with Ben LaCorte

Best-selling author, speaker, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland.

Best-selling author and apologist, Dylan Burrows. Together bringing you truth. For a new generation, this is TNG Radio. But set apart Christ as Lord in your heart and be ready always to give an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that you have.

Do this with gentleness and respect. With that famous verse, 1 Peter 3.15, I welcome you to today's edition of Truth for a New Generation Radio. Hi, Alex McFarland here.

And wow, I am so excited about the show we've got today. We're talking about apologetics. And that verse, that very famous verse, we've quoted it no doubt hundreds of times on the programs, it's only one of many verses in the Bible that speak to the issue of defending the faith.

I've often said in the 21st century, we present, explain, and if need be, defend the gospel. And I've got with me right now a man that is doing that and doing it very well. His name is Ben LaCourt. He's originally from New York, upstate New York, I believe, right, Ben?

That is correct, Alex. How did you come to be a Southerner? And I am a bonafide Southerner, by the way. I've been in the South probably at this point more than half my life, so I think that counts. But I ended up in Nashville, Tennessee as an engineer after college, working for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Worked there for a while, got married, moved to Texas, and then back up to New York State for a few more years, and then back down to Raleigh, North Carolina about 22 years ago. So they're calling me a Southern here and I'm honored to be called that. If you've lived in Texas, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, we'll take you as a Southerner, but even more importantly, you're a Christian, and you're a defender of the faith, and we're glad about that. Thanks be to God for that. When you went to engineering school, were you a Christian already when you were in college?

I was not. You know, I was not evangelized up in upstate New York. I was not evangelized until I came down to North Carolina, so I like to say that I came for such a time as this.

Sure, Esther 4.14. Now, had you heard the Gospel, or did you really understand the basics of that Christ, the Son of God, paid for our sins on the cross and you could have a relationship with Jesus? Had you heard that message before?

Yes. See, I was raised Catholic, my entire family, extended family, grandparents, all the way on down. I went to actually Catholic grammar school from first grade through eighth grade, and then I didn't have enough of it, Alex, so I went to a Catholic high school, all boycotts, so I heard the Gospel many times.

Okay, okay. What clinched it for you? I mean, what compelled you to open your heart to Jesus?

There's a question right there. You know, I'd have to say that there were men praying for me, unbeknownst to me. They didn't tell me they were praying for me until after the fact, and there was a gentleman who I befriended at work who introduced me to Josh's book, More Than a Carpenter, and that book... That being Josh McDowell.

Josh McDowell. And that book really kind of turned things around for me, because having been raised in the religion that I was raised in, Alex, I always knew that Jesus Christ was God and that he was my Savior, but it was not a relationship. It was more of a mental assent to that, but it wasn't a heart transaction until it happened.

Sure, sure. As you studied engineering, were there things in your academic track that conflicted with belief in God, belief in Christianity? Did you have any kind of an intellectual crisis of faith?

No. I have to say that I took geology at engineering school, and it was all about the Jurassic era and going back 14.8 billion years of the universe and 4.5 billion years of the earth, which evolution was a very big part of that, but it never really fazed me that there was something wrong with that. And it's surprising now, because as an engineer, I try to be a theological thinker, a critical thinker, and we have to be in that field. But I have to say, shamefully, Alex, that I didn't really think there was anything wrong with evolution in those days.

And once I became a believer and started studying apologetics, it really became broadly in my face that there is definitely something that just doesn't add up. How many students do you think, and I know I've got my opinions on this from my own research and interviewing people, but how many young people do you think the completely Darwinian, completely secular approach of modern education is an issue about faith? Evolution, secularism, materialism, for young people, that being an obstacle between them and God, in your opinion, how many are really put away from God because of that? I would say most.

Definitely most. And the reason for that is because, as our Lord tells us through Paul in Romans 1, is that we actually push away the knowledge of God. And we fight that. We suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And the longer I've been a Christian, and the more I actually witness and talk to people, my peers and my students, that that is actually that is so true, and obviously because it's Scripture.

But I see it in the field as well. There are young men and women in our country today, and I teach high school, a Christian high school that, now they don't, but others do, reject the things of God. And I believe it's because they suppress the truth. You're going to hear about something very exciting. Now listen, wherever you are in America, and especially those that are on the eastern seaboard, because Heroes of the Cross and Ben Lecourt, they've got a really great apologetics event coming up that we want you to be aware of.

