, Many Gifts In our concluding chapter to the book, we look at how the Church is one body & many gifts are given in it. Our authors discuss how the differences in apologetic methods might actually be a good thing to respond to both apologists and those they speak to. With that, what […]
Integrating Answering Evil, Miracles, & Jesus – Ep.284 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Reasons For Hope – Integrating Diverse Arguments In Apologetics – Part 2
Integrating Answering Evil, Miracles, & Jesus Concluding with our look at the Integrative Approach we look at integrating answering evil, miracles, and Jesus. What have you thought about this approach? Does it allow each approach to shine or does it falter by including non-working relationships? Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 02:18 – Integrative Approach On The […]
Helping Everyone To Know God & Make Him Known – Ep.283 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Reasons For Hope – Integrating Diverse Arguments In Apologetics – Part 1
Helping Everyone Now the Integrative approach will show how it is helping everyone to know God & make Him known. While not it’s own apologetic approach, our authors show how it can help the four other major approaches answer in different ways when it comes to showing Scripture as truth, combating polytheism, and know that […]
Integrative Apologetics – The Ultimate Approach? – Ep.282 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Contending For The Faith – Part 2
Integrative Apologetics – The Ultimate Approach? We look at the meta-apologetics of the Integrative apologetics approach. While not its own, separate apologetics, our authors believe this type maybe the key to the ultimate approach in apologetics. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:12 – Test Case – Integrative Approach Vs. Post-Modernism 03:33 – Integrative Apologetics & Theology […]
Apologetics & Human Knowledge – Ep.281 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Contending For The Faith – Part 1
Apologetics & Human Knowledge With the Integrative Approach to apologetics, the goal isn’t to form a new coalition movement of apologetics but to show that Christians can work best when apologetics & human knowledge are used for defending the truth. What do you think? Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:14 – The Integrative Approach Isn’t A […]
Clark, Evans, & Frame Want Us All To Get Along – Ep.280 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologists Who Favor Integration – Part 2
Clark, Evans, & Frame Want Us All To Get Along Finishing up our historical look at the Integrative approach to apologetics we look at David K. Clark, C. Stephan Evans, & John Frame. Their approaches might seem rooted in majorly one camp more than the others but they do encourage all apologists to get along […]
Fideist Strengths & Weaknesses – Ep.278 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics & The Subjectivity Of Faith – Part 2
Fideist Strengths & Weaknesses The conclusion of our look at Fideism ends with a look at Fideist strengths and weaknesses. Our authors have made a good case for why Fideism is an apologetic method but what do they think it brings to the table and where it falters? Next time – a SURPRISE method! Timeline: […]
Your Own Personal Jesus – Ep.276 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Calling People To Encounter God In Jesus Christ – Part 2
Your Own Personal Jesus For the final three apologetic questions answers, the Fideist point to the fact that one has your own personal Jesus. In that when it comes to the problem of evil or miracles or who Jesus is, it should always lead to answers in the personal nature of God and one in […]
Fideist Split Scripture & Christianity – Ep.275 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Calling People To Encounter God In Jesus Christ – Part 1
Fideist Split Scripture & Christianity In looking at how Fideists approach our 6 apologetics questions, we’ll see oddly that Fidiests split Scripture & Christianity as separate from the Word of God & The Christian religion. Also, proof of God comes from knowing God personally. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:40 – Fideist Split Scripture & The […]
Fideist Faith Is Experience – Ep.274 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Reasons Of The Heart – Part 2
Fideist Faith Is Experience The final three parts of the apologetic approach of rational Fideists. Here we see for Fideist faith is experience and they don’t look fondly at “the Science(TM)” and even less at history as a set of facts. They aren’t anti-science or anti-history, they just believe in proper avenues and spheres not […]
Fideist Issues With Theology & Philosophy – Ep.273 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Reasons Of The Heart – Part 1
Fideist Issues With Theology & Philosophy Discussing now the meta-apologetics of Fidesim we focus on three areas of truth, theology, and philosophy. We see that Fideists do engage in apologetics but have big issues with theology and philosophy in the way they are used in the other methods of apologetics. While you might not agree […]
Historical Fideism – Ep.272 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologists Who Emphasize Faith – Part 2
Historical Fideism We now move to the historical Fideism of those who would subscribe to the title of Fidist. Søren Kierkegaard, Karl Barth, and Donald Bloesch are the main proponents of the apologetic method that is more to them than “just believe”. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:38 – Søren Kierkegaard – The Father Of Essentialism […]
Rational Fideism – Ep.271 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologists Who Emphasize Faith – Part 1
Rational Fideism We open our discussion on the 4th apologetic method with not “just believe” but Rational Fideism. This is one where apologists emphasize faith and we go into what value that adds to the conversation. We also discuss three historical proto-Fideists Tertullian, Martin Luther, and Blaise Pascal. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 03:01 – Can […]
Cave To The Cross Apologetics Ad
Cave To The Cross Apologetics Ad Before we get into our last apologetic method, this week we’re featuring an “ad” for our show from our friends at The Anarchist Bible Study. Check them out, but check us out first. We’ll see ya, next week! https://media.blubrry.com/cavetothecross/cavetothecross.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cave-To-The-Cross-Ad.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify […]
Pros & Cons Of Presuppositionalism Reformed Apologetics – Ep.270 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics And The Authority Of Revelation – Part 2
Pros & Cons Of Presuppositionalism Reformed Apologetics We conclude our section on the third apologetic method by looking at the pros & cons of presuppositionalism Reformed Apologetics. But here’s the real question, are the negatives stated really negatives? Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 02:24 – Strengths Of Reformed Apologetics 03:11 – Strength #1 – Linking Apologetics […]
Summary Of Presuppositional Reformed Apologetics – Ep.269 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics And The Authority Of Revelation – Part 1
Summary Of Presuppositional Reformed Apologetics We begin our wrap-up of this apologetic method with a summary of presuppositional Reformed Apologetics. We summarize the six meta-apologetics questions that build the method and then we look at the six apologetic questions all methods should have an answer for. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:24 – Summarizing Reformed Apologetics […]
The Centrality Of Scripture For Life’s Big Questions – Ep.268 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Taking Every Thought Captive – Part 2
The Centrality Of Scripture For Life’s Big Questions With the final four apologetic questions for the presuppositional Reformed apologetic method we see these apologists keep going back to the centrality of Scripture for life’s big questions. Is there a God? What about evil in the world? Are miracles possible? Who is this Jesus person in […]
