Mama Bear Apologetics

There is an interesting phenomenon which the late Herman Kahn described, where “those with engineering or sociology training [are unable to] understand certain issues which they would have been able to understand if they had not had this training.” Kahn called it “educated incapacity,” but the idea was originally taken from economist Thorstein Veblen, who […] The post MBA 25: How Educated Do You H...

Jenga is a game about seeing how many foundational pieces of a structure can be removed and/or repositioned before it finally collapses. While this game was never intended to have philosophical undertones, I think it is an apt analogy for what we see occurring in some churches, and particularly the movement known as “progressive” Christianity. […] The post MBA 24: “Progressive” Christianity… and W...

I have noticed a tendency for people to fall into one of two categories: the terrifying truth-tellers, and the compassionate compromisers. The terrifying truth-tellers are ready at a moment’s notice to call out heresy or unbiblical beliefs wherever they are found, but often create division over secondary matters, or become so obnoxious that the aroma […] The post MBA 23: How to Love Your Ideologic...

Just a few short months ago, I was reading an article titled “Why Would an Engineer-Turned-Mom Care so Deeply About Apologetics?” As soon as I saw the words “Mom” and “Apologetics” in the title, I knew I had to find out more about this Cathryn Buse lady. I immediately bought her book on kindle, and […] The post MBA 22: Introducing Cathryn Buse (and a recap of the apologetics conference) appeared f...

Normally, when Rebekah and I do an “article of the week,” it is because the content is so awesome that we want to share and discuss. This time… not so much. A week or so before Easter, a highly disturbing article written by a woman professing to be a children’s pastor at a “progressive Christian church” started […] The post MBA 21: Is the Progressive Gospel a Gospel at All? (i.e. Why you need to k...

The Lord of the Rings is a timeless classic, able to capture the minds of young and old alike. But apart from its singularly masterful writing and vivid imagery, The Lord of the Rings has an element of theological truths interwoven into its very fabric in such a way that even the most hardened skeptic […] The post MBA 20: I was an Atheist Until I Read <i>Lord of the Rings</i> appeared...

The book The Shack first began making waves in 2007, and here we are 10 years later, still a church divided. Some people love The Shack, others practically want to have The Shack burning parties. Very rarely has someone read it and remained neutral. As with most things in pop culture, the truth is somewhere in between. […] The post MBA 19: The Shack – Hope, Healing… and Heresy? appeared first on M...

“It is often said with a sneer that the God of Israel was only a God of Battles, ‘a mere barbaric Lord of Hosts’ pitted in rivalry against other gods only as their envious foe.” (From “The Everlasting Man” by G.K. Chesterton) It is indeed often said with a mocking and dismissive sneer that the […] The post MBA 18: Why Does the God of the Old Testament Seem So Different from the God of the New Test...

At Mama Bear Apologetics, our motto is “Mess with our kids, and we will demolish your arguments.” For those who have seen the carnage wrought by the battle of ideas, this tagline makes immediate sense. For others, the question becomes “Is that a Christian attitude? Isn’t demolishing things too aggressive for Christians?” The short answer to […] The post MBA 17: Discussing the Mama Bear Tagline – I...

When I posted the blog this weekend dissecting the “Guiding Vision and Definition of Principles” from the women’s march, I never expected the kind of attention that it would receive. And while I stand behind my words, that one post was never intended to be my defining moment. I value balance, and there is only […] The post MBA 16: Addressing the Divide From the Women’s March appeared first on Mama...

The question of eyewitness reliability is a pertinent conversation that every parent will have (or should have) when their child asks, “How do we know that we can trust the Bible?” If the New Testament documents are not reliable, and if the people writing the New Testament documents were not reliable, what leg does our […] The post MBA 15: Are the New Testament Eyewitnesses Reliable: The Flashbulb...

If you have never read the “resolutions” of Jonathan Edwards, you are missing out! As Rebekah and I discussed in our last podcast, Jonathan Edwards was an early-mid 18th century revivalist preacher. He is (unfortunately) best known for “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” sermon, which– to understand the context — please listen […] The post MBA 14: Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions Can Beat-up Your...

