By Brian Chilton

On today’s podcast, host Brian Chilton discusses his personal journey back to the Christian faith. Brian was saved at the age of 7 and was called into the gospel ministry at 16 years of age. However, he left the faith in 2000 due to personal issues and doubts that he had pertaining to the reliability of the faith. While he did not completely become an atheist, he did become what he calls a “theist-leaning-agnostic” or perhaps a panentheist. Nevertheless, in 2005, Brian’s world was transformed as he encountered 3 books at a local Lifeway Christian Bookstore that transformed his mindset. They were Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, and Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict and McDowell’s compilation book, A Ready Defense. Today, Brian discusses the 7 major arguments that led him back to faith, which were, as Pastor Brian testifies:

#1: The Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus greatly surprised me. To a great degree, this was the evidence that sealed the deal for my return.

#2: The Evidence for the New Testament’s Reliability. The Jesus Seminar was responsible for spiraling my faith downward. However, the massive amount of evidence for the New Testament (i.e., over 24,000 ancient manuscripts), the ability to know what were in the originals to a degree of 99.7%, in addition to the archaeological confirmation, and attestations from extra-biblical texts (at least 86,000 to a million quotations from the early church fathers) all confirmed for me that the Bible is trustworthy in what it says.

#3: The Ontological Necessity for God’s Existence. While I had not completely rejected the idea of God in my state of doubt, the ontological necessity for God’s existence has always been so strong that atheism never appealed to me.

#4: The Cosmological Argument for God’s Existence (particularly the Kalam Argument). William Lane Craig is the man! I may not agree with him on all his theological points. Nevertheless, the Kalam Cosmological Argument is a powerful and succinct argument for the causal nature of the universe.

#5: The Teleological/Design Argument for God’s Existence. It’s unavoidable. The universe was designed. That points to the existence of a Designer.

#6: The Moral Argument for God’s Existence. Everyone, including atheists, appeal to a moral standard. A moral standard requires a transcendent law giver. That Lawgiver is God.

#7: The Historical Tenacity of Jesus of Nazareth. Well, this may not be so much an argument as much as it is admiration. Even the most skeptical of NT historians agree that Jesus was quite tenacious. While I had been hurt by some individuals in the church and was confused by the hypocrisy that I sometimes seen in the church, I was amazed at the example of Jesus. I saw Jesus afresh and anew.

Come and listen to the arguments that led Pastor Brian Chilton back to a vibrant faith in Jesus Christ!

About the Host:

Brian Chilton is the founder of BellatorChristi.com and is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast. He received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); and received certification in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Brian is currently studies in the Ph.D. program in Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University. Brian is full member of the International Society of Christian Apologetics and the Christian Apologetics Alliance. Brian has been in the ministry for over 14 years and serves as the pastor of Huntsville Baptist Church in Yadkinville, North Carolina.

 

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2vckGZq

 


 

 

The measure of a life is not its length but its impact.  Kortney Blythe Gordon made a timeless impact in her 28 years here on earth.  In fact, she did more in 28 years than most people even think about in 80.  Kortney was a fearless Christian and abortion abolitionist who saved souls and thousands of babies from abortion and their mothers from regret.  She and her unborn child, Sophy, died when their car was struck by another car on October 8.

The outpouring of support from the Christian and pro-life communities has been overwhelming.  God’s grace is evident in the lives of those who loved her.  That’s why, despite their grief, her father Larry (a close friend and member of the CrossExamined team), husband Ben, and Uncle Don sat down with me only four days after the tragedy to tell story after story of how Kortney impacted everyone with her unique ability to blend uncompromising truth with inviting grace.  (She was so good at what she did that she even became a mentor to her Uncle who originally got her into pro-life ministry!)  You can listen to their inspiring reflections about Kortney, and what she would want us to do now, on the October 15 CrossExamined radio program podcasted here.

Here is Kortney in 2009 speaking truth to power (Michelle Obama attended this event).

