Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast

In this episode, your intrepid cohosts learn why they need to get literate. "Bible literate," to be exact. According to author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin, Bible literacy is a vital tool when it comes to apologetics—and "Bible literacy" is not the same thing as "biblical literacy."  Biblical literacy means knowing about the Bible. Bible literacy requires knowing the Bible itself, and Bible literacy is part of what every Christian needs to be able to defend the faith. In the process of getting themselves some Bible literateness, Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones talk with Jen Wilkin about why there are so few women apologists, why Timothy will never write another book about the end of time, and whether or not it's possible for there to be too many extended guitar solos. (Spoiler alert: there is no such thing as too many guitar solos or a guitar solo that's too long.) Jen offers to play xylophone with the rock band Queen, and Garrick reveals a heretofore-unknown secret about Jen's singing abilities. In the segment known as Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History, the dynamic duo places a domesticated feline into battle against a king's shield. The cat survives, but only because of its longstanding concordat with Old Scratch himself. Timothy and Garrick also learn the word "strapwork," and "Strapwork" would be the perfect name for a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS AND GUEST Jen Wilkin is an author and Bible teacher from Dallas, Texas and the Executive Director of Care, Family, and Next Gen Ministries at the Village Church in Flower Mound, TX. She has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts. An advocate for Bible literacy, her passion is to see others become articulate and committed followers of Christ, with a clear understanding of why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God. 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, In Church as It Is in Heaven, and Christian History Made Easy. 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 Jesus (Queen, 1973) More Than a Feeling (Boston, 2011) Misquoting Truth (Jones, 2007) Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen, 1975) 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).

You don't have to be a jerk to be an apologist.  In fact, if you're being a jerk, you're not doing apologetics in a biblical way, because biblical apologetics calls Christians to defend the faith in “meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15b). So how can we do apologetics without being a jerk? One of the best ways not to be a jerk is to listen to 1980s rock, which is why your intrepid cohosts have included clips from Bon Jovi and Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen in this episode. (Fun fact: Jon Bon Jovi's last name is actually spelled “Bongiovi,” and “Böngïövï” would have been an amazing name for the band.) But you need more than 1980s rock to grow in meekness, and that's why this episode goes far beyond merely reminding you of the greatness of Bon Jovi and Van Halen. In this second episode in a two-part series about where to begin in apologetics, the dynamic duo provides you with their final four points about apologetics—all of which can help you to do apologetics with gentleness and reverence while listening to Bon Jovi, which is the opposite of being a jerk. Here are the four points from this episode: 4. The life of a faithful apologist is marked by meekness. 5. Faithful apologists are more interested in winning people than in winning arguments. 6. Faithful apologists use different methods to meet different challenges. 7. Faithful apologists see apologetics as a work of the whole church. ABOUT YOUR 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. 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 Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi, 1986) There's Only One Way to Rock (Van Halen, 1986) Systematic Theology (John Frame, 2013) Reformed Dogmatics (Herman Bavinck, 2003) 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).

This episode begins with the infancy of Jesus and ends with his resurrection. Garrick brings up the infancy of Jesus in the Raiders of Church History segment in the most awkward of ways. This episode is the first—and hopefully the last—time that "lactation" has ever been mentioned on The Apologetics Podcast. Timothy brings the battle to a premature end by hitting Garrick in the head with the Lindisfarne Gospels. Your intrepid cohosts quickly forgive one another, however, and move on to make three key points about what apologetics is. This episode is the first in the two-part series about what apologetics is and how to do apologetics well. Here are the three main points in this episode: (1) Apologetics is a defense that includes evidence. (2) Apologetics calls for holiness. (3) Apologetics is centered in the hope of the resurrection. As Garrick and Timothy unpack these three points, Billy Joel shows up to defend the Christians wrongly accused of burning Rome in A.D. 64, and Pink Floyd and Brian May prove Augustine of Hippo right about the resurrection of Jesus. The Karate Kid shows up too, but the dynamic duo isn't quite sure why. It has something to do with the Papyrus font, and ”Päpÿrüs” would be a perfect name for a heavy metal band that translates its lyrics from fragments of ancient papyri. ABOUT YOUR 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. 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 Apologist (R.E.M., 1998) We Didn't Start the Fire (Billy Joel, 1989) The Karate Kid (The Karate Kid, 1984) Coming Back to Life (Pink Floyd, 1994) Resurrection (Brian May, 1992) 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).

If they made apologetics action figures, Josh McDowell would be one of the figures in the first set. If they made apologetics trading cards, Josh McDowell's card would be in a collectible foil pack. He has toured with the pioneering Christian rock band Petra, and his book Evidence that Demands a Verdict was selected by Christianity Today as the thirteenth most influential Christian book published after the Second World War. Now, he's here with us on this very special episode of The Apologetics Podcast. In 1991, "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. was at the top of the pop charts, and Timothy was looking for evidence that Christianity was true. That's when two books that Timothy found in a library introduced him to apologetics. Those books were Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis and More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. More than thirty years after Timothy first read More Than a Carpenter, Josh McDowell joins the dynamic duo to discuss his latest book How to Know God Exists: Solid Reasons to Believe in God, Discover Truth, and Find Meaning in Your Life (Tyndale, 2022). Josh also takes the time to reminisce about some of the ways that apologetics has shifted throughout his six decades of ministry. Along the way, he tells about his time touring with the Christian hard rock band Petra. In the segment of the program known as Raiders of Church History, it's a medieval mammal against ancient metal in a contest so violent that you may want to cover your children's eyes while they're listening. The violence breaks out because your intrepid cohosts throw a resurrected lamb into combat against a set of ancient spikes. The contest culminates with a Mediterranean feast, complete with trout and mutton shish-kebabs. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS AND GUEST Josh McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and author. After studying at Kellogg College he completed his college degree at Wheaton College and then attended Talbot Theological Seminary. In 1961 he joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ International and shortly after he started the Josh McDowell Ministry. Of his numerous books, his best known titles are More Than A Carpenter, Evidence That Demands A Verdict, and Right from Wrong. More information can be found at his website here. 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? 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 More Than A Carpenter (Josh McDowell, 2009) Creed (Petra, 1990) How to Know God Exists (Josh McDowell, 2022) Beyond Evolution (Anthony O'Hear, 1997) Evidence That Demands A Verdict (Josh McDowell, 2017) 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). If anyone listening to this episode has questions about Josh McDowell's 2021 statements related to racial issues in the United States, you are encouraged to to read his apology and to watch this well-balanced video from Apologetics 315: "A Statement from Josh McDowell" "A Response to Josh McDowell's Recent Statements."   

Welcome to the Apathetic Episode of The Apologetics Podcast! An episode focused on apathy probably seems appropriate to all of you who have noticed how apathetic Garrick and Timothy have been about releasing new episodes for the past few months. But that wasn't actually due to anyone's apathy! It was because Timothy needed to finish writing a new apologetics book entitled In Church as It Is in Heaven, which InterVarsity Press will release in June 2023.  Now that the book manuscript is in the publisher's hands, the Apologetics Podcast is back and better and more apathetic than ever! Despite this exciting return of new episodes, the dynamic duo refuses to get excited. This is, after all, the Apathetic Episode, which requires them to remain apathetic. This episode's installment of the Raiders of Church History begins with a piece of fruit. In a moment so apathetic that it's almost pathetic, Timothy tosses his pear at a dead head, resulting in a dull draw that makes staring at sleeping rocks seem exciting. The apathy continues when Kyle Beshears reveals that his favorite rock group is Starflyer 59, a shoegaze band that barely qualifies as a rock band at all and happens to be the undisputed master of maudlin and apathetic music. But Starflyer 59 is far from the most apathetic aspect of this Apathetic Episode, because there is only one person in the universe more passionately committed to apathy than Garrick and Timothy, and that's Kyle Beshears. The topic of their discussion is “apatheism,” a term that theology professor Robert Nash coined in 2001 to describe people so apathetic that they don't care whether or not God exists. Garrick and Kyle momentarily threaten the apathy of this episode when they begin talking about Mormonism and start to become almost excited. That's when Timothy bravely but apathetically intervenes to restore the high levels of apathy for which this episode is destined to become famous. ABOUT YOUR 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 St. Augustine's Pears (Petra, 1998) Ya Right (Starflyer 59, 2021) When You Feel Miserable (Starflyer 59, 1995) Kyle Beshears Apatheism (Beshears, 2021) 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 have already devoted one entire episode of this podcast to love. That was when they discussed Foreigner's 1984 hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.”  But Garrick and Timothy are far too full of love to fit all of their feelings about love into a single episode.  That's why they're joining forces with Huey Lewis to talk about love again in this special Three Chords and the Truth episode of The Apologetics Podcast. Along the way, the dynamic duo discusses the history of Huey Lewis and the News, Augustine of Hippo, the Trinity, and the widespread contemporary declaration that “love is love.”  In the end, they discover that, unless the nature of God defines love, “love” distorts something good that God designed for our joy and for his glory. Also, “American Express” was probably a better name for Huey Lewis' band than “the News.” If only they had spelled it as “Ämërïcän Ëxprëss,” they might have been successful in keeping their original name as well as avoiding being sued by the credit-card company of the same name. In this installment of “Behind the Covers,” Garrick and Timothy take a look at a song that was popularized on the Grand Funk Railroad album “All the Girls in the World Beware!!!,” in which Grand Funk Railroad outdid Van Halen's song “Everybody Wants Some!!” by adding three exclamation points instead of stopping at a mere two. If only they had added umlauts as well, the title would have been perfect. The cover song this time is “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and your intrepid cohosts agree that Rod Stewart's cover version isn't wonderful at all. 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 Some Kind of Wonderful (Soul Brothers Six, 1967) Some King of Wonderful (Grand Funk Railroad, 1974) Some Kind of Wonderful (Huey Lewis & The News, 1994) Some Kind of Wonderful (Rod Stewart, 2021) Some Kind of Wonderful (Little Milton, 1999) Some Kind of Wonderful (Joss Stone, 2003) Some Kind of Wonderful (Mark Farner, 1992) The Power of Love (Huey Lewis & The News, 1985) 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).

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” With those words, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that declared a federal constitutional right to abortion. So what now? How should churches respond to this ruling? How can this decision be turned into an opportunity for apologetics? And what's been the historical perspective of Christians when it comes to abortion? That's what Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones discuss in this special episode of The Apologetics Podcast. What you'll discover as you listen is that Christians have been talking about abortion far longer than you may have imagined. Abortion has even shown up in apologetics conversations, although probably not in the ways that you might expect. This leads the dynamic duo into a discussion of a song by one of Timothy's favorite bands, King's X; the song is "Legal Kill." In the Raiders of Church History segment, Garrick finds a long-lost saint's tongue and sends it into battle against a crusader's lance. The result is a tongue piercing, which is something that your intrepid cohosts never imagined might happen on this particular podcast. 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 De Anima (Tertullian of Carthage) “Exodus,” in Expositor's Bible Commentary: Revised Edition: Genesis—Leviticus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 492–493. (Walter Kaiser) Legal Kill (King's X) 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).

If you like talking about ancient objects, this episode is for you. And, by "ancient objects," we don't mean things like typewriters, printed telephone books, and those AOL compact discs that used to show up in your mailbox every week.  We're talking about items that are really old.  Like, older than Keith Richards and Willie Nelson. And so, if ancient artifacts are your thing, join Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones on this exhilarating episode in which the dynamic duo discusses ancient texts, ancient abbreviations, ancient chains … and an ancient pelvis. Yes, an ancient pelvis. The episode begins with a battle between the chains of St. Paul and the pelvis of St. Nicholas—and by “St. Nicholas” we mean St. Nicholas of Myra, better known as “Santa Claus.” As it turns out, the pelvis of St. Nicholas is no longer connected to the rest of St. Nicholas, and one portion of his pelvis is thought by some to reside in a relic repository in the Chicago suburb of Morton Grove, Illinois. In Raiders of Church History, Timothy brings this intimate artifact into battle, certain that nothing could possibly defeat the pelvis of Santa Claus. (Also: “St. Nïck's Pëlvïs” would be a great name for a punk band that plays Christmas carols.) But then Garrick brings the chains that bound St. Paul, and the battle between your intrepid cohosts spins completely out of control.  And that's when Dr. Michael Kruger shows up to save the day. That's right: Michael Kruger, president of the Charlotte campus of the Reformed Theological Seminary and preeminent scholar of early Christianity, joins us to talk about the reliability of the copies and the canon of the New Testament. While considering the ancient text of the New Testament, Dr. Kruger deals with some of the claims made by Bart Ehrman in his best-selling books Forged: Writing in the Name of God—Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are and Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. Along the way, we also learn about an ancient pattern of abbreviations known as “nomina sacra” and the greatness of U2. ABOUT GUEST AND HOSTS Michael J. Kruger, Ph.D., serves as the President and Samuel C. Patterson Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the Charlotte campus of Reformed Theological Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. under one of the world's leading text-critical scholars, Larry W. Hurtado, at the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Kruger is one of the world's leading scholars of the origins of the New Testament and the development of the New Testament canon. He is the author of twelve books, most recently Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church (2018). 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 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).

Welcome to the Very Kind Episode of The Apologetics Podcast! Of course, almost every episode of this podcast is kind of kind, mostly because Garrick is just that kind of person. But this episode is the kind of episode that's particularly kind, because we're joined by Dr. Keith Plummer, who is widely renowned for his special kind of kindness. Even the battle between your intrepid cohosts in Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History turns out to be cuddly and kind. Timothy puts a Pomeranian puppy named “Belferlein” into battle against Garrick's weapon of choice, which is a belt that once belonged to Mary the mother of Jesus. In the end, the belt is turned into a leash, and the dynamic duo decides to stop fighting and cuddle the puppy instead. That's when Dr. Keith Plummer shows up, and things get even kinder. Dr. Plummer is one of the contributors to a very kind recent book entitled Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church (The Gospel Coalition, 2021). In this episode, he is kind enough to talk to us about social media, deconversion, doubt, and the Doobie Brothers—a band whose 1976 hit “What a Fool Believes” includes the line “You don't know my kind.” All in all, this episode of The Apologetics Podcast is a one-of-a-kind experience in which even Timothy is kind, which is kind of rare. Also, “Bëlfërlëïn” would be the perfect name for a German industrial metal band, as long as they're a very kind band that likes dogs. ABOUT GUEST AND HOSTS Keith Plummer, Ph.D., is the Professor of Theology and Dean of the School of Divinity at Cairn University in Pennsylvania. He has a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he also earned his M.Div. in Apologetics. Follow Dr. Plummer at @XianMind. 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. 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 Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church (The Gospel Coalition, 2021) The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society (B&H Academic, 2023) 25 Basic Bible Studies: Including Two Contents, Two Realities (Francis Schaeffer) 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).

