In Depth:  Chris Sinkinson

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

From Edward Colston to Mahatma Gandhi, statues of public figures are under intense scrutiny.

American Black Lives Matter activist, Shaun King, recently made the news by calling for white statues of Jesus to be added to the list of historic monuments to be torn down. He tweeted: ‘Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy.’ Not only statues, but he called for other forms of representation to be removed: ‘All murals and stained-glass windows of white Jesus and his European mother, and their white friends, should also come down.’ He claimed that they were ‘created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda’.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Archaeological excavations not far from Jerusalem are confirming the historical site for one of the earliest periods of Israel’s history.

The site is Khirbet Qeiyafa and it is located just a day’s walk from Jerusalem at the Elah Valley. The ruins had been overlooked by archaeologists until a series of excavations from 2007 to 2013 brought to light a tangible connection to the time of King Saul and King David.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

While many churches have been engaging with social media and establishing an online presence, others among us have felt less enthusiastic for Facebook and Twitter. Such platforms have felt either intrusive or superficial and the concept of virtual church a contradiction in terms.

But all such thoughts are now pre-Covid. Since the virus, even the most technophobe among us have been mastering virtual backgrounds in Zoom and exchanging comments on Facebook Live. For better or worse, the church has fully embraced the Internet age. At Moorlands College we have shifted all our teaching online and my local church now has two Internet Sunday services along with a daily prayer meeting and weekly homegroups. Things will change again as the lockdown unwinds, but ministry will never be pre-Covid again.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Archaeology is rubbish. Or at least that’s the title of an archaeological guidebook written by Tony Robinson. It is a reference to the fact that archaeology generally deals in the material that got lost, broken and left behind.

That is the crucial reason why the further we go back in history the less substantial remains are found for the people, places and events that we might find written about in literature. The Bible is overflowing with information about the ancient history of the Israelites and God’s dealings with them. It is therefore, all the more remarkable how much rubbish and debris has been found that does help to confirm that this is reliable history.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

In a very disturbing recent development, major British conference venues have cancelled bookings for a tour by the son of Billy Graham. The May 2020 mission has been planned to give Franklin Graham an opportunity to follow in his late father’s footsteps and preach the gospel in various UK cities.

It is true that Franklin Graham has been controversial in some church circles. His salary from the Samaritan’s Purse has been under scrutiny. His vocal support for Donald Trump has alienated some evangelicals. His style of evangelism may not always fit well with British churches. But it is important to remember that these issues are not the point.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

One of the most important biblical locations is the temple in Jerusalem. It features prominently in much of the history of the Old Testament monarchy and would have been one of the most significant monumental buildings in the region.

So where is the evidence for its existence? It has been a tradition in some Muslim circles to deny that such a temple ever existed. Yasser Arafat, the former leader of the PLO, claimed that the temple was actually in Nablus and not in Jerusalem at all. For political reasons, even UNESCO has issued resolutions that give oxygen to this spurious temple denial and such scepticism has found its way into the rhetoric of those who wish to dismiss the reliability of the Bible.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

One of the topics now dominating public discussion is climate change. From Extinction Rebellion protests to BBC wildlife programmes, we are continually reminded that there is a real issue here.

Even Jeremy Clarkson, in the new Grand Tour series for Amazon, has admitted that climate change is a genuine threat to the environment and human existence. Clarkson, not known for sympathy with anything that would get cars off the road, conceded the point while filming on the Mekong river in Vietnam. Dramatic falls in river levels, destitute fishermen, absent rainfall, are all observed – leading Clarkson to admit there is an environmental crisis.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

With another General Election upon us, the contesting parties and prospective MPs are rightly evaluated in terms of their track record. It is not only their promises that we consider, but their ability to deliver on those promises. For that, reputation is crucial.