One question that we are all thinking: Why would God allow something like this to happen to someone sold out for Him?

Here are few thoughts.

1.  We know that we live in a fallen world where evil exists and no one is guaranteed 80 healthy years (in fact, contrary to what you hear on most “Christian” TV, Christians are called to suffer like our Savior).

2.  We know that God rights all things in the end, and that this is made possible by His own perfect sacrifice on the cross.

3.  While we don’t know the specific reason why this event occurred, we know why we don’t know– we are are finite and God is infinite. We see a small part of the picture from our limited time-bound perspective, but God sees it all. God knows how this tragedy will be used to bring about good at some point in time and certainly in eternity.  In fact, how you and I respond to this tragedy may be some of the good He will accomplish.

To learn more about Kortney and her organization go to http://www.studentsforlife.org/.

This Tuesday, January 19th I’ll be hosting a live radio and internet simulcast event called Church Dropout: Overcoming the Youth Exodus. The producers at the American Family Association tell me that this program will draw an audience of over 200,000 to hear and see evidence for Christianity. The program is intended to help reverse the trend that 75% of Christian youth leave the church after high school.

My guests will be some of the top Christian apologists in the world:

We’ll start the evening with the man who is currently the best debater on our side, Dr. William Lane Craig (http://www.ReasonableFaith.org). Bill does scores of college events every year, and he provides great resources on his website. You need to hear Bill’s evidence for the existence of God– irrefutable!

We’ll then turn to one of the founding fathers of the Intelligent Design movement– Dr. Bill Dembski (http://www.designinference.com). Bill has two PhD’s, but he’ll show us very simply how life points to an intelligent designer, and how most of the so-called “evidence” for macroevolution is based on materialistic and counter-factual philosophical assumptions.

My third expert guest will be Dr. Mike Adams, a Christian professor on a secular campus (Yes, there are a few!) and one of the most popular conservative columnists on www.Townhall.com. Mike gets students motivated to make a difference for Christ! He will give us advice on how to prepare yourself (or your child) for the radically anti-Christian environment found on many college campuses (he’ll make you laugh too!).

We’ll then cap the show with one of my all-time heroes of apologetics– his books helped bring me to faith– the one and only Josh McDowell (www.Josh.org). Josh will give us very helpful insights on the importance of relationships to a young person’s faith. Josh is not only the most popular apologist but also the most passionate!

During the show, I’ll also provide evidence for Christianity from our book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, and take your calls. Overall, the program will equip you with the critical information you need to keep yourself, your family, and your church firmly grounded in the truth.

It’s this Tuesday, January 19, 7-10 p.m. CENTRAL time: A listing of the 200 stations carrying the program can be found here (http://action.afa.net/Radio/). For the live web simulcast, go here: http://action.afa.net/Webcast/WebcastPlayer.aspx?id=2147491014

Our friends at the American Family Association (www.afa.net), who are producing this event, will create a DVD of the program that will be available afterwards. Check www.CrossExamined.org later for details.

Please pray that thousands are touched for Christ!

Why are 75% of youth leaving the church after high school?
What can you do about it?

Get answers January 19th from Dr. Frank Turek, co-author of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” and founder of CrossExamined.org. Frank will be joined by Josh McDowell, Dr. William Lane Craig, Dr. Bill Dembski, Dr. Mike Adams and others who will equip you the critical information you need keep yourself and your family firmly grounded in the truth.

Tuesday, January 19, 6:30-10 p.m. CENTRAL time:  Live on 200 radio stations (http://action.afa.net/Radio/) and simulcast here: http://action.afa.net/Webcast/WebcastPlayer.aspx?id=2147491014

We are now doing live call-in radio every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET.  You can listen live on the web at www.afr.net or on one of 126 stations across the country.  The show is also podcasted here.

The show on March 7 was with Dr. Mike Licona, co-author of one of the best books examining the evidence for resurrection of Jesus:  The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus.