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This podcasts explores apologetics and evangelism in practical terms in short form episodes. It is aimed at the ordinary Christian who wants to effectively reach unbelievers in an indirect, conversational and relational manner. The podcast is led by Dr. Mark Farnham (PhD, Westminster), the Founder and Director of Apologetics for the Church, a local church training ministry. Mark is also Director of the Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics at Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary in Lancaster, PA.
56 Episodes
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If asked to share what you believe as a Christian in contrast to other religions, could you answer clearly and confidently? In this episode, Mark interviews Jeff after he appeared on a religion panel at a local university. Jeff shares how he answered the questions in contrast to the other religious representatives and provides some interesting stories from the interaction. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Do you ever find yourself wondering where to go next in a gospel encounter when the conversation starts to drag? Mark and Jeff suggest five lines of questions that will give you ideas of what to ask next when you don’t know what else to say. Everyone wrestles with these questions, so they can be used with any person you are engaging in conversation. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Many people try to evangelize by spitting out a scripted explanation of the gospel. As a result, the unbeliever often feels like he is being given a pitch for Jesus, something he did not ask for or want. In this episode, Mark and Jeff explain the value of taking the time to listen to and understand the unbeliever’s worldview so you can tailor your gospel presentation to the person’s specific questions and objections. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my web...
Many Christians learned to present the gospel as a “decision” to be made or think of it in terms of “committing one’s life to Christ” or “surrendering to Christ.” In this episode, Mark and Jeff emphasize the need to use biblical language and concepts of repentance and faith to avoid confusion and to make it clear what we invite the unbeliever to do to be saved. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Confidence in your ability to share and defend the faith is like a helium balloon. When you are at an apologetics conference or reading a helpful book on apologetics, your confidence is like a newly filled helium balloon. A few days or weeks later, however, you often find that your confidence has leaked and it lies lifeless on the floor like a deflated balloon. In this episode, Mark Farnham shares ways to prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to always be ready to give an an...
The new release of Mark’s book, Every Believer Confident, offers an opportunity to learn anew the basic, accessible way of engaging unbelievers with the gospel. Mark and Jeff discuss the new chapter and the new features of case studies and study questions in each chapter. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
A common accusation against the Christian faith is the hypocrisy of Christians.. How do we handle that? In this episode, Mark and Jeff review ways to respond to this charge by asking for a definition, showing that hypocrisy is a human trait, and calling all believers to a life of integrity and consistency. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Once you learn to engage unbelievers effectively with the gospel, how do you keep growing in your abilities? Mark and Jeff discuss some simple ideas, such as reading through the entire Bible, reading commentaries to deepen our understanding of the Scriptures, and more. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Many Christians feel at a loss to know how best to start a spiritual conversation with those who don’t believe in God, either overt atheists or someone who simply has no beliefs about God. This will provide some helpful resources for effective gospel conversations. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Don’t miss the big ethics conference on February 22 in Allentown, PA. We will address a number of critical issues of our day from a Christian perspective, including the sanctity of life, technology, gender and sexuality, abortion, and reproductive technology. Go to https://cedarcrest.church/ethicscon2025/ for more details. Hurry, seating is limited! Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
A key to effective engagement with unbelievers is simply to start conversations. Becoming a good conversationalist is possible for anyone, regardless of their personality. In this episode, Mark shares some basics about having good conversations and turning them to spiritual topics to open the door for sharing the gospel. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
When we look around the world and see wars, genocide, human trafficking, and modern-day slavery, we have to ask, How can an all-loving, all-powerful God exist? Christians claim that God loves the world, so why is it in such a mess? Who among us has not cried out to God in grief, fear, and desperation? Does God care, and when will he do something about evil and suffering? Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
What is Apologetics? Is it only for pastors and professors, or is every Christian called to practice apologetics? Is it primarily about confrontations or conversations? Is the concept even in the Bible? Why can’t we just evangelize and skip the apologetics part? In this episode, Mark and Jeff lay the foundation of the basics of apologetics. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
The infiltration of the West and the Church by Eastern religion, the New Age, neo-paganism, and earth religions is rooted in a foundational error of the “oneness of all things.” In this episode, Mark and Jeff get to the heart of these errors and show how the Creator-Creature Distinction corrects our thinking and allows us to remain in truth as we worship God. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
It has been widely observed that the New Age and Eastern religious thought have infiltrated the West for many years through practices like Yoga and the promise of making all things “one.” In this episode, Mark and Jeff explore how this has happened and how the Church has been subverted through seemingly innocent practices. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Some Christians struggle with the idea of apologetics and may see it as something too difficult for them, or even unspiritual. Jeff and Mark answer those objections and show how apologetics can help every Christian in their proclamation of the gospel. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
