Welcome to The Poached Egg Christian Worldview and Apologetics Network

The Poached Egg Network is where Christian apologetics, history, philosophy, science, theology, and pop culture collide. Our goal is to help guide believers, seekers, and skeptics alike to the Ultimate Source of Truth and a better understanding of the Christian worldview.

Ratio Christi & The Poached Egg: A Passion for Apologetics Ratio Christi’s The Poached Egg Christian Worldview and Apologetics Network is a website founded and edited by Greg West, a passionate defender of Christianity committed to the cause of Christian apologetics, evangelism, and equipping others to always be ready to give a reasonable defense of the Christian faith. The Poached Egg is a large and continually expanding virtual library of articles and essays compiled from all over the World Wide Web. Noted apologists, biblical scholars, philosophers, scientists, historians, students, and laymen all come together under this one site. Because The Poached Egg is a mix of original articles, scholarly commentary, Christian news, controversial issues, and other relevant content, there is almost nothing this blog does not cover in terms of apologetics resources. Topics include: The Historical Jesus; Is God a Moral Monster?; Evolution and Intelligent Design; The Universe and Self-creation; The Case for Christianity,and much more…   more >>>	From The Poached Egg Editor: Greg and the Egg NEW YEAR’S APOLOGETICS BOOK GIVEAWAY: To  help celebrate the new year we’re giving away 12 apologetics books to our to ten of our visitors. click here for your chance to enter and win  >>> EDITOR’S PICK: Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince…  more >>> STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE: While interest in apologetics is experiencing a resurgence as of late, the church as a whole still seems to be slow in catching on, or are even downright opposed, as ‘faith trumps facts’ seems to be the prevailing attitude…   more >>> PODCAST: This episode’s special guest, J Warner Wallace, is getting lots of attention as of late due to the recent release of his first (and hopefully not last) book, Cold-Case Christianity. Wallace is a cold-case homicide detective having served…   click here to listen >>>
Featured Resource: EVIDENCE FOR GOD There have always been challenges to belief in God as he is revealed in the Bible and each new year seems to add more questions to the doubter's arsenal. In Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy, and Science, leading apologists provide compelling arguments that address the most pressing questions of the day about God, science, Jesus, the Bible, including: Is Intelligent Design really a credible explanation of the origins of our world? Did Jesus really exist? Is Jesus really the only way to God? What about those who have never heard the gospel? Is the Bible today what was originally written? What about recently publicized gospels that aren't in the Bible? and much more!   ORDER YOUR COPY NOW >>>	Featured Video: Undesigned Coincidences as Evidence
Building the Essential Apologetics Library Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith The Christian worldview proposes answers to the most enduring human questions. But are those answers reliable? In this systematic text, Douglas Groothuis makes a comprehensive…   more  >>> Who Made God? Searching for a Theory of Everything  Distinguished scientist Professor Edgar Andrews is well qualified to counter the current outpouring of attempts to airbrush God out of existence—and in this book he does so with intelligent and infectious enthusiasm.   more >>> Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul brilliantly identifies the reasons for the loss of the Christian intellect and how the Christian mind has been lost to the ever-growing popularity of anti-intellectualism…  more >>> Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions In a world increasingly indifferent to Christian truth, followers of Christ need to be equipped to communicate with those who do not speak their language or accept their source of authority…   more >>>	Featured Website: Christian Apologetics Alliance The Christian Apologetics Alliance is a group of Christians spread throughout the world with a common goal. We seek to love and serve God with all of our minds, and to be prepared to give a reasonable answer for why we believe as we do to those seeking Jesus Christ. Within CAA we seek to employ the tools of logic, science, history, archaeology and theology to provide a rational defense of our worldview. It is our hope that the information on these pages will inform and edify believers, strengthen the faith of those with questions, and open the door for those unbelievers willing to consider the Christian worldview. We believe that the modern world needs Christians who are prepared to give the reasons for the hope that is within us, and at the CAA we are dedicated to that mission. We have created a community where Christians can learn from each other, ask the hard questions of our faith, and receive the support of a loving community of Christian thinkers. Membership includes students who are just learning to defend their faith and senior leaders of respected apologetics organizations. It includes both men and women, from a wide variety of vocations, from hundreds of denominations. But in all of our diversity, we share a love for God and a passion for apologetics… go to the Christian Apologetics Alliance >>>
