Apologetics conference set for January in Montgomery deals with tough questions

From abortion to the resurrection of Jesus to the complexities of science, more than 350 Alabama Baptists gathered in January 2013 to learn how to engage in “gracious” and intelligent debates with nonbelievers.

Sammy Gilbreath, director of the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM), said if that first SALT apologetics conference went over well, it would be back.

And back it is.

The second SALT conference (Strategic Answers to Life’s Thoughts) will be held Jan. 18–19, 2014, at First Baptist Church, Montgomery.

It is hosted by The Alabama Baptist, the SBOM, Tactical Faith and others.

During the conference, Christians will listen to speakers deal with tough questions such as “What role do atheists play in the current culture?” and “Is the God of the Old Testament the same as the God of the New?”

The conference is a step toward Tactical Faith’s vision: “to get apologetic training back into the local church,” said Matt Burford, one of the directors of the organization, which provides apologetics resources for Alabama Baptist churches.

He hopes the conference will give Christians confidence in discussing their faith with nonbelievers and will help Christians see the resources for apologetics that are available to them.

Speakers for the 2014 conference are:

• Jay Watts, a speaker and writer for Life Training Institute, a pro-life organization. At the 2013 conference, Watts challenged conference attendees — when in a debate — to focus on whether or not the unborn is a human.

“Before they (pro-choice people) get to arguing the issue of abortion, they are already assuming that they can do things to the unborn that they can’t do to other humans,” he said. “We have to show them that they can’t assume that.”

• Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert who serves as director of the Center for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at North Greenville University in Travelers Rest, S.C.
• Bob Stewart, associate professor of philosophy and theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. At the 2013 conference, Stewart equipped conference attendees to defend the reliability of the New Testament.
• Richard Howe, register of deeds for the Middlesex North District of Lowell, Mass., who provides commentary on political and historical topics.
• Paul Copan, professor of philosophy and ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla.

For more information, visit www.tacticalfaith.com/salt-2014.