Warren Christian Apologetics Center
Charles C. Pugh III
In a 2008 book, Atheism Remix, R. Albert Mohler, Jr. wrote, “… the sales figures of books written by the New Atheists—Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens—are simply astounding. Their books are selling by the millions … In the history of books about atheism nothing like this has ever happened … The prominence of the New Atheists in the media … their influence among the academic and intellectual elites, means that the New Atheism presents a significant challenge … that demands our closest attention” (16-17). Mohler also says, that in Great Britain, the loss of Christian faith among British people is reaching “terminal stages” (www.albertmohler.com/blog.phpMay2008).
Distinguished British philosopher, David Conway, has written, “ … [T]he sad truth is that ours is a culture that has never been more spiritually lost. The cause … may ultimately be traced back to the virtual disappearance from among the most highly educated strata, especially those concerned with educating the young, of any belief in the existence of God” (The Rediscovery of Wisdom 171). Likewise, Gary Habermas, Research Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Theology at Liberty University, has observed, “… [P]olls tell us that atheism is on the increase in the United States, especially among teenagers and young adults” (Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dec. 2008, 813). According to the latest findings of the American Religious Identification Survey (2008), Americans are clearly “becoming less Christian” (americanreligionsurvey-aris.org).
The sad state of the increasing loss of Christian faith in America, as well as in other parts of the world, is being addressed by Warren Christian Apologetics Center, a non-profit informational theistic center, existing for the purpose of affirming and defending the Christian worldview in a global philosophical climate that evidences the growing influence of atheistic and anti-Christian thought. Anti-Christian sentiment is permeating such cultural arenas as education, government, and entertainment. Warren Christian Apologetics Center is an intensive effort to produce, publish, and propagate sound, scholarly material that affirms and defends the case for the existence of God, the divine origin of the Bible, and the deity of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only through books, journals, pamphlets, audio and video material, and the worldwide web (warrenapologeticscenter.org), but by featuring a 7200 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility located in Vienna, WV, the Warren Christian Apologetics Center will be on the cutting edge of the global battle of worldviews. The Center’s facility will include a lecture hall, classrooms, and an apologetics resource library that will feature the best in current apologetics materials as well as rare out-of-print volumes. At the WCAC facility, a venue will be provided for qualified theists and atheists to meet in debate and dialogue, and Christian theists from such fields as philosophy, theology, science, education, and medicine will be invited to use their expertise in presenting the case for God and Christianity.
The seed for this apologetics center was planted more than 35 years ago when this writer and several others involved in the Warren Center were graduate students in apologetics under the tutelage of Dr. Thomas B. Warren. Thomas B. Warren (1920-2000) was one of the greatest apologists during the last 100 years. He founded the Institute for the Advancement of Christian Theism (I-ACT), a short-lived theistic center. Warren also debated some of the most prominent atheistic philosophers of the last century. Among those was Professor Antony Flew who shocked the philosophical world in 2004 with the announcement that he had renounced atheism and embraced theism. Flew’s book, There Is A God (2007), was co-authored with Roy Abraham Varghese who has said, “… there is an obvious need for the kind of work pioneered by Dr. Warren. It is precisely this need that is addressed by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center. This Center will play an invaluable role in presenting the case for God in today’s intellectual environment.”
A major fund-raising campaign is underway to raise $500,000 by April 1, 2010, in order to break ground for the Warren Center facility, which will be located on prime property (1.25 acres) at the intersection of Rosemar and Seminary Roads, Vienna, West Virginia. The general contractor is The PM Company of Vienna, and the architect is OffWhite Salter, also of Vienna, WV. Application has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with legal counsel from the Law Office of Bowles Rice, Parkersburg WV. Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to: Warren Christian Apologetics Center, C/O North End church of Christ, 1301 West Virginia Ave, Parkersburg, WV 26104. Please make checks payable to: North End church of Christ.
The logical implications of atheism are such that the result will be the degeneration, disintegration, and demise of any culture in which unbelief is left unchallenged (cf. Romans 1:18-32). As C. S. Lewis stated, “Moral collapse follows upon spiritual collapse” (God in the Dock 265). May good people everywhere join hands with Warren Christian Apologetics Center in affirmation and defense of the Christian worldview. We need your moral and financial support. –1601 31st St., Vienna, WV 26105-26669. www.warrenapologeticscenter.org