The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and its Evidential Value, Part 1

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Apostle Paul, Book of Acts, Christianity, Early Church, Galatians, Gospel, historical apologetics, https://jonathanmclatchie.com/, Jonathan McLatchie, Sir George Lyttelton
An argument for Christianity that seldom receives adequate attention is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) on the road to Damascus. There exist three accounts of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts — in chapters 9, 22, and 26. The argument from Paul’s conversion has been laid out in most detail by Sir George Lyttelton (1709-1773), in his book Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul. The book is now in the public domain, and a free PDF copy can be obtained at this link. So strong and convincing is the argument from Paul’s conversion that Lyttelton wrote at the beginning of his book, addressing his friend Gilbert West [1], In a late conversation we had together upon the subject of the Christian religion, I…
Read More

3 BIG Reasons Why God May Choose to Hide Himself

Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Divine Hiddenness, Dr. Frank Turek, free will, God's Hiddenness, Jesus, Jesus resurrection, morality, philosophy, Podcast, religion, theology
Why doesn’t God make Himself more obvious? If God truly exists, why wouldn’t He just appear to everyone and settle all doubts once and for all? In a world filled with skepticism, doubt, and unbelief, the “divine hiddenness” of God is one of the most common objections raised against Christianity. But is it really a valid reason to reject His existence? In this solo midweek episode, Frank tackles a listener’s question about God’s hiddenness and explores these questions along the way: Does the hiddenness of God negate the evidence we already have for His existence? What does Scripture reveal about why God may choose to remain unseen? Would seeing the full presence of God actually eliminate doubt and unbelief for some people? How do free will and love relate to…
Read More

Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Faith, Part 2

Apologetics, Arguments for God, Christianity, defend the faith, Doubt, Gospel, https://smartfaith.me, introduction to apologetics, Miguel Rodriguez, new believers, Skeptics, Theology and Christian Apologetics, young believers
[Editor’s Note: In “Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Faith, part 1” Miguel Rodriguez raised the question of how should we handle our doubts. He proposes we do Christian apologetics. He then defines “apologetics,” and points out how doubt can be a sign of a living faith. Doubt can be healthy. In this second installment, Miguel offers more practical advice on how to turn your doubt and questions into learning and spiritual growth through Christian apologetics]. Some Arguments for the Truth of Christianity Today, like in Biblical times, apologist makes use of a multidisciplinary knowledge like cosmology, philosophy, ethics, biology, history and more. Some of those popular classical arguments are: The Kalam Cosmological Argument: Seeks to show that the universe is not eternal, that necessarily had to have a beginning. The…
Read More

What REALLY Happened During the Crusades? with Bill Federer

Bill Federer, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Crusades, Dr. Frank Turek, Europe, Islam, morality, philosophy, Podcast, Pope, religion, theology
How much do you know about the history of the Crusades? Were they unprovoked attacks by Christian armies, or was there something deeper at play? In this week’s episode, we’re diving into the facts behind one of history’s most misunderstood events. In response to your requests from our recent podcast survey, Frank welcomes historian Bill Federer of American Minute to explore the truth about the Crusades. Tune in as Bill unpacks its historical backdrop, revealing why Europe took up arms to blunt the rise and expansion of Islam. During their conversation, Frank and Bill will answer questions like: Did the Crusaders know the Bible? What did the Pope promise the Crusaders? How did Islam originate, and how did it expand so rapidly? Did Christianity spread as a direct result of the Crusades? What…
Read More

HELP! My Professor Says Jesus is a Myth!

Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Dr. Frank Turek, Evidence, historical Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Myth, morality, philosophy, Podcast, religion, skepticism, theology
Is it possible that Jesus, the most influential person in history, was just a fictional character? In this midweek podcast, Frank responds to a question from Elijah, a medical student in Ghana, whose evolutionist professor seems unwilling to consider that Jesus existed unless Elijah can provide first century sources from outside of the Bible. What’s the most effective way for Elijah to engage with his teacher’s skepticism? Join Frank as he explores these questions and more, including: How can you respectfully defend your faith in the classroom? What historical and archaeological evidence confirms Jesus’ existence? Are extra-biblical sources more credible than the New Testament writers? What common presuppositions do atheists hold, and how can you respectfully challenge them? Are there any atheist or agnostic New Testament scholars who believe that…
Read More

Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Christian Faith

Apologetics, arguments for God Categories: Theology and Christian Apologetics, Christianity, defend the faith, Doubt, Gospel, https://smartfaith.me, introduction to apologetics, Miguel Rodriguez, new believers, Skeptics, Theology and Christian Apologetics, young believers
“Why is there evil and suffering in this world?” “No one naturally can resurrect from the dead after three days. It\’s impossible.” “The Bible was written by fallible men thousands of years ago, how can I be sure that what I have is what was written?” “How can I know that Christianity is the one true religion when there are thousands of other religions?” Odds are, you don’t have an answer to these sorts of questions, or worse, they seem persuasive . . . compelling. You feel some sort of shame to admit this. You have been a Christian for some time now but never knew the answers to these fundamental questions. Now you’re second guessing. And why not? You already tried to ask your parents, your pastor and/or Bible…
Read More

How Names Reveal That the Bible Writers Were Eyewitnesses

Bible, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Dr. Frank Turek, Eyewitnesses, Gospel, morality, names, New Testament Writers, philosophy, Podcast, religion, theology
Sorry Aunt Mildred and Uncle Bob–nobody wants to use your names for their children anymore! But what does that have to do with the credibility of the New Testament writers? In this fun and fascinating episode of ‘I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist’, Frank explores why the names we see recorded in ancient history matter and unpacks how these names serve as powerful evidence that the New Testament writers were actual eyewitnesses to the events they described in the Gospels and the book of Acts. Join Frank as he tackles key questions like: How have name trends changed in the U.S. over the last 100 years, and how does this relate to the reliability of the Scriptures? What is an undesigned coincidence, and what examples of undesigned…
Read More

What Is the Unpardonable Sin? Plus More Q&A

Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Dr. Frank Turek, gender, miracles, morality, philosophy, Podcast, Q&A, religion, Sin, theology, Unpardonable sin
In this midweek episode of ‘I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist‘, Frank tackles some of your listener questions on a wide variety of topics! Tune in as he unpacks the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew and other questions like: Should Christians be worried about committing the unforgivable sin? What makes the miracles of Jesus so unique compared to others who claimed to perform miracles, like Joseph Smith? How can we know anything about history and do we need to experience a historical event to know that it really occurred? Should you marry someone just based on love? What does the Bible say about a husband’s responsibility to his family? Do intersex conditions mean there are more than two genders? From…
Read More

Pointing to Design, Ross Douthat Makes the Case that Religious Belief Is Rational

Artificial Intelligence, Belief, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, carbon dioxide, Christianity, consciousness, disenchantment, fail, Faith & Science, freedom, hamlet, intelligence, Intelligent Design, metaphysics, multiverse, New York Times, open-mindedness, Physics, Earth & Space, Return of the God Hypothesis, Roman Catholics, Stephen Meyer, Tao Lin, Technology, telescope, universe, water, Zondervan
He kicks off the book by talking about the evident design in nature and the fine-tuning of the universe. Source
Read More