Seven videos from the Biola University conference on God and evolution

I have been weaseling out of my apologetics posting this week, and this is my last chance to get something good up so I can make it onto Brian Auten’s weekly apologetics bonus links at Apologetics 315, the best Christian apologetics site ever.

So I am posting SEVEN video clips from a recent Biola University conference on theistic evolution. (H/T Mysterious Jonathan)

Conference details:

Can you believe in God and Darwinian evolution at the same time? Scientists and scholars have an answer that may surprise the audience as they explore this and related questions at the God & Evolution conference on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at Biola University in La Mirada, California.

The conference will focus on the conflict between neo-Darwinism and traditional theological views of Protestants, Catholics and Jews.

What is “theistic” evolution, and how consistent is it with traditional theism?

What challenges does Darwin’s theory pose for Protestants, Catholics, and Jews?

Is it “anti-science” to question Darwinian Theory?

These questions and more will be addressed at the one-day conference by Marvin Olasky, editor of World magazine, biologist Jonathan Wells, political scientist John West, philosopher Jay Richards, attorney and science writer Casey Luskin and authors David Klinghoffer and Denyse O’Leary.

In the century and a half since Charles Darwin first proposed his theory of evolution, Christians, Jews, and other religious believers have grappled with how to make sense of it. Most have understood that Darwin’s theory has profound theological implications, but responses have varied dramatically.

Some believers have rejected it outright; others, including “theistic evolutionists” such as Francis Collins and Karl Giberson, have sought to reconcile Darwin’s theory with their religious beliefs, often at the cost of clarity, orthodoxy, or both. As a result, the whole subject of God and evolution is a source of confusion for many believers.

Join us for this one-day seminar, featuring contributors to the new book, God and Evolution, exploring these issues and offering a wide-ranging critique of those who seek to reconcile materialistic theories such as Darwinism with belief in God.

Here is the playlist for all SEVEN video clips.

Clip 1 of 7: Jay W. Richards: The Central Issues (34 minutes)

Clip 2 of 7: John G. West: Three Big Questions (22 minutes)

Clip 3 of 7: Casey Luskin: Why the New Atheists Won’t Be Appeased (21 minutes)

Clip 4 of 7: Denyse O’Leary: Catholics & Evolution (29 minutes)

Clip 5 of 7: David Klinghoffer: Judaism & Evolution (17 minutes)

Clip 6 of 7: Jonathan Wells: Science and Theistic Evolution (26 minutes)

Clip 7 of 7: Panel Discussion with Marvin Olasky (99 minutes)

So it looks like there are 2 Catholics (Richards, O’Leary), 2 Jews (Luskin, Klinghoffer), 2 Protestants (West, Olasky) and 1 “Other” (Wells) in that list. It’s a diverse group.

Filed under: Videos, Argument, Atheism, Belief, Biola University, Biologos Institute, Casey Luskin, Christianity, Conference, Darwinism, David Klinghoffer, Denyse O'Leary, Design, Evidence, Evolution, Fact, Faith, Francis Collins, God, God and Evolution, ID, ID Theory, Intelligent Design, Jay W. Richards, John G. West, Jonathan Wells, Junk DNA, Karl Giberson, Marvin O'Lasky, Materialism, Naturalism, Origins, Process, Purpose, Purposeless, Random, Reason, Science, Theism, Theistic Evolution

Apologetics events in San Diego, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Baltimore

I snipped this out of an e-mail from Biola University.

REASONABLE FAITH IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD
San Diego, CA

with William Lane Craig, Craig Hazen , Greg Koukl, and more!

Economic unrest, war, and fear dominate the air waves. In such a time as this, can we be certain of the truth of Christianity? Is there reason to hope in the midst of doubt and skepticism? Defending the faith is not all about arguments and propositions. Apologetics can give us the assurance to trust in Christ through difficulty and uncertainty. This series will renew our confidence and give us practical tools as we seek to share the hope we have in Jesus in a lost and hurting world. Co-sponsored with Reasonable Faith – San Diego Chapter (www.reasonablefaithsandiego.org)

August 11
Historical Reliability of the Bible with Fred Sanders, Ph.D.

