Category: Deeper Waters Podcast

Deeper Waters Podcast: 6/8/2019

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I love games. I always have. I remember seeing something under the TV coming home from school as a small child and being told that that was our Colecovision and finding out how it works. I was hooked from that moment on. To this day, I still get excited with the prospect of playing a game of traditional Ladybug.

I am also an apologetics nerd now. While I love games, I never got into sports really, except perhaps for some Braves baseball. With that, it’s only if my father-in-law wants to take me to a game or if they go to the World Series. Sports never really interested me, including football. The only reason I watch the Super Bowl is because I want to see the commercials.

But I do know that there are some people who do enjoy sports and I am appreciative when some people come out and write for them and use their interest to get them into the truth of Christianity. Football is often thought to be our nation’s most popular sport and while I don’t understand why, I have to accept the reality. Yet what can I do to get some who are not Christians and like football to accept the truth of Christianity?

To do that, you need someone who understands both football and Christianity. With a ministry I work with, someone did tell about a book that did such a thing and they wanted to send it to me. I warned them that I don’t care for football at all and I might not be the best, but they assured me I’d be able to follow it. For the most part, they were right, and so I have invited them to come on to discuss football and Christianity. His name is Jason Jolin.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

Jason Jolin got an Master’s in business administration and a certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Accounting. He also has a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Computer Information and a minor in psychology. In 2012, he got a M.A. in Christian Apologetics from Biola.

We’ll be discussing how football and apologetics can interact. Jolin’s book is a story involving a game and what can be learned. It is a book that is easy to read and the average layman will be able to understand it. Even though I am someone who doesn’t understand or even like football, I did find myself enjoying the story to some extent. I suppose it could be that I can enjoy a movie like Rudy or Coach Carter even if I don’t care for the sport.

I hope you’ll be watching for the next episode of the Deeper Waters Podcast. Please go and leave a review on iTunes and remember that everything that we do here is done by the support of people like you and we could certainly use your support. Please consider becoming a supporter of the Deeper Waters Podcast.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 6/1/2019

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Okay. I get it. You want to examine Christianity. You want to know if it’s true and if it is true, how do you defend it? Yet there are so many claims out there. There are also so many Ph.D.s in legitimate fields speaking on the topics and they disagree with one another. Who are you to disagree with them? Then, if you take any side you are saying some of those experts are wrong.

Add in also that you have a job. You have to provide for your family and oh yes, you still want to spend time with them. The kids won’t stay kids forever. You want to be a good parent. When the time is done, you’re worn out. And here after all of this you’re supposed to go and study Christianity?

How on Earth can you do all of this?

How do you do research exactly on these topics? What’s the way to get the best and do so with the time that you have in your day? Do you have to go off to seminary and get a Ph.D. to have an authoritative opinion? At the same time, you’ve seen people you disagree with speak on topics they know nothing about and think they know everything about and you don’t want to be like them. What are you to do?

That’s why I am bringing on an expert in research methodology. Not only that, but he’s going to be here in the Atlanta area for some other work and is stopping by our show. We are going to be spending an hour together with you all talking about how to do research. He’s a favorite who has been on the show a number of times before, my ministry partner, and a great friend to boot. J.P. Holding is joining me again.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

J.P. Holding has a Master’s Degree in Library Science and has been running Tekton Apologetics Ministries since 1998. He has also written for the Christian Research Journal.

So we’ll be discussing together how research is done. If you are wanting to do an in-depth scholarly look at something, what should you look for in a book that you want to read? Is it appropriate to read only one side of the argument or should you also be looking at what your opponents say regardless of what side you’re on? What about other mediums besides books such as websites, YouTube, and podcasts?

What about if you’re not doing something like that? Suppose one of your Facebook friends shares a claim and it’s a recent event and you want to know if it’s something that really happened. Did Trump or Obama really say or do that? How is the best way to research that?

I hope you’ll be joining us for this episode of the Deeper Waters Podcast. This will be our first one after the move and I am going to be trying to produce them as faithfully as I can. Please also go on iTunes and leave a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

 

Deeper Waters Podcast 4/27/2019

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I really like mysteries. When I was growing up, I read all of the Hardy Boys books at the local public library and then when I finished those, I went and read the Nancy Drew books. Yeah. They were written more for girls, but a mystery is a mystery. Now, whenever a new Mary Higgins Clark comes out, I’m always one of the first in line to get it.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the series Monk when it was on TV. My family often liked to compare me to Monk with his extreme idiosyncracies, but he also had a brilliant mind for solving mysteries and yes, again, I have read all of the Monk mystery books. Another series I thoroughly enjoyed was G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown Mysteries.

