Apologetics
What is Psychological Apologetics?
I've been explicitly focusing on psychological apologetics for a few years now, but it just dawned on me that I've never clearly defined it, at least not in writing. While I'm not strictly the only person doing psychological apologetics, I am doing it more actively...
Psychological Apologetics Resources
Psychological apologetics is a unique field that focuses on using and applying psychological sciences (which really includes all social and cognitive sciences) for apologetics. Very few people do work that could be considered psychological apologetics, especially if...
Marketing the Messiah
As I was getting in bed a couple nights ago, a friend texted me to ask about the documentary Marketing the Messiah, so I decided to stay up and watch it. The documentary purports to tell "the 'true' story of early Christianity," and from a filmmaking...
One Last Lesson from Ravi
Until recently, Ravi Zacharias was a hero of the Christian faith. If you happen to be in the dark about him, he was the world's most well-known apologist, but recent investigations have revealed that he engaged in unknown numbers of immoral and illegal sexual sins...
The Complexity of Politics
I'm working on my Ph.D. in psychology and in a recent class of mine, we were discussing the trolley problem in the context of moral development. My professor ended by saying, thankfully, we don’t actually have to make these difficult choices in real life because doing...
Prosperity from Apologetics
1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire....
Why I am (and am NOT) a Christian
It's been a while since I've written a classical apologetics article that gives evidence for Christianity so I thought I'd get back into it, but with a little twist. Rather than just present arguments and explain the reasons why I believe Christianity is true, I'll...
Five Views on Psychology and Christianity
Psychology and Christianity: Five Views When I tell people that I work in the field of psychology, they almost always ask how I can still be a Christian in that field or they wonder whether I really am a Christian. Many psychologists are opposed to religion,...
Engineering Psychology for Apologetics
Apologists tend to think like engineers in the sense that we're very analytical and logical, which also means that we often misunderstand people who don't think this way. Nearly every apologist goes through a phase where we think, if I just show people the evidence,...
The Coddling of the Righteous Mind
I've been meaning to read Jonathan Haidt's books, The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind for quite a while. In fact, I considered applying to work with him for my PhD because his research is so relevant for apologetics. Alas, I...
The Giraffe’s Neck: Evidence for Evolution or Design?
If you've done any investigation into the debate between evolution and intelligent design (or creation), you've probably heard about the giraffe's neck. Not only do both sides claim it in favor of their position, but they often tout it as irrefutable proof that they...
The apologist’s super-secret weapon
You have to meet people where they areor they'll never get to where you are. Part I of this article discussed paraphrasing as a secret weapon that anyone can use in apologetics or evangelism. All you have to do is repeat what the other person said in your own words....
The apologist’s secret weapon
I'm currently reading the new edition of Tactics, which is a must-read if you want to learn how to have better conversations with unbelievers. The books Relational Apologetics and Influence: Science and Practice (non-Christian book) are also great for evangelism and...
What you don’t know about biological sex
Sexuality, biological sex, and gender are the hot topics of the day, and unfortunately, nearly everyone has an over-simplified view of each topic. For this article, I'm only going to focus on biological sex, and for 99% of people reading this, my guess is that there's...
What pets can teach us about apologetics & evangelism
When my wife, Lindsey, and I decided to go to seminary, we had to get rid of our cat so we could live on campus. This saved us a ton of money, and even though cats are pretty easy to care for, it simplified our lives. After we found a home for our cat, I swore I would...
Are Christians Dumb?
While working on my previous article, Are you a Stupid Christian?, I realized I should probably address the actual scientific evidence regarding intelligence and belief. This was made all the more apparent when I came across some anti-scientific statements by several...
Are You a Stupid Christian?
This is what we're up against. Christians have a reputation for being stupid. Anyone engaged in apologetics has probably been told (usually by someone in complete shock) that they're the first intelligent Christian they've met. The charge that Christians are stupid...
Do We Need a Christian Psychology?
Recently I've been bombarded with various notions a Christain psychology. This can mean a variety of different things, but I am using the term very broadly to refer to Christian specific practices or approaches to psychology. This seems like an obvious approach to...
Virtue Apologetics
A recent article in Psychology Today has been making the rounds on my social media. The article discusses a peer-reviewed paper from 2015 that showed that Christian children are less generous than non-religious children. The original paper was touted as...
A Reasonable Faith in Science?
One of my favorite things I get to do as an apologist is answer questions on behalf of Reasonable Faith. I recently received a question that I've been thinking about in greater detail since I answered it. The person was wondering if it is reasonable to have faith in...
Talking to Strangers Review
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm GladwellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I wanted to read this book because Malcolm Gladwell is such a great conversationalist and writer that I was sure what he had to say about...
Branch Davidian Compound Visit
Today was my wife's birthday, and while it may sound odd, I took her to the Branch Davidian Compound where David Koresh and several of his followers died in a standoff with the authorities in 1993. The site is interesting to my wife because her primary interest in...
Review: Relational Apologetics: Defending the Christian Faith with Holiness, Respect, and Truth
Relational Apologetics: Defending the Christian Faith with Holiness, Respect, and Truth by Michael C. SherrardMy rating: 5 of 5 stars The purpose of this book is to help apologists improve their methods so they can be more effective when doing...