Sunday, March 21, 2010

Live at Nine Television Program from London - The Reliability of Scripture

James White has posted the television program appearance he did in London back in February 2010 in which he defended the reliability of the New Testament. Great Stuff!




Live at Nine Television Program from London
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Jon Stewart Destroys Glenn Beck

ST. PAUL, MN - SEPTEMBER 03:  Host Jon Stewart...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

It's been a long time coming but I'm so glad this happening.



The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Intro - Progressivism Is Cancer
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorHealth Care Reform

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Conservative Libertarian
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorHealth Care Reform






Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Apologetics 315: Apologist Interview: Phil Fernandes

In continuing his series of wonderful interviews with top apologists, Brian Auten interviews pastor, teacher, and apologist Phil Fernandez. I loved the interview.
Fernandez answered some great questions and gave great advice to people starting out in Apologetics.
Apologetics 315: Apologist Interview: Phil Fernandes
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Saturday, March 20, 2010

YouTube - The Rage Against God by Peter Hitchens

Image representing YouTube as depicted in Crun...Image via CrunchBase
Okay books have trailers now too! Here is a trailer for Peter Hitchens's book in which he explains how atheism sent brought him to Christ.




YouTube - The Rage Against God by Peter Hitchens

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Unbelievable? | Debate: Anthony Buzzard vs James White - Trinity

Dr. James White was on British radio twice on his recent trip to the United Kingdom. In one of them he debated Sir. Anthony Buzzard on the reality of the Trinity. Buzzard denies the the Trinity because he denies Jesus' pre-existence before His birth. Buzzard does not denies Jesus as the only path of salvation but does not think the Trinity makes sense. James White on the other hand believes that Jesus is the 2nd person of the Trinity. I think that their debate was most of who Jesus is. It is wonderful! They really hammered at the text of the Bible and each other to made sure to work out and attempted to exegete the Hebrew and Greek texts. I think White did a great job and I have to admit that Buzzard is not as big a heretic as I first thought. Well Worth listening!!!


Unbelievable? | Premier Christian Radio, Saturday
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Friday, March 19, 2010

Bret Baier Interviews Obama March 17, 2010

I don't know how this slipped through my information dragnet but here is an interview President Obama did last week! You know we are in trouble when the President does an exclusive interview with Fox News!




Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Rahab: A Prostitute or an Innkeeper?

Dr. Mariottini has posted a great article expounding on the story of Rahab. He covers who she was, what she did, and why she is so very important! This is a must read!

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Rahab: A Prostitute or an Innkeeper?
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Line of Fire » Blog Archive » March 18, 2010

I've been listening to Dr. Michael Brown's radio broadcast over the internet for a while. He is a Jewish scholar who is a Christian. He does excellent scholarship. A few weeks ago he had James White on his broadcast and they debated Calvinism. At the end of this month, he will be on Dr. James White's webcast for 2 days and they are going to be exegeting specific scripture(read announcement at the bottom). I can't wait. Brown describes himself as a noncalvinist and a nonarminian - he is however definitely a Christian. I linked to this particular recording of Brown's because he specifically describes what he considers right about Calvinism. He is the most balanced noncalvinist I've ever listened to. He also answered some questions that his ministry received in E-mail. I agreed with all the answers he gave except the one about tithing. He was asked does God want us to tithe on net or on gross earnings? He said he believed in the principle of tithing but did not believe it was mandated anymore. I don't agree, but I agree with everything else he said subsequently. He said he tithed on the gross. He said he heard a preacher answer question with a question: "Do you want God to bless your net or gross?" This is the same way my own pastor answers this question.

Dr Brown also has several great debates coming up in addition to the one with Dr. White.
He's debating Anthony Buzzard soon.
And He is debating Bart Ehrman on April 15, 2010.

I'm looking forward to these!

Line of Fire » Blog Archive » March 18, 2010
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Iron Sharpens Iron: R.C. Sproul, Jr.: Believing God: 12 Biblical Promises Christians Struggle to Accept

This was an amazing interview. R.C. Sproul Jr was interviewed on his new book "Believing God: 12 Biblical Promises Christians Struggle to Accept". I can't believe the insight he brought. I mean I thought: "I'm a Christian! I believe everything the Bible says!" Truth is I listened to the interview because I wanted to see how much like his father he is and didn't really expect to be as blown away as I was. He said he wrote the book because when he honestly looks at scripture he came to the realization that there were something that God promises that he did not literally interpret the statement as it  is stated. Two examples he brought up, I've got to share.


5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:5-6

He said one day, he looked at that and thought, no way is it saying that God will just give me wisdom if I ask...there has got to be more to it than that so he went on a mission to find out what the passage is truly saying. and came back to his first interpretation. I heard myself in his words. i realized that i too did not take that promise at face value. I'm still repenting! I was struck. Often times i feel at a loss for what to do. I pray but I don't really expect God to show me what to do. 

