meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations

From Atheist to Apologist with Holly Ordway

Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations

The Christian Research Institute

Education, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.9809 Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2018

⏱️ 88 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dr. Holly Ordway went from being a militant atheist professor to a cultural Christian apologist and joins Hank to tell the tale of her journey as well as share her powerful perspective on the role of imagination in apologetics. Ordway is an accomplished author and professor in the Department of Apologetics at Houston Baptist University. If you love language, you are going to love this edition of Hank Unplugged.

Topics discussed include: the compelling argument of Mere Christianity (2:00); Ordway’s transition from militant atheist professor to Christian apologist (3:00); the role of imagination in apologetics (6:55); the importance of hermeneutics, especially when examining the Bible (9:55); the necessity for Christians to be part of a church community in an age of individualism (13:30); verbicide and the significance of correct definitions in the church, taking marriage for example (18:55); the value of church history (22:15); metanoia and understanding that Christian conversion is not merely intellectual assent but a truly transformative process (24:05); conversion testimonies, the process of salvation, and the idea that "I have been saved; I am being saved; and I will be saved." (30:20); the importance of avoiding militaristic mentalities when practicing apologetics (35:20); the human need for beauty and how architecture historically has been designed with the intention of pointing us toward God and bringing us closer to Him (38:25); the problem with atheism is that it doesn’t provide a compelling reason for morality (44:15); the grievous scandal of divisions in Christianity and a context for a healthy ecumenism (48:20); a call for Christians to practice charitable discourse (52:55); church history and the historical view of the Eucharist (55:35); exploring the power of metaphor and the profound importance of understanding metaphors (58:15); the difference between allegory and allegorization and why it matters (1:07:20); understanding the power of cultural apologetics (1:11:55); what a world without objective moral standards would mean for the future of human civilization (1:15:00); the importance of examining and challenging our own paradigms and presuppositions (1:19:00); and the three words every apologist should learn to say: I don’t know (1:21:30).

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify

0:05.0

is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes

0:10.8

that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping

0:15.5

solutions that actually save you time, from startups to scaleups, online, in person and on the go. Shopify is made for

0:22.8

entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. And welcome to another edition of Hank Unplug, the podcast that takes me out of the studio into the study,

0:59.1

where I have an opportunity to talk to some of the most interesting, innovative, informative people on the planet.

1:09.0

And in this case, a very inspirational person as well.

1:13.3

Today I have an opportunity to have a discussion with Holly Ordway.

1:17.1

She's a professor of English and a faculty member in the Master of Arts in Apologetics

1:23.4

program at Houston Baptist University.

1:26.6

And that's where she teaches classes in cultural, imaginative,

1:30.4

and literary apologetics. She's written some incredible books, one of my all-time favorites,

1:36.3

apologetics and the Christian imagination, an integrated approach to defending the faith. We'll talk

1:41.4

about that a little, and a whole lot more. Holly, I am just delighted

1:46.8

to connect with you. Well, I am so pleased to be on your show. Thank you so much having me on.

1:52.2

You know, I got to be a big fan when I started reading your articles in the Christian Research Journal,

1:57.4

which is our flagship journal at the Christian Research Institute, every one of

2:03.3

the articles is so well written, and I finally figured out why you are a professor in literature.

2:12.4

Well, certainly it's been something that I brought into my writing, the fact that I love language, I love

2:18.9

literature, and if I'm going to be writing about how the imagination works and how stories

2:25.1

and how metaphors and images work, I ought to try to do that in my writing as well.

2:29.9

At least one hopes that I could do that.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Christian Research Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Christian Research Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.