Category Archives for Blog

  On numerous occasions over the years, when questions about the credibility of historic Christian faith have come to mind or been posed by others, I have turned to the […]

  23 February 2023 Here’s an eleventh hour event notice for all those within driving distance of Orono, Maine. This event is sponsored by our friends at Ratio Christi UMO. […]

  Those of you who have designated the AIIA Institute as your charitable organization of choice for the AmazonSmile program have probably already received notice that Amazon is ending their […]

  The alarm clock goes off. Another day. Another year. Around we go again. But wait! What’s the point of it all? Just revised, updated, and released: an AIIA thoughtletter […]

  Recently the words of an old hymn by Philip P. Bliss came to mind:  “The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin, The Light of the world is […]

  Early on the morning of October 19 Mary and I departed Monson for Pennsylvania. We stopped in Newburgh NY overnight. Even that has become a hard drive for me […]

  This coming weekend (October 21-22) AIIA’s Board of Directors will be gathering from eight states for its annual meeting (in southeastern Pennsylvania this year). Mary and I will be […]

  Beginning at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, August 10 2022  (updated since original posting), AIIA will be hosting a five-week series on How We Got the Bible. We plan to […]

  On Tuesday, June 28, a group of seven young men visited AIIA’s Study Center. They had just completed a hike through the 100-mile Wilderness (from Monson to Baxter State […]

  After watching Season 1 of the popular video series, The Chosen, I was quite favorably impressed. I found Jonathan Roumie’s portrayal of Christ closer to my idea of how […]

  Take a minute to read this article (published in April 2022) about how Monson Arts is bringing diversity to Monson. Artists of almost every ethnicity, from all over the country and […]

  I’d like to recommend a book to you that I just finished reading this week. It’s entitled Reflections on the Existence of God. The author? Dr. Richard E Simmons […]

  MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW Another significant Christian Apologetics conference is coming to New England. This one is coming in the Spring. This Spring. 2022. Our friend and ministry colleague, Tim […]

  I first learned about Brady “Phanatik” Goodwin In late January 2022 from one of our faithful AIIA constituents. If you’ve never heard of Phanatik, I will tell you that […]

  For over 30 years AIIA has tracked, purchased, collected, and reviewed Christian apologetics material of all sorts here at our AIIA Resource & Study Center. We have then listed […]

  This past November (2021) AIIA’s Executive Director Daryl E. Witmer was asked to record an interview with his son, Stephen Witmer, pastor of the Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell […]

  CLICK THIS LINK for details on L’Abri’s annual conference, scheduled this year for February 18-19 in Rochester MN. Plenary speakers include Dick Keyes, one of our fellow leading Christian […]

  GOD WILLING, we’re about to launch yet another full year of ministry: validating the case for the Christian worldview. Here are a few ways to preview what’s coming: • A […]

  Here are two excellent new Christian apologetics resources of which I recently became aware: 1. Is It Possible to Know God? Click here to view this great free new […]

  Randy David Newman was one of the most popular speakers at AIIA’s landmark WHY JESUS? 2016 conference, hosted five years ago in Bangor, Maine.  He has a long history […]

  Is the idea that God created the heavens, the earth, the animals, the birds, and all human life unscientific? Is it just a matter of faith? Attend this seminar […]

  Why Jesus? Why not Mohammed? Why not Buddha? Why not Lao-Szu? Why not Mishra? Why not Joseph Smith? Why not just science and reason alone — without religion? Of […]

It was early afternoon on August 2, 2021, when one of the most famous Appalachian Trail thru-hikers ever walked into AIIA’s Study Center here on Wilkins Street in Monson.   Initially […]

  WHEN October 1-2, 2021 WHERE Central Congregational Church Middleboro, MA WHO Craig Hazen Clay Jones J.P. Moreland Bob & Judy Pardon John & Claudia Kalmikov Brian Watson TOPICS INCLUDE […]

WHERE THE BATTLE RAGES Ten Key Current and Potentially Future Battlefronts in the Long War to Defend Historic Christian Truth and Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What follows here […]

  Here is AIIA’s coronavirus policy statement for the third quarter (July-August-September) of 2021. AIIA remains fully committed to participating in the effort to conquer the coronavirus pandemic here in […]

  In AIIA’s latest video Ryan Goding (with AIIA and Anchor New England) dialogues directly with Eve, Celia, and Josiah about reason, logic, and the Christian worldview. Click here to […]