Scripture Is The Foundation For Everything – Ep.267 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Taking Every Thought Captive – Part 1
Scripture Is The Foundation For Everything Now we cover the apologetic questions that Reformed apologetics (presuppositionalism) would answer. Here we look at what presuppositionalists say about Scripture and religious pluralism. To Reformed apologists, Scripture is the foundation for everything. So, of course, we don’t make it too far through all six questions. Timeline: 00:00 – […]
Biblical Standards For Science, History, & Experience – Ep.266 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Christianity In Conflict – Part 2
Biblical Standards For Science, History, & Experience Finishing up our chapter on the meta apologetics of Presuppositional Reformed Apologetics we look at their call for biblical standards for science, history, & experience. We see that Reformed apologetics want to push the antithesis between the Christian and the non-Christian. From this push, the Christian is able […]
Biblical Standards For Theology & Philosophy – Ep.265 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Christianity In Conflict – Part 1
Biblical Standards For Theology & Philosophy We start out looking at presuppositional Reformed apologetics meta-apologetics by covering probably two of the biggest areas of disagreement with the previously covered methods. For Reformed apologetics, there is the call for biblical standards for theology and philosophy and for them to enact themselves out in the exercise of […]
The Founders Of Reformed Apologetics – Ep.264 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Reformed Apologetics – Part 2
The Founders Of Reformed Apologetics We complete our journey of the giants of presuppositionalism and the roots by looking at the biggest founders of Reformed apologetics that are known today. Abraham Kyper establishes the possibility of certainty of faith. Herman Dooyeweerd develops transcendental apologetics. Cornelius Van Til cements presuppositionalism. Gordon Clark takes the strand away […]
Strengths & Weakness Of Evidentialism – Ep.262 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics And The Interpretation Of Fact – Part 2
Strengths & Weakness Of Evidentialism We conclude our look at the second model of apologetics by looking at the strengths & weaknesses of evidentialism. And like good trinitarians, there are three of each. Some of the weaknesses, also, seem to add credibility to one of our upcoming methods. Hmmmm. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:39 – […]
The Meta & The Apologetics Of Evidentialism – Ep.261 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics And The Interpretation Of Fact – Part 1
The Meta & The Apologetics Of Evidentialism Today we fly through the meta & the apologetics of evidentialism as it shares a number of qualities with classical apologetics we’ve discussed before. Here we tend to highlight the differences between the two or where the evidentialist tends to focus more of their arguments. Timeline: 00:00 – […]
Scripture, Miracles, Prophecies, & Uniqueness Of Christianity – Ep.259 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Presenting Evidence That Demands A Verdict – Part 1
Scripture, Miracles, Prophecies, & Uniqueness Of Christianity Today, we look at four big evidences that evidentialists look at. Scripture, miracles, prophecies, & uniqueness of Christianity are big factors they point to for people to consider. These areas are just thrown at the wall like jello, evidentialists back up their claims with agreed upon criteria that […]
6 Evidences Of Evidentialists – Ep.258 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Evidentialist Apologetics – Part 2
6 Evidences Of Evidentialists Like what we did for the classical apologetic method, here are 6 evidences of evidentialists and their outlook. Not every category is where an evidentialist wants to hang his hat but a good number of them are similar to the classical method with a few that show why the distinction between […]
Faith Founded On Fact – Ep.257 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Evidentialist Apologetics – Part 1
Faith Founded On Fact What distinguishes classical apologists from evidentialists is that the latter wants to show faith founded on facts. There are three main distinctions between the two camps that show just how different they are and where they’re starting from – and going towards. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:59 – Using Facts To […]
The Rise Of The Evidentialists – Ep.253 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics Who Emphasize Fact – Part 1
The Rise Of The Evidentialists Our next apologetic method was both a step away from classical apologetics and a response to deism. During the modern period, the rise of the evidentialists came forth. Led by men like Joseph Butler and William Paley, they used apologetics who empasize facts and the use of empiricism. Timeline: 00:00 […]
Weaknesses Of Classical Apologetics – Ep.252 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics And The Limits Of Reason – Part 2
Weaknesses Of Classical Apologetics We close out our look at the classical method by looking at the weaknesses of classical apologetics. We are not drumming anyone out of the faith or decrying heretics here. We’re taking a reasoned and logical approach to the method and that’s exactly how classical apologists would want it. Timeline: 00:00 […]
The Summary Of Classical Apologetics – Ep.251 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Apologetics And The Limits Of Reason – Part 1
The Summary Of Classical Apologetics The penultimate episode in which your heroes present the summary of classical apologetics. We take a quick look at the 6 meta-apologetic questions and the 6 apologetic questions of the classical approach. Finally, we look at the strengths of the classical approach. Next week – the negatives! Timeline: 00:00 – […]
The Rationality Of The Christian Worldview – Ep.249 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Classical Apologetics – Part 1
The Rationality Of The Christian Worldview For the classical apologist, reason is king. It’s available to everyone and is God-given in the universe. As such the rationality of the Christian worldview for the apologist is the path to go down when it comes to the use of Scripture, disproving other worldviews, and arguing for the […]
Classical On Science, History, & Experience – Ep.248 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Classical Apologetics – A Reasonable Faith – Part 2
Classical On Science, History, & Experience We finish up looking at what Classical Apologists say concerning the last three sections of the meta-analysis. Classical on science, history, & experience bring their focus on reason to bear when it comes to the discussion of how these three areas fit into their Christian philosophy. Timeline: 00:00 – […]
Making Faith Reasonable – Ep.247 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Classical Apologetics – A Reasonable Faith – Part 1
Making Faith Reasonable We’ve looked at the history and who has represented Classical Apologetics, we look at the six main apologetic questions all Christian apologetics have to answer. Here, the classical approach looks at the goal of making faith reasonable. How do they do so? By showing there is no conflict between faith and reason […]
Interview On Anatomy Of The Church And State Podcast
Patrick and Tony were invited onto Jeremiah Campana’s podcast Anatomy Of The Church And State. We discussed many different aspects of apologetics and the role it has in the believer’s lives. This was a great way to talk about the summation of many of the books we’ve discussed on our show. It was also a […]
6 Meta Questions Of Apologetics – Ep.244 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Issues And Methods In Apologetics – Part 2
6 Meta Questions Of Apologetics Finishing up the overview of our four apologetic methods that will be covered in the book we address how the book will organize, codify, and systematize each method. That’s just fancy talk for how the book will show the different aspects of the apologetics methods. In this episode, we cover […]
