Center for the Foundations of Ethics
Director
David Baggett: David Baggett is professor of philosophy and director of the Center for the Foundations of Ethics at Houston Christian University. Author or editor of about fifteen books, he’s a two-time winner of Christianity Today book awards. He’s currently under contract for his fourth and fifth books with Oxford University Press: a book on moral realism with Jerry Walls, and a collection on the moral argument with Yale’s John Hare.
Senior Research Fellows
Marybeth Baggett: Marybeth is Professor of English and Cultural Apologetics, and chairperson of the Apologetics Department, at Houston Christian University. She is co-author of The Morals of the Story: Good News about a Good God, which won the Christianity Today’s 2019 Honorable Mention in the category of Apologetics/Evangelism. She is also the editor of Moral Apologetics Press’s forthcoming series on Popular Culture and Apologetics, and is currently working on a book on Kurt Vonnegut in an attempt to find common ground with a writer and thinker whose worldview is significantly different in key respects from her own.
Zach Breitenbach is the Youth Worldview Director at Connection Pointe Christian Church in Brownsburg, Indiana. His calling in life is to help people understand Christianity, discover why they should think that it is true, and commit their lives to Jesus. He has a PhD in theology and Christian apologetics and, from Lincoln Christian University, an MA in Christian apologetics. In addition to teaching theology, philosophy, and apologetics at the undergraduate and graduate levels, he has extensive experience teaching these topics to youth. Zach is a frequent speaker at churches, camps, and conferences. He is also the author of ten published articles and the recently published book Slipping Through the Cracks: Are Some Lost Who Would Have Been Saved in Different Circumstances? (2021). Zach and his wife, Eva, live in the suburbs of Indianapolis.
Robert Gagnon Robert A. J. Gagnon is Professor of New Testament Theology at Houston Christian University, after having taught for 23 years at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He has a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. His main fields of interest are Pauline theology and sexual issues in the Bible. A member of both the Society of Biblical Literature and the Society of New Testament Studies, he is also an ordained elder at a Presbyterian Church (USA) in Pittsburgh. He is the author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics; co-author (with Dan O. Via) of Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views; and, as a service to the church, provides a large amount of free material on the web dealing with Scripture and homosexuality. He has published scholarly articles in Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Novum Testamentum, and Horizons in Biblical Theology; and more popular treatments in The Christian Century and First Things. He is also author of article-length encyclopedia entries in Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible (Baker/SPCK), New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics (IVP), Oxford Handbook of Evangelical Theology (Oxford University Press), and Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization (Wiley-Blackwell). He has been quoted in, or has written for, the New York Times, National Public Radio, CNN, U.S. News and World Report, Christianity Today, and Christian Century, among others.
Adam Lloyd Johnson earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has taught for the Rhineland School of Theology in Wolmersen, Germany, and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. His own ministry is called Convincing Proof and he also serves with Ratio Christi, a university campus ministry. He is the author or editor of several published works, including A Debate on God and Morality: What is the Best Account of Objective Moral Values and Duties?, co-authored with William Lane Craig, J. P. Moreland, Erik Wielenberg, and others. His next book, Divine Love Theory: How the Trinity is the Source and Foundation of Morality, will be published in 2023 by Kregel Academic. Adam has presented his work at the National Apologetics Conference, the Society of Christian Philosophers, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the International Society of Christian Apologetics, the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the American Academy of Religion, and the Evangelical Theological Society. His work has been published in the Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Philosophia Christi, Eleutheria, the Westminster Theological Journal, and the Canadian Journal for Scholarship and the Christian Faith. Adam has spoken at numerous churches and conferences in America and around the world. You can learn more about Adam and his work at www.convincingproof.org.
Hunter Kallay holds an MA in Apologetics from Houston Christian University, and he is working on his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Tennessee. While at HCU he was an active Student Fellow of the Center and the 2023 recipient of the Moral Apologetics Writing Contest. His primary interests include moral epistemology, ethics, metaethics, and philosophy of religion. In his spare time, he enjoys fitness, sports, and exploring new restaurants.
Dale Kratt
has recently finished a Ph.D in philosophy, theology, and apologetics, focusing on metaethical philosophy. He recently (2023, chair Ed Martin Ph.D.) completed a dissertation entitled A Theistic Critique of Secular Moral Nonnaturalism (moral Platonism). The dissertation, four years in the writing, being mentored by philosopher Stephen Parrish, involves a critique of the full sweep of secular moral nonnaturalist thinkers while also developing a positive and unique version of the moral argument for the existence of God. (Free download at https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4607/ For those that might be interested in purchasing a hard copy, this can be done at https://www.proquest.com/openview/c5b55f712d78ac11747b9c6eed1d1ba8/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y – for a hefty fee of course.) Please note that the dissertation is undergoing substantial revision for eventual publication by some lucky publisher. LOL
He became a Christian in the US military in 1977 (“Go Navy! Beat Army!”).
