Cave To The Cross Apologetics
301 episodes - English - Latest episode: 19 days ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsApplying God's Word To Philosophical Thought
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ANNOUCEMENT! – Our 5th Book Revealed
November 11, 2020 14:05 - 2 minutes - 2.66 MBHere's an Amazon link to our next book - https://amzn.to/2JX62lL that we'll be starting on November 16. One of the current, most popular names in New Testament scholarship is that of Bart Ehrman. Ehrman has made a name for himself by going from evangelical believer to skeptical agnostic. He has also written many popular-level, New York Times best-selling books speaking against the orthodox understanding of early Christianity, The Bible, and the historical Jesus. He is a figure who is take...
Ep. 97 – Greg Koukl Interview
November 09, 2020 10:05 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBWe have the great pleasure of welcoming Greg Koukl onto the show. We recently finished up walking through his book "Tactics" (https://tinyurl.com/yxjxf5s5) and he was gracious enough to come onto the show and talk about it with us.
Ep. 96 – Tactics – More Sweat, Less Blood
November 02, 2020 10:05 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBWe close out Greg Koukl's book "Tactics" with a final charge to be a better ambassador for Christ. We cover some tips and some challenges that will help us go out and deliver the Good News.
Ep. 95 – Tactics – Mini Tactics
October 26, 2020 09:05 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MBBefore we get to the conclusion of Tactics by Greg Koukl, we want to cover five mini tactics at the end. We talk about applying Jesus' own words to a conversation, how to handle name-calling, embracing true but irrelevant objections, using better descriptor words than religious words, and the power of just saying, "So?".
Ep. 94 – Tactics – Inside Out
October 19, 2020 09:05 - 46 minutes - 42.7 MBIf (or since) the Christian message is true, there are certain outcomes that stem from that starting point. One of those is that all people have in them the Imago Dei or "Image of God" and are imbued with certain universals. It is one of the reasons presuppositionalists want to speak to that realization when talking with unbelievers. With this inside quality making its way outside in people's thinking and action, we can use this tactic to speak to that.
Ep. 93 – Tactics – Just The Facts, Ma’am
October 12, 2020 09:05 - 33 minutes - 31 MBBelieve it or not, sometimes Christians know what they're talking about. We cover the tactic to use and not to be a jerk about it. We also cover a few examples like responding to Christopher Hitchen's "God Is Not Great", Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code", abortion is murder, & Bible translation.
Ep. 92 – Tactics – Rhodes Scholar
October 04, 2020 09:05 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBA little longer episode today but one that is important. There are times when you, Average-Christian-Person have to respond to people who have "Dr." before their names, a bunch of letters after, and are called "scholars" and "experts". The question is, how do we respond to claims made by so-called scholars or true scholars that may speak out against Christian claims (or any claim really)? Well, here are a few ways we can.
Ep. 91 – Shea Houdmann Of GotQuestions.org Interview
September 28, 2020 09:05 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBWe are pleased to be joined by the creator and CEO of GotQuestions.org - Shea Houdmann! We talk about Shea's journey to create one of the best depositories of answers to Christian answers on the whole internet. We talk about what the work is like and how it's done. We also talk about the questions they get the most and the weirdest ones.
Ep. 90 – Tactics – Steamrollers
September 21, 2020 09:05 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBBecause we live in a lot of interactions online, we seem to be going away from the interaction types where you speak and I listen THEN I speak and you listen. In the day of response videos, reaction to only headlines, and wanting that "mic drop moment", we sometimes encounter people who want to steamroll the conversation. Here are some tactics on how to gracefully handle those moments.
Ep. 89 – Tactics – Taking The Roof Off
September 14, 2020 09:05 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBIn this section, we look at evaluating the lens through which people see the world - through their worldview. Greg Koukl suggests that we, for the sake of argument, adopt their worldview and see where it might take us. Evaluating worldviews is a staple of the presuppositions model and a strong tool in a dialogue between opposing worldviews.
Ep. 88 – Tactics – Sibling Rivalry & Infanticide
September 07, 2020 09:05 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBFor the third part of the tactic on identifying arguments that self-destruct, we look at two different ones. We look at arguments that when held up next to each other aren't allowed to exist at the same time and be consistent. The other is arguments who have an underlying assumption that knocks out the claim. We cover a few examples in there as well.