But listen to this. On the way to record with you today, I was reading an article about an archaeological dig in the Middle East. UC Berkeley had gone on an archaeological dig, and much of the city of Nineveh that had been excavated, it's been plundered. And you know, Ben, there are World Heritage sites where they talk about things that need to be preserved. The archaeological world is lamenting that the palace of Sennacherib had been excavated. There were incredible sculptures, and these friezes, or these sculptures in the wall, that terrorists and opportunists have smashed with sledgehammers. The pieces are being sold on the black market, and they said that it was a World Heritage site disaster of the highest magnitude. The city of Nineveh, which is an historical city, the palace of Sennacherib, which is referenced in the Bible, that now preservationists are lamenting that this archaeological reality is being plundered and vandalized and sold on the black market. And none of these archaeologists are saying Nineveh was a myth or hyperbole. It's an actual historical place. A little bit of inconsistency there, isn't there? Exactly.

My point in sharing that is that there are compelling lines of evidence, what we call empirical, that is physical, investigatable evidence for the reality of the Bible. Now we've got to pull away and take a break. I want you to stay tuned. We're going to come back. We're going to talk more apologetics with Ben LaCorte on today's edition of TNG Radio.

We're back after this. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5 to 12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

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That's AFASTORE.net. Our country is falling apart. Political unrest, social upheaval, the breakdown of the family, the rise of atheism, the rise of Islam. Our religious freedoms are under attack. There's gender fluidity.

Gender identity is making a mess of freedom of expression. So we need to put some skin in the game and love this nation. As Christians, we are to stand strong.

There has to be some personal investment in the living out and the preservation of America. Stand Strong America will help you take the fear that you face and the bleakness that you face, but help you become a champion, a bold champion for Christ. In Stand Strong America, Jason Jimenez and I lay out the facts about our nation, the current condition, and how you, yes, you, your family, your church, your community can be involved in keeping this great republic.

Stand Strong America is a guide to bring courage and hope for you, the Christian, wherever Christian books are sold. On the mountains, I will bow my life to the one who sent me there. In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there. When I'm standing on the mountain, I didn't get there on my own. When I'm walking through the valley, I know I am not alone. Welcome back to the program.

Alex McFarland here. We're talking with Ben LaCourt about apologetics, and for the record, that's not apologizing. We're not saying, I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry, I'm a Christian, please like me anyway.

No, that's not it at all. Apologetics is an ancient legal word, really, that means to speak in defense of, to justify your position, to back up what you're saying, and in terms of Christianity, when we're talking about apologetics, and Ben, you mentioned Josh McDowell, and I do want to talk about some of the books and perhaps authors that influenced you, apologetics touches on things like how do we really know God exists? How do we really know that the Bible is the true, trustworthy, infallible Word of God? Jesus Christ, did he really exist? Was he really deity, the Son of God?

How do we know he rose from the dead? Apologetics touches so many other issues, and I'm just going to throw it to you, Ben. What are some other issues that apologetics would speak to?

Well, I can tell you, I have recently befriended, in fact, the last Truth for a New Generation conference I went to, I met a young man there, a fairly young man, who was an atheist and said he wanted to meet with me, Alex, and so we have been meeting at a little Panera four or five times in the past couple of months, and I can tell you something, he has told me that he's an ex-Christian, former Christian, who walked away from the faith because something dramatic happened in his lifetime. So that speaks directly to what? It speaks directly to the problem of pain and suffering, and I think that is such a hard and difficult crux for people to get over. Even for Christians, I think it's a challenge, even for us, to explain and try to understand how there could be a, how there is a all-powerful and all-benevolent, omnibenevolent God who still allows such what almost seems to be gratuitous pain and suffering.

So I think that's one of the issues that I try to explain to people as best as I can, as best as any human being can, Alex, and I think there's still some mystery in that, but that would be one. You know, Peter Krafft, who is a great writer, we've had him speak at TNG, and I really love his Handbook of Christian Apologetics, published by InterVarsity, Krafft said, far and away, the problem of pain, and whether it's called the problem of evil or the problem of suffering, but the question is basically this, if God is good, if God is powerful, if God is wise, why is there suffering and evil in the world? If God is good, why doesn't He stop it?

If He's wise, doesn't He know what to do? And if He's powerful, isn't He able? And so what Christian apologetics does, at least in response to the problem of evil is, without compromising God's goodness, God's power, or God's wisdom, we try to give a response.

