Apologetics Final WCBC (England)

Subjective Statement

Not universally true

Can't be proven

Based on belief

Objective Statement

Either true or false

Often can be proven

Based on facts

Why We Need Apologetics

1. Reason demands it; rational faith

2. People need it

3. God commands us

Law of Noncontradiction

A statement cannot be both true and false.

Cosmological Argument

Cause and effect

Teleological Argument

Argument from design

Moral (Anthropological) Argument:

Objective moral values

Kalam Argument

Everything that begins to exist has a cause

The universe began to exist = The universe has a cause

Atheism

There is no God

Agnosticism

the belief that God's existence cannot be known

Deism

God exist but He is no longer involved

Pantheism

God is the universe and the universe is God

Polytheism

Many gods

Humanism

Humans are able to solve all their problems themselves

Monotheism

There is one true eternal being who created and sustains the universe

What is a Miracle?

God using special causes to validate the message and God's messenger.

Spinoza (Arguments against miracles)

Violations of Natural Law

Nat. Laws are immutable

Impossible to violate

Therefore miracles are impossible

Hume (Arguments against miracles)

Miracles, if they occur, would be a violation of Nat. Law

Evidence for a miracle will always be less than evidence against one

MIRACLES NEVER SHOULD BE BELIEVED

Wise man always believes what is supported by the most evidence (Wise man will never believe in a miracle)

Early Writing: The Temple (Essay Question)

1. None of the Gospels mention the destruction of the Temple (destroyed by Titus)

2. Jesus prophesied about the destruction of the Temple (Luke 21:6, Matthew 24:1, Mark 13:1)

3. Luke doesn't record in Acts:

Death of James (71 AD)

Death of Paul (64 AD)

Persecution of Nero (64 AD)

Death of Peter (65 AD)

4. Hebrews was written when the temple was still in operation (Heb. 7:27, Heb. 5:1-3)

5. James, written by the brother of Jesus (61 AD)

Christians still met in synagogue before they were kicked out by Jews

Early Writings: Embarrassing Details (Essay Question)

1. Women found the tomb

2. Disciples don't get Christ's prophecies concerning the resurrection, though the high priest did

3. Church started in Jerusalem, the last place one would have expected it to if a fraud

Internal Evidence: Prophecies (1)

Prophecies must be made before the event prophesied.

Internal Evidence: Prophecies (2)

The people who fulfill prophecies must either be unaware or in circumstances out of their control

Internal Evidence: Prophecies (3)

Prophecies must be specific. True Prophecies would likely contain names, places, and times

According to Dr. Hugh Ross:

the Bible contains about 2,500 prophecies and 2,000 have been fulfilled

Fulfilled Prophecy

Old Testament prophets were required to have 100% accuracy in what they prophesied

Deut 18:22

Term: Revelation

God giving that which is previously unknown or unknowable

Inspiration

God recording His Word through human writers

Preservation

God kept His Word

Illumination

God clarifies His Word

Translation

God uses man to render his word

Canonization

God's people recognize the Word

Autograph

Original writing

require: inspiration

Manuscript

A hand-written copy

requires: copying

Text

A collated, edited ext that is published

requires: textual criticism

Version

A modern language rendering

requires: translation

Alexandrian

Critical text

Less part of manuscripts

Assumed to be older than Byzantine

Western

Minority of early texts

Often grouped with Byzantine

Byzantine Family

Majority of the manuscripts

Most are later (after 1,000 AD)

Almost 5,000 doc

Formal Equivalency

an approach that seeks to express in English the meaning of the Greek words

*direct translation*

Dynamic Equivalency

an approach that seeks to express the meaning of the passage in English

*interpretation*

Trilemma of Jesus

Jesus claimed to be God (John 8:58) → wasn't true → liar or lunatic

→ was true → Lord (as he claimed he was)

Swoon/ Resuscitation Theory (Essay)

Ex. Jesus didn't actually die on the cross, he just fainted

Proof: sealed inside the tomb

water and blood came out of his pierced side

Romans were "pro killers" and was declared dead by centurions

Impersonation of Christ Theory (Essay)

Ex. Someone was impersonating him after he died

Proof: seen by 500 people

still had scars of nails and side

there is still a body in the tomb

why impersonate someone who was just executed ascension of Christ

Theft Theory

(Essay)

Ex. Jesus' body was taken by the disciples

Proof: how could the disciples move the stone? They were hiding in the Upper Room

How did they get past the Roman guards

if disciples stole the body, why did they die for that lie?