  How sure are you that all 27 New Testament Bible Books are God-inspired? Conversely, what if some Bible Books that God did inspire got lost? If you are a […]

  Here is AIIA’s coronavirus policy statement for the second quarter (April-May-June) of 2021. AIIA remains fully committed to participating in the effort to conquer the coronavirus pandemic here in […]

  WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF GENESIS 1-3? AND DOES IT REALLY MATTER? Ed Kalish thinks so. The Rev. W. Edwin Kalish is an Anglican clergyman with a storied past […]

  AIIA’S FAITH MATTERS JANUARY 2021 MEETING CANCELED : Due to a snowstorm forecast to occur during meeting hours on Saturday, January 2, 2021, this event has been canceled. The topic […]

  Here is AIIA’s coronavirus policy statement for the first quarter of 2021. AIIA remains fully committed to participating in the effort to deter the further spread of the coronavirus […]

  Don’t miss this latest AIIA/ANE video release. Spread the word to others. Ryan Goding interviews Hillary Morgan Ferrer of Mama Bear Apologetics. Click here  

  THANK YOU for your prayers and concerns. Electric power has now been restored to AIIA’s Study Center. No pipe damage or other readily apparent problems. We are grateful. We […]

  As a result of the major snowstorm (12+ inches of snow and high winds) that clobbered Maine this past Saturday and Sunday (December 5-6) there has been no electrical […]

  AIIA’S FAITH MATTERS MEETING CANCELED THIS MONTH: Due to a major snowstorm forecast to begin at 1:00 PM on Saturday, December 5, the December 2020 FAITH MATTERS meeting has been […]

  There’s been a recent disturbing uptick in the number of individuals alleging to have personally heard God’s voice directly (even audibly) and then relating to others (via TV, books, internet) […]

  Is there more to the Black Lives Matter movement than just basic civil rights and equality for African-Americans — and maybe some other minorities? What is Antifa? Is critical […]

  Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fifth emperor of Rome. He ruled from 54 to 68 A.D. He was most noted for his extravagant debauchery, cruelty, and persecution […]

  Take fifteen minutes to view this brand new video — filmed and produced by Ryan Goding and ANCHOR NEW ENGLAND — featuring a tour of AIIA’s Study Center in Monson, Maine, […]

Here is an updated statement on AIIA’s current coronavirus-related policies and status. AIIA remains fully committed to participating in the effort to deter the further spread of the coronavirus as […]

Have you seen the following advice that some wag recently offered? “Life is short,” he wrote, “so be sure to spend as much time as possible on the internet arguing […]

I just finished reading Mama Bear Apologetics. I also just finished ordering three more copies of Mama Bear Apologetics — one for each of my daughters-in-law. Not because they aren’t […]

  On June 1, 2020, I sent an open letter to every one of my neighbors and friends here in Monson, Maine. It was a saturation mailing, so every single […]

  Here is an updated statement on AIIA’s current status, policies, and response to the coronavirus pandemic. AIIA remains fully committed to participating in the effort to deter the further […]

  Do you sometimes feel that the deck has been stacked against you? Why do people often instinctively ask “Why?” when encountering adversity? If everything is just a matter of […]

  Here is an updated statement on AIIA’s status, policies, and response to the coronavirus pandemic, as of Tuesday, May 5, 2020. • AIIA remains fully committed to participating in the […]

  Are you feeling hopeless? Is there any hope for life beyond coronavirus? What is hope? What’s the difference between hope and just wishful thinking? Take just eight minutes to […]

  Here is an updated statement on AIIA’s status, policies, and response to the current coronavirus crisis, as of Friday, April 3, 2020. AIIA remains fully committed to participating in the […]

  The Northern Maine Apologetics Conference (NMAC) is currently scheduled to be held on July 15, 2020, in Mapleton, Maine. This event is sponsored by Baptist Park and coordinated by […]

  It’s a good time to think about heaven.  It’s an especially good time to sing songs about heaven.  The current COVID-19 crisis has triggered widespread uneasiness and discouragement — […]

  As of this writing (Wednesday afternoon, March 19, 2020), here at AIIA’s Study Center in north central Maine, we’re still feeling somewhat removed from the vortex of the COVID-19 […]

  ReasonableFaith.org is the website of William Lane Craig, a widely respected philosopher and one of the leading evangelical Christian thinkers of our time. Reasonable Faith has produced a number […]

