YouTube Atheists and Christian Apologists

Can I Trust Their Information? Occasionally I receive an email message from someone asking my opinion about individuals that present arguments against/for Christianity, Spirituality, etc. on YouTube. Usually the individuals who create this type of content are of the Atheist persuasion. To be honest, I find myself watching their videos quite often. There are a few channels that I find very thought provoking and entertaining. However, several people have inquired about the validity of the information they present. Well, this is where things get tricky. I am a scholar, so when I seek out information about a topic I do so with the mindset of an academic. In the world of scholarly research there is a system in place called peer review. A scholar will write an article, then other scholars, in the applicable discipline, will evaluate the article’s content to see if the research is valid. If it is, then a recommendation is made for publication in a peer review journal. In short, other scholars have determined that the research presented is valid and contributes to the scholarly discussion in that particular discipline. Many of the personalities appearing or hosting YouTube channels are not published scholars. They are not presenting their own original research and their opinions have not been vetted by the scholarly community. Therefore, many are just passing on information they have read from other sources.  Some of this material is potentially valid, some might not be. Maybe the YouTube personality is a legitimate scholar or maybe not.     Here are a few guidelines I suggest you follow when vetting a source on YouTube or any source of information:   Has this person written articles that have been published in an Academic Journal? If they claim to have a PhD can you find a public copy of their dissertation online or in the conferring University’s dissertation repository? All accredited Universities are required to make Thesis and Dissertations publicly available. Can they cite the sources for the information they are presenting? Here is another tip: No one person knows everything. If someone skips around from discipline to discipline giving answers I would question them.