What did the Apostle Paul do when Pre-Christian Europe was pagan, relativistic and pluralistic? He did apologetics among his contemporaries. Paul went to the Jews arguing from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Paul also went to pagan Greeks and used their literature and cultural artefacts to argue that the "unknown God" has been revealed and proclaimed in Jesus. 

21^st century Europe is in a state very similar to Paul's time. Just as Paul confronted the marketplace of ideas in his generation, Europe today needs gifted apologists who can demonstrate that Christianity is true and relevant. Therefore, the vision of the European Apologetics Network is to train a new generation of apologists who can stand in today's marketplace of ideas in the way that Paul did in his generation. Our desire is to develop apologists who will testify to the truth of the gospel with wisdom, versatility and courage in their efforts to persuade their contemporaries. 

Applicants should be those with evangelistic or apologetic gifts who have attended the European Leadership Forum Apologetics Network in previous years. The purpose of the Network is to train, mentor, equip and resource those evangelists and apologists who are seeking to communicate the gospel in their local communities. This Network will be led by Forum Steering Committee members Stefan Gustavsson and Richard Cunningham. Speaking in this Network are Andrew Fellows, Dr Doug Groothuis, Dr Bruce Little, Stuart McAllister, Rev David Robertson, Peter Sanlon, Dr Peter Williams and Peter S. Williams. Prior preparation will be set for all applicants.

Richard Cunningham is the co-leader of the European Apologetics Network Advanced Seminar and a member of the European Leadership Forum Steering Committee.  He has been Director of UCCF: the Christian Unions since 2004. He has also worked in pastoral ministry at churches in London and Oxford. A graduate of London University and trained for ordained ministry in Oxford, Richard has been the primary speaker at over 40 University Missions. He founded ‘Christian Persuaders’ a training programme that aims to identify, train and place a new generation of apologetic evangelists in British universities. He is also a member of the College of Evangelists, an outreach arm of the Anglican church.

 Stefan Gustavsson is co-leader of the European Apologetics Network Advanced Seminar and a member of the European Leadership Forum Steering Committee.  He is director of Credo Academy, a Christian study centre in Stockholm, which focuses on cultural analysis, worldview studies, apologetics and evangelism. He is the author of a book on Christian apologetics, and writes regularly for different Swedish magazines.  Stefan also serves as General Secretary of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance.  

Andrew Fellows is leader of the European Leadership Forum Foundational Apologetics Seminar. He is the Director of L’Abri Fellowship in the United Kingdom. L’Abri is a community dedicated to both demonstrating and explaining the truthfulness of Christianity. It does so by opening its doors to hundreds of seekers who experience the hospitality of this community. Andrew has travelled extensively throughout Europe lecturing to students, artists and politicians on a wide array of subjects.

Douglas Groothuis received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Oregon. He is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, where he has served since 1993. He is the author of Unmasking the New Age, Confronting the New Age, Revealing the New Age Jesus, Christianity That Counts, Deceived by the Light, Jesus in an Age of Controversy, The Soul in Cyberspace, Truth Decay, On Pascal, and On Jesus. He has written for journals such as Religious Studies, Sophia, Research in Philosophy and Technology, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Philosophia Christi, Trinity Journal and Asbury Theological Journal, as well as for numerous popular magazines such as Christianity Today, Moody Magazine and Christian Counseling Today. His books have been translated into French, German, Korean, Norwegian and several other languages. Groothuis's primary passion is to make Christian truth known in contemporary culture and in the church. To that end, he speaks at many colleges and universities on apologetics and ethical themes. He is married to author and editor Rebecca Merrill Groothuis. 

Bruce A Little has Masters degrees in Apologetics and Religion and a PhD in Philosophy of Religion. Presently, he is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he has been on faculty since 2001.  He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Apologetics at Carolina Evangelical Divinity School. For over a decade, he has travelled widely in Europe and Asia, lecturing in universities, teaching in a variety of schools and presenting papers at conferences. He has published in various professional journals and written the book A Creation-Order Theodicy: God and Gratuitous Evil.

Stuart McAllister is an international apologist with RZIM, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is Associate Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Formerly, he worked with Operation Mobilisation before becoming General Secretary for the European Evangelical Alliance. He developed an evangelistic mobilisation called 'Love Europe' that sent several thousand team members across Europe. He joined the staff of RZIM in 1998, directing their training programme, which has included teaching graduate level courses on apologetics at Alliance Theological Society.

David Robertson was born on 2nd May 1962 and brought up in the Highlands of Scotland. He studied history at the University of Edinburgh and then theology at the Free Church College before becoming the minister of Brora Free Church in 1986. In 1992 he and his family were called to St Peters Free Church in Dundee, the historic church of Robert Murray McCheyne, which had declined to single figures. In God’s providence the church has grown to around 150 people and has planted a new church in St Andrews. They have just completed a £1 million refurbishment of the building and are in the process of setting up a Centre for Public Christianity, using apologetic evangelism to communicate the gospel. He does a great deal of debating and evangelism in public forums. He is also editor of The Record, a chaplain at the University of Dundee and European Church planting advisor for Mission to the World. He has written Awakening – the Life and Ministry of Robert Murray McCheyne (Paternoster 2003 reprinted Christian Focus Publications 2010) and The Dawkins Letters – Challenging Atheist Myths (CFP 2007). His new book is entitled Magnificent Obsession.

Peter Sanlon is ordained in the Church of England, and is currently finishing a doctorate on Augustine's preaching at Cambridge University. He holds a degree in Theology from Oxford University and MPhil in Christian Doctrine from Cambridge University. He has been a member of both Oxford and Cambridge Debating Unions, speaking at various national competitions and television programmes such as BBC Newsnight.  Before coming to Cambridge for postgraduate study, he worked as a speechwriter in the House of Lords. He wrote speeches dealing with social aspects of taxation, free speech and homelessness.  He is on the board of Christian Heritage, and the Latimer Trust theological research group. His most recent publication is a booklet on gender identity, available from Latimer Press. He is leading a mission at Nottingham University in 2010, and blogs at http://grace-city.blogspot.com.

