Practical Apologetics: Clear Answers for the Everyday Christian

In Episode 27, we established that the unborn is biologically human and alive.But that still leaves another question:Does being biologically human and alive make the unborn a person with the same basic right to life as you and me?In Episode 28 of Practical Apologetics, we look at the philosophical question of personhood.Using Scott Klusendorf’s SLED argument, we examine whether size, level of development, environment, or degree of dependency are enough to justify treating one human being as less valuable than another.We also look at what happens when human value becomes conditional on traits like intelligence, independence, health, usefulness, wantedness, or convenience.That takes us into some difficult historical and modern examples, including eugenics, Nazi Germany’s Aktion T4 program, and concerns surrounding Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying system.The question underneath all of it is simple:If some human beings get to decide which other human beings count as persons, who draws the line?Sources:The Case for Life by Scott KlusendorfAbortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue by R. C. SproulUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Euthanasia Program and Aktion T4”Health Canada, Sixth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in CanadaCanadian Human Rights Commission, What We Learned: Housing for People with DisabilitiesSupport Practical Apologetics:https://ko-fi.com/practicalapologeticsRead more from Practical Apologetics:https://practicalapologetics.substack.com/

Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in our culture. But before we ask whether abortion is right or wrong, whether it should be legal, or even what the Bible says about it, there’s a more basic question:What exactly is being aborted?In the first episode of a four-part series on abortion and the Christian worldview, we begin with science rather than Scripture.When does a new human organism begin? Is an embryo really “just a clump of cells”? Is the unborn simply part of the mother’s body? And do implantation, cardiac activity, brain development, viability, or birth determine when human life begins?We’ll look at mainstream medical embryology and the Carnegie stages of human development to separate the biological question from the moral and philosophical questions that will follow later in the series.Science can tell us what the unborn is. But can science tell us what the unborn is worth?That’s where the next episode begins.Sources:The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology by Keith L. Moore, T. V. N. Persaud, and Mark G. TorchiaLangman’s Medical Embryology by T. W. SadlerCarnegie Stages of Human Embryonic DevelopmentThe Case for Life by Scott KlusendorfSupport Practical Apologetics:https://ko-fi.com/practicalapologeticsRead more from Practical Apologetics:https://practicalapologetics.substack.com/

The Bible clearly says Jesus drank wine. But was that wine actually alcoholic, or was it more like grape juice?In this episode of Practical Apologetics, we look at what Scripture says about wine, the wedding at Cana, the difference between drunkenness and drinking, and the common claim that biblical wine was nonalcoholic.We also trace how the nineteenth-century temperance movement helped popularize the idea of “two wines” in Scripture and how that belief became a piece of Christian folk theology still repeated today.This episode is not an argument that Christians should drink alcohol. It is an argument that we should practice exegesis rather than eisegesis and let Scripture say what it actually says.Scripture discussed:John 2:1–11Luke 7:33–34Ephesians 5:181 Timothy 5:23Psalm 104:14–15Proverbs 20:1Proverbs 23:29–35Sources:John Anthony Dunne, The Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine: A Biblical Theology of AlcoholChristopher C. H. Cook, Alcohol, Addiction and Christian EthicsJohn L. Merrill, “The Bible and the American Temperance Movement: Text, Context, and Pretext,” Harvard Theological ReviewRead more from Practical Apologetics:https://practicalapologetics.substack.com/Support the ministry:https://ko-fi.com/practicalapologeticsPractical Apologetics will always be free. But if this content has helped you and you'd like to support the work, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

What is faith? Is it believing something without evidence, or does the Bible give us a very different picture?In this episode of Practical Apologetics, we look at what Scripture actually means by faith. Using Abraham as our primary example, we examine the difference between just believing something is true and actually placing our trust in God.Abraham and Sarah had tried and failed to have children. Sarah was barren, they were growing old, and yet God promised Abraham a son. Abraham couldn't see how God would fulfill that promise, but he trusted the One Who made it.We'll look at Abraham's struggles, God's command to sacrifice Isaac, what Hebrews means by “the conviction of things not seen,” and Thomas's demand for evidence after the resurrection. We'll also consider insights from William Lane Craig and C. S. Lewis as we examine the relationship between faith, reason, and evidence.Faith isn't believing without evidence. It's trusting where the evidence leads.Scripture Referenced:Genesis 15–16; Genesis 22; Romans 4; Hebrews 11; James 2; John 20Sources:The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV)William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and ApologeticsC. S. Lewis, Mere ChristianityRead more from Practical Apologetics:https://practicalapologetics.substack.com/Support the ministry:https://ko-fi.com/practicalapologeticsPractical Apologetics will always be free. But if this content has helped you and you'd like to support the work, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

What does it actually mean to repent? Is repentance just feeling guilty or sorry for our sin, or does the Bible describe something more?In this episode of Practical Apologetics, we look at the biblical meaning of repentance and why Scripture distinguishes genuine repentance from remorse. We examine what it means to turn away from sin and toward Jesus Christ, why repentance does not mean earning salvation or achieving sinless perfection, and the important difference between struggling with sin and defending it.Biblical repentance is more than looking back at our sin and wishing we had done something differently. It is a genuine change of mind and direction, turning away from sin and toward Christ.Sources referenced in this episode:The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthurChosen But Free by Norman GeislerScripture References:Matthew 3:8, Matthew 27:3-5, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 5:31-32, Luke 13:3, Luke 22:62, John 21, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, Acts 11:18, Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Corinthians 7:10, 1 John 1:8-9Read more from Practical Apologetics:https://practicalapologetics.substack.com/Support the ministry:https://ko-fi.com/practicalapologeticsPractical Apologetics will always be free. But if this content has helped you and you'd like to support the work, your generosity is greatly appreciated.