William Lane Craig Archives

HBU Announces Newest Faculty Member: Lee Strobel

Posted on May 28, 2013October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

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.

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

Christian Apologetics – Who Needs It?

Posted on January 13, 2012February 17, 2022 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Mary Jo Participated in the Reasonable Faith Christian Apologetics Conference. Reasonable Faith is the ministry of William Lane Craig.

Listen to their conversation answering the question “Christian Apologetics: Who Needs It?” below.

Dr. Craig speaks on the importance of Christian apologetics and the defense of the faith. We welcome your comments in the Reasonable Faith forums: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/forums/

Come Let Us Reason

Posted on September 24, 2011October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Come Let Us Reason is the third book in a series on modern Christian apologetics that began with the popular Passionate Conviction and Contending with Christianity’s Critics. The nineteen essays here raise classical philosophical questions in fresh ways, address contemporary challenges for the church, and will deepen the thinking of the next generation of apologists. Packed with dynamic topical discussions and informed by the latest scholarship, the book’s major sections are:

• Apologetics, Culture, and the Kingdom of God
• The God Question • The Gospels and the Historical Jesus
• Ancient Israel and Other Religions
• Christian Uniqueness and the World’s Religions
Contributors include J. P. Moreland (“Four Degrees of Postmodernism”), William Lane Craig (“Objections So Bad That I Couldn’t Have Made Them Up”), Gary R. Habermas (“How to Respond When God Gives You the Silent Treatment”), Craig Keener (“Gospel Truth: The Historical Reliability of the Gospels”), and Paul Copan (“Does the Old Testament Endorse Slavery?”). Also included will be my essay (“Does the Story of Jesus Mimic Pagan Mysteries Stories?”). You can PREORDER this book due for publication April 2012!

Currently Listening to:

Posted on June 7, 2011October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

There are lots of great topics so far (I’m at 52:23); including atheism, Molinism, free will, determinism, counterfactuals and possible worlds, postmodernism vs. modernism, and etc.

Dr. Craig was interviewed by some of the folks at Reasons to Believe who have differing viewpoints from him. The differences of view make for a lively discussion. Plus, the interviewers threw in some atheist responses to Craig’s arguments to see how he would answer.

HT: Dr. William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith.

ETS/EPS Annual Meeting and Apologetics Conference

Posted on November 22, 2010October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

I just returned from the annual Evangelical Theological Society and Evangelical Philosophical Society conference in Atlanta. I attended papers by William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, JP Moreland, Alvin Plantinga, and Angus Menuge. I heard arguments against naturalism and materialism, saw the latest research on the Shroud of Turin, and heard a response to Graham Oppy on the argument from consciousness. I also attended a session at the Society of Biblical Literature on “Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?” This discussion was outstanding. It included New Zealander, Matthew Flannagan, Canadian, Randal Rauser, also, Paul Copan and Richard Hess. Paul’s new book, “Is God a Moral Monster?” on this subject will be released December 1, 2010, but can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com.

While I was attending the annual meeting for ETS/EPS, I also gave a presentation at the 9th annual EPS apologetics conference,

“Set Forth Your Case,” at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. Johnson Ferry’s pastor, Bryant Wright, is the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is so exciting to see the new president of the SBC hosting an apologetics conference!

This event was well-attended with at least 1000 to 1100 participants. My session, “The Redefining of ‘Faith’ and How Christians Can Respond,” was also very well-attended. The chapel was packed full of people who were ready to interact with the material! One very interesting comment came when I asked “Who cares if our society redefines faith as a lack of critical thinking or as opposed to evidence and reason? And why does it matter?”

Several folks responded with answers, but a lady in the front row said something I had not heard from an audience member before: it was offensive to her as a medical doctor–as a professional–for people to denigrate her reasoning skills in this manner. Usually, the audience members discuss how it can stifle conversations before they even get started or they discuss the impact on the Church. I responded, in agreement with the doctor’s statement, that this is ad hominem. I further discussed how ad hominem attacks seek to divide rather than to thoughtfully consider the issue.