RATIO CHRISTI STUDENT APOLOGETICS ALLIANCE Many Christian parents are concerned that their kids may graduate from college no longer believing that Christianity is true. After all, the secular campus confronts them with questions about supposedly suppressed gospels, James Cameron supposedly finding the lost tomb of Jesus, the Zeitgeist movie madness, and erudite sounding “science” which proclaims that all the complexity we find in the universe arose by luck.Sadly, even many “Christian” colleges have professors who undermine the reliability of Scripture. These can be harder on Christian students’ faith because they expect secular campus profs to revile every aspect of Christian truth, but not a professor who self-identifies as being a Christian but then tells them that Christianity is only “our construction of reality” or that Adam and Noah are no more than “poetic devices.” (Thus, to borrow from that wise sage Mr. Miyagi: “Either Christian school do yes, or Christian school do no, but no Christian school maybe.”) This should concern Christian parents! After all, Christians cannot love the Lord with all their minds while suppressing fears that Christianity cannot answer the hard questions. That is why I believe apologetics is essential…   more >>>	Ratio Christi: The Grass Roots Apologetics Movement LEE STROBEL INTERVIEWS RC PRESIDENT: Ratio Christi is a global movement that equips university students and faculty to give historical, philosophical and scientific reasons for following Jesus Christ. Ratio Christi is Latin for…   more >>> THE RATIO CHRISTI STUDENT EXPERIENCE: I came to Ohio State my freshman year as a Christian, hoping to share my belief with others. Within the first fortnight at the dorms I was challenged with questions I had never heard before…   more >>> CHUCK COLSON COMMENDS RC: Atheist — or non-theist — groups are on the rise on college campuses, filled with kids who grew up in Christian homes. According to the Barna Research Group, three in five “Christian” kids abandon the church…  more >>> RATIO CHRISTI AND THE APOLOGETICS MOVEMENT: Do you find most “methods” of evangelism forced and uncomfortable? We all know the Great Com-mission, yet how many Christians are regularly engaged in making Christian disciples…   more >>>
Apologetics In the Bible WHY APOLOGETICS? To every believer the charge has been given; “earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). Today, this charge may be of even more applicability than when originally penned…   more >>> APOLOGETICS: A BRIEF HISTORY: While apologies or defenses of the Christian faith go all the way back to the first century, the formal science of apologetics is a more recent development. Here we will survey the history of apologetics in three stages…   more >>> APOLOGETICS: NECESSARY TO FAITH: Why does the faith need to be defended? Does the Infinite Creator of the Universe need finite creatures employing fallen reasoning in an effort to support what He has revealed? He does not need it but… more >>> CALLEDTO BE CONVINCED: Is the Christian Faith Supposed to be “Blind”? God wants us to be certain and base our certainty on evidence that can be articulated to others who may have doubts. Sometimes Christians have a…   more >>>	What is Apologetics? An Introduction Apologetics derives from the Greek word "apologia" or defense. Apologetics is the science and art of presenting reasonable defenses for the truth of Christianity. Or put another way, it is using reason, evidence, and testimony to explain the Christian faith. The word is derived from 1 Peter 3:15 ("always be ready to give a reason/defense [apologia] to every man for the hope that is in you"). Many Christians hold a strong view that belief is strictly a matter of faith. In this view Christians have a power to believe that is graciously granted by the Holy Spirit as a result of verbal testimony of changed lives through Jesus Christ and the words of Scripture. For many, this is sufficient. In fact many will argue that no one should rely upon any arguments or rationale outside of this since God's word is all sufficient and the Holy Spirit is the only entity that can change a person's heart. One just needs to believe that since God's word says it, one simply needs to have “the faith of a child.” In addition to simple faith, however, the Bible also strongly encourages individuals to "test" all things, to always be ready to provide a reason for their belief, to ask for wisdom and to use their minds   more >>>