Ep. 87 – Tactics – Practical Self-Destruction
August 31, 2020 09:05 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBWe looked at when arguments fail because they contradict themselves. Now we look at when arguments don't formally contradict themselves but they still fail due to practical reasons. We have to remember, that the tactics here are to help engage in a dialogue and not used to make the other side feel like a failure. Our goal is to give the Good News, not to "win".
Ep. 86 – Tactics – Views That Self-Destruct
August 24, 2020 09:05 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBThe next tactic to use when talking to someone about your faith is one that we've seen in our previous book by Nancy Pearcey "Finding Truth". That is looking at what someone is saying and seeing if their own statement contradicts itself. Sometimes this is called the internal critique and if it contradicts itself it can be easily dismissed.
Ep. 85 – Tactics – Turnabout – Defending Against Columbo
August 17, 2020 09:05 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBSo now that we have all parts of the Columbo down, can it ever be used against us? Well, that's what we want! The tactics are there to have a good, helpful conversation! However, there are times when the third part - ask leading questions - are neither leading anywhere or actually legitimate questions. How do we combat that? Would you be surprised to learn - the Columbo tactic?!
Ep. 84 – Tactics – Columbo Steps 3 – Using Questions To Make A Point & Perfecting Columbo
August 10, 2020 09:05 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBCompleting the Columbo Tactic we see why it is such an important and versatile tactic. Now it's time to use it. What can we do before getting into conversations and after? What style of presentation should we take? Who is our real audience? All questions to ask and learn to ask now. The episode link is cavetothecross.com/ep84 Books mentioned in this episode: (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/2CZRs9s) (Audible - https://amzn.to/2ZGspjI) Subscribe on the following:
Ep. 83 – Tactics – Two Reliable Rescues
August 03, 2020 09:05 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBBefore getting to the third part of the Columbo tactic, Greg Koukl stops to inform us of two encounters we may have using the tactic. One encounter is with a surly professor who wants to decry Christianity but make you back up your side when you object. The other is the person who knows a lot more about the subject being discussed than you. Your hosts can relate to these encounters.
Ep. 82 – Columbo Steps 1 & 2 – Gathering Information & Reversing The Burden Of Proof
July 27, 2020 09:00 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBThe Columbo Tactic, as Greg Koukl presents it, is such an important one that we need to really break it down and understand it. This episode covers the first of three points to the tactic. To have a productive and enriched conversation asking two simple questions (for now) will really help out both sides.
Ep. 81 – Tactics – Getting Into The Driver’s Seat – The Columbo Tactic
July 20, 2020 09:05 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBWe introduced Greg Koukl's first tactic - the Columbo tactic. Deemed the queen move of all of them, this way of respectfully setting the tone and direction of your conversations about faith with others.
Ep. 80 – Tactics – Reservations
July 13, 2020 09:05 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBGreat! Now is the time to put on the boxing gloves and wail on some atheists by the power of God! Ya, not so much. Greg Koukl gives us a second part of the introduction where he lays out what the Christian means when we say "argument". We don't want to have a shouting match with someone we want to have a fruitful conversation. We also want to have a proper understanding of God's sovereignty and His role in salvation. Before we utilize our tactics, we need to have the crucified to Christ m...
Ep. 79 – Tactics – Diplomacy Of D-Day
July 06, 2020 09:00 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBWe start our new book! Tactics by Greg Koukl. We cover the introduction including what we'll learn from this book and the heart attitude the Christian should have when engaging people in conversation. We hope you enjoy this well-respected author and book. Follow along with us or just be a member of our book club.
Ep. 78 – Lydia McGrew Interview – Part 2
June 29, 2020 09:05 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBWe welcome Dr. Lydis McGrew to the show to talk about her two books, "Hidden in Plain View" and "The Mirror and the Mask". For this part, we cover Dr. McGrew's book about whether or not the Gospels are Literary Device or Historical Narrative. Literary devices are the theory that the Gospels are used by the authors to convey a message over being historically accurate. There's a lot to be said about this subject and a lot of controversy so we should approach this with balance and reading both s...
