Apologetics With Brian O'Connell

The Watchtower translates John 1:1 in the New World Translation to say that "the Word was a god" therefore, Jesus is a created being, not God. Other Bibles translate John 1:1 to say that "the Word was God." How should this verse be translated? Is the Word God or is the Word a god? Listen to find out. 

The Watchtower Organization and its members, Jehovah's Witnesses, claim that Jesus is Michael the Archangel, a created being and therefore is not God. When they come to your door they show many passages to support their claims. Does the Bible show that Jesus is Michael the Archangel? Does Scripture teach that Jesus was created by God? How can Christians respond to the most common verses that Jehovah's Witnesses use as proof texts for their beliefs? Listen to find out.

The Watchtower Organization and its members, Jehovah's Witnesses, reject the doctrines of the Trinity and Hell. They claim that these Christian doctrines are unbiblical and the result of pagan influence. They argue that the doctrine of Hell would make God out to be a tyrant who delights in torturing His creation, and whose moral standard is lower than that of many men. Are these doctrines the result of paganism? Does the doctrine of Hell turn God into a tyrant or show that He is a just God? What does the Bible teach? Listen to find out.  

The Watchtower Organization and its members, Jehovah's Witnesses, reject the deity of Christ. They claim that this Christian doctrine is unbiblical and the result of pagan influence hundreds of years after the death of Christ. Is the deity of Christ the result of pagan influence or did the early church worship Jesus as God from the beginning? What does the Bible teach? Listen to find out.  

The Watchtower Organization and its members, Jehovah's Witnesses, reject the deity of Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit, the doctrine of Hell as well as other core Christian doctrines.  The origin of their theology does not date back to 1870 with Charles Taze Russell, it actually dates back nearly two thousand years, to the 4th Century. How was this theology viewed by the early church? Listen to find out.  

According to The Watchtower Organization and its members Jehovah's Witnesses the Bible was corrupted by Christians to make it say things that were not in the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. They claim that the New World Translation is the most accurate version  of Holy Scripture. What is the New Word Translation and what do we know about the committee members that developed this version of the Bible? Listen to find out.

The Watchtower Organization claims to be the "mouthpiece of God." Since their inception, the Watchtower Organization and its members, Jehovah's Witnesses, have claimed that all other churches and denominations are false and that the Watchtower is the only organization through whom God speaks. Do these claims represent reality? Is the Watchtower the only organization through whom God speaks? In this episode we will continue looking at several prophecies that Watchtower Presidents made to see if those prophecies came true. We will also look at what the Bible says about God's standard for prophets to see if these Watchtower leaders qualify. What does a court case in 1954 have to do with Watchtower prophecies?  Listen to find out. 

The Watchtower Organization claims to be the "mouthpiece of God." Since their inception, the Watchtower Organization and its members, Jehovah's Witnesses, have claimed that all other churches and denominations are false and that the Watchtower is the only organization through whom God speaks. Do these claims represent reality? Is the Watchtower the only organization through whom God speaks? In this episode we will look at several prophecies that Watchtower Presidents made to see if those prophecies came true. We will also look at what the Bible says about God's standard for prophets to see if these Watchtower leaders qualify. 

Are Jehovah's Witnesses our brother and sisters in Christ, but just members of a different Christian denomination, like the difference between Baptists, Methodists, or Lutherans, or the difference between protestants and Catholics? Over the course of several episodes we are going to answer this question by looking in depth at Jehovah's Witness faith and the teachings of the Watchtower Organization. In this episode, we will look at the beliefs of the Watchtower Organization to help us answer the question of whether or not Jehovah's Witnesses are our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Many books have been written that have cast doubt on the reliability of the Gospels. Textual critics, like Bart Ehrman, have written books claiming that the Gospels were written by non-eyewitnesses and are the result of legendary stories which circulated around the ancient world for hundreds of years after the death of Jesus and His disciples. Outside the academic world are other authors, like Dan Brown who wrote the Da Vinci Code, which also make claims that attack the reliability of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. Are their claims valid? Were the Gospels written by people who never witnessed the events that they record? This episode looks at these and other issues and asks the question, "Are the Gospels reliable?

