Tawa Anderson

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Montgomery Hall
405.585.4437
 
OBU Box 61156
500 West University
Shawnee, OK 74804

Dr. Tawa Anderson joined the OBU faculty as Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the fall of 2011, shortly after completing his Ph.D. in Worldview & Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, KY. Before arriving at OBU, Dr. Anderson served as a Garrett Fellow at SBTS, guest lecturing in a broad variety of philosophy courses. Prior to that, he served for seven years as the English Pastor of Edmonton Chinese Baptist Church and part-time Baptist Chaplain at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Dr. Anderson and his wife, Vanessa, have three children: Mataeo (b. 2000), Alethea (b. 2003), and Keilani (b. 2005) who are all students in the Shawnee public school system.

Dr. Anderson is passionate about contemporary Christian philosophy, particularly philosophical apologetics -- explaining and defending the truth of Christian theism in the face of cultural and academic objections, doubts, and challenges. He has led apologetic workshops, seminars, and conferences at churches throughout western Canada and the state of Kentucky. Dr. Anderson also maintains (with intermittent dedication) a blog dedicated to Christian apologetics -- www.tawapologetics.blogspot.com.

Educational Background:

  • B.A. (Hon.) in Political Science, University of Alberta
  • M.Div. in Pastoral Ministry, Edmonton Baptist Seminary
  • Additional Graduate Studies in Philosophy, Apologetics, and World Religions: Ambrose Seminary (Calgary, Alberta); Tyndale Seminary (Toronto, Ontario); The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY); ACTS Seminaries (Langley, British Columbia).
  • Ph.D. in Philosophy, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Selected Publications and/or Professional Activities:

“A Review of The Historical Jesus: Five Views, edited by Paul Eddy and James Beilby.” Calvin Theological Journal, forthcoming (November 2011).

“Review of The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, by Michael R. Licona.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, forthcoming (September 2011).

“The Myth of the Metaphorical Resurrection: Resurrection Belief in the First Century, the Early Church and Her Opponents.” Hope’s Reason: A Journal of Apologetics Vol. 1 (2010-11): 19-48.

“Review of Contending with Christianity’s Critics and God is Great, God is Good.” Philosophia Christi Vol. 12.2 (2010): 493-97.

“Does God Exist? An Introduction to Theistic Apologetics.” In Is Christianity True? 23 Essays Exploring the Truth of Christianity (e-book, Apologetics315, 2010), 9-16.

Professional Memberships:

Evangelical Philosophical Society (EPS)
Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP)
International Society of Christian Apologetics (ISCA)
American Academy of Religion (AAR)
Evangelical Theological Society (ETS)

Dr. Anderson is also a Certified Apologetics Instructor (CAI) with the North American Missions Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Dr. Anderson regularly presents lectures and papers at regional and national meetings of professional societies. Some of his presentations include:

“Academic Freedom and the Vow of Scholarly Obedience: The Test Case of John Dominic Crossan.” National Conference of the International Society of Christian Apologetics in Wake Forest, NC (April 2011).

“The Apologetics Matrix: A Theoretical Framework for Practical Apologetic Engagement.” National Conference of the International Society of Christian Apologetics in Wake Forest, NC (April 2011).

“The Myth of the Metaphorical Resurrection: Resurrection Belief in the First Century, the Early Church and Her Opponents.” ETS Southeast Regional in Greer, SC (2010).

“The Myth of the Metaphorical Resurrection: How John Dominic Crossan’s Faulty Presuppositions Predetermine Flawed Conclusions.” ETS Southwest Regional in New Orleans, LA (2010); ETS Southeast Regional in Chattanooga, TN (2009); ETS Midwest Regional in Ashland, OH (2009).