What intellectual and social paradigms have made atheism seem like a plausible and viable alternative worldview in the 21st century? What factors have contributed to the cultural dissolution of the Christian faith in our time?

On the next two episodes of the Profile, we will tackle some of these questions with our guest, author and teaching fellow of the Davenant Institute in Landrum, South Carolina, Dr. Joseph Minich. Minich's 2023 book Bulwarks of Unbelief - Atheism and Divine Absence in a Secular Age explores the thesis that the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century has created intellectual and social plausibility structures for modern-day unbelief.

From the Davenant Institute
Dr. Joseph Minich Dr. (PhD, The University of Texas at Dallas) is Faculty Chair and Professor of Philosophy at Davenant Hall. As part of his work, he also co-hosts the Pilgrim Faith podcast. The founding editor of Ad Fontes and former Editor-in-Chief of the Davenant Press, he is the author of Enduring Divine Absence (Davenant Press, 2018) and Bulwarks of Unbelief: Atheism and Divine Absence in a Secular Age (Lexham Press, 2023). His public writing can be found at The Calvinist International, Mere Orthodoxy, Modern Reformation, and Ad Fontes.

Link to the audio clip from the couple from the UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy-QQDlJb20

Free Four-Page Articles from Watchman Fellowship:
Charles Darwin
Naturalism
Scientism
Deconstruction
Atheism

Additional Resources from Watchman Fellowship:

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.
Daniel Ray's The Story of the Cosmos - How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God (https://www.thestoryofthecosmos.com).
Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Today, science has uncovered many wonders about the cosmos and about life within it, but science has also "reduced" most everything in the universe to virtually nothing. In our attempt to understand the universe and ourselves down to a quantified, subatomic constituency we have not only emptied the universe, but also virtually emptied ourselves.

C.S. Lewis well understood that scientific quantification of the physical universe and scientific empiricism in general, cannot be the foundational paradigm for how we understand the cosmos and our place within it. Lewis was not criticizing science per se, however. Rather, he was highly critical of the belief that the scientific quantification of reality was the only way to understand reality. In such a universe, the essential facets of what make us human, morality, virtue, truth, beauty, and goodness all become mere emotive sentiments.

This week on the Profile we continue our conversation with C.S. Lewis scholar Dr. Michael Ward about Lewis's prescient work The Abolition of Man and how it remains relevant for us today.

From michaelward.net

Michael Ward is an English literary critic and theologian. He works at the University of Oxford where he is an associate member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion. He is the author of the award-winning and best-selling Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis (Oxford University Press) and of After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man (Word on Fire Academic); he is the co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis (Cambridge University Press). Though based at Oxford in his native England, Dr Ward is also employed as Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University, Texas, teaching one course per semester as part of the online MA program in Christian Apologetics.

Free Four-Page Articles From Watchman Fellowship

Charles Darwin
Carl Sagan's Cosmos
Naturalism
Deconstruction

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.
Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

On the last four episodes of the Profile, we have discussed the importance of understanding and living in accordance with the fact that we as human beings are intentionally created by God, in His image. When we lose sight of this central truth about our humanity, much moral and societal confusion and many evils will soon follow.

If naturalism is true, then morality and virtue are mere sentiments, not anything objectively true or real. Literary scholar and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis recognized what individual and cultural consequences would follow in the wake of moral relativism.

On this episode of Apologetics Profile, we discuss C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man with Lewis scholar and author Dr. Michael Ward and how Lewis's thoughts are still very much relevant for our time.

From michaelward.net

Michael Ward is an English literary critic and theologian. He works at the University of Oxford where he is an associate member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion. He is the author of the award-winning and best-selling Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis (Oxford University Press) and of After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man (Word on Fire Academic); he is the co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis (Cambridge University Press). Though based at Oxford in his native England, Dr Ward is also employed as Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University, Texas, teaching one course per semester as part of the online MA program in Christian Apologetics.

Free Four-Page Articles From Watchman Fellowship

Charles Darwin
Carl Sagan's Cosmos
Naturalism
Deconstruction

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.
Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Is there any redeeming value in reading fantasy literature or literature from the ancient world that is not distinctively Christian? What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? What does truth have to do with fiction?

Our guest again this week, an advocate for classical Christian education, Dr. Louis Markos, believes that reading fantasy or any of the classical works from pagan antiquity is an essential component to a classical Christian education; one that enables students to understand and appreciate the bigger historical and cultural contexts picture related to the origins of Christianity, as well as equips them to better grasp who they are as human beings created in the image of God.

We continue to discuss his new book Passing the Torch - An Apology for the Christian Faith.

Dr. Louis Markos is an authority on C. S. Lewis, apologetics, and ancient Greece and Rome. He lectures widely for classical Christian and classical charter schools and conferences. Markos is the author of twenty-six books, and is the Robert H. Ray Chair of Humanities at Houston Christian University in Houston, Texas.

Free Four-Page Watchman Profiles
Naturalism
Pantheism
Carl Sagan's Cosmos
Panpsychism
Charles Darwin

Previous Apologetics Profile Episodes with Dr. Markos
The Myth Made Fact Part One
The Myth Made Fact Part Two

Additional Resources
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Any purpose or end goal of education requires one to have an understanding of what it means to be human. Etymologically, the word “curriculum” means to run a course.