4 Types Of Apologetic Methods – Ep.243 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Issues And Methods In Apologetics – Part 1
4 Types Of Apologetic Methods As we move into the second portion of our book we look at the 4 types of apologetic methods that will be evaluated in the rest of the book. Here we introduce briefly the four types and some of the people who held to the views that our authors believe […]
The Next 1,000 Years Of Christian Apologetics – Ep.242 – Faith Has Its Reasons – A Brief History Of Apologetics – Part 3
The Next 1,000 Years Of Christian Apologetics Well after the first 1,000 years of Christian apologetics, it also makes sense that we cover the next 1,000 years. Here we see more responses taking place and the inclusion of philosophy and codification and systematizing of theology. As a result, more apologetics occurs and more ways to […]
The First 1,000 Years Of Christian Apologetics – Ep.241 – Faith Has Its Reasons – A Brief History Of Apologetics – Part 2
The First 1,000 Years Of Christian Apologetics We went through the first 100 years of Christian Apologetics starting in year 0, now we cover the first 1,000 years of Christian apologetics. History and especially Church History is important because to figure out how we are here we have to see the road that led us […]
The Scriptural Mandate For Apologetics – Ep.240 – Faith Has Its Reasons – A Brief History Of Apologetics – Part 1
The Scriptural Mandate For Apologetics As Bible believers, we want to do all the things The Bible says we are to do so as to honor God in the best way we can. So when it comes to apologetics, we’d really like a scriptural mandate for apologetics. Well, not only do we get ones explicitly […]
Defining Apologetics – Ep.239 – Faith Has Its Reasons – Defining Apologetics
Defining Apologetics We kick off our discussion of our next book Faith Has Its Reasons by Kenneth Boa & Robert M. Bowman Jr. with one of our favorite topics – definitions. In defining apologetics we focus on the the four main approaches the book covers and how they’ll be covered. By starting first with definitions […]
Sanctifying The Church & The Family – Ep.238 – Interview With A Pastor – Pastor Josh – Part 2
Sanctifying The Church & The Family Pastor Josh from The Anarchist Bible Study podcast shines some bright lights in places in the Church where we might be missing – or not wanting to look. How can we be actively sanctifying the Church and the family? As a youth pastor as well, Josh gives his State […]
Book 10 Announcement
Book 10 Announcement Today’s episode is the announcement of our 10th book we’ll be going over. You can pick it up in the links below and join our book club or just drop in and join the discussion each Monday. After the episode on Monday, the episode is broken down into short, topical clips. BOOK […]
The Apologetics Of The Noetic Effects – Ep.236 – Apologetics By John Frame – Appendix – Part 2
The Apologetics Of The Noetic Effects We close Frame’s book for the last time with the conclusion of one of the appendices – a look at the critique Ligonier has about Van Til and his apologetics. We look at the similarities and differences the apologetics of the noetic effects of sin has for each model. […]
Ligonier Vs. Van Til – Ep.235 – Apologetics By John Frame – Appendix – Part 1
Ligonier Vs. Van Til It’s the fight of the century! The boys from Florida against the Dutch Bomber himself! It is Ligonier Vs. Van Til with special guest referee John Frame! Frame responds to the need for defining terms at the start of this debate and shows that conflatating “start with” allows one to begin […]
Atheism And Idolatry – Ep.234 – Apologetics By John Frame – Apologetics As Offense – Part 2
Atheism And Idolatry John Frame closes his apologetics as offense chapter by looking at the two avenues of non-Christian belief – atheism and idolatry. Both parts are interconnected and share common traits. However, atheism tends to remove objective values and relies on the need for evolution to be true. Frame provides some strategies in answering […]
The Irrationalist Rationalist – Ep.233 – Apologetics By John Frame – Apologetics As Offense – Part 1
The Irrationalist Rationalist Blue 42! Blue 42! Plato! Set – Hike! John Frame takes apologetics on the offense in this chapter leading up to the end of the book. Many parts of this chapter refer back to previous chapters and we likewise suggest checking out our previous episodes in the series. Here, Frame wants us […]
What The Bible Does Not Say About Evil – Ep.228 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil 1 – Part 1
What The Bible Does Not Say About Evil While this may seem like familiar territory to friends of the show, it will be interesting to see the similarities and differences presented by John Frame on the problem of evil. Starting out at looking at what The Bible say or more so, does not say about […]
The Bible’s Rationale For The Gospel – Ep.227 – Apologetics By John Frame – Proving The Gospel – Part 2
The Bible’s Rationale For The Gospel Continuing With John Frame’s proof of the Gospel (and therefore Scripture) we turn now to The Bible’s rationale for the Gospel. Here we see that there is a rational basis for belief in the trust that Christians have and then we look at particular claims such as fulfilled prophecy […]
The Bible’s Rationale For Itself – Ep.226 – Apologetics By John Frame – Proving The Gospel – Part 1
The Bible’s Rationale For Itself We now move onto an important apologetic concept for John Frame and that is what The Bible’s rationale for itself is. A defense of the Gospel – the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ resides in the defense of the Scriptures. Frame’s take is presuppositional in nature and also […]
Cosmological And Ontological Arguments – Ep.225 – Apologetics By John Frame – Theistic Argument – Part 4
Cosmological And Ontological Arguments Cosmological And Ontological Arguments are classic theistic arguments. They are some of the most well-known and oldest in the philosophy field. Frame’s approach puts a presuppositional spin to both kinds that bolsters each point better by providing a foundation for the argument. Here, we cover the impossibility of uncaused causes in […]
Knowledge And Design – Ep.224 – Apologetics By John Frame – Theistic Argument – Part 3
Knowledge And Design Moving from the moral argument for God to one of knowledge and design takes us further into the traditional theistic arguments. Here, Frame presents the epistemological nature of a source that is personal and allows us to know things. The alternative explanation does not give us any reason to justify knowledge or […]
Absolute Moral Authority – Ep.223 – Apologetics By John Frame – Theistic Argument – Part 2
Absolute Moral Authority Last week we looked at issues when it comes to thinking moral authority is arbitrary or just happens to be. This week, Frame looks at absolute moral authority and where it comes from. Probably no surprise that God is going to be the source but do we run into circular issues by […]
The Moral Argument For Theism – Ep.222 – Apologetics By John Frame – Theistic Argument – Part 1
The Moral Argument For Theism We jump back into John Frame’s Apologetics book by digging into what Frames to be valuable theistic arguments – even for presuppositionalists. After laying the foundation and critiquing agnosticism, Frame provides the start of what he considers one of the best proofs for God – the moral argument for theism. […]
The Historic Reliability Of The Resurrection – Ep.220 – Scripture Teaching
The Historic Reliability Of The Resurrection We have a special episode coming up and yesterday was Easter so it makes sense to get this episode out now. Thanks for checking out these episodes that hopefully you see the next step we encourage after reading and learning from the books we’ve collected – using them to […]
John Frame’s TAG Argument – Ep.217 – Apologetics By John Frame – Transcendental Argument – Part 4
John Frame’s TAG Argument Frame finishes up his critique of VanTil’s TAG argument and one that focuses on a big point of contention of TAG users – the apologetic use of probability and certainty. Then presented is John Frame’s TAG argument in which he offers not to eradicate TAG but offers a 6-point reevaluation of […]
