Why Do You Believe That?

Posted on April 4, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Mary Jo Sharp – “Why Do You Believe That?” Bible Study Taping

April 16-17, 2012

(Monday
– Tuesday)

Nashville,
TN:

LifeWay Christian Resources

Mary Jo Sharp
(Speaker)

LifeWay and new author Mary Jo Sharp are coming together to tape
a new Bible Study resource called “Why Do You Believe That: A Faith
Conversation”. Come be a part of this free event. Choose from the two
sessions offered – you can choose to attend 1 or both of the sessions.

For more information on this event:

More Registration Info

Description

LifeWay and new author Mary Jo Sharp are coming together
to tape a new Bible Study resource called “Why Do You Believe That: A
Faith Conversation”. This will be the first video Bible study that Mary
Jo is producing with LifeWay. The study focuses on knowing what you
believe and equipping believers to feel confident discussing matters of
faith with those they encounter.
Come be a part of this free event. Choose from the two sessions offered – you can choose to attend 1 or both of the sessions.

Featured Guests

Mary Jo Sharp

Speaker

Mary Jo Sharp is a former atheist from the
Pacific Northwest who thought religion was for the weak-minded. She now
holds a Masters in Christian Apologetics from Biola University and is
the first woman to become a Certified Apologetics Instructor through the
North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. A
clear communicator with a teacher’s heart, she finds great joy in
discussing the deep truths of her Lord and Savior. She administrates the
website, Confident Christianity, and has engaged in two formal, public
debates with Muslims.

Registration Information

Cancellation
Policy: Since this event is free, if you are unable to use your ticket
please give to someone else who may benefit from attending this taping.

Videotaping
Policy: During this event, LifeWay will be videotaping, audio taping,
and photographing. Most likely, you will be filmed, recorded or
photographed as part of the audience or individually. By your
attendance, you are granting your permission to be videotaped,
audiotaped, or photographed for commercial purposes and agree to the
following: being recorded, filmed, videotaped, or photographed by any
means; commercial or any other use of your likeness, voice and words
without compensation; specifically waving all rights of privacy during
the videotaping, filming, recording or photographing and release LifeWay
Christian Resources from liability for loss, damage, or compensation
from the commercial or other use of your likeness, image, voice or word;
compliance with all rules and regulations of LifeWay for this event.

OTHER DETAILS:
Taping will be held at LifeWay Christian Resources in the Crowe Room.

Park
for free in the 10th Avenue North Visitors Lot or the 9th Avenue North
Visitors Lot. Upon entering the building you will be greeted and
directed to the Crowe Room.

Please eat before you arrive. Light snacks will be provided at the first break between segments.

Bring your Bible and pen to get the most out of this event.

After you register you will receive a ticket, bring your ticket to the event for entrance into the taping.

Location

LifeWay Christian Resources
1 LifeWay Plaza
Nashville,
TN 37234

Schedule

Session 1 // Monday April 16:
5:30pm Doors Open
6:00pm Welcome 
6:15pm Session 1
6:50pm Break 
7:15pm Session 2
7:50pm Break 
8:15pm Session 3
9:00pm Dismiss
Session 2 // Tuesday April 17:
5:30pm Doors Open 
6:00pm Welcome 
6:15pm Session 4
6:50pm Break 
7:15pm Session 5
7:50pm Break
8:15pm Session 6
9:00pm Dismiss

What Jesus Said About Resurrection – Part 1 (Video)

Posted on April 2, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

What Jesus Said About Resurrection (Re-Airing)

Posted on March 29, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Day of Discovery has a 2-part series entitled, “What Jesus Said About Resurrection.” I was interviewed mainly for my research of the pagan myths as you
will hear in the video. For more in-depth details about the pagan myth argument, please see my chapter in the new book: “Come Let Us Reason” -editors William Lane Craig and Paul Copan. The Day of Discovery episodes will be re-airing on Sunday, April 1st (Part 1) and Sunday, April 8th (Part 2) on ION TV.

