DO Y OU OU R EALLY K NOW W HAT Y OU OU B ELIEVE? A ND DO Y OU OU K NOW W HY ? .
C HRISTIAN HRISTIAN APOLOGETICS AND R ESOURCE ESOURCE G UIDE UIDE
HUGO SCHRAER 2015
[email protected] 1
WARNING!! If you are a Christian student and planning to go to college, statistics indicate that you have a 70% probability of abandoning your Christian beliefs! And that’s before you finish your freshmen freshmen year! If you are not planning on going to college, you still have a 61% probability of abandoning your Christian beliefs after high school.
Statistics show that of the Christian students who go to college, 70% will abandon their Christian beliefs before before the end of their freshmen year. With this high percentage, do you think that most youth groups and churches are preparing their students for the challenges to their student’s beliefs, which they will face after high school? If you are a Christian and you want to have a greater probability of being part of the 30%, and be prepared for many of the challenges of college, keep reading. If you are not a Christian and you wonder if there really is evidence for Christianity, please read on.
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T ABLE ABLE OF C ONTENTS ONTENTS WHY THIS RESOURCE GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1. SELF-CHECK - HOW GOOD ARE YOU? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2. WORLDVIEW AND PHILOSOPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 WORLDVIEWS AND COLLEGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 3. CHALLENGING STATEMENTS FOR CHRISTIANS . . . . . . . . 45 THERE IS NO TRUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 CHRISTIANS NEED TO STOP BEING INTOLERANT . . . . . . . . . 52 ALL ROADS LEAD TO GOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 YOU SHOULDN'T JUDGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 CHRISTIANS ARE HYPOCRITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 SCIENCE IS THE ONLY W AY WE C AN KNOW REALITY . . . . . . 64 H AS ANYONE SEEN OR HEARD GOD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD AND ISN’T WORTHY OF WORSHIP . 66 CHRISTIANITY IS JUST A CRUTCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 BELIEFS ARE DUE TO CULTURE AND GEOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . 69 IF I DON'T ACCEPT JESUS WILL I GO TO HELL? . . . . . . . . . . 71 If God Is All Powerful, Can He Make A Rock So Big . . . . . 72 JESUS IS A COPY C AT S AVIOR and CHRISTIANITY IS A COPY C AT RELIGION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 THE BIBLE IS DEROGATORY TO WOMEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 THE BIBLE PROMOTES SLAVERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 REVISIONIST HISTORY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 4. APOLOGETICS (To Make A Defense For) . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 REASONS TO LEARN EVIDENCES FOR CHRISTIANITY . . . . . . 97 5. EVIDENCES FOR CHRISTIANITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 TRUTH – ICE CREAM OR INSULIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 GOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 GOD, EVIL, AND P AIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 C AN EVOLUTION EXPLAIN MORALS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 WHO CREATED GOD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 THE BIBLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 PROPHETIC EVIDENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 ANUSCRIPT EVIDENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 M ANUSCRIPT SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 WHAT ABOUT CLAIMED SCIENTIFIC ERRORS IN THE BIBLE? 149 A CHALLENGE TO THE BIBLE FROM WITHIN . . . . . . . . . . 150 JESUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 THE TRINITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
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6. HAS CHRISTIANITY BENEFITED THE WORLD? . . . . . . . . 170 WHAT ABOUT THE CRUSADES, WITCH TRIALS, INQUISITIONS? 174 7. SHARING THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 THE WAY OF THE MASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 TACTICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 I CAN'T BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO WOULD CREATE ME KNOWING I WOULD SIN, AND THEN HOLD ME GUILTY . . . . 194 WHAT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES FROM OTHER RELIGIONS? . 201
MORMONISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 JEHOVAH’S WITNESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 ISLAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 WICCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
8. SALVATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 WHY IS SALVATION NECESSARY? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 WHY CAN’T GOD JUST FORGIVE OUR SIN WHY DOES THERE NEED TO BE A PRICE FOR SIN? . . . . . . . 246 IS SIN REALLY THAT BAD, AND WHY DOES GOD HATE IT? . . . . . . 247 DOES EVERYONE NEED SALVATION? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 WHY DID GOD CREATE US IF HE KNEW THAT OUR SIN WOULD REQUIRE JESUS CHRIST’S DEATH? . . . . . . . . . . . 248 DOES GOD WANT EVERYONE TO BE SAVED?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 H AS CHRIST PROVIDED THE OPPORTUNITY OF SALVATION TO EVERYONE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 T HAT GOD THINKS US RIGHTEOUS? . 250 C AN WE BE GOOD ENOUGH THAT IF I’M GUILTY OF SIN, WHAT PUNISHMENT DO I DESERVE? . . . . . 251 IF JESUS PAID FOR MY SIN AND MY GOOD WORKS DON’T COUNT, WHY DO I NEED TO BE GOOD AND DO GOOD WORKS? . . . . 252 C AN I REALLY KNOW I’M SAVED, AND CAN I LOOSE MY SALVATION IF I REALLY BLOW IT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 DOESN’T GOD WANT ME TO GET MY LIFE ON TRACK FIRST? . . . 254 IF JESUS PAID FOR MY SINS, AREN’T I FORGIVEN EVEN IF I DON’T DECIDE TO ACCEPT HIS GIFT? . . . . . . . . 255 9. RESOURCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 GROWING AS A CHRISTIAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
THE BIBLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 CHURCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 TEMPTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 TITHING AND GIVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 THE TRIBULATION AND END TIMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 ENTERTAINMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 4
MONEY AND FINANCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 LEADING CHRISTIAN SPEAKERS AND THINKERS. . . . . . . . . . 276 TERMINOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 CHRISTIAN APOLOGETIC SITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 APOLOGETICS – DEFENDING THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY . . . 281 Answers to Christianity’s Christianity’s Critics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 FREE ONLINE APOLOGETICS TRAINING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 COMPREHENSIVE SITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 COUNTRY, CULTURE, AND CURRENT EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . 283 CULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 PROPHESY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 SITES WITH AUDIO & VIDEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 SHARING THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 SITES TO GET YOU THINKING DEEPER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 TRUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 WORLDVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
CULTURAL ISSUES CHALLENGING TO CHRISTIANS . . . . . 285 CURRENT GOVERNMENT ACTIONS POTENTIALLY AFFECTING CHRISTIANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 Abortion and Embryonic Embryonic Stem Cell Research Research . . . . . . . . 286 Creation Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 Economics and Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Homosexuality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Modesty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Dating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 Sex Outside of Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 DEFENDING AGAINST PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ASSAULT . . . . . . 311 RECOMMENDED FULL LENGTH VIDEOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312 RECOMMENDED PODCASTS /APPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 LIST OF RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR APOLOGETICS . . . . . . . . 313 SITES WITH BOOKS AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE . . . . . . . . . . 313 ONLINE AUDIO BOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 APOLOGETIC STUDY BIBLE FOR STUDENTS – QUESTIONS . . . . 314 APOLOGETIC STUDY BIBLE - QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
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W HY HY T HIS HIS R ESOURCE ESOURCE G UIDE UIDE This guide was created to provide evidences for the truths of Christianity, and to provide resources so that you can further study the subjects presented. It is my hope that both Christians and non-Christians will benefit from the information contained within this guide. If you are a Christian, this is a resource which will enable you to learn many of the verifiable evidences for the truths of Christianity, as well as learn answers to many of the common questions and challenges to those truths. The earlier warning confirms that most Christian students know few if any of the actual evidences for Christianity. If you are a non-Christian and you are willing to honestly consider the evidences for Christianity, this is a resource which will provide answers to many of the questions you might have. It also provides solid answers to the challenges raised against Christianity, and shows the problems with the challenges. As a resource guide, it is not necessary to read it through from start to finish as you might read a novel. It would be impossible impossible to take in all the information it contains by only reading through it once. The saying that comes to mind is, “It would be like trying to take a drink of water from a fire hose” . You can go to any section you would like to learn (more) about. My purpose in placing the sections in the order they are is that there is a logical progression to the subjects. And similar to learning Math, having a knowledge of earlier sections give greater insight into later sections. For this reason, if you don’t initially read through the subjects in the order they are listed, I recommend that at some point you do go through all of the sections in order. This is particularly true if you are new to studying about the truths of Christianity. As most students are typically new to a study of these evidences, I highly recommend that your first time reading the information is to go through the sections in the order they are presented. I believe you will get the most out of this guide using this method. Again, 6