The church is also tested for its track record. That is presumably why many areas of media will often emphasise moral failure and corruption. We do not have to look far in church history to multiply the examples of ungodly leadership and behaviour. Indeed, the Reformation itself, particularly at the time of Martin Luther, was a response to the depravity of the Roman Catholic Church exemplified in the wicked leadership of Pope Leo X and the money-grubbing ministry of Johann Tetzel.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

In Old Testament history, Judah and Israel were relatively small in contrast to some of the more wealthy superpowers around them. This reflects the more modest ter-ritorial interests of Judah and Israel (to occupy a land given them by God) in con-trast to the aggressive ambitions of empires like Egypt, Assyria and Babylon.

But because these great empires sought to expand their borders, they all had need of the land bridge of Israel to help them in their conquests. A fortunate consequence of this military need is that we find records of Israel and Judah in the histories of these empires and opportunities to correlate what we read in the Bible with what we find in these accounts.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

There have been some unsettling stories of high-profile Christian leaders turning their backs on the faith over the past few months.

Harris’ ‘Goodbye’

Joshua Harris, best-selling author and successor to C.J. Mahaney at Covenant Life Church in America, issued a statement on Instagram in July 2019 revealing that he was no longer a Christian. He had already distanced himself from his highly influential book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and was separated from his wife of 20 years. His social media post declared: ‘I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is “deconstruction,” the biblical phrase is “falling away”. By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian.’

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

A Facebook site has called for Americans, on 20 September 2019, to ‘storm Area 51, they can’t stop all of us seeing them aliens’. At time of writing, 1.4 million Internet users have signed up to join in and the American government has issued a warning against would-be trespassers.

If you don’t know (and you are not supposed to know!), Area 51 is the name given to a secret military training facility in the Nevada desert. The site was acquired by the US Air Force in 1955 for testing experimental craft. However, its secrecy fuelled various outlandish conspiracy theories regarding alien spacecraft and technology.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

I have just returned from the Galilee where I have been taking part in another season excavating at an archaeological dig. Finds include the usual pottery, beads and seals, but one particular find made the international news and has implications for our understanding of an early biblical period. The picture (below) shows a 3ft high standing stone (stela) which we unearthed last week.

We are currently excavating a section of a site that may be the town of Bethsaida that we know from the Gospels. However, the area we are excavating is 1,000 years older than the time of the Gospels. All the indications are that at this time the site was the capital of the Kingdom of Geshur, which was an ally to the Israelite nation (Joshua 13:13).

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Does the Bible permit or, even worse, encourage slavery? Reading Bible passages out of context might suggest it does. Critics of Christianity could read Titus 2:9 or 1 Peter 2:18 and ask one to justify commands for slaves to obey their masters.

Out of context, the Old Testament is disturbing (Leviticus 25:44-46) and makes provision for slavery. Does this entail that God endorses the practice of slavery? Out-of-context such quotations can put Christians on the back foot. Are we defending an immoral Bible?

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

The US Christian film company behind God’s Not Dead have released a film dealing with the issue of abortion. Called Unplanned, it takes the true story of a Planned Parenthood clinic director who came to change her mind about the whole abortion industry. The film graphically shows the reality of what abortion is: the violent destruction of an unborn child. It has been on theatre release in America and will be available online in the UK.

I have not seen the film, and I came across it because of a review in the Guardian. Entirely predictably, secular media have been scathing in their response. Having not seen the film I am in no position to pass comment on the production values or acting. I have no idea if the single star rating (they can’t give lower) in the Guardian is justified. But what was interesting in that review is why they were so dismissive of the film.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Words have a history. They tell us about our past.

Or, at least, they tell us about the history of those who used the language. Clues to where they lived and what they thought are littered throughout their vocabulary. In English, a great example is the difference we make between pig, cow and deer in contrast to pork, beef and venison.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

If there is one book of the Bible likely to be treated as a myth or parable, it would be the great story of Jonah.

The colourful account of a disobedient prophet and a convenient great fish make for a story that is both entertaining and deeply challenging. Is the story historical?

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Isaac Newton famously said: ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’

Like our ‘cloud of witnesses’ in Hebrews 12.1, we have a wealth of wisdom to draw upon from the example of those who have gone before us in their defence of the faith.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Archaeology deals in rubbish.

