Dr. Phil Fernandes is the president of the Institute of Biblical Defense, which he founded in 1990 to teach Christians how to defend the Christian Faith. He is also the pastor of Trinity Bible Fellowship in Bremerton, Washington, and teaches philosophy, world religions, and apologetics for King's West High School, Columbia Evangelical Seminary, and the Imago Dei Institute (formerly Cascade Bible College).
Fernandes has earned the following degrees: a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from Greenwich University, a Master of Arts in Religion from Liberty University, and a Master of Theology from Columbia Evangelical Seminary. Fernandes has debated some of America's leading atheists (i.e., Dr. Michael Martin of Boston University, Jeff Lowder, and Dan Barker). He has lectured and debated in defense of the Christian world view at some of America's leading universities: Princeton, the University of Washington, Oregon State University, and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). Fernandes is a member of four professional societies: the Evangelical Theological Society, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the International Society of Christian Apologetics, and the Society of Christian Philosophers.
Fernandes is the author of several books: The God Who Sits Enthroned: Evidence for God's Existence; No Other Gods: A Defense of Biblical Christianity; God, Government, and the Road to Tyranny; and Theism vs. Atheism: The Internet Debate (co-authored with Dr. Michael Martin); Contend Earnestly for the Faith: A Survey of Christian Apologetics. Fernandes has also contributed a chapter to The Big Argument: Does God Exist?, edited by John Ashton and Michael Westacott.
Over 1,000 of Dr. Fernandes' sermons, lectures, and debates are available for free audio download from sermonaudio.com, firefighters for Christ, and his website, www.biblicaldefense.org. His sermons, lectures, and debates have been downloaded over two million times in over 80 countries throughout the world.
Dr. Fernandes honorably served his country in the United States Marine Corps from 1980 to 1983. Dr. Fernandes and his wife Cathy reside in Bremerton, WA. They have two grown daughters and three grandsons.