The books of the Bible were selected in the year 325 at the Council of Nicaea, right? That's what a lot of Christians seem to think. But is this story true?  If it isn't true, how did the tale of a council that created the canon begin in the first place? Those are the questions that your intrepid cohosts Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones explore in this episode. As with almost every explanation that Garrick and Timothy give, the answer turns out to be far weirder than you ever imagined. It involves a prayer, a table, and books that fall miraculously onto the floor. Also, it entails Timothy speaking these words to Garrick, which also could have appeared in a fortune cookie if Garrick and Timothy were writing the fortunes in the cookies: "The canon of Scripture and the Council of Nicaea are like Elvis Presley and 'American Pie,' dude." The only way to comprehend Timothy's cryptic proclamation is to listen to this podcast episode in its entirety. Also in this episode, the dynamic duo throws the bones of Edward the Confessor into battle against a creature that you probably thought existed only in Dumbledore's office, even though it's described in an early Christian sermon.  Without revealing the outcome, let's just say that Edward the Confessor stays dead and that early Christians believed in some zoological phenomena that you probably don't. Also, why hasn't anyone ever named their band "Phöënïx"?   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 How We Got the Bible (book by Timothy Paul Jones) 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).

  Some topics are too amazing to fit into a single episode. Metallica is one of them. In this second part of this dive into the music of Metallica, Garrick and Timothy look at the theology behind the 1991 song "The God That Failed." Along the way, your intrepid cohosts include an audio clip from the most shocking video in which Metallica's lead vocalist James Hetfield has ever appeared. Believe it or not, it all begins with a Nobel Prize-winning scientific research project that involved cardboard butterflies. (Also, "Cardboard Butterfly" would be an amazing name for a band.) The dynamic duo ends the episode with a powerful look at how the gospel answers the dilemmas of shame and unforgiveness that emerge as such dominant themes in Metallica's later albums.   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 God That Failed (song by Metallica) The Unforgiven I, II, and III (songs by Metallica) Patreon Support theapologeticspodcast.com The Apologetics Newsletter 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).

  Finally, after three years of this podcast, the time has come to talk about something that we've rarely talked about before. It's time to talk about … … Metallica. The first part of this two-part series focuses on how being raised as a Christian Scientist impacted lead vocalist James Hetfield's life and Metallica's lyrics. This provides the dynamic duo with an opportunity to discuss the history and theology of Mary Baker Eddy and the Church of Christ, Scientist. If you're interested in doing apologetics with Christian Scientists, this episode provides you with everything you need to get started. Along the way, Timothy is deeply embarrassed as Garrick reveals not only his toes but also his deep affection for Mariah Carey and his deep-seated fear of Oingo Boingo super-fans. The first installment of “Behind the Covers” puts Metallica's cover of a tune originally performed by The Kinks into battle against Van Halen's version of the same song. In the end, your intrepid cohosts can't agree on a winner. What they do agree about is that The Kinks are underrated and that Van Halen and Metallica are two of the greatest bands ever. Also, "Behind the Covers" would be the perfect name for a cover band that decorates the stage with quilts and duvets.   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 God That Failed (song by Metallica) Patreon Support theapologeticspodcast.com The Apologetics Newsletter 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).

  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 “Theologians in Spandex” 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).

    Welcome to The Weird Episode of The Apologetics Podcast! “Wait a minute!” some of you are already saying. “Isn't every episode of The Apologetics Podcast weird? I mean, just this season, they've already featured a phoenix, a magical veil, a holy prepuce, and Timothy.” If that was your first thought when you heard that this episode had been christened as "The Weird Episode," you are not wrong, dear listener. And yet, this episode is going to be even weirder. A lot weirder. “Wait a minute!” a few of you are now saying. “Is that even possible?” The shocking answer is, “Yes.” The weirdness begins with the episode that Timothy and Garrick refer to as “Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History.” This week, Timothy brings one of the weirdest items ever to make an appearance on The Apologetics Podcast: Antonello, a pet trout from the fifteenth century who was raised from the dead after being fried by the friars. But then Garrick shows up and stabs Antonello with the Lance of Destiny. In the end, the dynamic duo concludes that Antonello is no match for the Lance of Destiny, though perhaps Antonello might survive longer against the Lance of Destiny's Child, which is a spear that sings "Survivor" before stabbing you. And, by the way, “Lance of Destiny” and “Pet Trout” would both make great names for bands. After that, it's on to the magical unicorns! Yes, that's right: unicorns. As it turns out, unicorns show up rather frequently in the King James Version of the Bible. Eight times, to be exact (Numbers 23:22; 24:8; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9-10; Psalms 22:21; 29:6; 92:10; Isaiah 34:7), which is exactly eight times more than red pandas are mentioned in the Bible, which is a real editorial oversight in the Word of God, if you ask Timothy or Garrick. In any case, this is the point at which Dan Kimball from Vintage Faith Church joins your intrepid cohosts to discuss unicorns, anti-shrimp laws, and other weirdities from the Bible that could only be discussed on a weird episode. But neither a magical unicorn nor a pet trout turns out to be the weirdest animal-related aspect of this weird episode. That's because Dan also wants to discuss the legality of donkeys in bathtubs. Along the way, Dan talks about his most recent book How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, Pro-Violence, Pro-Slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture.   ABOUT THE GUEST AND HOSTS Dan Kimball, Ph.D., is the author of several books on leadership, church, and culture. He was one of the founders of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California where he still serves on staff. He is also a faculty member at Western Seminary and leads the ReGeneration Project, which exists to equip and encourage new generations to think theologically and participate in the mission of the church. Check out Dr. Kimball's website, dankimball.com, for more information. 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 How (Not) to Read the Bible (book by Dan Kimball) Why Should I Trust the Bible? (book by Timothy Paul Jones) 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).

Lots of dead bodies show up in this episode. Be prepared to cover your eyes while listening, unless you're driving or operating heavy machinery while listening. If that's the case, you should probably keep your eyes open. The episode begins with the corpses of three executed anarchists in iron cages. After that, a pile of plagued cadavers are catapulted over city walls. Then, we talk to a cold-case homicide detective. Here's the topic that your intrepid cohosts tackle with world-renowned cold-case homicide detective J. Warner Wallace: What if all the Bibles in the world suddenly went missing at the same time? We're not just talking about that one time when you left your favorite copy of the Holy Scriptures on top of the car. What we're considering is what we could know about God if every single copy of the Bible went fluttering away, never to be seen again. If that happened, surely all of our knowledge about Jesus would be gone as well, right? Not so fast, says J. Warner Wallace According to Detective Wallace, the impact of Jesus on the world has been so great that, even without any Bibles, we could still reconstruct enough truth to know Jesus and to follow him. And that's what he discusses with Timothy Paul Jones on this episode—but that's not all that they talk about. Every episode of The Apologetics Podcast is contractually required to include some serious rock and roll, and this episode is no exception! Timothy is thrilled beyond words as Detective Wallace reaffirms his love for the guitar wizardry of Neal Schon of Journey and geeks out on some of his favorite guitars. And what happens in the moment of madness known as “Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History”? Well, this is where a lot of the dead bodies show up. This time around, Garrick and Timothy descend into the depths of the macabre as they pit iron cages against the bubonic plague with devastating results. Also, “Bübönïc” would be an amazing name for a heavy metal band. Before it's over, Timothy hurls a plagued corpse at Garrick, and Garrick is forced to reveal the never-before-considered-and-probably-totally-wrong hidden meaning behind the Soundgarden song “Rusty Cage,” which turns out to have something to do with the execution of Anabaptist anarchists in Muenster. And, by “Muenster,” we mean the city, not the cheese.   ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOSTS J. Warner Wallace is a cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker, and best-selling author. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is also an adjunct professor of apologetics at Talbot School of Theology (Biola University) and Southern Evangelical Seminary, and is a faculty member at Summit Ministries. You can find out more about J. Warner Wallace at https://coldcasechristianity.com/. 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. Follow Garrick at @GarrickBailey.   LINKS TO CLICK Patreon Support Person of Interest (book by J. Warner Wallace) Surprised by Joy (book by C. S. Lewis) 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).

At the end of Season 2, the title of this podcast changed from “Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast” to “The Apologetics Podcast.”  Now, the podcast is back and better than ever for a thrilling third season! For those of you who asked for more apologetics, Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones have worked all winter to expand their previously-microscopic attention spans so that they would be able to provide you with a full hour of apologetics. This week, they're focusing all of their attention—which now fills one whole teaspoon, thanks to their hard work!—on historical evidences for the authorship of the New Testament Gospels.  But what about those of you who only listened to Three Chords and the Truth for the rock'n'roll? Have we neglected you and left you despondent with this download, daubing your tears with the t-shirt that you got at the Van Halen concert in 1986? Never fear! Your intrepid cohosts would never forget you. We are still all about rock'n'roll! In this episode, while discussing the authorship of the Gospels, Timothy makes the greatest connection between rock'n'roll and ancient history since that one time when Bill and Ted met Socrates in Athens. This momentous event takes place when Timothy reveals how Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album and Metallica's eponymous fifth album show it's highly improbable that anyone could have fabricated the authorship of the New Testament Gospels. In this season, "Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History" has taken over the slice of insanity previously occupied by Toybox Hero. In the first installment of this new segment, Garrick sends a holy prepuce into battle against his cohost, while Timothy takes a more defensive strategy and brings a soft pile of manure to protect himself against death by defenestration. If you don't know what “prepuce” or “defenestration” means, you may or may not want to listen to this episode, because sometimes ignorance really is bliss and this may be one of those times. Either way, this segment takes less than a minute to careen completely out of control and almost out of PG territory, and also “Dëäth by Dëfënësträtïön” would be an amazing name for a band.   ABOUT THE 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 Patreon Support Led Zeppelin IV (album by Led Zeppelin) Metallica (album by Metallica) 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).

For the first time ever, Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast reveals the future!  It's the last episode of season 2, and it's quite possible that your mind won't be able to handle everything that takes place in this thrilling season finale. Your intrepid cohosts turn out to be not only pastors and podcasters but also prophets and prognosticators. Before the episode comes to an end, their prophetic prognostications manage to predict a book that won't be published until September, a new name for the podcast that's not happening until season 3, and a giveaway that won't begin until this episode has already been released. In the first half of the episode, New Testament scholar extraordinaire Jarvis Williams joins the podcast to talk about the book that won't be published until September. The title of the book is Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: A Biblical Theology of the People of God, and it's a book that every listener should plan to pre-order. Along the way, Jarvis and Timothy discuss Pearl Jam, Luther Vandross, and how multiethnic diversity in the church provides an apologetic for the gospel. In the second half, Garrick returns from a trip to Texas and prognosticates a name change for the podcast as well as unveiling the dynamic duo's plans for reaching new levels of insanity in season 3. Garrick also tells us all about his new job and reveals the classic song from 1963 that best exemplified 2020. Before the episode ends, Garrick and Timothy manage to divulge almost all of their plans for season 3 and, most exciting of all, they tell you how to win a mystery gift in the biggest giveaway ever attempted on this podcast.  Also, why hasn't anyone ever named their band "The Mystery Gift"? The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). This Week's Guest Dr. Jarvis Williams is associate professor of New Testament interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a preaching pastor at Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of several scholarly articles and books, including One New Man: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation in Pauline Theology, For Whom Did Christ Die? The Extent of the Atonement in Paul's Theology, and Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: A Biblical Theology of the People of God (September 2021). Links to Click B and H Academic Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: book by Jarvis Williams Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention: book edited by Jarvis Williams and Kevin Jones Ring of Fire: song by Johnny Cash The Village Church Institute SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Welcome to the stunning conclusion of this two-part series about the end of time! This episode focuses on four truths about the end times that matter far more than any particular perspective on how God will fulfill his eschatological promises. In the process of exploring these four truths, the dynamic duo considers how different views of the millennium have developed and changed throughout Christian history. In the end, your intrepid cohosts reveal their own views about the end of time, and they spend some time considering how the pains of this past year have awakened a new yearning within them for the return of Jesus. Warning to parents: Garrick kicks off this episode by attempting to kill a phoenix with a wooden knife. Please do not attempt this at home. Garrick is a trained professional who almost has a Ph.D. Due to Garrick’s gratuitous act of attempted violence in the early moments of the episode, Timothy recommends that parents cover young children's eyes while listening to this portion of the program, unless your children are driving a vehicle or operating heavy machinery while listening to the podcast in which case you're probably not the type of parent who cares about protecting your children from violent images anyway. Thankfully, Garrick's felonious efforts fail, and the episode improves from that point forward. Also, “Murder Phoenix” would be the perfect name for a death metal band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). In This Episode 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 B and H Academic Eschatological Discipleship: book by Trevin Wax Rose Guide to End-Times Prophecy: book by Timothy Paul Jones Jürgen Moltmann: Collected Readings: book edited by Margaret Kohl Restored to our Destiny: book by Brian G. Mattson Hope of the Early Church: book edited by Brian E. Daley It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine): song by R.E.M. Accelerate: song by R.E.M. SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

The end is near! It’s eschatology and R.E.M. in part one of this two-part almost-the-end-of-the-season mega-episode. After discussing some of the greatest apocalyptic tunes in the history of rock and roll, your intrepid cohosts settle on a 1987 hit from R.E.M., “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine).” Along the way, Garrick tries to convince everyone that “The Final Countdown” by Europe is a song about the end of time, but of course it isn’t and Garrick probably already knows that. Timothy reminisces about the films that terrorized him in his fundamentalist childhood before defining “eschatology” and discussing different views of the end of time. What Garrick and Timothy discover as they take a look at the end of time is that, in the late modern era, eschatologies shifted from looking forward to looking inward. In many contexts, the result has been a failure to talk about the end of time at all. And yet, an avoidance of this topic is no less harmful than an over-emphasis on it. The episode ends with a cliffhanger as the dynamic duo begins to list four essential truths about the end of time but then stops after the first one. To discover the rest of these essential truths, be sure to listen to part two of this episode. This episode’s Toybox Hero Tournament is the most ridiculous encounter yet in a season that has been a veritable fountain of ridiculousness. Garrick puts on a bomber jacket and plays a song on his daughter’s ukulele, hoping to save himself from certain destruction by calming the wrath of an Amazonian superheroine. The superheroine is unimpressed and, now, there is one less ukulele in the world. Also, “Ukulele Wonder Women” would be the perfect name for an all-girl acoustic punk band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). In Today's Episode 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 B and H Academic A Theology for the Church: book edited by Daniel Akin Rose Guide to End-Times Prophecy: book by Timothy Paul Jones The Burning Hell: film by Estus Pirkle All Along the Watchtower: song by Jimi Hendrix Bad Moon Rising: song by Creedence Clearwater Revival Fight Fire with Fire: song by Metallica Four Horsemen: song by Metallica 99 Red Balloons: song by Nena The Final Countdown: song by Europe It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine): song by R.E.M. America's Greatest Band: article by Eric Harvey R.E.M.'s First Ever Show: article by J. Niimi Oddfellows Local 151: song by R.E.M. We Didn't Start the Fire: song by Billy Joel Murmur: album by R.E.M. SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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). Main image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