Have you ever wrestled with why God would send people to eternal Hell? If God is so loving and merciful, how could He do such a thing? Different religious groups believe that the doctrine of Hell is an unbiblical, disgusting and nefarious doctrine that makes God out to be a tyrant who enjoys torturing His creatures. This episode looks at the doctrine of Hell to see if it is taught in the Bible. It also asks if God can be just without Hell existing.

Have you ever wrestled with why God would command the annihilation of seven nations? For many, like Richard Dawkins, God is nothing more than a malevolent genocidal bully. This episode concludes a look at the book of Deuteronomy and God's command to destroy the nations. It asks if this command is unjust genocide or righteous judgement

Have you ever wrestled with why God would command the annihilation of seven nations? For many, like Richard Dawkins, God is nothing more than a malevolent genocidal bully. This episode is part 1 of 2 in a look at the book of Deuteronomy and God's command to destroy the nations. It asks if this command is unjust genocide or righteous judgement. 

Have you ever wrestled with the evil that you see in the world? Have you ever wondered, "if there is a God, why would he allow evil?" Does the presence of evil disprove the existence of God? In this episode, I answer these questions.

Joseph Smith claimed that the angel Moroni appeared to him and told him about Golden plates which contained the Book of Mormon. Does the Bible actually mention the angel Moroni? The answer might surprise you. In this episode several passages of Scripture are looked at and provide a surprising answer to who the messenger was that appeared to Jospeh Smith. 

Have you ever been confused when Mormon missionaries come to your door and talk to you about the Bible? Does the Bible actually support Mormon doctrine? In this episode several common passages are looked at to see if Scripture supports Mormon doctrine.

Have you ever talked to Mormons about Jesus and been confused? After your conversation with them did you think, "It sure seems like we might be serving the same Jesus?" In this episode we ask the question, "Are Mormons and Christians serving the same Jesus?" In order to answer this question, passages from the Bible and different Mormon doctrines are examined.

The Book of Mormon claims that Native Americans are the direct descendants of the Jews. This is a belief that was taught by Joseph Smith and continues to be proclaimed by members of the LDS church. What does modern DNA research tell us regarding these claims? In this episode the fields of archeology, anthropology, and genetics are addressed to see if modern DNA evidence supports the claims made by Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the LDS Church.  

Is the existence of an ancient north American civilization proof that the Book of Mormon is true? Is there archeological and DNA evidence proving that the Hopewell Civilization was one of the people groups mentioned in the Book of Mormon? These as well as other questions are answered in this episode.

Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon is more accurate than the Bible. This is the view held by the LDS Church today. In fact, Mormons often state that the Book of Mormon has been used as an archeological guide. Is this true? Is the Book of Mormon more accurate than the Bible? Is there evidence for 95% of the Book of Mormon in North America? These questions are answered in this episode. 

Mormon missionaries claim that the Book of Mormon is a divinely inspired work. They claim that the Book of Mormon is more accurate and more reliable than the Bible, and will ask you if "you have prayed about whether or not the Book of Mormon is from God. Is the Book of Mormon the Result of Divine Inspiration or is it a result of Human Plagiarism? In this episode we will answer this question.

Mormon missionaries claim that Joseph Smith Jr. was a prophet of God and helped to restore the Christian church. Was Jospeh Smith a prophet of God or a false prophet? Was Joseph Smith involved in witchcraft or are these claims baseless attacks on the Mormon Church? When and how did Mormonism begin? These are the questions that are answered in this episode.

Was the Smith family involved in witchcraft and other occult practices? Did these practices have an influence on Joseph Smith Jr. and the establishment of Mormonism? These are questions that are answered in this episode. 