The debris and detritus of past civilizations is unearthed by excavators, sometimes to be identified, sometimes misidentified, sometimes stored away and forgotten.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

The events surrounding the nativity remain some of the best known and most distorted Gospel stories.

Christmas cards, school plays and hit songs serve both to remind and confuse our culture regarding what really happened 2,000 years ago.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

The key biblical verse for apologetics is 1 Peter 3.15.

It says: ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ (NIV) Most of us are probably familiar with the words and realise the challenge of giving reasonable answers (an ‘apology’ in Greek) for our faith. But Peter’s words carry other challenges too. There is the challenge to be full of gentleness and respect. There is no encouragement to quarrel or be arrogant. No call to be rude or dismissive. Apologists are at their best when they are courteous and dignified.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

We have all, no doubt, had arguments (or discussions!) about who Jesus was.

Profound teacher? Jewish prophet? Misguided Messiah? On one thing most people agree. Jesus existed. However, a number of contemporary authors have tried to push the claim that Jesus is a figure of myth. It sounds bizarre. It is contrary to the clear evidence used by practically every historian and classical scholar. But the claim gains popular momentum and some more articulate writers have joined the circus.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

I want to use this month’s column to draw attention to the newly published Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh and Sean McDowell*.

If you have had an interest in apologetics then, whether you have a copy of the older edition or not, you will want to consider getting your hands on this completely updated and revised version.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Sorting through the dusty boxes of old book stock in our Bible College library we came across a real gem.

Tatty and heavily inscribed, with the spine sadly coming adrift, was a first-edition copy of Broadcast Talks by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1942 it is essentially a transcript of a series of BBC radio addresses delivered by Lewis during the war.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Archaeology has been in the news again.

I’m thinking of the sensational announcement of the discovery of what is possibly a seal impression bearing the name of the prophet Isaiah. If the identification is correct it would join the list of over 50 Old Testament personalities whose existence is corroborated by sources outside the Bible.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Is atheism in decline or on the rise?

The figures are ambiguous. Globally, more people may claim to be atheists today than ever before, but proportionately they are fewer because more religious societies are growing more quickly.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

It has been striking to notice the high esteem in which Billy Graham has generally been held.

Despite a few vocal critics, there has been genuine affection evident in his passing.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Late last year Donald Trump declared that the US would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.

For many tourists to the Holy Land this seemed fairly uncontroversial. Given that this is the location of the Israeli Parliament, many visitors always assumed Jerusalem was its capital. However, in practice Tel Aviv has been the internationally recognized capital with diplomatic missions located there. Trump’s plan to move the American embassy has created real friction on the ground.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Explaining the Trinity?

Attempts to do it, or to defend the doctrine as logical, often flounder in the mire of stretched analogies. In sharing our faith with Muslims, the objections to the doctrine come thick and fast. The BBC religion website introduces its history by saying ‘Christianity adopted this complicated idea of God because it was the only way they could make sense of One God in the context of the events and teaching of the Bible’.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

When did you last have an opportunity to share your faith?

Probably for most of us our best opportunities to engage in witness come when we can tell a friend about how we came to faith. These individual conversations are the stuff on which the church is built.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

For years, popular culture has mocked the church for misogyny.

Or worse still, for being puritanical. In March it was a news story around the world that American Vice-President Mike Pence would not dine alone with a woman other than his wife. For many Christians, this has been an ordinary, common sense boundary. But apparently, this behaviour is antiquated or legalistic.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

We all know the old saying.

You wait ages for a bus and along come two at the same time. Well, the same thing can happen in the world of archaeology.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

One of the Bible’s most popular books is also one of the most derided for any historical value.

The main events of Jonah remain well known in popular culture. Bruce Springsteen included ‘Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale)’ on his 2012 Wrecking Ball album. In the recent Avengers movie Iron Man, Tony Stark, compares a monster he is about to face to Jonah’s sea creature. But despite its popularity the reasons to reject the book as anything more than a meaningful parable are numerous and almost taken for granted by some scholars.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

New evidence has emerged about the Turin Shroud.

