Introducing the "Apologetics Academy" Online Mentoring Program

Are you a seasoned apologist looking to improve and sharpen your ability, and test your skills in debate against the best critics of Christianity? Are you a beginner apologist wanting to learn apologetics from some of the finest Christian minds in the world? Are you a Christian who is wrestling with doubts? Are you a non-Christian who has questions about Christianity and wants to honestly explore and find out more?

If you fall into any of the above categories, let me introduce you to my "Apologetics Academy" online mentoring program! Every Saturday, at 8pm GMT / 3pm Eastern / 2pm Central / 12noon Pacific, I run an online apologetics mentoring class using a webinar platform called "Zoom" (http://www.zoom.us). Each week, I bring in a guest speaker to give a short presentation on a given topic. In addition to bringing in Christian speakers, I often also bring in leading atheist or Muslim speakers to present their case.

The speaker's opening presentation is immediately followed by a session of Q&A. Members of the audience indicate to me that they would like to ask a question or make a comment on the speaker's presentation. I then promote them to be a co-panellist and allow them to literally go back and forth one-on-one with the speaker. Other audience members prefer to lurk in the background and simply listen to the back and forth interaction. Whatever your current apologetics background, my online mentoring program is designed to fulfil your apologetics needs. This is your chance to interact one-on-one with some of the brightest Christian intellects in the world, or with the leading critics of Christianity.

For a complete list of currently confirmed speakers (and information on how to participate), see this page on my website. New exciting speakers are being confirmed all the time. On popular demand, I have even started to record the audio for some of the Webinars (these are also embedded on the same page). If you would like to be considered to be a future speaker for my group (no matter what worldview you represent -- whether it be Christian, Muslim, atheist, or other), please contact me at the email address provided on the contact page at my website. If you know someone who might make a good future guest, please also refer them to me. To be kept up-to-date with upcoming Webinars, please like my public Facebook page here and join the Apologetics Academy group on Facebook.

Please do me a favour by spreading the word on social media, email lists and on your personal blog pages. We only recently started to use Zoom to conduct these Webinars, as it is specially designed for conducting online meetings in a way that best suits our needs. Zoom, unfortunately, is not free, and I have to pay a monthly subscription fee. To enable me to continue to maintain these free-of-charge Webinars, I am dependent on contributions. So, if you feel so led, please consider contributing via my website.

I look forward to seeing you on Saturdays.

How Can We Trust the Bible If It Was Written By Humans?

In our discussions with Muslims, it is important to note that we as Christians do not share the same view of inspiration as Islam does. The process by which the Bible came to us, the time period, the languages, its authors, and its diverse geographical provenance, is sharply different than the Qur'an.

Did Jesus Really Exist? What are the Earliest Sources?

Did Jesus of Nazareth really exist? Many would try to advocate the 'Christ Myth' theory, that Jesus never existed while others would argue that Jesus was a copy cat of pagan deities like Osiris, or Mithra as the Zeitgeist video tries to argue. Serious historians and scholars repudiate these ideas.

Turning Tables on Muslim Objections to the Trinity: The Recording

On popular demand, I have started recording my Saturday "Advanced Apologetics" group for public consumption, and will from henceforth be uploading them to a dedicated YouTube Channel.

Here is this past Saturday's session, on "Turning tables on Muslim objections to the Trinity", with Sam Shamoun. Enjoy!

In this coming Saturday's session, we will be discussing the problem of evil with atheist Cory Markum (one of my former debate opponents). Click here for instructions on how you can join and participate in the conversation. 

Muhammad: The White Prophet with Black Slaves

Many people who don't read the Muslim sources assume that Muhammad was dark-skinned. However, according to Islam's most trusted sources, Muhammad was white. These same sources show that Muhammad also owned black slaves. How can we reconcile these facts with the spread of Islam among African-Americans in recent decades?

Debate: Crucifixion of Jesus: Fact or Fiction? Tony Costa vs. Kareem Abu Zaid

My debate with Sheik Kareem Abu Zaid on the Trinity Channel on the topic of the crucifixion of Jesus has now been posted.

New Website: Advanced Apologetics

Last week, I launched my new website, AdvancedApologetics.net. The website contains information on my upcoming speaking engagements, as well as upcoming online meetings of my Advanced Apologetics mentoring group. It also features a blog, and links to the collection of videos available at my YouTube Channel. Check it out here.

Turning the Tables on Muslim Objections to the Trinity: A Conversation with Sam Shamoun (Advanced Apologetics: Saturday, February 13th)

My Advanced Apologetics Group meets online most Saturdays via video and audio call.

On Saturday, February 13th, we will be in conversation with Sam Shamoun of Answering-Islam.org. He will be talking to us about how to turn the tables on Muslim objections to the Trinity. Join us at 8pm GMT / 3pm Eastern / 2pm Central / 12noon Pacific.

To join the call, go to the following link at or shortly before the meeting's start time:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/644675869

You can also dial in using your phone:
United Kingdom +44 (0) 20 3713 5010
United States: +1 (312) 757-3117

Access Code: 644-675-869

I hope to see you there!

DEBATE: "Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?" Jonathan McLatchie & Rehan Ali vs. Ahmed Pandor & Bashir Vania (South Africa)

DEBATE: "Who Best Represents the Teachings of Jesus Christ -- Paul or Muhammad?" Jonathan McLatchie vs. Bashir Vania (South Africa)

Is Islam and Other Religions True and What Makes Jesus So Special and Distinctive?

