We live in a day of religious skepticism and confusion, of biblical illiteracy and theological superficiality. Atheism has become more strident and other religions more aggressive, while Christians far too often are ill-informed and ill-equipped to respond to such challenges. While some segments of evangelical Christianity are very interested in apologetics, there is still widespread ignorance on many key issues. Now more than ever, Christian churches and schools need help to educate believers in the truth of biblical Christianity. The Institute for Religious Research (IRR) offers several seminars to help meet this need, including the following (click on any of the titles to go immediately to that seminar’s description, or scroll down to read any of them you choose):
Seminars on Basic Christian Apologetics
Developing a Christian Mind in a Non-Christian World
God or No God? Scientific Evidence for God’s Existence
Seminars on the Bible
Buried Evidence: Defending the Bible’s Historical Reliability Today
Canon: 4 Things You Should Know about the Bible as Scripture
Has the Bible Been Corrupted? Bart Ehrman & Religious Critics of the Biblical Text
The ABCs of Apparent Biblical Contradictions
Seminars on Specific Books and Passages of the Bible
Paul the Apologist: How the Apostle Defended the Gospel in Athens
The Book of Job and the Problem of Suffering
The Epistle to the Romans and the Problem of Evil
Seminars on Jesus Christ
The Case for the Resurrection: The Factual Foundation of the Christian Faith
The Virgin Birth of Christ: Myth or Miracle?
Understanding and Defending the Deity of Christ
Seminars on Other Religions
Losing Faith in False Religion without Losing Faith in Christ
What Every Christian Should Know about Mormonism
What Every Christian Should Know about Jehovah’s Witnesses
What Every Christian Should Know about Hinduism
Developing a Christian Mind in a Non-Christian World
In what is perhaps Dr. Bowman’s most popular seminar, Christians will be encouraged—and challenged—to develop their minds as disciples of Jesus Christ and in faithfulness to the double-love command to love God with all that we are, including our minds, and to love our neighbors. This seminar explains what apologetics is, why it is important for all believers, and how to develop a Christian mind that is equipped to know and defend the gospel.
God or No God? Scientific Evidence for God’s Existence
Atheists routinely claim that their naturalistic worldview is scientifically based and that Christianity and other religions that believe in a Creator God are not. This seminar equips Christians to defend their belief in God with evidence drawn from the natural sciences—facts acknowledged by the consensus of scientists including those who do not believe in God. These facts concern the origin of the universe, the physical parameters that make life possible, the extraordinary condition of the Earth that makes it habitable, and the origins of biological life.
Buried Evidence: Defending the Bible’s Historical Reliability Today
At least once a year, TV documentaries like the Discovery Channel’s Rameses: Wrath of God or Man? and NOVA’s The Bible’s Buried Secrets expose the public to skepticism about the Old Testament. Meanwhile, in almost every college and university and in every semester, professors teach their students that modern scholarship shows that Moses (if he even lived) wrote little or none of the Pentateuch, the Exodus never occurred, and Joshua never conquered Jericho. This seminar refutes these common criticisms and equips Christians to have confidence in the historical reliability of the Old Testament.
This easy-to-understand, easy-to-remember presentation explains why Christians accept only the Bible as inspired Scripture, why there are two “Testaments” (and what that means), what the main parts of the two Testaments are, and why some books are included and others (such as the Gnostic gospels) are not.
Members of various religious groups such as Muslims, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as skeptics, appeal to out-of-context statements by agnostic New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman to prove that the text of the Bible is hopelessly unreliable. This seminar sorts out the issues so that Christians can have an accurate, well-informed understanding of the facts. It explains how religious critics and skeptics misrepresent Ehrman, and it distinguishes Ehrman’s generally accurate knowledge of the facts from his sometimes sensationalized interpretations of the facts. Most importantly, it provides up-to-date, accurate information about the differences among the New Testament manuscripts.