Now some people, and most classically orthodox apologists, like Josh McDowell or Ravi or C.S. Lewis or Norm Geisler or Turek or myself, we would say, our answer to the problem of evil has got to not only respond to evil, but affirm the true non-negotiable characteristics of God. Some people, like Rabbi Kushner back in the 70s, Rabbi Harold Kushner, said, well, God's doing the best He can, His power is limited, so basically cut God a break.

He would fix the world if He could, but He can't. Well that's unacceptable, because we know God is omnipotent, He has all power. Some religions, some Eastern thought, talk about yin and yang, maybe God is part good, part evil, so there's sin and suffering because God has an evil component. Well we know that's not acceptable, God is righteous, God is holy, and God is wise. So the problem of pain and suffering that you say is an issue for your friend there, by the way, I applaud you going to have coffee and talk about theology, because apologetics in the 21st century has got to be relational, doesn't it? Yes, it does, and he has confided in me something that, as Christian Alex, I'm a little bit ashamed of, and it's this, he has confided, and we've gotten a good relationship going, he's still continuing to want to meet with me, but he did say this, he said, you know, Ben, you're different than most Christians, and I asked, well how, how so? He said, well, most Christians that I've talked to and debated with and had conversations with in these kinds of discussions have really gotten angry with me for some of my beliefs, and this is him, you know, my friend Michael speaking to me, saying, you know, I really appreciate the fact that you're open-minded enough to at least acknowledge that there are some things that I believe that could be, you know, somewhat on base, and it's really, Alex, more that I think as Christians we have to realize that atheists are atheist friends and naturalist friends, they have something to say that we should listen to, but the gospel they don't know, and we have to share that in love. We do, and I think that a lot of atheists appreciate that. When I wrote the book, Ten Answers for Atheists, and I interviewed so many atheists, it always did come down to the problem of evil, and I would always try to do my best to be collegial and cordial and not just say, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong. Now, rejecting the existence of God, yes, that's wrong, but very often people arrive at the beliefs they have, misguided as they might be, because we're not only intellectual, we're emotional.

We don't just think, we feel, and oftentimes our feelings cause us to think incorrectly. Ben has an important event coming up in Raleigh, North Carolina. It's going to be in Cary, North Carolina, just outside of Raleigh.

Yes. All right, the name of it is the Reasons to Believe Apologetics Conference. And when is it? July 22nd. It's on a Sunday afternoon.

We're blessed to have Dr. Alex McFarland. I'm super excited, and I really appreciate the opportunity. So Sunday, July 22nd.

Sunday, July 22nd. They can register at reasons2believe.org. Reasons2believe.org. Now, listen, folks, if you want to get strong on defending the faith, this Reasons to Believe Conference is what you need. Hey, we've got to pull away for a break.

Stay tuned. We're going to talk more apologetics with Ben LaCourt when we come back on this edition of Truth for a New Generation Radio. For centuries, the Bible has inspired humanity and shaped the very world we live in. But how do we know this book is the Word of God and not merely the words of men? What we believe about the Bible is based on what we believe about its source. The God Who Speaks explores the evidence of the Bible's inspiration and authority through some of the world's most respected biblical scholars. We have essentially a dual authorship, so it's true to say that Paul wrote Romans. It's equally true to say that God wrote Romans.

He says, we saw this, and that sets the Bible apart from almost everything else in the ancient world and its religious pantheon of gods and goddesses. The God Who Speaks is a feature-length documentary from the American Family Association, available now at thegodwhospeeks.org. First Peter 3.15 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have.

We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers Teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like is there a God? Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers Team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

Call me at 864-977-2008 and always be ready. Alex McFarland back on TNG Radio with Ben LaCorte. In case you're wondering, Dylan Burroughs is traveling.

He is frequently with us on the show and he'll be back. But regarding Christianity and the problem of pain and suffering, because oftentimes skeptics will talk about not only why does this happen like moral evil, terrorism, violence, natural evil, tsunamis, hurricanes, but then there is also the alleged crimes of the church and why did God allow the church to do so many evil things. In reality there have been examples of Christians behaving badly throughout history and we agree that sometimes those who name the name of Christ don't always behave in a very Christ-like way.

