Having
previously discussed the reasons why people leave the Church, as well
as sharing my own philosophy on how to raise my own children to avoid
those pitfalls, I now would like to share some specific resources that
have been helpful to me in developing a Christian worldview that is able
to withstand the attacks raised against it. Training up our children in
a world that is hostile to Christianity is a heavy task, and we may not
have all the answers to the various questions we receive. However, we
need not lay such a heavy burden on ourselves. We have a wealth of
resources we can lean into for help when those hard questions come. Sometimes
our role will not to be the one with the answers, but to be the one who
knows where to find them. The following are 10 of the most helpful
extra-biblical resources I have found for building and defending a comprehensive
Christian worldview. (click on each title to visit)
Anyone
interested in building an intellectual defense of the Christian faith
needs to be familiar with William Lane Craig and his ministry,
Reasonable Faith. Craig is the world’s greatest living Christian
apologist and philosopher. He is well known for his version of the Kalam Cosmological Argument for God’s existence, and is widely recognized as
the most formidable Christian debater. For those unfamiliar with his
work, I recommend starting with his debate against the late Christopher
Hitchens, who was one of the leading voices in the new atheist movement
before passing away in 2011. Craig is incredibly prolific, as he has
written numerous books, publishes a weekly podcast, and teaches a Sunday
school class that covers the finer points of Christian theology. This
“Defenders” class is also made available to the public through podcast
and YouTube. Of all that Craig has done, it is perhaps my favorite
resource. There aren’t many Sunday school classes out there that delve
into such topics as God’s necessary existence, His relationship to time,
or how we can make sense of the Trinity, but Craig tackles all of these
and much more in great detail. As for those issues that are
non-essential for the Christian, he presents all sides clearly and does
his best to explain why he takes one view over the others. I don’t
always agree with him, but I appreciate how he models this approach.
Whaddo You Meme?? (YouTube)
For
some, Craig’s approach may be too intellectual and thorough, especially
for those first stepping into the world of Christian apologetics. Jon
McCray’s “Whaddo You Meme” is a great resource for those looking for
something more accessible and entertaining. This isn’t to say that it is
watered down. Quite the contrary! McCray produces short and direct
videos responding to cultural events and influential voices, while
presenting how Christianity offers a better alternative. Sometimes he
employs humor through parody or satire, but oftentimes he responds
directly with heavy doses of biblical truth. Originally developed in
response to popular memes (hence the name), McCray will take on any
voice that speaks against the truth of Christianity, and he does so with
style. This is a great resource for parents and teens alike. You guys ready? “Then let’s goooooooo.....!”
Trinity Radio (YouTube/podcast)
It’s
hard to pick a favorite here, but I probably spend more time on Trinity
Radio than anywhere else on this list. TR is a YouTube channel (also
available on podcast) created by Braxton Hunter, President of Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary. This channel is primarily
focused on rebuttals of videos put out by popular internet atheists, or
debates featuring other key voices in atheism/agnosticism. Braxton
walks through each video step-by-step, explaining where each argument
against the Christian God fails. He is remarkably clear in his
critiques, and many unbelievers have commented on how fair and gracious
he is in his disagreements. His videos are really a wonderful model of
how to speak truth in love. Sometimes though, words need to be spoken a
little more bluntly. For this, Braxton often invites his seminary
partner, Johnathan Pritchett, to balance his gentleness with a good dose
of snarkiness. The “good cop, bad cop” interaction between the two is
one of the highlights of the show. I highly recommend this channel for
anyone who wants to learn how to counter all the popular arguments
against Christianity, and how to reflect Christ in the process.
Unbelievable? (YouTube/podcast)
For
those turned off by the recent presidential debates, I offer as a stark
contrast the long-running UK radio program-turned-podcast and YouTube
channel, “Unbelievable?” with Justin Brierley. Every Friday, Brierley
brings together the best of both sides of any argument relating to the
Christian worldview. More often than not, the show will feature a
Christian and a non-believer, but sometimes they are “in-house”
theological discussions. What sets Unbelievable? apart is the level of
civility in these debates. It is very rare for one of the debaters to be
disrespectful or talk over the other side. Much of this is do to the
level of control Brierley maintains, combined with the high quality of
the guests he invites to participate. One of the best ways to learn what
other people believe is to sit down and listen, and this is a great
model for doing just that. For those of us who are listening, we are
likewise learning how to hear the other side and how to respond to their
questions and arguments. I’ve heard Braxton Hunter say that he
recommends listening to debates as the best way to quickly learn
apologetics. There is no better source for such debates than
“Unbelievable?”
Eric Hernandez (YouTube)
Eric
Hernandez is a young apologist who is gaining a lot of attention
through his YouTube channel and his online debates in defense of the
Christian worldview. His ministry has spent a great deal of attention on
making a case for the existence of the soul, and showing how the body alone cannot make sense of things like consciousness and free will.
His arguments are devastating for the naturalistic worldview that is so
strongly pushed on students in secular environments today. I happen to
think that making the evidence for the soul is one of the best lines of
argument for the Christian worldview, and one that is often neglected
among apologists. Eric’s channel features a mixture of his debates with
atheists and some entertaining post-debate rebuttals to those same
atheists (this one is especially hilarious!), along with interviews and lectures he’s given on serious issues like abortion.
Truth Unites (YouTube/podcast)
Gavin Ortlund is known for his gracious demeanor and thoughtful approach to theological issues, especially those that divide Protestants from Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians. As a defender of the truth of Christianity across denominations, Ortlund helps us to understand various issues from different perspectives, always encouraging us to investigate these things for ourselves and come to our own conclusions. He defends the basic principles of Protestantism while rejecting sectarianism. While I don’t always agree with his conclusions, he models how to disagree well. This is how Christians can be light in a dark world!
