Sample Lesson From Defending the Faith Vol 2- Lesson 75: Was There A Global Flood?

                                             Lesson 75 – Was there a global flood?

Good day. Continuing our topics from Genesis and Hugh Ross’s books, let’s review
whether there could have been a global flood as the Bible seems to document.

Let’s pray.
Lord, thank you for how you bless us all each day. I pray that everyone who needs to
hear this message will find it and that it will lead them to the truth and a deep belief in you
that they can maintain for life. Lord, some say that the Bible’s claim of a global flood does
not match up with the science and they believe the Bible is wrong. Help us to evaluate this
claim and scripture and determine how it can be reconciled so we can reach those for
Christ that do not trust your Word. Lord, bless this lesson and speak your words through
me that you want everyone to hear. Amen.

It is interesting that other than a chapter or two here and there in many books, I’ve seen
no definitive work on the topic of a possible worldwide flood that led Noah to build the ark. My dear friend Ben Smith had such work planned and was in the early research phase when he unexpectedly passed on a few years ago.

The debate again has a science component, as scientists claim there is not enough water in the world to account for a one-time global flood. Many Christians and theologians believe the Bible clearly says it was global. We have here again the potential of a conflict. We know that God’s truth in scripture cannot contradict His truth in nature, so eitherscience is wrong (what many Christians claim) or scripture is misunderstood, or perhaps some of
both. Let’s dive in. Nearly every society has stories of a devastating flood long ago. Whether it was global, local, regional or what we might describe as worldwide is really the question.

A good bit of the investigation centers around the possibility from science but also the
interpretive translation of phrases such as “under the entire heavens” or “every living thing
on the face of the earth” and even “the highest mountains”. Hugh Ross and others make
the point that there is a difference between a “global” event and a “worldwide” event. The
former means across the globe and the latter means in its effect on all of humanity, wherever
they existed at the time. Ross reasons for this partly based on other sort of exaggerated
descriptive uses in the OT.

In the story of Joseph, the famine was over the entire face of the earth. This was clearly
a metaphor, as perhaps other descriptions just mentioned may have been. Using relative
perspective, if all of humanity is confined to the Middle East area at that time, certainly not
in Antarctica or the Western Hemisphere at that time, perhaps the flood was worldwide (in
respect to humanity) but not global. In other words, it covered the entire know humanity in
the world, but that was only the Mesopotamian area, or Middle East, at that time. Does
scripture allow for this distinction? Perhaps so.

The Hebrew for ‘highest mountains’ can also refer to hills and so anything higher than
the plain could be indicated.

Another misunderstanding is the belief that the Ark eventually came to rest on Mount
Ararat after the flood receded. But the Bible says the mountains of Ararat, not Mount
Ararat. That area includes a huge geography and includes everything from hills to tall
mountains. This may also indicate that when flood waters reached the highest mountains it
may refer to areas not necessarily the tallest mountains such as Mount Everest.

As for the science part, scientists tell us the water available in our world from seas,
oceans, rivers, lakes, etc. is totally insufficient to believe there was a global flood that
covered the world up to the tips of the highest mountains at 38,000 feet, for example,
throughout the world. But the Bible tells us a great source came from underground springs
that burst forth, now called aquifers, so there is a reconciliation of that as well.

From geology and the study of how the continents were formed from plate tectonics
below the earth’s crust, we know that such movements take thousands and millions of
years. A global flood event would create massive tectonic disruptions and could not have
taken place in just a year without evidence left to discover.

A completely global flood would also mean that all land animals alive today came from
the pairs from the ark. This is strongly disputed by scientists through fossil evidence.

Once again, we have an interesting debate. But it is not critical to salvation or Bible
inerrancy and should be dealt with grace to the other party’s view until we know the real
answer one day in heaven. Until then, we can be assured that God’s truth in scripture and
God’s truth in nature will never contradict.

Take care, my friends.

Sample Lesson From Defending the Faith Vol 2- Lesson 60: Was It Really Three Days in the Tomb Until Jesus Rose?

Lesson 60 – Was it really three days in the tomb until Jesus rose?

Welcome back. Today’s lesson will be short. We need to address a criticism about the empty tomb in the form of the question, was it really three days in the tomb until Jesus rose?

Let’s pray.
Lord, thank you for how you bless us all each day. I pray that everyone who needs to
hear this message will find it and that it will lead them to the truth and a deep belief in you
that they can maintain for life. Lord, some people claim the Bible is wrong to claim three
days from the Lord’s crucifixion to Resurrection. Help us to understand this concern and
how to explain to help others find you. Lord, bless this lesson and speak your words through
me that you want everyone to hear. Amen.

