Cold Case Christianity Christian Apologetics

Our “Quick Shot” series offers brief answers to common objections to the Christian worldview. Each response is limited to one paragraph. These responses are designed to (1) answer the objection as concisely as possible, (2) challenge the objector to think more deeply about his or her claim, and (3) facilitate a “gospel” conversation. In this article, we’re offering “Quick Shot” responses to the objection, Quick Shot: “Believing in God is the same as believing in the ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’.” Response #1: “What do you mean by ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’? Are you referring to the fictional deity created by Bobby Henderson in 2005? Mr. Henderson created that character (and a larger narrative called, ‘Pastafarianism’), to protest the fact that Intelligent Design was being considered as part of the science curriculum in the state of Kansas. No one actually believes in a Flying Spaghetti Monster, including its creator, Mr. Henderson. He’s tried to protest the existence of religion by equating Pastafarianism to religious belief, and he’s even applied for religious status in a number of countries. He’s been repeatedly denied, however. Why? Because international legal bodies understand the difference between religious claims and fictional claims. Can you see the difference as well?” …

In this clip from J. Warner Wallace’s longer talk on the existence of God from cosmological evidence (based on his book, God’s Crime Scene), J. Warner describes a simple investigative template that will help you determine if the universe has been fine-tuned for life. Are there good reasons to believe the universe (as a “crime scene”) has been tampered with? To see more training videos with J. Warner Wallace, visit the YouTube playlist. For more information about the scientific and philosophical evidence pointing to a Divine Creator, please read God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe. This book employs a simple crime scene strategy to investigate eight pieces of evidence in the universe to determine the most reasonable explanation. The book is accompanied by an eight-session God’s Crime Scene DVD Set(and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case. J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured Cold-Case Detective, Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Adj. Professor of Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, author of Cold-Case Christianity, God’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith, and creator of the Case Makers Academy for kids. Subscribe to J. Warner’s Daily Email

In this podcast, J. Warner joins Stand to Reason’s Amy Hall to answer questions in an episode of #STRAsk. Is it wrong to call Mormon missionaries “elders”? Is it a good or bad idea to have an atheist come speak to a youth group? How should I respond if, when I ask an atheist if he thinks God exists, he says, “Which God?” How can we know whether or not life catastrophes are punishments as they often were in the Old Testament? Be sure to subscribe to Stand to Reason’s great lineup of podcasts. You can also subscribe to the Cold-Case Christianity Weekly Podcast on iTunes, or add the podcast from our RSS Feed. For more information about the reliability of the New Testament gospels and the case for Christianity, please read Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. This book teaches readers ten principles of cold-case investigations and applies these strategies to investigate the claims of the gospel authors. The book is accompanied by an eight-session Cold-Case Christianity DVD Set (and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case. J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured Cold-Case Detective, Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Adj. …