Of course, anyone who is a fan of mysteries knows of the name of Sherlock Holmes who is said to be the greatest fictional detective of all time. What if Holmes took on a rather unique case and one that did not necessarily have fresh evidence? What if Sherlock Holmes tried to answer the question of if Jesus rose from the dead. How would that look?

We no longer have to really wonder about that. A Swedish writer named Per Ewert has taken it upon himself to write a book where Sherlock Holmes decides to investigate the resurrection of Jesus. It is set in modern times and has Holmes engaging in an in-depth investigation that is informative and at the same time interesting. Ewert will be my guest this Saturday.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

In 2008, Per Ewert was one of the founders of the Clapham Institute, which has since then taken the role as Sweden’s leading Christian think tank. The institute finds its historical vision in the London suburb Clapham and William Wilberforce and the rest of the original Clapham group who worked consistently to reform British society according to Biblical truths and values. Per Ewert has served as the director of the Clapham Institute since 2016. More information in English about the institute at their website.

Being the author of five books, plus co-authoring and editing several others, Per Ewert has been active in Christian apologetics and the discussion of religion in present-day society since 2007, when his first book was released. Sherlock: The Case of the Empty Tomb is his first book in English.

Per Ewert is also an editorial writer at the Christian daily Världen Idag, and he is currently working on his PhD thesis on the historical roots of Swedish secularization. He lives in southern Sweden with wife and four children.

I hope you all will be looking forward to this next episode. We are working on putting up episodes we have done so again, if you haven’t seen anything new, there’s nothing wrong. Please do consider leaving a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast. It really means a lot to me if I see you all liking the show.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 4/20/2019

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

April is Autism Awareness Month and as you all know, at least one show every month is dedicated to the topic of autism. This Saturday will be that show. I make it a point to have a guest on to come and introduce you to the world of autism a little bit more.

But who to get on? That’s often a puzzle and really, this kind of thing is a common occurrence with me. I try to get the best guests on that I can and sometimes it’s difficult. Many people who are Christians and on the spectrum are not that well known. Also, we need a variety of guests.

So who could it be? Who is there that is on the spectrum that the audience has not heard an in-depth interview yet? Is there anyone I know out there who could introduce people to the world of autism even more? Then in all my thinking, I hit on a guest that I thought would be interesting for my audience to hear. He would be someone that some people could know about, but maybe people who just know about my work through the show might not know about.

Why not have myself be the guest?

To help me with this, my friend of the Cerebral Faith Podcast, Evan Minton, has agreed to come on and be our first ever guest interviewer. This time, I will be taking the hot seat. Evan will be interviewing me on my experience with living on the spectrum and what it has been like.

So who am I?

My background in ministry is being a student at Johnson Bible College (Now Johnson University) where I got a B.S. in Bible and Preaching. From there, I went on to SES to do some study but left after the inerrancy controversy started. I currently run Deeper Waters Christian Apologetics and host the Deeper Waters Podcast. I live with my wife Allie and our cat Shiro.

I have not given Evan a list of questions to ask me so I really don’t know what’s coming. If I were to make some suggestions, it would include ways that life was like growing up for me including being in the public school system. (I was the first one on the spectrum in Knox County to graduate from the public school system) There could be talk about hobbies and interests and how Aspergers plays a role in all of this and of course, how I came to find out I am on the spectrum. Married life is always something I like to talk about and what’s it like to be married on the spectrum and married to someone on the spectrum.

We are working on getting new episodes up. Due to some technical difficulties and such, we weren’t able to in March. I hope that this month will change all of that. Thank you for listening and please leave a positive review on iTunes of the Deeper Waters Podcast.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 4/13/2019: Jonathan Greer

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Those who do not learn from history are often condemned to repeat it. At the very least, they are condemned to misrepresent it. In our day and age, it’s incredibly easy for internet atheists to proclaim themselves experts on the Old Testament because they can read it.

Sadly, Christians can do the same thing. It’s easy to just lift up a text from somewhere and treat it as a prooftext. It’s easy to confuse law and gospel and the relation between the two. Even worse, it’s easy to make a Gospel presentation where you have the fall of Adam and Eve take place and then jump straight to the story of Jesus because, you know, the history of Israel really has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. Right?