Ep. 77 – Lydia McGrew Interview – Part 1
June 22, 2020 09:05 - 39 minutes - 36.7 MBWe welcome Dr. Lydis McGrew to the show to talk about her two books, "Hidden in Plain View" and "The Mirror and the Mask". For part one we cover Dr. McGrew's first book about undesigned coincidences in the New Testament. Dr. McGrew and her husband, Dr. Tim McGrew are fellow Kalamazooians and we talk about her start into apologetic philosophy. She then explains how undesigned coincidences lend to the credibility of The Bible including the establishment of miracles. This really is a fascinat...
Ep. 76 – Finding Truth – How Critical Thinking Saves Faith
June 15, 2020 09:05 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBWe wrap up Professor Pearcey's book with a challenge to Christians and to the Church. That challenge is to stand firm on the Word of God as you say that you do, learn and use critical thinking skills that God encourages us to use, and to go into the world preaching the Good News of the Gospel.
Ep. 75 – Finding Truth – Free-Loading Atheists – Part 2
June 08, 2020 09:05 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBWe finish up Principle 5 by continuing to present examples of atheists freely admitting to stealing from Christianity's superior worldview. So much so that non-theists attempt to elbow into areas addressed previously by Christianity - including atheist churches. Along with a warning about scientism, Christians are encouraged to present the Gospel with love and respect.
Ep. 74 – Finding Truth – Free-Loading Atheists – Part 1
June 01, 2020 09:05 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBOnto Principle 5! We talk about how and why the Christian should present the Christian worldview as the superior and most consistent one. We then go over where the atheist(s) freely admit to stealing from the Christian worldview in order to come to the beliefs they want to rather than the outcomes their beliefs would demand.
Ep. 73 – Finding Truth – Why Worldviews Commit Suicide – Part 3
May 25, 2020 09:05 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBWe finish up the chapter by looking at how the postmodern worldview, and it's subsections, destroy themselves. We look at the Social Justice Movement, Critical Race Theory, and similar progressive stances actually fall apart of themselves. Finally, we look at how Christianity offers the better, consistent, and complete worldview. The episode link is www.cavetothecross.com/ep73 Books mentioned in this episode: Finding Truth by Nancy Pearcey (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/2RhsvtM) (Audible ...
Ep. 72 – Finding Truth – Why Worldviews Commit Suicide – Part 2
May 18, 2020 09:05 - 32 minutes - 30 MBWe continue our look at the internal critique of non-Christian worldviews and focus especially on Darwin. We also see what CS Lewis has to say about belief in atheism. Finally, we talk about the benefits of the Christian worldview and how it doesn't fail the internal critique.
Ep. 71 – Finding Truth – Why Worldviews Commit Suicide
May 11, 2020 08:38 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBPrinciple 4 - does the worldview meet its own standard when it is applied to itself? Since non-Christian worldviews tend to be reductionistic they will be self-defeating. In this episode, we introduce the principle and why it is one of the most important tools you have in your apologetic quiver.
Ep. 70 – What Does Romans 13 Mean? (Tulips & Honey)
May 04, 2020 09:05 - 59 minutes - 54.9 MBStrap in; we're talking about religion and politics today! Our friend, Lauren, from the Tulips & Honey Podcast interviews Patrick on how Christians should respond to government in light of Scripture. The launchpad for this is Romans 13. From there, they discuss what does Romans 13 actually mean; what should the Christian's response to the State and its overreach be; how should a Christian view the use of force against people and against government; and can one be a Christian and an anarchist?
Ep. 69 – Nancy Pearcey Interview
April 27, 2020 08:05 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBHow exciting is this?! We welcome Professor Nancy Pearcey herself to the show! We talk to her about her coming to faith in Christ and her experience at L'Abri with Francis Schaeffer. Then we talk about her book we've been going over "Finding Truth" and talk about the book in general and in specific.
Ep. 68 – Finding Truth – Secular Leaps Of Faith – Part 3
April 20, 2020 08:05 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBFinishing up the chapter, we look at the worldviews of postmodernists and its failure to account for what's seen in the exterior world. When failing to live consistently with the belief that everyone is a robot and no one should really be held accountable for their actions, we see many fall back to wanting to believe Christianity is true but believing that it accounts for the facts too well.