It seems the blood stains are not only human but reveal the circumstances of the victim’s death. A scientific article published on a recent study points out that elements in the blood are consistent with ‘polytrauma’. Giulio Fanti concludes: ‘The presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud.’

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ (John 1.46)

Nathaniel asked this question 2,000 years ago and many scholars have been asking it since.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

In a 2014 YouGov poll, 34% of Britons claimed to believe in ghosts.

That is in the context of only 23% who described themselves as religious. Secularism does not seem to be shaking the deep-rooted conviction that there is more to reality than meets the eye.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

I recently read a review copy of a new US Christian ‘blockbuster’.

Called The Chamberlain Key, it describes one man’s discovery of a secret code hidden within the Hebrew text of the Bible.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

In April astronomers announced the discovery of an earth-like planet.

It is 39 light years away with an atmosphere. Could this be an inhabited world? We are given the impression that aliens are everywhere. There are movies like ET, Independence Day or Close Encounters. There are books like War of the Worlds or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Classics among video games are Space Invaders and Defender.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

February 2017 saw the announcement across all news media of the discovery of a new Dead Sea Scrolls cave.

It highlights the continued fascination with these ancient documents and a continuing curiosity over what may yet be found in the barren deserts that border the lowest point on earth.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Kellyanne Conway successfully coined a phrase that will ensure her place in history.

It’s not clear what Donald Trump’s spokesperson intended by using the term ‘alternative facts’. But in a televised interview discussing the 2017 Presidential Inauguration she responded with ‘alternative facts’ to the general consensus that the attendance had not been high. Quick as a flash, the interviewer responded: ‘Alternative facts are not facts. They are falsehoods.’

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

2017 marks 500 years since the Reformation (dating it from Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Door).

Hopefully, for many Christians, this will reawaken an interest in our heritage. It is time to blow away the dust, if we have allowed it to settle, and read some classics of Christian history. John Calvin’s Institutes, Martin Luther’s Table Talk and later Puritan writings, like those of Jonathan Edwards, will all help remind us of the depths and riches of Reformation theology.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Scientists, whether Christian or not, really do not like Richard Dawkins!

I discovered this curious fact in The Journal for the Public Understanding of Science. It recently published research by Rice University, Texas on how scientists feel about the public perception of their disciplines and this was one of their findings.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

The last few months have seen an extraordinary number of archaeological discoveries that shed light on the biblical record.

As the dust settles (quite literally!) it will become clearer what may have been misinterpreted and what really adds to our understanding of Scripture. But there is no doubt that the ever-growing wealth of material continues to remind us that confidence in the historicity of Scripture stands up to scrutiny.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Apologetics benefits from the careful, scholarly evaluation of archaeological sites and discoveries.

Of course, there are great gaps in our knowledge of the ancient world. Sometimes these gaps reflect erosion of the past, deliberate destruction or theft. They may also reflect contemporary politics and culture.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

We recently hosted Gary Habermas.

From Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, he spoke at our College on the evidence for the resurrection. Gary has been on a national tour of the UK and his approach to apologetics can be very helpful in conversation with friends. Dubbed the ‘minimal facts’ approach, he focusses on the evidences that almost everyone can agree upon in order to make his case for the resurrection.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

I have just returned from another season in Galilee joining the excavation of biblical Bethsaida.

This is a fascinating archaeological site, casting much light on the world of the Bible. In fact, Bethsaida is a rare location for a number of reasons, many of which help to explain the apparent challenges of history to the biblical record.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Do you ever feel that apologetics is not for you?

You have seen public debaters handle difficult questions with an easy reply, recall complex information off the top of their head, and articulate a logical case with the precision of a highly paid barrister. If that is our model of apologetics then many Christians will feel that they should leave it to the experts.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Where can we get good resources to help children answer difficult questions about faith?

It is a good question. The challenge to defend and confirm the Christian faith begins in childhood.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

For many years it has been fashionable to deny the historicity of the earlier periods of Old Testament history.