TAG, Trinity, & Negative Arguments – Ep.216 – Apologetics By John Frame – Transcendental Argument – Part 3
TAG, Trinity, & Negative Arguments Within Frame’s critique of VanTil’s version of the transcendental argument, he’s not throwing it all away and Frame’s fair judgment of where TAG emphasizes the rights points are brought out. Here, TAG, Trinity, & negative arguments are discussed to show that TAG is best used, especially from a worldview level, […]
Questioning TAG – Ep.215 – Apologetics By John Frame – Transcendental Argument – Part 2
Questioning TAG Now that John Frame has presented TAG in an overview, he is going to be questioning TAG as what he might consider some deficiencies – or at least in a way that VanTil presents TAG as being the one argument to rule them all and in the light, bind them. This is exactly […]
Accepting Evidence – Ep.213 – Apologetics By John Frame – Some Methodological Considerations – Part 2
Accepting Evidence Accepting evidence for a position seems like an easy thing to do in theory. See what’s presented before you and if you properly understand everything you move from unbelief to belief. Ya, well, except it’s definitely not that simple and it’s not how people come to belief, especially about something as big a […]
Apologetics As Proof – Ep.212 – Apologetics By John Frame – Some Methodological Considerations – Part 1
Apologetics As Proof It might sound weird to say that we offer up apologetics as proof when it comes to our faith in God. But what Frame is presenting here is that we sometimes overestimate what we are thinking proof is or isn’t. We’ve let others define what faith is for so long that even […]
Every Thought Captive – Ep.211 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Message Of The Apologist – Part 2
Every Thought Captive We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corn. 10:5). Those same thoughts about the nature of all reality. The nature of knowledge. The nature of right and wrong. Not only those things but even how we present […]
The Nature Of All Reality – Ep.210 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Message Of The Apologist – Part 1
The Nature Of All Reality The term “metaphysics” might seem like one of those scary words that only the eggheads use (true); the term just means what is the nature of all reality. What is it that makes the things we are and experience the things they are? The Christian worldview necessitates and calls for […]
Evidence & Presuppositionalism – Ep.209 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Basics – Part 2
Evidence & Presuppositionalism Evidence & presuppositionalism have absolutely nothing to do with each other! Well except that all evidence is God’s evidence and so the best use of evidence can be had when an apologist has established their foundation on something that makes sense of them and allows them to exist. The scary thing is […]
The Basics Of Apologetics – Ep.208 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Basics – Part 1
The Basics Of Apologetics We crack open John Frame’s Apologetics book by doing what we like doing best here – defining our terms. With that we find out what the basics of apologetics are and the right way and wrong way we can carry out the command from Scripture to always be ready to give […]
The Need To Clarify And Encourage – Ep. 207 – Apologetics By John Frame – Preface
The Need To Clarify And Encourage Another apologetics book? But why? 2,000 years of Church History and we haven’t said everything we need to say? Well, believe it or not, another apologetics book is needed as it gives us the ability to clarify and encourage. Also, it’s kind of what the Bible tells us to […]
Introducing John Frame & Apologetics – Ep. 206 – Apologetics By John Frame – Preface
Introducing John Frame & Apologetics We begin our next book by introducing John Frame & apologetics. We open to the preface where Frame’s friend and ministry partner Vern Poythress gives us a mini-book in apologetics and what we’ll see in the rest of the book. If we can talk about just the preface for this […]
Patrick’s 2022 Book Reviews – Ep.205 – Read More Books – Part 2
2022 Book Reviews – Part 2 The final reviews of 2022 include some IndiePub, poetry, sci-fi, and theology. Our hope for our ministry is that you pull off those books from your shelf, blow off the dust, and make use of them for God’s glory. You can start at any time and start at any […]
Patrick’s 2022 Book Reviews – Ep.204 – Read More Books – Part 1
2022 Book Reviews – Part 1 For the last two weeks of the year, we’ll be populating the show with books Patrick has read during the year. Some are homeschool supplementals, some are fiction, and – yes, some are even theology. Whether you’re set in your ways of only picking books from the New York […]
Cave To The Cross Apologetics – Redux – J. Warner Wallace Interview
J. Warner Wallace Interview Redux We needed to reschedule some things for our next book so we’re almost thinking of starting Frame’s book at the first of the year. Next couple of weeks, I’m thinking of doing a year-end review of all the books I read this year and see if there’s any interest in […]
The Internal Critique Of Other Religions – Ep.203 – Against All Opposition – Biblical Counterfeit Religions
Internal Critique Of Other Religions With the final chapter of Bahnsen’s book, we look at the internal critique of other religions. The same system we’ve been using with looking at worldviews for other philosophies and worldviews works just as well with religion. In fact, the codification and systematic approach other religions have probably make it […]
Dualism & Other Religions Critiqued – Ep.202 – Against All Opposition – A Quick Course In Comparative Religions
Dualism & Other Religions Critiqued Moving on from atheism to see how dualism & other religions critiqued. Applying the two-step method of providing an internal critique and then giving the biblical answer, we see the arbitrary and inconsistent nature of these worldviews. Platonism with its mind and body dualism and Aristotle with his materialism give […]
All Unbelievers Believe – Ep.201 – Against All Opposition – The Unbeliever Is A Believer
All Unbelievers Believe Continuing with the internal critique of both the Christian and the unbeliever, the Christian comes to see that since God is Sovereign and Creator over all things and all men are made in His Image, it is impossible to rebel so far away from that so as to be outside of God’s […]
Atheist Issues – Mind & Morality – Ep.200 – Against All Opposition – A Critique Of Atheism – Part 2
Atheist Issues – Mind & Morality The problem of induction to do science and the problem of deduction to do logic are used but are baseless in a materialistic atheistic worldview. But that’s not the only issues. Atheist issues mind & morality also arise with great issue. The mind, as opposed to the brain, just […]
Atheist Issues – Induction & Deduction – Ep.199 – Against All Opposition – A Critique Of Atheism – Part 1
Atheist Issues – Induction & Deduction One of the most common worldviews you’re likely to encounter is that of the materialistic atheist. This worldview states that reality is only made up of physical things. There is no supernatural or transcendental realm of objects. Only what’s available to our senses is what is real and that’s […]
Tools To Evaluate Worldviews – Ep.198 – Against All Opposition – Challenges Of Competing Worldviews – Part 2
Tools To Evaluate Worldviews We finish the chapter by looking at some more tools to evaluate worldviews. Finishing up with atomists that want to keep free will we see hedonism and existentialism reign here. Then we take a slight detour to cover those worldviews that say you either can’t know or it doesn’t matter what […]
Three Views Of Reality – Ep.197 – Against All Opposition – Challenges Of Competing Worldviews – Part 1
Three Views Of Reality If there’s one thing we tend to stress on this show it’s that definitions matter. If you can define it then you can classify it. If you can classify it then you’re better able to know where that fits in the conversation about God, His World, and those who exist in […]
Everyone Is A Philosopher – Ep.196 – Against All Opposition – What Is Philosophy?
