Alex McElroy is an internationally known pastor, public speaker, and Christian apologist. He’s been putting in work for the kingdom and we’re glad we could catch up with him to get his thoughts on a range of topics. In this episode we chop it up with him on a range of topics including:
Topics: Is it true that science and Christianity don't mix? Do the miracles in scripture make the Bible unbiblical? Brief exchange on Evidential and Presuppositional apologetics. The upcoming “Proof for the Truth Conference” |
For some time I've been intending to do an episode on the issue of abortion. It's an issue I've been very vocal about in the past and have recently felt compelled to re-engage in the public square.
Just a few weeks ago the national conversation about abortion sharply intensified when New York passed a bill which significantly weakened the regulations related to elective abortions particularly in regard to late term abortions. When a similar bill was proposed in my home state of Virginia, I found myself uncomfortable with being on the sidelines of this and other social issues. As a first step in getting more involved I decided to reach out to someone that I believe could speak to this subject in a way that my listeners would greatly benefit from.
Today's guest, Scott Klusendorf, is a nationally recognized pro-life advocate and president of the Life Training Institute. He has lectured on and debated the issue of abortion on over 80 colleges and universities, regularly conducted pro-life advocacy trainings and is the author of "The Case for Life". Yours truly caught up with Scott Klusendorf to talk about the following:
What is the current state of the abortion debate in America and in the church?
Do I have to become a Trump supporter or Republican to be on the right side of the abortion question?
How to make a 3 step argument for the pro-life position.
You don’t wanna miss this one!!!
P.S.: Ironically, this show is about kids and it just so happened that during the recording my 2 year old wandered into my studio area so you briefly hear him in the background smh. Shoutout to special guest Kaiden Coleman
Urban Apologist Alfredo Valentin
Droppin Biblical Jewels & Addressing Conflict amongst the Urban Apologetics Community
Topic: Alfredo Valentin is well respected in the urban apologetics community and for a reason. He has tons to offer folks who are seeking answers to address the objections to Christianity we face in our context and he always carries himself in a way that builds bridges rather than tears down. I caught up with Alfredo to discuss the following:
-The importance of Bible study and handling God’s Word properly in the life of an apologist.
-The current state of the urban apologetics community.
- How to address the conflict between urban apologists so that we can keep our focus on winning the lost and edifying believers.
Tune in for this one y’all!
Yoooooo Waddup my peoples! Your boy Adam Coleman is on the run but I was able to hop on the line with Dr. Michael Heiser for a dope interview!
Waddup y'all!
On the last show I took a slight detour in our broader discussion on Social Justice to examine how the moral frameworks of the worldviews that are gaining traction in the black community and jockeying for position against Christianity. "Black" Atheism was the focus of our last episode but now we'll take a look at other notable conscious community contenders.
In this episode I will offer basic arguments/ critiques of the moral frameworks of Hebrew Israelite theology, Islam, Moorish Science, and Kemetic Science. As I’ve suggested about atheism, these other spiritual systems cannot provide as solid a foundation for ethics and social justice as we find in the Christian worldview.
Last time we talked about how the God of Christianity provides a plausible moral foundation for social justice. In this episode I continue my discussion on social justice by offering a light summary of the kinds of things that have led me to the conclusion that atheism cannot offer a foundation for ethics that is as firm as what we find in the biblical worldview. This is the first of 2 episodes that I'll be releasing this week so stay tuned as we will shift from critiquing atheism to looking at the moral framework of Hebrew Israelism, Islam, Moorish Science, and Kemetic Science.
In this episode we continue our series on social justice. One of the main issues I hoped to deal with in this series is to dispel the Conscious Community myth that Christianity has nothing to offer the black community in terms of providing a basis for grappling with suffering and specific moral realities of the "black experience" here in the West as well.
In response to this erroneous notion about the biblical worldview I am working my way through a number of "building blocks" to biblical morality which debunk this idea. Tune in to this episode in which we explore the first and most important of our building blocks.
KEY CONCEPTS
Breaking down the connection between social justice and moral claims
The nature of God as the foundation for morality
Does the biblical worldview have what it takes to back up moral claims?
Waddup my peoples!
What is the connection between Pastor John Macarthur and Conscious Community figure Brother Polight?
You definitely want to tune in for our latest episode of the Tru-ID Podcast and find out.
I've often received questions as to where I stand on certain social issues and race relations in our society. Since there is so much discussion going on about social justice nowadays I thought this would be a good time to give my take on it from an apologetics standpoint.