A few months ago, one of our most faithful listeners and favorite supporters Tanner Billson asked a question about apologetics and the impassibility of God. It was a difficult dilemma, so Garrick and Timothy headed to the best place in the world to determine how to deal with difficult dilemmas: superhero comics. That’s because, in superhero comics, the world is always about to be destroyed and there’s no hope of saving it, which most people would classify as a rather difficult dilemma, especially for those of us who live on the earth which is a very high percentage of human beings. As Garrick and Timothy read their superhero comics, looking for the answer, it occurred to them that—whenever a dilemma is particularly difficult—there is one thing that almost always happens. Lots of explosions.  However, pyrotechnics didn’t seem to be a very good way to answer Tanner’s question.  So, they kept reading.  Right before Garrick reached the end of his attention span, which typically happens after approximately eight seconds, Garrick and Timothy glimpsed the answer to their dilemma, gleaming gloriously in the darkness just like Bill and Ted’s telephone booth in front of the Circle K. They needed a team-up.  That’s right: Like the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, like DC and Marvel, like Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but not so much like Batman and Superman since they tried to kill each other right before they teamed up, the dynamic duo decided to find some likeminded compatriots and team up with them for a crossover episode. And who better to team up with on a superpowered episode than someone who’s already written a book about superheroes? And so, they called Stan Lee. But, since Stan had already passed away, he was regretfully unable to appear on the podcast. That's when Garrick and Timothy did the next best thing: They called Todd Miles, systematic theologian and acclaimed author of Superheroes Can’t Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies. And so, two years after he first appeared on the podcast, Todd is now back and better than ever. This time, Todd teams up with Garrick and Timothy as cohost of the podcast Food Trucks in Babylon. Which means that he also brings with him another systematic theologian, J. Ryan Lister. The results are nothing short of breathtaking. Except for that one moment when Ryan looked wistfully at Todd and pleaded with him, “Oh, Batman, please let me be your Robin,” this crossover episode turned out to be one of the least awkward episodes of Three Chords and the Truth that your intrepid cohosts have ever produced. Not only did Ryan and Todd answer questions about apologetics and the impassibility of God but they also discussed such pressing questions as how ethics should shape twenty-first century apologetics, what instrument Herman Bavinck would have played if he’d joined his fellow Dutchmen Eddie and Alex Van Halen in a band, and how Pearl Jam can help your prayer life. (Also, "Bavinck" would be the perfect name for a theologically-inclined industrial metal band.) If you listen all the way to the end, you’ll also hear Todd’s personal reflections on the profundity of Christian artist Michael W. Smith’s spiritual gifts. As soon as you finish listening to this episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast, please go to https://foodtrucksinbabylon.simplecast.com and subscribe to Food Trucks in Babylon. Also, take a look at http://www.westernseminary.edu where Todd “Batman” Miles and J. Ryan “Robin” Lister team up to teach theology. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   This Week’s Guests Todd Miles is Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches theology, church history, hermeneutics, and ethics. He is the author of Superheroes Can't Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies and the upcoming title Cannabis and the Christian: What the Bible Says About Marijuana. Ryan Lister received his PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently professor of theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of The Presence of God: Its Place in the Storyline of Scripture and the Story of our Lives and serves as director of doctrine and discipleship for Humble Beast, where he also helped start the Canvas Conference.   Links to Click B and H Academic Superheroes Can't Save You: book by Todd Miles SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Why do atheists see the problem of evil as such a problem for Christians? And is the problem of evil really as problematic as some atheists seem to think? Those are some of the questions that Timothy explores in this episode with Mary Jo Sharp. A former atheist who's now a faithful follower of Jesus, Mary Jo Sharp first encountered apologetics in her own spiritual search for truth. Now, Mary Jo is assistant professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University and the founder of Confident Christianity Apologetics Ministry. She's also a delightful guest and a knowledgeable musician, which cranks up the dial on this episode from "ordinary" to "epic." In the second half of the program, the star is a one-hit wonder from 1995, as the dynamic duo delves into "One of Us," a song made popular by a musician who was born and raised about five miles from Timothy's house. Along the way, your intrepid cohosts discuss how nothing less than the incarnation and suffering of God in Christ is able to provide a comprehensive solution to the problem of evil. Before it's over, Garrick and Timothy also take a look at a far superior version of "One of Us" from a Jehovah's Witness who went by the name of Prince, except for those few years when he went by a symbol instead. Once again, the Toybox Hero Tournament nearly degenerates into total insanity and chaos, as an A-Wing starfighter from Star Wars clashes with an armor-plated coffee pot from Target. This unexpected contest forces Garrick and Timothy to face some of the most crucial and difficult questions that they've ever discussed on this program, questions such as "Is a lightsaber capable of blocking boiling water?" and "Exactly how much coffee would a Star Wars pilot need to stay awake in space?" Also, "One of Us" would actually be a great name for a band—much better than "the Hooters," which also shows up on this episode and which Timothy compares to Forrest Gump if you listen all the way to the end.   The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   This Week’s Guest Mary Jo Sharp is assistant professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University and the founder and director of the apologetics ministry Confident Christianity. An international speaker on apologetics, Sharp focuses on love and logic to uncover truth. She is also a published author with Kregel, B&H Publications, and Zondervan. Her most recent book is Why I Still Believe. Links to Click B and H Academic Why I Still Believe: book by Mary Jo Sharp One of Us: song by Joan Osborne One of Us: song by Prince SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).  

If you’re a Christian who’s suffering or if you want to help people who are suffering, this episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast is the most important installment in this series on the problem of evil. This time around, the focus is the existential problem of evil. What Garrick and Timothy mean when they talk about “the existential problem of evil” is the personal struggle with the question, “Where is God when I’m suffering?” “Where Is God When I Suffer?” This problem of evil is also a pastoral dilemma, because this is the question that people ask us in their times of pain. To equip you to understand the question, “Where is God when it hurts?” your intrepid cohosts present seven simple points to remember about suffering, pain, and God's unsuccessful effort to converse with Job about meteorology. Since seven is the perfect number, these seven points pretty much makes it the perfect episode. Along the way, the dynamic duo looks at a song from The Fray entitled “You Found Me,” which Timothy sees as a twist on the storyline of the biblical book of Job. This episode's Toybox Hero Tournament throws a big-eyed, blue-eared Siberian Husky into the ring to do battle against a sparkly pink wand. In the end, what decides the fate of the Husky is not the power of the wand but the disposition of its owner, which guarantees that no harm will ever come to the Husky. Also, “Rabid Husky” would be an amazing name for a punk band. Or a minor-league baseball team. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). Links to Click B and H Academic The Problem of Evil: book by Jeremy Evans "You Found Me": song by The Fray SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

In the last episode, Garrick and Timothy debunked the logical problem of evil—but dealing with the problem of evil requires far more than mere logic. The problem of evil also calls for a look at the overwhelming amount of evil in the world, and that brings us to the evidential problem of evil.According to the evidential problem of evil, the amount and the degree of evil in this world make the existence of God highly improbable. It makes God’s existence so improbable, in fact, that the very possibility of an all-powerful God can be reasonably dismissed.But does the amount of evil in the world really make God’s existence improbable?And, even if the amount of evil in the world did reduce the probability of God’s existence, would that necessarily mean it’s irrational to believe in God?And how on earth does Jar Jar Binks fit into all of this?Those are a few of the questions that your intrepid cohosts unpack throughout this episode. Along the way, they dig into a song by the only punk band that Timothy likes. The band is Bad Religion, and the song is “God’s Love.” Bad Religion also happens to have produced the one and only Christmas album that Timothy actually enjoys, but that might be because Timothy spends most of the Christmas season yearning for summer, cheering for the Grinch, and fantasizing about moving to Florida.This week’s Toybox Hero Tournament may be the craziest one yet. Timothy brings an amazing, transforming chunk of pork to this tournament—but Garrick responds with a toy that would have caused John Calvin to burn him at the stake for his recalcitrant rejection of the Second Commandment. The fate of the pig is too horrific to describe in human words, but it’s safe to say the swine flew and did not survive, due to Garrick’s disregard not only for the Second Commandment but also for the Second Council of Nicaea. Also, “Swine-sink” would be the perfect name for a nu-metal band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   Links to Click B and H Academic The Problem of Evil: book by Jeremy Evans Christmas Songs: album by Bad Religion God's Love: song by Bad Religion Live Again: song by Bad Religion SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

According to a recent survey of college graduates, the problem of evil is the issue that makes it most difficult for these graduates to trust the truth of Christianity. These students' struggles mirror the dilemma that biblical scholar Bart Ehrman described in his book God's Problem: "I felt compelled to leave Christianity [because] I could no longer explain how there can be a good and all-powerful God actively involved with this world, given the state of things. For many people who inhabit this planet, life is a cesspool of misery. ... I came to a point where I simply could not believe that there is a good and kindly disposed Ruler who is in charge.”In this episode, your intrepid cohosts tackle the claim that the existence of evil makes it illogical to believe in the existence of God. To do this, the dynamic duo spends a lot of time simplifying Alvin Plantinga's philosophical work on the problem of evil so that ordinary people can comprehend Plantinga’s arguments. Along the way, Garrick and Timothy discuss U2's album Pop, a dark cycle of songs that turn out to be an extended reflection on God’s apparent absence in a fallen world.This week's Toybox Hero Tournament produces one of the most heartwarming moments ever heard on this podcast—which has been a veritable fountain of heartwarming Hallmark moments over the past couple of years. Timothy reveals his longstanding adoration of red pandas and then discovers that Garrick shares the same love for these cuddly Asian mammals. This teary-eyed conjunction of affections is so deeply touching that two heavily-armed starships from the Star Wars universe pause their attacks to let the red panda run free. Also, “Red Panda” (小熊猫) would be an amazing name for a cuddly, cute C-pop band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   Links to Click B and H Academic The Problem of Evil: Jeremy Evans Pop: album by U2 God, Freedom, and Evil: book by Alvin Plantinga SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

This episode is all about Soul. Garrick and Timothy head to the theater to watch Soul, a new cinematic feature produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. And by "heading to the theater," what they mean is that each of them headed downstairs to their respective home theaters, where the screens are far smaller but the seats are much larger and the popcorn is much cheaper. Your intrepid cohosts' goal in watching Soul was to discuss the theological nuances of this film, but Garrick quickly derails that noble intention with his description of a "Giant Bug Zapper in the Sky" (which would, by the way, be an amazing name for a bluegrass punk fusion band). Also, by the way, there are a lot of spoilers in this episode, if you haven't seen the movie already. In the end, Timothy manages to wrangle enough focus out of Garrick to discuss how Soul tends toward Greek dualism while simultaneously critiquing the secular notion that happiness is found by discovering your "thing." Along the way, the dynamic duo explores Andrew Root's book The End of Youth Ministry? and considers how Josh Chatraw's Telling a Better Story might help Christians to draw from the storylines of popular movies to make their case for God. In the end, it becomes clear that, despite being packed with pop mysticism and Eastern spirituality, Soul is able to provide viewers with a meaningful resolution only by borrowing from the Christian metanarrative. Links to Click B and H Academic Cultural Intelligence: book by Darrell Bock Soul: trailer from Pixar Studios MY N.Y.: album by Jon Batiste & The Stay Human Band Smokin’ at the Half-Note: album by Wes Montgomery Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead?: book by Oscar Cullmann The End of Youth Ministry?: book by Andrew Root Telling a Better Story: book by Josh Chatraw SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones @GarrickBailey   @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).  

Faith happens, and this week’s episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast is all about how faith happens. In the first half, Garrick and Timothy are joined by Josh Chatraw, the apologist extraordinaire who has been freshly forgiven for his many missteps when it comes to being conversant in the art of rock and roll. Josh deftly sidesteps Garrick’s many queries about music and remains focused on the ways that seventeenth-century mathematician and apologist Blaise Pascal aimed people toward faith. In the end, your intrepid cohosts discover that the strongest apologetic is an apologetic that aims not only at the intellect but also at the heart. U2, Jackson Brown, and Kenny Rogers show up as Garrick and Timothy do their best to compensate for Josh’s manifold musical deficiencies. In the second half, it’s the most Stevie Wonder-full time of the year! That's because the dynamic duo delves into a number-one hit from 1973 entitled “Superstition.” According to Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” people should never have faith in anything they don’t understand. When Garrick and Timothy lay the lyrics of “Superstition” alongside Scripture and the works of Augustine of Hippo, they recognize that Stevie wasn’t completely wrong on this point but he also wasn’t completely right. In some sense, it’s faith that opens the door to understanding. Along the way, Timothy reveals his heretofore untold tale of how Stevie Wonder obtained one of his brothers-in-law for him. The Toybox Hero Tournament descends into utter madness as Garrick attempts to use his oldest daughter’s spa kit to give a pedicure to a marsupial from the underside of the planet. The aftermath cannot be described in human words; it can only be experienced through the sheer shock and horror of listening to this week's Toybox Hero Tournament. Also, if there’s a bush band from Australia that needs a name, “The Kangaroo Paw Spa Band” is the name you’ve been looking for. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). This Week’s Guest Josh Chatraw is the director of New City Fellows at the Center for Public Christianity and resident theologian at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. His writing and speaking focuses on public theology, apologetics, and culture. His latest book is Telling a Better Story: How to Talk About God in a Skeptical Age. Links to Click B and H Academic Truth Matters: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw Truth in a Culture of Doubt: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw Pensées: book by Blaise Pascal City of God: book by St. Augustine Running on Empty: song by Jackson Browne Superstition: song by Stevie Wonder Telling a Better Story: book by Josh Chatraw SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones@GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).  