don’t hesitate to go to any section that looks interesting to you, or that you are looking for answers in that subject area. When I first thought to create this a few years back, my desire was to provide a resource for high school students at the church my family attends. I wanted to put together kind of an ALL - I N -O NE resource guide for students. Working with high school students for the last 20+ years, I came to realize that time and schedule obligations students are under really impact their ability to attend topic instruction extending over 2 or more weeks. This guide will allow students to more fully investigate the topics included here as their schedules allow, and also keep them from feeling that they missed important information due to their schedules. I have included a number of links throughout this guide, and a large categorized section of links in the back. This will provide you with additional sites for greater depth of study of the topics in this guide. This way you will be able to learn more about the subjects, as well as become more familiar with the persons and organizations providing information on these subjects. This resource guide originally started out the size of a business card with websites on categories of Truth, God, The Bible, and Jesus, so that anyone would be able to research information about these subjects. I realized that I needed to put the subjects into greater context rather than just listing them on a card, so it grew into a small foldout. After a number of additional revisions to add content and clarify sections, it has now grown to its present size. When I first learned of the many different pieces of information and evidences in this guide I was impressed at how effectively they answered many of the questions and challenges presented against Christianity. I came to the realization that others could benefit from this information too. This way, more Christians would be able to answer the questions and challenges raised against Christianity, and non-Christians would have valid reasons to consider the truths of Christianity. The information is in various articles, audio, and video. I have included links to many of these pieces of information, so that you can access them with a simple mouse click. I highly 7
recommend reading, listening to, and viewing as much of the material at these links as you can, because many of the links contain information covering more information than just the subject they are included in. As well, these authors are much more effective at presenting their information. I am sure there are more websites I’ve not discovered providing evidences for Christianity than the ones included in this guide. If you know of others which you feel would be valuable, please email me at the address on the cover. While my original intent was to create a resource for Christian high school students, I realized that students of other ages, as well as non-Christian students and Christian and nonChristian adults might find the information valuable. It is my goal that if you are a Christian, you will find the information useful for gaining confidence in Christian truths and the sharing of those truths. If you are not a Christian, it is my goal that you will find the information useful for honestly considering the evidences for the truths of Christianity. And if those evidences prove Christianity true beyond a reasonable doubt, the implications of that truth to you, and options to consider. I believe these evidences provide significant confirmation to the truths of Christianity. And since OBJECTIVE TRUTHS apply everywhere, these truths apply not only to Christians, but to everyone. And since these truths have implications, these implications apply to everyone as well. It is because of my concern about these implications and what they mean for each person’s eternity, that I feel so strongly about sharing this information with others. If you are planning on attending college the initial 70% W ARNING should be a wake-up call. Of course, whether or not you attend college, your beliefs will be challenged. The challenges to our beliefs are subtle before high school, not so subtle during the high school years, and sometimes quite confrontational after high school, especially in college. If you are a Christian student, I believe these resources will answer questions you may have and eventually will have, and provide answers to challenges you might be faced 8
with. I wish I had known this information when I was a student. Unfortunately, the extensive resources available now weren’t available when I was in high school. If you are not a Christian, thank you for your time in reading this and being willing to consider the information. If this information is true, which I believe can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, there are eternal implications to consider. Ignoring these implications will not make them go away. The many websites listed within this guide will provide you with the resources to investigate each topic in greater depth. They were all active at the time of this writing. If you find a link down, please use the email address on the title page to let me know so that I can update the guide. If you do find a link down, you may be able to locate the resource by performing a search on that site, a web search using key-words, or web search using the title from that link or article. The content may have been moved to a new location on that site. As well, the content may also be available on one or more other sites. Ultimately, any belief system, Christianity included, should be believed or not believed because of the evidence. It shouldn’t be believed because someone wants it to be true, (or not believed because someone wants it to be false for that matter either). If Christianity was put on trial, what would the evidence prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” ? That is what we will consider here. I am indebted to the teachers and philosophers listed throughout this guide, who have made many of their resources available for free on their site and the sites of others, and are also listed throughout this guide. Their resources have provided a tremendous self-education opportunity in all of these topics, for myself and so many others. I hope you take advantage of them. If you find the resources of these ministries to be a benefit to you, I encourage you to contribute to these ministries. They have made an eternal impact on many, and are enabling others to make an eternal impact as well. This resource guide would not have been 9
possible without the information they and others have generously provided for free, through their websites and the websites of others. Considering this guide to a great degree is a compilation of information from these ministries, and that these ministries have provided so much information freely, there will never be a charge for this guide. This guide is my compilation of the information; but it is their information. You have full permission to share this guide. I’ve created it in PDF format so that it is in a very common format, and also can be easily emailed to others. If you have any suggestions of additional content and/or suggestions to better clarify the information and make it more helpful, please email your suggestions to the email address on the title page. Please also let me know if you have any questions which are not answered by the current content, and if this guide has been helpful to you in your quest for the truth. Thank you! Hugo Schraer Again, this guide is in PDF format. This will allow you to read it on your computer, tablet, and smartphone. If you enable the table of contents/bookmarks feature on your PDF reader, you will be able to quickly access the different sections of the guide. All the links can be clicked to go to the linked webpage if reading on a computer. If reading on your phone or tablet, you will need to manually enter the links into the address bar in your browser. My apologies for any grammar or punctuation mistakes you find. I’ve read and re-read through this guide, but as I am not degreed in English or Literature I’m sure that I’ve missed a number of them. My primary desires have been to provide the information enclosed so that it will strengthen the foundation of Christians, correct many of the common errors believed by non-Christians about Christianity, and bring non-Christians actual evidences showing that Christianity is worth giving serious consideration to. Thank you for looking past any grammar and punctuation errors you find and focusing on the content. Thankfully, the validity of the information isn’t proved nor disproved due to grammar errors I haven’t caught. 10
Introduction Have you ever really thought about what will happen to you after this life? Have you really thought about why you believe what you do about what happens after this life? Many people have beliefs they’ve accepted without ever really checking to see if there are evidences for those beliefs. I remember when I was in high school I didn’t give much thought to the reasons for the beliefs I had, including the beliefs that had to do with what happens after we die. At that time I believed that God would weigh my good works against my bad, and if my good outweighed my bad, I would get to go to heaven. Kind of like G RADING ON THE C URVE . I accepted many of the beliefs I held because I was raised with them. While in high school, I started to think about what I believed, and also the reasons I had to justify what I believed. I wanted the reasons for my beliefs to be more than just because I was raised with them. Since high school, I’ve found evidences which have changed some of my beliefs, especially my belief about going to heaven and my good outweighing my bad. I’ve also found evidences which have reinforced other beliefs. Maybe you have started to think about what you believe, and why. If you haven’t yet started to think about the reasons you believe what you do, I hope the information in this guide will motivate you to consider the importance of what you believe, and to really consider the evidences you have to believe what you believe. If you were already wondering, “Why is what we believe important?” That is a great question! The reason it is important is because most of us live consistent with what we really believe. Beliefs, (or ideas), have consequences, and the consequences of some beliefs can last for all eternity. If the teachings of Christianity about what happens after this life are true, then all of us will spend eternity in one of two places. 11
If there is even the slightest possibility that all of us will go to one of two eternal destinations, isn’t it important to consider the evidence? The major difference between now and back when I was in high school is the Internet. The Internet didn’t exist until about 15 years after I graduated from high school. During my high school years the only place I could go for information was the local library, and that was five miles away. How much more information is available now through the Internet? Imagine not having the Internet till 15 years from now. Where would you go to do research, to find answers to the questions you might have? There are vast numbers of resources available through the Internet, so you don’t have the limitation of only having access to one library, as I had. With the information and links in this guide, you don’t need to go to the library, leave your house, or even your tablet or smart phone. You can access so much more information than was available to me when I was in high school! And more information than I thought would ever be available and so easily accessible. The Internet truly is amazing! With access to so much information though, I see two potential problems. The first is that with this amazing access to so much information it can sometimes be difficult to find specific answers to specific questions. There is a saying that really illustrates this: “It’s like trying to take a drink of water from a fire hydrant”
This is equally true whether the questions are important or not so important. If you’ve not thought about some of the important questions of life or are not quite sure what they are, here are a few examples: W HY AM I HERE ?
W HAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE ?
W HERE DID I COME FROM ? W HERE AM I GOING WHEN I DIE ? I S THERE A G OD ?
I S THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH ?
Have you ever thought about any of these questions? Most people spend more time thinking about a vacation destination than they spend thinking about their eternal destination. Check www.questionsoflife.com 12
The second problem is, how do we know that the information we find is accurate? How can we be sure the information is true? Many people still believe that simply finding information on a website is proof that the information is true. This is confirmed by what some had heard was a new feature of the new iPhone 6, allowing it to be QUICK CHARGED in a microwave in just 90 seconds. A number of new owners didn’t realize the claim was a hoax because the website where they found the claim looked so professional. These owners placed their phones in a microwave to charge the phones. Instead, they ended up destroying their phones. The following is one article bringing attention to this hoax: www.loadthegame.com/2014/09/22/hoaxers-claim-iphone-6-microwavecharging-feature
These are some of the reasons why I created this guide. I want to show why it’s important to consider these important questions of life, present answers to these questions, and provide verifiable evidences for the truths of the answers presented. Answers which go BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT . I want to show evidences for the existence of God, the accuracy and reliability of the Bible, and the significance of the central person of the Bible, Jesus Christ. It is my intention that if you already believe that Christianity is true, the evidences in this guide will provide you with greater confidence in your beliefs and in the truths of Christianity. If you don’t currently believe that Christianity is true, I hope the evidences in this guide will answer some of the questions or challenges you may have had, and give you reasons to seriously consider the truths of Christianity and the implications of these truths. When Greg Koukl of S TAND T O R EASON www.str.org speaks to a non-Christian audience, he tells them that he is not there to try to convert them. He tells them that he wants to “Put a stone in their shoe” , by giving them something to think about. I hope this guide gives you something to think about too. I’m confident that after you’ve read through the information, you will find that Christianity is really worth considering.
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There is a lot of incorrect information about Christianity, and there are many who believe it. I can understand how non-Christians would hold incorrect beliefs and why they would continue to do so, but I was surprised when I found that many Christians believe incorrect information as well. With the information in this guide I hope to correct any misinformation you have come to believe as truth, and also save you from needing to spend long hours researching answers to some of the important questions of life as I once did. I encourage you to verify the Biblical passages and the information I’ve included here, so that you are confident I have included everything accurately and in context. This first section is a S ELF -T EST to see how good you are. Most of us typically see ourselves as GOOD , because we compare ourselves to the world around us. But are we really as good as we think we are? This S ELF -T EST will show us how good we really are when using a standard almost everyone is familiar with, but which most don’t normally use or think about. The second section examines the concept of W ORLDVIEWS . Worldviews are the framework into which we put the evidences we find to validate the beliefs we hold. A person’s beliefs are frequently based more on their worldview than on the evidences. When a person continues to believe a worldview that isn’t supported by evidence, it is primarily because they really want the worldview to be true, and they view the evidences in such a way that they support their belief. The misinformation believed about Christianity often supports their beliefs, and they aren’t motivated to correct the misinformation they believe. If you’ve not heard the term W ORLDVIEW before, this section will describe it and show why it is such an important part of what we believe is true. The third section contains a number of the major claims and statements which challenge the truths of Christianity. An example of one of these claims is, “There is no Truth” . This means that we can’t really know with any confidence that anything is true. The statement infers that if you can’t know anything is true, you can’t know Christianity is true. This statement and others can seem very challenging to the claims of Christianity, if we don’t know how to respond. As you will see though, there are problems with these 14
statements which become obvious once the statements are examined. The statements actually work against themselves rather than Christianity. This section answers many of these challenging statements and claims. The fourth section is called APOLOGETICS . Apologetics means T O PROVIDE A DEFENSE OF OR FOR . When we have a belief, apologetics is the reason BEHIND THE BELIEF , the WHY behind the WHAT . This section shows why it is important to not only know that evidences exist for what we believe, but to know some of the actual evidences as well. The fifth section contains many of the actual evidences for the claims of Christianity. There are some who say that Christianity is built on BLIND FAITH . Essentially, they mean that those who believe the claims of Christianity believe them only because they want to believe them, not because there is any real evidence. This section shows actual evidences supporting the major claims of Christianity. They will also say that C HRISTIANITY CONTRADICTS SCIENCE . This fifth section shows how Christianity is actually verified extremely well by science, and is very compatible. I should clarify the usages of the word F AITH in this guide. Many people have come to believe that having faith is the same as HAVING A HOPE IN WHAT WE KNOW ISN ’T TRUE . They believe that to have faith means to have no evidence, and that the person who has faith is exercising wishful thinking. This isn’t the Biblical definition of the word faith. F AITH , as a verb in the Bible and in this guide, is having
confidence in what you have good reason to believe. If you have faith in what you expect a good friend to do, it is because they’ve proven themselves FAITHFUL in the past. Similarly, a Christian’s FAITH in the future is based upon G OD ’S FAITHFULNESS in the past. The following quotes illustrate this Biblical meaning. Lee Strobel states, "Faith is a step in the direction the evidence already points." J.P. Moreland states, “Faith is trust in what we have reason to believe” . The other meaning for the usage of faith is as a noun, to indicate a person’s religious belief, as in when we say, “They are of the ______ faith.” 15
There is a saying that goes, "The heart cannot accept for long what the mind rejects." Evidences give confidence to the mind, and ultimately to the heart. The challenges made against Christianity can be answered effectively. Many of the evidences in this fifth section will be evidences you’ve possibly not seen before. If you are a Christian, once you have read through these first five sections, you should have a solid foundation for the truths of Christianity. If you don’t currently accept Christianity as true, I hope my presentation of the evidences show Christianity as being worthy of serious consideration. Whatever beliefs you hold, you should have solid evidences for believing them. As to the significance of evidences, whether you are Christian or not, do you really want to believe something not supported by the evidence? And especially concerning the beliefs of what happens after this life, do you really want to base your eternal destination on a belief which is not supported, and possibly proved wrong by the evidence? The sixth section looks into whether Christianity has benefitted the world or not. Can an argument be made for a positive influence of Christianity on the world? And if Christianity has been beneficial to the world, would this enough of a reason for to consider its possible truth? The seventh section will give you a few ideas to motivate others to seriously think about the ideas of how good they are, and where they could spend eternity. Many Christians avoid bringing up the subject of life after death with others. This is usually because they feel they will make the person they are talking with feel uncomfortable, or they think that they themselves will come off looking foolish. The seventh section shows very effective ways to bring up the subject of what comes after this life; with family, friends, and others. And these methods shouldn’t make either of you or the person you’re talking with feel awkward. You will see in this section tools to give you confidence in motivating those you share with to start seriously thinking about life after death, and the consequences of ignoring it. And if those you share with raise challenges, section seven also shows how to respond to many of the typical challenges you are likely to encounter. 16
