Apologetics Profile

On this special two-part episode of Apologetics Profile, we talk with former atheist, astrophysicist Dr. Sarah Salviander, who has been engaging skeptics and seekers through social media for several years. She gives us tips and wisdom from her experiences we think can help you better communicate with others in cyberspace.

Since the advent of the pandemic in 2020, life seems to have retreated to the Internet. And online, there exists the problem of not being present with one another in conversation. If you have ever been involved in a discussion in social media with a skeptic or atheist, you know such engagements can quickly deteriorate into a milieu of incivility and vitriol from both sides.

While it is not the most effective way to engage our unbelieving neighbors, social media is an ever-present facet of our time that we must know how to intelligently utilize for the glory of God.

Communications technologies are inherently impersonal and seem to foster unhealthy dialogue, but that doesn't mean Christians cannot still exhibit grace, tact, and humility when talking to people on social media about our faith. 

If you or someone you know is active on social media, especially in the areas of apologetics and evangelism this is an episode you and your friends and family do not want to miss!

Related Links

Learn more about Dr. Salviander, download our related 4-page Profiles and explore our monthly Atheist & Christian Book Club, a great place for Christians and skeptics to engage in civil dialogue:

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Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

The Atheist & Christian Book Club is an outreach of Watchman Fellowship, the parent ministry of Apologetics Profile. It is a monthly gathering of believers and skeptics respectfully discussing important books from both perspectives.

In this special edition of Apologetics Profile, Kerby Anderson of Probe ministries interviews Christian apologist James Walker and atheist apologist Bill Kluck about this unique book club they founded in 2017. The interview originally aired on Point of View, an international syndicated radio program carried on 265 stations with an audience of about 1 million. Watchman staff apologist, Daniel Ray who helps facilitate the book club, was also interviewed.

What Happens at the Club? Each month between 25 to 60 athesits and Christians share a meal together and then discuss important books alternating each month between an athiest book and a Christian book. Usually the author of the book is present to discuss the book or is avaialble by video conferencing to provide additional insight and take questions from the club. Since the pandemic, the club has been moved online to Zoom where the membership has grown to include particiapants as far away as India and Africa.

Atheist and agnostic authors who have joined the club to discuss their books include: Michael Ruse, Graham Oppy, Richard Carrier, Robert Price, Aron Ra, David Fitzgerald, John Loftus, Seth Andrews, Steve McRae, Sasha Sagan (daughter of the late Carl Sagan), Jim Hall, Ken Daniels, and David Madison.

Christian authors who have joined the club to discuss their books include: Gary Habermas, Paul Copan, Tim McGrew, Craig Keener, Frank Turek, Sean McDowell, Travis Dickenson, Melissa Cain Travis, J. Warner Wallace, Holly Ordway, Michael Bird, Craig Evans, Justin Brierley and Hugh Ross.

Check out the links below to join the club online via Zoom.

Related Links

Learn more about the Atheist & Christian Book Club, Point of View and Probe Ministries:

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Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

On part two of Daniel Ray's discussion with Dr. W. David Beck, we look into the history of moral arguments for God’s existence and how skeptics and non-believers have traditionally responded. We also give you some practical advice as to how to apply this rich philosophical tradition to your own life and witness in dialogue with skeptics who are familiar with these arguments.

Moral Arguments for God: Perhaps you have heard it said from your skeptic and non-believing friends and family members that we can be “good without God.” Maybe you’ve also heard Christians say “Atheists can’t be good without God!” 

Sometimes that sort of back-and-forth misses a crucial point. The Bible says plainly that we have all, believers and unbelievers, fallen short of the glory of God. It is not that Christians are moral and atheists are immoral, but rather it is a question of the origin and foundation of our moral nature. 

These questions have been debated ever since the dawn of time and our existence on the planet. There is a long-standing tradition of philosophical defenses for the existence of God, known as moral arguments. Through appealing to man’s intellectual and reasoning capacities, moral arguments rely upon logic, reason, and philosophical thought, not in opposition to the revealed truth of Scripture, but as a complementary help meet, demonstrating that it is logical and reasonable to conclude, from the existence of our moral natures, that God exists.