Everyone Is A Philosopher Everyone Is A Philosopher! It doesn’t matter your education or lack there of. It doesn’t matter if you are from the West or the East or from Mars. You can not know any Latin or you know how to get angry at the drive-through order taker in a dead language. You […]
Borrowing From The Christian Worldview – Ep.195 – Against All Opposition – Unbelievers Are Not Neutral And Christians Shouldn’t Be – Part 2
Borrowing From The Christian Worldview Not only should we reject the charge to be neutral when approaching any area that pertains to God, but we should also realize that since this world is God’s world and we are all made in His image that even unbelievers are found borrowing from the Christian worldview – and […]
No One Is Neutral, No Not One – Ep.194 – Against All Opposition – Unbelievers Are Not Neutral And Christians Shouldn’t Be – Part 1
No One Is Neutral, No Not One We’re back! Well – Tony is back! You’ve caught up on your book, right? You haven’t been letting it collect dust again, have you? We pick back up with Bahnsen’s book talking about if we should approach the subject of God (or anything) with a neutral standpoint. Both […]
Apologetics Effects Affect – Ep. 193 – Talk Given To The Michigan Apologetics Network
Apologetics Effects Affect Starting next week, Tony and I should be reunited in digital form to continue going through our Greg Bahnsen’s Against All Opposition. I was kindly invited by some new friends at the Michigan Apologetics Network to give a talk on anything that I wished. I talked about how apologetics isn’t an end […]
Take Every Thought Captive – Ep.188 – Against All Opposition – Reasoning As A Christian Should
Take Every Thought Captive The Christian is commanded to take every thought to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). It’s not just in the realm of morality or on Sundays. It doesn’t involve just the personal thoughts or the public actions. Every thought is to be conformed to the sovereignty of God. Even our apologetics? Even […]
Where Everyone Starts Thinking – Ep.185 – Against All Opposition – It’s Impossible To Think Without Presuppositions – Part 1
Where Everyone Starts Thinking Give me just the facts and only then will I believe. No. No. Not those facts I don’t like those facts! The idea that one starts with zero assumptions and believes ideas based on just the facts is nice thinking but it’s not how people think. Where everyone starts thinking is […]
At The Center Of Every Worldview – Ep.183 – Against All Opposition – Preface & Intro
Center Of Every Worldview At the start of this book is the answer to what’s at the center of every worldview. It’s not the end conclusion we need to begin with. It’s the before we start parts that are important. Halfway is not where we want to begin our apologetics and we don’t want to […]
How To Bring Apologetics Into The Church – Ep.161 – Question & Answer
How To Bring Apologetics Into The Church In this episode, we responds to a great listener question about how to bring apologetics into the church. The question is specifically from a pastor’s point of view but we answer it in a way to be useful for the pastor, elder, deacon, Christian teacher, or layperson to […]
Hermeneutics & Practical Bible Study – Ep. 151 – Josh & Jeff From The Anarchist Bible Study – Part 2
Hermeneutics & Practical Bible Study Continuing our discussion from last week, Jeff and Josh from The Anarchist Bible Study and Patrick talk about how hermeneutics & practical Bible study and how to use each in the other. Hermeneutics isn’t important just for pastors, theologians, and seminaries. It is important for every Christian reading his/her Bible […]
Hermeneutics & Apologetics – Ep. 150 – Josh & Jeff From The Anarchist Bible Study – Part 1
Hermeneutics & Apologetics Hermeneutics & apologetics go hand-in-hand with each other. Since The Bible is our ultimate standard that it is important that we read it and interpret it the way God meant it to be. And to communicate it to other people accurately is just as important in our apologetics. Patrick is joined by […]
If Christianity’s True – Ep. 135 – Why Should I Believe Christianity? – Defying Death & What Now?
If Christianity’s True We conclude Dr. James Anderson’s book by looking at what if Christianity’s true. We discuss alternative explanations to the Resurrection and see that they don’t rise to the occasion. Did Jesus swoon? Have His body stolen? By the disciples? By the Romans/Jewish leaders? Was it all an illusion? There are good reasons […]
Resurrection Proofs – Ep. 134 – Why Should I Believe Christianity? – Defying Death – Part 1
Resurrection Proofs The ultimate moment in history for Christians is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Christianity is true, this event is the most important event for every person who lived, living, or will ever live. Where do Resurrection proofs fit in the Christian worldview then? Through the anticipation of Old Testament prophecy, the testimony […]
Jesus Is God – Ep. 133 – Why Should I Believe Christianity? – God With Us – Part 2
Jesus Is God After looking at the claims made by others about who Jesus is, we turn to Jesus and see what He says about Himself. We can conclude that Jesus is God by His own testimony and the events surrounding His life. We look at Jesus accepting worship, approving the use of the title […]
Old Testament Christianity – Ep. 131 – Interview With A Pastor – Dr. Tiberius Rata
Old Testament Christianity Is Old Testament Christianity an oxymoron or do we Christians still have a lot to learn from the Tanakh? Dr. Tiberius Rata is Associate Dean of the School of Ministry Studies and Professor of Old Testament Studies at Grace Theological Seminary. He is the author of several Old Testament commentaries as well. […]
Way, Truth, & Life – Ep. 130 – Why Should I Believe Christianity? – God Is Not Silent – Part 2
Way, Truth, & Life Christianity declares that it is the sole way, truth, & life. But it is not the only origin truth claim in town. Eastern religions, Islam, and Judaism are competing truth claims. They are all mutually exclusive – contradict each other and can’t all be true. So examining what we’ve covered so […]
Youth And Apologetics – Ep. 128 – Interview With A Pastor – Justin McCoy
Youth And Apologetics Are today’s youth and apologetics connecting each other to answers and growth in their Christian faith? We welcome Youth Pastor Justin McCoy from Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo, MI. Pastor McCoy works with kids and students from birth through college. He gives his take on the role of seminary today and the […]
Ep. 127 – Why Should I Believe Christianity? – God Is There – Part 3
God Is There God is there and there are things in the world that point to him. We finish the chapter covering how reason, the mind, and science all point to God’s existence. While atheists try and make themselves solely about science, we see their lack of grounding a bigger deal than they seem. As […]
Ep. 126 – Why Should I Believe Christianity? – God Is There – Part 2
Moral Meaning Moral meaning values come up when we talk about politics, society, business practices, and other interactions between people and the world. However, when we say that the world isn’t as it should be or that we should do something or we ought not to do something, we are declaring that we believe there’s […]
Ep. 125 – Why Should I Believe Christianity – God Is There – Part 1
God Is There God is real and there are real implications from that truth. When critics attempt to end the discussion of asking for proof that God is real they look for only one type of proof. What they look for is evidential, physical proof. But because of the nature of God, that’s the wrong […]
Andreas Köstenberger Interview – Ep. 124 – Andreas Köstenberger Interview
He’s Written On Everything! We are beyond delighted and honored to sit down and interview Andreas Köstenberger. Dr. Köstenberger was a co-author in one of our recent chosen books, “Truth In A Culture Of Doubt” which was a response to many of Bart Ehrman’s writings and showing that Christianity provides answers to the critical historians’ […]
Ep. 116 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Reasons To Believe
Rose From The Dead? Rose From The Dead! Jesus rose from the dead. That’s the claim of The New Testament. We close our book with a look at the response to this claim from Bart Ehrman’s challenges to it. Was Jesus even buried? Did the disciples hallucinate the resurrected Jesus? Did the disciples just make […]
Ep. 115 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Are Many New Testament Documents Forged? – Part 3
Apocryphal Books Of The Bible? Are there lost, Apocryphal books that should have been included in The Bible? Finishing the chapter on how the New Testament should include the authentic books that are there, we look at why not other books. Why do we include only the 27 books and not 12 others or Gnostic […]
Ep. 114 – Are Many New Testament Documents Forged? – Part 2
Who Wrote The Bible? Who wrote The Bible? The next two claims of forgery against the New Testament are the allegations of illiterate authors & false attribution to authors. Were the NT writers too illiterate to write their documents & couldn’t find another way to get their ideas down to be disseminated to others? Is […]
Ep. 113 – Are Many New Testament Documents Forged? – Part 1
Fraud In The Bible? Fraud in The Bible by the New Testament authors? Say it isn’t so! Not really. The claim that anonymous authors, centuries after the life of Christ and the apostles were the real authors of the Christian Scriptures is false. In fact, without a full-on skeptical presuppositional worldview, one could see just […]
Ep. 112 – Were There Many Christianities? – Part 3
We look at the final two claims that later church councils formed Christian orthodoxy and that the Canon of the NT was a weapon used to keep out competing Christian communities.