 

 

My friend Rev. Sule Prince interviewed me on a series of videos to answer some tough questions that usually are raised against Christianity. In this second video I respond to the question, 'Are Other Religions True and What Makes Jesus So Special and Distinctive?'



Who is God and has He Revealed Himself?

My friend Rev. Sule Prince interviewed me on a series of videos to answer some tough questions that usually are raised against Christianity. While this is still somewhat related to Islam, it is a good refresher on theology. In this video I respond to the question, 'Who is God and has He revealed Himself?'

Debate: The Crucifixion of Jesus: Fact or Fiction? (Tony Costa vs. Kareem Abu Zaid)

I will be debating Sheik Kareem Abu Zaid on the subject of the crucifixion of Jesus on the Trinity Channel on Wednesday February 10 at 4 pm EST / 9 pm GMT. Please tune in, watch, and call in with questions.

"I and the Father are One" (John 10:30): A Claim to Deity?

On Saturdays, at 8pm GMT (3pm Eastern Time / 2pm Central Time), I often run a study group over Skype, called the Advanced Apologetics Group. The purpose of the group is to stimulate Christians to think deeper about their faith, as well as to engage with common objections to the Christian faith, and to build understanding of other worldviews and the people representing those worldviews. If you are interested in joining one of our future sessions and being kept up-to-date on what we are doing, contact me on Facebook and indicate your interest.

I sometimes invite a non-Christian guest to lead a discussion. This past Saturday, we were blessed to have South African Muslim scholar Yusuf Ismail engage with us on the christology of John's gospel. Despite our strong disagreement, it was a cordial and respectful discussion, the way all-such dialogues should be.

One of the texts that we discussed is John 10:30 ("I and the Father are one"), and I was stimulated by our discussion to write a blog post dealing with this text. In order to understand exactly what Jesus was saying, we need to read the verse in the context of the surrounding verses (22-39):

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” 

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

John 10:30 does indeed teach the deity of Christ, but not for the reason that many Christians think. By saying "I and the Father are one", my personal view (which not all scholars hold) is that Jesus is not talking directly about his ontological unity with the Father. Rather, the context suggests that He is talking about a unity of purpose and will -- namely, in bringing about salvation. But could anyone who was not God have said the sorts of things Jesus said in the lead up to verse 30? Let's take a look at Jesus' statements in turn.

The Meaning of Son of God in the Bible and Its Misunderstanding in Islam

I was interviewed today by Jacob Knight on XPosed Radio on the subject and meaning of 'Son of God' in the Bible and Extra-Biblical Literature and its grave misunderstanding in Islam. The 30 minute radio interview can be accessed here.

Islamophobia, Racism and Dishonesty

Ijaz Ahmad of the "Calling Christians" blog, a notorious Muslim polemicist, responded to my recent article regarding whether it is racist to criticize Islam. I was in two minds about whether or not I should dignify Ijaz with a response. But racism and Islamophobia are serious charges. Ijaz has publicly made several false and defamatory claims about me, and those false allegations cannot go unanswered.

Ijaz writes,

"It is symptomatic of Jonathan’s behaviour to appeal to straw men when criticised either about his behaviour or his statements. No Muslim has ever stated that his criticism of Islam amounts to racism, however, his castigating of Muslim immigrants and their ethnic communities in Europe as a cancer and a virus is racial based vitriol, and this is what is considered racism. To begin with, Jonathan considers Muslim immigrants of an ethnic background to be “cancers” and “viruses” that are invading Europe."

As evidence for his allegation, Ijaz then embeds a video clip excerpted from a lecture I gave on evangelism to Muslims in the UK last August. The only problem is that, in the video clip, I do not say what Ijaz claims I said. I doubt anybody in the audience would have understood my words in the way Ijaz does, and it had not even occurred to me at the time that my words could be misinterpreted in the manner in which Ijaz interprets them.

Two of My Debates on the Trinity vs. Tawhid

Below are two debates of mine that I have done on the subject of the doctrine of the Trinity vs. the Islamic concept of Tawhid (oneness of Allah). The first of these aired on Premier Christian Radio in the UK back in May of last year. My opponent was Abdurraheem Green, director of the Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA).

 

The second one is a more recent debate, with a formal structure, which took place in London in August of 2015. My opponent was Muslim scholar Dr. Shabir Ally, president of the Islamic Information and Dawah Centre International in Toronto. For my responses to commentary on this debate by Ijaz Ahmed of Calling Christians, see my articles here and here.

 

Enjoy!

Upcoming Debates with Ayoob Karim in South Africa

In the last week of March and first week of April, I am going to be doing a short speaking and debating tour in South Africa. In all, I will be doing a total of five debates with Muslims during this tour. Two of those debates, taking place over Easter weekend, will be with Ayoob Karim (see promotional poster above). We will be debating "What did Jesus preach -- Christianity or Islam?" and "The true nature of God -- Trinity or Tauheed?" More announcements to follow in due course.

Is Sexual Assault of Women Condoned in Islam?

Following  New Year's Eve celebrations the world was shocked to learn that over 600 women in Cologne, Germany were sexually assaulted en masse by men who were described as predominantly as "North African" and "Arab". News later appeared that this was not an isolated incident, but that other similar attack took place in other cities in Europe. The media kept this disastrous news under wraps for about four days before reporting on it. Reports also suggested that the police were also complicit in keeping this story under cover.