These sections together provide many evidences for Christianity as well as answers to the main challenges made against Christianity and methods to discuss these subjects with others. The eighth section provides a detailed look at the subject of S ALVATION . I’ve arranged this section in a Q UESTION AND ANSWER form, with many of the questions being ones I’ve heard from others and originally thought myself. I then use verses from the Bible to answer the questions from the Bible’s perspective, and include additional clarifications. This way, you will have as full an understanding of the subject of Salvation as I can think of. The ninth and last section provides numerous websites, covering all of the subjects presented here and many more. There is also a list of leading Christian speakers, authors, and philosophers, as well as their websites, and a list of many terms common to the teachings of Christianity. The information in this section will enable you to research the topics covered in this guide in much greater depth, as well as some of the additional topics found on the different websites and not included in detail here. Considering terminology, when you think about the different areas of knowledge; whether a school subject, a particular sport, or an industry or process, knowing the definitions of the different terms used gives you a greater understanding of that subject area. In Mathematics, there are the QUADRILATERAL EQUATION , BISECTED ANGLE , and PARALLELOGRAM . In Football, there are the CONVERSION , INTERCEPTION , FALSE START , TOUCHBACK , TOUCHDOWN , etc. If you are not familiar with the terminology for a subject you are at a disadvantage in being able to have as complete an understanding of the subject as you do when you have a knowledge of the terminology. As well, don’t you typically enjoy learning about a subject more when you understand the terms specific to that subject? Some of the terms specific to Christianity and evidences are; RELATIVISM , POST MODERNISM , and ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT . I’ve provided a listing of many of them, and definitions for some. 17
Having this knowledge and the links in this guide will give you the ability to search for and learn more about the specific terms. While knowing this terminology is important. It is equally important to realize that many of these terms are likely to confuse a person you are talking with if they don’t know the terms. I touch a little more on this, and some of the concerns in the section, S HARING THE T RUTHS OF C HRISTIANITY . Two specific terms you will see used more than a few times throughout this guide, are ARGUMENT and PROOF . The way ARGUMENT is used here is not as a quarrel or heated disagreement. In this guide these terms are used in the LEGAL sense, similar to a courtroom. In a courtroom, the attorneys present ARGUMENTS about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. They then provide evidence or PROOFS to support their argument. Greg Koukl of www.str.org found this very humorous illustration of this EVIDENCE / PROOF type of argument. Argument Clinic - John Cleese and Michael Palin - Monty Python
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUIA40uLlKw Here are additional sites on evidences and logic: Logical Fallacies www.logicalfallacies.info Fallacy Files www.fallacyfiles.org/taxonomy.html Fallacy Detective http://christianlogic.com Straight Thinking www.reasons.org/explore/type/straight-thinking I think the most accurate way to view this guide, is to view it as a TOOLBOX and the different materials and methods as TOOLS . My desire is not only that you know that tools exist, but also that you are able to gain a proficiency with the various tools. This way you can be encouraged in what you believe as a Christian, be able to share these truths effectively with others and also be able to defend against challenges to what you believe. Think about taking tests in school. When was the last time you enjoyed taking a pop-quiz or looked forward to a test or a final? If you weren’t confident in your knowledge of the subject, you probably weren’t very excited. But what if you had studied well and 18
had confidence in your knowledge, you might have actually looked forward to taking the quiz. Knowledge gives us confidence! When you are prepared, you do well. The same is true with questions about and challenges to Christianity. When you are prepared to respond to questions and challenges raised against Christianity, you can effectively respond to those challenges, and respond in a way that is respectful of the other person and not insulting to them. There is a great military quote in this regard: “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle” . William Lane Craig indicates that being prepared allows you to never worry about getting upset when challenged. What he has found is that when you know the answer, you can remain calm in a discussion. As an example, if someone claimed that 2+2=5, you wouldn’t get upset because you know the truth. Greg Koukl says, “When talking with someone, if either of you get upset, you lose. If they get upset, you lose. If you get upset, you lose.” While this guide has many tools and links to tools, you will need to invest time if you want to learn to use them and become proficient with them. Hopefully you will become excited once you see their effectiveness, and be motivated to learn them. As with learning anything, once you start to use these tools you will become much more comfortable in their usage and confident in presenting them effectively. Please realize that it has taken more than a few years to discover these TOOLS so don’t feel discouraged that you would need to learn them in a short period of time. If I can encourage you, I still feel I have a much better knowledge of these tools than I have a proficiency in their usage. Whatever our ability, we can all strive to become more proficient in everything we do. With greater usage of these tools comes greater proficiency. Even the speakers I’ve reference in this guide continue to pursue learning, even though many of them have Masters and Doctorate degrees. In different speaker’s recordings, I periodically hear the speaker reference something they are studying or learning. If you are a Christian, learning should be a lifestyle and not just a short term goal. One professor I reference throughout this guide is 19
Jay Wegter. In his audio recordings he describes initiating conversations with others so that he can motivate them to think about eternal matters and answer challenges they might have. His accounts don’t give the impression that he is hesitant when approaching others. It is natural for us to have feelings of hesitation when thinking of talking with others about these subjects. However, with specific knowledge and practice, the prospect of talking with someone about these subjects becomes far less intimidating. It certainly sounds this way for Jay Wegter. I believe the thought that motivates Jay above all others, and is what excites him about speaking with others, is that he realizes that God has placed him there at that moment in that encounter with this other person. Jay knows that he might be the last person God uses to bring this person to the point of thinking about where they might spend eternity. One of the things you can do to improve your knowledge and confidence, is to read and re-read sections in this guide. As this guide is more a reference guide and not a novel you read through once, you will find value in reviewing sections you’ve not yet become proficient in. Hopefully, with the table of contents and the web links being clickable, you will be able to quickly go to any section and/or access any web content linked. When you think about a vehicle technician, they have tools which allow them to perform different services. Depending on the service, they will use specific tools. No one service requires the usage of all the tools, however, the more tools they have and are able to use effectively, the greater their ability to perform a wider range of services. Similarly, each conversation we have with someone will typically only require knowledge of a few of the tools. Each situation is different though and the more proficiency you gain with the tools in this guide, the greater the number of situations you will be confident and capable in. Whatever your passion, (playing a particular sport or instrument, a game console, drawing, cooking or another), didn’t it take determination and a time investment to become proficient at that ability? Just as an investment of time is required to improve 20
any ability we have, to learn and become proficient in the usage of the tools in this guide will require determination and a time investment. There is no getting around the fact that some effort is required to become better in anything we do. In the end though, isn’t the investment of time learning these tools worth it, when you realize that you might make a difference in someone’s life and their eternal destination? Even becoming proficient with the tools in this guide, you will still encounter scenarios where you are presented with a question or challenge with which you haven’t yet learned how to respond. This does happen as it is difficult to think of all possible questions, objections, and ways they will be presented. As Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason (www.str.org) says, “It’s OK not to know the answer to a question you haven’t been asked before. However, it’s NOT OK to not know the answer the second time you are asked.” Greg’s encouragement is that you learn the answer so that you are prepared to effectively respond the next time you are asked that question. Check out the T ACTICS section for some great information on this. I hope your desire is to be involved in an effort which has an eternal impact and results in eternal rewards, and I hope this TOOLBOX becomes an aide to your efforts. I believe the following quote effectively illustrates this point concerning what we decide is worthy of our efforts, "Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last." CT Studd.