Ep. 110 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Were There Many Christianities? – Part 1
We begin by looking at the theory of Walter Bauer. Bauer theorized that there were many early Christianities that existed at the start and each one had their own set of orthodoxy. The only real orthodoxy that rose to the surface was by those who used their collective might to assert their will and dominate […]
Ep.109 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Are The Biblical Manuscripts Corrupt? – Part 3
Finishing up the chapter on having confidence that we have The Bible as originally written, we cover the last three claims from Bart Ehrman. We show the complexity of early Christian scribes and the systems they developed. We see how hard it is to get in the mind of an actual scribe but see that […]
Ep.108 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Are The Biblical Manuscripts Corrupt? – Part 2
Covering the first three claims Bart Ehrman makes about the corruption & untrustworthiness of the New Testament, we see that nuance is needed. Not having the original manuscripts, loss of original readings, and textual variants are claims that play well to a particular audience. Yet, when we look at the details we actually see a benefit to many of the alleged “issues”.
Ep. 107 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Are The Biblical Manuscripts Corrupt – Part 1
The Bible was not beamed into the minds of robot authors and the copying of the original texts were not divinely protected so that no error could be made in the copy. Doesn’t seem like that startling of a message. However, Bar Ehrman became popular on the message – which is quite odd. So we cover the topic of how the New Testament came to be and how scribes, manuscripts, and textual variants help us to have confidence that we have the Word of God preserved in the text of The Bible.
Ep. 105 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Is The Bible Full Of Irresolvable Contradictions – Part 4
Looking at the final three claims of Bart Ehrman when it comes to the Bible having contradictions that make it a non-trustworthy historical story. We look at the difference in chronology and details and see that Ehrman’s claims don’t really add up to contradictions. We also look at Ehrman’s biggest claim in that Jesus was never thought of as being God or claimed to be God. It was only later, that His followers made those claims. We look at the internal critique which shows just the opposite.
Ep. 104 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Is The Bible Full Of Irresolvable Contradictions – Part 3
Finishing the chapter dealing with alleged contradictions, we look at a few allegations Bart Ehrman makes. We look at the claim that Matthew & Paul contradict each other when it comes to salvation & The Law. We also look at the somewhat odd claim that there are some harmonizations that can’t be made with certain events of the New Testament, one of them being the trial of Jesus.
Ep. 103 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Is The Bible Full Of Irresolvable Contradictions – Part 2
We look at Bart Ehrman’s claim that the authors of the NT have contradictory points of view on major issues. We cover three test cases of the Gospel writers and show that the alleged contradictions have logical explanations when viewed historically and fairly. Timeline Breakdown: 00:00 – Introduction 01:06 – Claim 1 – The NT […]
Ep. 102 – Truth In A Culture Of Doubt – Is The Bible Full Of Irresolvable Contradictions – Part 1
Introducing the chapter on the subject Bart Ehrman is known for, we look at the presuppositions Ehrman has that comes at a price of exclusion of other Bible scholars. The circle Ehrman draws around the “correct understanding of the Bible” seems to come from a place of his own choosing. He also establishes his own criteria for infallibility and speaks out against The Bible when it fails to meet his standard. We cover just the introduction to the chapter before getting into the five claims addressed in the rest of it.
Ep. 96 – Tactics – More Sweat, Less Blood
We close out Greg Koukl’s book “Tactics” with a final charge to be a better ambassador for Christ. We cover some tips and some challenges that will help us go out and deliver the Good News.
Ep. 95 – Tactics – Mini Tactics
Before we get to the conclusion of Tactics by Greg Koukl, we want to cover five mini tactics at the end. We talk about applying Jesus’ own words to a conversation, how to handle name-calling, embracing true but irrelevant objections, using better descriptor words than religious words, and the power of just saying, “So?”.
Ep. 94 – Tactics – Inside Out
If (or since) the Christian message is true, there are certain outcomes that stem from that starting point. One of those is that all people have in them the Imago Dei or “Image of God” and are imbued with certain universals. It is one of the reasons presuppositionalists want to speak to that realization when talking with unbelievers. With this inside quality making its way outside in people’s thinking and action, we can use this tactic to speak to that.
Ep. 93 – Tactics – Just The Facts, Ma’am
Believe it or not, sometimes Christians know what they’re talking about. We cover the tactic to use and not to be a jerk about it. We also cover a few examples like responding to Christopher Hitchen’s “God Is Not Great”, Dan Brown’s “The DaVinci Code”, abortion is murder, & Bible translation.
Ep. 92 – Tactics – Rhodes Scholar
A little longer episode today but one that is important. There are times when you, Average-Christian-Person have to respond to people who have “Dr.” before their names, a bunch of letters after, and are called “scholars” and “experts”. The question is, how do we respond to claims made by so-called scholars or true scholars that may speak out against Christian claims (or any claim really)? Well, here are a few ways we can.
Ep. 91 – Shea Houdmann Of GotQuestions.org Interview
We are pleased to be joined by the creator and CEO of GotQuestions.org – Shea Houdmann! We talk about Shea’s journey to create one of the best depositories of answers to Christian answers on the whole internet. We talk about what the work is like and how it’s done. We also talk about the questions they get the most and the weirdest ones.
Ep. 89 – Tactics – Taking The Roof Off
In this section, we look at evaluating the lens through which people see the world – through their worldview. Greg Koukl suggests that we, for the sake of argument, adopt their worldview and see where it might take us. Evaluating worldviews is a staple of the presuppositions model and a strong tool in a dialogue between opposing worldviews.
Ep. 88 – Tactics – Sibling Rivalry & Infanticide
For the third part of the tactic on identifying arguments that self-destruct, we look at two different ones. We look at arguments that when held up next to each other aren’t allowed to exist at the same time and be consistent. The other is arguments who have an underlying assumption that knocks out the claim. We cover a few examples in there as well.
Ep. 87 – Tactics – Practical Self-Destruction
We looked at when arguments fail because they contradict themselves. Now we look at when arguments don’t formally contradict themselves but they still fail due to practical reasons. We have to remember, that the tactics here are to help engage in a dialogue and not used to make the other side feel like a failure. Our goal is to give the Good News, not to “win”.
Ep. 86 – Tactics – Views That Self-Destruct
The next tactic to use when talking to someone about your faith is one that we’ve seen in our previous book by Nancy Pearcey “Finding Truth”. That is looking at what someone is saying and seeing if their own statement contradicts itself. Sometimes this is called the internal critique and if it contradicts itself it can be easily dismissed.
Ep. 84 – Tactics – Columbo Steps 3 – Using Questions To Make A Point & Perfecting Columbo
Completing the Columbo Tactic we see why it is such an important and versatile tactic. Now it’s time to use it. What can we do before getting into conversations and after? What style of presentation should we take? Who is our real audience? All questions to ask and learn to ask now. The episode link […]
Ep. 83 – Tactics – Two Reliable Rescues
Before getting to the third part of the Columbo tactic, Greg Koukl stops to inform us of two encounters we may have using the tactic. One encounter is with a surly professor who wants to decry Christianity but make you back up your side when you object. The other is the person who knows a lot more about the subject being discussed than you. Your hosts can relate to these encounters.