In this episode, our series on social justice gets a little more spicy than usual. After listening to John Macarthur's series of sermons on Social Justice and the gospel, I decided to play a few clips from Macarthur and also a clip from well known Conscious Community figure Brother Polight as I attempt to shed light on how the conflict within the church related to urban apologetics, evangelism, and social justice.
Key Points:
Tackling statements made by John Macarthur about social justice and the gospel.
Should Christians "just preach the gospel"?
Is Brother Polight right about Christianity holding the black community back?
Does Christianity make black people cowards?
What are some specific examples of how misrepresentations of the biblical worldview has contributed to there being barriers to the gospel in the black community?
Waddup y'all!
This episode is a continuation of "Mac Friday" so if you missed that one you may want to go back and check that out first.
As a reminder of what we're addressing, I'm joining the conversation on social justice as I'm often asked about where I stand on certain social issues and race relations in our society. Since there is so much discussion going on about social justice nowadays I thought this would be a good time to give my take on it from an apologetics standpoint.
In this episode, I give further commentary of clips I've played from Brother Polight and John Macarthur related to an intersection between ethical, the "black struggle" and the biblical worldview.
Key Points:
Are Christian teachings on forgiveness a source of weakness in the black community?
Unity or Disunity: Where does the church stand?
Tackling statements made by John Macarthur about social justice and the gospel.
Should Christians "just preach the gospel"?
Is Brother Polight right about Christianity holding the black community back?
Say it ain't so! Is Adam Coleman a Social Justice Warrior?!!
I've received a number of emails, IMs, and comments online speculating about my perspective on the so called "Social Justice Movement" particularly as it relates to the recent Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel that a number of pastors and theologians released and signed their names to about a month ago. I started a new gig in September and due to getting acclimated to my new part time job I've been delayed in giving my take on it. But here it is folks. Well at least part 1 of it anyway. I have a lot to say on the subject so I'll probably have to split it up over the course of a few episodes but check out part 1 and give me your feedback!
Key Points
How is social justice and apologetics/evangelism issue?
Where is much of the confusion and conflict stemming from?
Is there a way to approach social justice from a biblical standpoint?
Recently I sat down with Damon Richardson of Urban Logia Ministries, Pastor Isaiah Robertson, and Pastor Jason Laplanche on Dacebook Live for a discussion about “The State of Urban Apologetics”.
The budding “urban” apologetics community is something I care a great deal about and I’m sure the same could be said about Damon Richardson and Isaiah Robertson. I’m fortunate to call these brothers my friends and over the last several months we have all been making similar observations about what is going on in the urban apologetics community. Some of what we are seeing has been very concerning, not only for the 3 of us. Over the last several months there have been rashes of intense and at times antagonistic exchanges between urban apologists. As I’ve been keeping track of things in our social media community and reaching out to individuals involved with these skirmishes between apologists, it seems to me that the pulse of the community leans toward putting some things in place to better mediate and even prevent these sorts of internal conflicts that can potentially create fractures in the community.
In this conversation with Damon Richardson and Isaiah Robertson we discuss what it is that we’re seeing and propose solutions which we hope to develop amongst the Urban Apologetics community such that resolutions achieve some degree of community wide acceptance.
KEY TOPICS:
1. What is the current state of urban apologetics?
2. What steps can be taken to resolve issues within the community?
3. Proposing a statement of faith for urban apologists.
4. Proposing a standard of conduct and boundaries for public debate/dialogue amongst urban apologists.
Over the last few years, we've seen an increasing awareness of the need for "urban" apologetics. As a result, there has been a community forming of individuals who are equipping themselves and others to address the questions about and objections to Christianity that have been gaining ground in the African-American community as well as among people of African descent in the broader Western World.
One of the things that many of us in this community see a need for is literature addressing these needs. We want books. Author/Apologist Tyran Laws (and Rahsaan Armand) is filling that need with his book entitled, "The Round Table: A Christian's Conversation with Marginal Beliefs Affecting the Black Church Experience".
You definitely want to listen to this episode as we address the following topics.
KEY POINTS:
What is the church doing about the violence in Chicago?
How to engage in conversation with people from the Conscious Community.
What are the dangers of "Word of Faith" theology?
Why is theology important in apologetics?