Ep. 67 – Finding Truth – Secular Leaps Of Faith – Part 2
April 13, 2020 08:05 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBHere we delve deeper into the secular materialist when it comes to failing to account for the things seen in the world. We see that they tend to make leaps of faith in their outlook that they can't back up. They then establish possible outcomes that are downright scary. To save them from immoral and asocietial stances, they adopted overriding beliefs wherein they act as if Christianity were true. The troubling and mystic beliefs of materialist show a flawed worldview that is unable to be grou...
Ep. 66 – Finding Truth – Secular Leaps Of Faith – Part 1
April 06, 2020 08:05 - 36 minutes - 33.9 MBPicking up on the third principle, we now look at how non-Christian worldviews don't explain what is seen in the world. With an idol replacing God, secular worldviews come upon truths in human nature or universal makeup or within the confines of experience that it must dismiss as an illusion or explain it away as not real. The quotes taken from leaders in the field are quite shocking and honest but necessarily follows from their basic outlook on the world.
Ep. 65 – Interview With A Pastor – Bret Laird
March 30, 2020 08:05 - 46 minutes - 42.7 MBTony and Patrick had the distinct pleasure of interviewing their pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo, MI; Pastor Bret Laird. Pastor Bret discusses why he decided to be a pastor as well as his time serving in Ukraine as a missionary pastor. Finally, we also talk about the state of the American church and the role of apologetics. Plus, a few book recommendations!
Ep. 64 – Finding Truth – How Nietzsche Wins – Part 4
March 23, 2020 08:05 - 34 minutes - 32 MBWe finish our look at how non-Christian worldviews reduce humanity by looking at four different worldviews. Looking at pantheism, Islam, Nazism, and communism shows that other worldviews need to cut off areas of humanity that they can't explain or that they must explain away.
Ep. 63 – Finding Truth – How Nietzsche Wins – Part 3
March 16, 2020 08:05 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBWho knew that a concept that doesn't believe in absolute truth would generate so much discussion? Last week we introduced postmodernism and this week we look at how it reduces human value. We also look at post-postmodernism and how Critical Race Theory, Social Justice, and Identity Politics is the new avenue of postmodern thought and how it still devalues humanity.
Ep. 62 – To Judge Or Not To Judge (Tulips & Honey)
March 09, 2020 08:05 - 1 hour - 98.2 MBPatrick had the pleasure of being a guest on the Tulips And Honey Podcast with Lauren and Becca. The trio discuss the appropriate way and place to respond to false teachers and heresies. They present the biblical definition of these theological words as well as the Scriptural basis where we see the writers of the New Testament encourage confronting false teachers and encouraging those newer to the faith to turn away from bad doctrine like the Word of Faith movement.
Ep. 61 – Finding Truth – How Nietzsche Wins – Part 2
March 02, 2020 09:05 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBWe continue the chapter discussing how materialism and post-modernism sets up a reductionist view of humanity. Materialism attempts to explain away consciousness and post-modernism attempts to spiritualize matter.
Ep. 60 – Finding Truth – How Nietzsche Wins – Part 1
February 24, 2020 09:05 - 36 minutes - 33.9 MBWe introduce the concept of the second of five parts in Pearcey's apologetic method. When people make idols they end up replacing God with a substitute. Another outcome is they reduce the proper view of man for something lesser. We should always have a proper Creator/creature distinction, but we should never devalue those made in the image of God.
Ep. 59 – Finding Truth – Twilight Of The Gods – Part 2
February 17, 2020 09:05 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBWe complete the section on identifying the idols different worldviews put in place of God. Whether it be Marxism, naturalism, idealism, romantism, or other religions - each one tries to replace God for another divine understanding.
Ep. 58 – Finding Truth – Twilight Of The Gods – Part 1
February 10, 2020 09:02 - 39 minutes - 36.5 MBWe begin looking at the first principle for evaluating worldviews - identify the idol the worldview tries to replace God with. Before looking at specific worldviews, we need to establish if there is any neutral ground, universality of worldviews, does every worldview count as a religion, and does every worldview have an understanding of something of the divine.