  Here’s a brief reminder that the window of opportunity for sharing a tax deductible year-end financial contribution with AIIA is about to close. In order to be able to deduct […]

  On November 5, 2019, InterVarsity Press (IVP) published a book authored by Stephen Witmer titled: A Big Gospel in Small Places, © 2019 InterVarsity, 216 pages, ISBN 0830841555. The […]

Someone recently wrote: “So America, a while back you decided to base your morality on the subjective shifting sands of political correctness instead of on the objective bedrock of Judeo-Christian […]

Here’s information on a significant apologetics event coming to north central Maine, this time sponsored by Ratio Christi and hosted at the University of Maine campus on November 13, 2019 at […]

  This blog is addressed to you if you are an agnostic willing to acknowledge that there may be at least something to the claims and person of Jesus Christ.  Perhaps […]

The AIIA Institute was incorporated in 1991. It has been headquartered here in Monson, Maine, ever since. Like many other small towns in Piscataquis County, the town seemed to be […]

My sons have long sung the praises of novelist Wendell Berry. So about a year ago I bought Berry’s most famous fictional work, Jayber Crow, and began listening to it […]

  If you’re within driving range of Harrisonburg, Virginia, this coming Monday evening, August 12, we’d love to spend a little time with you at an AIIA-sponsored reception. Our entire […]

From its very inception we have tried to make AIIA more than a ministry of mere sterile academic apologetics. We’ve attempted to make it existential, alive, and connected with the […]

What do you know about Buddhism? What’s the Christian response to Buddhism? What question often leaves Buddhists stumped? Click here for details.

View the newly updated slideshow on AIIA’s homepage. Click on each individual slide. Be informed. Be current. Be in touch. Be thinking. Be ready.

You may be among those who follow and pray for our family as well as our ministry. If so, we’d appreciate your prayers for our youngest grandson, John Wyatt Witmer […]

Did God supernaturally inspire the king of Israel to write about the coming Messiah’s death by crucifixion 1000 years before it actually even happened? If so, what are the implications […]

  In the May-June 2019 issue of AIIA’s Proclamation thoughtletter (scheduled for publication later this month), I refer to an exchange that I had with a Buddhist some time ago […]

  On March 8, 2019, I completed an initial cursory read-through of Darwin Devolves: The New Science About DNA That Challenges Evolution, ©2019 HarperOne, by Michael J. Behe, PhD. Behe […]

  Robert Valiant, an AIIA Ministry Associate from southern New Hampshire, recently authored an 11-page critique of BIOLOGY (©2008 edition, Prentice Hall), a major textbook that has been used for many […]

So many wars and conflicts throughout history have been driven by religion. Why believe in a God who advocates war and violence? Why accept a Bible that seems to repeatedly […]

  Are all Christians intellectually deficient?  In his highly-touted book, The End of Faith, Sam Harris (neuroscientist, atheist, author) caustically writes: “Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating […]

Late last night I finished reading a new book by Abdu Murray, North American Director of RZIM (Ravi Zacharias International Ministries). It’s entitled Saving Truth | Finding Meaning & Clarity […]

  CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS MAINE NEW ENGLAND AIIA INSTITUTE THE WITMERS IN MONSON, MAINE •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• IS GOD’S TRUTH under serious attack these days?  IS THE INCREASED ATTRITION OF YOUTH from evangelical […]

Someone once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Do you know where you’re going today? Do you know where you’re going in […]

Great news today from Homer Hill in Monson, Maine. Yesterday (Wednesday, December 5) at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine, Mary and I met with Dr. John Klemperer, the […]

EVERYBODY HAS TO BELIEVE IN SOMETHING. I believe I’ll have another piece of cake. Chocolate cake. Lots of frosting. Eat, drink, be merry. Tomorrow we might . . . eat […]

Just a brief update here this morning to let those of you who are interested know that Mary continues to make good progress in healing from her aortic valve replacement […]

In the four days since my last post on Mary’s status there have been a number of positive developments. First, the bleeding from a secondary wound created during Mary’s open […]

It’s been a number of days since I’ve provided an update on Mary’s recovery from aortic valve replacement surgery on November 1. In general she is making good headway but […]

Suppose someone says to you, “Everyone has their own worldview — which makes true objectivity impossible. If true objectivity is impossible then no worldview can be considered universally valid. Therefore […]