Most scholars agree that Jesus was on the cross on a Friday until late afternoon. He was
placed in the tomb on Friday evening. He was resurrected and gone early Sunday morning
when the women visited the tomb, but it was empty.

In Christian studies and knowledge, everyone says that it was three days before Jesus
rose. Now critics wish to deny this claim by saying it is not three days between Friday
evening and early Sunday morning. It’s a question worth a response.

They are right in saying it is not three 24-hour periods from Friday evening to early
Sunday morning. It is barely two of those periods. We do call those days, so it was not three
literal days as we think of them.

But, as mentioned in another lesson, the word day has multiple meanings, in Hebrew, in
Greek and even in English. Jesus was in the tomb for parts of three days: Friday, Saturday
and early Sunday. So, it is easy to explain. Have you ever said something like, I spent all
day relaxing? Do you mean 24 hours or part of that day?

Now, what is the significance that it was three days? First, among Jews at the time, they
believed that the soul remained with the body for three days after death. If He had raised
sooner, people would have been suspicious, and enemies might claim He had not really died.

Then, of course there is prophecy. Jesus Himself predicted He would be in the ground
for three days. And Paul in the NT claims Jesus rose on the third day according to the
scriptures. He was probably referring to Hosea. In Hosea 6:1-3, it says about the Messiah
that “…after three days He will restore us.”

Until next time friends.

Table of Contents from Defending the Faith Vol 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lesson 53A …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Lesson 53 – Who is Jesus?…………………………………………………………………………………….11
Lesson 54 – Did Jesus really die on the cross?……………………………………………………….. 14
Lesson 55 – Did Jesus claim to be God? ……………………………………………………………….. 18
Lesson 56 – Are there prophecies that show Jesus is the Messiah?……………………………. 21
Lesson 57 – Is the Trinity irrational? …………………………………………………………………….. 23
Lesson 58 – Could Jesus be tempted?……………………………………………………………………. 26
Lesson 59 – Was Jesus Resurrected? …………………………………………………………………….. 29
Lesson 60 – Was it really three days in the tomb until Jesus rose? ……………………………. 32
Lesson 61 – Was Jesus resurrected in body or spirit?………………………………………………. 33
Lesson 62 – Could other religions be true – Islam? …………………………………………………. 34
Lesson 63 – Could other religions be true – Hinduism and Buddhism? …………………….. 40
Lesson 64 – Could other religions be true – Judaism? …………………………………………….. 43
Lesson 65 – Could other religions be true – Mormonism?……………………………………….. 47
Lesson 66 – Could other religions be true – Jehovah’s Witnesses?……………………………. 53
Lesson 67 – Could other religions be true – New Age and Scientology?……………………. 56
Lesson 68 – Is apologetics evangelism? ………………………………………………………………… 59
Lesson 69 – Tactics; how to outreach and evangelize ……………………………………………… 62
Lesson 70 – What about those who do not hear the gospel? …………………………………….. 65
Lesson 71 – Does the scientific age of the earth disprove the Bible?…………………………. 69
Lesson 72 – What are the key events to occur in Revelation?…………………………………… 73
Lesson 72 – Where did all the people come from after Adam?…………………………………. 76
Lesson 74 – Did people really live over 900 years old in the Bible? …………………………. 78
Lesson 75 – Was there a global flood?…………………………………………………………………… 82
Lesson 76 – How did all the animals fit on the ark?………………………………………………… 84
Lesson 77 – Debating atheists………………………………………………………………………………. 86
Lesson 78 – Other top tough questions………………………………………………………………….. 89