One sweet moment came after my session when a gentleman brought his family back to meet my husband and me. He wanted his son to ask me some particular questions he’d been struggling through. Roger and I talked with the family for a while and interacted with both of their sons’ questions. It was a great reminder of why we do these conferences: to touch lives.

Finally, after all the ETS/EPS activities had wrapped up, I had the privilege of speaking at Roswell Street Baptist Church to their youth and college group on “Asking the Right Questions.” They asked me some hard questions on the problem of evil, on science and religion, on talking to people who believe in “fate,” and on talking to people

who don’t seem to care about the question of God.

After our session, Roger and I worshiped with their “Connections” service. They had a phone number on the big screen during worship that congregates could use to text questions concerning the sermon. At the end of the service, about four text questions were answered and then the rest were answered in the Q&A room. What a great idea! Our thanks go out to Roswell Street for hosting us on Sunday. We had a great experience there.

It was a wonderful week of learning, seeing old friends, making new friends, and encouraging the life of the mind! I hope to see even more of you in San Francisco at the annual conference next year.

Bryant Wright & William Lane Craig

Posted on October 29, 2010October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Pastor Bryant Wright (new President of the Southern Baptist Convention) talks with Dr. William Lane Craig about the upcoming Evangelical Philosophical Society Apologetics Conference. Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia will host. The dates of the conference are November 18th – 20th, 2010.

On Guard Apologetics Conference

Posted on October 23, 2010October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

November 5th & 6th

Friday: 7:00pm to 9:30pm

Saturday: 8:30am to 4:00pm

William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, Sean McDowell, Mike Licona, Craig Hazen, & Paul Nelson

Hosted by Denton Bible Church

Topics include:

Can you trust your Bible?
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
Is evolution true?

Apologetics Conference 2010

Posted on October 5, 2010October 17, 2015 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Marietta, Georgia
November 18th – 20th

“Set Forth Your Case: Equipping Christians for Discipleship and Evangelism”

Experience seasoned teaching by Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, Greg Koukl, Randy Newman, Frank Beckwith, Craig Evans, Craig Blomberg, Mike Licona and over twenty other influencers in Christian apologetics as they equip you about the issues facing contemporary Christian witness.

I will be presenting “The Redefining of ‘Faith’ and how Christians can Respond” on Friday Night, November 19th from 8:35 – 9:30. Come find me and feel free to ask questions. Are you planning on going? Here is a link for more info: EPS

ETS-EPS National Conference

Posted on November 25, 2008April 28, 2020 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

I recently returned from Rhode Island where I read a paper at the Evangelical Theological and Philosophical Society National Conference. My paper was a comparison of the pagan mystery stories of Osiris, Horus, and Mithras with the Christian story of Jesus. The paper was well attended with some special guests: a couple of atheist Facebook friends, Darrin Rasberry and John Loftus, and a few prominent Christian apologists. John and Darrin also attended the Earnestly Contending Apologetics Conference. John posted about his experience on his blog, Debunking Christianity. Although my interaction with these guys was limited (partly due to my nerves over presenting my first paper at the national conference), the time I did share with them was rewarding. I found John and Darrin to be gracious and thoughtful.

On Saturday, after the apologetics conference, Paul Copan invited the gentlemen to the presenters’ room to speak with William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, James Sinclair, and himself. Wow! What an opportunity! What impressed me the most was the manner of exchange between the two “sides.” From reading John’s account and from what Darrin has told me—whether or not anyone was convinced of any argument—the experience was enjoyable for all. This kind of argumentation and dialogue is exactly what I hope to continue to promote here at Confident Christianity and on our Two Chix Apologetics Facebook group.Once in awhile, people ask me why I feel it is necessary to discuss these issues and why I do not “just leave people alone.”

My reply: 1) I actually do care about the people who interact with me, and 2) If there is a God, then the search for truth is the most important subject to address. This past weekend reminded me that while arguments are important, so are the people who hold to the arguments. Concern and love for people must take center stage in all of our lives.Thank you to all who made this past weekend such a wonderful time of discussion and fellowship.
MJ