In particular, the period of a united monarchy, Saul, Solomon and David, has been dismissed as the stuff of legend. While there has been circumstantial evidence for a centralised administration in the land of Judah and Israel there have been arguments over the dating of the various locations, and sceptical scholars could point to a lack of inscriptions with the names of such kings.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Researchers studying the behaviour of chimpanzees in the Republic of Guinea have recently made a startling discovery.

They claim that there is evidence for some kind of worship activity. A scarred tree drew the attention of German university student Laura Kehoe, who set up a remote camera to watch what chimpanzees were doing. It isn’t that the chimpanzees were found sitting in rows listening to notices being read out before passing round an offering plate, but they were seen throwing stones at a tree.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Images of the devil in popular cartoons and media do not help our case.

The horned man with goatee beard and pitchfork looks laughable. I was recently in Hell. During a stay in Grand Cayman we stopped for a stroll in a village with that name. It boasts a Post Office where you can send a postcard from Hell and a gift shop where the proprietor dresses in a red cape and horns.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

An ancient manuscript of the Qur’an has recently emerged.

This was announced in the news in Autumn 2015 and apparently it was found, not in the dry deserts of the Middle East but in the rather damper city of Birmingham. The manuscript is actually part of a larger copy of the Qur’an held in Paris, and originally discovered in Egypt. Carbon dated to AD 568–645, the implications are enormous, but a bit of background first.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

During the autumn various newspapers reported the archaeological discovery of Sodom.

It was a Daily Mail and an Express headline in October. The Independent ran the story under the heading ‘Biblical City of Sodom Found in Jordan’. Faithful en readers may remember we covered this in June 2013. So it is delightful to see other media sources catching up with us! The story is compelling and it is encouraging to see it gaining prominence in mainstream media.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

A recent survey of religious belief in England concluded that 40% of adults do not believe that Jesus was a historical figure.

During the Christmas period it is worth reflecting on the significance of this increasingly extreme form of scepticism in our culture.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Most of us view the future with a mixture of optimism and fear.

There are reasons for optimism – advances in medicine, scientific discoveries and church growth. But there are reasons for fear. Events in the Middle East, unrest in Jerusalem and Russian expansionism all combine with environmental warnings and anxieties over technology to fuel a sense of impending doom.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Regular readers of this column will know my interest in history and archaeology.

For the defence of the faith, I encourage all Christians to take an interest in the evidence for the Bible that emerges from the ancient world. So the recent destruction of historic sites by the Islamic terrorist group known as ISIS has profound implications for apologetics.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

An atheist told me last month that though he did not believe in God, but if he were to believe ‘it would have to be the God of hell and brimstone.’

He was sharing a general distaste for modern, liberal presentations of God and a preference for more traditional views. Of course, all such conversations are a little pointless. It matters very little what kind of God we would like to believe in. What matters is who God is – not who we would like God to be. However, the comment was perceptive. A God of holiness and judgment commands interest and respect.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Is it ever okay to lie?

Should I tell a lie at work so that my colleague can keep a job and provide for a family? Ethical questions like this one abound every day. How we resolve them will reflect what we think about moral values. Are moral values objective facts or subjective choices? This is a fundamental issue in ethical debate and dilemmas.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

As a regular columnist I tend to address fairly specific topics.

For that reason, I have avoided addressing the general subject of creation and Genesis. That is not because it is unimportant. It is an area that generates many of the most frequently asked questions. But in a few hundred words it is difficult to think of anything very useful to say!

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

The dust is settling on the 2015 General Election campaign.

At this time it is useful to reflect on the effectiveness of debate in persuasion.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

In presenting the case for the resurrection of Jesus our first exhibit is often the Gospel accounts.  

We have independent traditions, eyewitness accounts, unadorned by later theological sophistication, that give us primary evidence. Those Gospels provide remarkably little detail (Mark 14.51-52), often give a bad press to the first followers (doubting Thomas, Peter the denier), and can sometimes seem hard to reconcile (just how many times did the cock crow when Peter denied Christ?). Actually all this points to their authenticity. Of course, apparent contradictions can be resolved – they are only apparent – but their existence only serves to confirm that we have independent traditions. If four witnesses to a criminal act all gave an identical story then we might suspect collusion!

