There is probably no more pressing apologetic concern than the constant attacks upon the veracity and integrity of the text of Scripture. And no one is more central in the current attacks upon the New Testament than the chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, author of The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture and the NY Times Best-Seller, Misquoting Jesus, Dr. Bart Ehrman. Dr. Ehrman has been moving more and more into full and open opposition to the Christian faith, and his next book, due out mid February, makes this clear. It is titled, God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question–Why We Suffer. Clearly Ehrman is moving beyond his field of study (textual criticism) with a title such as this.
On the Dividing Line today I played clips from Christopher Hitchens, author of God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, singing the uncritical praises of Ehrman’s work as the final word on the scholarly front, followed by citations from Islamic sources who likewise use Ehrman as their chief modern resource for attacking the Christian Scriptures. As a result, there is simply no greater addition we can make to the cause of Christ in apologetics than to debate Bart Ehrman as a part of our 2009 National Conference. We will be joining other ministries in presenting the topic, “God’s Faithful Word in an Unbelieving World.”
First and foremost, pray that God will be pleased to bless the debate, all the preparations, and most importantly, the result, to the edification of His people, all to His glory and honor. Pray for the ministries involved, and most of all, plan on being with us for the debate, our conference, and the cruise to the Eastern Carribbean. The debate is January 21st in Ft. Lauderdale (details at the links above), the conference and cruise is the 22nd through the 29th. Make plans to be with us now at this important event!
Alpha and Omega Ministries is a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. James White, director, is a professor, having taught Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics for numerous schools.