Ratio Christi invited Christian apologist Frank Turek to campus. Turek, described by Ratio Christi as a “world-renowned speaker,” will be hosting a talk titled “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” on March 24 at 7 p.m. in the UC Ballroom.
Turek maintained a close relationship with the now deceased Charlie Kirk. Kirk, the former president of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was fatally shot at Utah Valley University during a TPUSA visit on Sept. 10. Turek was sat next to Kirk when he was shot and rode in the SUV that took Kirk to the hospital. Turek was on tour with TPUSA at the time and is featured on their website.
Ratio Christi’s president Rebekah Boerrigter said they expect over 800 people to attend the event. They are investigating overflow rooms in case the ballroom reaches maximum capacity. The event will welcome CMU students first when the house opens, followed by high school students and off-campus event sponsors. The non-student public will be let in at 7 p.m.
“We’ve had him here before and it was like, a really successful event,” Ratio Christi Vice President Dan Weaver said. Weaver said Turek came to the campus in 2021 and Ratio Christi hosted him last time.
Christian apologetics is the guiding ideology of Ratio Christi which translates from Latin to “The Reason of Christ.” According to Weaver, apologetics is a religious discipline that uses logic and verbal defense to demonstrate that God exists and that Christianity is the one true way to worship Him.
“It’s not just having a blind faith, it’s having, like, historical scientific philosophical reasons as to why we believe what we believe,” Boerrigter said.
Turek’s approach, according to his non-profit ministry CrossExamined, is a classical apologetics approach. The non-profit also offers online courses, blogs, an app and other resources for the Christian Apologist community. The website says it “exists to address the questions of the intellectually skeptical.”
It argues that:
“Truth exists (objective reality can be known)
God exists (classical arguments for God’s existence)
Miracles are possible (the universe is not a closed system)
The New Testament is historically reliable (manuscript evidence & archaeology)
Jesus has risen from the dead (hence, Jesus is God)”
Ratio Christi has partnered with a few other clubs on campus such as ARISE, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Together in Life (TNL) and CMU’s chapter of TPUSA (TPUSA-CMU). Boerrigter said that several community churches partnered with the club as well to market and financially support the event but could not recall any specific churches when asked.
Turek’s website indicates that it costs $1,000 plus travel and accommodations to have him do a seminar. However, he will waive half the fee if over 250 people attend.
TPUSA-CMU chapter President James Ruehmann said the organization was only involved to support the event through marketing. Boerrigter indicated they are tabling at the event along with most other faith-based clubs on campus.
Weaver said that in the spirit of Kirk, Turek decided to change up this event from his normal lecture style. He said Turek does not usually have a Q&A section at his events but felt compelled to mirror the format predominantly employed by Kirk. However, Turek’s website indicates that 30 minutes for Q&A is typically part of all of his events.
Weaver and Boerrigter do not believe the event will be about Kirk. However, they have not received concrete details about the presentation from Turek or his team.
Turek has a book and a podcast both called “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.” The book covers a variety of logic arguments that offer proof of the existence of God. On the podcast, Turek invites guests on to discuss a variety of topics.
Turek also has a book called “Correct, Not Politically Correct: About Same-Sex Marriage and Transgenderism” which, according to its description, argues that “virtually everyone is hurt by same-sex marriage and transgenderism, even those who identify as LGBTQ.”
Recent topics on his podcast include “the real-world consequences of so-called ‘gay marriage,’” how Christians can “lovingly and wisely point Muslims to Christ” and whether or not it is reasonable to believe macro-evolution.
“Our ultimate goal is, you know, to bring other people into the body of Christ because we think, like, it’s the best ever and God is awesome,” Weaver said.
This event has been in the making for almost a year. Boerrigter said they tried to invite Turek to campus last March but his schedule was too busy to make it happen. Ratio Christi meets weekly on Tuesdays at 5:45 p.m. in Dominguez 314.
The Criterion made updates and corrections to this article for improved accuracy on March 13.