Wassup y'all. We're back again with another dope episodes. I want to thank everyone who messaged me with positive feedback for our Summer Soteriology Series. We're now shifting gears as I hit y'all with part 2 of a series I've been doing on the "Problem of Evil" at No Ceilings Bible Study in Richmond, VA. The "official" title for the series is "No Ceilings: Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?". If you missed the first part of that series click on the link to that episode below so you can get caught up.
http://truidpodcast.com/no-ceilings-why-do-bad-things-happen-to-good-people-pt-1
In this episode well will be addressing:
How can there be a God with so much evil and suffering in the world?
How do we breakdown certain basic arguments against God related to the Problem of Evil?
Welp, as Tru-ID slides into home plate with our Summer Soteriology Series Adam Coleman catches up with Texas Baptist Director of apologetics and host of the Soteriology 101 Podcast, Dr. Leighton Flowers. Dr. Flowers is well known for his public critique of Reformed Theology and advocacy of an often misunderstood perspective on the doctrine of salvation, Provisionism (aka Traditionalism).
In this interview Dr. Flowers pulls no punches in his critique of Reformed theology as he explains the Provisionist perspective, gives his take on key scriptures that come up in soteriology debates, and touches on how soteriology intersects with apologetics. Sit tight for an engaging and educational interview!
Key Points:
What is the Provisionist Soteriological Perspectivce?
Breakdown of Biblical passages like Ephesians 2 and Romans 9
Critique of Reformed Theology
Wassup with "Total Depravity/ Total inability"?
How might a person's view on salvation impact how they approach apologetics (i.e. Problem of Evil)?
Tru-ID Podcast:
www.truidpodcast.com
Tru-ID Podcast (ITunes): https://itunes.apple.com/…/pod…/tru-id-podcast/id1164296241…
Booking inquiries: truid7@gmail.com
Social Media Contacts
On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/adamcoleman
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/scottlane7
On Facebook:
Adam Coleman (aka Scott Lane)
On Twitter: @scottlane7
As we continue our miniseries on soteriology (doctrine of salvation) we sat down with Damon Richardson of Urban Logia ministries. Damon Richardson is very active as an apologist and is well-known for public speaking and shutting false teachers down in online debates. In this episode Damon Richardson gives us an overview of Reformed theology as well as identifying common misconceptions about the doctrines of grace. Of course, I couldn't let him go without getting his thoughts on his recent calling out of a false teacher by the name of Gino Jennings!! Let it be known Damon Richardson is putting Jennings on front street for legalism and paper thin Christology. Richardson also offers his thoughts about "race relations" in the church. This is not an episode you want to miss!
Key Topics
What the urban apologetics community needs to do to be effective
Overview of Reformed theology
Common misconceptions about Reformed Theology
Calling out false teachers
"Race relations" in the church
So, lately on my FaceBook timeline I've noticed there has been quite a stir among the urban apologetics community concerning what the Bible teaches on soteriology; basically doctrines related what salvation is and how it occurs. Quite frankly soteriology is a subject I've intentionally avoided on Tru-ID because I understand it can be one of those subjects that fractures rather than builds. I felt that my primary goal was to provide content that people from all theological camps could benefit from and put to use. With that said, one's understanding about salvation and how it occurs can have serious implications as to how you approach apologetics or articulate the gospel. So, I've lined up some guests who can educate us on a diversity of soteriological views. For this episode, we will be talking about "Molinism" with Tim Stratton, the founder of Free Thinking Ministries.
As I was just getting my feet wet in building a public apologetics platform , Tim Stratton, gave me my first shot at blogging and getting my ideas out there. It's been a long time coming but I've finally managed to get him on as a Tru-ID Guest. In addition to giving us and introduction to "Molinism", Tim Stratton, gives us an overview of an argument he has developed called the Free Thinking Argument Against Naturalism***. Get ready for a heavy dose of apologetics and theology!!
Key Points:
Does the Bible teach that mankind has "free will"?
What is the Molinism?
What is soteriology?
What does Molinism have to do with soteriology?
What is the Free Thinking Argument Against Naturalism***?