Mary continues to steadily recuperate from aortic valve replacement surgery on November 1. Thanks for tracking along with her progress here and on previous blogs. Each day seems to be another […]

Today has been a day of nurses visiting, calling, and checking in as a follow up to Mary’s heart valve replacement surgery last Thursday, November 1. I’ve been “picking up […]

Good evening from Homer Hill in Monson, Maine! That’s right — we’re home — and so far, so good. Our friends Wayne & Jane Armstrong came to Eastern Maine Medical […]

It’s been a long day of ups and downs, but one that on net seems to have ended well. At about 8:30 AM Mary’s heart slipped back into afib. So […]

The good news of the day is that, within minutes of Mary’s two chest tubes being removed, her heart rhythm suddenly converted from atrial fibrillation (afib). However, it converted to […]

As of 2:00 PM Saturday afternoon, Mary’s heart continues in afib. This leaves her feeling very washed out. (I understand that feeling from years of experience with afib myself.) She […]

Within minutes of my posting the previous blog from my hotel room at about 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon, while enroute back to Mary’s bedside at the hospital, Stephen phoned […]

Over twenty-seven (27) hours following the conclusion of aortic valve replacement surgery, Mary continues to make good progress. She has had many IVs, catheter, and other tubes and wires removed. […]

Mary has continued to recover from aortic valve surgery throughout the afternoon and evening hours. She is still sleepy as the result of anesthesia administered during her surgery, but was […]

Mary’s surgery ended just before Noon today, November 1. Her preparation time lasted somewhat longer that initially projected, so the operation itself didn’t begin until after 9:00 AM, although we […]

As of 8:00 PM this evening, October 31, Mary Witmer remains scheduled for aortic valve replacement surgery first thing tomorrow morning, November 1, at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. We […]

On June 6, 2013, The Atlantic magazine published an article by Larry Alex Taunton entitled Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity. Here is a brief excerpt: “Sincerity […]

Mary Witmer is now scheduled for aortic valve replacement surgery on November 1 at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. We hope to be able to post […]

Late last week an invitation to attend the 12th Annual Natural Living Expo in Marlborough MA arrived in the morning mail. This large-scale event is scheduled to take place on […]

We’ve been waiting to post this month’s family update until we got word about the results of Mary’s latest echocardiogram on October 1. Yesterday it came. The phone rang just […]

Andrew and his family were in Monson for approximately ten days in early August. Mary and I had a great time with Maureen and the grandchildren while Andrew researched and […]

What’s the big deal about Christian Apologetics? Is it relevant? Is it necessary? You’ll have your answer in less than 10 minutes if you’re willing to invest that amount of […]

This year, with an exciting multi-million-dollar rejuvenation project currently underway in our little village, and hundreds of Appalachian Trail hikers on their usual annual migration through town, there has been a […]

Never before in my life has four months seemed to fly by so quickly. Our sabbatical was wonderful. Except for the threat of Mary’s impending surgery and the considerable time […]

Mary had her most recent echocardiogram on Monday, July 2. The very next day we received a call from her cardiologist’s office with some surprising news — her numbers had […]

One deeply memorable impression of my visit to L’Abri in Huemoz Switzerland in 1972 was of the water troughs in that picturesque little Swiss village. Water flowed freely and continually […]

Mary and I were in the midst of our AIIA board-appointed sabbatical recently, quietly checking out a Native American Spring festival in downtown Bar Harbor, Maine, totally minding our own […]

Mary and I met with her cardiologist in Bangor earlier today — May 3, 2018. Based on her most recent echocardiogram in April, and unless she begins experiencing symptoms, Dr. […]

  I once heard about a birthday card that on the outside read: “I was in a card store the other day looking for a card with a message that […]

Thanks to so many of you who have written, called, and/or been praying about Mary’s diagnosis of aortic valve stenosis since January. It means a great deal.  Mary’s latest echocardiogram […]

On this Good Friday 2018 the words of the late Anglican minister, John W. Stott, come to mind: “I could never myself believe in God if it were not for […]

In spite of maintaining a normal rigorous routine (which includes walking on her treadmill most every day, carrying wash baskets up the basement steps, and much more) — all of […]

Generally speaking, mainstream science today endorses a version of Darwinian evolution which proposes that humans are the unanticipated result of wholly natural random forces at work over long ages. But […]

Welcome to our new blog! I really hope that you’ll “follow” along by subscribing with your email address at right. Or bookmark this page and check in often. The pace of […]