Books
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
There’s
a running joke about how Christians always quote Chesterton, but
they’ve never read any of his books. This is a shame! The best way to
fix this injustice is to start by reading “Orthodoxy.” While the title
might suggest a boring read, those fears are quickly put to rest in the
opening lines of the introduction. Perhaps a more accurate title of this
oft-overlooked classic would be found in in these words from the
introduction; “The man who… discovered what had been discovered before.”
Here, GKC chronicles how as an unbeliever he tried to develop a
revolutionary worldview through his observations, but found that
Christianity had been saying the same things from its beginning. In the
quest to make sense of the world, Christianity is the key that fits all
the locks. “Orthodoxy” is not a typical apologetics book of specific
evidences surrounding the resurrection and other biblical events, and it
doesn’t lay out the classic philosophical arguments for God’s
existence. What it does is simply present a case that Christianity makes
sense of the world while all other worldviews fail. And it does so with
all the humor and brilliance you can expect from one of the most quoted
Christian thinkers of all time.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
The
person of Jesus Christ is the central issue of Christianity, and Nabeel
Qureshi’s story is a prime example of what a difference our beliefs
about who He is can make. Raised in a minority sect of Islam, Qureshi
was skilled at poking holes in the faith of the Christians he
encountered in high school and college. He was sure they had no
intellectual legs to stand on until he ran into David Wood, a fellow
student who knew what he believed, how to defend it, and how to shake
Nabeel’s confidence in his own beliefs. “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus”
chronicles his journey to discovering the truth about Jesus Christ, and
how that pursuit of truth is worth more than anything this world has to
offer. Following Jesus can cost you everything, and Nabeel’s life was a
testimony to this fact. While this book tells the story of how he
sacrificed the comforts of his family and Islamic upbringing, his life
would take an unexpected turn in the years after its publishing. In
2016, he would be diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer, and a year
later would die at the age of 34. Throughout his battle, he broadcast
his thoughts on a video log uploaded to YouTube. In one of his final
videos, he shared how in the midst of all his struggles to understand
why God hadn’t healed him, he still could not turn his back on Jesus
knowing what he now knew about Him. He had discovered the truth, which
brings to mind what it says in John 6:66-69: “From that time many of His
disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the
twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him,
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we
have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.””
The Case For Miracles by Lee Strobel
Many
of us, like Nabeel Qureshi, have prayed for healing that has never
come. We can become discouraged and either lose faith or begin to adopt a
more naturalistic approach to it. We may find ourselves praying that
God would simply use the skilled hands of doctors or that He would bring
about some kind of gradual improvement of our condition that, if we
were to be honest, would not show any sign of God’s intervention if we
were able to put it under a microscope. Such was my approach to prayer
for most of my life, but that began to change with Lee Strobel’s recent
book on miracles, as he shows that such events as what you might find in
the Gospels or the book of Acts are still happening around the world
today. Looking at the subject from a journalist’s perspective, Lee
interviews individuals on various sides of the issue, and highlights a
number of modern cases of miracles. This book brought me to tears of joy
on numerous occasions as I began to see that the God of the Bible is
still the same God we worship today. Strobel’s book serves as a fatal
blow to the philosophy of naturalism. One can reasonably continue to
dismiss televangelist “faith healers” as charlatans while also being
open to the supernatural work of God in the world we live in. There are
legitimate miracles today, and being aware of them can be an
encouragement to our faith, regardless of whether we are the recipients.
Strobel is best known for his first book, “The Case For Christ.” While I
have a copy, I must confess that I haven’t yet read it (though I have
seen the excellent movie adaptation). That being said, I am confident
that I can recommend any of his work, especially for those new to
apologetics.
Counterpoints (Series) by Zondervan Publishing
This
is an on-going project of mine, as there are numerous volumes in this
series, and I have only read a handful of them. While much remains for
me to explore, I have found these written back-and-forths from various
scholars on a wide range of secondary issues of the faith to be
incredibly helpful in building a flexible and informed Christian
worldview. Each book features a representative theologian for each
prominent position on the topic at hand. After each presents his own
view, the others provide their rebuttals. In this way, each position is
presented as it is best explained by its supporters, and each is put to
the test by its critics. I’m currently reading “Three Views On the Millennium and Beyond,” which is a subject that I know that I’m needing to be
educated in. The main lesson that I’ve taken from these is that there is
a wide range of acceptable disagreement among Christians. Many things
that we might assume are undisputed among Bible-believers are actually
hotly debated, and those who disagree can build strong cases from the
same Bible we use to support our own views. We cannot always assume “the
Bible clearly says” when there are many today and throughout Christian
history who have interpreted things differently. We must approach
Scripture with an understanding that it is the authority, not our own
interpretations. Once we do so, we can be open to being moved to a new
and better understanding of what it has to say. Coupling this series
with the work of Alisa Childers can help us to discern between what is
acceptable Christian doctrine and what is not. Striking a balance isn’t
always easy, but it is worth the effort. Having a properly balanced
approach to Scripture is especially useful for teaching our children how
to study the Bible. Giving them the freedom to decide what makes sense
within the boundaries of orthodox Christianity will help them to develop
a faith that endures.
These
10 resources are just scratching the surface of what is out there, but
they will be a great start for anyone looking to dive into the
thoughtful side of Christianity. As I said on a previous post, anyone
who really seeks the truth will find that Christianity holds up to the
test. Their faith will be made stronger for having asked the difficult
questions and for seeking the answers. I hope you find these helpful,
and that they may encourage your faith, and the faith of others through
you.
