Renowned resurrection scholar Gary Habermas addresses attendees at NOBTS’s Defend conference. “While other questions, such as genocide or the problem of evil, are important to answer, the Christian faith hinges on the resurrection,” Habermas asserts.“If the resurrection is true, Christianity follows.”
A gift to the apologetics program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) and Leavell College will expand its work in equipping believers to defend the faith.
The donation of $850,000 comes from the Milburn and Nancy Calhoun Foundation and from the Calhoun children, Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton, who passed away earlier this year, and David Calhoun, a professor of philosophy at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wa., and a frequent speaker at the yearly NOBTS apologetics conference, Defend.
David Calhoun pointed to his parents’ legacy of service and commitment to Christ as the inspiration for the gift.
“My dad was the first in his family to go to college. He knew the value of an education, specifically theological education,” David Calhoun said. “That grew out of his sense of the importance of training the next generation, and the next generation of pastors and leaders in the church.”
Milburn Calhoun was a medical doctor and a publisher. New Orleans’ Pelican Publishing Company was owned and operated by the Calhoun family for many years. Taking on the role of publisher while working full-time as a family practitioner was a natural fit with his father’s love of reading and exploring ideas, the younger Calhoun said.
Two foundations founded and directed by the Calhoun family have worked to benefit various medical services and resources as well as institutions such as the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home.
Pointing back to his father’s humble beginnings, Calhoun said his father taught him the importance of giving back.
“It was clear to [my father], from that start, that as God blesses, we find ways to give,” he said.
The Calhoun family donation provides support for apologetics in three ways: 1) The Calhoun Family Endowment for Christian Apologetics, to support the activities and work of NOBTS apologetics by providing funding for events, guest speakers, workshops and conferences. 2) The Calhoun Ph.D. Fellowship for Apologetics and Philosophy, supporting a Ph.D. in Christian apologetics student 3) The Calhoun Defend the Faith Scholarship, supporting a master’s level student in apologetics.
“Christian apologetics is an essential part of Christian witness,” said Jamie Dew, president of NOBTS and Leavell College. “NOBTS has always been exceptionally strong in this important ministry, but gifts of this nature make it possible for us to do this work even better. We are grateful to God for this generous gift and look forward to seeing how God will use it.”
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