Welcome to the final episode of season one! This week's podcast includes paganism, the Piano Man, and the most daring giveaway ever attempted on a podcast. Pagan parallels are the theme of the first half. Even in ancient times, critics of Christianity noticed some connections between Christian beliefs and pre-Christian myths. In the late second century A.D., a pagan philosopher named Celsus claimed that Christians had “used pagan myths in fabricating the story of a virgin conception.” So is it possible that the miraculous conception of Jesus was plagiarized from pagan myths? That’s the dilemma that Garrick and Timothy solve in the first half. In the second half, Garrick and Timothy search for spiritual truth in the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. In the process, everyone is shocked to discover that Billy Joel's piano playing makes Garrick a cultured person and--as the truth is revealed about Garrick's first dance with his wife--maybe even slightly romantic. And then, as if things couldn't get any more awkward, the question from the Infinity Gauntlet is mostly about cuteness. Timothy has no expertise in the area of cuteness, and thus the Infinity Gauntlet must be given away before it attempts to make him answer questions about My Little Pony or Rainbow Brite--all of which leads us directly to one of the greatest and most daring giveaways ever attempted in the history of podcasting: Timothy and Garrick are giving away the Infinity Gauntlet--along with at least ten copies of the new edition of Timothy's book Perspectives on Family Ministry. Listen to this week's episode to find out how to win. If you listen all the way to the end, you'll also hear a song written by Timothy Paul Jones and recorded with his band Encomia during the infamous illegal recording sessions in an abandoned house in Manhattan, Kansas in the spring of 1993. The title of the song is “The Lottery”; it was partly inspired by Shirley Jackson’s short story of the same name, and it’s written from the perspective of a dying victim of abortion. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. In this Episode Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Family Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of family ministry and applied apologetics. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Why Should I Trust the Bible?; The God Who Goes Before You; Perspectives on Family Ministry; and Christian History Made Easy. Follow Dr. Jones at @DrTimothyPJones. Questions to Discuss 1. Skeptics claim that the story of Jesus is not only false; it is actually borrowed from earlier pagan beliefs. What do we mean when we say that the pagan parallels aren't really parallel? 2. What about the parallel of Mithras? Are there other supposed parallels between Jesus and Mithras? 3. In what ways do pagan parallels sometimes confuse the historical claims of the New Testament with later Christian practices? 4. Let’s suppose for a moment that some patterns that were present in the life of Jesus could be found in some previous religion. Would this weaken the historical foundations of the Christian faith, as critics claim? 5. Why shouldn't we worry that the date of Christmas may have pagan origins? Links to Click If you want to learn more about pursuing kingdom diversity and racial reconciliation, one great place to start is For God So Loved the World: A Blueprint for Kingdom Diversity, written by Walter Strickland and Dayton Hartman. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com B and H Academic The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire: book by Roger Beck The Roman Cult of Mithras: book by Manfred Clauss God in the Dock: book by C. S. Lewis Myth Conceptions: book by Thomas Lee Snyder Contra Celsum: book by