Christian Apologetics PHIL5301 New Orleans Baptist

24 Pages·2015·0.32 MB·English

by  Dr. Robert Stewart

Christian Apologetics PHIL5301
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Defend the Faith Apologetics Conference
January 4-8, 2016
Robert B. Stewart
Office: Dodd 112, extension #3245
[email protected]

Seminary Mission Statement
The mission of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is to equip leaders to fulfill the Great
Commission and the Great Commandments through the local church and its ministries.

Core Values Addressed
The course will address the core values Doctrinal Integrity and Mission Focus by giving attention to
defending and presenting Christian beliefs particularly as they relate to Christian evangelism. Servant
Leadership will be addressed as well in that Christian apologists must model humility.

Competencies Addressed
The competencies of Christian Theological Heritage, Disciple Making, and Spiritual and Character
Formation will be addressed.

Course Description
This course examines barriers to Christian faith as well as efforts to provide convincing presentations
of Christian faith. Attention is given to biblical foundations, historical development, apologetic
method, and contemporary issues related to apologetics.

Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students should:

1. Be able to apply their knowledge and comprehension of how to defend and support Christian
belief to academic and ministerial issues.
2. Value the following:
 Intellectual accountability in relation to issues of ultimate concern to Christian faith.
 Convincing presentations of Christian faith.
3. Be able to present the Christian faith in a reasonable and attractive form to skeptics and other
non-Christians.

Required Textbooks
Students are required to read the following books:

Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2011.
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Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. New York: Dutton, 2008.

Course Requirements
All assignments should be submitted via Blackboard.

1. Lecture Attendance. Students are required to attend all sessions of the Defend the Faith Christian
Apologetics Conference. Students are to listen to all sessions of the Defend the Faith School in
Christian Apologetics which they do not attend. Students must affirm that they have completed this.
Students will confirm on Blackboard how much they attended/listened to. Failure to attend/listen to
all of the conference will result in a 5 point deduction from a student’s final average.

2. Book Reviews. Each student is required to review 3 of the following books:

1. Robert M. Bowman, Jr., Ed Komoszewski, and Darrell L. Bock, Putting Jesus in His Place:
The Case for the Deity of Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007.
2. Francis S. Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New
York: Free Press, 2007.
3. Paul Copan, True for You But Not for Me: Deflating the Slogans That Leave Christians
Speechless. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.
4. Paul Copan, When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics. Grand Rapids:
Baker, 2008.
5. William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. Third Edition.
Wheaton: Crossway, 2008.
6. Craig A. Evans, Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels. Downers
Grove: InterVarsity, 2006.
7. Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and
Meaning. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010.
8. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.
9. C. S. Lewis, Miracles. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.
10. Alister E. McGrath, Why God Won’t Go Away: Is the New Atheism Running on Empty.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011.
11. Alister E. McGrath. Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith. Grand
Rapids: Baker, 2012.
12. Robert J. Spitzer, New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary
Physics and Philosophy. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010.
13. Robert B. Stewart, The Future of Atheism: Alister McGrath and Daniel Dennett in Dialogue.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.
14. Robert B. Stewart, The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N. T. Wright in
Dialogue. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006.
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15. Robert B. Stewart, The Reliability of the New Testament: Bart Ehrman and Daniel B. Wallace
in Dialogue. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2011.

16. Robert B. Stewart, Can Only One Religion Be True?: Paul Knitter and Harold Netland in
Dialogue. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013.

17. Robert B. Stewart, The Message of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and Ben Witherington III in
Dialogue. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013.

18. J. Warner Wallace, Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of
the Gospels. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2013.

Reviews should include: (1) some professional biographical data concerning the author; (2) an
identification of the major elements of content; (3) an assessment of the author's aim or purpose and
of the degree of its fulfillment; and (4) a critical evaluation of the book. The reviews should follow
Turabian form. Book Reviews should be 5-7 double-spaced pages in length. Book Reviews are due
6 weeks after the final day of the Defend the Faith Apologetics Conference (February 19, 2016).