The Old Testament is a difficult work to understand because it takes place in a time and a culture that is so foreign to what we live in. When they wrote the text, they assumed that the culture was understood by the readers. For us, it isn’t. We don’t know many of the places and many of the terms or the language or the culture.

In order to better understand the culture then, we need the work of those scholars who have invested in the culture. Fortunately, there are several of them who are also committed to Jesus. Even better, many of them have worked together in a volume that has been compiled by three such scholars to help us. The work is Behind The Scenes of the Old Testament and one of those editors is joining us tomorrow and his name is Jonathan Greer.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

Jonathan S. Greer is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Hesse Memorial Archaeological Laboratory at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, Cornerstone University. He holds M.A. degrees in Old Testament and Biblical Languages from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University where he focused on Hebrew Bible, ancient Near Eastern studies, and archaeology. He is also the Associate Director of archaeological excavations at Tel Dan, Israel, and has published a number of works on the relationship of the Bible to the ancient world.

We will be discussing the way the Old Testament world was and why it matters to us. We too often understand the Old Testament just through the lens of the New Testament instead of understanding the Old Testament on its own entirely. We need to approach the work on its own. The book covers so many of the minor details of life in the Ancient Near East, far too many to cover in even two hours. This is how massive the world is and hopefully, you will get a better understanding of it.

I hope you’ll be looking forward to the next new episode. We’re working on others. We have had some issues, but they are being worked on. Please also go on iTunes and leave a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 3/30/2019: Timothy Tennent

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

If you grew up in, say, the 1950’s, odds are you could go through life in America without ever really encountering a Buddhist or a Hindu. Fast forward to the 1980’s and you’re probably not as likely, but you will see ideas from the East having much more of a showing here in America. Now as the second decade of the 21st century comes to a close, it’s far easier. Not only can you encounter Hindus and Buddhists, but you don’t even have to leave your house to do so. Just get on Facebook and it’s easy to encounter people of a totally different religion.

When it comes to Islam and Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, we might have an easier time understanding because we share a cultural milleu in that these share a lot in common with Western thought. Not so with Buddhism or Hinduism. These religions can be so foreign to our way of thinking that they are difficult to understand. It has been said you need a Ph.D. in philosophy to really understand Buddhism, for example.

A couple of months ago my wife and I visited a Hindu temple here in Atlanta. I did encounter a foreign world to me and as I left, I realized I needed to do a show on the topic of Hinduism and Buddhism as well. Few of us in apologetics really know how to approach the kind of thinking in these religions. I needed someone who understood both of these well and had a passion for teaching on the topics. I found that person in Dr. Timothy Tennent.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

President Timothy C. Tennent has served as president since July 2009. Prior to his coming to Asbury Theological Seminary, Dr. Tennent was the Professor of World Missions and Indian Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary where he served since 1998. Ordained in the United Methodist Church in 1984, he has pastored churches in Georgia, and in several of the largest churches in New England. Since 1989, he has taught annually as an adjunct professor at the New Theological College in Dehra Dun, India. He is a frequent conference speaker around the country and throughout the world, including numerous countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Not only will we be talking about these religions, but I also plan to talk about how to approach other religions in general. It is tempting if we’re apologists to seek to study a religion just to find out what’s wrong with it. Is there a better way to approach a foreign religion? Even if we know the facts about other religions, how is the best way to communicate this to those who hold to those religions?

Please be watching your feed for the next episode of the Deeper Waters Podcast. Also, go on iTunes and leave a positive review of the show as well. It really means a lot to me to know that there are so many of you out there that appreciate the work that is being done here.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

 

Deeper Waters Podcast 3/23/2019: David Dockery

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Go into most any Christian bookstore and you will see a plethora of Bibles available. Many of them are for much more individualized purposes, such as a men’s Bible or a teenager’s Bible or a graduate’s Bible or even more specialized than that. Fortunately, many are also starting to answer the demands of the mind as well as the longings of the heart. Many Bibles are coming that are not just about what can be done for one’s self, but also about how one can better understand not just Scripture, but the world around the reader.

