Freedom to Disbelieve?

with Ravi Zacharias…

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Interview with Ravi Zacharias

Incredibly inspirational and thought-provoking interview with Ravi Zacharias and Nicky Gumbel.

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What About Those Who Don’t Believe in God?

with Ravi Zacharias

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Ravi Zacharias on Sin

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God, Evil, and Meaning

with Ravi Zacharias

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Tedder’s Top Ten: Christian Apologetics

The topic of Christian Apologetics holds a place near and dear to my heart. It was one of the primary means by which God strengthened my faith and called me into ministry. Like so many others, I remember having countless conversations in college about my Christian faith. I recall discussing many of those tough issues that college students love to spend time talking about. No, it wasn’t quite on the level of wondering if God could create a stone that was too heavy for him to lift (Dr. Ronald Nash would later tell me the answer is “no.”). But we did deal with some very practical questions about Christianity, especially as it relates to other belief systems. I was a very unprepared Christian.

That, however, led me to read… for the first time in my life. I began reading a book on world religions and cults by Josh McDowell. I next remember buying and reading a book on this strange ”thing” called Christian apologetics by some guy named Norman Geisler.

What I learned in the years to come was that all that was really needed for most “defenses of the faith” was just a better knowledge of what I believed. This drove me to dig into God’s Word as well as theology. The rest, as they say, is history. God used the study of Christian apologetics (the defense of the Christian faith) in my life to drive me to a deeper understanding of the essential truths of the Christian faith and how to communicate those truths more effectively.

I’ve discovered over the last couple of decades as a pastor that there are very few new questions. There are simply the same questions being asked in different ways. My mentor, Ken Boa, told me while I was in seminary that it’s okay to be asked a tough question by someone and not have the answer… the first time. But, he said, you should never be asked the same question twice without having an answer. In other words, being “stumped” once is virtually a rite of passage. Being stumped by the same question twice is a no-no.

The first time that we’re stumped by a tough question should encourage us to read and study to find the answer. What I’ve tried to do over the years is to get back together with the person who asked me the question and use the opportunity to share my faith with them if they are not a Christian or to disciple them if they are. The worse thing you can do is try to bluff an answer.  I’ve learned that folks respect your honesty.

Having said all of that I need to be clear: There are indeed some very hard questions about the Christian faith. There are hard questions that related to evil, other religions, science, the Bible, just to name a few. By God’s grace I’ve learned that there are some very bright and gifted Christian thinkers who have thought and prayed long and hard about those questions and what God’s Word has to say about them. These very capable apologists have written extensively on most, if not all of those issues, and many have some very helpful websites.

The following websites on this Top Ten list are general apologetics websites. In other words, they are my favorite websites that address a little big of everything. Make sure to check these sites out. I think you’ll find them a big help.

PS – There are many outstanding apologists who will not be found on the list below only because they either do not have a website or because their site is not much more than a storefront or a calendar of where they will be speaking. They are being used of God in mighty ways, but the sites below are the ones I believe will be the most useful to you.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

1.) Reasonable Faith.org (William Lane Craig’s site)

2.) Ravi Zacharias International Ministries

3.) The Veritas Forum

4.) Stand to Reason (Greg Koukle)

5.) Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry

6.) Apologetics 315

7.) Apologetics Press

8.) Ankerberg Theological Research Institute

9.) Gary Habermas

10.) Christian Research Institute

Honoral Mention

• Lee Strobel

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Has Christianity Failed You?

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