Apologetics

Pick of the Week: Free New Book on Intelligent Design "Foresight: How the Chemistry of Life Reveals Planning and Purpose"

October 2, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Apologetics, Pick of the Week

Creation or Evolution? This is a question we continually have to answer as scientism has invented an alternative to the Biblical narrative of where the universe, life and humankind came from. This is a crucial discussion for many reasons, including whether the Bible is actually true, whether Jesus was telling the truth (Matthew 19:4), and if there really is a Supreme Creator.

An increasing number in the scientific community, especially among those who are not considered Bible believers, are contributing to the “Intelligent Design” movement. While not actually a formal movement, this is a new way of thinking, and it proposes that many aspects of the world/universe around us cannot be explained by random chance or blind processes. Their research reveals lots of examples of amazing design – examples which have no other reasonable explanation. No surprise that is where many of us have been all along!

The Jesus Documents: Part III – Their Authorship

July 7, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Apologetics, Teaching & Study, The Jesus Documents

The New Testament documents, and specifically the four Gospels, have withstood the test of almost 2,000 years of intense scrutiny, criticism, and efforts to discredit them as historical records. And a significant part of this discrediting effort involve questions about their authorship.

In this third lesson in our series we want to spend a little time talking about this issue, and the confidence we can have in their trustworthy nature. Below I have reproduced a short form of Part III – Their Authorship outline. If you want to skip the outline and just listen to the audio of the sermon, you can go directly to the page I have created forThe Jesus Documentshere.

The Jesus Documents: Part II – The Sources

June 4, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Apologetics, Series, The Jesus Documents

This is Part II of “The Jesus Documents,” a series presented to inform and remind believers that our faith in Jesus and the Gospel records is justified and well founded. Our intent in this series is not to give an exhaustive or overly in-depth presentation of all the evidence in support of our confidence, but an overview to build confidence and encourage more study by those willing. (You can email us at rcravy@effectivebiblestudy.com if you want a list of great resources.)

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15) Many, perhaps most, believers are unable to articulate good reasons for their faith.

The Jesus Documents: Part I – An Introduction

June 2, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Apologetics, Series, The Jesus Documents

In 2013 I presented a series of lessons I called “The Jesus Documents.” This was eight lessons reminding the church that we can trust the New Testament as a historical record concerning Jesus.

I have noted before that Apologetics (or “Christian Evidences“) are an important part of my teaching routine. The world is constantly hammering away at our faith in the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible records. And I believe in regularly educating our people about the both the evidence for and reasonableness of believing the Bible.