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1. SELF-CHECK - How Good Are You? “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” - John Wooden “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” - John Wooden How would you respond to the following?
How good are you? How would you feel if your most secret thoughts became public knowledge? What will people remember about you after this life? _______________________
I’ve placed this S ELF -C HECK section at the beginning of the guide because I believe that going through this section will put the information in the following sections into proper context. Most people think they are pretty good. You do, don’t you? I know I used to. Don’t we feel this way because we compare ourselves to others who we view as worse than we are? If we look at history or even just the evening news we can see numerous examples of people who are worse than we are. Doesn’t comparing our lives to them makes us feel much better about ourselves and give us confidence that we really are pretty GOOD ? But what if the standard for GOOD is not just being better than those we consider worse than we are? What if the standard for GOOD is to live a perfect life? How GOOD would we be then? If your standard isn’t PERFECTION , then how good do you think we really need to be? What is your standard for GOOD , and have you actually been able to keep your own standard, which you have determined? 22
Think about the possibility of Heaven. If there is a Heaven would we be considered good enough to enter? If you are not a Christian, you may not believe Heaven exists. But let’s for a moment consider the possibility that Heaven might actually exist. Since most people are familiar with the Ten Commandments, let’s use them as the standard of good. Would we meet the standard? Ask yourself, “Have I obeyed all of the Ten Commandments?” When asked, most people say, “Well, I’ve broken one or two, but nothing too serious, like murder, etc.” That is how I used to answer the question. So let’s go through a few of the Commandments and see how we do. Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”. To “Bear false witness” is the legal terminology for
telling a lie about someone. Have you ever told a lie about someone, even a small one? Have you ever lied to someone when talking about yourself, your abilities, what you promised to do, etc.? How many murders does one have to commit to be a murderer? Just one, right? So telling one lie makes one guilty of lying. The Bible warns that all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8). If you’ve told even one lie, what does that make you? That makes you a liar, right? Guess what? Me too. Exodus 20:15 "You shall not steal" Have you ever stolen
anything, even if it was very small? The value of the thing stolen doesn't matter, does it? Petty theft is still theft. Have you ever taken something that belonged to someone else; taken from work, from school, from your parents, etc.? Have you ever download music, movies, or software without paying for them? If you have ever stolen anything, what does that make you? That makes you a thief, right? Guess what? I’m guilty of that one also. Exodus 20:12 "You shall not commit adultery" Jesus warned, "You have heard... 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." The Bible mentions both
adulterers and fornicators, (those who have had sex before marriage), as being in the same dilemma. Have you ever looked at 23
another person with lust? Then what does that make you? You are an adulterer, right? And yes, I’m guilty of this one also. If we are honest we have to admit that we have broken all three of these commandments. In breaking just these three, by definition WE ARE LYING THIEVING ADULTERERS AT HEART . If God were to judge us, would he find us innocent or guilty? I know I would be found guilty. What if we looked at how successful we’ve been in obeying the other seven commandments? Would this help us? If you’re like me, then no. Most of us have broken almost all of them too, because the Bible indicates that we are not only guilty because of our actions, but also guilty because of our motivations. You may not use the Ten Commandments as your standard for GOOD . If not, that’s fine. What is your standard then? How do you want others to treat you? Don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t murder, etc.? Hmmm, those standards are pretty similar to the Ten Commandments, aren’t they? Jay Wegter proposes a scenario to think about. He asks, “Could you claim to love and care for one of your friends, and at the same time hate them in your heart, slander them, steal from them, lie to them, treat them as a sex object, and plan their murder?” Of course you can’t. You know that it’s impossible to claim that you love and care for your friend, and do the other things to them too. Right? Now think about this. Do you know you can’t do this because someone told you, or do you know it instinctively? You don’t need to be told, do you? Jay Wegter points out that the big surprise about this question is that if you look at it closer, you will see that six of the Ten Commandments are referenced in it. Surprised? When you really think about this, you know these things instinctively. Deep down don’t you want others to live by these commandments, at least in how they treat you? When you consider the above scenario wouldn’t it be fair to conclude that even if you are not a Christian, you really do consider the Ten Commandments a beneficial standard which we could all benefit from following? 24
Something else to think about, if you have determined your own standard of good for your life. Have you ever truly lived up to that standard, 100%, every single day? You see, whichever the standard for good, even when it is a standard we create for ourselves, we can’t live up to it 100%. As much as we want to, we can’t be good enough. Is that surprising? It’s not surprising to God. The Bible indicates that God knows that we can’t be good enough. Romans 3:20 states, “No one can be found innocent by obeying the law. The law was given to show us how sinful we are.” Many believe that the closer they live up to the standards in the Bible, the closer they are to going to heaven. According to the Bible, this verse shows that our efforts will never make us good enough. The second part of Romans 3:20 actually shows the purpose of the law: “The law was given to show us how sinful we are.” Many people mistakenly treat the Bible as a standard to try to live up to, to establish how good they are. So, one of the purposes of the Bible is not to show us how good we need to be but actually to show us how bad we already are. If you think of a mirror, when you look into it, are you looking to see how perfect your appearance is or are you looking to see what in your appearance needs improvement? What needs improvement, right? The law is similar to the mirror in that it shows us our true sinful condition. The difference is that unlike our appearance in the mirror, we can’t change our sinful condition. A quote I heard some years ago shows the reality of sin and how appealing it can seem, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
Consider Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God" . Romans 6:23 states, “The wages of sin is death”. These two verses show how widespread sin is, ALL HAVE SINNED , and also what we earn for our sin, DEATH . What do you think of when you hear the word WAGES ? Aren’t wages what we earn for what we do? DEATH is separation 25
from God forever. So, being guilty of sin, the WAGES we have all EARNED is eternal separation from God forever. Since God is everywhere but hell, HELL is the only place we can go to be separated from him. We have a big problem, don’t we? If hell is what we deserve then what hope do we have? The second part of Romans 6:23 actually shows us, “. but the gift of God, is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord”. Think about the phrase, “The gift of God”. Can we earn a gift? No. A gift is something that can only be given or received. We can’t earn it, only accept it. Think about the last person you gave a gift to. If while you were giving it to them they tried to pay you for it, would you consider their attempt to pay you a compliment or an insult? An insult, right? I know I would consider it an insult. John 3:16 states “For God so loved the world, that he GAVE HIS ONLY SON , that whoever believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life.” To believe in Jesus means; to believe Jesus is God, believe what He said about our sinfulness, believe how He said we need to live, and to accept THE GIFT of His payment for our sin by His dying on the cross. If we try to earn this gift offered by God, we insult God. Jesus paid the penalty we deserve, and if we “Believe on Him” (accept His gift of paying for our sin by dying on the cross, which we can’t earn, and then turn away from our sin), we will be saved from that separation! When we try to EARN our salvation, we are essentially telling God that Jesus’ death on the cross wasn’t enough, and that we need to do something to EARN it. Essentially, this is like us trying to PAY God for his gift, and also telling him the gift He provided is not quite enough. We’re telling him that we need to do something more. Can you see how insulting this is to God? When you’ve given a gift to someone, if they responded with, “Oh, I was really hoping for something more” , would you feel complimented or insulted? Again, some believe that the commands in the Bible are a list of the standards we need to meet to go to heaven. And again, Romans 3:20 states: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we 26
become conscious of our sin.” The LAW is not something to achieve, it is the mirror we hold up to our lives which shows us our true condition according to God’s standard.