3. Session Summaries. Students will write one-page, single-spaced summaries of 12 different
breakout sessions from the Defend the Faith Christian Apologetics Conference. Students taking more
than one Defend the Faith course for NOBTS credit may use 6 session summaries that they
summarize for another course so long as they are shaped for the concerns of each course. Summaries
are due 8 weeks after the conclusion of the Defend the Faith Apologetics Conference (March 4,
2016).

4. Apologetics Research Paper. Each student is required to submit a research paper on a topic
related to Christian Apologetics, e.g., science and faith, a non-Christian religion, atheism,
argument(s) for the existence of God, the problem of evil, the reliability of Scripture, and/or miracles,
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, etc. The paper should be not less than 5,000 words nor more than
7,000 words in length (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font). Papers must adhere to the
Turabian style guide. Research papers are due 10 weeks after the final day of the Defend the
Faith Apologetics Conference (March 25, 2016).

5. Greer-Heard Report. Students must attend the 2016 Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum in
Faith and Culture, February 12-13, 2016 How Did Jesus Become God?, featuring Bart Ehrman and
Michael Bird, and write a summary and critique of the event, including all Saturday papers. The
summaries should include some professional biographical data on each presenter, as well as their
major points of content. Students should respond to their points critically. Students unable to attend
the Greer-Heard activities may purchase the audio CDs (or MP3 files) from the conference to prepare
the report, or a research paper may be substituted for this assignment. Reports should be 12-15
double-spaced pages in length, not counting bibliography and must adhere to Turabian standards,
with 1 inch margins and 12 Times New Roman font. Greer-Heard Reports are due April 15, 2016.

Grades will be assigned on the basis of the NOBTS grading scale: 93-100, A; 85-92, B; 77-84, C; 70-
76, D; 0-69, F.
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The final grade will be determined accordingly:

Book Reviews 30%
Research Paper 35%
Session Summaries 20%
Greer-Heard Report 15%
Final Grade 100%

The required texts will be available for purchase through the LifeWay Seminary bookstore. All texts
are presently available online as well.

Suggested Bibliography

Philosophy of Religion and Apologetics

Copan, Paul. True for You, But Not for Me: Deflating the Slogans That Leave Christians Speechless.
Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1998.

Geisler, Norman. Philosophy of Religion. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974.

. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.

Hudson, Yeager. The Philosophy of Religion. London: Mayfield, 1991.

Moreland, J. P. Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.

Nash, Ronald. Faith and Reason. Grand Rapids: Academie, 1988.

. Life’s Ultimate Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.

Newport, John. Life's Ultimate Questions. Dallas: Word, 1988.

Peterson, Michael, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach, and David Basinger. Reason and Religious
Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, 2d ed. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1998.

Pojman, Louis P., ed. Philosophy: The Quest for Truth. New York: Wadsworth, 1996.

Pojman, Louis P., ed. Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1994.
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Solomon, Robert C. The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy, 2nd ed. New York:
Harcourt Brace Javonovich, 1982.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

Woodfin, Yandall. With All Your Mind. Fort Worth: Scripta, 1989.

Works Arguing for Theism

Allen, Diogenes. Philosophy for Understanding Theology. Atlanta: John Knox, 1985.

Hick, John. Philosophy of Religion. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1990.

Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. New York: MacMillan, 1968.

Mitchell, Basil. The Justification of Religious Belief. New York: Seabury Press, 1974.

Moreland, J. P. Scaling the Secular City. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989.

Nash, Ronald H. Faith and Reason. Grand Rapids: Academie, 1988.

Plantinga, Alvin, and Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Faith and Rationality: Reason and Belief in God. South
Bend: Notre Dame, 1983.

Pojman, Louis P. Philosophy of Religion. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1987.

The History of Philosophical Theology

Brown, Colin. Christianity and Western Thought: A History of Philosophers, Ideas and Movements,
Vol. 1. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1990.

_______. Philosophy and the Christian Faith. London: Tyndale, 1969.

Bush, L. Russ. Classical Readings in Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Academie, 1983.

_______. A Handbook for Christian Philosophy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991.

Cahn, Steven M. and Shatz, David, eds. Contemporary Philosophy of Religion. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1982.

Dyrness, William. Christian Apologetics in a World Community. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1983.

