All posts tagged: Apologetics

Comedian Bill Maher receiving his Hollywood Star in 2010

Comedian Chris Distefano challenges Bill Maher to read ‘The Case For Christ’

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Comedian Bill Maher, who hosts ‘Real Time’ on HBO has never shied away from speaking about his Atheist beliefs over the years. However, in a recent podcast interview on “Club Random,” Maher was challenged by fellow guest, Comedian Chris Distefano, to read Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, CBN reports. “I believe in Jesus, by the way,” said Distefano who stated he has just started reading the book and recommended that Maher read it. Distefano added that he grew up Catholic and never took his faith seriously until he read Strobel’s book. Maher, who said that he has found the defense of the Christian faith ‘underwhelming,’ agreed to take a look at it. Strobel, a former investigative journalist and atheist, wrote The Case for Christ after his research convinced him of the reality of Jesus Christ. He was challenged to investigate the Christian faith after his wife became a believer. Strobel’s book, a bestseller, defends the Biblical case for Jesus Christ.

Fame Christian apologist C.S. Lewis in a studio

77 years ago, CS Lewis warned of a world that no longer believes in right and wrong

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An article written nearly 77 years ago by famed Christian apologist, CS Lewis, is causing waves today, Christian Headlines reports. Some describe the article entitled, A Christmas Sermon for Pagans, written in 1946 for Strand Magazine, as prophetic. In his article, Lewis starts off by defining three types of people. But it’s his description of the post-Christians that caught everyone’s attention because it speaks of a group of people who no longer believe in right or wrong. “There is no objective Right or Wrong: each race or class can invent its own code or ‘ideology’ just as it pleases,” Lewis wrote. “If there is no real Wrong and Right, nothing good or bad in itself, none of these ideologies can be better or worse than another,” he continued. Since post-Christians no longer believe in absolute truth, this leads to all sorts of absurdities, and some argue it describes our 2023 culture. Many look at those today who are refusing to condemn Hamas’ barbaric slaughter of women and children in Israel as an example of those …

Being Incorrect: Let’s argue about a Straw Man

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So, would you like to have an argument, and lose? Losing emotional arguments is an important part of our modern culture. Just say “racism” or “sexual … [anything]”; and don’t mention the Middle East, unless you are brave. And don’t mention religion, unless you want to criticize someone’s beliefs. Speaking in favor of religious beliefs will almost always earn you the label “right-wing” or possibly you might be called a “hater.” So, how do you like those labels, when they are applied to you? It’s always more fun to put offensive labels on other people. Once a person is labeled, and recognized as incorrect, there is no need for a discussion or argument. Incorrect people say incorrect things. We know that before they speak. Western cultural values are being dominated by straw-man arguments, also known as the “fallacy of relevance.“ It works like this; I erect a straw man, and then I burn it down, and I blame you. Welcome to the twenty-first century. In the argument, I’m not really talking about some idea that …

Do Egyptian transliterations confirm the Exodus account?

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In the speech that led to his martyrdom, Stephen stated that Moses was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt (Acts 7:22). This is to be expected, since the Bible records that he was raised in the Pharaoh’s court, where he would not only learn the ways of Egypt, but as well its language. But we also know that his Hebrew mother basically served as his nanny during his early years (Exodus 2:7–9). So, Moses would also be familiar with the Hebrew culture and religion, and perhaps even the Hebrew language. It is also generally believed that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, as we find several references of Moses writing down events as they took place. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 7:14 NIV) 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. …

How did King Saul die?

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One of the ways that skeptics like to discredit the Bible is by pointing to what they allege are discrepancies involving stories that seem to contradict each other. One of the first things, I always do when confronting a contradiction is to ask the simple question, could all the different alternatives all be true. This leads us to a discussion on how King Saul died. We have four Biblical passages that seem to provide contradictory stories about his death. One says that King Saul killed himself by falling on his own sword, a second states that an Amalekite killed him, a third says the Philistines struck him down and a fourth that God killed Saul. So I want to briefly discuss these four accounts and ask could all these different descriptions be true? King Saul killed himself In 1 Samuel 31:3, we read the first and most comprehensive account of how King Saul died, where we are told he was severely wounded by archers in a battle with the Philistines. If you notice the plural …

Dealing with a Bible discrepancy: How long was Israel in Egyptian captivity, 200 years or 430 years?

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In this article I want to deal with what appears to be a discrepancy in the Bible between how long Israel was in Egyptian captivity before they started their journey to the Promised Land under Moses. In the Book of Exodus, we are told that Israel was captive in Egypt for 430 years: 40 Now the time that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was 430 years. (Exodus 12:40 NASV) However, in Galatians, the Apostle Paul writes that the 430 years starts from the time that God first gave his promise to the Patriarch Abraham to the end of their Egyptian captivity: 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it …

If God Does Not Exist Then Injustice Does Not Exist

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By Dr. Michael L. Brown I recently had a friendly online debate with a former Muslim known as Apostate Prophet (called AP for short). The subject was, “Does God Exist?” In my opening comments, I stated that I did not specialize in debating this issue and that I realized that arguments that seemed compelling to me would be mocked by many atheists. Conversely, I stated that I have listened to the best arguments of atheists and said to myself, “Are you kidding me? Is this the best you have to offer?” (For similar reflections from a Christian apologist on the weakness of atheistic arguments, see Tom Gilson’s recent article here.) So, I made clear from the start that my goal was not to convince the viewers that my view was right. Rather, it was to explain to them why I was 100 percent sure that God is real, especially since so much of my faith is based on my own life experiences rather than on abstract philosophical arguments . To make my case, I gave …

No, you cannot prove that God exists.

