Index Card Questions: No. 1

Index Card Questions: No. 1

      Sometimes, when I give a presentation, I’ll have the
audience write down their questions on 3”x5” cards. I do this for three main
reasons: 1) I can answer more questions when they are written down rather than
verbally asked; 2) The questions are usually more precise; and 3) More people
generally ask questions this way. However, due to the fact that more people ask
questions this way, I rarely get to answer all of the questions (I’m not sure
I’ve ever answered all these questions). So I am beginning a series called
“Index Card Questions” to answer some of the questions I missed at
conferences.  As my current schedule does
not allow, I will not be interacting so much with the replies or comments to my
answer. However, please feel free to engage in a courteous fashion.  Caveat: I will remove any comments that
include ad hominem, cursing, spamming, and trolling. The goal of the comments section
is productive conversation; if that is not the goal of your comments, then you
will most likely be blocked or removed.


Question #1: How does a person prepare for a degree in
Apologetics? 

A person can prepare for a degree by beginning to read some
basic works in apologetics. I recommend:
The Case for Christ Series by Lee Strobel, as well as all of
his “Case for” books

These will get you familiar with some basic objections to the Christian
worldview.
Then it is time to move into more in-depth works:
But don’t feel overwhelmed! You can read as many or few as
you’d like. I posted a bunch to give you many options. 
The other suggestion is to find out about university
programs. Make some contacts via their websites. Our program at Houston Baptist
University is brand new as of Spring 2013. 
We are currently working on a fully online degree that we expect to get
up and as early as the fall of 2014. The program is rooted in a cultural
apologetics approach, designed to be an interdisciplinary apologetics program.
We want you to learn the arguments, and to help you practice apologetics in
whatever field interests you.  For more
information on our program or to contact us visit: http://www.hbu.edu/maa 
Next question, same card:
Question #2: Do you speak to youth on this topic?

Indeed! And how I love to do so. Do you have something in
mind? J
This summer I am speaking at the Summit Ministries Worldview Camps for youth and at the 5 Words Apologetics Conference for youth,
but I will also be available to work with other youth groups and retreats. My
topics vary for youth, but I do a lot of training in conversational
apologetics: how to engage in productive dialog with friends and family on the
topic of God.
Thanks for your questions!

Question #3: Are your books available at Amazon? If
not….where?
My books are available on Amazon.com and also at LifeWay.com.  Defending the Faith: Apologetics in Women’sMinistry, Why Do You Believe That? A Faith Conversation, and my contribution to
Come Let Us Reason, eds. Paul Copan and William Lane Craig
HBU Announces Newest Faculty Member: Lee Strobel

HBU Announces Newest Faculty Member: Lee Strobel

Today, Houston Baptist University officially announced Lee Strobel as the newest member of our faculty in the School of Christian Thought! I am very excited. It is hard for me to wrap my head around the the thought that I will be working with Lee Strobel. Only about a decade ago, I began to read Lee’s book, The Case for Christ, as part of my own investigation into the evidence for the existence of God. His work was instrumental in finding scholars who could answer my questions. I began listening to lectures and debates by the people Lee had interviewed in his books. Plus, I began to read the works by these authors: Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig, Love God With All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland, True for You, But Not for Me by Paul Copan and many   more. It will be such an honor to serve alongside a man whose work has already been so influential in my life!  

HBU faculty Licona, Sharp, and Strobel with Mark Mittelberg at EPS 2012

I hope you will considering joining us at HBU for your degree. We have a lot of “awesome” going on here! Check out our master’s degree in apologetics. Through our program you have the opportunity to study with top notch scholars! Michael Ward is heading up the C.S. Lewis Center,
through which HBU apologetics students have the opportunity to study in
Oxford. Plus, Nancy Pearcey, the founder and director of the Francis Schaeffer Center for Worldview and Culture and The Pearcey Report, is additionally offering two-track apologetics courses with a graduate track alongside the undergraduate track! It’s very exciting here in Houston! 

For more information about our apologetics degree: http://www.hbu.edu/maa
You can keep up with us on our Facebook page, HBU Apologetics.

MJ