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Stephen Fry’s recent angry outburst about God has been circulating on social media.

It occurred during an exchange on an Irish public TV programme, ‘The Meaning of Life’. Asked to explain his unbelief, Fry described God as an ‘evil, capricious, monstrous maniac’. Given bone cancer in children, how can we have any respect for a sovereign, creator God? ‘How dare you create a world in which there is such misery?’ Fry indignantly asked. How could such a God expect us to worship him?

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

A fragment of the Gospel of Mark dating to AD 80 has been discovered with the remains of an Egyptian mummy.

This could be powerful ammunition for Christian apologetics, or a complete waste of papyrus. Let’s review the evidence.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

I have just received a letter.

It was from someone who says he has ‘de-converted’ from Christianity.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Our culture is gradually shifting from apathy towards the Christian faith into hostility.

In various ways we can see evidence of Christians being deliberately excluded from the public square. Take for example, our nation’s publicly funded broadcaster, the BBC. The BBC broadcasts plenty of material on religious themes, but very little of it has been positive about the Christian perspective.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

From time to time an article will appear on scientific attempts to prove, or disprove, the power of prayer.

It might seem an obvious example for apologists to use. If we can provide evidence that prayer works, then unbelievers must sit up and take notice! I am not writing here about anecdotes of personal healing or answered prayer in the lives of friends. Those can be powerful testimonies. Rather, I mean evidence that has been produced by controlled experiments.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

There has been a recent backlash against apologetics.

Vocal criticism of apologetics has come from some surprising quarters. The 2014 Christianity Today Book Award winner was Myron Penner’s The End of Apologetics, published by Baker Books in America. Penner singles out William Lane Craig for criticism as an example of what is wrong in contemporary apologetics and evangelism.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

The tragic events unfolding in the Middle East have caused irreparable damage to the presence of Christianity in its ancient heartlands.

The massacre of Christians across Iraq has reminded us that Christianity is not a Western religion but has deep roots in this region.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

How bad were the Canaanites?

The Israelites original arrival in the land of Canaan, after the exodus, brought a military judgment and destruction on the inhabitants of a number of its towns – including the destruction by fire of three cities. Critics complain that surely this period represented a low point in biblical history. Weren’t the indigenous inhabitants simply peace-loving pastoralists going about their daily lives?

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

This summer we will rightly remember the outbreak of the First World War.

My grandfather, a Dorset farmer, served in the cavalry during this war. He died when I was very young and my clearest memory of him was his persistent cough that plagued him in his armchair. Only later did I understand the cough to be a permanent effect of mustard gas encountered 60 years earlier on the battlefield. The Great War, as it is known, left 16 million dead and 20 million wounded. It is right to remember such tragic but important events.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

If you are a Christian, how old were you when you came to faith?

If you became a Christian as a child then you are in the majority. A recent Barna study in America showed that 64% of born again Christians came to faith before they were 18. Half of those who came to faith did so through the witness of parents. Only 23% of born again Christians come to faith after the age of 21. The figures are probably similar in the UK. The older we get the more resistant to conversion we become.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

David Cameron ruffled some feathers this Easter.

This time they were those of a few of the New Atheists, with his public declaration that we live in a Christian country and that the Lord is ‘our saviour’. During April he held an Easter reception in Downing Street and subsequently wrote an article for the Church Times. It included the remarkable call to be ‘more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference to people’s lives’. In the article, he described his own personal faith experience and membership of the Church of England.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Fulfilled prophecy can be a powerful part of apologetics.

The Old Testament offers many predictions. These include the fall of Israel and Judah, the rise of King Cyrus along with the Greek and Roman Empires. Of great importance for Christian apologetics is the vast number of predictions surrounding the events of Jesus’s life. Jesus himself predicted the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, and Revelation gives an indication of what would lie ahead for the age in which we live.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

The BBC’s latest religious documentary is a two-part series, The Bible Hunters.