Ep. 82 – Columbo Steps 1 & 2 – Gathering Information & Reversing The Burden Of Proof
The Columbo Tactic, as Greg Koukl presents it, is such an important one that we need to really break it down and understand it. This episode covers the first of three points to the tactic. To have a productive and enriched conversation asking two simple questions (for now) will really help out both sides.
Ep. 80 – Tactics – Reservations
Great! Now is the time to put on the boxing gloves and wail on some atheists by the power of God!
Ya, not so much. Greg Koukl gives us a second part of the introduction where he lays out what the Christian means when we say “argument”. We don’t want to have a shouting match with someone we want to have a fruitful conversation. We also want to have a proper understanding of God’s sovereignty and His role in salvation. Before we utilize our tactics, we need to have the crucified to Christ mindset.
Ep. 79 – Tactics – Diplomacy Of D-Day
We start our new book! Tactics by Greg Koukl. We cover the introduction including what we’ll learn from this book and the heart attitude the Christian should have when engaging people in conversation. We hope you enjoy this well-respected author and book. Follow along with us or just be a member of our book club.
Ep. 78 – Lydia McGrew Interview – Part 2
We welcome Dr. Lydis McGrew to the show to talk about her two books, “Hidden in Plain View” and “The Mirror and the Mask”. For this part, we cover Dr. McGrew’s book about whether or not the Gospels are Literary Device or Historical Narrative. Literary devices are the theory that the Gospels are used by the authors to convey a message over being historically accurate. There’s a lot to be said about this subject and a lot of controversy so we should approach this with balance and reading both sides in the best light possible.
Ep. 77 – Lydia McGrew Interview – Part 1
We welcome Dr. Lydis McGrew to the show to talk about her two books, “Hidden in Plain View” and “The Mirror and the Mask”. For part one we cover Dr. McGrew’s first book about undesigned coincidences in the New Testament. Dr. McGrew and her husband, Dr. Tim McGrew are fellow Kalamazooians and we talk about her start into apologetic philosophy. She then explains how undesigned coincidences lend to the credibility of The Bible including the establishment of miracles. This really is a fascinating subject and we hope to do more videos on this subject.
Ep. 76 – Finding Truth – How Critical Thinking Saves Faith
We wrap up Professor Pearcey’s book with a challenge to Christians and to the Church. That challenge is to stand firm on the Word of God as you say that you do, learn and use critical thinking skills that God encourages us to use, and to go into the world preaching the Good News of the Gospel.
Ep. 73 – Finding Truth – Why Worldviews Commit Suicide – Part 3
We finish up the chapter by looking at how the postmodern worldview, and it’s subsections, destroy themselves. We look at the Social Justice Movement, Critical Race Theory, and similar progressive stances actually fall apart of themselves. Finally, we look at how Christianity offers the better, consistent, and complete worldview. The episode link is www.cavetothecross.com/ep73 Books […]
Ep. 72 – Finding Truth – Why Worldviews Commit Suicide – Part 2
We continue our look at the internal critique of non-Christian worldviews and focus especially on Darwin. We also see what CS Lewis has to say about belief in atheism. Finally, we talk about the benefits of the Christian worldview and how it doesn’t fail the internal critique.
Ep. 71 – Finding Truth – Why Worldviews Commit Suicide
Principle 4 – does the worldview meet its own standard when it is applied to itself? Since non-Christian worldviews tend to be reductionistic they will be self-defeating. In this episode, we introduce the principle and why it is one of the most important tools you have in your apologetic quiver.
Ep. 69 – Nancy Pearcey Interview
How exciting is this?! We welcome Professor Nancy Pearcey herself to the show! We talk to her about her coming to faith in Christ and her experience at L’Abri with Francis Schaeffer. Then we talk about her book we’ve been going over “Finding Truth” and talk about the book in general and in specific.
Ep. 68 – Finding Truth – Secular Leaps Of Faith – Part 3
Finishing up the chapter, we look at the worldviews of postmodernists and its failure to account for what’s seen in the exterior world. When failing to live consistently with the belief that everyone is a robot and no one should really be held accountable for their actions, we see many fall back to wanting to believe Christianity is true but believing that it accounts for the facts too well.
Ep. 67 – Finding Truth – Secular Leaps Of Faith – Part 2
Here we delve deeper into the secular materialist when it comes to failing to account for the things seen in the world. We see that they tend to make leaps of faith in their outlook that they can’t back up. They then establish possible outcomes that are downright scary. To save them from immoral and […]
Ep. 66 – Finding Truth – Secular Leaps Of Faith – Part 1
Picking up on the third principle, we now look at how non-Christian worldviews don’t explain what is seen in the world. With an idol replacing God, secular worldviews come upon truths in human nature or universal makeup or within the confines of experience that it must dismiss as an illusion or explain it away as not real. The quotes taken from leaders in the field are quite shocking and honest but necessarily follows from their basic outlook on the world.
Ep. 65 – Interview With A Pastor – Bret Laird
Tony and Patrick had the distinct pleasure of interviewing their pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo, MI; Pastor Bret Laird. Pastor Bret discusses why he decided to be a pastor as well as his time serving in Ukraine as a missionary pastor. Finally, we also talk about the state of the American church and the role of apologetics. Plus, a few book recommendations!
Ep. 21 – How To Be An Atheist – Ch.2 – The Believing Primate
We continue with Chapter 2 of “How To Be An Atheist” by Mitch Stokes (Amazon Link – https://amzn.to/2DVJmw6). Dr. Stokes, invoking David Hume, calls atheists to be better skeptics of what is presented as known truths of the world. Hume is the philosopher that many atheists/new atheists trace back to questioning the existence of God. […]
Ep. 20 – How To Be An Atheist – Ch.1 – Hume Exhumed
Dr. Stokes sets the stage for how to be a good skeptical atheist by invoking David Hume. Hume is the philosopher that many atheists/new atheists trace back to questioning the existence of God.
However, Hume doesn’t appear to take his skepticism far enough and atheists of today don’t see the implications of what Hume has taken on.
Ep. 19 – How To Be An Atheist – Introduction
In this book Dr. Stokes challenges everyone to be a sober skeptic. He points out the views that atheists claim to hold are either inconsistent or don’t go far enough. He challenges atheists to think more about what they are claiming and if they want to be skeptical – keep going.
It is not only a book for atheists but a book for Christians as they look at the other side’s worldview and see where the inconsistencies lie – especially when it’s wrapped up in the shield of “SCIENCE” and “REASON”. We are challenged to be sober skeptics as well and to think through what it really means to hold the claims we do.
Ep. 18 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Conclusion
The conclusion covers a brief overview of the superiority of the Christian worldview over the naturalistic one. The Christian worldview is the only consistent one that allows for the justification of science, logic, and morality. Even the unbeliever must assume the Christian worldview too.
Ep. 17 – Scott Christensen Interview – What About Free Will?
We are excited to welcome author and pastor Scott Christensen to the show as our first interview.