“Generation Z.” “iGen.” “Centennials.” Whatever you happen to call this generation, the children who drew their first breaths in the years between Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” are the first generation of digital natives in human history. But how secure is the faith of these teenagers and young adults? And how can current church leaders help them to trust the truth of the Christian faith? That’s what apologetics professor and bestselling author Sean McDowell joins Timothy to talk about this week. Sean also acknowledges his little-known affection for keyboard synthesizers and the music of Depeche Mode. And, as always, Sean talks about superheroes, because he’s Sean McDowell and that’s what Sean McDowell does, because he’s amazing that way. The focus on teenagers persists into the second half of the episode as Garrick and Timothy look at a song that’s known to most people as “Teenage Wasteland,” mostly because most people only hear the song on classic rock radio stations. The real name of this tune from The Who is “Baba O’Riley.” Even though it’s one of the greatest productions in the history of rock and roll, the song is actually a leftover from an unfinished dystopian science fiction rock and roll opera. The opera was supposed to be called “Lifehouse,” and the story line that Pete Townshend of The Who sketched out for it in 1971 sounds suspiciously like a certain film from 1999 known as The Matrix. After listening to “Baba O’Riley,” your intrepid cohosts analyze the song’s eschatology and unearth the twisted history behind Pete Townshend’s penchant for smashing guitars, which can be traced back to a low ceiling in London and an artist named Gustav Metzger whose lectures were attended by members of Queen, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. Along the way, Garrick and Timothy realize that “going Gustav” is the perfect phrase to describe the smashing of a guitar on stage. Also, someone should totally name their guitar-smashing band “Göïng Güstäv.” This week’s Toybox Hero Tournament was so brutal that the dynamic duo was almost forced to change the rating of this episode. The contestant from Garrick’s family is a buffalo or a bison or some other sort of furry bovine that’s full of blood and meat and bones and various squishy physiological artifacts. (Garrick and Timothy are theologians not zoologists, folks. When it comes to the nuances that distinguish various mammals, they are basically clueless. They only remember which of their household creatures is a cat and which one is a hamster when the cat eats the hamster. Or the hamster eats the cat, whichever one it was that happened last week. Also, why hasn’t anyone ever named their rock band “Plätÿpüs”?) The other combatant is a lioness which inexplicably has a mane, suggesting that Timothy may need to have a discussion about feline gender roles with one of his children. The result of this sanguinary clash is much bloodletting and general pandemonium related to the toy animals that populate the Jones and Bailey households.   The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   This Week’s Guest Sean McDowell earned his PhD in Apologetics and Worldview Studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is now professor of Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. Sean is the author, co-author, or editor of over twenty books including The Fate of the Apostles, So The Next Generation Will Know, and Evidence that Demands a Verdict. You can find out more about Sean and his ministry at his apologetics blog, seanmcdowell.org.   Links to Click B and H Academic Student Ministry by the Book: book by Ed Newton and R. Scott Pace So That the Next Generation Will Know: book by Sean McDowell and J. Warner Wallace Gen Z: study by Barna Group Chasing Love: book by Sean McDowell (Dec. 2020) Passionate Conviction: book edited by Paul Copan and William Lane Craig Who's Next: album by The Who Baba O'Riley: song by The Who SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunesto encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

It’s a two-for-the-price-of-one sale this week at Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast! (Or perhaps “two-for-the-price-of-none,” since you don’t actually have to pay to listen to the podcast anyway.) In any case, the festivities begin with church historian extraordinaire Stephen Presley, who joins us to talk about the greatness of U2 and how Christians did apologetics in the second century A.D. A second-century pastor named Irenaeus of Lyon turns out to be the star of the discussion with Stephen Presley, which gives Timothy an opportunity to recite his favorite lines from Irenaeus’ dismantling of the Gnostic heresy: “Behold, these four powers—the Gourd, the Hollowness, the Cucumber, and the Pumpkin! They have together begotten a crowd of delirious pumpkins.” (No, we’re not joking; Irenaeus actually did include these words in a theological treatise in the second century A.D. Also, “Dëlïrïöüs Pümpkïns” would be an amazing name for a band.) Timothy sees these words as a prophetic foreshadowing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” the greatest Halloween program ever produced.In the second half, theologian and apologist Josh Chatraw joins us to discuss the apologetics of the fifth-century pastor and theologian Augustine of Hippo. But this is not just the story of Augustine. This is also the heartwarming story—soon to be turned into a Hallmark holiday film—of the musical redemption of Josh Chatraw. Josh is a world-class apologist who produces outstanding books but, when it comes to music, his responses tend to fall a bit short. In his first appearance on this program several months ago, Josh mentioned Kenny G, a recording artist whose saxophone playing sounds like an overly-chill choir of flatulent poltergeists. (Also, “Flätülënt Pöltërgëïsts” would be another excellent name for a band.) This could have prevented Josh from ever returning to Three Chords and the Truth, but your intrepid cohosts are more forgiving and gracious than you might have guessed. As a result, they’ve given Josh a second chance. In this program, Josh Chatraw begins his long journey toward redemption and recovery by appealing to the blues. Much hilarity and deep discussion of Augustine takes place along the way.This week’s Toybox Hero Tournament turns out to be so difficult that Garrick and Timothy are unable to decide who is the winner. The combatants are a weapon from Garrick’s middle child and a superhero from Timothy’s third child. The result is a Toybox Hero Tournament in which the outcome is up to you, the long-suffering listeners who must vote on a winner. Visit Garrick and Timothy on Twitter at Twitter.com/ApologeticsPod to let us know who should win. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   This Week’s Guest Stephen Presley is associate professor of church history at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He specializes in patristics with an interest in the intersection between the history, theology, and exegesis of the early church. Dr. Presley received his Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he carried out his research in patristics. Josh Chatraw is the director of New City Fellows at the Center for Public Christianity and resident theologian at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. His writing and speaking focuses on public theology, apologetics, and culture. His latest book is Telling a Better Story: How to Talk About God in a Skeptical Age.   Links to Click B and H Academic Truth Matters: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw Truth in a Culture of Doubt: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw Liberty in the Things of God: book by Robert Louis Wilken Against Heresies: book by Irenaeus of Lyons Confessions: book by Augustine City of God: book by Augustine A History of Apologetics: book by Avery Dulles SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Welcome to the first-ever—and probably the only-ever—Three Chords and the Truth episode that’s all about love! So pull up a chair, strap on your headphones, grab your favorite scissors and your red construction paper, and prepare to cut out some romantic paper hearts. (And, by the way, why hasn’t anyone ever named a heavy metal band “Scïssör”?) One dominant trend in the past decade has been to assume that loving someone requires affirming their lifestyle. As a result, when Christians point out that certain lifestyles are incompatible with Scripture, these Christians are declared to be unloving. The assumption that love requires affirmation has been one hallmark of a movement known as “progressive Christianity”—and that’s what Alisa Childers joins us to talk about in the first half of this week’s episode. Alisa Childers is the author of a new book entitled Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity. Alisa is also—Timothy discovers—a fan of one of the many musicians that Garrick has failed to appreciate adequately, Bob Dylan.In the second half, the dynamic duo digs deeper into love by looking at a song from a band that was once known as “Trigger.” The band is Foreigner, and the song is “I Want to Know What Love Is”—a song that was, according to the initial songwriter, “probably written entirely by a higher force.” In the process of determining what love is (as well as trying to decide whether or not a higher force really wrote the song), Garrick and Timothy explore a book from C.S. Lewis that unpacks four different types of love. Along the way, your intrepid cohosts also discover how Foreigner’s lead vocalist finally found real love after looking for love in all the wrong places.Another tune from Foreigner—which was apparently written by a lower force instead of a higher force—inspired the Toybox Hero Tournaments at the midpoint of most episodes this season. The song from Foreigner that inspired the Toybox Hero Tournaments was, of course, “Juke Box Hero.” This week’s Toybox Hero Tournament places a Lego version of Galadriel from Timothy’s second child into mortal combat against a ceramic duck named Walter that Garrick has stolen from his oldest daughter. Despite Garrick’s claims to the contrary, Timothy is quite convinced that Walter the Duck is a distant cousin of Howard the Duck—which might have increased Norman’s chances of survival, if Norman had possessed the same Quack-Fu skills as Howard the Duck. Garrick—in a moment of quick thinking in which he inexplicably remembers the theme of this week’s episode—appeals to Galadriel’s love for the creatures of the woodland. Galadriel, thrilled beyond words that love was the theme of this week’s episode, graciously grants Garrick's request and rescues Walter from being roasted by the woodland elves. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).     This Week’s Guest As a lifelong church-goer, follower of Jesus, and former recording artist with the Dove award-winning group ZOEgirl, Alisa Childers experienced a period of profound doubt about her faith in her mid-thirties. Through this season, Alisa began a journey from unreasoned doubt into vibrant, intellectually informed faith. She now engages culture, apologetics, theology, and worship at her blog, https://www.alisachilders.com. Her new book, Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, releases October 2020 (Tyndale Momentum).   Links to Click B and H Academic Come Let Us Reason: book edited by Paul Copan and William Lane Craig Another Gospel?: book by Alisa Childers America's Changing Religious Landscape: demographic study from Pew Research Center (2015) Tactics: book by Greg Koukl Alisa Childers The Alisa Childers Podcast Agent Provocateur: album by Foreigner I Want to Know What Love Is: song by Foreigner The Four Loves: book by C. S. Lewis SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Sometimes, the best defense of the gospel isn’t a better argument but a better story. That’s why the previous episode about Josh Chatraw’s book Telling a Better Story and this episode with Russell Moore both focus on narrative apologetics. Also: after an episode in which your intrepid cohosts dredged the depths of some of the worst music ever produced in the history of humanity, this episode marks a return to aural greatness as Timothy looks at music from Paul McCartney, Petra, and Johnny Cash. The focus of the musical discussion this week is “He Went to Paris,” a 1973 tune from everyone’s favorite margarita-marinated beach strummer, the one and only Jimmy Buffett. The first few moments of the podcast threaten to devolve into total disaster, as Timothy is shocked to learn that the Pixar film Onward was not actually an adaptation of Russell Moore’s book Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel. (Önwärd would, however, have been a great name for a Christian metal band in the 1980s.) After learning in the previous episode that Josh Chatraw’s “inside out apologetics” has nothing to do with the Pixar film Inside Out, this new revelation from Russell Moore is almost too much for Timothy to handle. But Timothy is far more resilient than you might think, and he recovers from his shock just in time to discuss the narrative apologetics of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia that God utilized to guide a teenaged Russell Moore toward books like Mere Christianity. Along the way, Russ and Timothy end up reminiscing about how the Christian rock band Petra shaped their souls in the 1980s. The discussion then goes full circle with Jimmy Buffett’s “He Went to Paris,” back to the infinite yearning of every human heart for a satisfying story and to the apologetic truth that only the gospel can provide the narrative that humanity needs. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   This Week’s Guest Russell Moore is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the moral and public policy agency of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Dr. Moore is the author of several books, including Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel and The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home. You can find out more about Dr. Moore at his personal website, https://www.russellmoore.com.   Links to Click B and H Academic A Theology for the Church: book edited by Daniel Akin Onward: book by Russell Moore The Chronicles of Narnia: series by C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity: book by C. S. Lewis He Went to Paris: song by Jimmy Buffett Reading Buechner: book by Jeffrey Munroe Surprised by Joy: book by C. S. Lewis Why Should I Trust the Bible?: book by Timothy Paul Jones timothypauljones.com Three Chords and the Truth SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Have you ever heard terms like “presuppositionalism,” “evidentialism,” or “classical apologetics”? Have you wondered if there’s an easier way to understand apologetics? Maybe you’ve even wished that people could defend the Christian faith without talking about these terms at all. If so, this episode is for you.  (Actually, every episode is for you, because you’re just that special to us. But this one is especially for you.) In the first half, your intrepid cohosts provide simple explanations of the most popular apologetics methods. Then, in the second half, they take a look at a book that advocates “inside out apologetics”—a simple, conversational approach to defending the Christian faith in a skeptical age. So how is it that Garrick and Timothy manage to explain presuppositionalism, evidentialism, and classical apologetics in such a short and simple way?  The answer will shake every assumption you’ve ever had about Garrick and Timothy, as the podcast bravely goes where it has never gone before. Instead of discussing the greatest songs in the history of rock and roll, the dynamic duo dares to do something completely different: Garrick and Timothy dredge the depths of musical history and unearth some of the worst music ever produced. And they do it on purpose. The musical travesties begin with “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” a tune from the first installment of the Frozen franchise that’s been slightly improved by the band Stellar Kart. The music gets worse with a song from the soundtrack of Over the Top, a 1987 film about the sport of semi-professional arm wrestling. (Yes, there actually was such a film, starring Sylvester Stallone. Garrick says you should definitely watch it; Timothy thinks this film is worse than being forced to eat a vegetarian diet while sharing a pup tent with Jar Jar Binks on a month-long camping trip.) Right when it seems that the tunes can’t get any worse, Garrick and Timothy bravely strain downward to touch the terrible and terrifying nadir of music. Yes, that’s right: they dredge up a song from those purveyors of aural agony known as the Backstreet Boys, who show up to teach us about Cornelius Van Til and presuppositionalism. (Also, even though “Over the Top” was an awful movie, it would be a great name for a band.) In the end, a book from Josh Chatraw shows up to save the day—which makes perfect sense on an episode that’s dedicated to terrible music, since Josh was once nearly kicked off an episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast due to his love for Kenny G, the undisputed most overrated saxophonist on the planet. The title of Josh Chatraw’s book is Telling a Better Story: How Kenny G Saved My Apologetics. Just kidding! The title of his book is actually Telling a Better Story: How to Talk about God in a Skeptical Age. In this book, Josh unpacks “inside out” apologetics, a concept that sadly has nothing to do with the Pixar film of the same name. In the end, the book is sufficiently helpful that Garrick and Timothy forgive Josh’s affection for Kenny G and might even invite Josh to come back on the program someday. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).  Links to Click B and H Academic Truth Matters: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw Truth In a Culture of Doubt: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw Telling a Better Story: book by Josh Chatraw Do You Want to Build a Snowman?: song from Disney's Frozen Thomas Aquinas's Summa Contra Gentiles: a guide and commentary by Brian Davies Meet Me Halfway: song by Kenny Loggins The Case for Christ: book by Lee Strobel Something That I Already Know: song by the Backstreet Boys Christian Apologetics: book by Cornelius Van Til A Survey of Christian Epistemology: book by Cornelius Van Til What's Love Got to Do With It: song by Tina Turner SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Theme music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson and Kevin MacLeod. 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).