Peter (PJ) Williams is the Warden (CEO) of Tyndale House. He received his MA, MPhil and PhD in the study of ancient languages related to the Bible from Cambridge University. After his PhD, he was on staff in the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University (1997–1998), and thereafter taught Hebrew and Old Testament there as Affiliated Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic and as Research Fellow in Old Testament at Tyndale House, Cambridge (1998–2003). From 2003 to 2007 he was on the faculty of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where he became a Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Deputy Head of the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy. In July 2007 he became the youngest Warden in the history of Tyndale House. He also retains his position as an honorary Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the University of Aberdeen and is a member of the Faculty of Divinity in the University of Cambridge.

Peter S. Williams studied philosophy at Cardiff University (BA), Sheffield University (MA) and at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (MPhil). He then spent three years as a student pastor at Holy Trinity church Leicester before moving to Southampton to work alongside the Christian educational charity Damaris Trust (www.damaris.org). Through his work with Damaris, he leads over 30 Philosophy and Ethics conferences for sixth form students each year, as well as undertaking various writing projects, speaking and broadcasting engagements. As of February 2009, he is Assistant Professor in Communication and Worldviews at Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Norway. His publications include, A Sceptic’s Guide to Atheism: God Is Not Dead (Paternoster, 2009), and the forthcoming works I Wish I Could Believe in Meaning: A Response to Nihilism, revised second edition (Damaris, 2010) and Understanding Jesus: Five Ways to Spiritual Enlightenment (Paternoster).

Day 1

The Incarnation Defended

Douglas Groothuis

Is there good reason to think that Jesus claimed to be divine and that he was, in fact, correct in his assertion? Further, does the concept of the Incarnation (a being as both divine and human) make sense logically? This seminar presents arguments for the rationality of the Incarnation in light of sceptical challenges against it.

Applying the Vision: A Church Based Strategy for Apologetics

David Robertson

Apologetics is a confusing and negative word for many people.  Even those who understand its core meaning still perceive that the practice of apologetics is primarily carried out by gifted individuals particularly within the academic sphere. The purpose of this seminar is to demonstrate that apologetic evangelism is the responsibility and work of the whole church. We will examine how the local church can be used for, and can use, evangelistic apologetics as an effective and powerful means of communicating the gospel.   There will be an emphasis on context, culture and communication. 

Day 2

Augustine’s Apologetics

Peter Sanlon

As the classical age drew to a close, and Rome fell to barbarians, Augustine wrote City of God - a monumental apologetic for the Christian faith, unjustly blamed for secular culture's failings. This seminar will explore the apologetic strategy pioneered by Augustine in that work, and show how it complemented the various other approaches Augustine employed in apologetics - personal experience, heresy refutation and community building.

What Is Man?

Bruce Little

This session looks at the uniqueness of man within the context of creation, fall, and redemption and considers the apologetic implications. It begins with the claim that man is unique and that this uniqueness is entailed in his being made in the image of God. Further, it is assumed that the notion of personness is part of what it means to be in the image of God---God is a person and those made in his image are also persons. The primary question before this session is how the fall changed man and what does that mean for apologetics (apologetics in this case meaning more than simply arguments for God’s existence).  The answer given to this question has a twofold implication. The first is, what is it about personness that can be used in communicating the gospel? The second is, how the reality of personness shapes our engagement with the unbeliever?

Day 3

Hiddenness of God

Andrew Fellows 

The apologetic for Christianity is founded on the reality of God's existence.  Building on this foundation we believe that there are sufficient evidences for this reality all around us.  The starting point for most unbelievers is that God's existence is not evident otherwise they would believe.  This means that the reason given for their unbelief is the hiddenness of God. If we are to engage people in their unbelief we must take this starting point of Divine hiddenness seriously.  This lecture is an exploration of this subject.

Creating New Historical Apologetic Arguments

Peter J. Williams 

Most sophisticated evangelical apologetics nowadays are not actually apologetics for the historical reliability of the Scriptures. It appears that philosophical and worldview apologetics have made more advances recently than biblical apologetics and that many of the arguments that are used in evangelism by Christians have shown little progress over a number of decades. This talk considers how new arguments have been developed by individuals such as K.A. Kitchen and Richard Bauckham, the case that there exists a very large number of arguments for the Bible which have not yet been discovered. It then sets out a method for how to discover, develop, refine and present new arguments for the truth of the Scriptures.

Day 4

A Sceptics Guide to the New Atheism

Peter S. Williams 

This session will introduce and shine a light on the heart of the 'new atheism' movement. It will highlight and rebut the core claim of the new atheism, that 'faith' is inherently anti-rational, before arguing that it is in fact the 'new atheism' which is anti-rational. The session will expose the self-contradictions within 'new atheist' epistemology, anthropology and ethics. After an opportunity for questions, the session will go on the offensive by showing how the movement spectacularly fails to rebut a range of arguments for the existence of God.

Is Religion Necessary?

Stuart McAllister

Is religion necessary in this day and age? With the advance of human thought, the troubles of the church, and the increasingly secular mindset of this generation, the answer would seem to be fairly obvious. And yet an increased interest in supernaturalism and transcendant experience points in a different direction. How can we make sense of the tension between the hunger for something other and the known world we inhabit? This seminar will explore the human drive for meaning, how that drive points beyond day-to-day experiences to something transcendant, and how that transcendant other is a personal God who offers intimacy and relationship with Him.