Dr. Sproul then went on to identify 12 such promises in the Bible. He didn't cover them all but hbe did talk about a few. another one that caught my attention is the point he made that many of us don't give God's forgiveness of our sin it's proper weight. We readily accept that God has forgiven our past crap but sometimes falter in believing the same as for the present and future issues we wrestle to overcome. Jesus' righteousness is imputed to us. 


If you can't say "Amen", say "ouch"!!!


Iron Sharpens Iron: R.C. Sproul, Jr.: Believing God: 12 Biblical Promises Christians Struggle to Accept
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Truthbomb Apologetics: Helpful Resources dealing with Mormonism

free commercial image of Bill CraigImage via Wikipedia

 On a recent Reasonable Faith podcast, William Lane Craig "discussed the Mormon doctrine of creation and highlighted an exciting movement that is currently going on among a small number of Mormon scholars." I got this post from Truthbomb Apologetics. This was posted a couple of days ago and today on the Dividing Line, James White Discussed Craig's comments. Unfortunately, I was not able to listen today but I will be listening to the recording later one. You can hear Craig's interview by going to the post at Truthbomb Apologetics link below.

Truthbomb Apologetics: Helpful Resources dealing with Mormonism
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Debunking Christianity: Why Do My Arguments Not Convince Devout Believers to Leave Their Faith?

Jesus on the wall of the senior HomeImage by freestone via Flickr
Recenlty, John Loftus  posted an answer to the question " Why Do My Arguments Not Convince Devout Believers to Leave Their Faith?"  He wrote the following:

I merely offer up good arguments against their faith. That's all I can do. Devout believers (my target audience) won't seriously consider them until such time as they have some sort of crisis in their lives that cannot be adequately explained by a good God. They'll seriously consider them at that time. My arguments are like seeds of doubt ready to sprout if and when they experience that crisis. Since many believers do experience some kind of crisis in their lives there will be a certain percentage of believers who, having been previously exposed to my arguments, will leave their faith at that time. It's a waiting game.

I've got a couple of problems with his answer. I've watched 3 of his debates and he lost each of them.the description of "good" is not what I would use to describe the arguments he used. Based on those arguments alone, he deserved to loose. I agree that loosing a debate, (in Lofuts'  case - several debates) does not invalidate a person's ideas nor means that they are stupid. I think it takes a great deal of gut to expose your self to public scrutiny of your ideas and worldview. Not for the faint-of-heart.  However, it's silly to think that you can argue anyone into or out of faith. It really is bigger than any of us, When I see an apsotate and listen to their arguments, it does not move me in the slightest because I know that they were never truly a Christian. No one becomes "un-born again".

 22Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
 25Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."- John 10:22-30

and

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
- 1 John 2:19

and

9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. - 2 Timothy 4:9-11


One more thing: 

8For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. - 2 Corinthians 13:8

Debunking Christianity: Why Do My Arguments Not Convince Devout Believers to Leave Their Faith?
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Apologetics 315: Resurrection Interview with William Lane Craig MP3

Apologetics 315 has posted a great audio interview with William Lane Craig responding to specific questions regarding Jesus' Resurrection. These are g great summary for defending the Resurrection. Not only that, the post has link to many other Resurrection resources.

Apologetics 315: Resurrection Interview with William Lane Craig MP3
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

John Piippo: Paul Copan's Essay "Are Old Testament Laws Evil?"

NYC - New York Public Library Main Building: M...Image by wallyg via Flickr
Here is a great review of Paul Copan's essay  regarding the ethics of the Old Testament. I got turned to this article by Brian Auten from Apologetics 315. We can clearly see that it's not the Bible that is immoral or unethical. It is the critics of the Bible that are unethical.

John Piippo: Paul Copan's Essay "Are Old Testament Laws Evil?"
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Debunking Christianity: David Wood vs John W. Loftus: Does God Exist?

I was kind of very disappointed with John Loftus' performance. He didn't use any new arguments when he recently debated Dinesh D'Souza, and it didn't work any better against David Wood than it did against D'Souza. Loftus said that neither he nor David could not completely refute each other, but it sure would be nice to have heard some real interaction with David's arguments. It was good to see David really press John on morality and John's worldview. I wanted to see some newer arguments from John Loftus that has not been used by him or anyone else before. And it was not there. Loftus did not answer anything.










Debunking Christianity: David Wood vs John W. Loftus: Does God Exist?

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Unbelievable? 6 Mar 2010 - Debate: Which is more trustworthy - The Bible or Koran?

James White had a very debate with Muslim Adnan Rashid. They debated which is more reliable: the Bible or the Qur'an? James White did a great job summarizing textual transmission of the Bible. Rashid disagreed on how White talked about how the Qur'an came to us. I've heard other scholars agree with White's presentation. Rashid seemed to lean heavily on the work and conclusions of Bart Ehrman and he never really did refute White's explanation about why Ehrman's conclusions is wrong. In fact he used the same defense White used for the Bible to defend the textual integrity of the Qur'an.