***Note: Naturalism is basically a strict form of atheism.
Dat Info:
Tru-ID Podcast (ITunes): https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tru-id-podcast/id1164296241?mt=2
Booking inquiries: truid7@gmail.com
Social Media Contacts
On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/adamcoleman
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/scottlane7
On Facebook:
Adam Coleman (aka Scott Lane)
On Twitter: @scottlane7
Y'all know how we do. Anytime I'm doing a presentation at a conference or other public event I try to obtain the audio from it so that I can share it with you guys. As my listeners might recall, in our last episode we caught up with president of the Mentionables Apologist Network, Joel Furches, who talked about the Mentionable Conference we had coming up in Greensboro, NC. Well last week I had the privilege of presenting at the first annual Mentionables Conference on the topic "The Historical Impact of the Church". I had a blast kickin' it with all that were presenting and/or in attendance and am thankful I can share my contribution to the event with our Tru-ID Podcast listener family!
P.S. Be on the lookout at my Youtube channel as we will be updating it with excerpts from the Mentionables Conference (i.e. Q & A) a lots of videos coming soon!
Key Topics:
The contribution of the church to philosophy, science, humanitarianism, and law.
I’m out of town this week In Greensboro, North Carolina where I’ll be teaching at an apologetics conference along with the The Mentionables apologist network. For this episode I was able to chop it up with founder and el presidente of the Mentionables, apologist Joel Furches. We covered a lot of ground in this episode dealing with the question of why the church needs apologetics and digging into the so called “Problem of Evil”. Check it out!!
Part 3: Final thoughts and responses to Come Sunday/Carlton Pearson
In our previous shows I provided biblical and philosophical responses to the points raised by Pearson in the movie Come Sunday, interviews, and from his website. In this episode we continue addressing his specific heretical claims and giving tips as to how we might go about helping someone like Pearson to think through difficult questions and challenge heretical ideas with logic and sound biblical teaching.
As I said before, In the same way that a viral infection left untreated can lead to serious physical consequences, erroneous ideas can infect our minds and hearts in such a way that we find ourselves unable to walk rightly with God. For that reason, we must keep our hearts with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23) as we contend against lies that are circulating in society and causing people to stumble. So Let's get it!!!
Key Topics:
Responding to Pearson’s claim that Jesus has saved everyone and everyone is going to “Heaven”.
Answering the question: “How can a loving God send people to hell?”
Using Christian philosophy about morality to respond to Pearson regarding why people go to hell?
Answering the question: “What about people who live evil and then come to Christ at very end of their lives? If they go to ‘Heaven’ how is that fair?”
Links to additional info on the “Problem of Evil:
From Reasonable Faith Ministries (William Lane Craig)
Video #1: On the Logical Problem of Evil
https://youtu.be/k64YJYBUFLM
Video #2: On the Probability Version of the Problem of Evil
https://youtu.be/cxj8ag8Ntd4
We're always trying to think of new ways to bring dope content to our listeners here at Tru-ID. One of the things we've decided to do is bring in brothers and sisters in Christ who have particular areas of expertise and can help us to deepen our knowledge on certain topics while sharpening our ability to defend the Faith.
For this episode we decided to turn our response to Carlton Pearson's movie "Come Sunday" into an opportunity to add an element to the show. I want to introduce Anthony Cummings to our Tru-ID family. Brother Cummings is credentialed as a language coach and specializes in languages of the Bible (i.e. Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew). We plan to have Brother Cummings as a regular contributor on the show to give us insight on objections to or questions about Christianity which revolve around the biblical languages.
Key Topics
Introducing linguist contributor to Tru-ID, Anthony Cummings
Responding to the Bible passages Carlton Pearson uses to support his heretical teachings.
In our previous show I provided my initial thoughts after having watched the recently released movie about Carlton Pearson entitled, "Come Sunday". Now it's time for us to get down to business of addressing his specific heretical claims and giving tips as to how we might go about helping someone like Pearson to think through difficult questions and challenge heretical ideas with logic and sound biblical teaching.
In the same way that a viral infection left untreated can lead to serious physical consequences, erroneous ideas can infect our minds and hearts in such a way that we find ourselves unable to walk rightly with God. For that reason, we must keep our hearts with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23) as we contend against lies that are circulating in society and causing people to stumble. So Let's get it!!!
Special Note: Please excuse the audio flubbs at the end. I was attempting to make a final comment on the show while rocking my one year old son to sleep which turned out to be a lot harder to do than I thought. I think he managed to get in a split second cameo at the end. LOL Anyway Love y'all man...Enjoy
Key Topics:
Identifying false conceptions of God
Tracing the experiences and ideas that led to Pearson embracing heresy.
Addressing Pearson's claim that there is no hell and that Earth/this life is Hell.
Whaddup my peoples!!
