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mid-week apologetics booster (9-15-2022)

Good morning friends,

Quote of the week:

We are to live on our guard like men in an enemy’s country. We are to remember that evil is about us, and near us, and in us – that we have to contend daily with a treacherous heart, an ensnaring world, and a busy devil! Remembering this, we must put on the whole armor of God, and beware of spiritual drowsiness. – J.C. Ryle

Now, here are your weekly links:

The King Follett Discourse | Times & Seasons – I’m including this in the apologetics booster not because it answers any objection to orthodox Christianity, but rather that it explicitly shows the heretical doctrines that the founder of the Mormons taught, and this material can be used to education LDS believers about what their founder really taught: https://www.timesandseasons.org/index.php/2022/05/the-king-follett-discourse/

6 Ways You May Be Raising Your Kids with an Oversimplified Faith – If we raise our kids with an oversimplified faith, were building a ramp to eventual shame when difficult questions arise.: https://natashacrain.com/6-ways-you-may-be-raising-your-kids-with-an-oversimplified-faith/

Why Spiritual but not religious won’t solve your problems – YouTube: https://youtu.be/j6HkBGl9mOI

Who was Desiderius Erasmus? | GotQuestions.org: https://www.gotquestions.org/Desiderius-Erasmus.html

One of the Clearest (and Earliest) Summaries of Early Christian Beliefs – Canon Fodder: https://www.michaeljkruger.com/one-of-the-clearest-and-earliest-summaries-of-early-christian-beliefs/

Is Jesus Christ a Copy of Pagan Religions? Bishop’s Encyclopedia of Religion, Society and Philosophy – As Dan Brown in his book The Da Vinci Code (2003) writes, Nothing in Christianity is original. In recent times a number of people are claiming that the historical Jesus is simply a rehash of older pagan secretive religions, and of the religions of dying and rising gods. This is a view expressed in media such as Zeitgeist, The Da Vinci Code, and Irreligious which attempt to be factual and convincing. But how factually based are these claims? This article argues, in reference to reputable scholars, that these claims are false and, on many occasions, deliberately deceitful in their fabrications. : https://jamesbishopblog.com/2015/01/19/23-reasons-why-scholars-know-jesus-is-not-a-copy-of-pagan-religions/

Start teaching kids apologetics as early as possible, Young Defenders author says | Church & Ministries News: https://www.christianpost.com/news/start-teaching-kids-apologetics-as-early-as-possible-young-defenders-author-says.html

An 11-Day Study On Challenges To Biblical Authority – We want to know God and meet Him in His Word. But why is Scripture so confusing at times? In this 11-day Bible reading plan, you’ll walk through some of the most challenging aspects in Scripture, find a new confidence in the Bible and a deeper trust in God.: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/17194-an-11-day-study-on-challengesto-biblical-authority/day/1?ret=1

What Is a Biblical Worldview? with George Barna | Natasha Crain: https://natashacrain.com/what-is-a-biblical-worldview-with-george-barna/

Take a Tip from Lt. Columbo – Have you ever taken a verbal beating when trying to talk about Jesus? If so, I’ve got a tip for you. It’s the simplest tactic imaginable to help stop a challenger in his tracks, turn the tables, and put you back in the driver’s seat. And it can be done almost effortlessly.: https://www.str.org/w/take-a-tip-from-lt.-columbo-

The Apologetics of Jesus: Asking Tactful Questions – Sometimes we apologists can forget that human beings are more than intellectual machines. That’s why it’s important to ask tactful questions that go beyond the surface of intellectual arguments. Three of Jesus questions in particular can be easily adapted to use in apologetic and evangelistic conversations. : https://wisedisciple.org/podcast-episodes/apologetics-of-jesus-asking-tactful-questions

How Media Consumption Threatens the Future of Christianity (It’s Not What You Think) | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/how-media-consumption-threatens-the-future-of-christianity-its-not-what-you-think/

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – YouTube – Dr. David Menton from Creation Ministries international presents a stunning lecture on how babies are conceived in their mother’s womb. This presentation will leave you marveling at the awesome design of God in the mother’s womb.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9LKweRWpLk

Abiogenesis – creation.com – Fantastic claims highlight the scientific absurdity of this recycled philosophy of spontaneous generation: https://creation.com/abiogenesis

DNA and An Argument for God The DNA molecule (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a coiled ladder, two chains of sugar and phosphate running in opposite directions. And on the DNA base pairs, the rungs of this ladder, are segments of biological code called genes. This code is used in our cells for the production of proteins, the essentials components of life.: https://respondblogs.wordpress.com/2019/08/01/dna-and-an-argument-for-god/

Jay Richards answers the objection Who Designed the Designer? | WINTERY KNIGHT: https://winteryknight.com/2018/11/25/jay-richards-answers-the-objection-who-designed-the-designer/

