It's the end of apologetics!
Well, at least that's what a recent book by Myron Bradley Penner claims, which is big if true.
If apologetics has reached its end, after all, your intrepid cohosts will soon need to bid adieu, since there's no need for an apologetics podcast if the extinction of apologetics is imminent.
But, alas, seconds before Timothy turns to Garrick with mist in his eyes and whispers, "The Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things," the eagles arrive and sweep the dynamic duo away to a shire of hope in ancient Athens.
As it turns out, the title of Myron Bradley Penner's book is somewhat exaggerated, and there is a future for apologetics after all. Timothy is convinced that this future is actually found in the past—in the church fathers of the second century, to be exact. To prove this point, Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones appeal to a paper that Timothy presented at the most recent gathering of the Evangelical Theological Society. If you've never heard of ETS, don't despair; it's basically Comic-Con, except it's for theologians and biblical scholars instead of comic-book cosplayers, which results in a lot less Spandex than you see at Comic-Con—and that’s a good thing because, even though “Thëölögïäns ïn Spändëx” would be a great name for a band, it’s not something you would want to see in real life.
In the end, in an act of heroism of a sort that hasn't been seen since Avengers: Endgame was in the theaters, Garrick and Timothy bravely prevent the end of apologetics. They do this by showing how the life of the church provides a defense of the faith. Also, Live Aid would never have happened in 1985 if it hadn't been for the rise of Christianity nearly two thousand years earlier.
This round of Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History pits a clipeus of Constantine against the sudarium of Veronica. As you might imagine from all the times in your life when your clipeus has gone to war against your sudarium, the results are rather messy. Before it’s all over, Veronica's sudarium—also known as a veil utilized to wipe sweat—is defeated by the appearance of a boss. Sadly, this boss not The Boss, also known as Bruce Springsteen. It's the iron knob embedded in a clipeus—also known as a circular shield—and it's this boss that brings about the decisive defeat of Veronica's veil, also known as Garrick loses this round.
ABOUT HOSTS
Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of family ministry and applied apologetics. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Why Should I Trust the Bible?, The God Who Goes Before You, Perspectives on Family Ministry, and Christian History Made Easy. Follow Dr. Jones at @DrTimothyPJones.
Garrick Bailey is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying Herman Bavinck and Roman Catholicism under the supervision of Gregg Allison.
LINKS TO CLICK
The End of Apologetics (book by Myron Penner)
Telling a Better Story (book by Josh Chatraw)
Apologetics at the Cross (book by Josh Chatraw)
The Apology (book by Aristides)
Patreon Support
theapologeticspodcast.com
Urban Ministry Podcast
CLOSING CREDITS
Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Cunningham Manor. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).
Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: Good Times with the End Times and Eschatology (Part 1) + “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (R.E.M.)
Food Trucks in Babylon: Moral Apologetics, Prayer, and the Impassibility of God
Mary Jo Sharp: A Former Atheist Looks at the Problem of Evil + “One of Us” (Joan Osborne)
Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: Job, Jesus, and the Existential Problem of Evil + "You Found Me" (The Fray)
Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: The Evidential Problem of Evil + “God’s Love” (Bad Religion)
Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: The Logical Problem of Evil + Pop (U2)
Three Chords and the Truth Goes to the Movies: Soul
Josh Chatraw: Blaise Pascal and Apologetics that Appeals to the Heart + “Superstition” (Stevie Wonder)
Sean McDowell: Getting the Gospel to Generation Z + "Baba O'Riley" (The Who)
Josh Chatraw and Stephen Presley: How to Do Apologetics Like the Early Church
Alisa Childers: The False Gospel of Progressive Christianity + "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Foreigner)
Russell Moore: The Search for a Satisfying Story + “He Went to Paris” (Jimmy Buffett)
Timothy Paul Jones and Garrick Bailey: How to Do Apologetics in a Skeptical Age
Ted Cabal: Creation, Evolution, and the Age of the Earth + "Let There Be Rock" (AC/DC)
Lisa V. Fields: Apologetics through Eyes of Color + “Crossroads” (Robert Johnson)
Vocab Malone: Barry versus the Black Hebrew Israelites + "One Vision" (Queen)
J.V. Fesko: Reforming Apologetics + "Freewill" (Rush)
Matthew Levering: Why Reason and the Physical Resurrection of Jesus Matter + "Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin)
Robert Plummer: Do the Gospels Tell the Truth? + "Truth, Goodness, and Beauty" (The Cure)
J. Warner Wallace: A Cold-Case Detective Looks at the Gospels + “Another Brick in the Wall” (Pink Floyd)
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