Apologetics Profile

Who was Joseph Smith? Even after nearly 200 years since the first Book of Mormon was published in 1830, Smith remains something of an enigma. He is viewed as a charismatic farm-boy prophet and martyr by Latter-day Saints and a public enemy, adulterer, and charlatan by many others. How did Smith write the Book of Mormon and convince his followers he had received another testament of Jesus Christ? This week and next on the Profile, we feature Mormonism Research Ministry (www.MRM.org) staff member Eric Johnson. Our two-part broadcast is an exclusive training presentation Eric gave our Watchman Fellowship's Utah Mission Team this past July about Joseph Smith and how the Book of Mormon came to be. This training took place at MRM's new Utah Christian Research Center in Draper, Utah (www.utahchristianresearchcenter.com).

Eric Johnson has been a student of Mormonism since 1987 when he first served as a summer missionary to Utah. Eric graduated from San Diego State University as well as at Bethel Seminary San Diego. Eric cohosts the daily radio program Viewpoint on Mormonism and writes for MRM’s Mormonism Researched newsletter. He is the co-author of Answering Mormons’ Questions: Ready Responses for Inquiring Latter-day Saints (Kregel, 2013), Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Baker Book, 2015) and Introducing Christianity to Mormons (Harvest House, 2022).

Related Links: Get the rest of the story including some of our most popular podcasts on Mormonism, access to some of our key LDS articles and our free, 4-page Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism):

• Watchman Fellowship articles on Mormonism: watchman.org/LDS
• Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: watchman.org/Mormonism
• Apologetics Profile podcast What Is the Gospel? with Mormon apologist Scott Gordon and Christian apologist James Walker (YouTube): watchman.org/GordonWalker
• Apologetics Profile podcast "Jesus' Resurrection and Joseph's Visions," with Rob Bowman: watchman.org/1stVision

Additional Resources
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook.
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Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

With the advent of modern transportation and communication technologies, we are daily inundated with news, information, and ideas from all over the world. Such easy access to so many ideas and concepts wholly foreign to our own can, at times, be overwhelming without having an anchor of truth to which we may cling. Even as believers, much of what makes the news today, much of what you hear coming from other religions, secular science or contemporary sociology tends to dismiss the Christian faith or simply disregard it as irrelevant.
Our guest again this week, Dr. Tawa Anderson of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, gives us some encouraging reminders about why Christianity is true and how we can defend it in this day and age of skepticism and clashing worldviews.

Dr. Tawa Anderson was raised in a non-Christian home and came to faith in high school. He was called to ministry and served as English Pastor at Edmonton Chinese Baptist Church from 2001-2008. After completing his PhD, Dr. Anderson taught at Oklahoma Baptist University from 2011-2022 before joining the faculty at NOBTS. Tawa is the author of Why Believe? Christian Apologetics for a Skeptical Age (B&H Academic, 2021) and co-author of An Introduction to Christian Worldview: Pursuing God’s Perspective in a Pluralistic World, (IVP Academic, 2017).

Related Links: Free access to some related Watchman Profiles:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Jr: www.watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Agnosticism by W. Russell Crawford: www.watchman.org/Agnostic
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Divine Hiddenness by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Hidden
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Relativism by Parker Stilley: www.watchman.org/Relativism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Deconstruction by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Deconstruction

Additional Resources
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

For centuries Western natural philosophy, theology and the scientific tradition widely accepted that the physical cosmos and life within it was the creation of God. Arguably one of the most influential works which usurped the belief in God as the Creator was Charles Darwin's 1859 publication On the Origin of Species. It undoubtedly provided many with the intellectual framework for atheism, naturalism, and materialism. But in the late 20th and early 21st century, the concept of intelligent design has made a cultural comeback. This week and next we sit down with Dr. William Dembski, one of the leading founders and proponents of the Intelligent Design movement, to discuss his new, second edition of his landmark 1998 book, The Design Inference.

William A. Dembski, a noted mathematician and philosopher, is a Founding and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and a Distinguished Fellow with the Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. His most recent books relating to intelligent design include Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information (2014), Evolutionary Informatics (2017, co-authored with Robert Marks and Winston Ewert), and the second edition of The Design Inference (2023, co-authored with Winston Ewert). For more info, visit BillDembski.com.

Related Links: Free access to some related Watchman Profiles:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman: watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Agnosticism by W. Russell Crawford: watchman.org/Agnostic
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Naturalism by Daniel Ray: watchman.org/Naturalism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Scientism by Dr. Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray: watchman.org/Scientism

Additional Resources
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook.
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Studying world religions can seem like an overwhelming task. Where can you even begin? How about right here with us? This week and next on the Profile we talk with philosopher and author Dr. Douglas Groothuis about his very down-to-earth and easy-to-digest book on this expansive and daunting topic, World Religions in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic. If you've been looking for a place to start, look no further! Here on part one we break down in simple terms Judaism, and Islam in light of biblical truth.

Dr. Douglas Groothuis is a Christian philosopher who is the author of sixteen books, beginning with the best-selling Unmasking the New Age (InterVarsity Press, 1986) and including the popular and voluminous textbook, Christian Apologetics, 2nd ed. (IVP Academic, 2022), as well as a memoir, Walking Through Twilight: A Wife’s Illness—a Philosopher’s Lament (InterVarsity Press, 2017), an introduction to philosophy, Philosophy in Seven Sentences (InterVarsity, 2016), and a book on the controversial topic of Critical Race Theory, Fire in the Streets (Salem Books, 2022). He co-authored the introductory textbook on apologetics, The Knowledge of God in the World and in the Word (Zondervan-Academic, 2022) with Andrew Shepardson. Get Doug's books here: uhop.me/Groothuis.

Related Links: Free access to some related Watchman Profiles:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Jr.: watchman.org/Athiesm
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Islam by James K. Walker: watchman.org/IslamProfile
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Hinduism by Dr. C. Fred Smith: watchman.org/Hindu
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Zen Buddhism by Jason Barker: watchman.org/Zen

Additional Resources
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (660 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook.
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.
Episode Art Photo Credit: Cameron Bertuzzi - Capturing Christianity

What would you say to a scholar or non-believer who cites scholars who dismiss Jesus's miracles and His resurrection? Dallas Theological Seminary New Testament scholar, Dr. Darrell Bock, helps us negotiate the world of scholarly criticism and skepticism toward the historicity of Jesus. No matter your level of knowledge or background, Darrell's conversational insights can give you some encouragement and confidence to engage this important topic with non-believers. This week we conclude our two-part conversation with Dr. Bock's centered on his 2019 book, Jesus, Skepticism, & the Problem of History.

Dr. Darrell Bock has earned recognition as a Humboldt Scholar (Tübingen University in Germany), is the author of over 40 books, including well-regarded commentaries on Luke and Acts and studies of the historical Jesus, and work in cultural engagement as host of the seminary's Table Podcasts. He was president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) from 2000 to 2001, served as a consulting editor for Christianity Today, and serves on the boards of Wheaton College and Chosen People Ministries. His articles appear in leading publications.

Related Links: Free access to some related Watchman Profiles:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Bart Ehrman by Dr. Rhyne Putman: watchman.org/Ehrman
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman: watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Agnosticism by W. Russell Crawford: watchman.org/Agnostic
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Mythicism by Dr. Robert Stewart and Marilyn Stewart: watchman.org/Mythicism

Additional Resources
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (660 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook.
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.