This episode is packed with answers in Genesis—but, believe it or not, when we say “Genesis” we’re not talking about the band that’s been fronted by Phil Collins since the early 1970s. The focus of this week’s episode is the other Genesis, the one at the top of the table of contents in your Bible. Some Christians feel certain that the cosmos was created only a few thousand years ago while others are adamant that the earth must be billions of years old. Apologist and author Ted Cabal joins Garrick and Timothy in the first half to discuss the question, “How much does the age of the earth really matter? Or does it?” Along the way, Ted describes the history of the young-earth creationist movement, his favorite guitarists, and the greatest guitar he’s ever played.   “Let There Be Rock”—AC/DC’s hard-rocking twist on the opening chapter of Genesis—provides the soundtrack for the second half of this week’s episode. On the way to a discussion of classical arguments for the existence of God, Garrick and Timothy discover why AC/DC ended up in Australia in the first place, what fuels Angus Young’s crazy on-stage antics (hint: it’s not alcohol or drugs), how a sewing machine provided AC/DC with their name, and how a pastor once inadvertently intruded on an AC/DC video that was being filmed in his church. Garrick learns the shocking truth about how Australians pronounce “AC/DC,” and he reveals how he once cruelly destroyed the joy that had previously filled a support technician’s stomach and soul whenever the technician ate Kentucky Fried Chicken. Before it’s over, the dynamic duo locates three classical arguments for the existence of God in AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock,” and Timothy retitles the argument from design such that it shall be henceforth and forever known as “the tassological argument.”    Also, Garrick and Timothy learn that “the Ten Pound Plan” isn’t a diet—but it would still make a great name for a band.   This week’s Toybox Hero Tournament turns out to be the strangest one yet—and that’s saying something, since the Toybox Hero Tournament has already pretty much been a never-ending fountain of strangeness. A gluttonous lepidopteran from Garrick’s youngest child goes into battle against a future Jedi on the planet Hoth. This deadly duel reveals a sordid and previously-unknown connection between The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the exogorth that nearly eats the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. You’ll never be able to look at The Very Hungry Caterpillar or The Empire Strikes Back in the same way again after this week’s tournament.   The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   This Week’s Guest Ted Cabal has been a street evangelist, church planter, pastor, and educator. He coauthored Controversy of the Ages: Why Christians Should Not Divide over the Age of the Earth (Lexham Press, 2018) and is general editor of The Apologetics Study Bible (B&H, 2nd ed., 2017). His special interest in the intersection of faith and reason stems from his coming to faith in Christ as a professional rock guitarist and atheist while reading the book of Matthew. You can find out more about Dr. Cabal and Christian apologetics at his personal blog, https://tedcabal.com.   Links to Click B and H Academic Come Let Us Reason: book edited by William Lane Craig and Paul Copan Controversy of the Ages: book coauthored by Ted Cabal Apologetics Study Bible: study Bible edited by Ted Cabal BioLogos Let There Be Rock: album by AC/DC Let There Be Rock: song by AC/DC SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

The devil, the blues, and The Jackson 5 are the stars of this week's episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast. Lisa V. Fields—popular apologetics speaker and founder of the Jude 3 Project—joins Timothy to discuss a recent apologetics curriculum from Jude 3 Project. Along the way, Lisa reveals her longstanding longing to sing Michael's parts with the Jackson 5. More importantly, Lisa provides valuable insights for defending the faith in conversations with young urban professionals and in historically African-American churches and colleges.In the second half of this week's episode, your intrepid cohosts bask in the glow of yet another wonder from the year 1986. This time, it's the movie Crossroads, which was basically Karate Kid except with music instead of martial arts. Not only does this film provide Garrick and Timothy with a chance to explore the history of the blues, but it also opens the door to talking about selling your soul to the devil. This devilish discussion takes the dynamic duo back to the sixth century and then from there to sixteenth century, to talk about a man named Faust who—at least according to one legend—traded his soul to the devil for a poodle and twenty-four years of superpowers. In the end, this quest to comprehend the longstanding legend of selling your soul to the devil lands Garrick and Timothy at a crossroads in Mississippi for a stunning finale that you won't want to miss.Also, "Fäüst" would be the perfect name for a death-metal band. This week's toybox hero tournament—just like Top Gun, Iron Eagle, Crossroads, the Oprah Winfrey Show, Pee-wee's Playhouse, and ALF—has its beginning in the year 1986. That's when a certain toy from Garrick's childhood first made an appearance. The toy was the amazing, transforming Autobot boombox Blaster. This week, Blaster enters into mortal combat with an action figure from Timothy's youngest child. The result is a sonic boom from Wakanda that reduces Blaster to spare parts.   The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).     This Week’s Guest Lisa V. Fields is a graduate of Liberty University with a Master of Divinity with a focus in Theology. As founder and president of the Jude 3 Project, Lisa's primary mission is to help the Black Christian community know what they believe and why they believe. Lisa has received several honors, including being recognized by Christianity Today for her work as an apologist in the African American community. She speaks regularly at evangelism, apologetic, and biblical literacy events for various universities and churches across the country.   Links to Click B and H Academic For God So Loved the World: book by Dayton Hartman and Walter Strickland Jude 3 Project Through Eyes of Color: participant's guide by Lisa Fields and Yana Conner Through Eyes of Color: leader's guide by Lisa Fields and Yana Conner The Basics on Blaster: video by Chris McFeely Crossroads (1986): movie Cross Road Blues: song by Robert Johnson Crossroads: song by Cream SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunesto encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Your intrepid cohosts have been watching a lot of films with their families during this season of social distancing, so it’s not surprising that so many movies make appearances in this week’s episode. The first film that shows up is the 2016 Netflix film Barry, a fictional look at what Barack Obama’s first year at Columbia University might have been like. At one point in this film, a young Barack Obama confronts a band of Black Hebrew Israelites in Harlem. Urban apologist Vocab Malone—author of the book Barack Obama versus the Black Hebrew Israelites—uses this scene as a starting-point to help listeners to understand the rapidly-growing Black Hebrew Israelite movement. Along the way, Vocab Malone reveals his longstanding affection for an early doo-wop group that almost no one else remembers, and he describes how he once danced with the Transformers at Comic-Con.The second film to make an appearance is the 2018 animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This film shows up because Timothy’s thirteen-year-old sends Spider-Gwen into battle against a fireball-breathing platypus that's the property of Garrick’s thirteen-year-old in this week's Toybox Hero Tournament. The result is a spider-person and platypus supergroup that will one day rule the world.The next film is Iron Eagle, which happens to be one of Garrick’s favorite childhood film. This film also represents the low point of intelligent dialogue in the year 1986 (not including that one time in the autumn of 1986 when thirteen-year-old Timothy attempted to express his feelings for a member of the opposite sex, which consisted mostly of indecipherable grunts punctuated by several hundred repetitions of "um, I really, um"). The reason Iron Eagle shows up is because the movie's soundtrack included the song “One Vision” by Queen, which is the focus of the second half of the episode. In the process of analyzing “One Vision,” Garrick and Timothy trace the religious journey of Queen’s lead vocalist Freddie Mercury from Zoroastrianism to an apparent fascination with certain aspects of Christianity. What Freddie Mercury's journey reveals is humanity’s inescapable yearning for oneness and harmony—a yearning that can't be fulfilled apart from an embrace of the gospel. It may also reveal that all humanity can unite around fried chicken. Also, even though Iron Eagle was a terrible movie, it would make an amazing name for a band.The high point of this week’s episode takes place while Garrick and Timothy are adulating the four-octave wonder of Freddie Mercury’s voice. That’s when Garrick poses the most mind-blowing question ever uttered on this podcast: What if Steve Perry and Freddie Mercury had formed a supergroup and sang together? Besides ripping the space-time continuum, this combination would have—the dynamic duo realizes—produced the world-saving song that Bill and Ted were tasked with writing in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).    This Week’s Guest Vocab Malone was born and raised on the south side of Columbus, Ohio. He holds a master’s degree from Phoenix Seminary and is a doctoral student at Talbot School of Theology. Vocab’s ministry focus is urban apologetics and cultural worldview analysis. Vocab is a member of First Arabic Baptist Church in Arizona, and he's the author of Barack Obama vs the Black Hebrew Israelites: An Introduction to the History and Beliefs of 1West Hebrew Israelism.   Links to Click B and H Academic For God So Loved the World: book edited by Dayton Hartman and Walter Strickland Barack Obama vs the Black Hebrew Israelites: book by Vocab Malone Black Christians You Should Know: YouTube series by Vocab Malone I Wonder Why: song by Dion and the Belmonts What's Up Danger?: song by Blackway and Black Caviar Fabulous: song by Phineas and Bobby Fabulous Some Kind of Magic: album by Queen One Vision: song by Queen Iron Eagle: movie trailer Bill and Ted Face the Music: movie trailer  The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: book edited and translated by John T. Scott Essays on Religion, Science, and Society: book by Herman Bavinck Jesus: song by Queen The Show Must Go On: song by Queen SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Welcome to the Deeper-Than-Usual Episode! This episode has been named “the Deeper-Than-Usual Episode” mostly because it is a bit deeper than usual. Dr. J.V. Fesko—professor of systematic and historical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and all-around very deep person—joins Garrick and Timothy to discuss many deep things. Fesko momentarily risks his deep reputation by admitting his longstanding longing to sing like David Lee Roth, who is not a deep person according to certain anonymous reports and to anyone who’s ever seen him in concert. However, Fesko quickly recovers his much-coveted mantle of deepness by deeply discussing presuppositionalism, the Reformation, and historic worldview theory, all of which are very deep topics. Also, "Mantle of Deepness" would be a terrible name for a band. In the second half, your intrepid cohosts discuss a song that forces the dynamic duo to wade even deeper than Dr. Fesko’s much-coveted mantle of deepness. The song is “Freewill” by Rush, and the deep topics include determinism, libertarianism, compatibilism, Molinism, and whether or not a fish can become a helicopter. According to Garrick, fish cannot become helicopters; Scott Stapp, lead singer and chief arm-spreader in the band Creed, deeply disagrees and even sings a song entitled “Marlins Will Soar.” This song is apparently about how marlins can turn into helicopters while playing baseball and even fly to the World Series if they are sufficiently optimistic. This week’s Toybox Hero Tournament pits a pig against a magical object from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The pig-versus-Potter conflict is so intense that confusion reigns until a song from Cher shows up on the deck of a ship in the deep ocean to render a verdict. The result is bacon.  The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).    This Week’s Guest J. V. Fesko presently serves at Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson) as Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology.  He is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and has served in church planting, pastoral ministry, and teaching for more than twenty years. Fesko has authored or edited more than twenty books and written fifty published essays for various journals and books. You can find out more about Fesko at his personal blog, Reformed Theology.   Links to Click B and H Academic Theology of the Reformers: book by Timothy George Reforming Apologetics: book by J. V. Fesko Nature and Scripture: essay by Cornelius Van Til Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: 4-volume work by Richard Muller Lectures on Calvinism: lectures by Abraham Kuyper Reformed Theology The Long Shadow of Racism in America: article by Timothy Paul Jones The Gospel and the Pursuit of Justice in Your City: article by Jamaal Williams, Timothy Paul Jones, and Jarvis Williams Permanent Waves: album by Rush Freewill: song by Rush Does God Know the Future?: interview with Thomas Flint True Spirituality: book by Francis Schaeffer SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Reason, resurrection, and the physical world are the focus of the most action-packed episode of Three Chords and the Truth ever produced. The primary reason why it’s so action packed is because the Toybox Hero Tournament includes a special cohost who is far more exciting than either of your intrepid cohosts.Renowned theologian Dr. Matthew Levering kicks off the episode by discussing how nature and philosophy point to the presence of God and why the physical resurrection of Jesus matters. Along the way, Dr. Levering highlights the importance of the Old Testament and professes his longstanding longing to impress his children by playing guitar in the band One Direction.In the second half, Garrick and Timothy tackle a song so amazing that it can’t even be played in music stores: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. Timothy makes the case that the central point of the song is a yearning for the spiritual realm that no human soul can quell. This leads to a discussion of how Christians should view material possessions and pleasures, interspersed with digressions that include Wayne's World, the Material Girl, and what Robert Plant meant by "children of the sun." Also "Children of the Sun" would be a great name for a band, especially if the band added umlauts.But not even "Chïldrën öf thë Sün" can compare to how amazing it would be to name a band “Charizard,” except that The Pokémon Company would probably sue the band even if they added umlauts. That’s because—Timothy learns—Charizard is the most powerful Pokémon owned by Garrick’s nine-year-old son, who shows up to cohost the Toybox Hero Tournament. This week’s tournament pits a battle-hardened zebra from the intensive-care unit against the dynamic duo of Charizard and Reshiram. The result is roasted zebra.Also, another great name for a band would be “No Stairway Denied.”   The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).     This Week’s Guest Matthew Levering is James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology at Mundelein Seminary, and Co-Director of the Chicago Theological Initiative at Wheaton College. He is the author or editor of over thirty books, and the translator of Gilles Emery’s The Trinity. He co-edits two quarterly journals, Nova et Vetera and International Journal of Systematic Theology. Since 2004, he has been a participant in Evangelicals and Catholics Together, and from 2007-2016 he served as Chair of the Board of the Academy of Catholic Theology.   Links to Click B and H Academic Come Let Us Reason: book edited by Paul Copan and William Lane Craig Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?: book by Matthew Levering Proofs of God: book by Matthew Levering The Resurrection of the Son of God: book by N. T. Wright Stairway to Heaven: song by Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV: album by Led Zeppelin Taurus: song by Spirit Material Girl: song by Madonna Uptown Girl: song by Billy Joel Return of the King (2003): film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain: book by Lewis Spence Confessions: book by Augustine SBTS Virtual Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

What does it mean to say that the Bible tells the truth? And what should Christians do when they find a claim in the Bible that looks like a contradiction? New Testament scholar and Daily Dose of Greek mastermind Rob Plummer joins Garrick and Timothy to discuss these questions. In the process, Rob also examines the dilemma that once rocked biblical scholar Bart Ehrman’s belief in the inerrancy of the Bible. In Mark 2:26, Jesus linked an event from the life of David to “the high priest Abiathar,” but the event actually took place—according to 1 Samuel 21—during the high priesthood of Abiathar’s father Ahimelech. On the way to exploring this dilemma, Rob reveals his longstanding longing to become the lead vocalist for The Beatles.  Truth, goodness, and beauty are the focus of the second half. The featured musical group is the post-punk, sometimes goth, sometimes new-wave band The Cure. It’s clear from the song “Truth, Goodness, and Beauty” that Robert Smith of The Cure yearns for transcendent realities, and it’s also apparent that he believes in actual good and evil. The problem is that Smith ascribes to an atheistic worldview, and atheism provides no coherent explanation for the moral realities of good and evil or for the transcendental realities of truth, goodness, and beauty. In the midst of the dynamic duo’s explanation of “the transcendentals,” Bill and Ted—another duo, twice as bodacious as Garrick and Timothy but only half as dynamic—unexpectedly make an appearance to remind listeners how to find “Socrates” in the encyclopedia. Also, why hasn’t anyone created a superhero team called “The Transcendentals”? It’s mystical magic against Sith weaponry in this week’s Toybox Hero Tournament, as a crimson lightsaber is forced to into mortal combat against a one-eared unicorn. The level of violence slips dangerously close to PG-13, so be prepared to cover your children’s eyes as they listen to this week’s tournament. The solution to the conflict seems simple until your intrepid cohosts realize that both lightsabers and unicorns are in the Bible—sort of. Also, “Lightsabers and Unicorns” would be a great name for a band.  The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).      This Week’s Guest: Rob Plummer Rob Plummer is chairman of the New Testament department and professor of New Testament interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Plummer has written, co-written, or edited several books, including Greek for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving New Testament Greek (Baker, 2017), Going Deeper with New Testament Greek: An Intermediate Study of the Grammar and Syntax of the New Testament (B&H, 2016), and 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible (Kregel, 2010). Plummer is perhaps most widely known for his role in founding and hosting the screencast, The Daily Dose of Greek (www.dailydoseofgreek.com). Links to Click B and H Academic Going Deeper With New Testament Greek: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Benjamin Merkle, and Robert Plummer Beginning with New Testament Greek: book by Benjamin Merkle and Robert Plummer Daily Dose of Greek Misquoting Jesus: book by Bart Ehrman Holy Hour: song by The Cure Just Like Heaven: song by The Cure Truth, Goodness, and Beauty: song by The Cure The Cure: album by The Cure SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