None of them denied it to save their lives (disciples all died separated and alone)

there were eyewitnesses when he came to see them

disciples saw the grave clothes, but why would they leave the grave clothes?

Hallucination Theory (Essay)

Ex. They thought they saw Jesus (from shock)

Proof: 500 witnesses saw him at one time

The Wrong Tomb Theory (Essay)

Ex. The women/disciples went to the wrong tomb

Proof: there are guards at the tomb

graves clothes evidence that it was the right tomb

Jesus was important to them so they wouldn't forget

angels were there

Spiritual Resurrection (Essay)

Ex. Jesus spiritually rose from the dead, not physically

Proofs: seen by 500 people

scars in his hands and sides

Problem of Evil Essay questions

1.The absence of good-There is so much evil in this world how .

2.Necessity of experience-Suffering in this world has a bigger benefit for example if your foot was numb, you couldn't feel it therefore you could break it and not know if you didn't feel the pain.

3. Man's free will -God didn't create evil, but He did create the possibility of evil when He created free will . Example wrecked ford car: ford didn't create a damaged car, when it was created it was perfect-same with God , when He created us, He made us perfect in His image .

Which statement is the best description of apologetics?

The systematic defense of the Christian faith

Which of the following verses tell us to be able to convince a skeptic (or "gainsayer").

Titus 1:9

Which statement was affirmed in class?

Christianity is objective, and therefore its truth applies to all people in the world

Who argued that miracles should always be rejected because a wise person will only believe in proportion to the evidence, and the evidence for a miracle will always be slight.

David Hume

Which reference does NOT discuss the purpose of miracles and signs?

Luke 24:44

A (n)______________ copy of a true account is true.

Accurate

God often uses miracles to verify His ________ and _______.

Messages and Messengers

Give three examples of scientific accuracy in the Bible. Include references.

Stars are Innumerable: Jeremiah 33:22

God hangs the world on nothing: Job 26:7

The world is a sphere: Isaiah 40:22

shorter reding

more difficult reading

oldest manuscripts 

Wescott-Hort textual criticism

black obelisk records existence of Jehu— 2 kings 10;31, “Jehu is named and attested as paying tribute to Shalmaneser III”; 

ossuary of Caiaphas: a box made of limestone and stored bones, proved the existence of Caipahs the priest 

Archeological evidence for the accuracy of the Scripture

Thallus

wrote about darkness happening during Christ’s death

Josephus

he wrote about Jesus, his crucifixion, and his followers, the Christians. Josephus noted that Jesus was a wise man, a teacher, and that he was crucified by Pontius Pilate. He also mentioned that Jesus's followers did not abandon him after his death and that he appeared to them on the third day, as prophets had foretold

1 cor 15

tells o fbeing dedicated to the resurrection

: The convergence of internal claims, historical silence on major events post-70 AD, early citations by church leaders, and consistency with known first-century contexts strongly supports the view that the New Testament was written within a generation (approx. 20–40 years) of Jesus’ life, while many eyewitnesses were still alive.

Articulate your reason for believing that the New Testament was written within a generation of the eye witnesses who saw them.

were NT written during eyewitnesses

The NT was written in the lifespan of the eyewitnesses 

Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple in Luke 21:6, Matthew 24:1, Mark 13:1

arguments for the early writing of the NT

• 70 AD temple falling prophecy

• quotations for early church fathers

  • Ignatius quoted matthew, and he did in 115 AD, probably was written between 50 and 70 AD 

  • Matthew had to have been written before 115 AD to have been quoted by Ignatius 

• Mark was not one of the original disciples of Christ but was Peter’s protege. often considered the earliest  

• Nero’s persecution of the church was not in the Nero 

• james the brother of Jesus, died in 61 AD

Early writing: The temple

•   Mark was not one of the original disciples of Christ, but was in fact Peter's protégé. Often considered the earliest.

•   Luke was written before Acts. Acts does not include

•   Death of James 61 AD

•   Death of Paul in 64 AD

•   Persecution of Nero in 64 AD
  Death of Peter 65 AD

•   Hebrews speaks of the temple offerings in the present tense (Hebrews 5:1-3; 7:27)

• James, written by the brother of Jesus, died in 61 AD

• embarrassing testimony

  • disciples didn’t get Christ’s prophecies concerning the resurrecton, though high priest did

  • women found the tomb

  • church started in jerusalem, the last place one would have expeected it to if a fraud 

• internal evidence

• prophecy must be specific