August 18
Responding to Relativism with Greg Koukl

August 25
Arguments for the Existence of God with William Lane Craig, Ph.D., D.Theol

Where and when:

• Wednesdays, August 4 – 25
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
• Calvary Chapel San Diego , Main Sanctuary
• 1771 East Palomar Street
• San Diego, CA 91913
• Cost: FREE

Register now: www.apologeticsevents.com

WHY I BELIEVE WHAT I BELIEVE
Roseville, CA

with William Lane Craig, JP Moreland, Craig Hazen , and Tim Muehlhoff!

Let’s go ahead and answer the question running through most of our minds, “what is apologetics, anyway?” It’s the branch of theology focused on defending or proving the truth of Christian doctrines. This seminar is designed to help you understand why we believe what we believe as Christians. Over the course of these two days, you’ll find answers to some of today’s most commonly asked questions about the Christian faith: How do I know God exists? Did Jesus really live? Who can believe in the resurrection? Hasn’t science disproved Christianity? We all have questions, and we all crave answers. Come be reassured that Christianity is a reasonable faith!

Dr. Moreland, Dr. Craig, Dr. Hazen, and Dr. Muehlhoff will be lecturing on topics ranging from the existence of God, the resurrection, the case for the existence of the soul, communication keys for apologetics, and the challenge of world religions.

Where and when:

• August 27-28
• Friday Evening 7-10 pm
• Saturday Morning 9 am – 1 pm
• Bayside Church
• 8191 Sierra College Blvd
• Roseville, Ca 95661

Cost: $15 regular, $25 for a married couple, and $8 for students

Register now: www.apologeticsevents.com

ETHICS AT THE EDGE OF LIFE: CLEAR THINKING ON THE MOST TROUBLING BIOETHICAL ISSUES
La Mirada, CA

with Scott Rae, Ph.D. and Scott Klusendorf, M.A.

Advances in medical procedures, technologies, and drugs have made issues of life and death more and more complicated. As Christians, because we care deeply about life and death issues, we are often tagged as people who are standing against progress and the relief of suffering. Hence, we need help from experts to understand what is really going on in modern medicine and how to make a persuasive case in the public square for the Biblical views. We are bringing in two world-class Christian experts on bioethics, Dr. Scott Rae and Scott Klusendorf, to help us understand and defend the biblical position on the most difficult subjects: abortion, euthanasia, reproductive technology, and more. Graduate credit toward the M.A. degree in Christian Apologetics is available

• September 16, 17, 18
• Thursday & Friday, 6 – 10 pm
• Saturday, 9 am – 4 pm
• Business Building, Moats Lecture Hall
• Biola University
• Cost: only $95

Register now: www.apologeticsevents.com

LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR MIND CONFERENCE
Mount Airy, Maryland

with Sean McDowell, Craig Hazen , Greg Koukl, Frank Turek, and Steve Schrader

FREE KICK-OFF: Successful Tactics in Defending the Faith with Greg Koukl
Thursday, October 7
7:30 – 9:30 pm

CUTTING-EDGE SESSIONS:
Friday, October 8, 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Christianity and the Challenge of World Religions with Craig Hazen

Saturday, October 9, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Apologetics for a New Generation with Sean McDowell

Saturday, October 9, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Historical Reliability of the Bible with Steve Schrader

Saturday, October 9, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist with Frank Turek

• Mount Airy Bible Church
• 16700 Old Frederick Rd
• Mount Airy, MD 21771

For pricing information, discounts, and to register for this can’t-miss conference: www.apologeticsevents.com/maryland

Filed under: Events, Apologetics, Baltimore, Biola University, California, Conference, Learn, Lecture, Los Angeles, Maryland, Sacramento, San Diego

Walt Russell explains how to read the Bible effectively

Today we are looking at a four part series in Boundless, written by Biola University New Testament professor Walt Russell. The material below is almost the same talk he gave for the Stand to Reason Masters Series in Christian Thought. His book on the subject (which I LOVE) is called “Playing With Fire: How the Bible Ignites Change in Your Soul“. I highly recommend that you read the book, so you know how to read the Bible effectively. But these four articles will teach you most of what you need to know if you don’t want to buy the book.