FREE BOOK FOR 5 PODCAST LISTENERS!

The first five listeners who contact Daniel Ray by email will receive a free copy of Dr. Beck’s latest book, Does God Exist? A History of Answers to the Question courtesy InterVarsity Press. Daniel’s office email is [email protected].

If you are unable to get a free copy of Dr. Beck’s latest book, you can find it on Amazon: http://bit.ly/WDavidBeck.  

Related Profiles

Watchman Fellowship has published several Profiles related with this week's topic on the existance of God:

W. David Beck (PhD, Boston University) is emeritus professor of philosophy at Liberty University. He is author of Does God Exist? A History of Answers to the Question and is the coeditor of Raised on the Third Day: Defending the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus. His written work has also appeared in publications including Philosophia Christi, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Christianity Today. Visit Dr. Beck's author's page here: http://bit.ly/WDavidBeck.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

On this two-part episode of Apologetics Profile, we talk with Christian philosopher Dr. W. David Beck about his latest book Does God Exist? A History of Answers to the Question. In his book he looks at the historical back-and-forth of four fundamental arguments used in defense of God’s existence, the cosmological, teleological, moral, and ontological arguments. It is a condensed historical, theological and philosophical survey of the principal contributors of each argument from both a materialist and religious point of view. 

In his classic apologetic work Mere Christianity, scholar, author, and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis observes that “atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning.”

That the universe exists is something upon which we can all universally agree. As the Bible says, the heavens are telling of the glory of God, and the expanse shows forth His handiwork. God’s divine workmanship are known throughout the world in all times and in all places. 

But for the skeptic, what best explains why the universe exists? Agnostic cosmologist Dr. Sean Carroll suggests in a 2018 post on his blog Preposterous Universe that “The demand for something more — a reason why the universe exists at all — is a relic piece of metaphysical baggage we would be better off to discard.”

That statement of course is a piece of metaphysics itself, philosophy in the strict sense of the word, not science. An attempt to make the question go away, does not finally address the question of why there is something rather than nothing. 

For centuries we have been interpreting and discussing the universe and our place within it, and as Lewis noted in Mere Christianity there are fundamentally two types of views, a materialist view and a religious view. 

And as long as we have been contemplating the cosmos, philosophers, theologians, skeptics, and atheists have often used rigorous philosophical arguments in defense of their respective positions.

Stay tuned also to part two, where we will be giving away some free copies of Dr. Beck's Book courtesy InterVarsity Press! Be sure to listen to part two as we share exactly how you can request a free copy (while supplies last).  

Related Profiles

Watchman Fellowship has published several Profiles related with this week's topic on the existance of God:

W. David Beck (PhD, Boston University) is emeritus professor of philosophy at Liberty University. He is author of Does God Exist? A History of Answers to the Question and is the coeditor of Raised on the Third Day: Defending the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus. His written work has also appeared in publications including Philosophia Christi, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Christianity Today. Visit Dr. Beck's author's page here: http://bit.ly/WDavidBeck.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

In this week's Apologetics Profile, James Walker interviews Addam Swapp, a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who became a Fundamentalist Mormon practicing polygamy. Addam was involved in the bombing of a Mormon chapel followed by a 13-day standoff and shootout with law enforcement in which one officer was fatally shot and killed. 

In federal prison, Addam found himself on the floor of a dirty cell, broken and defeated. At this time of his deepest despair, he called out to Jesus.

Related Profiles

Watchman Fellowship has published two Profiles on polygamous Mormon fundamentalist groups similar to the one Addam was involved with:

James Walker, President of Watchman Fellowship, is a former fourth-generation Mormon with over 25 years' experience in Christian apologetics, evangelism and discernment. He is a featured speaker, the author of several books, a podcaster. He is also the cofounder of the Atheist & Christian Book Club, a monthly gathering of believers and skeptics respectfully discussing important books from both perspectives. For more information, visit: www.watchman.org/staff/James.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

In this week's Apologetics Profile, Brady Blevins visits with Holly Pivec for Part 2 of a discussion about Bethel Church of Redding, Calif. and its controversial leader, Pastor Bill Johnson. Bethel Redding was by far our #1 most requested Profile topic over the last several years. Questions raised included Bethel's ties to the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and more recently the failed prophecies predicting Donald Trump's reelection by Kris Vallotton, Senior Associate Pastor at Bethel Church.

