Doctor of Philosophy, Theology (Old Testament)(2005), University of Oxford
Master of Philosophy, Theology (Old Testament)(2002), University of Oxford
Master of Divinity (2000), Fuller Theological Seminary
Master of Science, Industrial Engineering (1985), Stanford University
Bachelor of Arts, Economics (1984), Stanford University
Summary:
Lamb’s testimony and experience in campus ministry
Lamb’s decision to go to graduate school become a Christian scholar
Lamb’s new book and its’ intended audience (it’s for beginners!)
Why Christians should read more in the Old Testament
Why we need to look at the positive and negative texts in the Old Testament
Are the portraits of God in the Old Testament and the New Testament compatible?
Is the Old Testament picture of God loving or harsh?
What are some of the examples that people point to when they say God is angry?
Are there general any guidelines for answering hard passages of the Bible?
Is the Old Testament God sexist?
What does the Old Testament say about women?
Is the Old Testament God racist?
What are some examples where other nations are treated well by God?
Don’t the laws in the Old Testament make God look legalistic and strict?
This book is similar to Paul Copan’s “Is God a Moral Monster?“, but that book is less introductory than Lamb’s book. It also engages more directly with the New Atheists than Lamb’s book.
Brian also interviewed Paul Copan about his book, and you can listen to that interview on Brian’s site.
As creator of the best website for resources to defend Christianity, Brian Auten offers a unique perspective on the current apologetics scene—the good, the bad, and the hopeful.
Apologetics 315 features a terrific compilation of material for Christians to equip themselves to better define and defend the faith. It’s full of links to resources dealing with every imaginable area of apologetics. As a regular reader of the site, I became curious what its creator, Brian Auten, thinks about the current state of apologetics around the world—and he was willing to share his insights by answering a few questions.
Excerpt:
• What trends do you see in apologetics?
Consider books like The DaVinci Code, writings by agnostic professor Bart Ehrman, or the various publications of the so-called New Atheists. All these attacks on Christianity have generated a lot of buzz. However, each of these attacks has been met with a strong counter-response from scholars, theologians, and apologists. Christianity hasn’t been defeated. Instead, it has weathered storm after storm. In the meantime, the resources available that answer these challenges have increased dramatically. Over and over again, what has been intended to bring Christianity down has only served to strengthen it.
But the tendency is this: too many times Christians are only responding to the challenges. That seems to be the trend. Why are we not running to the battle? Instead of just reacting to the next challenge, I long for the day when more and more Christians would equip themselves with this vast armory of resources and use it to take the battle to the enemy’s camp, so to speak. Apologetic-savvy educators, scientists, public officials, businessmen, actors, novelists, movie-makers—all people with a heart of evangelism who are able to defend and contend for the faith in the public square could have an immense impact for the Gospel.
And more:
• You’re passionate about churches starting apologetics ministries. Are you seeing more of them doing this?
I want to see churches start their own apologetics ministries because it is our scriptural mandate to “always be prepared to give an answer.” Yet there often is very little preparation going on! When challenges to faith come, people struggle to find substantive answers. This may cause some believers to resort to a sort of “believe it anyway” mentality; for others it causes them to abandon the faith altogether.
Research by the Barna Group has shown that a majority of young people walk away from the faith around the time they go to college or university. They simply have not been equipped to deal with the secular challenges that come against their faith when they go to college. But what if they had been properly equipped to understand and answer these sorts of challenges? They would not only be able to stand up under the attacks, but they would also be able to share Christ with more confidence, knowing that they have good reasons undergirding their faith.
So I think it’s so crucial that our churches become training grounds where believers learn why they believe what they believe. Apologetics ministries and small group studies provide a venue for discipleship where people can work through the tough questions that they constantly face from the secular world. And what’s more, our faith is enriched to even deeper levels when we experience the joy of loving God with our minds.
Thankfully, I think we are seeing a rise in the number of churches that both see this need and are beginning to equip their congregations through apologetic teaching, small groups, conferences, and resources.
Read the whole thing. Tweet it, share it. Think about it!
There’s a great list of scholars and ministries in there as well. If you guys want to know what you should be reading to prepare your defense of theism and Christianity, leave a comment with your intended audience, and I will suggest some resources. I may even BUY YOU the resource, if you are a budding apologist who is conservative on economics and politics and foreign policy. Yes, I do that a lot on this blog – mailed out a dozen books this month already to people. Get to know me, I can help you to defend your faith.
I stayed up late tonight (Monday) listening to the Republican primary debate, so I thought that I would just dump out some links to some old debates on Calvinism and Foreknowledge. The speakers are introduced in the MP3 files.
There are two debates below, but the second one is in two parts.
Does God love all people the same way in Calvinism?
Does God desire the salvation of all people in Calvinism?
Is the offer of salvation to all people a genuine offer on Calvinism?
Does Calvinism diminish or augment God’s sovereignty?
Can God accomplish his will by permitting evil creaturely actions?
Did Jesus die only for the “chosen”, or for the possibility of salvation for all?
Does a person’s responding to God’s offer of salvation detract from Gods glory?
Does our ability to resist God’s grace mean that we are “stronger” than God?
There is a little static in the audio for a few seconds every time they come back from a break, but nothing major. There are no commercials. And the debate is SO worth it, because there are almost no good debates on this topic, although you may be interested in reading the debate between William Lane Craig and Ed Curley.
The second debate
The second debate spans two MP3 files and in this debate, the two participants specifically discuss verses of Scripture that are relevant to the the two views.
I didn’t like this second debate as much as the first one.
My view
You can watch a video that describes my view. The only difference between my view and that video is that I do think you can lose your salvation by deliberate, voluntary apostasy. I.e. – the unforgiveable sin of renouncing the Holy Spirit.
WINTERY KNIGHT 