How do you become skilled at starting conversations that lead to the gospel? That is the single greatest challenge for most Christians who want to share the gospel. In this episode, Mark and Jeff talk about ways to become more natural conversationalists for the sake of gospel witness. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Many people have a vague or mistaken idea of what Christianity is all about. In addition, even Christians have a hard time articulating the gospel clearly. This episode nuggets to the heart of each so we can more effectively share the gospel and compel people to believe the Christian faith in all its glory. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
How can a church begin to create a culture where gospel conversations with the lost are normal? How does a church move beyond an inward focus on discipleship to add an outward focus on reaching the lost? Mark and Jeff discuss some philosophical keys and some practical steps that can be taken to help a church cultivate gospel engagement among its members. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Mark and Jeff share their origin stories as apologists. For both of us, it began with our inability to answer objections and questions from non-believers. Our hope is that you will be encouraged that you, too, can engage anyone you meet with the gospel and do it well. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Learning that true salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit and not something we can accomplish through our own ability or charm is freeing. If the Holy Spirit is the one who convinces of guilt and opens eyes to see Christ as the only Savior, then I can confidently share the good news of Jesus with whomever I meet. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Jeff and Mark resume their list of reasons why Christians believe in the deity of Jesus. They demonstrate that the only way to reject Jesus’ deity is to ignore or reject the testimony of Scripture, which affirms again and again that Jesus is fully divine. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Jews, and skeptics all share in common a rejection of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Some Christians are surprised to learn that nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus say these three words: “I am God.” In this episode Mark and Jeff explain why that is and the overwhelming evidence from Scripture that Jesus is fully divine, equal in essence to the Father and Spirit. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: http...
Mark and Jeff continue their discussion of deconstruction and the need for Christians to be grounded in their faith. They also talk about the difference between questions that search for answers and those that are seeking an exit from the faith. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Mark and Jeff introduce the topic of deconstruction and talk about a recent New York Times article recounting one couple’s deconstruction from Christianity that began with a rejection of God’s law regarding sexual fidelity. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
For many years I believed (because I was taught this, either overtly or by implication) that the most important thing a Christian and a church could do is to reach the lost with the gospel. Everything else paled in comparison and was secondary to the reason God left believers on earth after their salvation. Only when I rejected this idea did I begin to witness to unbelievers with more confidence and frequency. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at...
The most common approach to apologetics is the evidentialist approach, which argues that what the unbeliever needs most is evidence of the truth of Christianity. Once there is enough evidence, belief is sure to follow. By looking at the case of Eve in the Garden of Eden, we can see that there is a more fundamental problem–our rebellion against God. Even when we have all the evidence we could want, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, genuine belief will not happen. Want to reach out, ask a...
Can we get past the taboo of talking about religion and politics to share Christ? Mark's guest, Zack Armstrong, presents some practical ideas for encouraging people to talk about spiritual matters. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Have you ever wondered if the Christian faith can hold up to the scrutiny of leading scholarship? In today's episode, we will explore how Christianity is both personally edifying AND intellectually satisfying. Christianity can hold its own in the world of scholarship and you can be confident that your faith is grounded in good truth. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Have you every wanted to start a conversation with someone about the gospel but didn't know how? Today we will go over some simple and practical skills you can use to start engaging the unbelievers in your life with the gospel. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
So you have begun to make efforts to talk with your unsaved neighbors, friends, coworkers, family, and classmates about spiritual matters. You've asked some strategic questions and conversations are going further than they ever have before. What next? This episode moves beyond questions to understanding as fully as possible what the other person believes, and in the process, continues the conversation on toward the gospel. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit ...
Does asking strategic questions really work when engaging unbelievers in conversation about spiritual matters? Yes! In this episode we explore three powerful effects well-asked strategic questions can have in a conversation about the gospel. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
What do you do if you don't know how to answer an objection to the Christian faith? Many people freeze and walk away or alternately abandon reason and claim to simply believe "by faith," by which they mean apart from reason. What they don't often consider is a question to challenge the objection. Since most objections to the Christian faith are based on false or unproven assumptions, a good question can reveal the weakness of the objection. This episode explores the way Christians can use str...
Have you ever been talking with an unbeliever, and you find yourself trying to figure out how to steer the conversation toward spiritual matters so you can share the gospel with her? Sometimes that transition is the hardest part about sharing the good news. In this episode we explore ways to turn the conversation toward spiritual matters naturally and effectively. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Now that we have learned the basics of apologetics and have understood what is going on in the heart of unbelievers, how do we effectively engage them with the gospel? How do we practically challenge unbelief and defend the faith while sharing it in a winsome and persuasive fashion? This episode shares the story of my first attempt to utilize apologetics and how powerful it proved to be. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsfo...