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Have you ever seen a debate between and atheist and a believer? By ‘believer’ I mean someone who believes in God. You will hear one question in the debate; ‘Can you prove that God exists?’ Or just a demand: ‘Prove it!’ So, how do we prove that God exists? How can we direct our lives by something that we invented? These are atheist questions. READ: Does God exist? Watch Stephen Colbert and Ricky Gervais debate Something is happening among us, and it is scary. We are building prisons. I used to work in a large university, and I think I was appreciated for my work. I wrote and published papers with colleagues and I spoke at conferences. I was also involved in an international organization with members from many schools, and they made me the coordinator of one department. I learned later that some of my papers were required reading in a graduate program. That surprised me. I had a job and I worked hard at it. Academic work is not for geniuses who think …

Debating an evangelical turned atheist, Muslim apologist, and more

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By Dr. Michael L. Brown Earlier on Tuesday (April 6), I had the distinct joy and privilege of recording four TV shows for a new series I’m hosting called “That’s Debatable with Dr. Brown.” It will air on the new AWKNG TV network, hopefully starting sometime next month. The debates we recorded covered four different subjects: 1) Has the Church Replaced Israel? 2) Are There Valid Reasons to Leave Christianity? 3) Does the God of the Bible Exist? 4) The Quran or the Bible: Which Is the Word of God? The guests included an Anglican vicar, a former Charismatic Christian turned agnostic, a former evangelical turned atheist, and a Muslim apologist. On Wednesday (April 7), I’m scheduled to do four more debates, one with a gay pastor on Jesus and LGBTQ+ people, one with a transgender pastor on affirming trans identities, one with a progressive Christian on abortion, and one with a questioning Christian on divine healing. This means that, aside from one or two of the shows, none of the other guests share my …

Archaeological evidence confirms that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by intense fire

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According to archaeologists working on the site believed to include the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, they found evidence confirming the Biblical record that the two cities were destroyed by sulphur and fire: 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. Genesis 19: 23-25 NASV The archaeologists, who have been working on the site for 13 years, reported discovering evidence of intense heat. This included clay and rock that had been turned into glass. This would require a brief burst of heat of between 8,000 to 12,000 degree Celsius. The archaeologists also noted that the destruction took place “in an instant,” and resulted in the stripping of the topsoil. The archaeologists added that “a super-heated brine of Dead Sea anhydride salts pushed over the landscaped by the Event’s frontal shock wave.” It is interesting that even the Biblical …

Archaeological evidence discovered of the reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh

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An archaeological discovery beside the American embassy in Jerusalem has uncovered evidence of the Hezekiah/Manasseh reigns in Judah, that took place about 2,700 years ago. King Hezekiah was one of Judah’s better kings, and his son Manasseh was arguably the worst. At the site, archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a large stone building that probably served as a tax collection centre. A large structure was needed as people often paid their taxes with produce and goods. Along with this, they found the handles of 120 jars used for storage, with many of them stamped with seals indicating ownership. The most common inscription was the phrase “belonging to the King” that was indicated by the letters ‘LMLK,’ along with a name of a major city probably indicating its origin. Other handles had the names of senior bureaucrats, whose name have been found at other sites, indicating their importance. But archaeologists also uncovered items that may reflect the reign of Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh. This included several small decorative items that were used in pagan worship …

Seal found confirming the existence of King Jeroboam II

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Archaeology keeps confirming the Biblical record by not only finding evidence of the good guys, but the bad ones as well. In 1904, archaeologists discovered a seal of Jeroboam II at an archaeological dig in Megiddo located in Northern Israel. Jeroboam II ruled Israel for about 41 years between 786 BC and 746 BC. He was the 13th King of Israel after the nation split apart into the Northern Kingdom, Israel and the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Jeroboam II should not to be confused with Jeroboam, who was Israel’s first king after the separation. The small seal actually did not belong to Jeroboam but rather a man named Shema. The seal reads: “Belonging to Shema, the servant of Jeroboam.” Only the important or the wealthy had seals, and Shema’s description as “servant of Jeroboam” indicated he was a very senior bureaucrat at Jeroboam’s palace in Samaria. Throughout the Bible, the Hebrew word “ebed,” translated “servant” on the seal, was used to describe important government officials as we see it used in 2 Kings 22:12. The description …

How change reveals the truth of a miracle

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I recently read the testimony about a miracle that completely transformed a family and it reminded me a bit of the disciples. Pureflix recently interviewed Allen Jackson, who pastors the 15,000 member mega church, World Outreach Church in Nashville, Tennessee. In the interview, Jackson shared the miracle that led to his family becoming Christians about four decades back and ultimately played a key role in him entering the ministry. Forty years ago, Jackson’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer. And as so often happens during times of crisis, people turn to God. As Jackson’s mother, who wasn’t a believer, was leaving with her family for the Mayo Clinic, she prayed “Let me know the truth, so I can tell my children.” When she arrived at the clinic and went through the scans, the doctors were amazed when they discovered that her tumours had completely disappeared. It was a miracle. A short time later, she was washing the dishes and the Holy Spirit spoke to her about the prayer she uttered just before leaving for the …