Tag Archives: Apologetics

Mentoring

Bill Craig explains how to answer a non-Christian without apologetics

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It’s in his question of the week. The question is from a student who is not familiar with apologetics, but who is being challenged by his co-workers on his faith. None 0f his co-workers are Christians.

Excerpt:

I took your question this week, John, because I think it’s one that many Christians face. We don’t all have time to become skilled apologists, and yet we find ourselves in situations in which we’re called upon to give “a reason for the hope that is in us” (I Peter 3:15). What are we supposed to do?

One easy thing that we can all do is learn to ask questions. Greg Koukl recommends asking two questions of non-believers:

1. What do you mean by that?

2. What reasons do you have to think that?

It’s amazing how these two disarmingly simple questions can tie people in knots! For example, ask the unbeliever what he means when he says he doesn’t believe in God—is he an atheist or an agnostic? (Be prepared to explain the difference to him!) Whatever he says, ask him, “What reasons do you have to think that?” Many people don’t even understand what they mean by their assertions, and probably most don’t have any good reasons for them. So long as you’re asking questions, you’re not making any assertions at all, and so don’t have to prove anything. Let the non-believers bear the burden of proof for their claims.

[…]A second thing you can do is refer the unbeliever to some resource. You don’t have to have any brains to tell someone, “Have you seen the Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology? Before you say there are no intelligent theists and no good reasons to believe in God, maybe you’d better look at that book first. Otherwise, you’re not really informed.”

[…]Shame the unbeliever for his ignorance of the literature. If he’s a sincere seeker, on the other hand, recommend that he peruse this website or watch a debate.

And it goes on like that. Five points in all.

The whole thing is worth reading… it’s pretty funny in parts, because he is telling him exactly what to say.

News

Triablogue guys write massive response to “The Christian Delusion”

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Apparently a bunch of less-moderate atheists like Hector Avalos, Richard Carrier and Robert Price decided to write a book attacking Christianity. These guys are internet infidel types. Dan Barker gives the foreword, and I don’t think he is a very even-keeled person.

The Triablogue post is here. Their e-book is free to download.

Excerpt:

The book contains chapters written by a wide range of modern atheists, including Hector Avalos, Richard Carrier, and Edward T. Babinski[*]. (If those names sound familiar it’s because we’ve engaged with each of them many times on Triablogue.) Of his contribution to the book, Carrier slapped both of his chapters with a “tour de force” label and confidently assured us, “I doubt I’ll ever have to write another [refutation of the resurrection].” He says: “My debunking of [Christian claims on science] is so decisive in this chapter, you won’t need to refer anyone anywhere else.”

But such hubris vastly overreaches reality, and Triablogue is here to demonstrate it with The Infidel Delusion.

The Infidel Delusion was written (in alphabetical order) by Patrick Chan, Jason Engwer, Steve Hays, and Paul Manata. This is a true tour de force. By the time I got to Manata’s debunking of Valerie Tarico’s naturalistic reductionism in chapter two, the perfect metaphor had formed in my head: Collectively, these Triabloggian authors were firing intellectual howitzer shells point-blank into a cardboard shanty town.

You can watch the Craig vs Avalos debate, or the Craig vs Carrier debate or the Craig vs Price debate if you want to see how well their ideas stand up in a real contest.

You can find the debates here.

Thanks to Jason Engwer for giving me the heads-up about Triablogue’s rebuttal. Triablogue is a serious apologetics blog.

In all fairness, there are much better non-Christians out there who are not crazy, like Austin Dacey and Paul Draper. Although Price sounded good in his recent debate on the Bible and slavery.

Videos

Does the kalam cosmological argument tell us anything about God?

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Here’s a quick video on the kalam argument.

Just a short video since I am kind of on vacation this week. I’m away meeting that young lady that I write about often, after 8 months of getting to know her through Skype! I’l bet you all want to hear about that instead!