What happens when a cold-case detective applies his investigative skills to the New Testament Gospels? Find out as Timothy meets up with award-winning detective and bestselling apologetics author J. Warner Wallace. In addition to being a detective and apologist, Wallace is also a guitarist, bassist, and—Timothy is thrilled beyond words to discover—a fan of Steve Perry and Journey. With great difficulty, Timothy manages to restrain his adoration for Steve Perry just long enough to ask J. Warner Wallace a few questions about apologetics and the New Testament Gospels. In the second half of the podcast, Garrick and Timothy examine a band that was known at different times as Sigma 6, the Meggadeaths, and the Tea Set. Not surprisingly, the band never took off until they changed their name to Pink Floyd. "Another Brick in the Wall" is the musical focus for this week, but it's difficult for Garrick and Timothy to remain focused when talking about a band that once lost an inflatable pig that was roughly the size of a bus in the skies over London. In the end, however, the dynamic duo suppresses most of their attention deficits and manages to look at Pink Floyd's The Wall from the perspective of a biblical theology of guilt and shame. Also, Pig On the Lam would be a great name for a band. The first few minutes of the Toy Box Hero Tournament go completely off the rails as Garrick raises a grievance that forces Timothy to make a painful confession about the first episode of this season. In the end, however, your intrepid cohosts put their differences aside long enough to engage in a battle that forces a triad of testudines into mortal combat against Captain Marvel; in the end, the only thing that can possibly save the testudine triad is the hope that Carol Danvers might be an environmentalist.  This Week’s Guest: J. Warner Wallace J. Warner Wallace is a cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker, and best-selling author. Wallace became a Christ-follower at the age of thirty-five after investigating the claims of the New Testament gospels using his skill set as a detective. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is also an adjunct professor of apologetics at Talbot School of Theology (Biola University) and Southern Evangelical Seminary, and a faculty member at Summit Ministries. You can find out more about J. Warner Wallace at https://coldcasechristianity.com/.   Links to Click B and H Academic Stand Firm: book by Paul Gould, Travis Dickinson, and Keith Loftin Cold-Case Christianity: book by J. Warner Wallace Forensic Faith: book by J. Warner Wallace So the Next Generation Will Know: book by Sean McDowell and J Warner Wallace Cold-Case Christianity for Kids: book by J. Warner Wallace Case Makers Academy The Wall: album by Pink Floyd Another Brick in the Wall: song by Pink Floyd Shine on You Crazy Diamond: song by Pink Floyd Hey You: song by Pink Floyd Comfortably Numb: song by Pink Floyd Urban Ministry Podcast SBTS Preview Day   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Apologetics scholar Josh Chatraw joins your intrepid cohosts this week to talk about cross-centered apologetics, Augustine of Hippo, and what it takes to hang out with Tim Keller. Josh is the coauthor of several books, including Truth in a Culture of Doubt from B&H Academic. Along the way, Josh makes the mistake of revealing his longstanding affection for pseudo-saxophonist Kenny G, apparently unaware that Kenny G is Timothy’s least favorite musician. The ensuing kerfuffle threatens to eliminate Josh from the podcast. In the end, a reference to the Dave Matthews Band intervenes and saves the day.Davy Jones—no relation to Timothy, by the way, because British rock stardom is nowhere to be found in any branch of Timothy’s family tree—is the focus of the second half of this week’s podcast. But, of course, you don’t know him as Davy Jones; you know him as David Bowie—and as Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke. Garrick also remembers him as the goblin king in the movie Labyrinth, but Timothy and Garrick end up having very different opinions about this particular film. (Also, why hasn’t there ever been a heavy metal band named “Labyrinth”?) In 1975, while recording his album Station to Station, David Bowie seriously considered Christianity. His song “Word on a Wing” encapsulates some of his spiritual struggles during this time. So what was it, from a human perspective, that kept Bowie from turning to Christ? That’s the question that Garrick and Timothy consider this week. Before the segment is over, you’ll also learn about Garrick’s odd fixation on Portuguese renditions of David Bowie’s songs and Timothy’s surreptitious purchase of stone-washed jeans when he was seventeen.This week’s Toy Box Hero Tournament is the toughest yet (but, then again, this is only the second one). A Lego AT-AT owned by Garrick’s son levels its blasters at a wizard bearing Hermione Granger’s wand—or, more precisely, an overpriced replica thereof, purchased at Universal Studios because, once in a while, Timothy does actually give in to his children. So which one of these two toys will win? Find out in this week’s episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast!   This Week’s Guest Joshua Chatraw is the director of New City Fellows at the Center for Public Christianity and resident theologian at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Some of his books include Apologetics at the Cross (co-authored with Mark Allen) and Truth in a Culture of Doubt (co-authored with Andreas Köstenberger and Darrell Bock). You can find out more about Josh and the Center for Public Christianity at https://centerforpublicchristianity.org/.   Links to Click B and H Academic Truth in a Culture of Doubt: book by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw Apologetics at the Cross: book by Josh Chatraw and Mark Allen The City of God: book by Augustine The History of Apologetics (June 2020): book by Benjamin Forrest, Josh Chatraw, and Alister McGrath Telling a Better Story: book by Josh Chatraw Labyrinth (1986 Film) Word on a Wing: song by David Bowie Ziggy Stardust: song by David Bowie Space Oddity: song by David Bowie Bus Stop: song by David Bowie and Tin Machine God Knows I'm Good: song by David Bowie Lazarus: song by David Bowie SBTS Virtual Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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).

Many apologies for the poor audio quality in some portions of this week's podcast; when this episode was recorded, Timothy and Garrick were still working on different solutions for recording the podcast while socially distanced. It's a new season of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast, and Garrick and Timothy are serious about social distancing. They are, in fact, so serious about being socially distant that they've installed a mile-wide river to separate them. In the first half of this earthshaking season premiere, your intrepid cohosts discuss a recent article in Christianity Today entitled "Is the Coronavirus Evil?" The answer given in the article is "no," and the author argues that such calamities and their causes are good. According to Garrick and Timothy and pretty much every theologian in the history of Christianity, however, the answer is "yes," because calamities of this sort are a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. Before it's all over, a battle ensues in which Augustine of Hippo, Herman Bavinck, and Karl Barth unite to defeat not only this errant article but also armchair theologian and wrestler Hulk Hogan. To do this, it becomes necessary for Timothy to explain a philosophical concept known as "surd evil." Also, "Surd" would be a great name for a band. The devil himself shows up in the second half of this week's episode. That’s because the dynamic duo tackles the classic hit "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones. In the process of explaining what Mick Jagger got right and wrong in the lyrics of this song, Garrick and Timothy also discuss such pressing dilemmas as why Satan chose to take the form of a serpent instead of a cat in the Garden of Eden. With the tragic loss of the Infinity Gauntlet at the end of last season—may our treasured friend from Season 1 rest in peace with the fan to whom we sent it—it became necessary to come up with something even more absurd than drawing random questions about fictional universes from a plastic glove. This was difficult, but not too difficult because Garrick and Timothy are veritable experts when it comes to random absurdities. And so, this week represents the inaugural Toy Box Hero Tournament, in which your cohosts steal toys from their children and force these toys into duels that result in the death of one toy or maybe just in a lot of pointless arguments. This week, it's a battle between Captain America's shield and a Lite-Brite, because that somehow made sense at the time. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com), and Garrick and Timothy are giving away notebooks with this logo on them. Listen to the episode to discover how to win. Many apologies for the poor audio quality in some portions of this week's podcast; when this episode was recorded, Timothy was still working on different solutions for recording the podcast while socially distanced. Links to Click B and H Academic The Problem of Evil: book by Jeremy Evans Is the Coronavirus Evil?: article by Daniel Harrell The City of God: book by Augustine of Hippo How Can a Good God Allow Evil in the World?: podcast episode with Eric Johnson Sympathy for the Devil: song by The Rolling Stones Yer Blues (Remastered 2009): song by The Beatles Rollin' Stone: song by Muddy Waters The Prodigal Son: song by Robert Wilkins SBTS Virtual Preview Day The Urban Ministry Podcast ThreeChordsApologetics.com How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Contact us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Theme music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. 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). 

Welcome to the final episode of season one of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast! This week's podcast includes paganism, the Piano Man, and the most daring giveaway ever attempted on any human podcast.   Pagan parallels are the theme of the first half. Even in ancient times, pagan philosophers claimed that Christians had “used pagan myths in fabricating the story of a virgin conception.” So is it possible that the miraculous conception of Jesus was plagiarized from pagan parallels? That’s the excellent adventure that Garrick and Timothy undertake in the first half.     In the second half, Garrick and Timothy search for spiritual truth in the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. In the process, everyone is shocked to discover that Billy Joel's piano playing makes Garrick a cultured person and---as the truth is revealed about Garrick's first dance with his wife---maybe even slightly romantic. And then, as if things couldn't get any more awkward, the question from the Infinity Gauntlet is mostly about cuteness. Timothy has expertise in family ministry and in history and in movies where lots of things explode; he also knows about guitars and Greek. But Timothy has no expertise whatsoever in cuteness. And thus, because the Infinity Gauntlet has malfunctioned by spawning a question about cuteness, it must be given away. Otherwise, it might attempt at some point in the future to make Timothy answer questions about topics like My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite, which could irreparably rip the space-time continuum. This terrible recognition forces Garrick and Timothy to formulate one of the most daring giveaways ever attempted in the history of podcasting: Your intrepid cohosts are giving away the Infinity Gauntlet, along with at least ten copies of the new edition of Timothy's book Perspectives on Family Ministry. Listen to this week's episode to find out how to win.   If you listen to the end, you'll also hear a song written by Timothy Paul Jones and recorded with his band Encomia during the infamous illegal recording sessions in an abandoned house in Manhattan, Kansas in the spring of 1993. The title of the song is “The Lottery.” This particular song was partly inspired by Shirley Jackson’s short story of the same name, and the lyrics were written from the perspective of a dying victim of abortion.   Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. In this Episode Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Family 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. Questions to Discuss 1. Skeptics claim that the story of Jesus is not only false; it is actually borrowed from earlier pagan beliefs. What do we mean when we say that the pagan parallels aren't really parallel? 2. What about the parallel of Mithras? Are there other supposed parallels between Jesus and Mithras? 3. In what ways do pagan parallels sometimes confuse the historical claims of the New Testament with later Christian practices? 4. Let’s suppose for a moment that some patterns that were present in the life of Jesus could be found in some previous religion. Would this weaken the historical foundations of the Christian faith, as critics claim? 5. Why shouldn't we worry that the date of Christmas may have pagan origins? Links to Click If you want to learn more about pursuing kingdom diversity and racial reconciliation, one great place to start is For God So Loved the World: A Blueprint for Kingdom Diversity, written by Walter Strickland and Dayton Hartman. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire: book by Roger Beck The Roman Cult of Mithras: book by Manfred Clauss God in the Dock: book by C. S. Lewis Contra Celsum: book by Origen of Alexandria "We Didn't Start the Fire": song by Billy Joel "She's Got a Way": song by Billy Joel "Piano Man": song by Billy Joel "Smells Like Teen Spirit": song by Nirvana "Celebration at the Berlin Wall": clip from ABC News ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go to http://www.sbts.edu/bgs/degree-programs/mdiv/apologetics/ How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

On May 25, 1977, a young filmmaker named George Lucas released a space fantasy that he had simply titled Star Wars. Three years later, Lucas expanded the title to Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope and it became clear that this movie was one small segment of a far larger story. Over the past four decades, this story has developed into one of the most influential cultural phenomena of the modern era. Now, with the release of Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the saga that began In 1977 has drawn to a end—and what an ending it is! In this special episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast, Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones take a theological look at the latest and the last installment in the Skywalker saga that George Lucas launched more than four decades ago. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. Questions to Discuss about Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker 1. How does redemption take place within the worldview of Star Wars? 2. Characters in Star Wars frequently describe their ideal as “balance” between the dark and light sides of the Force. Yet, in the end, victory is not achieved through balance but through a victory of light over darkness. What does this tell you about the inadequacy of Eastern views of salvation? 3. What does the change in Rey’s perception of her own identity reveal about humanity’s awareness of our need for redemption through adoption?  4. Why do stormtroopers aim their blasters so poorly? How could sandpeople possibly be worse shots than stormtroopers? Links to Click B and H Academic Finding God in a Galaxy Far Far Away: book by Timothy Paul Jones Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary: visual guide to Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Star Wars: The Complete Saga: movie series originally by George Lucas Star Wars Party: album by Meco ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go here. How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast (Apple / Android / RSS). 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned on Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones @GarrickBailey @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. Brief excerpts of music played in this 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).