This 11,000 member church having a major but problematic influence on Christianity throughout the US and worldwide. Johnson’s reach touches thousands of churches not otherwise associated with NAR through affiliated ministries including Bethel Music, Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, and Bethel Leaders Network.

Books and Profile

Holly Pivec a master’s degree in Christian apologetics from Biola University. She was the University Editor at Biola for nearly a decade and also served as managing editor of the award-winning Biola Magazine. Together with Biola professor Doug Geivett, she co-authored two books about NAR: A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement and God’s Super-Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement (see links above). For more information, visit: www.hollypivec.com

Dr. Brady Blevins, Senior Apologist at Watchman Fellowship, is a speaker, writer and researcher for the ministry. He serves as Profile Editor and is frequent host of our Apologetics Profile podcast. He holds a BS in Bible and Pastoral Ministries from Arlington Baptist College, a MA in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University and a Doctorate in Educational Ministries from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an ordained Baptist minister and a member of the International Society of Christian Apologetics (ISCA), and the Evangelical Press Association (EPA). For more information visit: www.watchman.org/staff/BradyBlevinsBio.pdf.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

In this week's Apologetics Profile, Brady Blevins sits down with Holly Pivec for Part 1 of a discussion about Bethel Church of Redding, Calif. and its controversial leader, Pastor Bill Johnson. Bethel Redding was by far our #1 most requested Profile topic over the last several years. Questions raised included Bethel's ties to the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and more recently the failed prophecies predicting Donald Trump's reelection by Kris Vallotton, Senior Associate Pastor at Bethel Church

This 11,000 member church having a major but problematic influence on Christianity throughout the US and worldwide. Johnson’s reach touches thousands of churches not otherwise associated with NAR through affiliated ministries including Bethel Music, Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, and Bethel Leaders Network.

Books and Profile

Holly Pivec a master’s degree in Christian apologetics from Biola University. She was the University Editor at Biola for nearly a decade and also served as managing editor of the award-winning Biola Magazine. Together with Biola professor Doug Geivett, she co-authored two books about NAR: A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement and God’s Super-Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement (see links above). For more information, visit: www.hollypivec.com

Dr. Brady Blevins, Senior Apologist at Watchman Fellowship, is a speaker, writer and researcher for the ministry. He serves as Profile Editor and is frequent host of our Apologetics Profile podcast. He holds a BS in Bible and Pastoral Ministries from Arlington Baptist College, a MA in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University and a Doctorate in Educational Ministries from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an ordained Baptist minister and a member of the International Society of Christian Apologetics (ISCA), and the Evangelical Press Association (EPA). For more information visit: www.watchman.org/staff/BradyBlevinsBio.pdf.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

What are "deceitful philosophies"? The Bible exhorts us to be on guard against the empty and deceitful philosophies of men and the traditions and customs by which the world tempts and challenges us.

Additional Resources

Dr. Paul M. Gould is the Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Director of the M.A. Philosophy of Religion program at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Dr. Gould is the author or editor of ten scholarly and popular-level books including Cultural Apologetics, Philosophy: A Christian Introduction (Zondervan, 2019) and The Story of the Cosmos (Harvest House, 2019). He has been a visiting scholar at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School’s Henry Center, working on the intersection of science and faith, and is the founder and president of the Two Tasks Institute. He is a widely sought after speaker in apologetics and philosophy. He speaks regularly at universities, churches, and ministries around the country, including Summit Ministries, the C.S. Lewis Institute, and the Evangelical Philosophical Society’s annual apologetics conference. You can find out more about Dr. Gould and his work at www.paul-gould.com and www.twotasksinstitute.org.  He is married to Ethel and has four children.

