Here are some basic facts and stuff about Tekton Apologetics Ministries, including answers to Infrequently Asked Questions (IAQs).

Mission Statment

Tekton Apologetics Ministries is committed to providing scholarly answers to serious questions which are often posed on major and minor elements of the Christian faith. We believe in the importance of sound Christian doctrine which is based on a careful exegetical analysis of scriptures from the Holy Bible. We also believe that it is important to incorporate the findings of various theological and scientific disciplines in order to properly assess the veracity of scriptural evidences, and to carefully evaluate issues which are relevant to the Church as a whole.

What's the History?

Tekton started in 1996 as a small collection of articles hosted by another site called The Christian Apologetics Bookshelf. In 1998 the Bookshelf went defunct and Tekton became an independent ministry. In 2000 Tekton become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In 2001 Tekton become a full time ministry that was entirely reliant on donor support.

What's On Here?

Tekton has over 1500 different articles and mini-articles on a variety of apologetics subjects, mostly addressing Skeptics, but also a variety of other religions.

Infrequently Asked Questions

I don't get any that are frequently asked. I get these maybe once every three months.

  • What church are you affiliated with? Tekton is an independent ministry. I attend a Southern Baptist church but would be comfortable just about anywhere where the Bible was honored as the Word of God.
  • How about a Statement of Faith? I don't know why I forgot to put one of these up, but let me make it easy. Campus Crusade, the big-time evangelistic organization, has a Statement of Faith here. I agree with it in whole, though I vary on a couple of points from the average Christian today on how they will be fulfilled. Here's how. Take #16: Jesus Christ will come again to the earth - personally, visibly and bodily - to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. I completely agree, though as an orthodox orthodox preterist (like R. C. Sproul is) I don't associate this return of Jesus Christ with all of the usual Left Behind accoutrements. On #15 ("At physical death the unbeliever enters immediately into eternal, conscious separation from the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting judgment and condemnation.") I would qualify "conscious" with some of the points here about the intermediate state being one in which we won't be as alert or as capable as we are in a body. Other than that, you will find me an independent thinker where the TULIP debate is concerned (I'm closest to Molinism, perhaps, but I can't say for sure).
  • What are your credentials? I have a Masters' Degree in Library Science. What the runs down to is, I'm an expert at looking things up and answering questions.
  • Is it true that J.P. Holding is not your real name? Yes and no. It was the name I was legally born with, which made it a good choice for a writing name. I adopted it for Tekton for reasons of personal security, as I formerly worked in a prison as a librarian. I no longer do, but the JPH name is now too well known to drop without causing confusion. I may even have it legally changed someday. If you are one of those odd people who think this is some worthwhile issue to make a fuss over, I probably don't care if you like this site or not.
  • Have you been published anywhere in print? I self-published a book on Mormonism, but have also had articles appear twice in the Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal (Answers in Genesis) and eight times (soon to be eleven) in the Christian Research Journal (CRI).
  • Are you available for speaking? On that see here.
  • Married? Kids? Yes. No, just a small, spoiled pomeranian-poodle mix named Toby. He sits by me all day curled up in a ball, and boy is he cute!
  • How old are you? I was born in 1968. (Just telling you that is easier than putting a number here that will change every year.)
  • How does it feel to be a pompous, overbearing jerk? Great! I'm glad you asked. I have a few critics whose delusions about myself I entertain because it makes it easier to show that they can't answer any actual arguments. If you really want to know what makes JPH tick, though, you need to grasp that I fit the personality profile here. Thus:

    To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. In other words, why my simpler-minded opponents think I'm arrogant. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know. That's the answer to those who say I don't address topics like evolution out of "fear" or some other such nonsense. But check out the rest of the profile - I'm in good company (Susan B. Anthony, William F. Buckley, Jr., Phil Donahue, Everett Koop, C. S. Lewis (yep!), Colin Powell).

    Go home!