In the previous episode, Garrick and Timothy debunked the logical problem of evil. But dealing with the problem of evil requires far more than mere logic! The problem of evil also calls for a close examination whether or not the overwhelming amount of evil in the world might make God's existence unlikely. That brings your intrepid cohosts to the evidential problem of evil. What Is the Evidential Problem of Evil? According to the evidential problem of evil, the depth and the degree of evil...

According to a recent survey of college graduates, the problem of evil is the issue that makes it most difficult for these graduates to trust the truth of Christianity. These students' struggles mirror the dilemma that biblical scholar Bart Ehrman described in his book God's Problem: "I felt compelled to leave Christianity [because] I could no longer explain how there can be a good and all-powerful God actively involved with this world, given the state of things. For many people who inhabit...

This episode is all about Soul. Garrick and Timothy head to the theaters to watch Soul, a new cinematic feature produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. And by "heading to the theaters," what they mean is that each of them headed downstairs to their respective home theaters, where the screens are far smaller but the seats are much larger and the popcorn is much cheaper. Your intrepid cohosts' goal in watching Soul was to discuss the theological nuances of this...

Faith happens, and this week’s episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast is all about how faith happens. In the first half, Garrick and Timothy are joined by Josh Chatraw, the apologist extraordinaire who has been freshly forgiven for his many missteps when it comes to being conversant in the art of rock and roll. Josh deftly sidesteps Garrick’s many queries about music and remains focused on the ways that seventeenth-century mathematician and apologist Blaise Pascal...

“Generation Z.” “iGen.” “Centennials.” Whatever you happen to call this generation, the children who drew their first breaths in the years between Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” are the first generation of digital natives in human history. But how secure is the faith of these teenagers and young adults? And how can current church leaders help them to trust the truth of the Christian faith? That’s what apologetics professor and bestselling author Sean McDowell...

It’s a two-for-the-price-of-one sale this week at Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast! (Or perhaps “two-for-the-price-of-none,” since you don’t actually have to pay to listen to the podcast anyway.) In any case, the festivities begin with church historian extraordinaire Stephen Presley, who joins us to talk about the greatness of U2 and how Christians did apologetics in the second century A.D. A second-century pastor named Irenaeus of Lyon turns out to be the star of the...

Welcome to the first-ever—and probably the only-ever—Three Chords and the Truth episode that’s all about love! So pull up a chair, strap on your headphones, grab your favorite scissors and your red construction paper, and prepare to cut out some romantic paper hearts. (And, by the way, why hasn’t anyone ever named a heavy metal band “Scïssör”?) One dominant trend in the past decade has been to assume that loving someone requires affirming their lifestyle. As a result, when Christians point...

Sometimes, the best defense of the gospel isn’t a better argument but a better story. That’s why the previous episode about Josh Chatraw’s book Telling a Better Story and this episode with Russell Moore both focus on narrative apologetics. Also: after an episode in which your intrepid cohosts dredged the depths of some of the worst music ever produced in the history of humanity, this episode marks a return to aural greatness as Timothy looks at music from Paul McCartney, Petra, and Johnny...

Have you ever heard terms like “presuppositionalism,” “evidentialism,” or “classical apologetics”? Have you wondered if there’s an easier way to understand apologetics? Maybe you’ve even wished that people could defend the Christian faith without talking about these terms at all. If so, this episode is for you.  (Actually, every episode is for you, because you’re just that special to us.) In the first half, your intrepid cohosts provide simple explanations of the most popular apologetics...

This episode is packed with answers in Genesis—but, believe it or not, when we say “Genesis” we’re not talking about the band that’s been fronted by Phil Collins since the early 1970s. The focus of this week’s episode is the other Genesis, the one at the top of the table of contents in your Bible. Some Christians feel certain that the cosmos was created only a few thousand years ago while others are adamant that the earth must be billions of years old. Apologist and author Ted Cabal joins...

The devil, the blues, and The Jackson 5 are the stars of this week's episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast. Lisa V. Fields—popular apologetics speaker and founder of the Jude 3 Project—joins Timothy to discuss a recent apologetics curriculum from Jude 3 Project. Along the way, Lisa reveals her longstanding longing to sing Michael's parts with the Jackson 5. More importantly, Lisa provides valuable insights for defending the faith in conversations with young urban...

Your intrepid cohosts have been watching a lot of films with their families during this season of social distancing, so it’s not surprising that so many movies make appearances in this week’s episode. The first film that shows up is the 2016 Netflix film Barry, a fictional look at what Barack Obama’s first year at Columbia University might have been like. At one point in this film, a young Barack Obama confronts a band of Black Hebrew Israelites in Harlem. Urban apologist Vocab Malone uses...