Ep. 57 – Finding Truth – I Lost My Faith At An Evangelical College – Part 2
February 03, 2020 09:05 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBWe complete the introduction of our new book "Finding Truth" by Nancy Pearcey. We look at how humans suppress the knowledge of God by creating idols and the consequences of following after those false gods. We then do an overview of the "5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes". Those five principles will be looked at in greater detail in episodes to come.
Ep. 56 – Finding Truth – I Lost My Faith At An Evangelical College – Part 1
January 27, 2020 09:05 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBWe begin our new book "Finding Truth" by Nancy Pearcey today! Covering the first part of Part 1, we talk about the purpose and goal of the book. Very important, right? We cover Pearcey's presentation that the Bible gives us revelation of God's existence and that everyone has evidence for His existence. Finally, we cover why not everyone believes even with the knowledge and evidence people have.
Ep. 55 – One Shot – Five Views On Apologetics & Faith Has Its Reasons
January 20, 2020 09:05 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBThis week's installment is "Five Views on Apologetics" by Gary Habermas, William Lane Craig, Paul D. Feinberg, Kelly James Clark, John M. Frame. This is a really interesting book in an interesting book series "Counterpoint Series". It brings five powerhouses of apologetics in conversation over what is the best way to do apologetics. Each person presents a positive case for their preferred way and the others respond in critique and then a final response from the original presenter. It is a...
Quick Questions with Patrick From Cave To The Cross Apologetics – Books – Hebrews – Evangelism – Video Games – & More
January 18, 2020 20:55 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MBJust a fun response video to our friends at the Tulips & Honey podcast. Patrick got called out to give some answers to questions he posed to the ladies. This doesn't need to be counted as a regular episode and we'll continue the normal Monday morning posts.
Ep. 54 – One Shot – Defending Inerrancy
January 13, 2020 09:05 - 21 minutes - 19.5 MBThis week's installment is "Defending Inerrancy" by Norman Geisler and William Roach. Their assertion is that belief in biblical inerrancy is one of the major factors of a seminary falling into liberalism. In this book, the authors present the Chicago Statement on biblical inerrancy. From there they respond to critical responses to it and positive cases for the doctrine.
Ep. 53 – One Shot – The Heresy of Orthodoxy
January 06, 2020 09:05 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBFor the first installment, we introduce to you "The Heresy Of Orthodoxy" by Michael J. Kruger & Andreas J. Köstenberger. If you've ever read or heard anyone reference Bart Ehrman and his take on where the New Testament came from you've interacted with the Walter Bauer theory that Ehrman adapts. The book attempts to refute the idea that at first there was what we now consider "heresy" and it only became "orthodoxy" after the might made it right.
Ep. 52 – J. Warner Wallace Interview – Part 2
December 30, 2019 10:05 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBIn this episode, we take a deeper look into Detective Wallace's process of establishing the Gospels as credible eye witness testimony. He then responds to how he deals with evaluating the possibility of supernatural causes in everyday life. We, of course, have to talk about how he responds to presuppositionalists and also the great case for morality Christians have. We finish up with a charge and challenge from Detective Wallace on always being ready to give a defense for the hope we have.
Ep. 51 – J. Warner Wallace Interview – Part 1
December 23, 2019 10:05 - 32 minutes - 30 MBIn this first part of the interview, we discuss what Detective Wallace's background is and what led him to start questioning the claims of Christianity. He talks about using his approach for looking at the veracity and claims of the biblical Gospels and how the Gospels differ from the Book Of Mormon. Finally, we discuss some responses from critics of the Gospels.
Ep. 50 – How To Be An Atheist – Ch.19 – What’s The Point Of It All
December 16, 2019 09:05 - 42 minutes - 39.9 MBThe final chapter of Dr. Mitch Stoke's book. We want to thank Dr. Stokes for his work and for coming on our show (Ep.33 & 34). We also want to thank you all for watching/listening and sharing the links to such an interesting subject. Stay tuned for more! We look at further implications of nihilism. If all life is pain, why not just end it now? What is an atheist to do with living nihilisticly? And of course, we cover the Christian theist response and the better explanation to the concept of ...