When Dale was a lost, defiant, 18-year-old hellion sailor on ships, the Holy Spirit used a much-maligned small group of believers called “The God Squad” to hound him into Christ’s Kingdom. After becoming a believer and after an almost deadly motorcycle accident, he later interned (early 1980s) under the late Walter Martin. Like Walter, he cut his teeth on a rather creative, live talk radio show (1985-1988) called Bible on the Line (modeled after Walter’s syndicated live talk show back then named The Bible Answer Man). He completed a BA in Christian Ministry at International College Honolulu (1987), emphasizing Biblical studies and Biblical languages. From there, the entire Kratt clan picked up and moved to southern California to Biola University’s School of Intercultural Studies. He went there to be mentored by anthropologist Sherwood Lingenfelter (Ph.D. U of Pitt under George Peter Murdock), focusing specifically on anthropological theory. He earned an MA in Intercultural Studies (i.e. Cultural Anthropology) with an optional MA thesis entitled A Multi-Dimensional Socio-Cultural Theory of Humanity (1991; an exploratory thesis by all counts). In this, he was mentored by sociologist Dr. Carol Jenkins (Ph.D. Kansas State), and while there, he also enjoyed teaching undergrad classes in the history and development of social theory. In his MA Thesis, he developed a unique cross-disciplinary approach by synthesizing anthropological, sociological, and psychological theories into a unified, heuristic, multidimensional framework to analyze and understand socio-cultural entities, processes, and dynamics. This theoretical framework remains a centerpiece of his analytical repertoire.
He is blessed with a lovely wife of 43 years with children and grandchildren to boot. Dubbed Happy Pappy. Various current research projects that might be of interest are an upcoming popular book entitled Meditations on Mortality and Truth (the result of some 30 years of contemplation in the making) and a high-powered full-blown socio-cultural theory entitled A Theory of the Regenerative Order: An Essentialist Defense of Heteronormativity. Current affiliations include but are not limited to The Evangelical Philosophical Society, The Society of Christian Philosophers, The Society of Christian Ethics, and The G.K. Chesterton Society.
Throughout his life, his interests have been closely related to and focused on the philosophy of humanity. He takes the moral argument for the existence of God in his recently completed dissertation to be directly relevant to this interest – philosophical reflection on humanity, human nature, God, the nature of Reality, metaethics, ethics, and the human place in the cosmos.
Jonathan Pruitt: The Managing Editor of MoralApologetics.com, Jonathan has been a vital part of the Moral Apologetics team since its inception. Currently, he serves as adjunct instructor of philosophy for Grand Canyon University and Liberty University. Prior to these positions, he was ordained as a minister and served as spiritual life director. He is the author or co-author of several articles on metaethics, theology, and history of philosophy. With a Master’s in Global Apologetics and a graduate of Biola’s Master’s program in philosophy, he is currently in the throes of finishing his doctoral dissertation in which he extends a four-fold moral argument from mere theism to a distinctively Christian picture of God. Jonathan, his wife Sara, and their two children presently live in Lynchburg, Virginia.
David Ochabski: David is wrapping up his doctoral work in theology and apologetics at Liberty University, and has strong interests in both social science and epistemology. He serves as a national training and area ministry director of Ratio Christi in the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware areas. He is also managing editor of Eleutheria, the Rawlings School of Divinity journal at Liberty. He intends to write his dissertation on abduction and verification in the use of apologetic and theological methods.
Joshua Smith is currently a PhD candidate in philosophy at Rice University, writing his dissertation on psychological wonder and the role it plays in a flourishing life. He is currently developing media content for finding meaning and purpose in work as TrueWorks Director of Content. He is the recipient of the National Humanities Research Fellowship, Best Student Paper at the Society of Christian Philosophers-MW, Rice U. Fellowship, U. of Houston Fellowship, and a Coats Fellowship. He earned a BA in Christian Worldview from Boyce College in Louisville KY, an MA in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, an MA in Philosophy at University of Houston, and an MA in Philosophy at Rice University. His MA thesis focused on medieval philosophy and the relationship of God to time. Joshua presents at several academic conferences a year and has been the professor of record for college courses and a researcher in philosophy, ethics, and theology. Additionally, he helps teach TrueWorks’ Faith and Work Intensive course and is the co-host of TrueWorks’ podcast on faith and work. Joshua lives near the Medical Center with his wife, Catie, and their three children.
Delia Ursulescu is working on her doctoral degree in theology and apologetics and has become interested in the moral argument after discovering its fruitfulness in discussions with atheists and agnostics (otherwise not open to theism). After a few years as an adjunct instructor for Liberty University, she chose to focus more on her business career in e-commerce and consulting. In preparation for her dissertation, she is currently focusing on the connection of “neurotheology” to questions regarding the performative aspects of morality.
Jerry Walls: Jerry is a seasoned philosopher and the author or editor of over a dozen books. He currently serves as Research Professor of Philosophy at Houston Christian University. Among his works are his ground-breaking trilogy on eschatology and his tetralogy on the moral argument, co-authored with David Baggett, the fourth volume of which is currently being written.
Board of Directors
Paul Copan
C. Stephen Evans
Lisa Fields
Matthew Flannagan
John Hare
Elton Higgs
David Horner
Mark Linville
Nancy Pearcey
Scott Smith
Tom Thomas
Jerry Walls
Board of Advisors
William Lane Craig
Gary Habermas
J.P. Moreland
Thomas V. Morris