Lesson 79 – Top criticisms of Christianity …………………………………………………………….. 93
Lesson 80 – Could the Shroud of Turin be the burial cloth of Jesus? ………………………… 96
Lesson 81 – Top logical fallacies………………………………………………………………………… 104
Lesson 82 – What is the difference between body, soul and spirit? …………………………. 107
Lesson 83 – Is our mind part of our brain?…………………………………………………………….110
Lesson 84 – Is hell eternal punishment? ………………………………………………………………..113
Lesson 85 – Cultural issues – Is homosexuality a sin?…………………………………………….115
Lesson 86 – Cultural issues – Is abortion a sin? ……………………………………………………..119
Lesson 87 – Cultural issues – Are there more than two genders? ……………………………. 124
Lesson 88 – Cultural issues – Is same sex marriage Biblical? ………………………………… 130
Lesson 89 – Is it wrong to judge? ……………………………………………………………………….. 133
Lesson 90 – Are Christians bigots and narrow-minded and worse?…………………………. 135
Lesson 91 – Why does God not reveal Himself to us today? ………………………………….. 137
Lesson 92 – Let’s talk about prayer…………………………………………………………………….. 139
Lesson 93 – The never-ending cycle of the OT and today ……………………………………… 143
Lesson 94 – What is the one world religion in Revelation? ……………………………………. 146
Lesson 95 – What does it mean we are created in God’s image? …………………………….. 149
Lesson 96 – What if we are not comfortable with evangelism? ………………………………. 151
Lesson 97 – Which Bible characters should be role models?………………………………….. 153
Lesson 98 – Is God no different than the Greek gods and fairies and leprechauns? …… 155
Lesson 99 – Are you a good person? …………………………………………………………………… 157
Lesson 100 – Do the two genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke contradict?……… 159
Lesson 101 – Dating Jesus…………………………………………………………………………………. 161
Lesson 102 – Does quantum mechanics show the universe may have popped into
existence?………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 163
Lesson 103 – Summary of arguments for God’s existence……………………………………… 166
Lesson 104 – Defending the Faith summary lesson ………………………………………………. 170

Table of Contents from Defending the Faith Vol 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction – Defending the Faith…………………………………………………………………………. 1
Lesson 1 – Blind Faith ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Lesson 2 – Is Our Faith Irrational? ……………………………………………………………………….. 10
Lesson 3 – Is Science the Only Way to Know Things?……………………………………………. 12
Lesson 4 – Do Christians Use Circular Reasoning? ………………………………………………… 15
Lesson 5 – Do Science and Faith Contradict? ………………………………………………………… 18
Lesson 6 – What is Apologetics? Is it Biblical? Is Christianity Declining?………………… 21
Lesson 7 – Worldviews ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 25
Lesson 8 – What is Truth? …………………………………………………………………………………… 28
Lesson 9 – The Law of Noncontradiction………………………………………………………………. 32
Lesson 10 – Could Relativism Be True? ……………………………………………………………….. 34
Lesson 11 – Are there Any Absolutes?………………………………………………………………….. 36
Lesson 12 – Proof vs. Evidence……………………………………………………………………………. 38
Lesson 13 – Could All Religions Be True? ……………………………………………………………. 40
Lesson 14 – Creation of the Universe……………………………………………………………………. 43
Lesson 15 – Did the Universe Have a Beginning? ………………………………………………….. 47
Lesson 16 – Creation of First Life ………………………………………………………………………… 50
Lesson 17 – Fine Tuning of the Universe………………………………………………………………. 54
Lesson 18 – The Ontological Argument………………………………………………………………… 57
Lesson 19 – Does the Big Bang Theory Disprove God? ………………………………………….. 59
Lesson 20 – The Moral Argument………………………………………………………………………… 61
Lesson 21 – Are Miracles Possible? ……………………………………………………………………… 64
Lesson 22 – Who Made God?………………………………………………………………………………. 66
Lesson 23 – What Is God Like?……………………………………………………………………………. 68
Lesson 24 – Does God Have Middle Knowledge?………………………………………………….. 70
Lesson 25 – Is Evolution True? ……………………………………………………………………………. 73
Lesson 26 – Are We Descended from Apes? …………………………………………………………. 77

Lesson 27 – Thoughts about WLC’s New Book …………………………………………………….. 80
Lesson 28 – What Is Time? …………………………………………………………………………………. 84
Lesson 29 – Does the Multiverse Explain Fine Tuning?………………………………………….. 87
Lesson 30 – Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering? ………………………………………….. 89
Lesson 31 – How is God in Control but We Have Free Will? ………………………………….. 93
Lesson 32 – Could Atheism Be True? …………………………………………………………………… 95
Lesson 33 – Recommended Reading…………………………………………………………………….. 97
Lesson 34 – How Do We Know the Bible is Reliable?……………………………………………. 99
Lesson 35 – Is It True We Have no Original Bible or Any of the Books?………………… 101
Lesson 36 – Is the Bible Myth and Legend and Written 300 Years after Jesus? ……….. 104
Lesson 37 – Does the Bible Have Hundreds of Thousands of Errors?……………………… 107
Lesson 38 – Do Scribal Edits Show the Bible Is Corrupt? ……………………………………… 110
Lesson 39 – Did We Leave Out Some Books from the Bible? ……………………………….. 112
Lesson 40 – Why All the Different Bible versions? ………………………………………………. 114
Lesson 41 – Is the Bible Inerrant? ………………………………………………………………………. 117
Lesson 42 – How Do We Know What They Wrote Is True? ………………………………….. 118
Lesson 43 – Should We Believe All the Stories in the Bible?…………………………………. 121
Lesson 44 – Does Prophecy Show the Bible Is True? ……………………………………………. 125
Lesson 45 – The Amazing Prophecy of Daniel …………………………………………………….. 127
Lesson 46 – Does the Canaanite Destruction Show God Is Evil? ……………………………. 129
Lesson 47 – Were the Exodus and Red Sea Parting Real Events? …………………………… 132
Lesson 48 – Are there Gospel Contradictions?……………………………………………………… 134
Lesson 49 – Is It Fair for God to Send People to Hell? ………………………………………….. 136
Lesson 50 – What Is the One Unforgiveable Sin?…………………………………………………. 139
Lesson 51 – How Are We Saved? ………………………………………………………………………. 141
Lesson 52 – Can We Lose Our Salvation? …………………………………………………………… 145

