The Apologetics Podcast

What is a "Christian nationalist" and how do you know if you might be one?

That's the question Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones ask distinguished American historian Thomas Kidd. Along the way, Garrick and Timothy discover that the answer isn't nearly as scary as some people seem to think. Garrick does, however, suggest a rather scary image that involves Jesus, a bald eagle, and an American flag.* In the end, Dr. Kidd refuses t...

Heaven is multiethnic. Are you ready for that?

The Bible tells us that the congregation gathered around God's heavenly throne will be “a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language,” all singing the praises of the Lamb. God's intention has always been to delight for all eternity in a redeemed community of ethnic diversity. But this diverse community shouldn't have to wait until eternity to begin. It can start her...

Kilroy Was Here!

During World War 2, “Kilroy Was Here” described a type of graffiti that American soldiers chalked on walls wherever they went.

In 1983, the phrase gained a completely different meaning.

That’s when the band Styx developed a rock opera and concept album—complete with a ten-minute dystopian science-fiction film—in response to accusations that Styx had encoded Satanic messages in their song “Snowblind.” These accusati...

This is the second half of an exciting two-part episode of The Apologetics Podcast. Garrick and Timothy are still adventuring through time with a second-century apologist named Aristides, exploring three key points in his apologetic that addressed those that were skeptical of Christianity in his day. Aristides understood that every Christian is an apologist—and that's the truth that your intrepid cohosts are doing their best to rec...

In this thrilling two-part episode of The Apologetics Podcast, Garrick and Timothy go back to the future.

Or, perhaps more precisely, they go back to the second century for the sake of the future.

In the book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, theologian Carl Trueman points out that the church's challenges of the second century A.D. provide one possible precedent for the struggles that Christians are facing in the present era...

In this episode, your intrepid cohosts learn why they need to get literate.

"Bible literate," to be exact.

According to author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin, Bible literacy is a vital tool when it comes to apologetics—and "Bible literacy" is not the same thing as "biblical literacy." 

Biblical literacy means knowing about the Bible. Bible literacy requires knowing the Bible itself, and Bible literacy is part of what every Christian ...

You don’t have to be a jerk to be an apologist. 

In fact, if you’re being a jerk, you’re not doing apologetics in a biblical way, because biblical apologetics calls Christians to defend the faith in “meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15b).

So how can we do apologetics without being a jerk? One of the best ways not to be a jerk is to listen to 1980s rock, which is why your intrepid cohosts have included clips from Bon Jovi and Sammy Hag...

This episode begins with the infancy of Jesus and ends with his resurrection.

Garrick brings up the infancy of Jesus in the Raiders of Church History segment in the most awkward of ways. This episode is the first—and hopefully the last—time that "lactation" has ever been mentioned on The Apologetics Podcast. Timothy brings the battle to a premature end by hitting Garrick in the head with the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Your intrepid cohos...

If they made apologetics action figures, Josh McDowell would be one of the figures in the first set. If they made apologetics trading cards, Josh McDowell’s card would be in a collectible foil pack. He has toured with the pioneering Christian rock band Petra, and his book Evidence that Demands a Verdict was selected by Christianity Today as the thirteenth most influential Christian book published after the Second World War. Now, he...

Welcome to the Apathetic Episode of The Apologetics Podcast! An episode focused on apathy probably seems appropriate to all of you who have noticed how apathetic Garrick and Timothy have been about releasing new episodes for the past few months. But that wasn’t actually due to anyone’s apathy! It was because Timothy needed to finish writing a new apologetics book entitled In Church as It Is in Heaven, which InterVarsity Press will ...

Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones have already devoted one entire episode of this podcast to love. That was when they discussed Foreigner’s 1984 hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.” 

But Garrick and Timothy are far too full of love to fit all of their feelings about love into a single episode. 

That’s why they’re joining forces with Huey Lewis to talk about love again in this special Three Chords and the Truth episode of The Apol...

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

With those words, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that declared a federal constitutional right to abortion.

So what now?

How should churches respond to this ruling? How can this decision be turned into an opp...

If you like talking about ancient objects, this episode is for you. And, by "ancient objects," we don't mean things like typewriters, printed telephone books, and those AOL compact discs that used to show up in your mailbox every week. 

We're talking about items that are really old. 

Like, older than Keith Richards and Willie Nelson.

And so, if ancient artifacts are your thing, join Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones on this exh...

Welcome to the Very Kind Episode of The Apologetics Podcast!

Of course, almost every episode of this podcast is kind of kind, mostly because Garrick is just that kind of person. But this episode is the kind of episode that’s particularly kind, because we’re joined by Dr. Keith Plummer, who is widely renowned for his special kind of kindness.

Even the battle between your intrepid cohosts in Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church ...

The books of the Bible were selected in the year 325 at the Council of Nicaea, right?

That's what a lot of Christians seem to think.

But is this story true? 

If it isn't true, how did the tale of a council that created the canon begin in the first place?

Those are the questions that your intrepid cohosts Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones explore in this episode.

As with almost every explanation that Garrick and Timothy give, th...

It's the end of apologetics!

Well, at least that's what a recent book by Myron Bradley Penner claims, which is big if true. 

If apologetics has reached its end, after all, your intrepid cohosts will soon need to bid adieu, since there's no need for an apologetics podcast if the extinction of apologetics is imminent.

But, alas, seconds before Timothy turns to Garrick with mist in his eyes and whispers, "The Quest is achieved, and no...

Some topics are too amazing to fit into a single episode.

Metallica is one of them.

In this second part of this dive into the music of Metallica, Garrick and Timothy look at the theology behind the 1991 song "The God That Failed." Along the way, your intrepid cohosts include an audio clip from the most shocking video in which Metallica's lead vocalist James Hetfield has ever appeared. Believe it or not, it all begins with a Nobel...

Finally, after three years of this podcast, the time has come to talk about something that we’ve rarely talked about before. It’s time to talk about …

… Metallica.

The first part of this two-part series focuses on how being raised as a Christian Scientist impacted lead vocalist James Hetfield’s life and Metallica’s lyrics. This provides the dynamic duo with an opportunity to discuss the history and theology of Mary Baker Eddy and t...

Welcome to The Weird Episode of The Apologetics Podcast! “Wait a minute!” some of you are already saying. “Isn’t every episode of The Apologetics Podcast weird? I mean, just this season, they’ve already featured a phoenix, a magical veil, a holy prepuce, and Timothy.”

If that was your first thought when you heard that this episode had been christened as "The Weird Episode," you are not wrong, dear listener.

And yet, this episod...