Frank Turek
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Frank Turek (born November 20, 1961) is an American
Christian apologist Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Pa ...
, author, public speaker, and radio host. He is best known as the founder and president of Christian apologetics ministry CrossExamined.org. Turek has co-authored two books (''Legislating Morality'' and ''I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist'') with Christian philosopher
Norman Geisler Norman Leo Geisler (July 21, 1932 – July 1, 2019) was an American Christian systematic theologian, philosopher, and apologist. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational evangelical seminaries ( Veritas International University an ...
. In addition, Turek has authored two of his own books (''Correct, Not Politically Correct'' and ''Stealing from God''). Turek hosts a call-in talk show called ''CrossExamined'' on
American Family Radio American Family Radio (AFR), also known as American Family News (AFN), is a network of more than 180 radio stations broadcasting Christian-oriented programming to over 30 states.NRB Network NRB TV is an evangelical Christian cable channel founded by members of the National Religious Broadcasters, an international association of Christian communicators. While the NRB association is located in Manassas, Virginia, the channel's corpor ...
.


Early life

Turek was born in Neptune, New Jersey, on November 20, 1961. Turek was raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, but he became a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
during his time as a Naval Flight Officer in the U.S. Navy after being recommended apologetic books written by
Josh McDowell Joslin "Josh" McDowell (born August 17, 1939) is an evangelical Christian apologist and evangelist. He is the author or co-author of over 150 books. In 2006, his book ''Evidence That Demands a Verdict'' was ranked 13th in ''Christianity Toda ...
, in particular ''Evidence That Demands a Verdict'' and ''More Than a Carpenter''. Turek earned a
Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...
degree from
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
. He also earned a
Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is a doctorate in religious ministry. It often includes an original research component, and may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in ministry. It is categorized as an advanced doctoral de ...
in Apologetics degree from
Southern Evangelical Seminary Southern Evangelical Seminary is a Christian college and seminary that started in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1992, United States. In April of 2025, the schools moved to Rock Hill, SC. History The seminary was established in 1992 by Norman Gei ...
. Turek has taught classes in Leadership and Management at George Washington University.


Christian apologetics

Turek co-authored the book ''I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist'' with
Norman Geisler Norman Leo Geisler (July 21, 1932 – July 1, 2019) was an American Christian systematic theologian, philosopher, and apologist. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational evangelical seminaries ( Veritas International University an ...
. Turek frequently delivers seminars based on ''I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist'' at universities and churches throughout America. Turek is a creationist advocating for the pseudoscientific argument of
intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins".#Numbers 2006, Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for it ...
. Turek is a critic of
macroevolution Macroevolution comprises the evolutionary processes and patterns which occur at and above the species level. In contrast, microevolution is evolution occurring within the population(s) of a single species. In other words, microevolution is the ...
but believes that adaptations in species occur over time. In 2008, Turek and atheist
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
debated the existence of God. On March 31, 2009, Turek and Hitchens debated the topic of atheism or theism best explaining reality at the College of New Jersey in Trenton, New Jersey.


Views

In the book ''I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist'', Geisler and Turek state that American culture demands truth from doctors, stock brokers, loved ones, etc., and yet does not typically demand truth when it comes to
morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...
or religion. Geisler and Turek argue that truth is based in correspondence to an absolute reality, and is therefore not subjective. On this basis, Geisler and Turek argue it therefore follows that religious truth is also objective, and for one to claim "All truth is relative!" or "There are no absolutes!" is
self-refuting A self-refuting idea or self-defeating idea is an idea or statement whose falsehood is a logical consequence of the act or situation of holding them to be true. Many ideas are called self-refuting by their detractors, and such accusations are ther ...
. After arguing for the objectivity of truth, Geisler and Turek argue for the objectivity of knowledge. Geisler and Turek ask those who argue that one cannot know anything for sure if they can know ''that'' for sure. The duo argues that if the proponent is sure, the statement presented is, therefore, self-refuting and if the proponent is not sure, the presented argument collapses. Geisler and Turek conclude that people cannot be skeptics about everything, as the proponent would logically have to doubt skepticism: the more one doubts skepticism, the more certain they become. Geisler and Turek argue that the existence of God implies the possibility of
miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
. Borrowing an illustration seminary professor Ronald H. Nash created (a metaphor of the
universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...
representing an open box from a theistic worldview perspective), Geisler and Turek argue that the universe is effectively open for the creator of the universe to reach in and perform what one might call miracles. Geisler and Turek expand on the metaphor by claiming, "a worldview is like a box top that allows you to place the many pieces of life’s puzzle into a complete, cohesive picture."


Marriage

Turek argues in ''Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same-sex Marriage Hurts Everyone'' that marriage lengthens lifespans of men and women, civilizes men, protects women, protects mothers, lowers welfare costs, and encourages a replacement birth rate, and he argues that same-sex marriage does none of these. After a student in a leadership seminar Turek taught in 2010 at
Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...
discovered his views on marriage and reported them to the company's human resources department, Turek lost his position as consultant for Cisco.
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
also cancelled a seminar presentation for the same reason.


Bibliography

Turek's co-authored book ''Legislating Morality: Is It Wise? Is It Legal? Is It Possible?'' was the winner of the
Evangelical Christian Publishers Association The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres ...
's Gold Medallion Book Award ''Christianity and Society'' section in 1999. *''Legislating Morality: Is it Wise? Is it Legal? Is it Possible?'' (1998) *''I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist'' (2004) *''Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone'' (2008) *''Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case'' (2014) *'' Hollywood Heroes: How Your Favorite Movies Reveal God'' (2021)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turek, Frank 1961 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century evangelicals American anti-same-sex-marriage activists American Christian creationists American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Christian apologists Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism American critics of atheism American critics of postmodernism Former Roman Catholics George Washington University faculty Intelligent design advocates People from Neptune Township, New Jersey Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration alumni Writers from Monmouth County, New Jersey