Sample Lesson from Defending the Faith Vol 1- Lesson 12: Proof vs. Evidence

Lesson 12 – Proof vs. Evidence

Are you enjoying the topics, learning, and excited to learn more? I truly hope so. Let’s
go. In this discussion, we will explore the concepts of proof and evidence.

Let’s pray.
Lord, thank you for everything you do for us and all our blessings. I pray that all those
who need to hear this message will find the truth, believe in you, and maintain that belief
for life. For those who do not know you yet Lord, I pray that you will open their eyes and
influence them to become seekers and find the Holy Spirit. Help us to understand what the
real burden of proof is to believe in something, and how to make reasonable conclusions
that properly inform our belief system. Please bless this lesson and let your words speak
through me that everyone needs to hear. Amen.

Often in my discussions with nonbelievers, I hear them say, well you don’t have any
proof that God exists or that Christianity is true. In most cases, they are trying to say that
certainty is a requirement for belief in something. It may be a means to refute Christianity
and God or at least an attempt to silence us. If you do not know how to address the concept of proof, you could be defenseless against the charge.

I’m sure that they know that if by proof they mean certainty, that is too high a burden to
defend a concept, fact, or belief. By claiming we have no proof of God, it can be an attempt
to stop us in our tracks. No matter what we say, they can say that is not proof. It may be a
tactic to allow them to continue to willfully deny God. Sometimes, more recently, you may
hear that extreme claims require extreme evidence. But why would that be? It is likely just
another attempt to make our defense more difficult and easier for them to say it is not
enough for belief. Many scientific claims such as black holes and imaginary time and the
multiverse are very extreme claims yet lack extreme evidence. Sufficient evidence is the
only burden to believe in something. There are very few beliefs or facts that have absolute
certainty.

Let’s further examine these ideas of proof and evidence.

The dictionary.com definition of proof is “evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true,
or to produce belief in its truth.” We do have that for Christianity. We also have that for
many, but not all, scientific concepts. I would add here that, in my opinion, we do not have
that for atheism, the multiverse or Darwinian evolution, just to name some big ones. But
we do not have certainty for most beliefs or theories.

I think what this discussion should really be about is evidence. What is evidence?
Evidence is whatever facts you have that support your claim. We have tons of evidence that
supports our claim that Christianity is true. That is the essence of what this series is all
about.

Sometimes in my discussions with nonbelievers, they will substitute evidence for proof, and claim, you don’t have any evidence for God or that God created the universe. But this
is a misunderstanding on their part. There is plenty of evidence that supports our claims.
But again, what they are really trying to say is we do not have any certainty. But they have
no certainty of their nonbelief in God either. In fact, upon scrutiny, there is much more
reason to believe in God than to not believe. And eternity is at stake. Whether or not
Christianity is true is the most important question for everyone. Don’t forget that or
underappreciate the importance.

This claim about proof is typically a nonbeliever attempt to short circuit the discussion
from the beginning and put an unfair burden on us to prove something that is unproveable.
Of course, they have no proof that God does not exist if we want to turn it back on them.
And that is why the neo-atheist claims atheism is not that they believe there is no God, but
rather a lack of belief. They do have beliefs but do not want to acknowledge them otherwise
they have to defend them. It is easier to say that we are the ones making the claims and
therefore we have to defend our claims. But they should have to defend their claim as to
why they have no belief about God. Is there not enough evidence? Do they not want to
believe? Have they not examined the evidence? They should have reasons for not having
a belief just as with any other belief of any kind. Again, all this is a tactic to avert having
to defend their own beliefs while putting the burden on us. It is too difficult for them to
defend their beliefs, so they avert the discussion. Don’t let yourself be sucked in to this
type of false argument. Simply explain the difference to them.