God has indicated that none of us are good enough, nor can we be, because we are not qualified to pay the sin debt we owe. He is the only one qualified to pay our debt. His payment is based solely on our acceptance of it. It is not dependent on how good we are, how intelligent, how capable, how much money we have, how much power, etc. His gift is freely available to all, regardless of what we have to offer, so that everyone can freely choose to receive it. This is because Jesus is God, and He is qualified to pay our debt. He did it all. So, the question we must answer is, “Is this true?” Are the claims of Christianity true? If they are not true, then none of this matters at all. You may be reading this truly believing that it isn’t true. Is there any possibility that you could you be wrong? If there is even the slightest chance that Heaven and hell exist and that Christianity is true, and that Jesus actually died to pay the penalty for the sin we commit, isn’t it worth investing a little time to consider the evidences and their implications? You might be asking the same question of me. Is it possible that I could be wrong? I would certainly answer “Yes” . I fully admit that there is the possibility I could be wrong. You may wonder then, “Why would I try to persuade others about a belief which could be wrong?” That would be a very fair question, and one I’ve asked myself over time. The answer I keep coming back to is that the evidences confirming the truths of Christianity, God, Jesus, and the Bible are so overwhelming compared to any evidences proposed against them. If there was a belief other than Christianity which better fit the available evidences, I certainly would change to that belief. It is because of my focus on what the evidences prove that I accept Christianity. So the question is, “Can a case be made in support of Christianity’s claims, and are you willing to invest some time to consider such a case?” Rather than make a decision based on what people hope is true, let’s consider evidences which can be 27
verified. Before we do, I want to clarify some misunderstandings many have, and illustrate a reality of BELIEF and TRUTH . Some BELIEVE there is nothing after this life, some BELIEVE in reincarnation, and still others BELIEVE everyone will go to either heaven or hell when they die. Obviously, the TRUTH is that only one of these beliefs can be TRUE . Think about it, if there is nothing after this life, then there can’t be a heaven or hell. Right? If reincarnation is true then there is something after this life, but it isn’t heaven or hell. And if heaven and hell actually exist as indicated in the Bible, then the other two options are false. If false, then the years spent here are only a brief moment compared to an existence lasting all of eternity. Again, if the existence of heaven and hell are a possibility, shouldn’t we spend just a little time considering the evidences for this possibility? And, if the evidences are convincing, shouldn’t we then consider what determines each destination, and then, which destination we are likely to go? On the TV game show D EAL OR NO D EAL , people would jump up and down, scream and strain, seemingly convinced their EFFORT would result in a particular dollar amount in the case. Ultimately, did it really matter how much the contestant jumped or screamed to try to change the amount that was in a case? Their efforts made for good TV, but had no effect on the contents of the cases. What was in each case WAS what was in each case. In the same way, whichever belief about the afterlife is true, it is TRUE regardless of how strongly we believe it or how popular or not that belief is. Also, any belief other than what is TRUE is automatically false. If there is nothing after this life, than there is no eternity in heaven or hell. However, if there is a heaven or hell, it doesn’t matter how much one might want to believe that there isn’t. Some state, “There is no truth” . But think about the statement. The person making the statement it is essentially stating the TRUTH that THERE IS NO TRUTH . The statement contradicts itself, and therefore can’t possibly be true. As such this contradiction proves that truth does in fact exist, and since Truth exists we can discover whether some things are true, and others false.
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If we think about our lives, there are many truths we deal with every single day; that I did or didn’t study enough the test more, the actual time we woke up, that it is day or night, etc. Since truth exists, we can evaluate ideas and beliefs as to whether they are true or not. We can evaluate the truthfulness of the different beliefs that people hold. It is good to remember that two or more contradictory beliefs cannot all be true. Of two or more contradictory beliefs, only one can be true. Whether you are a Christian or not, I encourage you to read and consider the 44 questions at the following link. They will start to give you a little insight into the evidences in support of Christianity, and if you don’t currently accept Christianity as true, possibly some things you may not have considered. Greg Koukl of S TAND T O R EASON www.str.org mentions that the evidences supporting Christianity are the reasons he believes it, not that he likes everything about Christianity. He says that if he were to choose a belief based upon what he liked he would choose something different, because Christianity is inconvenient at times. Greg adds thought that he doesn’t get to change what is true just because he doesn’t like some things about that truth. Greg said that if the evidence proves Christianity to be true, he has no choice but to accept it. After examining the evidences for Christianity in this guide, I believe you will see the great truthfulness of Christianity as compared to any other belief system. 44 Questions for the Not-Yet-a-Believer http://christiananswers.net/q-aiia/questions-forskeptics.html
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2. WORLDVIEW and PHYLOSOPHY "The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates “Most critics are not well-equipped to defend their own faith. They have rarely thought through what they believe and have relied more on generalizations and slogans than on careful reflection.” Francis J. Beckwith How would you respond to the following? W HY AM I HERE ?
W HAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE ?
W HERE DID I COME FROM ? W HERE AM I GOING WHEN I DIE ? I S THERE A G OD ?
I S THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH ?
