It ' s quieter recently but Academy Hill in Stratford has oodles of rareswater spawns first Ditto in CT I saw posted especially when lured . There are more regular spawn points compared to last summer , but three lures attract other folks . <| sep |> Right ? These are so well done that it ' s easy to miss the incredible skill it must take to make them . <| sep |> I wrote a reply over on another post and I thought I ' d share it here for anyone wondering where to start in studying the defense and communication of Christianity apologetics . I ' ll paste it belowI think , since the Bible says faith comes from hearing the word of Christ , and faith is trust within the context of a relationship , your friend would find a lot of intellectual permission and significance in Christ just by reading the New Testament . He could also get those Biblical truths through your wordsactionssermonsetc . John Piper DesiringGod . org is one of my favorite preachers . Beyond that , part of what convinced me Christianity is true was studying the philosophy of religion , relevant epistemology , and spatiotemporal metaphysics . I guess I ' d point out to him the failure of the naturalistic conclusion to account for much of the most basic data in human experience . For example I ' ll try to go from the more specific to more general observationsTheism provides the best explanation for the concept of God . robert 22 theontologicalargument 22 . pdf Human beings have always pondered this , as an explanatory hypothesis and the like of that . But why should this concept be a coherent , rational one ? By a formulation of a more advanced , modal ontological argument you can show that the concept of God should not make sense unless He actually does exist . Theism best explains numerous instantiations of biological complexity , from which we may infer an Intelligent Source . Antony Flew is a good example of a worldfamous atheist who changed his mind to theism bordering on deism in light of the realization that a sufficient naturalistic explanation for the occurrence of primordial life on Earth is not plausible to arise . Theism best explains the applicability of mathematics to the physical world . a n d t h e a pplicabilityofmathematics The fine tuning of the initial cosmological and subsequent conditions of the universe for the development of intelligent life goes hand in hand with this . God best explains the probable finitude of the past . a r t i c l e s t h e kalamcosmologicalargument After showing why it is that the universe probably began to exist , you could then appeal to the metaphysical initiative that something cannot arise from nothing . God best explains our moral experience . mark 22 themoralargument 22 . pdf There are a few good arguments that appeal to our moral experience , namely , our apprehension of an objective realm of moral virtues and obligations . Theism best explains consciousness . JP Moreland has written some great essays on t h i s argumentfromconsciousness . pdf also see Richard Swinburne ' s , Peter Van Inwagen ' s , and Alvin Plantinga ' s work on it . The universality of religious experience substantiates theism in general . k w a n t h e a r g u m e n t f r o m r e l i g i o u s e x p erienceblackwellcompanion . pdf Basically , we can derive a considerable amount of epistemic justification for theism by appealing to the commonality of religious experience . Theism best explains the existence of intentional states of consciousness . It has puzzled philosophers for ages how could thoughts always be about other things . where does this aboutness or intentionality come from ? Given that a naturalistic explanation is , frankly , impossible to give , this seems to substantiate the existence of a soul . After or before explaining this I think there ' s a lot to say concerning the fact that contemporary neurology has not and perhaps cannot reduce our consciousness to physical , neurological activity . Theism best founds the confluence of proper function and reliability of our cognitive faculties . argumentfromreason . pdf In one formulation , the argument is that evolution by natural selection is really the only game in town for those who find naturalism as being the most compatible extension of atheism . Alvin Plantinga ' s argument has been that macro evolutionif unguided by God , assuming it happened at allproduces a defeater for the belief in naturalism all together by the invalidation of the naturalist ' s cognitive faculties . After all , it selects on phenotypesand by extension , survival value , not truth value . Theism best undergirds and explains our logic and reasoning . Contradiction . pdfTheism best explains our immediate or contingent existence . Perhaps we cannot simply assert that the universe ought to be explained and if it has an explanation in would surely be God , for , after all , only this kind of metaphysical explanation could suffice for an observation of something beyond this contingent universe , but we can employ a constant or principle of some kind to derive epistemological justification for the idea . For example , various formulations of the principle of sufficient reason whereby things have explanations have been put forth by Dr . Alexander Pruss of Baylor University . alexander 22 t h e l e i b n iziancosmologicalargument 22 . pdf Leibniz said our first philosophical question should be , why is there something rather than nothing ? Blaise Pascal said that in our hearts we have a Godshaped , infinite void which only an infinite God could fill . I think there ' s something to that . We derive our self worth from all the wrong thingsthings that change without our control , and cannot change by our control , and cause cynicism to be true people , and therefore , looks , talents , charisma , social adeptness in general , etc . this promotes the lifestyle of loving only those who have something to benefit you in your pursuit of importance , popularity , or whatever . Man will not find rest until his heart rests in Him . Christ ' s love , on the other hand , is quite altruisticJohn 1513 Greater love has no one than this to lay down one ' s life for one ' s friends . Matthew 546 For if you love those who love you , what reward do you have ? Do not even the tax collectors do the same ? Matthew 44 Jesus answered , It is written ' Man shall not live on bread alone , but on every word that comes from the mouth of God . ' John 832 and you will know the truth , and the truth will set you free . 1 John 420 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar . For whoever does not love their brother and sister , whom they have seen , cannot love God , whom they have not seen . Matthew 2540 The King will reply , ' Truly I tell you , whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine , you did for me . ' We see it over and over again in the Gospels . you love God by loving others , and by loving Him through obedience , for example . In both cases , it ' s the real kind of selfsacrificial love He opens us up to . Then there ' s Lewis ' s trilemma , which can be applied to both Jesus and Paul if you wantbut only after establishing some credibility for the New Testament epistles and accounts of Christ ' s life . t h e b i b l e r e l i a b l e t h e h i s t o r i c i t y o fthenewtestamentFulfilled propheciesagain , only after substantiating the New Testament ' s truth claims . I ' ve found that the argument from miracles is extremely persuasive . I would specifically appeal to the facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth . Professor William Lane Craig gives a lecture on it here , 4 iyxR 8 uE 9 GQ explaining not only that the majority of new testament scholars assent tot the truths of these facts , but also why they find them credible . Here ' s an essay that goes a bit further in depth , applying the relevant probability calculus of the Bayesian theorem . And don ' t forget one more thing these theological indications can be put together . If a hypothesis explains 24 problems , that is considerable evidence in its favor . There ' s a lot more to say , but I ' ve found many of the arguments above as being the most persuasive given that they can center around the thesis that theism explains the most basic observations in human experience , rendering worlviews that fail to do so significantly undercutted . Such as existence itself , our moral experiencewhich you cannot escape each day you decide by your actions whether morality is objective or relativistic , our consciousness , our assumed apprehension of truth , logic and reasoning , our existential burdens and search for meaning , the probable origin of the universe , the very concept of God for which we are having this discussion in the first placethe very concept that has mankind burdened , and the others I mentioned . Dr . William Lane Craig of Biola University has done some good work popularizing certain evidences for Christianity . I recommend you have a look at some of his debate transcripts and study his material . If you mastered the material in his book On Guard , or better yet , carefully studied the Blackwell Companion to Natural theology a reference volume for which Dr . s Moreland and Craig had the most capable defenders of many arguments in natural theology articulately present a case in an essay with their choice of page number . Beyond that , answering objectionsquestions is very important and so I think you should ask him what is keeping him from Christianity other than the need for evidence . On Reasonablefaith . org Bill Craig ' s website you ' ll find some great responses to objections from the problem of pain , divine hiddenness , Christian particularism , the reliability of the Bible and more . Praying for you . God bless !