In this episode we discuss Carlton Pearson and the new movie detailing his transition further away from orthodox Christian teaching. For those who aren't familiar with Carlton Pearson, he was a very influential Pentecostal Preacher up until about 2007. Not only did Pearson pastor a megachurch but he was also nationally known for preaching at various conferences and even putting some of today's most notable preachers on the map (i.e. TD Jakes). All of that came to a crashing halt when Pearson came to believe that God told him that there is no hell, Jesus has already saved everyone, and everyone is going to heaven. Pearson was rightly deemed a heretic by the ministerial authorities he was affiliated with and went on to continue preaching his "gospel of inclusion" in forums that would have him. Recently, this aspect of Pearson's story was captured in a Netflix Exclusive movie entitled "Come Sunday".
Earlier this week I did a Facebook Live with some initial observations that I'd drawn from the movie. I'd intended to put out a full response to the questions and objections Pearson articulates in the movie, however, unfortunately I'm still getting over a pretty bad cold and was unable to do so. Also, I realized that in order to record an episode this week I would have had to record on the day my wife and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary. Husbandly wisdom leads me to believe that if I want to live to see our 10th anniversary then it would probably be a good idea to not spend this anniversary recording apologetics material rather than hanging out with my wife. LOL Candice don't play that! With that said I've converted that FB live to an audio episode which you'll get to see more of my off the cuff comical side along with theological and philosophical points that I believe will help Christians to work their way through difficult questions while avoiding patterns of thought or behavior that tend toward adopting heretical views of scripture. Next week we'll dig deeper into specific responses to the concerns raised by Carlton Pearson.
About a year and some change ago I sat down with a former Hebrew Israelite turned Christian apologist who goes by the name Brother J. In that interview Brother J talked aboutm being influential as a music artist in the Hebrew Israelite movement and how leaving Hebrew Israelism was sort of like Lebron James left Cleveland and went to Miami. lol He caught a lot of "heat" from the Hebrew Israelite community (pun intended).
Anyway, from then till now Brother J has been relentless in putting out solid apologetics ministry to Hebrew Israelites. Brother J sits down with us again to talk about how that transition has been for him and share insights as to what he finds to effective in ministering to Hebrew Israelites. PLUS Brother J is a talented musician and just dropped his new album titled "A.D." (After Deception)
Check out this interview in which Brother J AKA "J the Producer" in which we listen to some cuts off of his new album and he brings us up to speed on his apologetics ministry and life with Christ that inspires his music!
Your boy Adam Coleman (Scott Lane) is out of town again but we're keeping this content flowing to equip the saints as best we can. I was truly excited to sit down with the host of the "Urban Perspective" ,Pastor Jerome Gay Jr., for a discussion about the purpose of the Mosaic law and Hebrew Israelite misconceptions about the law. There is definitely a lot here for listeners to sink their teeth into. Check it out and be sure to subscribe to us on Itunes if you haven't already.
Plus I was feeling nostalgia so I put an old song I had back in the day with my homie Sir Walter III at the end of the episode.
Title: Louder (I’m on the 3rd verse)
Key Points:
What is the purpose of the Old Testament Law?
What misconceptions about the Old Testament Laws do we tend to find among Hebrew Israelites?
You just never know how personally grappling with some of life's toughest challenges and questions will put you in position to help someone else as they do the same. In Galatians 6:2 we are told:
"Bear one another's burdens, and in doing so fulfill the law of Christ."
The fact of the matter is many people, both followers of Christ and non-believers, struggle with that nagging question; "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Is there a solid answer to that question? Does the existence of evil in the world suggest that an all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful God does not exist?
Let's make it plain. I can't tell you how many times I've been sharing the gospel with someone and they ask, "Where was Jesus during slavery?" or "If Jesus is real then why are our people still oppressed?"
Each month Adam Coleman heads up to Richmond, VA. to teach apologetics at the No Ceilings Bible Study. Recently, The Black Bruce Wayne (Adam Coleman) was asked to address why bad things happen to good people. In this episode Adam Coleman shares his message from No Ceilings. Before I forget, I would like to say thank you for all who continue to support this ministry. Over the last month I have had the opportunity to travel and share what God has poured into me and it's been exciting to be a part of this growing urban apologetics movement. If we keep working together we can set this culture ablaze for Christ!
Key Points:
Intro to the "Problem of Evil"
How to take the pressure off of yourself in responding to this question.
How the existence of evil is actually evidence that God exists.