____________________
If you are not familiar with the term W ORLDVIEW , it is simply the way a person VIEWS THE WORLD . A worldview the collection of ideas which frame how a person considers what is true about the world. It is not always based upon good evidences. www.thefreedictionary.com gives the following definition: WORLDVIEW: “A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group”. I’ve included this section so that you can gain an understanding as to why people usually accept the beliefs and ideas that they do. Considering the reasons why people believe what they believe, and that a person’s worldview is such an influence to their beliefs and ideas, I believe this is one of the most important sections in this guide. You might find it surprising that the beliefs many people have are as much determined by how they view the world as they are determined by the evidence. Another word having similar meaning to WORLDVIEW is PHILOSOPHY , or way of thinking. www.thefreedictionary.com gives two of the definitions for philosophy as: “A personal outlook or viewpoint.” “Any system of beliefs, values, or tenets.” 30
A good phrase to become familiar with is, “Ideas have consequences” . Ideas throughout history have caused great good or great harm to persons affected by those ideas. Two belief systems which clearly show this are Nazism and true Christianity. One of the ideas of Nazism was the elimination of inferior peoples and the creation of a super race. A few of the ideas of Christianity are to “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” . One has killed 12 million people, and the other has transformed the world for the last 2 thousand years. Can you see how ideas are important and why some ideas should be argued against, and others promoted? This could be why the Bible emphasizes that we be careful as to what ideas we decide to adopt. Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit , according to human tradition , according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Everyone has a worldview, even if they don’t realize that they have one. Yes, that goes for you and me as well. What may surprise you is that every movie, every TV program, every commercial, every book, and every song promote a worldview. The goal is to determine which worldview is being promoted and what that worldview indicates as valuable. A Lexus commercial aired some years back showed a Lexus pulling into a driveway. Toward the end of the commercial, there was a voice which made the statement, “On the road to success, let your neighbors know that you’ve arrived ahead of schedule” . In this commercial, the worldview presented was that success is shown by owning a particular car. There is a song titled I T ’S ALL ABOUT T HE B ENJAMINS (a reference to $100 bills). The worldview presented is that success is shown by how much money you have. How many messages like these can you find in what you watch and hear? Then think about how these messages compare to the idea of success indicated by the Bible. 31
Worldview 101: Why It Matters www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-keXVCla1M Answering Four Questions www.youtube.com/watch?v=2olRR3zu4TY
Each person’s worldview is one of the most significant factors in the major decisions they make and how they live their lives. To illustrate this, think about just two different worldviews. Atheism and Christianity. Atheism is the belief that there is no God, and Christianity is the belief that there is a God; a God who has communicated an absolute standard for right and wrong, who knows everything we do or think, and we are accountable to this God for our thoughts and actions. Can you think of the logical consequences of these two worldviews? With Christianity; there is a God and an eternal destination after this life and there is an ultimate judgment or reward after this life. The logical result is that this belief that this God of the Bible exists makes a difference as to how we live our lives as Christians. If you are a Christian, does your belief in the existence of God make a difference in your life? If it doesn’t, you are calling yourself a Christian, but not living as a Christian according to a Christian worldview. With Atheism, there is no God and nothing after this life. Since there is no God there is no absolute standard for what is RIGHT or WRONG , no ultimate judgment or reward. The logical consequence is that it really doesn’t matter how we live our lives. Doing good or bad, also called MORALITY , makes no ultimate difference, because there is no ultimate purpose for our lives anyway. Now, I didn’t say that all Atheists live this way. In fact, most Atheists live very moral lives. It could be argued that many Atheists live more moral lives than many Christians. However, without God there can be no absolute standard for good or evil, right or wrong. Without an absolute standard, nothing can be considered good or evil. Without an absolute standard, what is the basis for good and evil in Atheism? There has to be a standard of heat before we can 32
say what cold is, a standard of light before we can say what dark is, and a standard of good before we can say what evil is. This LOGICAL CONCLUSION of Atheism has existed for many years as a challenge to evolution and Atheism, because there is no explanation of the existence of morality. When you think about it, we know that there are RIGHT and WRONG or GOOD and BAD motivations, and we know without being taught. The existence of right and wrong is evidenced by most Atheists living consistent with a moral standard they have decided. The death of an attacker by one protecting the one who is being attacked is a motivation to do GOOD , while the death of someone through the pre-meditation by another shows a motivation to do BAD . While the death of an individual is the end result in both examples, it is the MOTIVATION behind the action that is important. Motivations are very important. Penalties in our legal system are based on a person’s motivations. Again, this RIGHT OR WRONG is called MORALITY . Is There an Objective Moral Law? - Frank Turek www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOJeseNJneg
There is a recent challenge to the basis for morality being evidence for God. The challenge is that morals can be explained through evolution; that evolution can not only sufficiently explain changes in biology but changes in morality as well. According to Atheists, the evolution of morals eliminates the need for God. In the C AN E VOLUTION E XPLAIN M ORALITY ? section, I go into additional detail about this, and provide links to resources relating to this recent Evolutionary argument. These resources will allow you to gain a much better understanding of this recent development, as well as the arguments against this evolutionary explanation for morality. Again, the Christian Worldview is one where there is a perfect God, who can see everything we do, knows every thought we think, knows our motivations, and we are accountable to this God for our actions, thoughts, and motivations. This accountability should cause us to be concerned about what we think and do, because these motivations, thoughts, and actions have eternal consequences. If we are representatives of Christ in this life, then 33
we have an obligation to be a good and true representative of Him. Do you feel you are living as a good representative of Christ? As mentioned above, some Atheists believe that to claim God is the basis for morality is the same as claiming that Atheists can’t be moral since they don’t believe in God. This is a misunderstanding of the claim. Again, Atheists certainly can live with good morals, and most do. The question is not whether an Atheist can be moral, but what is the basis for their morality. The issue here is that anyone who ascribes to the Atheistic worldview that there is no God and then claim that certain things are wrong, is using a THEISTIC WORLDVIEW of morality, not an ATHEISTIC WORLDVIEW . They are not believing consistent with the Atheistic worldview. While everyone likes to believe that they live consistent with a particular worldview, some will live according to one worldview but not respond to events consistent with that world view. Often, they will respond consistent with a worldview they say they deny, and they usually do this without realizing it. One example is a person who doesn’t believe in God and say they don’t believe in Evil. If someone wrongs them or wrongs someone they know, or if someone steals from or assaults them, they will say that the act of the offender is wrong. But why is the act
WRONG ?
I F there is NO G OD , then there
is NO ABSOLUTE MORAL LAW . If there is no absolute moral law, there is no right or wrong. Without an absolute moral law, there is ultimately no difference between Mother Teresa and Hitler. Without an absolute moral law, morality comes down to what we PREFER and DECIDE it is. While some call this preferred or decided standard a moral standard, if it is a standard which is PREFERRED or DECIDED by one or more persons, it can’t be an ABSOLUTE MORAL STANDARD . A preferred or decided MORAL STANDARD can be changed based upon preference or majority decision. Since it can be changed, it can’t be an absolute standard, applicable to all persons at all times. At one time in our country, the majority decided that the ownership of people was acceptable based on the color of their skin. We look at that decision as wrong, even though the majority at that time had decided that as the standard. The ABSOLUTE 34
STANDARD OF MORALITY isn’t
based upon what our preference is or what the majority in a group decides. An Absolute Moral Law can only exist if there is a Moral Law Giver . This is logical and is clearly taught in the Bible. Jeremiah 31:33 “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts”. A survey by the B ARNA G ROUP about college students is equally as concerning as the 70% statistic at the start about college students. It found that of those aged 18-23, only one half of one percent hold to a Biblical Worldview! Only 1 in 200 in the 18-23 age range! Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians www.barna.org/barna-update/article/21transformation/252-barna-survey-examineschanges-in-worldview-among-christians-over-thepast-13-years#.VFcwsCLF_E0 I was amazed when I heard this statistic! I thought the person indicating it had misread the information, but I confirmed that they indicated the details correctly. This statistic is another confirmation to me of the necessity for young adults to know this information, whether through this guide or another source. If you are a Christian student reading this, do you know what a Biblical Worldview is? According to this Barna survey, 199 out of 200 young adults do not. If you don’t know what a Biblical Worldview is, how can you have any confidence that you are living consistent with a Biblical Worldview? And if you don’t know what a Biblical Worldview is to be able to live consistent with it, how do you also know that you haven’t conformed to a non-Biblical Worldview? As we have seen, ideas (or philosophies) have consequences. Read again Colossians 2:8: Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit , according to human tradition , according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” 35
Think of your own life. If you are a Christian and you found that to live a Biblical Worldview meant that you would need to live differently than you do currently, would you be willing to change how you live? Questions that effectively capture this idea are, “Will we make the Bible flexible to our human reasoning, or will we make our hearts, lives, and motivations flexible to the Bible?” and “Should a Biblical Worldview have an effect on my life; in how I think and what I do?” You may be thinking, “But if my lifestyle is the same as the other Christians I know. Doesn’t that mean that I’m living as a Christian?” Think a little further, if only 1 in 200 of those age 18-23 even know what a worldview is, isn’t it more probable that you and your friends are part of the 199 and not the 1? If part of the 199, how would you ever know you are living like a true Christian consistent with a Biblical Worldview? It is easy to forget that most of us live in a bubble, finding it easy to live like our friends. If our friends claim to be Christian and we live like them, we think of ourselves as Christian too. However, living like your friends is not the same as living like a Christian. If you are a Christian, have you ever questioned the lifestyle you accept and live? Think about your non-Christian friends. How does your lifestyle compare to theirs? C HRISTIAN VS N ON -C HRISTIAN - W HAT ' S THE D IFFERENCE ?