Beyond Adaptation: The Human Brain Is Something New | Evolution News – Who or what are we? The materialist viewpoint is that we are matter in motion governed by our brains, a wetware operating system of three pounds of grey and white matter. Our identity is packed into our brains and if they die, so do we. There is no soul, and consciousness is an illusion. Is that what we are? From the materialist point of view our human brains are the product of evolution an ape-like brain grown larger and more sophisticated. Physically a human brain is three times the size of a chimpanzee brain, and uses considerably more energy. Our brain represents 2 percent of our body weight but uses 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe: https://evolutionnews.org/2018/09/beyond-adapation-the-human-brain-is-something-new/

The Four Miracles of Atheism | ReasonableTheology.org – Richard Dawkins stated that Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence. However, even naturalistic worldviews also take some things on faith. For the purposes of this discussion, we will define a miracle as an event which occurs outside of the natural order and cannot be repeated or explained by the scientific process.: https://reasonabletheology.org/four-miracles-athiesm/

How can a Christian overcome the fear of witnessing? | GotQuestions.org: https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-witnessing.html

Contradictions In The Life of a Christian – The Christian Church is no stranger to hypocrisy. The Church is comprised of sinners who do not always practice what they preach, and sometimes such practice is in stark contradiction to what we preach. Some of the most heinous acts have been committed by Christians while they speak truth. It seems that sexual misconduct within the Church is always on the radar. : https://crossexamined.org/contradictions-in-the-life-of-a-christian/

Dr. Michael G Strauss: An Introduction to the Anthropic Principle and Fine Tuning: https://www.michaelgstrauss.com/2017/04/an-introduction-to-anthropic-principle.html

3 More Logical Fallacies to Avoid (and How to Tell When Someone Else is Committing Them) Apologetics for the Church: https://apolotheo.wordpress.com/2018/09/24/3-more-logical-fallacies-to-avoid/

Does having an extra forearm artery prove evolution? – creation.com: https://creation.com/extra-artery

How does fetal blood circulation differ from circulation after birth? – creation.com: https://creation.com/how-does-fetal-blood-circulation-differ-from-circulation-after-birth

Here are the companies that will cover costs for employees seeking abortion services: https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/25/here-are-the-companies-that-will-cover-costs-for-employees-seeking-abortion-services/

America After 9/11: Is Religion Evil? – Dr. Mikel Del Rosario | Apologetics Guy: http://apologeticsguy.com/2011/09/religion-in-america-after-911-is-religion-evil/

The Three Faces of Evil and a Christian Response Welcome to Rob Lundberg.org: https://roblundberg.org/2011/09/10/the-three-faces-of-evil-and-a-christian-response/

The Next Stage in Evangelism and Apologetics: | Sean McDowell – What is the next stage in evangelism and apologetics? I recently caught up with Lee Strobel to ask him about his new center for evangelism and apologetics. Check out the brief interview below for some insight as to how he, along with Mark Mittelberg, plan to equip people in the church to naturally share and defend their faith:: https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/the-next-stage-in-evangelism-and-apologetics-interview-with-lee-strobel

EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM – this is a page full of links to other pages containing evidences for the resurrection: https://chab123.wordpress.com/evidence-for-the-resurrection-of-jesus/

If a person’s best efforts to believe the Bible fail, do they still deserve to burn in hell?: http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Objec/G5-002.htm

Is There a God? 6 Reasons Point to God’s Existence – Does God exist? Here are six straightforward reasons to believe that God is really there. Just once wouldn’t you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God’s existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, “You just have to believe.” Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists. But first consider this. When it comes to the possibility of God’s existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God.1 On the other hand, for those who want to know God if he is there, he says, “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.”2 Before you look at the facts surrounding his existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him?: https://www.everystudent.com/features/is-there-a-god.html

Index fossils – creation.com – For example, if dinosaur fossils are found in a rock layer, the rocks are assumed to be at least 65 million years old. So if a radiometric dating result indicates an age of 40 million years, it is interpreted as representing, not the age of the rock, but a later geological process, such as disturbance, reworking or contamination. The fossils always trump the supposedly objective radiometric dating!: https://creation.com/index-fossils

San Francisco Decriminalizes Psychedelics | DoubleBlind Mag – all I can say is, wow: https://doubleblindmag.com/san-francisco-decriminalizes-psychedelics/

Stealing From God – If you think atheists have reason, evidence, and science on their side, think again! Dr. Frank Turek shows how atheists steal reason, evidence, science, and other arguments from God trying to make their case for atheism. Sound contradictory? It is! Atheists can’t make their case without appealing to realities only theism can explain. Stealing from God exposes intellectual crimes atheists commit, then provides powerful reasons why Christianity is true.: https://www.bible.com/es/reading-plans/2928-stealing-from-god/day/5

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:5-10

Blessings to you all