Proof means sufficient evidence to show something is true.

Evidence is anything that supports your claim. Take care until you return for the next
lesson.

Sample Lesson From Defending the Faith Vol 1- Lesson 9: The Law of Non Contradiction

Lesson 9 – The Law of Non Contradiction:

Now we are going to review one of the most important aspects about truth. Formally,
this discussion is called the Law of Noncontradiction. I often describe it for youth as the
law of opposites. This basic, self-evident law of logic was discovered and documented by
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher from the 4th century BC. We owe all the fundamentals of
self-evident logic to Aristotle such as the law of identity, law of excluded middle and law
of noncontradiction. Let’s talk about the law of noncontradiction after our opening prayer.
You will learn about all this someday if you take a course in logic, which I strongly
recommend.

Let’s pray.
Lord, thank you for everything you do for us and all our blessings. I pray that all those
who need to hear this message will find the truth, believe in you, and maintain that belief
for life. For those who do not know you yet Lord, I pray that you will open their eyes and
influence them to become seekers and find the Holy Spirit. Help us now to correctly discern
and accept an important aspect of truth – that two things that teach opposites cannot both
be true. Please bless this lesson and let your words speak through me that everyone needs
to hear. Amen.

A contradiction is something that contradicts or teaches or claims the opposite of
something else. We see this all the time in today’s world because there are many ideas that
differ. When something contradicts, it essentially teaches something very different and
opposite of the other thing.
So, the law of noncontradiction, or law of opposites, states that two things that teach
opposites cannot both be true, at least not at the same time, the same place or in the same
sense. I qualify it that way because for example the statement that it is hot today might be
true for today but for tomorrow that statement is no longer true. But that is a different
timeframe and weather fluctuates constantly. Or we might say it is hot today and we are in
the Sahara Desert but someone in Antarctica says no it is cold. The truth is not wrong, but
they are in different places. Or someone might say that outfit is hot even though it is a
swimsuit. They mean it is interesting or nice or beautiful not that it is a hot temperature so
that is truth in a different sense.

We all live our lives based on this self-evident law. If one thing is true, then whatever
teaches the opposite must be false. The opposite of true is false. Everyone over the age of
5 understands this and lives by it. It is not even a controversy and is a self-evident law that
we follow without question and automatically each day.

But there is powerful meaning and revelation in this law. If we can examine a statement
or belief and determine it is true, then any statement or belief that contradicts, or teaches
the opposite, must be false. That is just the way logic works, and this is a self-evident law for everyone, everywhere, at all times.

This universal law helps us to examine important beliefs and religions to answer
questions such as:

Could all religions be true? You see the issue here is that all religions contradict each other. The way you examine the core beliefs of a religion is through their doctrine. The key doctrines for any religion are the nature of God, the nature of man, nature of Jesus, sin, salvation, heaven and hell,
just to name the basics. Yet all religions contradict in these beliefs. In fact, only Christianity
believes Jesus is God and that salvation is through grace. So clearly, they cannot all be true.
Based on the law of noncontradiction (the law of opposites), they cannot all be true. This
means that the common idea that all roads lead to heaven cannot be true because they teach
opposites. If one is true, then the others are false. It could be that all are false, but they
cannot all be true. This is not being harsh or bigoted or narrow-minded. It is the way truth
and the law of noncontradiction work. All truth is narrow and exclusive. Truth itself is not
discriminatory or biased. It just is. Since Christianity has many truth claims, if we can
determine that Christianity is true, what does that mean for anything that teaches the
opposite? Yes, it is logically false.

Is it possible only Christianity is true? Christianity is often derided and criticized for having exclusive truth claims. But such claims are not made to hurt or shame anyone in any way. Either the Christian claims are
true or they are not. But if they are true, then as discussed and discovered how the universal
law of noncontradiction works, then anything that teaches the opposite is false.
This is one of the reasons why we are called by God to share the gospel; so that others
may have the truth, so that others may believe in Jesus. We do not make exclusive truth
claims to boast or be superior or hurt anyone’s feelings in any way. We make the claims
because they are true and we want to share this truth with everyone because all are God’s
children and equal in His eyes. We must present these difficult concepts carefully so as not
to turn them away or hurt their feelings. The gospel must be shared in love for others.
Thanks for listening. Take care until next time.

Great Homeschool Convention – Cincinnati – Apologetics Curriculum Recap

Great Homeschool Convention – Cincinnati

After an eight hour drive, I arrived at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. It was very convenient due to a walkway that goes directly to the Energy Center next door.