Here is part one which talks about how postmodern relativism is at odds with discovering the original intent of an author.

Excerpt:

Twenty-four year-old “Janet” (not her real name) was angry at my emphasis on seeking to discover authors’ intentions when we read their texts. She was an evangelical Christian and a second grade teacher in a public school. She prided herself in helping her 20 students learn to love literature. She would read them a story as they gathered around her, and then ask each child, “What does the story mean to you?” She prodded them to come up with their own unique meanings. With such strong encouragement, the class of 20 would eventually have 20 different meanings for the one story. Janet sensed that I was a naysayer about such “love of literature.” Pouring a little emotional gasoline on the fire, I said, “Janet, you’re certainly doing your part to insure that these 7 year-olds will never recover from a radically relativistic view of meaning!” Now I had her full attention.

Here is part two which talks about the importance of knowing the genre of a text before you try to interpret it.

Excerpt:

“INDIANS SLAY TIGERS!” — the newspaper headline virtually screams out at you. The thought of something being slain is repulsive. You’re gripped by a mental image of southern India’s Bengal tiger. You imagine its beautiful face, its stripes and piercing eyes. Then your image is shattered by the sudden blast of a high-powered rifle. You see the exquisite creature writhe in pain, fall gracelessly in its tracks and die. Having read no further than the headline, you feel sick, as if you’ve witnessed something tragic.

But should you feel this way? The slaughter of an endangered species — especially one as magnificent as the Bengal tiger — is horrifying, no doubt. But suppose you failed to notice that the headline “INDIANS SLAY TIGERS!” appeared in the sports page of the morning paper. Clearly enough, it now refers to different Indians, different Tigers and a different manner of slaying than you originally thought. And is it really that tragic that the Cleveland Indians badly beat the Detroit Tigers in a major league baseball game last night? Not unless you’re a long-suffering Detroit Tigers’ baseball fan. But how do you now know that the headline is about baseball and not tiger-slaying in India? You look at the words “INDIANS SLAY TIGERS” and you know exactly what each word means. When you combine these words, how can they not mean exactly what you first thought they did — that Indians slay tigers? Answer: because their meanings are communicated (as the meanings of all words are) through genres!

Here is part three which talks about the importance of reading the context of a verse before you try to interpret it.

Excerpt:

“Never Read a Bible Verse!” That’s the title of a little booklet my friend and Christian radio personality, Gregory Koukl, has written to help people read the Bible well. What great advice. “That’s right, never read a Bible verse. Instead, always read a paragraph — at least.” But the current is flowing the other way in our popular sound-bite culture. Not to be left out (or left behind!), the Church has its own version of sound-bite culture: verse-bite culture. In verse-bite culture we take a sentence or sentence-fragment from a biblical paragraph, memorize it out of context, write it on a little card, put it on a billboard, a plaque, a rock, etc. Somehow we think that just because this little chunk of Scripture has a verse number in front of it, it was meant to be a free-standing unit of thought. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Apart from the fact that chapter and verse divisions weren’t added to the New Testament text until 1560 — long after the New Testament’s inspired authorship — there is a more important reason for never reading just a Bible verse, and instead reading at least the paragraph that contains it.

Here is part four which talks about the importance of applying the words of the Bible to your life.

One thing missing from the four articles that was in the STR lecture is the part where he talked about the promise “he who began a good work in you…” from Phillipians 1:6. Russell says in the lecture that this promise is specifically intended for the church in Phillipi, to whom Paul is writing. My understanding is that this promise applies just to the Phillipians, not necessarily to all Christians. He is giving them a promise just after directly referring to their good work in supporting him in his ministry.

