I'm not alone in my belief. Pastor and author Timothy Keller, who ministers in New York and has written one of the better apologetics books of our time, The Reason for God, says one of the big issues facing the church today is the need for a renewal of apologetics. Keller says apologetics is important for two reasons.
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Last Monday I was interviewed by Jim Wallace for the Please Convince Me podcast. If you are not familiar with his ministry, I give it my highest recommendation. Jim does an amazing job of taking philosophical, scientific, and historical evidence and presenting it in a logical and compelling way. He's a former atheist and really understands how many non-Christians really think. We had a great chat about my recent debate with James Corbett and other apologetics issues. Check it out! |
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For your first week of reading, Why Trust Jesus? Here's several questions that I want you to ask yourself but also ask your friends in your community group/ book study group. After you have read Norman Geisler's foreword and my introduction, consider these questions. 1. What characteristics do you look for in someone else, before you can trust them? 2. What are the greatest barriers to trusting Christ daily in your own life? Is it intellectual, emotional, or self-sufficiency? Talk it out. 3. We have all probably been let down by Christians. Maybe a pastor or priest, a father or mother, an ex-lover. In the midst of disappointments or failures, why do you believe the Christian faith is most trustworthy? Or more specifically, why Jesus? 4. What steps will you take this week to grow in trust?
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I like the show the Office. I like Rainn Wilson who plays Dwight Schrute. He is hilarious. I like Oprah. But I can't stand the false doctrine that Oprah and Rainn promote. I wrote my book, Why Trust Jesus? and the book co-authored with Josh McDowell, "O" God for Christians! Sadly, some of my peers have bought into a "social gospel" so much that we often feel apathetic to speak out against religious pluralism. The Baha'i faith that Rainn holds to may seem open minded and inclusive, but in reality is very exclusive. For example, teachers of the Baha'i faith deny the doctrine of the Trinity. They are "intolerant" of it. Now, in my book, I commend Oprah for reaching out to the poor. That's a good work. James, in chapter one, refers to taking care of orphans and widows as "pure religion." But religion is not the "gospel" and it won't take anyone into heaven. The so-called "New Spirituality" and pantheistic books that Oprah has endorses like Eckart Tolle's The Power of Now and Rhonda Byrne's The Secret are selling just as much as the books of New Atheists. We might not watch her show, but this woman has influence. Watch this video of Oprah and Rainn Wilson (aka Dwight Schute), If you were sitting in a chair next to Oprah, how would you respond? What would you ask her? How would you present the true Gospel?
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Jenna Levon, a freelance writer in her twenties was one of the first to look at my brand new book, Why Trust Jesus? I was very encouraged with her with words, because I wrote this book for both believers, doubters and spiritual seekers. Below are words from Jenna. Ten years ago, I made a huge mistake. I can picture the table where I sat in my high school cafeteria. I quickly found myself in a heated conversation about Jesus with my new friend, who was Jewish. As a Christian, I asserted that Jesus was crucified, he rose, and He’s coming back some day. |
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Check out this interview I did last week with Apologetics 315, one of the more popular apologetics Podcasts. We talked about effective apologetics today, youth and apologetics, as well as some of the more pressing questions people are asking about the faith. |
Thanks to our friends at Holman Bible Publishers, we are giving away some copies of the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, designed to ground Christian students in the truths of Scripture by equipping them with thoughtful and practical responses to difficult and heartfelt challenges to core issues of faith and life. To be eligible to win a copy of the paperback edition (1400+ pages in length), here's all you do:
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The response to the release of the Apologetics Study Bible for Students has really been encouraging and overwhelming. I knew there was a pressing recognition of the need for apologetics in youth ministry, but I had no idea now much. I received this email from a youth pastor this week and was deeply moved by it. Check it out: "I'm one of the youth leaders at our church, and I'm in between a couple of Sundays where I'm giving the message during the youth service. I'm taking the opportunity to introduce the students to apologetics, and the response so far has been more enthusiastic than I'd anticipated, which gladdens my heart to no end. "At first I was simply happy to see the arrival of the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, but then God laid it on my heart to take action, so my wife and I are using a chunk of our tax refund to purchase 35 copies to give out to our youth during an upcoming Wednesday night function. In price shopping around the Internet, my wife discovvered a promotional video you did for the Bible at Lifeway.com. I'm going to show that video to the kids before unveiling the surprise.
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As many of you know, this year I helped my dad update his classic, "More Than a Carpenter." We added a chapter on the New Atheists as well as included responses to common objections to the Christian faith (such as the Da Vinci Code and the so-called Gospel of Judas) that have arisen since "More Than a Carpenter" was first released in 1977. One of the fun things in updating the book was learning that it played a key role in Mark Driscoll's decision to become a Christian. Well, since Driscoll is a Calvinist, I guess it wasn't really his decision, but you get the point! This spring my dad's ministry, Josh McDowell Ministry, is launching a huge campaign entitled, "Reclaiming Easter," to help get the word out about the evidence for the historical Jesus. For the past few months my dad has been working on developing free PowerPoint slides and sermons to go along with the updated "More Than a Carpenter."
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A coupe of weeks ago I spoke at Snellville Baptist Church in Georgia. The youth pastor, Jody Shelton, is a friend of mine. Check out his brief blog about my visit there. You can listen for free to the three talks I gave: (1) Shattering the Myths of Evolution; (2) Understanding Intelligent Design; and (3) Why the New Testament Can Be Trusted. Jody also gave a little shout-out for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, which was just released last week. This Bible is revolutionary for students. I just received a message on Facebook from a fellow apologist, Lenny Esposito from Come Reason Ministries, who helped write some of the articles in the Study Bible. He received this note about the Bible from a brand new user:
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