An Unexpected Way to Explain the Structure of the Bible
There is a powerful line of reasoning for the structure of the Bible that is barely discussed—a seriously untapped potential for Christians defending their faith. I didn’t notice it until I set aside my apologetics books and dove deeper into the world of biblical theology. To understand the evidence I’m about to share, consider this: […]
Is Apologetics Biblical?
What is “Christian apologetics”? It’s the activity of providing a rational basis for belief in the Christian faith.When we seek to demonstrate that God exists, that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened, or that the Bible is historically reliable, we are doing the work of Christian apologetics. Is Christian apologetics a good thing for Christians […]
Should Apologists Quote the Bible When Trying to Prove it?
There’s a common objection apologists hear from skeptics: “You can’t quote the Bible to prove the Bible.” The answer to that? Yes and no. Sometimes people try to prove the Bible is true by using what the Bible says concerning itself. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, for example, says that all Scripture is breathed out by God. […]
Should Christians Practice Apologetics?
At Josh McDowell Ministry, we focus a great deal on Christian Apologetics. In other words, we work hard to defend Christianity, providing reasons to help people confidently believe in Jesus and the Christian message. In another article we sought to defend the biblical case for apologetics. Peter, Apollos, Paul and Jesus all modeled or spoke […]
Christians: Dialogue With Skeptics Part 2
“Prove Your God Exists!” Last week, in Part 1 of this topic, we talked about the importance of our having the right attitude when interacting with skeptics. We reminded you to let go of the “fight” mentality when challenged on your beliefs; to instead view these encounters as God-ordained opportunities to demonstrate the truth and […]
Christians: Dialogue With Skeptics Part 1
“God Doesn’t Exist!” When we Christians hear that, most of us start sweating. As if the entire weight of proving the truth of Christianity rests on our puny shoulders! But we also start sweating because we feel our egos to be on the line. To be a Christian, we’re told by skeptics, is to be […]
Book Review: The End of Faith
A few years ago, I worked through The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, a popular atheist thinker who argued against a theistic worldview. I chose to read the book because I believe that it is important for Christians (and anyone, for that matter) to engage with viewpoints other than our own. Although I did not find the […]
The Work of Textual Criticism
If you have engaged with Christian apologetics, you probably understand that a common objection to the Bible is that it has been changed or corrupted over time. My response is to point out the number of manuscripts we have of the Bible, the early date of many of the manuscripts, and to give a brief […]
Ancient Manuscripts That Validate the Bible’s Old Testament
Modern Christians don’t have to defend the validity of the Bible. In last week’s blog post we answered the question, “Did ancient scribes faithfully transcribe biblical texts?” Resoundingly, research shouts, “YES!” One truth we hope you’re learning, as we travel this series together, is that the Bible is the most vetted document in the history […]
Did Scribes Faithfully Transmit Old Testament Manuscripts?
Historical Documentation Resoundingly Says, “Yes!” In a previous blog post in this series, we saw that the New Testament can rightly claim to be more reliable and accurate than another other ancient document in history. Can we also trust the authenticity of the Old Testament? Fortunately, we have really old biblical manuscripts to help us […]
8 Ancient Manuscripts Validate New Testament
Important early New Testament manuscripts validate the reliability of the Bible. The Bible we use today originates from early historical documents. Scholars are able to assess the importance of a manuscript by how much of the Bible it includes, and by the date assigned to it. What helps them to determine the age of a […]
Testing the Historical Reliability of the New Testament
Vetted for Historical Reliability, the Bible Stands Strong. Welcome to our ninth blog post in this series. If you’d like to catch up from the start, here’s the link to the first blog we posted: Apologetics: Apologizing for Believing in God?. Apologetics — the defense of Christianity — is not about our apologizing for our […]
Materials Scribes Used to Write the Bible
How did scribes record the ancient scriptures? Before the invention of the printing press, the only way to duplicate a manuscript was to spend hours (weeks? months? years?) laboriously copying it by hand. Note: It took one modern scribe four years, of writing up to 14 hours a day with fine-tipped markers, to handwrite a copy […]
An Investigation: What Makes the Bible Unique?
The Bible’s unique features speak to its staying power. Have you read it yet? In this blog post we’ll look at the unique origin and nature of the Bible, the profound impact it has had on western civilization, and its responsibility for much of the progress of human history. We will not attempt to demonstrate […]
3 Arguments Critics Use to Judge Christianity
Christians, say critics, are primarily hypocritical, intolerant, and judging. If we love Jesus, it should bother us when people don’t see us looking like Him. As Paul makes clear in his letter to the Corinthians, Christianity is a historical religion tied to the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As we said in last […]
5 Reasons Apologists Get a Bad Rep
No one appreciates callous apologists. Christians are to be humble and kind when talking about Jesus. Just as He was when talking about God. Last week we started our new blog series on apologetics, which we defined as the defense of Christianity (not our apology for believing in Christ). As we also stated last week, […]
Apologetics: Apologizing for Believing in God?
“Have a ready answer for what you believe.” Contrary to what the world thinks, Jesus did not ask His followers to believe with “blind” faith. Because He didn’t need to. He wasn’t a swindler, a magician, or a con artist. He was God. He spoke the truth, and demonstrated it time and time again. We […]
Easy-to-Understand Truth
The first book I read by Josh McDowell was in May 2016. It was The Witness. Right after, I devoured Josh’s biography Undaunted. This book completely inspired me! Christians also need inspiration from time to time! I made a firm decision that I will use the book Undaunted to the maximum as a helpful tool for evangelism. […]
How Do I Understand the Will of God?
A lot of people are confused about what God’s “will” actually is. For instance, can it be thwarted? The answer seems obvious: Not at all! Isaiah 14:27 proudly declares: “For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” Case closed, right? If […]
Crucifixion Details of the Resurrection of Christ
Apologetics Booklet Examines Factual Evidence of the Death and Rise of Jesus Christ. In this blog post exploring the validity of the resurrection of Christ, we invite you to consider the factual, historical evidence that gives believers certainty that Jesus did rise from the dead, just as He promised! Let’s look at the crucifixion details of […]
Did Jesus Really Rise From Death?
Apologetics Booklet Examines Factual Evidence of the Death and Rise of Jesus Christ How does one go about finding a true answer to the question of whether Jesus did or didn’t rise from the dead? A critical historian would check out the validity of the records of witnesses, confirm Jesus’ death by crucifixion, go […]
Comparing Religions
Iskandar is a scientist and philosopher in the Middle East. He was comparing different religions and trying to find the only true religion. When he visited one of our staff, he received the More Than a Carpenter book. He studied it for a long time and he was surprised by the facts in the book that led […]
Book Review: The God Delusion (Part 2)
Last week, I began a book review of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, broken up into two parts. This book was a monumental work of atheist thought by arguably the best-known atheist of our time. The first part was written as an attempt to understand atheists at a deeper, closer level. If we want to reach […]
Book Review: The God Delusion (Part 1)
Sean McDowell, Josh’s son and Christian apologist, has a popular talk he gives where he stands up in front of a church and puts on his “atheist glasses,” changing his worldview from Christian to atheist. Playing the role, Sean gives a short introduction of his life converting from a Christian to an atheist, and opens […]
