Translating Faith: Speaking Topics

Apologetics

Doubt: Everyone doubts from time to time, whether it’s questions about the truth claims of Christianity or about one’s salvation. Even unbelievers have their doubts. It’s important for Christians to realize that doubt is not always an enemy, nor does it mean that a person has a weak faith. Some of the greatest Christian thinkers were people who also struggled with doubt. This talk will consider three common types of doubt—intellectual, emotional, and volitional—and will help believers take steps toward facing those doubts.

Why Teach Apologetics in the Church?: In recent years, some Christians have questioned as to whether or not believers should partake in apologetics. Some have argued that it is not the believer’s place to “defend God.” This talk considers some common objections to doing apologetics within the church. Having looked at these common objections, it then provides the biblical warrant for why Christians should participate in the task of apologetics. It also argues for the need for Christians to think intellectually about the truth claims of the Christian faith. Believers will be directed toward important resources that will help in the task of defending the faith.

The Problem of Evil: Perhaps there is no greater difficulty for Christians to answer than why there is so much pain and suffering in the world. For many, the problem of evil comes down to an existential question: Why is this happening to me or my loved ones? Others want to know what God is doing about evil in the world? This talk takes such questions into consideration and seeks to provide a Christian response to evil, pain, and suffering. (Given the nature of the issue, this talk can be given in multiple parts.)

How to Defend Your Faith (without Using the Bible): At times Christians come up against skeptics and find that pointing to the Bible to defend their faith often doesn’t work. They are charged with arguing in a circle. This talk will provide some basic responses that Christians can give to skeptics, apart from using the Bible, in order to argue for the truth claims of the Christian faith. Such arguments as the Kalam Cosmological Argument, the Design Argument, and the Moral Argument all work to form a cumulative case for the existence of God. From there, Christians can make arguments for the specific truth claims of the Christian faith, such as the resurrection of Jesus.

What is a Worldview? Do I Have One?: Everyone has a worldview, no matter one’s religious or non-religious beliefs. No one is exempt. This talk seeks to define worldview and then to provide a framework for thinking about the various kinds of worldviews within the world. While there are as many worldviews as there are people, most worldviews fall into seven basic categories: Theism, Deism, Pantheism, Panentheism, Polytheism, Finite Godism, and Naturalism. Of the seven, we can narrow most worldviews down to three: Naturalism, Pantheism, and Theism.

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?: Of all the truth claims in the Bible, the most significant is the resurrection of Jesus. As Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” If there is no resurrection, then there is no Christianity. This talk will consider some naturalistic explanations for the claim that Jesus was seen by his disciples after His death, and then show why such theories are wanting. It will be argued that God raised Jesus from the dead best explains the evidence. In arguing for the claim that God raised Jesus from the dead, I will use the minimal facts approach, advocated by apologists Gary Habermas and Mike Licona.

Does the Bible Really Teach that Jesus Is God?: Ever since the inception of the early church, Christians have believed that Jesus is divine. In recent years, many skeptics have argued that the deity of Jesus was a later establishment, long after the writing of the New Testament. Given recent scholarship, this talk will demonstrate that the divinity of Jesus was established early on in Christian tradition. The approach used examines some of the earliest data in the New Testament, developing a minimal facts argument using early Christian creeds and hymns. It will be argued that there is consistency across the New Testament with respect to belief that Jesus was divine.

God: One or Three? Common Misconceptions of the Trinity: Christians are often confused about the doctrine of the Trinity. Further, many cults and adherents of other religions have misconstrued the classical Christian doctrine of the Trinity. This talk will consider some of those misconceptions and will seek to offer a biblical and Christian defense of the Trinity.

Loving God: Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength: Often our love for God is lopsided. Some believers are passionate about God, but think that things like doctrine, theology, and apologetics do not matter. Others have all the right doctrine, but struggle with loving God with their passions or their actions. The biblical view is that believers are to love God with all that they have. Ultimately believers are to love God and place all things under the Lordship of Jesus.

How to Study the Bible: Many Christians want to go deeper in the Word, but often they are at a loss as to how to study the Bible. This talk will take believers through several important strategies for going deeper in studying the Bible.

Finding Your Identity in Christ: We live in a culture that’s lost its identity, and many Christians have fallen prey to the same trap. People often find their identity in things that have no ultimate or eternal significance—money, fame, friendships, prestige, work. For believers, our identity is in Christ and in Him alone. Often we try to find our identity in other things because we have not told ourselves the truth about who we are in Christ.