One fact present to us today, especially in the world of Facebook and the internet, is that there are plenty of worldviews all around us. In the apartment complex my wife and I live in, there are Muslims and Hindus, for example. However, we don’t ever have to walk outside our door to encounter Muslims and Hindus today. We encounter them when we turn on our computer, as well as most every other worldview.

So why not have a Bible to understand those worldviews? This has now been done. There is a way you can study the Scriptures and learn about other worldviews around you at the same time. After all, how best can you take the truths of Scripture to those that do not share a Christian worldview? The Bible I have in mind is the Worldview Study Bible. Its editor is David Dockery and he will be my guest Saturday.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

David S. Dockery was unanimously elected on February 28, 2014 as the 15th president of Trinity International University and is now serving in his 24th year as a university president. Highly regarded as one of the outstanding leaders and senior statesmen in the world of Christian higher education, Dockery served as president of Union University for nearly two decades where during his transformational presidency the enrollment more than doubled, the net assets of the institution more than tripled, the campus was transformed, and Union vaulted to a place of national leadership in Christian higher education. Much of this took place in response to the strategic implementation of four distinctive and far-reaching strategic plans, which included the development and renovation of the campus while surpassing the goal of a $100 million comprehensive campaign.

Dockery also helped guide Union’s response and recovery in 2008 to one of the largest natural disasters ever to hit an American university campus. Following his years of service at Union as president and University Professor of Christian Thought and Tradition, Dockery was named president emeritus. Since coming to Trinity, he has brought guidance to an institution that had previously experienced more than a decade of serious enrollment decline along with a number of institutional challenges throughout the 21st century.

In addition, Dockery has led processes to strengthen the Trinity Board, enhance denominational relationships, upgrade the look of the campus, and reshape the University Leadership Team. He has brought a renewed focus to the best of Trinity’s heritage while seeking to give a sense of realistic hope and hopeful realism to the Trinity community for the days ahead. New academic programs have been introduced and four new academic centers have been established. These themes are amplified in the University-wide comprehensive plan, “Heritage and Hope: Trinity 2023,” which was unanimously and enthusiastically adopted by the Trinity Board of Regents in February of 2015. The Plan has provided a shared commitment and common direction for the Trinity community. 

I hope you’ll be watching for the next episode. It’s more and more important that we make sure the people in the pews know about other worldviews. Also, please go on iTunes and leave a positive review for the Deeper Waters Podcast.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

 

 

Deeper Waters Podcast 3/16/2019: Harold Felder

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I have grown up in the South and lived here all of my life. My community was largely a white community. I did not have black classmates until I went to Middle School. Church was the same way. That’s just saying a statement of fact.

When I read the Bible, I read it as a white person. Yet could my perspective be different if I had read it as a black person? For example, would I read passages about slavery differently? It’s understandable as a child to read the Bible and assume everyone looked and thought just like you, but when you do more study you know it’s not like that. Most of our movies depict Jesus walking around Jerusalem as someone white. I don’t think He was black, but I don’t think He was white either.

What if you do grow up in the black community. Will you be told sometimes that Christianity is the white man’s religion? Will it affect you when you hear about the way Christianity was sometimes sadly involved with the slave trade. What about the Southern Baptist Convention and slavery? It’s a mark of shame on Christianity today that we have been involved with that, but how can a man of color embrace such a religion?

Why not do what should be done? Talk to such a man. Talk to someone who knows what life is like in that community. Talk to someone who takes race seriously. Talk to someone who wants to reach his fellow African-American community with the truth of Christianity. Talk to Harold Felder.

Who is he?

According to bio:

Dr. H.C. Felder is a former atheist and NASA Software Engineer. After becoming a believer and being exposed to the truth of Christianity, he has dedicated his life to sharing that truth with others.  He has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, and both a Master and Doctorate degree in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary.  Dr. Felder is the author of multiple articles in scholarly journals on race and the Bible.  He is also the author of the book “The African American Guide to the Bible.”  

 

Dr. Felder has been married to his wife Tina for eleven years. They have a blended family of four children & six grandchildren.

We will be talking about race and the Bible. What is race? What about slavery? Were there any people of color in the Bible or was it really that Jesus was walking around Jerusalem just as white as His clothes were in the Transfiguration. What about ideas that Christianity is the religion of the white man? Is someone like Dr. Felder a traitor for embracing Christianity?