Jeff Rose, an American archaeologist, takes us on a tour of Egypt following a quest for early Bible manuscripts. Riding his motorbike through barren desert scenery, there were times when it felt closer to an episode of Top Gear. Why did he not just save the fuel and ride with the camera team in their car? But more pertinent questions are raised by the programme’s narrative. The selected scholars who are interviewed for their sound-bite opinions are all carefully chosen, or their words edited, to contribute to the general impression that the biblical text is unreliable.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

These days it is quite common to be shown a film clip as part of a sermon or Bible study.

It may be a famous scene from a classic movie, or a YouTube download of an advert that has gone viral. For many Bible teachers it is second nature to integrate technology and multimedia with their message.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Bethlehem and Nazareth are the places most associated with the life of Jesus prior to his public ministry.

Therefore, what better way to dismiss the Christian faith than claim that these towns never existed at the time of Jesus? They are the product of later, fanciful legends and promoted as a way of making a fast shekel out of religious tourism. James Randi, a popular American magician and atheist, boldly declares: ‘There simply is no demonstrable evidence from the Nazareth site that dates to the time of Jesus Christ’.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Did you watch the epic TV mini-series The Bible during December?

If you did you will have been reminded of just how much violence the Old Testament records. For the average non-Christian viewer it may reinforce their suspicion that the God of the Old Testament is a God of anger and malevolence, unsuited to our modern morals.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Here is the ultimate way to take Christ out of Christmas: deny that he ever existed.

That is the claim that has been made from time to time and resurfaced this October with the fresh promotion of an old book, called Caesar’s Messiah: the Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus, along with an accompanying lecture at Conway Hall in London.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Born in 1955, he describes having a born again evangelical conversion as a teenager.

He went to Moody Bible College where he discovered a gift in reading the original languages of the Bible. This led him to further study at Wheaton College and postgraduate work at Princeton Theological Seminary. His doctoral work was under the supervision of Bruce Metzger, a name familiar to anyone who uses a Greek New Testament. Who am I describing? It might sound like the background of a Don Carson or a Craig Blomberg. It sounds like the credentials of a significant evangelical scholar. Sadly, this is the life story of a man who has become one of the most influential critics of biblical Christianity.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Among the Old Testament books, Daniel often takes a beating. The critical reaction frequently reflects a skeptical attitude to miracles (did Daniel really spend a night in a den of lions?) or to predictive prophecy (was Daniel really able to predict the rise and fall of later empires?). As a consequence, many critics date these books late and suggest they are Jewish legends with prophecies of events that had already taken place included to make them sound authentic.

We may be tempted to sidestep these criticisms. But that evasion is short-sighted. If we reject something as spurious because it contains miracles or accurate predictive prophecy then eventually that attitude will undermine the gospel. What is left of the ministry of Jesus if we reject miracles? What is left of the gospel if we reject prophecy of future events?

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Every now and then there is a buzz of excitement.

When teaching Old Testament a student will ask me if I have heard that Pharaoh’s chariot wheels from the exodus have been located in the depths of the Red Sea. It is thrilling stuff, and often based on grainy photographs passed about on the internet and on Christian DVDs. Sadly, however, it is a hoax, which has undermined the credibility of evangelical engagement with archaeology and other disciplines.

defending our faith

Chris Sinkinson

Opinion polls make very interesting, if unreliable, reading.

This is demonstrated in the WIN-Gallup Religion and Atheism survey. Based on responses from 51,927 participants in 57 countries during 2012 it seems to indicate a decline in religion since 2005. The global average indicates a rise of 3% in those claiming to be atheists and a decline of 9% in those describing themselves as religious. Stand-out figures include the results from Ireland, which indicate a 22% drop in those claiming to be religious since 2005, coming second to Vietnam which experienced a 23% drop. Of interest to Western evangeli-calism is the drop of 13% in those claiming to be religious in the United States, from 73% to 60%. How will that translate into America’s cultural exports of films, books, sit-coms and pop music? More detailed figures from the UK 2011 census fit the pattern and indicate that 25% of our country does not consider themselves religious.