Daniel Ray, Staff Apologist at Watchman Fellowship, is a speaker, writer, and podcast producer with the ministry. He holds a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Austin Peay State University and an MA in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Baptist University. He is coeditor and cowriter of The Story of the Cosmos, How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God. For more information: www.watchman.org/staff/DanielRayBio.pdf.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Why Do We Need Philosophy? Our guest this week and next on Apologetics Profile is Christian philosopher and author Dr. Paul Gould, who routinely gets asked this question.

Additional Resources

Dr. Paul M. Gould is the Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Director of the M.A. Philosophy of Religion program at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Dr. Gould is the author or editor of ten scholarly and popular-level books including Cultural Apologetics, Philosophy: A Christian Introduction (Zondervan, 2019) and The Story of the Cosmos (Harvest House, 2019). He has been a visiting scholar at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School’s Henry Center, working on the intersection of science and faith, and is the founder and president of the Two Tasks Institute. He is a widely sought after speaker in apologetics and philosophy. He speaks regularly at universities, churches, and ministries around the country, including Summit Ministries, the C.S. Lewis Institute, and the Evangelical Philosophical Society’s annual apologetics conference. You can find out more about Dr. Gould and his work at www.paul-gould.com and www.twotasksinstitute.org.  He is married to Ethel and has four children.

Daniel Ray, Staff Apologist at Watchman Fellowship, is a speaker, writer, and podcast producer with the ministry. He holds a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Austin Peay State University and an MA in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Baptist University. He is coeditor and cowriter of The Story of the Cosmos, How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God. For more information: www.watchman.org/staff/DanielRayBio.pdf.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

1 James K. Dew and Paul M. Gould, Philosophy A Christian Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019), vii.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

[NOTE: This podcast is also available on video here: https://youtu.be/jvwhJpZiQZ8]

On part two of our special two-part video and podcast episode of Peter Boghossian and Street Epistemology, Watchman Fellowship staff apologist Daniel Ray speaks with senior apologist Brady Blevins about how to recognize a street epistemology conversation and how we can and should respond. 

If you have children or grandchildren active on social media sharing their faith or if they are away at college, they are likely to encounter atheists using the tactics and techniques of street epistemology. 

In this day and time, where it seems truth is in short supply, it is more crucial than ever that we know why we believe what we believe. The difficult questions and challenges to our faith are on the rise. We must be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is in us with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15). 

Street epistemology is a growing, worldwide phenomena used by many atheists and skeptics for the purpose of getting believers to doubt and/or give up their faith altogether. 

On this episode you'll hear and see real-world examples of street epistemologists engaging people with their carefully crafted questions and we'll give you the practical and biblical tips and insights as to how you can respond. 

We have prepared a treasure trove of resources on this important topic. In addition to this podcast and video, we have prepared three additional videos on the topic as well as a four-page Profile on Peter Boghossian and Street Epistemology.

STREET EPISTEMOLOGY RESOURCES

Daniel has also written a 4-page Profile on Peter Boghossian and produced three additional videos on Street Epistemology for you to share with anyone you know who may have encountered SE online or at college. 

Additional Christian Resources on Street Epistemology

Street epistemology videos featured in this podcast/video: 

Dr. Brady Blevins, Senior Apologist with Watchman Fellowship, is a featured speaker and writer with the ministry. He also serves as the editor of our Profile Notebook. He holds a BS in Bible and Pastoral Ministries from Arlington Baptist College, a MA in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University and a Doctorate in Educational Ministries from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. For more information: www.watchman.org/staff/BradyBlevinsBio.pdf.

Daniel Ray, Staff Apologist at Watchman Fellowship, is a speaker, writer, and podcast producer with the ministry. He holds a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Austin Peay State University and an MA in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Baptist University. He is coeditor and cowriter of The Story of the Cosmos, How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God. For more information: www.watchman.org/staff/DanielRayBio.pdf.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship
For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.