apologetics Blogger Spotlight: MELISSA TRAVIS While I was raised in a Christian home, I began to have doubts about some elements of the Christian belief system as an undergraduate college student. I maintained belief in Jesus as my Savior, but I questioned the historicity and inerrancy of some Scripture. I went into genetic research after graduating with my degree in biology, and subsequently worked in laboratories where I encountered people from many cultures with various metaphysical belief systems. Repeatedly, I found myself in conversational situations with one person after another, where I was questioned about why I thought Christianity to be exclusively true, why I thought the Bible was reliable, or why I didn’t think naturalistic explanations for life were sufficient. I came to the harsh realization that I didn’t have good reasons for believing…   more >>>	MELISSA TRAVIS ON THE POACHED EGG IS ONELOST SOUL MORE VALUABLE THAN ANOTHER? Churches are doing a great work in emphasizing the importance of foreign missions, motivating more laypersons to participate as they are called. But what I’ve come to realize…  more >>> THE CALLING OF THE APOLOGIST: There seems to be a widespread misconception, even within the church, that the ambition of Christian apologists is to argue nonbelievers into submission to the truth of Christianity. I admit that up until…   more >>> COMMON DESCENT OR COMMON DESIGN? A high degree of genetic similarity has often been touted by evolutionists as incontrovertible proof for the common ancestry of humans and chimps. Research on protein and DNA sequences has…   more >>>
Into the Wardrobe: From the C.S. Lewis Archives WHY BOTHER WITH C.S. LEWIS? I tell my students that when they cite Lewis, they cite a recognizable source. And a recognizable source can be a helpful source when making an argument. Still, simply being well-known does not make one…   more >>> LEWIS’ LANGUAGE OF APOLOGETICS: Many people wonder why. C. S. Lewis is certainly one of the greatest Christian writers of all time. Judging from the number of copies sold, he is the most successful author in church history…   more >>> C.S. LEWIS’ MERE CHRISTIANITY: C. S. Lewis’s earliest biographers, Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper, wrote that if they were going to a desert island and could take only one Lewis book, it would probably be Mere Christianity…  more >>>	God in the Dock: The Apologetics of C.S. Lewis In modern English the words apology and apologize indicate regret because some statement or action was offensive and wrong. This is not the case for “apologetics” in theology, for that discipline is intended to manifest “a point of view is right.” It is intended for those who differ in order to win them over, or for those who agree in order to confirm them in the truth for which the apologist testifies. It is in this sense that C.S. Lewis is recognized as an “apologist,” for a number of his works are intended to manifest the adequacy of the Christian outlook over against a “naturalist” position, which asserts that the universe is simply a great material mass functioning in terms of its own mechanism or laws without any possible intervention from the outside and specifically without a creative or governing power of a mind. C.S. Lewis was very well prepared for this task because until late in his twenties he was a devotee of atheism without any reference to…   more >>>
The Quotable Francis Schaeffer Defense is proper and necessary because in every age historic Christianity will be under attack. Defense does not mean being on the defensive. One must not be embarrassed about the use of the word defense. The proponents of any position who are alive to their own generation must give a sufficient answer for it when questions are raised about it. Thus, the word defense is not used here in a negative sense, because in any conversation, in any communication which is really dialogue, answers must be given to objections raised. Such answers are necessary in the first place for myself as a Christian if I am going to maintain my intellectual integrity, and if I am to keep united my personal, devotional and intellectual life. more quotes >>>	Christian Apologetics: Shake the World with the Truth On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death will not overcome it—Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:9). This is a manifesto to ignite the holy fire of apologetic passion and action. As did Jeremiah, we should have "fire in our bones" to communicate and commend Christian truth today (Jeremiah 20:9). This manifesto is not a sustained argument or a detailed development of themes. Rather, as a manifesto, it proclaims a short series of interrelated propositions crying out for both immediate and protracted reflection, prayer, and action. These challenges issue from convictions formed through my nearly thirty years of apologetic teaching, preaching, debating, writing, and Christian…   more >>>