The Apostle Paul says in his second letter to Timothy that he had “run the race” in fulfilling what Jesus created and called him to do. Jesus Himself tells us that He is the way, the truth and the life, the only way to the Father. We are created in God’s image, for His purpose and glory, to walk in the works He has prepared for us before the world began.

Our guest this week and next on the Profile is Dr. Louis Markos, an advocate for classical Christian education. He discusses his new book Passing the Torch – An Apology for Classical Christian Education. Markos shares his insights as to how a deeper understanding of the culture and literature of the Greco-Roman world enhances and complements a virtuous Christian education.

Dr. Louis Markos is an authority on C. S. Lewis, apologetics, and ancient Greece and Rome. He lectures widely for classical Christian and classical charter schools and conferences. The author of twenty-six books, Markos currently serves as the Robert H. Ray Chair of Humanities at Houston Christian University in Houston, Texas.

Free Four-Page Watchman Profiles:
Naturalism
Pantheism
Carl Sagan's Cosmos
Charles Darwin

Previous Apologetics Profile Episodes with Dr. Markos
The Myth Made Fact Part One
The Myth Made Fact Part Two

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

With the recent tragic death of Christian and political activist Charlie Kirk, it is more essential than ever for us as Christians to move forward in civil dialogue with those who are not Christians about what it means to be human.

From Ancient Greece and Rome to our culture today, it is clear that a lack of understanding of who God really inevitably results in not properly understanding who we are as human beings. This week we continue our conversation with historian, author, and mother Nadya Williams about what we can learn from history about the sanctity and value of human life and be encouraged to hold fast to our confession of faith, for a world that needs real hope.


Nadya Williams (from the publisher website):

Nadya Williams (PhD, Princeton) walked away from academia after fifteen years as a professor of history and classics. She is now a homeschool mom, book review editor at Current, and a contributing editor at Providence magazine. She is the author of Cultural Christians in the Early Church (Zondervan Academic, 2023), and numerous articles and essays in Current, Plough, Christianity Today, Front Porch Republic, Fairer Disputations, Law and Liberty, Church Life Journal, and others. She and her husband, Dan, are parents to one adult son and two children still at home. They live and homeschool in Ashland, a small town near Cleveland, Ohio.

Mothers, Children, and the Body Politic (book).

Free Four-Page Profiles From Watchman Fellowship:

Goddess Worship: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/goddessprofile.pdf
Patterns in the Cults: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/patternsprofile.pdf
Astrology: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/astrologyprofile.pdf
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/watchtowerprofile.pdf
Zoroastrianism: https://www.watchman.org/staff/jwalker/ProfileZoroastrianism.pdf

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Mothers and children were devalued in ancient Greco-Roman society. The advent of Christianity, however, introduced a radically different perspective - that every human being at every level of society has value and worth because we are all made in the image of God, the Imago Dei.

What can we learn from the early Christians about valuing human life and what it means to live as a Christian in the world but not of it? We talk with historian, author, and mother Nadya Williams about these and other issues pertaining to the value and worth of human beings both in ancient societies and in our own.

Nadya Williams (from the publisher website):

Nadya Williams (PhD, Princeton) walked away from academia after fifteen years as a professor of history and classics. She is now a homeschool mom, book review editor at Current, and a contributing editor at Providence magazine. She is the author of Cultural Christians in the Early Church (Zondervan Academic, 2023), and numerous articles and essays in Current, Plough, Christianity Today, Front Porch Republic, Fairer Disputations, Law and Liberty, Church Life Journal, and others. She and her husband, Dan, are parents to one adult son and two children still at home. They live and homeschool in Ashland, a small town near Cleveland, Ohio.

Mothers, Children, and the Body Politic (book).

Free Four-Page Profiles From Watchman Fellowship:

Goddess Worship: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/goddessprofile.pdf
Patterns in the Cults: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/patternsprofile.pdf
Astrology: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/astrologyprofile.pdf
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society: https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/watchtowerprofile.pdf
Zoroastrianism: https://www.watchman.org/staff/jwalker/ProfileZoroastrianism.pdf

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

This is part two of our conversation with software engineer, former Hindu and former atheist Ganesh Vankataramanan. Here on part two Ganesh shares how certain aspects of physical creation helped lead him out of atheism to Jesus.

Ganesh Vankataramanan is a graduate from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology.
He works as a Vice President at a software technology company. With his background in science and experience in working with highly analytical teams, Ganesh found that scientific explanations, while fine in themselves, lacked depth and human meaning. In his attempts to better understand life, he stumbled across religion and then Jesus.

Ganesh in social media:
YouTube - @geevesofficial - https://youtube.com/@geevesofficial?si=5mXsz7HiA720ua8Y

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/geevesofficial?igsh=dWxkeXQxczNzdmR2&utm_source=qr - @geevesofficial

X-https://x.com/cause_first - @cause_first

Website https://www.letmeintoheaven.com

Free Resources from Watchman Fellowship:
Hinduism Profile https://www.watchman.org/staff/jwalker/ProfileHinduism.pdf
International Society of Krisha Consciousness Profile https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/iskconprofile.pdf

Additional Resources from Watchman:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.