Ramm, Bernard. Varieties of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1961.
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Tarnas, Richard. The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our
World View. New York: Ballantine, 1991.

Wilkens, Steve and Alan G. Padgett. Christianity and Western Thought: A History of Philosophers,
Ideas and Movements, Vol. 2. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2000.

World Religions

Bowker, John. Problems of Suffering in the Religions of the World. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1970.

Fisher, Mary Pat, and Luyster, Robert. Living Religions. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall,
1991.

Hopfe, Lewis. Religions of the World. New York: Macmillan, 1991.

Lewis, James F., and Travis, William G. Religious Traditions of the World. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1991.

Nielsen, Niels, C., Jr., ed. Religions of the World. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.

Theodicy, Miracles, and Ethics

Adams, Marilyn, and Adams, Robert, eds. The Problem of Evil. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1991.

Brown, Colin. Miracles and the Critical Mind. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.

Davis, Stephen T., ed. Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1973.

Hick, John. Evil and the God of Love. New York: Harper and Row, 1977.

Kreeft, Peter. Making Sense out of Suffering. Ann Arbor: Servant, 1986.

Lewis, C.S. Miracles. New York: Macmillan, 1970.

Rachels, James. The End of Life: Euthansia and Morality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.

Swinburne, Richard. The Concept of Miracle. London: Macmillan, 1970.

Wennberg, Robert N. Terminal Choices: Euthanasia, Suicide, and the Right to Die. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
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Anthropology, History, Language, and Science

Barbour, Ian. Religion in an Age of Science. New York: Harper/Collins, 1990.

Block, Ned, ed. Readings in the Philosophy of Psychology, 2 vols. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1980.

Breisach, Ernst. Historiography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983.

Brown, Colin, ed. History, Criticism, and Faith. Downer's Grove: Intervarsity, 1976.

Collins, Raymond. Introduction to the New Testament. Garden City: Doubleday, 1983.

Custance, Arthur C. The Mysterious Matter of Mind. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980.

Goodman, Michael F., ed. What Is a Person? Clifton: Humana, 1988.

Hjelle, Larry A., and Ziegler, Daniel J. Personality Theories. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.

Lemke, Steve; Corley, Bruce, and Lovejoy, Grant, eds. Biblical Hermeneutics: A Complete Guide to
Interpreting Scripture. Nashville: Broadman Holman, 1995.

Lemke, Steve. “History: The Setting of Luke's History," The Biblical Illustrator. 20 (Winter 1994),
14-19.

MacKay, Donald. Brains, Machines, and Persons. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.

Moreland, J. P. Christianity and the Nature of Science. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989.

Nash, Ronald, ed. Ideas of History, 2 vols. New York: Dutton, 1969.

The Proceedings of the Conference on Biblical Inerrancy. Nashville: Broadman, 1987.

The Proceedings of the Conference on Biblical Interpretation. Nashville: Broadman, 1988.

Thistelton, Anthony. The Two Horizons: New Testament Hermeneutics and Philosophical
Description. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.

Wachterhauser, Brice R. Hermeneutics and Modern Philosophy. Albany: State University of New
York Press, 1986.

Wood, Laurence W. "Recent Brain Research and the Mind-Body Dilemma." The Best of Theology,
vol. 2, ed. J. I. Packer and Paul Fromer. Carol Stream: Christianity
Today, 1988.
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Introduction to Philosophy

Allen, Diogenes. Philosophy for Understanding Theology. Atlanta: John Knox, 1985.

Bush, L. Russ. Classical Readings in Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.

Brown, Colin. Philosophy and the Christian Faith. London: Tyndale, 1969.

_______, Christianity and Western Thought. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1990.

Dyrness, William. Christian Apologetics in a World Community. Downer's Grove:
InterVarsity, 1983.

Nash, Ronald H. Faith and Reason. Grand Rapids: Academie, 1988, 11-18, 51-92.

Ramm, Bernard. Types of Apologetic Systems. Wheaton: Van Kampen, 1953.

_______, Varieties of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1961.

Roberts, J. Deotis. A Philosophical Introduction to Theology. London: SCM, 1991.