Welcome to the Deeper-Than-Usual Episode! This episode has been named “the Deeper-Than-Usual Episode” mostly because it is a bit deeper than usual. Dr. J.V. Fesko—professor of systematic and historical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and all-around very deep person—joins Garrick and Timothy to discuss many deep things. Fesko momentarily risks his deep reputation by admitting his longstanding longing to sing like David Lee Roth, who is not a deep person according to certain anonymous...

Reason, resurrection, and the physical world are the focus of the most action-packed episode of Three Chords and the Truth ever produced. The primary reason why it’s so action packed is because the Toybox Hero Tournament includes a special cohost who is far more exciting than either of your intrepid cohosts.Renowned theologian Dr. Matthew Levering kicks off the episode by discussing how nature and philosophy point to the presence of God and why the physical resurrection of Jesus matters....

What does it mean to say that the Bible tells the truth? And what should Christians do when they find a claim in the Bible that looks like a contradiction? New Testament scholar and Daily Dose of Greek mastermind Rob Plummer joins Garrick and Timothy to discuss these questions. In the process, Rob also examines the dilemma that once rocked biblical scholar Bart Ehrman’s belief in the inerrancy of the Bible. In Mark 2:26, Jesus linked an event from the life of David to “the high priest...

What happens when a cold-case detective applies his investigative skills to the New Testament Gospels? Find out as Timothy meets up with award-winning detective and bestselling apologetics author J. Warner Wallace. In addition to being a detective and apologist, Wallace is also a guitarist, bassist, and—Timothy is thrilled beyond words to discover—a fan of Steve Perry and Journey. With great difficulty, Timothy manages to restrain his adoration for Steve Perry just long enough to ask J....

Apologetics scholar Josh Chatraw joins your intrepid cohosts this week to talk about cross-centered apologetics, Augustine of Hippo, and what it takes to hang out with Tim Keller. Josh is the coauthor of several books, including Truth in a Culture of Doubt from B&H Academic. Along the way, Josh makes the mistake of revealing his longstanding affection for pseudo-saxophonist Kenny G, apparently unaware that Kenny G is Timothy’s least favorite musician. The ensuing kerfuffle threatens to...

It's a new season of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast, and Garrick and Timothy are serious about social distancing. They are, in fact, so serious about being socially distant that they've installed a mile-wide river to separate them. In the first half of this earthshaking season premiere, your intrepid cohosts discuss a recent article in Christianity Today entitled "Is the Coronavirus Evil?" The answer given in the article is "no," and the author argues that such...

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...

On May 25, 1977, a young filmmaker named George Lucas released a space fantasy that he had simply titled Star Wars. Three years later, Lucas expanded the title to Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope and it became clear that this movie was one small segment of a far larger story. Over the past four decades, this story has developed into one of the most influential cultural phenomena of the modern era. Now, with the release of Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the saga that began In...

This week’s episode covers the birth of Jesus, death, resurrection, and everything in between! It’s only a few days until Christmas 2019—the celebration of the nativity of Jesus, which Timothy has very helpfully renamed “The After Party for Star Wars: Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker.” At some point before Christmas, millions will hear these words from the New Testament: “It came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this...

Welcome to the illegal episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast! This episode commemorates two illegal acts, both of which were captured on tape and involved live rock and roll. The first of these two acts happened in 1987 when Paul “Bono” Hewson vandalized a public sculpture with spray-paint during U2’s Save the Yuppies concert in San Francisco. The second illegal act took place six years later, in 1993, when Timothy Paul “Definitely Not Bono” Jones rehearsed and...

Welcome to the creed episode of Three Chords and the Truth! But don’t worry: we are not talking about the band Creed. (In case you’ve forgotten, Creed was the 1990s band whose videos were filled with embarrassingly-bad CGI and scenes in which the lead vocalist apparently couldn’t keep himself from flailing his arms wide open for most of the song.) Despite Garrick’s best efforts to focus the entire episode on the band Creed, Timothy manages to maintain sufficient focus to discuss both the...

How can a good God allow so much evil and suffering in the world? And why do some people seem to suffer so much more than others? According to a recent survey of college students, the problem of evil is the question about Christianity that college students find most difficult to answer. This week, Dr. Eric Johnson joins Garrick and Timothy to discuss the difficult question of how to respond when suffering seems to stand in the way of someone's trust in God. The Eric Johnson who shows up on...

Finally, it’s the long-anticipated Van Halen episode, which manages to feature not only Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen but also another important Dutch-born “Van”: Reformed theologian Cornelius Van Til! Plus, New Testament textual critics Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry are back with us to discuss the mistakes that people defending the Christian faith tend to make when talking about the textual reliability of the Bible. Along the way, Timothy discusses a few of the errors he made in his...