When unbelievers suppress the truth long enough and with great enough insistence, God hands them over to be enslaved to their desires. The freedom from God they demanded becomes slavery to sin. This episode explores how people who suppress the truth of God become slaves to their desires. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
If every person knows God and truth about him, as Romans 1 says, why do so many either deny the existence of God or believe things about God that are not true? The answer is found in the human ability to make a mental and spiritual exchange of the truth for a lie. In this episode we look at the common tendency of people who know the truth of God to reject it in favor of falsehood. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechu...
When a person rejects God to worship something else, that thing will be at best a dull reflection of the full glory of God for which we were made, and at best, a twisted and distorted substitute. God wants us to worship him in truth, but if we will not, then a created thing, like us, will be our master. This episode explores the way unbelievers would rather have something that is merely created than having the Creator himself. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Vi...
The atheist writer, David Foster Wallace said, "There is no such thing as atheism because everybody worships something. You can't not worship." When a person. suppresses the truth of God, he doesn't worship nothing, he just worships something else. In this episode we explore the way suppressing the truth of God leads inevitably to idolatry. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Why do those who suppress the truth of God think that they are rational and that those who believe in God through Christ are irrational? The fundamental problem is that the unbeliever makes reason his god and source of authority, when reason was never meant to be such. Rather, reason is a tool given by God to rightly know what he has revealed. In this episode, we explore the ways that unbelievers become irrational when they reject the truth of God. Want to reach out, ask a question, or reques...
Every unbeliever suppresses the knowledge of God in one way or another to one degree or another. Suppression has devastating consequences to the heart and mind. By denying the truth they know, unbelievers seriously injure their ability to see the truth clearly. In this episode we explore the first consequence of suppressing the knowledge of God: self-deception. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
1Have someone ever asked you to prove God's existence? Or maybe they have issued a challenge: prove God exists and I will believe in him! What do you say? What can you say? In this episode we examine the challenge of proving God's existence and how best to answer it. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Why don't many people give themselves any time to face the pain of life or the guilt in their hearts? It is simply too painful. As a result, many fill their lives with distractions or dull the pain in their hearts with addictive substances. Others simply deny that there is any evidence for God. This episode explores three ways people suppress the truth of their guilt before a holy God. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsfort...
One of the most common objections raised against the Christian faith is the existence of so many religions in the world. How can Jesus be the only way when there are so many other religions that people sincerely follow? Where did all these religions come from anyway? This episode shows that one of the ways unbelievers suppress the truth of God they know is to create or turn to other religions. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologe...
The thought of having to prove God exists keeps many people from engaging in evangelism, as this objection is a favorite tactic of skeptics. But it doesn't need to be. In Romans 1:18-32 God shows us what is happening in the heart and mind of every unbeliever. When we come to see that the unbeliever already knows God and some things about him, it will relieve our stress about engaging him with the gospel. This episode begins to unpack the truth of Romans 1 that every unbeliever already knows G...
Some people are turned off to apologetics because they don't like to argue with others. They imagine that if we engage people with the gospel, we will necessarily have to be antagonistic and contentious. In reality, apologetics presents arguments for the truth without becoming argumentative. In this episode we look at the difference between arguing for the truth and being argumentative. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsfor...
It would be easy to gain so much confidence in our ability to defend and share the faith that we forget that the Holy Spirit is the only one who can regenerate a lost soul. So what part does the Holy Spirit play in apologetics and evangelism? And how does prayer fit into that equation? Good questions! In this episode we explore the roles of the Holy Spirit and prayer in the task of apologetics. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apolog...
Some people resist the idea of apologetics because they do not believe it appears in the Bible. Since the fall of man into sin, however, God has been defending his glory and he calls his followers to defend it also. In this episode we explore the biblical warrant for doing apologetics to expose unbelief and answer objections. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: https://apologeticsforthechurch.org/
Many people are intimidated by apologetics because what they have heard of it requires learning massive amounts of very intellectual arguments that include philosophy and scientific design. While academic apologetics has its place, the average Christian will not be able to fulfill the command to always be ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15) this way. This episode explores the idea of a more practical way to do apologetics--the presuppositional way. Want to reach out, ask a question, or req...
The number of Christians that know what the word apologetics means is growing, thanks primarily to technology. But many don't understand that there are different approaches to defending your faith. While some of these approaches overlap, some have important distinctions that affect the way we should defend and commend the faith. This episode explores the differences between various approaches to apologetics. Want to reach out, ask a question, or request a speaking event? Visit my website at: ...
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