Scott has written a great book on the subject of human free will called “What About Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices With God’s Sovereignty”
Ep. 16 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Yes Or No – Part 4
Has there ever been a just person; Has anyone been justified; Has there ever been a righteous person? (Q366 & Q367 & Q387)
Is it okay to take oaths? (Q377)
Should Christians pray in public? (Q382)
Do Christians sin? (Q399)
Is there an unforgivable sin? (Q382)
This chapter deals with supposed opposite yes or no answers The Bible presents. However, we will see that contradictions do not abound.
Ep. 15 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Yes Or No – Part 3
Is God the creator of evil? (Q329)
Did Moses see God face to face? (Q331)
Is it possible to fall from grace? (Q332)
Did Moses fear the king? (Q334)
Are we punished for the sins of others? (Q355)
Did Jesus know everything? (Q362)
To judge or not to judge? (Q364)
Patrick and Tony cover the third part Chapter 7 of Dr. Jason Lisle’s book, Keeping Faith in the Age of Reason (Amazon Link – https://amzn.to/2UqI16I).
This chapter deals with supposed opposite yes or no answers The Bible presents. However, we will see that contradictions do not abound.
Ep. 14 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Yes Or No – Part 2
Can God do anything? (Q305)
Is God the author of confusion? (Q308)
How did David kill Goliath? (Q309)
Did Adam die on the day he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? (Q312)
Does God desire animal sacrifices? (Q316)
Patrick and Tony cover the second part Chapter 7 of Dr. Jason Lisle’s book, Keeping Faith in the Age of Reason (Amazon Link – https://amzn.to/2UqI16I).
This chapter deals with supposed opposite yes or no answers The Bible presents. However, we will see that contradictions do not abound.
Ep. 13 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Yes Or No – Part 1
For this episode, Patrick and Tony go over just one question as it’s a practical way of doing apologetics as a whole.
Many people have not heard of presuppositional apologetics when it comes to defending or presenting the Christian faith. However, it is quickly becoming a more popular and helpful approach as we present the world with the truth of the Gospel.
We feel like it was important to take the time to go into more detail to this approach and why we find it so compelling.
This episode is the first part of Chapter 7 of Dr. Jason Lisle’s book, Keeping Faith in the Age of Reason (Amazon Link – https://amzn.to/2UqI16I).
This chapter deals with supposed opposite yes or no answers The Bible presents. However, we will see that contradictions do not abound.
Ep. 12 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Difference In Details – Part 3
How did Judas die? (Q228)
Is God merciful? (Q239)
How much power did Jesus have? (Q258)
Can God be found through reason alone? (Q261)
What is the Earth set upon? (Q271)
What did the sign of Jesus’ head say? (Q273)
Patrick and Tony cover the second part Chapter 6 of Dr. Jason Lisle’s book, Keeping Faith in the Age of Reason (Amazon Link – https://amzn.to/2UqI16I).
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the text of the Bible. Here’s where we should see a majority of mistakes/differences/etc if they exist. But do they?
Ep. 11 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Difference In Details – Part 2
Did David sin (clean and righteous)? (Q193)
How Should We Treat Our Enemies? (Q204)
Has Anyone Ever Ascended Into Heaven? (Q205)
Were the men with Paul knocked to the ground; Did Paul see Jesus on the road to Damascus; Did the men with Paul hear the voice? (Q206 & Q251 & Q287)
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the text of the Bible. Here’s where we should see a majority of mistakes/differences/etc if they exist. But do they?
Ep. 10 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Difference In Details – Part 1
Did the city of Ai exit after Joshua destroyed it? (Q157)
Does God want some to go to hell? (Q158)
Who was to blame for original sin? (Q170)
Who appeared to Moses in the burning bush? (Q175)
Did God kill all the Egyptian cattle in the sixth plague? (Q179)
Did Jesus ask God to save Him from crucifixion? (Q189)
Who carried Jesus Cross? (Q192)
Patrick and Tony cover Chapter 6 of Dr. Jason Lisle’s book, Keeping Faith in the Age of Reason (Amazon Link – https://amzn.to/2UqI16I).
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the text of the Bible. Here’s where we should see a majority of mistakes/differences/etc if they exist. But do they?
Ep. 09 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Cause & Effect
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the things that come first that supposedly lead to an end result.
Was Abraham justified by faith or by works (Q139)
Who sent the Holy Ghost (Q146)
Who brought evil on Job (Q147)
Who raised Jesus from the dead (Q151)
Ep. 08 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Timing Of Events – Part 2
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the timing of certain events in the Bible.
At what time of day of Jesus crucified (Q122)
What came first – the calling of Peter and Andrew or the imprisonment of John the Baptist (Q124)
Was Jesus crucified the day before or the day after the Passover meal (Q133)
When did Satan enter Judas (Q135)
When did Jesus temple tantrum occur (Q138)
Ep. 07 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Timing Of Events – Part 1
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the timing of certain events in the Bible.
When did the Temple curtain rip (Q114)
When did the women (or woman) arrive at the sepulcher (Q115)
When did the curse fig tree die & When did Jesus curse the fig tree (Q118 & Q119)
When was the Holy Ghost given (Q120)
Ep. 06 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Names, Places, & Genealogies – Part 2
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the different names of people, supposed differences in places, and relations of people in the Bible.
From which of David’s sons was Jesus descended (Q73)
Where did Aaron die? (Q79)
Where did John baptize? (Q88)
Who was Moses’ father-in-law? (Q95)
Where did Moses receive the Ten Commandments? (Q100)
Where did Moses get water from a rock? (Q104)
Ep. 05 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Names, Places, & Genealogies – Part 1
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the different names of people, supposed difference in places, and relations of people in the Bible.
Among the questions are:
Was Abiathar the father or son of Ahimelech? (Q55)
Who was Achan’s father? (Q58)
What were the names of the Apostles? (Q63)
Who named Beersheba? (Q65)
Where did Joseph and Mary live before the birth of Jesus? (Q66)
Where did Jesus cure the blind man? (Q70)
Ep. 04 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Quantitative Differences – Part 2
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the number of things (objects, people, horses, etc.).
Among the questions are:
How many were in Jacob’s family when they came into Egypt? (Q28)
What is the human life span? (Q32)
How old was Abraham when he left Haran? (Q36)
Was Jesus a ransom for many or for all? (Q42)
Ep. 03 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Quantitative Differences – Part 1
This chapter deals with supposed differences in the number of things (objects, people, horses, etc.).
Among the questions are:
How Did Jesus say before the cock crows or before the cock crows twice? (Q16)
How many years of famine were there? (Q20)
How long was the Ark afloat? (Q21)
How many God/gods are there? (Q24)
Ep. 02 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Introduction – Part 2
Patrick & Tony continue to cover the Introduction to Dr. Jason Lisle’s book, Keeping Faith in the Age of Reason
Ep. 01 – Keeping Faith In An Age Of Reason – Introduction – Part 1
Dr. Lisle’s book covers 420 different alleged Bible contradictions in a nice referenced guide book. The series will go over the way Dr. Lisle approaches different types of objections and expand upon certain ones throughout the book.