Apologetics Profile

The Atheist & Christian Book Club is an outreach of Watchman Fellowship, the parent ministry of Apologetics Profile. It is a monthly gathering of believers and skeptics respectfully discussing important books from both perspectives. In this special edition of Apologetics Profile, Kerby Anderson of Probe ministries interviews Christian apologist James Walker and atheist apologist Bill Kluck abo...

On part two of Daniel Ray's discussion with Dr. W. David Beck , we look into the history of moral arguments for God’s existence and how skeptics and non-believers have traditionally responded. We also give you some practical advice as to how to apply this rich philosophical tradition to your own life and witness in dialogue with skeptics who are familiar with these arguments. Moral Arguments for G...

On this two-part episode of Apologetics Profile, we talk with Christian philosopher Dr. W. David Beck about his latest book   Does God Exist? A History of Answers to the Question . In his book he looks at the historical back-and-forth of four fundamental arguments used in defense of God’s existence, the cosmological, teleological, moral, and ontological arguments. It is a condensed historical, the...

In this week's Apologetics Profile, James Walker interviews Addam Swapp, a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who became a Fundamentalist Mormon practicing polygamy. Addam was involved in the bombing of a Mormon chapel followed by a 13-day standoff and shootout with law enforcement in which one officer was fatally shot and killed.  In federal prison, Addam found himse...

In this week's Apologetics Profile, Brady Blevins visits with Holly Pivec for Part 2 of a discussion about  Bethel Church  of Redding, Calif. and its controversial leader,  Pastor Bill Johnson . Bethel Redding was by far our #1 most requested Profile topic over the last several years. Questions raised included Bethel's ties to the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and more recently the failed prophe...

In this week's Apologetics Profile, Brady Blevins sits down with Holly Pivec for Part 1 of a discussion about  Bethel Church of Redding, Calif. and its controversial leader, Pastor Bill Johnson . Bethel Redding was by far our #1 most requested Profile topic over the last several years. Questions raised included Bethel's ties to the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and more recently the failed proph...

What are "deceitful philosophies"? The Bible exhorts us to be on guard against the empty and deceitful philosophies of men and the traditions and customs by which the world tempts and challenges us. Perhaps we can spot bad biblical doctrine, but what about counterfeit and deceitful philosophies? How does bad philosophy make inroads into our minds and become the norm? How do we know what is true? H...

Why Do We Need Philosophy? Our guest this week and next on Apologetics Profile is Christian philosopher and author Dr. Paul Gould, who routinely gets asked this question. Dr. Gould believes that "philosophy is simply too important to give up on. Philosophy continues to play a vital role in our lives and in contemporary discussions on almost everything." And he is "not convinced that philosophy nee...

[NOTE: This podcast is also available on video here:  https://youtu.be/jvwhJpZiQZ8 ] On part two of our special two-part video and podcast episode of Peter Boghossian and Street Epistemology, Watchman Fellowship staff apologist Daniel Ray speaks with senior apologist Brady Blevins about how to recognize a street epistemology conversation and how we can and should respond.  If you have children or...

[NOTE: This podcast is also available on video here: https://youtu.be/fMUF_y9q1ew ] Chances are, if you are actively sharing your faith on social media to any degree, or if you have children or grandchildren away at college, or if you're out for a stroll in a public park, you may have or will eventually encounter a "street epistemologist."  What is street epistemology?  It is a movement within the...

This week's episode of Apologetics Profile is the conclusion of a two part discussion on apologetics and evangelism featuring our Senior Apologist, Dr. Brady Blevins and staff apologist Daniel Ray. In this series, Daniel and Brady discuss practical principles of communication that we can apply to our personal Christian apologetics and relational evangelism. Dr. Brady Blevins , Senior Apologist wit...

This week's episode of Apologetics Profile is the first of a two part discussion on apologetics and evangelism featuring our Senior Apologist, Dr. Brady Blevins and staff apologist Daniel Ray. Last week we concluded our discussion with professor of communication, Dr. Steven Beebee, about the legendary Christian apologist C.S. Lewis and the skills and techniques he used to be such an effective comm...