Christian Apologetics Book Reviews CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS: A COMPREHENSIVE CASE FOR BIBLICAL FAITH: In the first sentence in the Acknowledgements section, Douglas Groothuis says, "Christian Apologetics comes out of my Christian life and all who have contributed to it…  more >>>  JESUS AND THE EYEWITNESSES: There are books that are interesting, there are books that are important and then there are seminal studies that serve as road markers for the field, pointing the way forward. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses is in the latter category…   more >>>  THINKING ABOUT CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS is a cogent and compelling book because it argues that apologetics is not an academic exercise. To be sure, an apologist can learn much from academia, and from having ideas tested…   more >>> SAVING LEONARDO: Nancy Pearcey knows the captivating power of secular ideas because she used to hold them herself. As a teenager, she rejected the religion of her childhood and embraced a host of "isms," from moral relativism to scientific determinism to…    more >>>	You Don’t Need a Degree to be an Apologist—But… You don’t need a degree to be an apologist but you do need to be a reader. The first apologetics book I ever read was Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, and I was blown away about the amount of evidence for the truth claims of Christianity. Not only that, but it introduced me to a host of other apologists and apologetics resources. Every Christian is called to be an apologist (1 Peter 3:15) and reading apologetics books is one of the best ways to learn apologetics, along with listening to lectures and debates. For the latter, Apologetics 315 is hands down the best resource on the internet, and as for the former, I’ve provided a list of over 100 books (and a handful of videos) from some of the best Christian thinkers past and present. Most of these I have in my own library as well as keeping extra copies of some of them to give away to unbelieving friends or Christian friends who are struggling with doubt. The aspiring apologist should start with introductory level books (Lee Strobel’s “Case for…” series is a great place to start) and work your way up to higher level books (Reasonable Faith comes to mind) as you begin to become more familiar with some of the basic arguments for Christianity…   more >>>
THE Apologetics of Jesus Was Jesus an apologist? As we read through the Gospels it could not be more evident that we see Jesus utilize a variety of methodologies to communicate spiritual truths. Since there was no New Testament canon at that time, it is not as if Jesus was cognizant of 1 Peter 3:15-16 where we read, “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. ” So I doubt that Jesus walked around saying, “ I have been called to be an apologist and I need to carry out my task in a faithful manner.” However, Jesus offered reasons on several occasions as to why He is the Jewish Messiah and God incarnate. So let’s take a look at some of these and try to learn some things. For starters, if you read through the Gospels, you will see Jesus asked 153 questions. This is something that needs to be practiced by all Christians. As Christians we tend to be great talkers but poor listeners. If you read through the rabbinical literature, you will see that asking questions is a common occurrence…   more >>>	ANSWERING CRITICS AND SKEPTICS THE NEW TESTAMENT CONSPIRACY:  It is certainly possible that the New Testament writers worked together and concocted a plan to use a good man named Jesus, who had recently died, in order to gain power and influence…   more >>> JUST A BIG GAME OF TELEPHONE? One attack that is commonly levied against Christianity is that the Bible we hold today cannot accurately represent what was written nearly two thousand years ago. It surely must be frocked with errors…   more >>> EXPLAINING AWAY GOD WITH SCIENCE: Just as bananas cannot have beliefs, science cannot provide complete explanations for natural phenomena. Rather it can only provide useful descriptions. This is why bold declarations from atheists…   more >>> YOU CANNOT PROVE THE EXISTENCE OF GOD!:I was an atheist when I first said that to a Christian about 45 years ago. I must say it felt pretty good to say those words. It makes one feel superior to tell a person they cannot prove something…   more >>>
