07Apr 2025 by Post

10 Historical Facts About Jesus From Non-Christian Sources

3rd Day, 4. Is the NT True?, Alisa Childers, AlisaChildersblog, Apologetics, Christianity, Easter, Gospel, historical apologetics, Jesus, New Testament, Resurrection
If you have ever been involved in religious discussion on Facebook or Twitter, you have probably come across some version of the comment below: I just think it’s interesting that the only book that even talks about Jesus is the Bible! I’m not even sure we can prove he actually existed. Although this assertion is largely rejected by scholars in all spheres of historical and biblical studies, it tends to pop back up on social media like a never-ending game of digital whack-a-mole. The truth is that Jesus is not only documented in the eye-witness testimony compiled in the New Testament, but He is mentioned as a historical person by several non-Christian sources within 150 years of His life. From those sources, we can learn 10 things about Jesus without…
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02Apr 2025 by Post

Guards at the Tomb: Historical Inquiry and Resurrection Apologetics

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, history, IsChristianityTrue.Wordpress.com, NT Apologetics, Resurrection, Roman Guards, Steve Lee
Scripture reports that there were guards at the tomb of Jesus (Matt. 27:62-66). This historical claim has been either much discussed by some apologists, but largely dismissed or ignored by others despite its potential significance in resurrection narrative. Dismissing the Guard Evidence For example, here is William Lane Craig answering a question about the guards at the tomb:   Craig doesn’t think much of this “guard” claim. Defending the Guard Evidence On the other hand, Dr. Timothy McGrew, professor of philosophy at Western Michigan University, has a thorough response to the challenge of Matthew’s veracity concerning the resurrection as it pertains to the guards narrative in Matthew 27:62-66. It is well worth the read as Dr. McGrew picks apart the claims of resurrection-critic V.J. Torley. He aims his critique here at the historicity of the…
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31Mar 2025 by Post

Why It Is Appropriate For God to Judge Us On Our Beliefs

Al Serrato, Belief, Gospel, Hell, Judgment, Justice, salvation, Theology and Christian Apologetics
For many atheists, no amount of argument will ever convince them that a loving God could consign any of his creation to Hell. I have often encountered this challenge, which usually sounds something like this: “It does not matter how just, kind, and generous they have been with their fellow humans during their lifetime. If they do not accept the gospel of Jesus, they are condemned. No just God would ever judge a man for believing the wrong thing. He would judge them instead by their actions.” It is difficult, if not impossible, to provide an answer to this challenge that is emotionally satisfying. After all, even for believers, the doctrine of Hell is difficult to accept, as it runs up against our innate inclinations. How easy it is for…
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26Mar 2025 by Post

Defense of the Immaterial Soul

Apologetics, bellatorchristi.com, Brian Chilton, Christianity, Gospel, materialism, personhood, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of mind, soul, spirit, theological anthropology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
The human body is a marvelous and complex system. Of special interest is the cellular mechanism of the body. Every 7-10 years, the cells of the body replace themselves, to the point that the body is essentially new every decade.[i] While the DNA remains the same over the course of a person’s life, the cells change at varying rates. A person’s stomach lining replaces itself every few days. The skin’s epidermis replaces itself every 2 to 4 weeks. The body’s hair changes every 6 years for women and 3 years for men. Liver cells rejuvenate every 150 to 500 days. Bones take around 10 years to change. Philosophically speaking, the materialist has a problem if he decides to claim that the body is all of human existence. If humans are…
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24Mar 2025 by Post

Is Guidance Control COMPATIBLE with Divine Determinism?

Apologetics, Christianity, compatibilism, determinism, Gospel, guidance control, john martin fischer, Libertarian Freedom, reasons responsiveness, regulative control, Theology and Christian Apologetics
STRATTON: Dear ChatGPT, Guidance control is a concept from philosophy, particularly in discussions of free will and moral responsibility. It refers to the capacity of an agent to guide their behavior in a way that reflects their reasons, values, and intentions. In the context of free will, guidance control is often contrasted with what is referred to as regulative control. Allow me to explain: Guidance control asserts the ability to guide one’s actions in accordance with one’s rational deliberation and decision-making process. It does not necessarily require alternative possibilities (understood as the ability to do otherwise). Regulative control, on the other hand, includes both the ability to guide actions and the ability to choose among alternative options (i.e., free will in the sense of having genuine alternatives and the ability…
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17Mar 2025 by Post

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and its Evidential Value, Part 2

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
[Editor’s Note: In part 1 of this series on the evidential value of Paul’s conversion, Dr. Jonathan McLatchie established that (Proposition 1) The accounts in Acts substantially represent Paul’s own conversion testimony, and (Proposition 2) Paul was not plausibly sincerely mistaken. In this second installment, McLatchie tackles the remaining two propositions, showing that Saul’s conversion to Apostle Paul is a remarkably value line of evidence for historic Christianity] Proposition 3: Paul was not plausibly intentionally deceptive. Sufferings, Toils, and Hardships: There exists an abundance of evidence that Paul voluntarily endured significant hardships, dangers, persecutions, toils, labors, imprisonments and ultimately execution for the sake of the gospel. This goes a long way towards establishing his sincerity. For example, Clement of Rome, in his sole surviving letter, addressed to the Corinthian church, writes (1…
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12Mar 2025 by Post

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…
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10Mar 2025 by Post

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…
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03Mar 2025 by Post

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…
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28Feb 2025 by Post

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…
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