But I always say this, we're not asking you to receive a Christian who might let you down, but Jesus Christ who certainly never will. I've got a book here, Ben, it's a secular book, The Wreck of Western Culture. It's by a historian named John Carroll and it's talking about the Western world which, and this is a completely secular book, was built on a Christian worldview. Science emerged from a Christian worldview. God is orderly and because the Creator is an intelligent, orderly being, creation itself is intelligible and understandable. But this book is talking about how a Christian worldview gave the West clean water, sanitation, sewers, antibiotics, reliable supplies of varied foodstuffs, civic police, the jumbo jet computers and skyscrapers, and it said, the Christian worldview built on earth a city of light, but today that city lays in ruins, end of quote.

Why? Well because of our abandonment of God, morality and family. Now that's a secular history book about Western civ. Talk to me for a moment, you're an apologist, you're an engineer, what has been the impact of this skepticism we've been talking about? This rejection of God, this abandonment of Christianity, and this assumption on the part of so many that Christianity is the problem. Well unfortunately we see signs of that every single day, don't we? In the headlines, on the billboards, in the movie theaters, and unfortunately in schools. It breaks my heart when we have young people who can't even walk into a school anymore and feel that they're safe, and one of the most safe havens that there has ever been throughout our history, Alex. I've never, when I was going to school, had any kind of a concern, but yet our students have today.

And what has changed? Well 50 years ago we had prayer in schools, 50 years ago we were able to openly talk about Jesus Christ and the things of God. Things have changed since then, our culture has gone in a stray direction, away from the things of God and towards the things of man. And it breaks my heart to see that because the culture doesn't understand the repercussions of that, the ramifications of the results of that kind of switch away. But unfortunately we're seeing that today, and I believe that a lot of what we're seeing is a direct result of having abandoned faith.

You know A.N. Wilson, we've quoted him, the British historian on the program, and he talks about Britain and Europe in the aftermath of Darwin. He talks about the fact that so many at first were glad of Darwin's publication of the origin, now we can party, hey there is no God in our past, there's no judge in our future. But by the dawn of the 20th century, many of the very same people that celebrated the death of God were themselves committing suicide and they were in despair. And Wilson says, and this is a powerful quote, they ached for the God they no longer believed in. There was a hunger for God.

So let's kind of wrap this up, and again if you're just tuning in we're talking with Ben LaCorte of Heroes of the Cross. We in America, as a professor that I quoted from Harvard a few years ago, he said we're paying the price for having banished God from public life. I believe apologetics is a part of the pathway back, to not only equip the saint but persuade the lost. Well there's a lot to be said for that, Alex, and hope is not lost. You are praying for, and so many of us are praying for, a revival within America today. And it's not impossible, the Holy Spirit can do that.

I think that at certain times in our Christian walk we tend to rely too much on who's president or who's governor or who our senators are, though that is important, and I think we don't pray enough. And I'm pointing back at myself, by the way, when I say that, Alex. I want to find out, I always like to find out how people got into apologetics. What books or authors influenced you? Well I was introduced to the whole field of apologetics back in seminary about ten years ago. And we had to read one of these old stodgy books about apologetics, and you know, it wasn't very fun, it wasn't very exciting, and I didn't do well in the class, but I developed a love for the field in general, and I started studying independently.

C.S. Lewis, obviously, with mere Christianity. And then Frank Turek, with some of his works, Stealing from God, and I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Alex, some of the books that you've come out with as well, just you know, oatmeal, just good, solid meat in the field of apologetics.

And then I started taking classes at Biola University out in California, pursuing a master's degree in Christian apologetics out there, loving every minute of it, getting heavy into the field, and have just gone from there. Well you know, we're just about out of time, and folks, I want to encourage you to rise to the challenge of 1 Peter 3.15. Be ready.

Be equipped. Don't just assume it's the pastor's job or, quote, somebody else is going to do it. Every Christian, we need to know what we believe, why we need to not only be able to explain and defend the faith, but we need to be willing to do that. And again, July 22nd at Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina.

And online, they can find out about that. They can register and find out about it at reasons2believe.org. Thank you for listening to today's edition of TNG Radio. Ben LaCorte, thanks for coming to be with us, and folks, keep on walking with Jesus and shining the light of the Gospel to everyone around you.

We'll see you next time. Amen. Truth for a New Generation, in association with Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, exists to equip Christians with a biblical worldview through conferences and camps. For information about upcoming events, visit truthforanewgeneration.com, or give us a call at 877-YES-GOD-1. That's 877-YES-GOD, and the number one. TNG Radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. That's P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. Or give online at alexmcfarland.com or truthforanewgeneration.com. Thanks for listening, and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG Radio.