Are Mormons our brother and sisters in Christ, but just members of a different Christian denomination, like the difference between Baptists, Methodists, or Lutherans, or the difference between protestants and Catholics? Over the course of several episodes we are going to answer this question by looking in depth at Mormonism. In this episode, we will look at the beliefs of the Mormon church to help us answer the question of whether or not Mormons are our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

If the events that are recorded in the Bible really happened, shouldn't we have writings from Christian and non-Christian sources that verify these events? This episode looks at several extra-biblical sources that lived during the time that the Bible was being formed to see what they wrote. Do these extra-biblical sources support the claims of the Bible? 

Can you trust the Bible? Is there anything outside of the Bible that proves that the people, places, and events, as recorded in the Bible, are real? In this episode, archeological and evidence for the New Testament is looked at to see if it supports the claims of the Bible. 

This episode continues the discussion of Old Testament archeological discoveries and how these incredible archeological finds support the events of the Bible. 

Critics have argued that the Bible is unreliable. Although there is more manuscript evidence for the Bible than for any other ancient work, it doesn't necessarily prove its reliability. One could argue that the Bible is no different than Homer's Iliad, just with more manuscripts. Is there anything outside of the Bible that proves that the people, places, and events, as recorded in the Bible, are real? In this episode, archeological evidence for the Old Testament is looked at to see if it supports the claims of the Bible. 

Can you trust the Bible? Has the Bible been altered by Christians over hundreds and even over thousands of years to make the Bible say what they want it to say? In this episode, we look at the manuscript evidence for the Bible as well as textual criticism to see if the Bible can be trusted.  

What do the prophecies that point to Jesus and mathematical probability have to do with one another? Haven't people like Nostradamus or physics made predictions or prophecies that have come true? So what makes the Christian Bible and the prophecies it contains any different? In this episode these questions will be answered.  

Is the Christian Bible just another religious book, no different than the Qur'an, the Book of Mormon, the Hindu Veda, or any other religious book? What makes Christians think the Bible is unique from other religious books? In this episode, we answer these questions.

Why do we have the Bible? Is the Bible just another book written by men? Who wrote it and what were their qualifications? In this episode, we will be answering each of these questions as well as other questions that people have regarding the Christian Bible.

Did Jesus ever claim to be God? According to Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others He never did. Is the deity of Jesus, something that Christians developed over hundreds of years? In this episode, we will look at the reaction of the Jews as well as who the disciples and Apostles thought Jesus was. Lastly, we will answer the question that we brought up two episodes ago, which was "are the claims of Christianity arrogant and narrowminded?" 

Did Jesus ever claim to be God? According to Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others He never did. Is the deity of Jesus, something that Christians developed over hundreds of years? In this episode, we will look at what Jesus said and taught to see if he ever claimed to be God.   

With over 4,000 religions or faith systems in the world can we really conclude that there is only one true faith? Are the claims of Christianity arrogant and narrow-minded? Is it possible that all religions are equally true and that they all lead to God?

This episode looks at the topic of origins and how life began. Has science disproved the existence of God? In this episode, the fields of Earth Science, Mathematics and Probability, as well as Astronomy are looked at to see if these fields support the Evolutionary or Intelligent Design Worldview. 

This episode continues to look at the topic of origins and how life began. Has science disproved the existence of God? Or are there scientific laws that actually disprove evolution? In this episode, the first and second laws of thermodynamics are looked at and show us that these laws disprove the theory of evolution. This episode also looks at the advancements in the field of Biology, which point to life being the result of an Intelligent Creator.  

In this episode, different philosophical arguments will be looked at to see if the field of philosophy points to a Creator.

This episode looks at the topic of origins and how life began. Does evolution or creationism/intelligent design provide the best explanation for how life began?

This episode looks at the argument that historically religion has obstructed scientific advancements. We will look at the historical events surrounding Columbus and Galileo to see if religion obstructed scientific advancements.

Have you ever heard of the word "apologetics?" Where does this word come from? What does it mean? And Why should you care? These questions are answered in this episode.