Exploring Faith and Doubt WHAT IF MY WIFE IS HAVING AN AFFAIR?  I just talked to my wife on the phone about forty-five minutes ago. Everything seemed fine. She was a little distracted and wanted to get off the phone for some reason at the end…   more >>> RESOLVE YOUR DOUBTS: We all have doubts. The question is: what will we do about them? If you want to resolve your doubts, you need to engage with doubt, to push your doubts to their limits, and see what remains. In my experience…   more >>> LETTER TO AN ATHEIST: I understand you having doubts. I understand having doubts because I’ve had many. I’ve questioned the existence of God. I’ve questioned the character of God. I’ve questioned if Jesus was God incarnate…   more >>>	Questions are a Good Thing “Introducing a strong and aggressive apologetics program at our church was one of the single best decisions I have made in my ministry.” That is a pretty strong statement for a pastor to make about any ministry or program his church has implemented, but I made the statement and I wholeheartedly stand by it. By creating an “atmosphere of apologetics,” we have challenged people within the church to dig deep into their faith and to question if what they believe is really true or not. One of the mottos that has become a mainstay in our church is “Questions are a good thing.” What we have found is there are many people that feel churches and/or pastors really do not like people to question the things they are teaching. We have created a culture in which people are comfortable knowing that questions can be asked and our faith will stand firm against any…   more >>>
The Most Significant apologetics ISSUES Thankfully, learning to defend our faith is not nearly as difficult as one might think. In fact, it all boils down to being able to deal with three major apologetic issues. First and foremost is the issue of origins. How people view their origins will determine how they live their lives. If you suppose you are merely a function of random processes you will live your life by a different standard than if you know you are created in the image of God and accountable to him. In the final analysis more consequences for society hinge on this issue than on any other. Furthermore, because of its centrality to Christianity, those who take the sacred name of Christ upon their lips must be prepared to defend the historical reality of his resurrection. The resurrection is not merely important to the historic Christian faith; without it, there would be no Christianity. It is the singular doctrine that elevates Christianity above all other world religions…  more >>>	Learning to do Apologetics Right A LESSON IN APOLOGETICS: It hasn’t been until recently that apologetics has emerged into the forefront of Christian education and missions. It’s been found in the writings of C.S. Lewis, proclaimed by the likes of Ravi Zacharias…   more >>> 7 GREAT TIPS FOR DEFENDING THE FAITH: Apologetics is the term used for defending ones beliefs using reason. This is a big fancy word to say that you want to explain to others why you believe what you believe…   more >>> 52 TIPS FOR APOLOGISTS: What advice do you have for those who want to learn more about apologetics? What kinds of attitudes and character traits should Christians adopt as they use apologetics in conversations with skeptics…  more >>>
Podcast: Learning to Jump Again The Poached Egg Podcast is back! After taking a hiatus in doing the show for the summer, I felt like it’s time I got it going again. I might have put it off a little longer, but when Dr. Holly Ordway reminded me that she had an open invitation to be on as a guest I took it as a sign and we scheduled a time to have a conversation via Skype to talk about her website, atheism, C.S. Lewis, imaginative and literary apologetics, her new faculty position at Houston Baptist University, and women in apologetics. LISTEN NOW: or download as an mp3 here	We Don’t Need Apologetics? “We don’t need apologetics, we just need to ‘experience’ Jesus!” Unfortunately, this is something I hear from fellow believers quite often and it never fails to set off the warning sirens in my head; not because I think that ‘experiencing’ Jesus is bad—in fact, I think it’s a good thing, but if you’re basing your faith on experience alone to the exclusion of reason and knowledge, then you’re building your house not on solid rock, but on sand—and when the rains come down, the streams rise, and the winds blow and beat against your house it will fall with a mighty crash. We need to stop teaching people to ‘experience’ Jesus and teach them to know Jesus. Let me explain what I mean: In his post titled, High School Students and Apologetics, teacher Dan Gehrke said, “I’ve observed that kids have changed over the last seven years since I last taught apologetics…   more >>>