Following is a brief description of the program:

Travel
to Israel with Mart DeHaan and hear from scholars and authorities in
the field of New Testament studies as they explore Jesus’ claims and
examine the evidence for his resurrection. In this 2-part DVD, you’ll
see Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified and buried, and Bethany where,
according to the Gospels, he was last seen on earth. Decide for yourself
whether or not the resurrection of Jesus is the single most important
event in history.

As a reminder Day of
Discovery can be seen on Ion TV Sundays at 7:30 a.m. Eastern and Pacific, and 6:30
a.m. Central and Mountain time. A
listing of local station air times can be found by visiting the Web site at www.dod.org
and following the
“Where to Watch” link in the left column. Additionally, the program is available to view at no cost via their Web site.

Book Cover!

Posted on March 27, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

My book with Kregel Publications will be released October 1st! We now have a book cover. Wanna see it? We’ll be premiering the book cover in our Newsletter this week. To be the first to see the cover, sign up HERE!

Also, did you know I am working on a DVD Bible Study with LifeWay Christian Resources? Check it out HERE!

One more thing, I am giving away a FREE BOOK (includes my chapter on Pagan Myth) to those who give to Confident Christianity. We are a 501 c 3 so your donation is completely tax deductible. The book is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for supporting this impacting ministry. – MJ

No. 5 Road

Posted on March 15, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

This past week, I spoke at the Apologetics Canada Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. On our way back from the conference, Roger and I spotted an unusual group of buildings. A church, a mosque, a temple? A Jewish school? Now, this wouldn’t be so unusual, but they were literally right next to each other, all within about a mile. Allow me to introduce one of the unofficial ‘Seven Wonders of Canada,’ No. 5 Road.

Free Book With Donation!

Posted on March 14, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Your tax deductible gift is appreciated! So much so, we are giving all donors of $100 or more a FREE COPY of “Come Let Us Reason!”
Confident Christianity Apologetics is poised to make a huge impact in 2012. Your generous gift helps us stay focused on producing excellent resources. Want more than one free copy? You will receive one free book for every $100 donated!

Use chipin above (via PayPal) or

Mail checks to:

Confident Christianity Apologetics Ministry
C/O Mary Jo Sharp, Director
1620 S. Friendswood Drive
Box 184
Friendswood, TX 77546

Send North America

Posted on March 2, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Send North America: Overview from North American Mission Board on Vimeo.

July 30th -31st
First Baptist Church of Woodstock
Woodstock, Georgia
REGISTRATION PAGE

The Send North America Conference is a two-day experience designed for church planters, pastors, leaders and others committed to penetrating lostness in North America. Learn and interact with relevant leaders and practitioners during general sessions and tailored breakouts, with plenty of time and space for connecting, communicating and finding your place in the mission. Here, under one roof, Southern Baptists come together with a shared vision and common goals to bring about remarkable change to the spiritual landscape of North America. The Send North America Conference will equip you for your next step in reaching North America through Church Planting.

I’ll be leading breakout sessions. There are scholarships available if needed. How do Apologetics and Church Planting come together? Register today and I’ll show you how in Georgia 🙂

Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: Hasty Generalization

Posted on February 9, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

“This is the best post on apologetics ever!”

While at first glance–or from intuition–you might brush my
statement aside as ludicrous, there is actually a fallacy represented here by my
hyperbolic enthusiasm for my own writing: a hasty generalization.

Hasty generalization: generalizing about a class based upon
a small or poor sample.

In committing the hasty generalization fallacy, there are
normally two problems involved:
#1.Too small of a sample
#2. Not a representative sample

Going back to my original statement, I am committing a hasty
generalization because I do not have access to all the posts written on
apologetics in order to know if the post I just wrote is the best post
ever. The sample size for my inference
would be too small.