This is the home venue for Great Homeschool and the largest of the year with about 4,000 attendees. Although no one knew me in advance, over 150 people signed up to attend two separate workshops for my Apologetics for Tweens presentation. The audience was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and excited about discovering solutions to help their 10-14 year old students and kids.

All total, 38 new curriculum implementations were purchased, bringing our total to 255 in just a little over a year since publishing. I’m not sure if I am more excited or if the participants are more excited about teaching apologetics to their youth in homeschool, church and at home with their families.

One amazing instance sticks out after presenting in the second workshop. At the end, a man asked me when I would be at my exhibitor table. I said about half an hour. After staying awhile to answer individual questions from several people, and collecting all my things, I walked by to my exhibitor table. There I saw something that astonished me.

Twelve people were lined up at my table with order sheets waiting for me. They were all worried I might run out of curriculum inventory. Every one of them ordered and many more did so as well.  I’ll never forget that image of a waiting line to order apologetics curriculum. It was stunning!

Here are some common statements/thoughts from participants I spoke with:

  • Which curriculum year would be best for my situation? One homeschool teacher had a range of 6 students of different ages and purchased the entire set of 5th-8th
  • Should I have them read the lessons in advance, then discuss it, or teach them the lesson directly? The former is best for learning, but whatever you prefer for your situation.
  • Is it too early for my 8 year old to learn apologetics? This depends on the child in my opinion. If they are smart, inquisitive, curious, like math and science, precocious, then probably they need to start now. Certainly if they are asking questions about God that may be challenging to answer, it is time to start.
  • Can I get the download version so I can format it on my tablet and present?
  • What if I can’t answer some questions that come up when I teach? I recognize many teachers will not be apologetics experts. The curriculum was designed with that in mind. It is straightforward and easy to teach. My commitment to support the curriculum for any and all questions is firm. I welcome weekly email questions that may come up in class. Just contact me at any time and I will respond within 24 hours.
  • My kids are too young still but we were thinking my husband and I should begin studying apologetics so we are ready when questions come up. What do you think? This is a great idea and numerous other parents have already done so using the curriculum.
  • Are there testing and assessment methods in the curriculum? It was a choice to leave this somewhat flexible. There are some recommendations and activities for testing through games and contests. I have found these to be the most effective and of most interest to the kids. If you tell them you have a quiz coming up, they will not get too excited about that. But if you tell them it is time for a contest, they are all in and pay attention and participate much more. In this area, perhaps the curriculum is not quite designed as a normal class to be taught such as math or English.
  • Interestingly enough, the 8th grade and then 5th grade are the top selling curriculum. I wonder what it is about those ages.

Next up is the August 8 Great Homeschool Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. After selling out almost all my book inventory, now I have to decide how much to order to be ready for Jacksonville.

Please contact Tom Griffin for discussion and questions either at tjgconsult@aol.com or 770-597-2654.

Creation Apologetics and Homeschool Convention Report

Creation and other religions

Would you like your young students to know how to defend Christianity with some of the simplest yet most powerful evidential responses? Here are a couple examples from a March Sunday School class with my fifth graders.

We had a full class of 18 students. Several were new so when I began the apologetics lesson I explained that apologetics was “defending Christianity”. This is necessary because there are many criticisms, questions, doubts and even attacks from nonbelievers.

Creation. One student, Sam, raised his hand and said he thinks he may have experienced a kind of attack earlier that week. He explained that he was playing a video game with a friend and asked him if he was a Christian? (isn’t that an awesome, simple way to begin to share the gospel?) His friend said no and began laughing and mocking Christians saying it is silly to believe in an imaginary being in the sky. He said his parents don’t believe and taught him it was foolish.

Sam responded, “Really? Well what do you think created our entire universe then? Do you think it was some kind of energy or force from nature? But nature or energy did not yet exist so it had to be a supernatural cause.” His friend looked dumbfounded then asked if they could play a different game. Isn’t that awesome? Brilliant yet simple. Sure, no salvation event occurred but apologetics is about putting a pebble in their shoe that may grow into discomfort as they struggle to deal with the logical alternative. Perhaps this will lead to the Holy Spirit’s influence one day. Sam is only 11 and not afraid to discuss Christianity.

Other religions. Then I began to open the apologetics lesson about Islam. I began by asking, “Could other religions be true?” Immediately another student, Gracie, raised her hand and said, “No, not if Christianity is true because Islam teaches the opposite. The law of opposites says that if one thing is true and another teaches the opposite, it must be false. We know Christianity is true from all the evidence, so any religion that teaches the opposite must be false.” There you have it. Pluralism defeated in less than a minute. All roads do not lead to heaven. All religions cannot be true. Her simple and powerful understanding of the law of opposites (Law of Noncontradiction) enabled her to confidently and boldly know how to respond.

