February 6th, 2010 § 9
Thesis: While the defense of the Christian faith may serve to remove common objections, it cannot create faith, properly the work of the Spirit through the Word.
Any objection to faith is overcome by the Spirit through his chosen instruments, Word and water.
July 28th, 2009 § 0
At the request of Seminarian Dock, I trudged my way through a debate with William Lane Craig and Bart Ehrman on the resurrection of Jesus. It was painful at times on both sides. Ehrman refused to see his methodological atheism which is both poor science and historical method. “Bill” Craig missed the wide hole left by Ehrman to discuss the ancient document evidence relative to others of antiquity. I was disappointed he tried to push the seven years after the event argument. If Ehrman will acknowledge the Gospels as even 30 years after the resurrection, the issue is only whether the authors were eyewitnesses.
You can read the transcript here or watch most of the debate on YouTube. This isn’t the strongest apologetic argumentation but it gives you a feel for what the Academy in Strasbourg was all about.
July 23rd, 2009 § 0
Touchstone Magazine – Mere Comments: Did the Resurrection Happen? recommends this new book of dialogue between Habermas and Flew. Habermas is a leading Christian apologist and Flew a poster-boy for philosophical atheism. By the defense given by Habermas, Flew now considers himself a theist. While far from Christianity, this represents a significant step forward in dialogue.
The methodology used by Habermas is consistent with the apologetic principles set forward by Dr. Montgomery for the last forty years. Both believe that the strongest case can be made for Christianity by dealing directly with Christ’s death and resurrection. Too many apologists begin with “you just have to have faith,” consequently ignoring the historical data, the testimony of the eyewitnesses, and the claims Jesus made of himself.