Let’s look at the first problem: too small of a sample size.

If the sample size is too small, we risk it not being
representative of the broader class which we are referencing. In our political campaign examples, a
Democrat candidate might claim that because Republican Randy Presidential
Hopeful demeans other candidates then all Republicans are demeaning to other
people; therefore a democrat cannot vote for any Republican. But Republican Randy doesn’t represent how
all Republicans would treat Democrats (or other republicans, independents, etc).
The sample size here is too small to
make an accurate judgment. However, I’ve
heard this kind of inference from members of both parties!

Let’s look at the second problem: not a representative
sample.

Perhaps the person making the generalization has a large
sample size but it may not be a sample that aptly represents the class.

Example: All plumbers are rich. I just went to the international plumbers
convention and studied 3,000 plumbers there.
They all made over $100,000 a year.[1]

Though 3,000 plumbers sounds like a big enough sample size,
the sample does not aptly represent all plumbers. What about the plumbers who do not make
enough to go to an international plumbers convention? This sample size is probably only taken from
wealthy plumbers (or plumbers able to afford attending the convention) and therefore is a hasty generalization.

Be on the lookout in the presidential campaigns for hasty
generalizations; including throwing around poll percentages, tossing out
figures supporting a view, and attributing ideology to entire classes of
people. When you hear these figures you
should ask: Where are you getting that from?
What is the source of your information?
What were the control factors used in the study (ie. how many people
were surveyed and who were the people surveyed and did the survey have an apt
sample of the representative class)? These
are important questions to answer in order to avoid manipulation through the
logical fallacy of hasty generalization.

[1] Hans and Nathaniel Bluedorn.
The Fallacy Detective: Thirty Six
Lesson on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning.
(Muscatine, IA: Christian Logic, 2002, 2003), 122.

Lee Strobel!

Posted on February 3, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Look who I finally met! Check out the latest from Strobel:

“Christians should understand that being able to give reasons for their faith is not merely an option – it’s biblically mandated, says apologetics author and speaker Lee Strobel.

To help Christians better explain and defend their faith, Strobel and ministry associate Mark Mittelberg have launched The Institute at Cherry Hills, an apologetics and evangelism ministry at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colo. The institute is aimed at innovating new approaches to defending and sharing the faith.

Strobel and Mittelberg will kick off a series of national simulcasts to be hosted at churches starting in March with the event “The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask,” based on Mittelberg’s book by the same title.

While an atheist, Strobel began to write a book disproving the existence of Jesus…(click here to continue reading).”

Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: Focus On The Presidential Campaigns

Posted on January 17, 2012October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

The campaigning and debating for the 2012 presidential election is
already underway, as are loads of advertisements seeking to persuade
voters to vote for one candidate or another.

The campaigns in our current culture are largely focused on presentation
and perception (imagery), rather than on actually making good arguments
for their political platform (rationality). As
Christian philosopher, J.P. Moreland stated, “In the political process,
the makeup man is more important than the speech writer, and we
approach the voting booth, not on the basis of a well-developed
philosophy of what the state should be, but with a heart full of images,
emotions, and slogans all packed into thirty-second sound bites.”[1] The
American public is likely to see lots of negative and positive imagery
utilizing many logical fallacies to “trick” the voter into favoring a
candidate. These fallacies could include (but are not limited to): transfer, ad hominem,
hasty generalization, red herrings, appeal to pity, appeal to the
people, straw man, loaded questions, and faulty appeal to authority.

Here are links to the past six blog posts dealing with these topics:

1. Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: Focus On The Presidential Campaigns (May 10th, 2011)
2. Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: Ad Hominem (May 18th, 2011)
3. Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: the Red Herring (May 31st, 2011)
4. Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: the Straw Man (June 17th, 2011)
5. Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: Appeal to Pity (August 29th, 2011)
6. Logic in an Age of Persuasive Imagery: the Loaded Question (October 25th, 2011)