There is no reason why you cannot achieve the same in your homeschool group, or Sunday school class, or even in your home with your family devotion time. But you need the lesson materials to teach a simple and straightforward approach. Find some samples by clicking on the other tab “Apologetics for Tweens” and download some free samples.

Great Homeschool Convention

In March I travelled to Greenville to make two presentations to homeschool teachers about “Apologetics for Tweens”. Some 120 people attended my two sessions. 22 of them immediately purchased on of my Tweens curriculum to use for their homeschool teaching. In one case, a young couple purchased a curriculum just for their own use. They were not familiar with apologetics. Friends, there is a tremendous need and growing recognition that we need to help our youth know how to realize that Christianity is true and be able to defend it. Are you ready to participate?

 Recent parent testimonials

‘Thank you so much. This is awesome. Gracie is so excited about being in the 5th grade class. These are great lessons to teach our kids.’ (current 5th grade student)

“Just thought I’d let you know that out of seemingly nowhere today Nick said, “I just LOVED 5th grade Sunday school, I couldn’t wait each week for Sunday to come around!” Thank you so much for your investment in our kids!!’ (about a former 5th grade student from 5 years ago)

“A few weeks ago we made Ryan go to Sunday School. He is very smart but had complained for a couple years everything was boring and he did not want to go anymore. But we made him go a couple weeks ago. Afterwards, he came up to us and said he wants to start going again because it was so interesting. Last week he told us he was really excited about going to the next class.” (grandparents of Ryan, who now is attending Sunday School again and excited about it).

“Your class is so important and the teaching is desperately needed. I have one more child coming up who is in first grade now. Please tell me you will keep teaching for another 4 years.” (current 5th grade assistant teacher who has a 5th grader in our class now)

Apologetics for Tweens – October Blog

National Conference on Christian Apologetics (NCAA)

Last week was the annual National Christian Conference on Apologetics (NCCA). I have attended 8 years in a row and delivered a speaking engagement for the third year in a row.

My topic was of course, Apologetics for Tweens. The key message from my discussion is that we need to teach apologetics to a much younger audience than ever before, because:

  • Doubts about Christianity form by middle school
  • By end of high school, 84% of Christian youth have doubts
  • After age 12, only 7-10% of youth accept Christ
  • Atheism for Generation Z is double the average for the US population
  • Only 4% of Gen Z have a biblical worldview

It seems my audience agreed with me completely. In a max capacity room of 55 people, we filled it and turned away another half dozen people who could not fit in. The interest in apologetics for a younger group is intense. But virtually everyone I discussed apologetics with told me that there is no material for the elementary and middle school age that can be delivered in a curriculum format for parents, homeschool teachers, Christian school teachers and Sunday School teachers.

However, that is specifically why I produced Apologetics for Tweens. Even a colleague of mine, Natasha Crain, who is known for her apologetics approach to youth, came by my booth and took pictures of my material and stated she will refer people to me who are looking for curriculum. She acknowledged that she is not a competitor and does not have such content for that purpose.

Nearly half my audience purchased one or more curriculum years. As a result, just since late January, we now have about 180 locations implemented with the curriculum. Several purchased the entire set of 5th to 8th grade curriculum. Truly God is working closely for teachers and parents for this age group who have concerns about how to address doubts and to help them learn how we can know our faith is reasonable and also reach out to share this knowledge with others.

First Baptist Church Orders Apologetics for Tweens for Children’s Ministry Teachers

Barely back from the conference, our Children’s Minister informed me that a donor from our church elected to purchase 10 curriculums of 6th and 7th grade for all the elementary teachers in our church. It is humbling to see the support from our church. But the support comes directly from the ongoing feedback of students in my 5th grade classes and their parents and other teachers.

Updates From Our 5th Grade Sunday School Class

  1. Recently, one of our students explained an exciting witnessing story. Sam, the son of my assistant teacher in our class, was playing video games with a friend. He happened to ask the friend if he was a Christian. The friend said no and Sam asked, “Why not?” The friend said because science does not support the Bible and God. But Sam said, “But how do you explain creation then because whatever caused it was outside nature?” His friend did not have an answer. Sam was tempted to say his friend was doomed without God but refrained from going that far. He expects to have more conversations in the future. This is a direct result of our teaching about how to dialogue with others using apologetics. It was an awesome beginning to a hopeful ongoing dialogue. All this and we are only a couple months into our new class teaching these lessons. Does anyone still think it is not important to teach at this age?
  1. In last week’s class, we conducted our popular contest called the Bible Bowl. It divides our class into teams and they compete by answering tough questions about the Bible, Christianity, other religions and apologetics teachings.