In this podcast, Rebekah and I introduce you to one of the central figures of the Great Awakening: Jonathan Edwards. Why is he such an important figure to discuss? He is what many people would classify as a “fire and brimstone” preacher who lived in the mid 18th century (i.e. mid 1700’s). In preparing for this […] The post MBA 13: Resolutions and Legalism Part 1 – An Intro to Jonathan Edwards appe...

Mom guilt: the tendency for moms to feel guilty for taking any kind of break for themselves, even though breaks are vital for emotional, intellectual and spiritual health. I can’t speak for other countries, but I know for a fact that we have an epidemic of mom guilt here in America. Call me nostalgic, but […] The post MBA 12: An Honest Talk About Mom Guilt appeared first on Mama Bear Apologetics .

One of the most important questions that we as Christian parents can answer for our children (and for ourselves) is, “Are the New Testament documents reliable?” While this podcast in no way represents a comprehensive answer, it is a good intro to the discussion if you have never heard it before. Topics Discussed: Who is […] The post MBA 11: Are the New Testament Documents Reliable: an Introduction...

This is possibly one of the most awkward podcasts we have had to do. This election season was brutal. Never have I seen the results of an election affect kids in such a profound way, and never have I seen so many young adults behaving like children. When I was a kid, I knew the elections were […] The post MBA 10: 3 Essential Truths to Include When Discussing the Election With Kids (or Even When Yo...

This is part 2 of our interview with Jody Vise. In Part 1, we heard Jody’s story of raising her children in the church, dealing with the devastating news when her son walked away from the faith, and looking at what she felt were some of the contributing factors. In Part 2, we discuss the differences […] The post MBA 9: What to Do When Your Child Walks Away From God – Jody’s Story Part 2 appeared f...

Jody thought she had all her bases covered. She and her husband were believers. They took their children to church, to Awana, and later to youth group. It wasn’t until her son came home one year after college and told her that he no longer believed in God that she knew anything was wrong. I […] The post MBA 8: The Danger of Raising Kids in a Christian Bubble – Jody’s Story Part 1 appeared first on...

Podcast topics: Spectrum of believers in apologetics: Learners Seekers Doubters Believers Hardened Doubter Apathetic hardened doubter Not a debate anymore for them; akin to a problematic marriage in which partners no longer fight because the divide is so large Best approach for apathetic doubters is to be a pebble in their shoe Angry hardened doubter […] The post MBA 7: How to Deal with Hardened (...

Many women shy away from apologetics because they assume that apologetics means that you will always be debating with atheists. That is simply not true. Our children need reasons for their faith just as much (if not more so) than the local atheist. And guess what? YOU are the primary missionary to your children! In […] The post MBA 6: The 5 Types of People You Will Meet in Apologetics appeared fir...

In this episode, we discuss the differences between core truths and peripheral truths of the Christian faith, and the importance of teaching these differences to your children. A core truth could be defined as beliefs that separate a Christian from a non-Christian. These would be the tenets of the faith that are necessary in order […] The post MBA 5: Core Truths vs Peripheral Truths of Christianit...

Hillary Morgan FerrerHillary Morgan Ferrer is the founder of Mama Bear Apologetics. She is the chief author and editor of Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies and Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God’s Design. Hillary has her masters in Biology and has […] The post MBA 4: Discussion of Melissa Cain Travis’ “...

This talk was graciously provided to us by Melissa Cain Travis, one of our associate Mama Bears. It is from Mother’s Day 2016, and is from Hope Point Church in Houston, Texas. Here’s a summary of what Melissa talked about: – Testimony – Believer from young age – Surrounded by people growing up who didn’t […] The post MBA 3: Motherhood and the Life of the Mind appeared first on Mama Bear Apologetic...

I thought that Rebekah’s G.K. Chesterton quote was a good one to pick back up on. We continued our introduction to Mama Bear Apologetics. Here’s some of the highlights: Surgeon’s scalpel vs mugger with a knife (blog to follow) God has no grandchildren Different types of doubt (blog and podcast to follow) Protein crystallography and […] The post MBA 2: Intro to Mama Bear Part B appeared first on Ma...

Welcome to Mama Bear Apologetics! The original recording was a bit long so we divided it up into two parts. Here Rebekah and I give an overview of what Mama Bear Apologetics is, where we got the idea, what our own personal stories are and some helpful resources. We cover some basic topics like: The […] The post MBA 1: Intro to Mama Bear Part A appeared first on Mama Bear Apologetics .