I find it interesting that Rashid ends up seeming to put the Gospel of Thomas as more authoritative than the four gospels. White explains how different the Gospel of Thomas is from the rest of the Gospels. It does not belong with the rest of the Gospels. Adnan seems more than willing to agree with the Qur'an that Jesus did not die because of crucifixion yet agree that history says that Jesus did die by crucifixion. He also tried to make it seem like Bruce M. Metzger agreed that the New Testament is unreliable. The man did not believe that. This is a great discussion.

Here is the information about the podcast containing the discussion.
James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries is on the show this week and next defending the Christian faith.  Today he argues the Bible is historically more reliable than the Koran.
Adnan Rashid of the Hittin Institute argues for the Koran and criticises the transmission of Biblical writings.
How were both scriptures written and passed on?  Among other things the Koran and Bible disagree on an important event - Jesus' crucifixion.  So which should we trust?
For James White visit http://www.aomin.org/
For Adnan Rashid visit http://www.hittininstitute.com/
For more Christian and non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=267142101

You can listen to the podcast here



Here is a video James White made regarding Adnan Rashid arguments against the New Testament.



Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Why Apologetics Has a Bad Name | conversantlife.com

Sean McDowell has written a great post for why apologists are not more successful. I think he brings up great and solid points. Like all aspects of ministry, we must allow God to lead us as to how to minister. We must depend on God to know when to be gentle and when to be forceful. I'd call Elijah's apologetic on top of Mt Carmel successful, but it most certainly was not gentle. Sometimes sarcasm is needed I'd expect most of time it's not. Love is always necessary.

Why Apologetics Has a Bad Name | conversantlife.com
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

FCC Unveils Plan To Beef Up Broadband

United State of Art 3000 MashupsImage by qthomasbower via Flickr
I just heard good news that the US Government is planning to make our information infrastructure better and more accessible to everyone! Awesome! Now if we can only get affordable health care to every single American too!

Obviously the United States is the most awesome, super-special nation in the world, but one way in which we are not number one is our internet. Sure, we have the greatest percentage of YouTube superstars and websites devoted to naked pictures of people's ex-girlfriends, but compared to other nations, our internets are slow. Very slow -- We're number 26 in the world according to a report by the Communications Workers of America.

But fear not: Our government is on the case. The FCC yesterday unveiled its plan to bring us into competition with internet speed demon nations like Japan and Sweden, laying out six goals to make America more cyber-y. Here they are:

* 100 million homes should have affordable access to download speeds of at least 100Mbps and upload speeds of 50 Mbps.
* The U.S. should lead the world in mobile innovation.
* Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service.
* Every American community should have access to at least 1 Gbps broadband service to anchor schools, hospitals and government buildings.
* First responders should have access to a nationwide wireless public safety network.
* Ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy.

Wait a minute, FCC, you want every American to have fast internet? Even the ones I don't like? How is that patriotic? I say, it's a socialist plot cooked up by Freemasons and reverse-vampires to get our kids hooked on Hulu videos and crack.

Okay, not really. I think speeds of 100Mbps would be freakin' amazing in terms of downloading apps, playing online and quick reading of Harry Potter fan fiction. The gaming implications of faster more stable connections are obvious. Sure it'll be expensive (estimates range from $20 and $350 billion) but it's worth it when tax-payers support the things I am interested in.

If you'd like to read the entire National Broadband Plan, here's a link to the document. Thank you, The Government, for (finally) putting this is in place. Not to be all preachy, but we actually do need to be competitive with other nations in terms of our information infrastructure.


Read more: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/703247/FCC-Unveils-Plan-To-Beef-Up-Broadband.html?utm_source=g4tv&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=TheFeed#ixzz0iPAlvkjr



FCC Unveils Plan To Beef Up Broadband
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Apologetics 315: Terminology Tuesday: Gnosticism


A great article defining "Gnosticism" has been posted on Apologetics 315!
Apologetics 315: Terminology Tuesday: Gnosticism
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Forsaking Their “Hesed”

Dr. Mariottini has posted a great article about how to understand Jonah 2:9.

שַׁמְּרִ֖ים הַבְלֵי־שָׁ֑וְא חַסְדָּ֖ם יַעֲזֹֽבוּ׃

Mariottini shows us how the verse is rendered in several English translations and then breaks down each word to make it clear before giving his own best translation into English. His line of reasoning makes a lot of sense to me! This is an awesome article!

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Forsaking Their “Hesed”


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Apologetics 315: Apologist Interview: Peter S. Williams of Damaris.org

Here is another great interview from Apologetics 315. It's interesting to hear Dr. Williams' take on Apologetics and Christianity. Follow the link hear it.

Apologetics 315: Apologist Interview: Peter S. Williams of Damaris.org
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]