One of the questions was addressed again to Sam. The question was what would you say to someone who told you they believe there is no God. Without flinching, Sam said, “First I would ask them why they believe that. Then I would ask them how they explain the cause of the universe and of DNA.” I just grinned with a measure of gratification that the teachings are being absorbed in this way. How many adults could have fared better given such a question or real life situation?

  1. Finally, after the Bible Bowl finished we were cleaning up and preparing to dismiss class. Another student, Daniel, came up to me privately. He typically has quite a sober demeanor during class but I can tell he is listening intently. In this case, he was smiling profusely and said, “Thank you for being my teacher in this class. I love the class so much and it is really fun and we learn a lot of interesting things. I really appreciate you.” Well, that almost sent me to tears.

Wouldn’t you like to receive these results and feedback from your Sunday School class, or homeschool group, or Christian School class? You can also achieve this by starting to teach apologetics to your students. What better tool is available to do so than the Apologetics for Tweens curriculum? Please go to www.resurgensconsulting.com and select the age group that fits your situation best. Contact me at tjgconsult@aol.com for any questions. Blessings,

Tom Griffin

New developments in apologetics

Apologetics for Tweens
Recently, a Christian organization ordered 25 sets each of my 5th thru 8th grade scripture and apologetics curriculum. This brings the total of books sold to 150 this year. How exciting to see the interest in apologetics and the need to help prepare our youth to understand and defend their faith. Check out my Apologetics for Tweens blog  for monthly updates.

NCCA Speaking Engagement
The National Conference on Christian Apologetics will hold its annual conference again in Charlotte, NC on Oct. 12-13. This year’s theme is “The God Who Is”. It features the usual stellar prominent speakers such as Ravi Zacharias and Josh McDowell and many others, including myself! I’m in a breakout session and will lead a presentation on “Apologetics for Tweens”. I do expect considerable attendance as the trend toward teaching apologetics to youth is accelerating and gaining traction. If you plan to attend the conference or are in the area, you will find it highly engaging, interesting, and beneficial.

First Baptist 5th Grade Sunday School
My new class has begun and we are consistently achieving about 18 students each Sunday. They have all expressed tremendous interest in apologetics and the support from their parents is humbling. Almost all students expressed real interest in science issues and the early part of the year is typically where many of the science challenges arise, such as:

  • Age of the Earth. Very devisive but interesting debate. Does the Bible tell us? Is science right or wrong? Why is it important?
  • Evolution. Is it true? Did humans descend from a common ancestor of apes? What is evolution?
  • Noah, the Ark, and the Flood. Was it really global? How did they get all the animals on the ark?

My students have demonstrated real intelligent awareness of these issues and have serious and relevant questions about each topic. Do you know how to address these issues for your family and friends? Lack of answers to tough questions about science and Christianity has proven to create doubt in Christian youth and lead them away from the church. Isn’t it better if we provide them Christian answers to these issues instead of letting the secular world handle it?

Ratio Christi College Prep (RCCP)
Our relaunch is tentatively scheduled by end of September. This program offers two levels: 1 an apologetics network of resources, articles, training, education and certifications; 2 assigned academically trained apologist to mentor and strategize with your church in the implementation of youth and congregation apologetics programs ongoing. A long list of services are provided, mentored and monitored by an RCCP academically trained apologist. First, we train one or two adult mentor volunteers in the church. Then they implement our program, monitored through the RCCP apologist who serves like an Account Manager on an ongoing basis. The program is also designed to involve parents and other congregation and lasts for a year, renewable annually by the church. The church reciprocates by providing a donation to RCCP. Let us know if you have any referral churches who may be interested.

Ministry Teaching Update
My new assignment as Associate Professor of Apologetics with Immanuel Baptist Theological Seminary, a small seminary just outside of town, begins tomorrow night. The opportunity to work with current and future pastors who have influence in their own communities and churches is very exciting and appealing. It will allow me to impact minds and hearts for Christ in a broader way than teaching youth exclusively. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement.

Also, please listen to the 20 minute radio broadcast recently from Faith Radio with my colleague Anna Kitko. The discussion is about the importance of preparing our youth for the secular attacks on college campuses.
Are your kids prepared for the secular college world? – http://myfaithradio.com/program_podcast/anna-kitko-current-college-climate/