This week’s episode covers the birth of Jesus, death, resurrection, and everything in between! It’s only a few days until Christmas 2019—a celebration which, this year, Timothy has very helpfully renamed “The Star Wars: Episode IX After Party.” At some point between now and Christmas Day, millions of people throughout the world will hear these words from the New Testament: “It came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria” (Luke 2). But there’s a problem with these words: According to records from Roman history, it seems that Quirinius didn’t become governor of Syria until almost ten years after Jesus was born. So what do we do with this apparent discrepancy in the governorship of Quirinius? In the first half of this episode, esteemed New Testament scholar Robert Plummer joins Garrick and Timothy to put an end to this perplexing problem once and for all. Along the way, Dr. Plummer also displays the multifaceted nature of his knowledge by delivering a death blow to the dilemma that bursts from the bowels of the Infinity Gauntlet this week: Which is more powerful, Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber or Captain America’s shield? In the end, a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail provides the answer that we’ve all been waiting for. In the second half of the program, your intrepid cohosts go back to Genesis—the band from the 1980s, not the book in the Bible. In the first chapter of Genesis, they find Mike Rutherford, a genius who was involved in the genesis not only of Genesis but also of Mike + the Mechanics. After listening to “The Living Years” by Mike + the Mechanics, Garrick and Timothy explore what’s right and what’s wrong with some of the most popular perspectives on death, resurrection, and the afterlife. Nearly all of the dynamic duo’s favorite theologians manage to show up along the way: Augustine of Hippo, Herman Bavinck, C.S. Lewis, and—of course—the most excellent time-traveling rock’n’roll philosopher-theologians of the 1980s, Bill and Ted.   Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS.   In this Episode Robert Plummer, Ph.D., is professor of New Testament interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and host of the Daily Dose of Greek screencast. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Going Deeper with New Testament Greek (B&H, 2016) and 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible (Kregel, 2010). Follow Dr. Plummer on Twitter at @dailygreek. Questions to Discuss about Quirinius 1. Quirinius became the governor of Syria around the year 6 A.D. During that time, there was a well-known census that resulted in a revolt, but Jesus wasn’t born during that time. Jesus was born around the year 4 B.C., when King Herod was still alive. How was Jesus Christ born around four years B.C.—“Before Christ”? 2. How should a Christian respond when history outside the Bible seems to contradict the Bible? 3. One possibility suggested by scholars is that Luke made a mistake. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this possibility? 4. Another possibility suggested by scholars that the word translated “first” should be translated “before.” So, this text should be translated: “And this was the census before the census when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” What are the strengths and weaknesses of this possibility? 5. What solution do you find most compelling? Links to Click If you want to learn more about New Testament Greek, one great place to start is Going Deeper with New Testament Greek, co-authored by Robert L Plummer. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: movie by George Lucas Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi: movie by Rian Johnson Die Hard: movie by John McTiernan Elf: movie by Jon Favreau Immortality of the soul; Or, Resurrection of the Dead?: book by Oscar Cullman "In The Air Tonight": song by Phil Collins "All I Need is A Miracle": song by Mike + The Mechanics "The Living Years": song by Mike + The Mechanics Bill and Ted Philosophize with Socrates: clip from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go to http://www.sbts.edu/bgs/degree-programs/mdiv/apologetics/ How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

Welcome to the illegal episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast! This episode commemorates two illegal acts, both of which were captured on tape and involved live rock and roll. The first of these two acts happened in 1987 when Paul “Bono” Hewson vandalized a public sculpture with spray-paint during U2’s Save the Yuppies concert in San Francisco. The second illegal act took place six years later, in 1993, when Timothy Paul “Definitely Not Bono” Jones rehearsed and recorded music in a condemned house on Fairchild Avenue in Manhattan, Kansas. One of the cassettes that Timothy’s band recorded there has been unearthed to provide the closing song for this week’s episode. Despite the flagrant illegalities in the second half of this week’s program, the first half manages to remain completely licit, lawful, and full of C.S. Lewis. That’s due solely to the heroic efforts of Dr. Dan DeWitt, director of the Center for Biblical Apologetics and Public Christianity at Cedarville University. Dr. DeWitt—artist, author, and all-around very legal person—helps us to understand why the apologetics methods employed by C.S. Lewis still matter today. The question that Dr. DeWitt faces from the Infinity Gauntlet is a DC and Marvel mashup that throws the most righteous superhero in each universe into a battle that will shatter one of them forever or until the next reboot. But then we get to the second half of the program, and everything pretty much goes to heck in a herd of hand-baskets. Bono’s illegal act in San Francisco triggers not only a citation for violating California Penal Code 594PC but also an exploration of the eschatology of U2’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower,” the very song that gave this podcast its name. But, even though it was Bono who added the words “three chords and the truth” to Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” it wasn’t Bono who coined this phrase in the first place. “Three chords and the truth” can be traced back to one of the greatest composers in the history of country and western music, Harlan Howard. This excursion into music history leads to some unexpected links to soul artist Curtis Mayfield and to Ms. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” herself, Cyndi Lauper. After an exploration of the differences between the eschatologies of Bono and Bob Dylan, the sordid story of Timothy’s illegal rehearsals emerges and forever besmirches his previously-pristine reputation. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. In this Episode Dan DeWitt, Ph.D., is associate professor of applied theology and apologetics and the director of the Center for Biblical Apologetics and Public Christianity at Cedarville University. Before joining the faculty of Cedarville University, Dr. Dan DeWitt served in academic and pastoral roles as Lead Pastor of the Campus Church of Highview Baptist Church, and as Dean of Boyce College. He is the author of several books, including Why God?, Life in the Wild, and Christ or Chaos. Follow Dr. DeWitt at @DanDeWitt. Questions to Discuss 1. Who was C.S. Lewis? 2. How has C.S. Lewis influenced your life? 3. What are some of C.S. Lewis' strongest apologetic arguments? Links to Click If you want to learn more about apologetics, one great place to start is Passionate Conviction, edited by William Lane Craig. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic "C.S. Lewis": website by HarperCollins Publishers Surprised by Joy: book by C.S. Lewis  The Problem of Pain: book by C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters: book by C.S. Lewis Miracles: book by C.S. Lewis "Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come": song by U2 "All Along the Watch Tower": song by Bob Dylan "All Along the Watch Tower": song by U2 "Pride (In the Name of Love)": song by U2 "Heartaches by the Number": song by Cyndi Lauper "People Get Ready": song by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go to http://www.sbts.edu/bgs/degree-programs/mdiv/apologetics/ How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).  

Welcome to the creed episode of Three Chords and the Truth! But don’t worry: we are not talking about the band Creed. (In case you’ve forgotten, Creed was the 1990s band whose videos were filled with embarrassingly-bad CGI and scenes in which the lead vocalist apparently couldn’t keep himself from flailing his arms wide open for most of the song.) Despite Garrick’s best efforts to focus the entire episode on the band Creed, Timothy manages to maintain sufficient focus to discuss both the Apostles’ Creed and a new secular creed. You’ve probably seen this new secular creed on a yard sign somewhere in your city: “In this house, we believe that black lives matter, women’s rights are human rights, no human is illegal, science is real, love is love, and kindness is everything.” Garrick and Timothy explore what’s wrong, what’s right, and what doesn’t make sense at all about this secular creed. In the process, they discover that even secular people will always create creeds because every human being is created for creeds. Not only are we created for creeds as human beings, but we’re also wired for worship. Worship is the theme of the music segment this week, and U2 is the star—which is fortunate because, if this week’s song hadn’t been from a band as great as U2, Garrick would have insisted on spending the entire hour talking about Creed. Along the way, Garrick and Timothy reveal the origins of the name “U2” and discover a band called “the Virgin Prunes” that was nearly renamed “the Deuteronomy Prunes.” Your intrepid cohosts unanimously conclude that “Virgin Prunes” and “Deuteronomy Prunes” are two of the worst possible names for a band—although, if the name had been re-styled as “Deütërönömÿ Prünës” so that it had more umlauts than Mötley Crüe it might actually have worked in the 1980s. John Calvin, Friedrich Schleiermacher, and Herman Bavinck all make appearances as the dynamic duo tries to determine why U2’s song “Where the Streets Have No Name” triggers a sense of transcendence and worship within us. This week’s question from the Infinity Gauntlet pits one superhero who communicates with insects against another who’s been infected by a radioactive arachnid. In the end, no nip from an arachnid is sufficient to stand against the capacity to shrink and expand exponentially. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS.   In this Episode Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Family 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. Questions to Discuss 1. What do creeds have to do with apologetics? 2. What does "holy catholic church" mean in the Apostles' Creed? 3. Why do people create creeds, even if they don’t believe in God? Links to Click If you want to learn more about confessions of faith, one great place to start is Baptist Confessions, Covenants, and Catechisms by Timothy & Denise George. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic Creeds of Christendom: book by Philip Schaff When Children Became People: book by Odd Magne Bakke Scientism and Secularism: book by J.P. Moreland Where the Conflict Really Lies: book by Alvin Plantinga Let the Trumpet Sound: book by Stephen B. Oates Commentary on Romans: book by John Calvin "The Earliest Christian Confession about the Resurrection": podcast episode by Timothy Paul Jones and Garrick Bailey The Joshua Tree: album by U2 "What's This Life For": song by Creed "Creed": song by Third Day "Where the Streets Have No Name": song by U2 "Out of Control": song by U2 "Sunday Bloody Sunday": song by U2 "Bullet the Blue Sky": song by U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name (Live)”: song by U2 from U2360 Tour ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go to http://www.sbts.edu/bgs/degree-programs/mdiv/apologetics/ How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

How can a good God allow so much evil and suffering in the world? And why do some people seem to suffer so much more than others? According to a recent survey of college students, the problem of evil is the question about Christianity that college students find most difficult to answer. This week, Dr. Eric Johnson joins Garrick and Timothy to discuss the difficult question of how to respond when suffering seems to stand in the way of someone's trust in God. The Eric Johnson who shows up on the program today is not—Timothy is slightly saddened to learn—the epic guitarist who plays “Cliffs of Dover.” He is, instead, a leading scholar who serves as director of the Gideon Institute of Christian Psychology and Counseling at Houston Baptist University. This week's query from the gauntlet that snapped away half of all life commandeers the Star Wars universe into mortal combat against Middle Earth. In the end, Lucasfilm falls on its face before the combined might of Mordor, Gondor, and Smeagol. In second half of this week's episode, Garrick pulls on his striped spandex and Timothy picks up his favorite aerosol hairspray in preparation for discussing one of the great hair metal bands of the 1980s, Stryper. This leads to a discussion of human freedom and divine sovereignty in the song "Free" from Stryper's 1986 album To Hell with the Devil. When Timothy shares what the backronym "S.T.R.Y.P.E.R." stands for, the dynamic duo can barely contain themselves; then, Timothy loses it completely when he discovers that Steve Perry is a favorite vocalist of Stryper's lead singer Michael Sweet, confirming once and for all that anything wonderful about the 1980s is only a degree or two removed from Steve Perry. (To quote Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, "It's just like Kevin Bacon!") In the end, your intrepid cohosts regain their focus just long enough to survey the question of humanity's freedom in salvation throughout the entirety of church history. Along the way, they manage to include not only music from Stryper but also from Led Zeppelin and maybe even Aerosmith. Also they discover an amazing new possible name for their band: "Pelagian Residue." Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. In this Episode Eric L. Johnson, Ph.D., is professor of Christian Psychology at Houston Baptist University. He has taught for almost 30 years and published more than 50 articles and two books on Christian psychology, Foundations for Soul Care and God and Soul Care. The founding director of the Society for Christian Psychology, he is the director of the Gideon Center of Christian Psychology and Counseling, a new Houston Baptist University program. Follow Dr. Johnson at @DrELJohnson. Questions to Discuss 1. Does the Epicurean Trilemma present a logical problem of evil? 2. In some sense, there are three problems of evil: logical, evidential, and existential. Alvin Plantinga’s book God, Freedom, and Evil dealt a death blow to the logical problem of evil. Our focus is the existential/pastoral problem of evil. What is most important to remember when someone is facing this? 3. In what sense can we say that God understands our struggles? Links to Click If you want to dig deeper into apologetics after listening to this podcast, one great place to start is Reasons for Our Hope by H. Wayne House and Dennis Jowers. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic Foundations for Soul Care: book by Eric Johnson God and Soul Care: book by Eric Johnson God, Freedom, and Evil: book by Alvin Plantinga "Sing-Along Song": song by Stryper "Cliffs of Dover Live": song by Eric Johnson "No Rain": song by Blind Melon "Here We Go!": song by Roger Wood "Don't Stop Believin'": song by Journey "More Than A Man": song by Stryper "Stairway to Heaven": song by Led Zeppelin "Love In An Elevator": song by Aerosmith "Free": song by Stryper To Hell with the Devil: album by Stryper ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go to http://www.sbts.edu/bgs/degree-programs/mdiv/apologetics/ How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

Finally, it’s the long-anticipated Van Halen episode, which manages to feature not only Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen but also another important Dutch-born “Van”: Reformed theologian Cornelius Van Til! Plus, New Testament textual critics Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry are back with us to discuss the mistakes that people defending the Christian faith tend to make when talking about the textual reliability of the Bible. Along the way, Timothy discusses a few of the errors he made in his book Misquoting Truth and reveals the sordid truth about why Garrick has been mysteriously absent for portions of the past two weeks.   The Infinity Gauntlet births a question to which the answer is slightly more obvious than it ought to be this week, but things take a radical turn for the better during the Truth segment in the second half. The focus of this week’s music segment is on the only Van Halen song that includes the words “Gospel” and “Scripture.” (No, you guessed wrong; it's not "Hot for Teacher." Try again!) This segment is packed with some of the greatest music of the twentieth century from one of the greatest guitarists in human history who has been accompanied by one of the greatest rock vocalists ever. (Hint: David Lee Roth is none of the above, at least according to Timothy.) As Garrick and Timothy explore the backstories of Van Halen and Sammy Hagar, the dynamic duo is delighted to discover yet another link to Journey vocalist Steve Perry, and it becomes increasingly apparent to our intrepid cohosts that everything great in 1980s rock and roll (and perhaps everything great in the entire twentieth century) connects somehow to Steve Perry. Also, there should totally be a Reformed hard rock band called “Van Til We Meet Again.” In this Episode Peter Gurry, Ph.D., is assistant professor of New Testament at Phoenix Seminary where he teaches courses in Greek Language and New Testament literature. His research interests range across Greek grammar, the history and formation of the Bible, and the history of New Testament scholarship. Gurry is the author of A Critical Examination of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method in New Testament Textual Criticism and A New Approach to Textual Criticism: An Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (co-authored with Tommy Wasserman). Follow Dr. Gurry on Twitter at @pjgurry. Elijah Hixson, Ph.D., is research associate in New Testament Text and Language at Tyndale House, Cambridge, where he is working with Dirk Jongkind to produce a textual commentary on the Greek New Testament. Hixson is the author of Scribal Habits in Sixth-Century Greek Purple Codices and editor of Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism (co-edited with Peter Gurry). He has served as a tutor in biblical studies at the University of Edinburgh and has written articles for Journal of Theological Studies, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Lexham Bible Dictionary.   Questions to Discuss 1. What’s the primary point of this new book, Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism? 2. Here’s a claim that appears in one popular apologetics books: “Two factors are most important in determining the reliability of a historical document: the number of manuscript copies in existence, and the time between when it was first written and the oldest existing copy. When it comes to the New Testament, there are more than five thousand seven hundred Ancient Greek manuscripts in existence from as early as the second century A.D.” What about this statement is right, and what is wrong? 3. Here’s another common claim: “A fragment of John’s Gospel survives from 125 A.D., only three decades from the time the Gospel was written.” What is right and wrong about this claim? 4. What would you say to the apologist who is excited by all of this and who thinks they might want to become a textual critic?   Links to Click If you want to dig deeper into the historical integrity of the New Testament, one great place to start is In Defense of the Bible, edited by Terry Wilder and Steven Cowan. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic Reformed Dogmatics, volume 4: book by Herman Bavinck The Institutes of the Christian Religion: book by John Calvin Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism: book edited by Peter Gurry and Elijah Hixson Evidence That Demands a Verdict: book by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell Reinventing Jesus: book by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel Wallace How We Got the Bible: book by Timothy Paul Jones Misquoting Truth: book by Timothy Paul Jones 5150: album by Van Halen The Best of Both Worlds: album by Van Halen Balance: album by Van Halen "Eruption": song by Van Halen "Running with the Devil": song by Van Halen "Love Walks In": song by Van Halen "I Can't Drive 55": song by Sammy Hagar "Give to Live": song by Sammy Hagar "When It's Love": song by Van Halen "Judgment Day": song by Van Halen "Learning to See": song by Van Halen "Affirmation": song by Sammy Hagar & The Circle ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, click here.   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