Are we consciously aware of how we choose our words? Are we cognizant of what kind of tacit impressions our words have on others? Are we loving our neighbors in such a way that we can understand  their  language? Their experiences? Can we translate what we know to those who have little familiarity with what is so familiar to us?  How can we effectively share the Gospel with those who are lost? How...

We at Watchman Fellowship are committed to helping and equipping the church to effectively communicate the Gospel to those of other religions and worldviews. But such communication is never really easy. The first step in being able to successfully articulate the Gospel is a relatively simple one, though -- Being familiar with the message .  The second step is to know the language of your audience...

In part two, Dr. Brady Blevins and Daniel Ray conclude their discussion of the controversy surrounding Bikram Yoga and its fugitive founder who fled the US refusing to pay a $7 million court-ordered judgement. Bikram Choudhury and his trademarked Bikram Yoga has attracted significant media scrutiny as accusations from former students and associates have multiplied. The media accounts mainly focuse...

In this episode, Dr. Brady Blevins and Daniel Ray discuss the controversy surrounding Bikram Yoga and its founder. Facing a warrant for his arrest from the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Bikram Choudhury, the guru who founded Bikram Yoga, has fled the United States refusing to pay a court-ordered judgement of about $7 million in damages. This judgement resulted from a wrongful termination and...

In part 2, James Walker continues his discussion with Naomi Wright about her unique journey out of a polygamous cult led by her father to faith in Jesus Christ. Her religion was a radical breakoff of a controversial sect founded by William Branham. Her father borrowed many of Branham's doctrines including "serpent seed," legalism, works-based salvation and anti-Trinitarianism then added in other e...

James Walker interviews Naomi Wright about her unique journey out of a polygamous cult led by her father to faith in Jesus Christ. Her religion was a radical breakoff of a controversial sect founded by William Branham. Her father borrowed many of Branham's doctrines including "serpent seed," legalism, works-based salvation and anti-Trinitarianism then added in other elements from Oneness Pentecost...

Daniel Grissom was one of Jehovah's Witnesses when he first connected with James Walker and the Watchman Fellowship ministry team. By God's grace, Daniel left the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society for the grace of Jesus Christ and now serves on our Board of Directors. In this episode (part two) we conclude our discussion. Daniel talks about the importance of discipleship and how to talk with the...

In this very short, special bonus edition of Apologetics Profile, Daniel Grissom shares a two-minute update about the future of our ministry. Daniel is a former Jehovah's Witness who serves on our Board of Directors. End-of-Year Ministry Update As we come to the close of 2020, we are at a crossroads. Our ministry opportunities have never been higher but our donations have dropped drastically. Barr...

Daniel Grissom was one of Jehovah's Witnesses when he first connected with James Walker and the Watchman Fellowship ministry team. Daniel left the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society for the grace of Jesus Christ and now serves on our Board of Directors. In part one of this discussion, Daniel shares his journey from the Kingdom Hall to the Kingdom of God: When he first got the knock at his front do...

In this week's episode Brady Blevins and Steve Matthews conclude their conversation about Kip McKean, World Missions Evangelist of the controversial International Christian Church (ICC). Brady and Steve address some questions underlying decades of criticism the the movement has received from Christian discernment ministries and secular cult-watch organizations: How can we distinguish between a str...

In this week's episode Brady Blevins and Steve Matthews discuss Kip McKean, World Missions Evangelist of the controversial International Christian Church (ICC), a worldwide movement headquartered in Los Angeles. In part one of this two-part discussion we explore the history, growth and some of the criticisms directed at the organization that first began as an on campus discipling ministry of the C...

In this week's episode Daniel Ray and Dr. Luke Barnes conclude their discussion of the question "What is Scientism?" Science is fully compatible with the Christian worldview and for the most part has done much to expand knowledge and in most cases provided tremendous progress in advancing human wellbeing and flourishing. There is, however, a controversial philosophy of science that seems to be gro...

In this week's episode Daniel Ray and Dr. Luke Barnes explore the question "What is Scientism?" Science is fully compatible with the Christian worldview and for the most part has done much to expand knowledge and in most cases provided tremendous progress in advancing human wellbeing and flourishing. There is, however, a controversial philosophy of science that seems to be growing in popularity th...