Postmodernism

Dockery, David, ed. The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement. Wheaton:
Victor Books, 1995.

Doty, William G., ed. Picturing Cultural Values in Postmodern America. Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press, 1995.

Grenz, Stanley. A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Lindbeck, George, et. al., eds. The Nature of Confession: Evangelicals and Postliberals in
Conversation. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1996.

Maloney, George. Mysticism in the New Age: Christic Consciousness in the New Creation.
New York: Alba House, 1991.

McKnight, Edgar. Post-Modern Use of the Bible: The Emergence of Reader-Oriented Criticism.
Nashville: Abingdon, 1988.

Middleton, Richard and Brian J. Walsh. Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a
Postmodern Age. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995.

Moore, Stephen. Mark and Luke in Post-Structuralist Perspectives: Jesus Begins to Write.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
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Newport, John. Christianity and Contemporary Art Forms. Waco: Word, 1979.

Norris, Christopher. Derrida. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987.

Patte, Daniel. Ethics of Biblical Interpretation: A Reevaluation. Louisville: Westminster/John
Knox, 1995.

Phillips, Timothy, and Okholm, Dennis, eds. Christian Apologetics in a Postmodern World.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995.

Rorty, Richard. Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1989.

Sanford, John. Mystical Christianity: A Psychological Commentary on the Gospel of John.
New York: Crossroads, 1994.

Taylor, Mark. Erring. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Christian Worldview

Brown, Colin. Christianity and Western Thought. Downer's Grove: InterVarsity, 1990.

_______, Philosophy and the Christian Faith. Downer's Grove: InterVarsity, 1968.

Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy, 8 vols. Garden City: Doubleday, 1963.

Edwards, Paul, ed. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Macmillan, 1967.

Hunnex, Milton. Chronological and Thematic Charts of Philosophies and Philosophers.
Grand Rapids: Academie, 1986.

Newport, John. Life's Ultimate Questions. Dallas: Word, 1984; pp. 1-35.

Solomon, Robert. The Big Questions. New York: Hartcourt Brace Javonovich, 1986.

Thielicke, Helmut. Modern Faith and Thought. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

Woodfin, Yandall. With All Your Mind. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981; pp. 13-14, 83-96,
150-151, 233-240.

Epistemology

Brown, Colin. Christianity and Western Thought. Downer's Grove: InterVarsity, 1990.

_______, Philosophy and the Christian Faith. Downer's Grove: InterVarsity, 1968.
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Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy, 8 vols. Garden City: Doubleday, 1963.

Edwards, Paul, ed. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Macmillan, 1967.

Hunnex, Milton. Chronological and Thematic Charts of Philosophies and Philosophers.
Grand Rapids: Academie, 1986.

Newport, John. Life's Ultimate Questions. Dallas: Word, 1984; pp. 414-443, 452-456.

Ramm, Bernard. Varieties of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1961.

Solomon, Robert. The Big Questions. New York: Hartcourt Brace Javonovich, 1986.

Thielicke, Helmut. Modern Faith and Thought. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

Woodfin, Yandall. With All Your Mind. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981; pp. 17-37.

Philosophical Apologetics

Brown, Colin. Christianity and Western Thought. Downer's Grove: InterVarsity, 1990.

_______, Philosophy and the Christian Faith. Downer's Grove: InterVarsity, 1968.

Bush, L. Russ. Classical Readings in Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1983.

_______, A Handbook for Christian Philosophy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.

Clark, Kelly James. Return to Reason. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy, 8 vols. Garden City: Doubleday, 1963.

Edwards, Paul, ed. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Macmillan, 1967.

Hunnex, Milton. Chronological and Thematic Charts of Philosophies and Philosophers.
Grand Rapids: Academie, 1986.

Nash, Ronald. Faith and Reason. Grand Rapids: Academie, 1988.

Newport, John. Life's Ultimate Questions. Dallas: Word, 1984.

Plantinga, Alvin, and Wolterstorff, Nicholas, eds. Faith and Rationality: Reason and Belief in God.
South Bend: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983.

Solomon, Robert. The Big Questions. New York: Hartcourt Brace Javonovich, 1986.