I hope you’ll be listening to this episode of the Deeper Waters Podcast as this is the kind of topic that we haven’t covered before. Please also consider going on iTunes and leaving a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast. I look forward to getting to bring this next episode to you.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 3/9/2019: Adam Dommeyer

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

If we could take a scene from Acts and change it around, we could picture my guest this Saturday before Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith is reading the Book of Mormon and talking about the virtues and appeal of Mormonism. At the end comes the reply, “Almost do you persuade me to be a Mormon.”

My guest really wanted to be a Mormon. He had a great love and admiration of Joseph Smith and as a teenager was deeply interested in the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith was like a best friend to him. Then upon one discovery, all of that came crashing down. Fortunately, he did not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Today, he has a ministry reaching Mormons.

His whole life story is fascinating and he has many encounters with Mormons to this day. His knowledge of Mormonism is incredible and I have got to talk with him on the phone even a number of times. I am looking forward to having him on my show. His name is Adam Dommeyer. We will be discussing his book Almost a Mormon.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

“Adam Dommeyer is the founder of Latter-day Sense Evangelism Ministry and is an ordained evangelist through Speak the Word Church International. He is currently pursuing his M.A. in Transformational Leadership at Bethel Seminary, received his B.S. in Pastoral Ministry from Lee University, and got his Certificate from The Perry Stone Mentoring Institute for Ministry.”
Adam’s book is a fascinating journey that grips you from the very start. In all honesty, my favorite part was the first half where you wondered how it would be that Adam would get away from Mormonism. Something else interesting about all of this was the many dreams that Adam was having, which is a warning to all of the Christians who seem to think that dreams are a message from God.
What is it that Mormons believe? What is the appeal to Mormonism? How is it that a young man raised in a solid church tradition can come so close to getting into such a false belief? Is there anything perhaps in the idea of family that the Mormon church emphasizes that makes it so appealing?
What can we say when we encounter Mormons today? How is it that we can not only answer their questions, but also share the love of Christ with them? What do we need to be aware of in dealing with Mormons today in our encounters? When Mormons show up at your door, what do you need to know to answer them? What should you try to do and are there any steps you should try to avoid when dealing with them?
I hope you’ll be looking forward to our next episode of the Deeper Waters Podcast. I am battling a bit of a cold right now, but the podcast is a few days away and I hope to be good enough to handle it by then. Please go on iTunes also and leave a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast.
In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 3/2/2019: Greg Speck

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Many people who are married know the truth. Sex is awesome. It really is a great and fabulous gift given to husbands and wives for the begetting of children and the expressing of love to one another. But if this is such an awesome gift, why not enjoy it sooner? All that matters is that you love one another. Right?

If you’re a guy, generally when you reach that age, you do start going crazy wondering what it is that that girl looks like underneath all those clothes. A girl will want to really connect with a guy and she wants to make sure that he will stay and there’s one great hook she has. Isn’t this what girls really do when they want to express their love? Besides, he can always go and get it somewhere else can’t he so why not?

What about pornography? That’s becoming more readily available day by day and it’s no longer just a problem for guys but for girls as well. Could a Christian say that they are saving sex for marriage and at the same time wind up engaging in pornography?

What about other hard situations? What happens when it comes to homosexuality and what if you are a Christian struggling with homosexual temptations? What about incest? What about if you’re the victim of rape or sexual abuse?

There are several questions young people have about sexuality, and let’s face it, several questions adults have as well. This week’s show will focus on the young. We’re going to be having with us the author of the book Sex: It’s Worth Waiting For. His name is Greg Speck.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

I graduated from Bethel University with a BA degree in Sociology and minors in Social work and Biblical and Theological Studies.
How is it that we should talk to youth today about the issue of sex, especially since we are being told that everyone is doing it? Isn’t the Biblical worldview just an outdated one and we need to jump into an age where sex is available for everyone and embrace it? Can there really be any lasting harm that can come from having sex before marriage?
How do we handle situations like abuse? More and more kids are being abused in sexual relationships and some are even getting caught in sex trafficking. If a couple has made a mistake, have they damaged their relationship forever? Is there any hope for a couple that has had sex before marriage to be able to go and still have a happy and joyful marriage someday?
I hope you’ll be listening to this episode of the Deeper Waters Podcast and especially consider sharing it with a high school or middle school student that you know. (And the way things are going, you might have to start sharing with elementary school students) Please also consider leaving a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast. It means more to me than you realize.
In Christ,
Nick Peters