Critics of the Bible allege hundreds if not thousands of “contradictions” in the Bible. This seminar presents Christians with crucially important guiding principles for addressing such criticisms. Participants will learn what is a contradiction and what is not, some basic principles of proper interpretation that resolve most such difficulties, and what to do when no clear resolution seems available.
This seminar highlights the special importance of Paul’s speech in Athens, found in Acts 17, for Christian apologetics. It puts the speech in its broader context in Paul’s ministry and in the Book of Acts, explains what Paul was saying to the Athenians, and shows how Paul’s speech applies to our contemporary cultural context.
This presentation will equip Christians to have a sound grasp of the Book of Job and to be able to respond to the problem of evil, especially the issue of undeserved suffering. The seminar also shows that the Book of Job warns us about some ways not to try to resolve the problem—for example, claiming that suffering is always the fault of the person suffering or that God is unable to stop bad things from happening.
Paul’s epistle to the Romans is not only an exposition of the gospel, it addresses various aspects of the problem of evil. This seminar will give participants a fresh understanding of the epistle and equip them with ten “keys” from Romans for unlocking the problem of evil.
Seminars on Jesus Christ
This presentation explains why Christians need to be prepared to make the case for Jesus’ resurrection as an historical event, and how they can do so. Participants learn the four fundamental facts on which the case rests (Jesus’ death, burial, empty tomb, and appearances) and multiple lines of evidence that supports each of those four facts.
The question of whether Jesus was born of a virgin is a common point of contention, especially during the Christmas season. This presentation refutes the skeptical claim that the virgin birth of Christ is scientifically impossible and explains why there is surprisingly good evidence for it as an historical fact.
This seminar, based on a critically acclaimed book that IRR’s executive director co-authored, equips Christians to know and appreciate the rich, broad evidence from the whole Bible for belief in Jesus as God—and in a way that they won’t soon forget. Believers will be encouraged in their faith, enriched in their worship, and enabled in their witness by understanding and appreciating Jesus’ identity as our Lord and our God.
Many thousands of people are leaving false religions such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism. Unfortunately, most of them are becoming nonreligious or even skeptics. Having been taught that their religion was the only one that could be true and that traditional Christianity was hopelessly corrupt, once they abandon their religion they lose any belief in Christ. This presentation addresses the most common reasons for this phenomenon. It explains how former members of false versions of Christianity can build a new faith in Christ on a solid foundation of truth.
Mormons are often some of our best next-door neighbors. Yet when Mormon missionaries knock on our door, they are seeking to lead Christians of all denominations to abandon the historic Christian faith for their religion. At the same time, Mormons insist that they are Christians and that they do not attack other faiths. How should we view the Mormons? Are they Christians? If not, why not? This seminar sheds light, not heat, on these questions.
Jehovah’s Witnesses spend hours each week studying their literature, memorize numerous biblical texts that seem to support their beliefs, and constantly canvass their neighborhoods door to door offering literature and free Bible studies to anyone who will listen. Most Christians find JWs’ apparent knowledge and facility in defending their beliefs intimidating. What do Christians need to learn in order to be prepared to discuss the Bible’s teachings with JWs? What are the key weak points in their doctrinal system? How can we respond to them in a personal way? This seminar will equip Christians with answers to these questions.
Hinduism is the third-largest religion in the world and represents over two million Americans. This seminar provides a simple overview of the origins and history of Hinduism, an explanation of its major deities, a description of a typical Hindu religious service, and pointers on sharing the Christian message with Hindus.
Seminar Instructor and Format
Robert M. Bowman Jr. is Executive Director of the Institute for Religious Research, based in Cedar Springs, Michigan. He is the author or co-author of 14 books, including the critically acclaimed Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism (DeWard, 2020). Rob is available to present any of the seminars listed here.
Most of IRR’s seminars are available in two types of presentations:
Both types of seminars include curriculum materials that the sponsoring church, school, or campus group can reproduce and distribute to those who attend. If you are interested in scheduling a seminar at your school or church, please contact us.