Filed under: Commentary, Author, Background, Bible, Bible Study, Biola University, Context, Exegesis, Genre, Hermeneutics, Intent, Meaning, Playing With Fire, Postmodernism, Reading, Walt Russell

Upcoming apologetics events at Biola University and in South Africa

American Heroes: The Virtues of Capitalism

Southern California

Biola University events for Southern California readers:

May

6 • FREE: The Virtues of Capitalism Book Event with Scott Rae and Austin Hill

14 • FREE: Signature in the Cell Event with Steve Meyer and his Critics

15 • The Cambrian Explosion: The Data Behind Darwin’s Dilemma
with Illustra Media and others

15 • Intelligent Design and Issues in Religious Liberty
with Richard Land, John Bloom, Craig Hazen, and others

Note the details of tonight’s talk:

The Virtues of Capitalism: A Moral Case for Free Markets
with Scott Rae, Ph.D. and Austin Hill, M.A.

Click Here for more details & to RSVP now!

Our country’s founding fathers took very seriously the selfish, fallen nature of human beings described in Holy Scripture. In a stroke of brilliance, they set up a system of governance and economics that harnessed this sinful nature for the betterment of humankind through competition in branches of government and between economic interests. Today everything seems turned on its head. Have we lost the ideas that undergird the greatest system of government and economics the world has ever seen? Is there hope for the economic well being of our children? Is it moral to be a successful business person? Dr. Scott Rae and Austin Hill will address these news-making concerns, based on their latest book.

Their new book became available this week. I ordered two! Scott Rae is, in my opinion, the top expert in bio-ethics at Biola University. To have him write about economics is a dream come true, for me. I love it when social conservatives and fiscal conservatives unite! Indivisible, to coin a phrase from the recently released collection of essays published by the Heritage Foundation, available as a free downloadable PDF document. Just FYI, Jay Richards’ “Money, Greed and God“, which I wrote about before, is now out in paperback.

South Africa

South Africa events from Mike Licona’s web site:

Monday, 10 May:

14:00 “The death of Jesus as a challenge to Islam” (North West University, Potchefstroom)
19:00 “The historicity of the resurrection” (North West University, Potchefstroom)

Tuesday, 11 May:

10:00-12:00 Colloquium: “The problem of differences: Do the Gospels contradict one another?” (UNISA, Pretoria)
19:00 Debate with Prof Pieter Craffert: “Was Jesus raised physically from the dead?” (University of Johannesburg)

Venue: University of Johannesburg
Location: B-Les 103
Cost: none

Wednesday, 12 May:

19:00 Debate with Prof Sakkie Spangenberg and Prof Hansie Wolmarans (HOD Greek & Latin Studies, University of Johannesburg) vs. Prof William Lane Craig & Prof Michael Licona: “How should we understand the narratives about Jesus’ resurrection?”

Venue: University of Pretoria
Location: Musaion Auditorium
Cost: R20 at the door

We have quite a few South African readers, so you all need to attend these events and then send me updates, and I can post them and give you credit. I am a big fan of Mike Licona.

UPDATE: Commenter Mary sends this link which has even more South Africa events.

Filed under: Events, Apologetics, Austin Hill, Biola University, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Darwin's Dilemma, Economics, Free Market Capitalism, Heritage Foundation, Historical Jesus, Indivisible, Intelligent Design, Jay Richards, Jay Wesley Richards, Johannesburg, Michael Licona, Mike Licona, Pretoria, Religious Liberty, Resurrection, Scott Rae, South Africa, Southern California, Stephen Meyer, Steve Meyer, The Virtues of Capitalism

Great news! Illustra Media’s DVD of Craig/Hitchens debate out in late November

I just got an e-mail back from Illustra Media about the professional version of the Craig/Hitchens debate.

Excerpt:

The debate DVD that you are referring to is now scheduled for release sometime in mid to late November 2009.  You can check on our web-site, www.Go2RPI.com, to see the latest information.  You should have no problem having it in time for Christmas.

I am very pleased with this news! I am hoping that I can buy a dozen copies for all my co-workers and friends. I notice that Amazon is already selling the Wilson/Hitchens debate on morality and meaning. I don’t like pre-suppositionalists like Doug Wilson, but he kicks butt in his debates with Hitchens. I think pre-suppositional arguments must be combined with evidential arguments.

Be sure and buy the other Illustra Media DVDs on intelligent design.

Filed under: News, Biola University, Christopher Hitchens, Debate, Debates, DVD, Film, Illustra Media, Video, William Lane Craig