The Bible Questions | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Pastor Hal Seed answers the question of why God was so violent in the Old Testament.
Mar 08, 2025•14 min•Ep. 374
The Apologist‘s Bookshelf
I‘m Gary Zacharias, professor of English and an avid reader. I‘m also passionate about Christian apologetics, which has to do with making a case for the truth of Christianity. In this podcast I‘d like to introduce you to various books that have meant a lot to me over the years and have a prominent place on my bookshelf.
Episodes
World Religions and Cults 101 | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In this podcast I look at the book's coverage of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Mar 06, 2025•17 min•Ep. 373
Heaven | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In the seventh chapter of his book, Randy Alcorn answers the question of what life is like in the present heaven. Christians need to clearly explain the concept of heaven because there are so many misunderstandings about it.
Mar 01, 2025•21 min•Ep. 372
Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In chapter one Tim Keller compares various ways cultures train its members for grief, pain, and loss. The sad thing is that our own contemporary, secular Western culture is one of the weakest and worst in history at doing so.
Feb 26, 2025•19 min•Ep. 371
Talking With Your Kids About God | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Natasha Crain answers two interesting questions about the existence of God in chapters 5 and 6: What is the difference between God and the Flying Spaghetti Monster? How much evidence do we need to be confident God exists?
Feb 22, 2025•20 min•Ep. 370
Holman Quick Source Guide to Apologetics | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Chapter three of this book deals with a powerful argument for the existence of God--design throughout the universe and within our bodies.
Feb 20, 2025•20 min•Ep. 369
Is God Just a Human Invention? | The Apologist's Bookshelf
This book, by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow, explores many questions raised by the new atheists. This podcast covers one key question: Is hell a divine torture chamber?
Feb 15, 2025•22 min•Ep. 368
Faithfully Different | The Apologist's Bookshelf
This chapter from Natasha Crain's book looks at deconversion stories and offers ways for us to confront our doubts.
Feb 12, 2025•21 min•Ep. 367
The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God (2b) | The Apologist's Bookshelf
This is a continuation of chapter 2 in Justin Brierley's book.
Feb 08, 2025•18 min•Ep. 366
The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God (2 a) | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Continuing through Justin Brierley's stimulating book, I focus on chapter 2, which talks of the grand story that we all used to live by and how it changed.
Feb 05, 2025•20 min•Ep. 365
The Beauty of Intolerance | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In chapter 4 McDowell and Sean McDowell discuss how an anything goes culture is influencing our children's perception of the authority of the Bible, their concept of what is virtuous, their ideas of honor and courage, and even their understanding of justice.
Feb 01, 2025•19 min•Ep. 364
The Truth in True Crime | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Chapter three of Jim Wallace's book describes the importance of friends in human flourishing and offers wise counsel in choosing friends.
Jan 30, 2025•17 min•Ep. 363
A Mind for God | The Apologist's Bookshelf
James Emery White, one of my favorite authors, tells us in chapters 3 and 4 of his book the importance of books and education.
Jan 25, 2025•18 min•Ep. 362
Live Not By Lies | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In the first chapter of his book, Rod Dreher talks of the new soft totalitarianism that exists today.
Jan 22, 2025•20 min•Ep. 361
Unspeakable | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In the first two chapters to his book, Os Guinness discusses troubling facts about evil and suffering in the modern world, seven basic questions to explore when thinking about this issue, and the three everyday sources of evil and suffering.
Jan 18, 2025•19 min•Ep. 360
Tactics | The Apologist's B ookshelf
This is one book every Christian needs to have on his/her bookshelf. I cover the first two chapters, in which Greg Koukl discusses how to be an effective witness for Christ and the value of good arguments.
Jan 15, 2025•21 min•Ep. 359
One Minute Answers to Skeptics | The Apologist's Bookshelf
This book by Charlie Campbell has concise answers to the top fifty objections people have about Christianity. This podcast covers six of those challenges with his responses.
Jan 11, 2025•18 min•Ep. 358
Finding Truth | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In this section of her book, Nancy Pearcey tells how we can identify reductionism, which is a substitute idol for those who have rejected Christianity.
Jan 08, 2025•21 min•Ep. 357
The New Tolerance | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Josh McDowell, a well-known apologist, wrote this book to show how a popular cultural movement threatens much that we believe. This podcast covers his first two chapters.
Jan 04, 2025•16 min•Ep. 356
The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Mark Mittelberg used a poll to find out what questions Christians most fear being asked. This podcast covers the first question: "Why do you think God exists?"
Jan 02, 2025•20 min•Ep. 355
The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Justin Brierley, host of a popular podcast that discusses religious issues, has written a book which discusses why secular thinkers are considering Christianity again. My podcast covers his first chapter, in which he explains the rise and fall of the New Atheism.
Dec 28, 2024•21 min•Ep. 354
Truth in True Crime | The Apologist's Bookshelf
My favorite apologist and personal friend, J. warner Wallace, has a wonderful book that I am going through. This podcast explores his second chapter, which talks of good and bad ways we can seek identity.
Dec 26, 2024•18 min•Ep. 353
Relativism | The Apologist's Bookshelf
In chapters 3 and 4 Greg Koukl explains the three kinds of relativism and critiques the idea that each society has its own unique set of moral values.
Dec 21, 2024•15 min•Ep. 352
Raised on the Third Day | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Chapter 11 of this book asks the question of whether the disciples of Jesus died as martyrs.
Dec 19, 2024•15 min•Ep. 351
The Truth in True Crime | The Apologist's Bookshelf
J. Warner Wallace, one of my favorite apologists, has written a book that explores fifteen surprising rules for life and shows how Christianity helps us flourish as individuals.
Dec 15, 2024•21 min•Ep. 350
The Atheist Delusion | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Phil Fernandes deals with a question we often hear these days: Is Christianity intolerant?
Dec 12, 2024•18 min•Ep. 349
The Case for Christ | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Lee Strobel interviews noted New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg to see if the biographies of Jesus hold up to scrutiny.
Dec 08, 2024•23 min•Ep. 348
Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Chapter 2 of this book examines what true biblical justice looks like.
Dec 05, 2024•17 min•Ep. 347
The Reason for God | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Designed for people who believe there is a God and who are seeking spiritual truths, Tim Keller's book was a huge bestseller. Chapter three challenges the idea that Christianity is a straightjacket because it appears to be culturally narrow.
Nov 30, 2024•20 min•Ep. 346
The 10 Ten Most Important Things You Can Say to a J.W. | The Apologist's Bookshelf
Ron Rhodes has written an excellent book that lays out essential information for people to use when interacting with a Jehovah's Witness. Chapter 4 explains why Jesus is actually God, not a created being as taught by the Watchtower Society.
Nov 27, 2024•21 min•Ep. 345