Has the Bible been copied accurately? Skeptics such as biblical scholar Dr. Bart Ehrman have suggested that it wasn’t. According to Bart Ehrman's book Misquoting Jesus, it makes no sense for Christians to refer to the Bible as God's inspired Word "because we no longer possess the words that God supposedly inspired. ... All that we have are error-ridden copies" far removed from the original texts. In the first half of this episode, two scholars in the field of textual criticism join Garrick and Timothy to talk about the reliability of the text of the New Testament. Peter Gurry is assistant professor of New Testament and co-director of the Text and Canon Institute at Phoenix Seminary; Elijah Hixson is a research assistant at Tyndale House in Cambridge. During the interview, Elijah shares the amazing story of how he discovered a lost snippet of Greek text in the fifth-century manuscript Codex Bezae. A biblical theology of the city is the theme of the second half of this episode. While setting the stage for a theology of the city, your intrepid cohosts recognize that 1986 was the greatest year ever for rock and roll, and they explore the very first tune that Timothy heard when he went searching for rock and roll. That song was "You Belong to the City," written and recorded in 1985 for the soundtrack of Miami Vice. In the process of exploring the meaning and purpose of the city, Garrick and Timothy also define "fundamentalism" and discover that—despite Timothy's best efforts—rock and roll music is incapable of boiling an egg. More seriously and far more importantly, Garrick and Timothy discuss the impact of the crack epidemic and disproportionate incarceration on African-American communities in the inner city. This episode is also a wild and reckless celebration of the lost art of mispronunciation! Before the episode was recorded, Timothy said to Garrick, "When this song was on the radio in Kansas in the 1980s, I'm pretty sure that the disc jockey pronounced the artist's last name like 'fry.'" After the recording was over, it was discovered that Timothy was slightly right but mostly wrong. That is indeed the way the name was being pronounced in the corn and soybean kingdom of Kansas in 1986, but it's not the correct pronunciation of Glenn Frey's latter nomen, which is in fact pronounced "fray"---less like a fried strip of tuber that you dip in catsup and more like what happens to the hemline of Garrick's cargo slacks when he spends too much time practicing the moonwalk on the front porch of the chapel at Southern Seminary. This week's question from the Infinity Gauntlet erupts into a deadly duel between Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter, and we deal with a deep and difficult dilemma of vital importance for the daily life of every listener: Can a non-magical weapon block a magical curse? The results of our discussion leave Luke Skywalker lying on the floor of the Death Star with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, whining about how he never got to go to Tosche Station with Ron and Hermione even though he finished his chores and saved the galaxy. Also "Tosche Station" would be a great name for a band. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS.   In this Episode Peter Gurry, Ph.D., is assistant professor of New Testament at Phoenix Seminary where he teaches courses in Greek Language and New Testament literature. His research interests range across Greek grammar, the history and formation of the Bible, and the history of New Testament scholarship. Gurry is the author of A Critical Examination of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method in New Testament Textual Criticism and A New Approach to Textual Criticism: An Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (co-authored with Tommy Wasserman). Follow Dr. Gurry on Twitter at @pjgurry. Elijah Hixson, Ph.D., is research associate in New Testament Text and Language at Tyndale House, Cambridge, where he is working with Dirk Jongkind to produce a textual commentary on the Greek New Testament. Hixson is the author of Scribal Habits in Sixth-Century Greek Purple Codices and coeditor with Peter Gurry of Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism. He has served as a tutor in biblical studies at the University of Edinburgh and has written articles for Journal of Theological Studies, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Lexham Bible Dictionary. Questions to Discuss 1. What is textual criticism?  2. One of the questions that Bart Ehrman asks in Misquoting Jesus is, “How does it help us to say that the Bible is the inerrant word of God if in fact we don’t have the words that God inerrantly inspired but only the words copied by the scribes—sometimes correctly but sometimes (many times!) incorrectly?” How would you respond to that question? 3. Bart Ehrman also makes the claim that “there are more variations among our manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament.” Is Ehrman’s claim true and, if it is, should it worry us? Links to Click If you want to dig deeper into the historical integrity of the New Testament, one great place to start is In Defense of the Bible, edited by Terry Wilder and Steven Cowan. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic Misquoting Jesus: book by Bart Ehrman "A Lost Page of Codex Bezae": article by Elijah Hixson "The Digital Recovery of a Lost Page of Codex Bezae": article by Elijah Hixson "A Theology of Cities": article by Tim Keller Shelby Park: neighborhood in Louisville  Sojourn Church Midtown: church in Shelby Park The Color of Law: book by Richard Rothstein The New Jim Crow: book by Michelle Alexander The City of God: book by Augustine of Hippo "Miami Vice Theme": soundtrack by Jan Hammer "You Belong to the City": song by Glenn Frey "Livin' On A Prayer": song by Bon Jovi "Danger Zone": song by Kenny Loggins "Don't Stop Believin'": song by Journey "Hotel California": song by the Eagles "Take It Easy": song by the Eagles "Tequila Sunrise": song by the Eagles "Crooked Ways": song by Propaganda "It's Not Working": song by Propaganda ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, click here. How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

According to bestselling religious scholar Reza Aslan, the New Testament Gospels “are not, nor were they ever meant to be, a historical documentation of Jesus’s life." The Gospels are, Aslan claims, fictional compositions from early Christians who re-imagined a Jewish revolutionary named Jesus as an ethereal Christ of faith. But is it really reasonable to read the New Testament Gospels as fiction? And, if the Gospels aren't fiction, what genre are they? In the first half of this week’s program, New Testament scholar Jonathan Pennington joins Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones to explore these crucial questions: What literary genre best describes the New Testament Gospels? And are these compositions believable as history? Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is the star of the second half of this week’s program as Garrick and Timothy go looking for signs of grace the bestselling single of the 1980s, “We Are the World” by U.S.A. For Africa. Along the way, Timothy reveals how he would still be single if it weren’t for REO Speedwagon, Garrick divulges his deep childhood fixation on Michael Jackson’s jacket, and Jonathan Pennington just can’t fight the feeling that he belongs in the band Pink Floyd. The dilemma drawn from the bowels of the Infinity Gauntlet this week leads to a showdown between Wakanda and Hogwarts that threatens to rend the space-time continuum. The resulting clash of ideas nearly leads to a breaking of the fellowship that binds Garrick, Timothy, and Jonathan together. In the end, a reference to REO Speedwagon becomes the potion that saves their friendship. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS.   In this Episode Jonathan T. Pennington, Ph.D., is associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is also director of the Ph.D. program. Pennington is the author of The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing, Reading the Gospels Wisely, and Heaven and Earth In the Gospel of Matthew. He is also on the preaching staff at Sojourn East in Louisville, Kentucky and the host of the YouTube show, "Cars, Coffee, Theology". Follow Dr. Pennington on Twitter at @DrJTPennington. Questions to Discuss 1.  What is the genre of a particular piece of literature? 2. What does the genre of books in Bible matter? Why should Christians care about their genre? 3. What genre are the New Testament Gospels? How do we know? 4. Were works in the bios genre always nonfiction or were they sometimes fictional? Why do we think that the New Testament Gospels aren't fictional? 5. Suppose someone listening to this program has a friend who is a skeptic and completely rejects the truth of the Gospels. What should a Christian do to help a skeptic see the truth of the Gospels? 6. Can you think of a particular time when God worked through the Gospels to convince you of the truth of his promises and his Word? Links to Click If you want to dig deeper into the historical integrity of the New Testament, one great place to start is In Defense of the Bible, edited by Terry Wilder and Steven Cowan. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth: book by Reza Aslan What Are the Gospels?: book by Richard Burridge The Four Gospels and the One Gospel of Jesus Christ: book by Martin Hengel Reading the Gospels Wisely: book by Jonathan Pennington "Cars, Coffee, Theology": YouTube show by Jonathan Pennington "Can't Fight This Feeling": song by REO Speedwagon "We Are the World": song by U.S.A for Africa "Do They Know It's Christmas": song by Band Aid 20 "Thriller": song by Michael Jackson "The Fly": song by U2 ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go to http://www.sbts.edu/bgs/degree-programs/mdiv/apologetics/ How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

It's the hotly-anticipated Hoosier Edition of Three Chords and the Truth! In this episode, we celebrate the moderately-great state of Indiana. Timothy Paul Jones, a committed Louisvillian who dusts off his feet each time he returns from Indiana, is joined by Doug Blount and Garrick Bailey—two residents of Indiana who were transplanted into the Midwest after being uprooted from the kingdom of Texas—to discuss why so many New Atheists assume that faith and evidence stand in opposition to each other. Atheist writer Richard Dawkins has defined faith, for example, as “a state of mind that leads people to believe something—it doesn’t matter what—in the total absence of supporting evidence.” Bestselling biologist Jerry Coyne echoes this understanding and describes faith as “the acceptance of things for which there is no strong evidence.” “Faith is,” according to Christopher Hitchens, “the surrender of reason.” But is faith actually the antithesis of reason and evidence? That's the question Garrick and Timothy explore in the first half of this week's episode with Doug Blount, who completed master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, an institution that may be found—according to some reports—within the borders of Indiana. In the second half, Timothy and Garrick take a look at John Mellencamp and James Dean, two Indiana natives who are almost as popular among Hoosiers as Garrick Bailey and Doug Blount. Along the way, we analyze the hit song "Jack and Diane," solve the mystery of John Mellencamp's many names—Johnny Cougar? John Cougar? John J. Mellencamp?—and discover how psychology, economics, and the rise of the New Left created what we know today as the "teenager." Then, we consider what all of this means for student ministries in local churches today. This week's question from the Infinity Gauntlet forces a choice between Captain America's shield and one of the three Deathly Hallows. As we discuss this difficult question, we are shocked to discover that—if Garrick ever obtains a vibranium shield—his children will need invisibility cloaks to have any hope of surviving into adulthood. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. In this Episode Douglas K. Blount, Ph.D., is professor of Christian Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and previously served on the executive committee of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He is currently working on a book manuscript entitled Apologetics and the Death of Modernity. Follow Dr. Blount on Twitter at @dougblount. Questions to Discuss 1. “Faith is,” Christopher Hitchens once declared, “the surrender of the mind; it’s the surrender of reason.” According to Oxford University biologist Richard Dawkins, “faith is a state of mind that leads people to believe something—it doesn’t matter what—in the total absence of supporting evidence.” Bestselling biologist Jerry Coyne echoes this understanding and describes faith as “the acceptance of things for which there is no strong evidence.” What is the basis for claims like this? 2. What is the relationship between faith and evidence? 3. In his bestselling book Faith Versus Fact, Jerry Coyne—professor emeritus at the University of Chicago—makes this further claim about faith and evidence: “Religious claims are empirical claims, and although some may be hard to test, they must, like all claims about reality, be defended with a combination of evidence and reason.” What’s the problem with his declaration that religious claims are empirical claims that must be empirically tested? 4. In 2007, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris gathered at Christopher Hitchens’ home in Washington, DC, for a two-hour discussion. These four atheists became known as The Four Horsemen of the Non-Apocalypse and as representatives of a New Atheism. What impact do you think that this New Atheism has had on the culture and on apologetics? Links to Click If you're interested in learning more about how to help children and college students keep their faith, one great place to start is Perspectives on Family Ministry, edited by Timothy Paul Jones. To learn more about this book, visit https://www.bhacademic.com/product/perspectives-on-family-ministry-2/ B and H Academic Faith Versus Fact: book by Jerry Coyne Adolescence: book by Granville Stanley Hall One-Dimensional Man: book by Herbert Marcuse Soul Searching: book by Christian Smith Sweet Bird of Youth: play by Tennessee Williams What is a Hoosier?: article by the State of Indiana The Four Horsemen Hour 1: documentary by Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science The Four Horsemen Hour 2: documentary by Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science "Summer of '69": song by Bryan Adams "Jack & Diane": song by John Mellencamp "Money for Nothing": song by Dire Straits "Glory Days": song by Bruce Springsteen "Eden is Burning": album by John Mellencamp ”Faith”: song by George Michael John Mellencamp: album by John Mellencamp Rebel Without a Cause: movie by Nicholas Ray ThreeChordsApologetics.com How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Christian students have started their first semester of college. But how strong will these students' Christian faith be when they leave college? Or will they still see themselves as Christians at all? Even if these students' faith remains intact, what beliefs will be the hardest for them to believe and to defend? In this special back-to-school episode, Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones are joined by Dr. Grady Adkins and Dr. Joshua Swindall, two researchers who have spent the past year exploring which specific Christian beliefs are the most difficult for college students to believe and to defend. Now, Grady and Joshua are broadcasting the results of their research for the first time in the first half of this week's program. In the second half of the program, Garrick and Timothy dig deeper into the nature of faith by looking at biblical faith through the lens of one of the greatest rock hits of all time, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Along the way, your intrepid hosts search unsuccessfully for south Detroit, contemplate what sort of people “streetlight people” might be, and discover a strange and mysterious link between the band Journey and prosperity preacher Paula White. As if this week's back-to-school episode wasn't strange enough already, the Infinity Gauntlet pits midichlorians against mutant powers, forcing a showdown between the Jedi and the X-Men that you won't soon forget. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. In this Episode Grady Adkins, Ed.D., is Executive Pastor of Coram Deo Bible Church in Davenport, Iowa. Grady has been married to Alissa since 1998 and they have four lively, red-headed children: Landon, Reagan, Griffin, and Rowen. Joshua Swindall, Ed.D., is the headmaster at Cullman Christian School in Cullman, Alabama. Joshua and his family attend Crosshaven Church, where he serves as the student minister. Questions to Discuss 1. What Christian beliefs do college students struggle most to believe and to defend? 2. Why does college seem to have a corrosive effect on students' faith? 3. How can churches prepare children and students to persist in their faith in college, in light of what you have learned in this episode? Links to Click If you're interested in learning more about how to help children and college students keep their faith, one great place to start is Perspectives on Family Ministry, edited by Timothy Paul Jones. To learn more about this book, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic The Institutes of the Christian Religion: book by John Calvin Soul Searching: book by Christian Smith "Don't Stop Believin'": song by Journey "Like a Rolling Stone": song by Bob Dylan "All Along the Watchtower": song by Jimi Hendrix "Sweet Child O'Mine": song by Guns N' Roses "Highway to Hell": song by AC/DC Trial by Fire: album by Journey ThreeChordsApologetics.com If you are interested in earning a master’s degree online or on campus that will equip you with the most comprehensive apologetics training available anywhere, go to http://www.sbts.edu/bgs/degree-programs/mdiv/apologetics/ How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by the band Vegan Friendly—even though neither Garrick nor Timothy has ever been vegan friendly. 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).