http://ezinearticles.com/?Christian-VS-Non-Christian--Whats-the-Difference?&id=3905340 If you and your friends don’t know what a Biblical Worldview is, wouldn’t the standard you’ve all become accustomed to be one you and your friends have decided is right? And is that an absolute standard, or one decided and agreed upon? Since it is most likely the later, think about the idea of a Biblical Worldview. Is a Biblical Worldview one that is decided by the Bible or by us? I heard a speaker indicate that many Christian youth act as if being a Christian is nothing more than buying one of the latest Christian music CDs.
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To actually get an idea as to what a Biblical Worldview is, and how close your worldview is to a Biblical Worldview, take the following worldview quizzes. Worldview Quiz – Self Test To Determine My Worldview? http://worldviewweekend.com/test/test.php www.christianet.com/bible/worldview.htm Something else to consider regarding this. When we invite Christ to be our Lord, He will convict us of our sin. If you call yourself a Christian and are living no different than your non-Christian friends, and not feeling any conviction about aspects of your lifestyle which are unpleasing to God, you should really consider whether you have truly accepted Christ, or only said a phrase. God knows our thoughts, motivations, and actions, and knows our heart.
Hopefully you are starting to understand the significance of having a Biblical Worldview, and you are now considering your lifestyle in light of a Biblical Worldview. With the information you now have, let’s consider those two questions again: “Will we make the Bible flexible to our human reasoning, or will we make our hearts, lives, and motivations flexible to the Bible?” and “Should a Biblical Worldview have an effect on my life; in how I think and what I do?” Why Think of Worldviews www.crossway.org/blog/2014/01/why-think-worldviews Worldview & Basic Beliefs Review http://truth4freedom.wordpress.com/modern-societyengulfing-philosophies/basic-beliefs-and-worldview-review Summit Ministries Worldview Chart www.summit.org/resources/worldview-chart A Biblical Worldview Has a Radical Effect on a Person's Life www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/131a-biblical-worldview-has-a-radical-effect-on-apersons-life#.VFct_yLF_E0
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Worldviews in the Movies www.worldvieweyes.org/resources/CIY-ConferenceMaterials/WVs-in-movies.htm (A good list of questions to think of when watching movies, TV, commercials, listening to music, etc.)
* Worldviews and College Think again about the survey by the Barna Group. Only 1 in 200 18-23yr old young adults have a Biblical worldview. Combine this with the statistic on the first page that 70% of the students who are Christian will abandon what they believe before the end of their freshmen year in college, and you should see the real concern. I believe the primary reason this happens is because while most Christian students may have been taught WHAT Christianity believes by their church, approximately 70% were never taught WHY they could believe it. They were never taught evidences for the truths of Christianity. These two statistics show that most students will go all the way through high school and beyond without ever learning many of the actual evidences for Christianity, and what Christianity teaches. Of course, there are other reasons why students abandon Christianity in college. It could be that they never really were a Christian and they were just trying to “look” like a Christian and “fit in” , so that others would think they were a Christian. Christianity never really became their faith. Or that once in college, without any RULES , the temptation of unrestricted freedom is too strong when combined with the peer pressure there. Of course, for some of the students who have turned away from Christianity, it may never have become their faith because they were never shown evidences. While it is reasonable to assume that the professor will usually make true statements about the subject that they teach, students will often mistakenly conclude that other claim made by the professor are also true. So when the professor makes claims like, “There is no God” , “The Bible is full of myths” , “Jesus was just a man” , or “Jesus never existed” , many students think those claims are correct also, because they’ve not been taught to respond 38
to the claim. The students mistakenly conclude that the professor’s challenges are true. After all, they are the student, and they are there to learn. The professor has already gone through school, and is the educated one. So the professor must be right. Right? Two friends I’ve known since high school went to the same church I did, before the time churches thought about teaching evidences for Christianity and before most people even knew that there were evidences. Both of these friends graduated from a wellknown university, with degrees. And because they had never been taught any evidences for what they were brought up believing, they graduated from this well-known university as Atheistic Evolutionists. They were never taught why they could believe in the Bible, God, or Jesus. I believe this contributed to them abandoning what they believed. You may be thinking that the worldview of a professor doesn’t affect their teachings. But does it? Studies indicate: 1. College Professors are 5 TIMES more likely to be atheists than the general public. 2. More than half of professors have UNFAVORABLE feelings toward Evangelical Christians. 3. Only 6% of professors say the Bible is “the actual word of God” . 4. 51% of professors say the Bible is “an ancient book of fables, legends, history & moral precepts” . The following are a few quotes from some professors. See if you notice their worldviews in their statements. “They will see me as just another liberal professor trying to cajole them out of some of their convictions, and they are dead right about that – that’s what I am, and that’s exactly what I am trying to do.” Daniel Dennett – Tuft’s University “. . . we try to arrange things so that students who enter as bigoted, homophobic, religious fundamentalists will leave college with views more like our own . . . So we are going to go right on trying to discredit you (the parents) in the eyes of your 39
children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable . .” Richard Rorty – Stanford University "I personally feel that the teaching of modern science is corrosive of religious belief, and I'm all for that!” “If scientists can destroy the influence of religion on young people, then I think it may be the most important contribution that we can Steve Weinberg – U of T Austin make.” “When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Religion. If this book (The God Delusion) works as intended, religious readers who open it will be Atheists when they put it down.” Richard Dawkins – Oxford University From his book “The God Delusion”
These professor’s statements show the worldviews a Christian student is likely to encounter in college. And do you now see that their worldview influences their motivations toward Christian students? Their comments show that they feel it is their responsibility to eliminate the any belief in God a student has. Here are a few reviews about the book The God Delusion: "The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist” Michael Ruse - Atheist “To call The God Delusion sophomoric would be an insult to sophomores” Alvin Plantinga of Notre Dame
This is why the APOLOGETICS and E VIDENCES sections are so important. Knowing evidences for what you believe gives you greater confidence in what you believe. The more evidences you know, the stronger your foundation will be for what you believe, and the less likely you are to abandon what you believe or be swayed by a others’ claims. Clearly, the college students in the “70%” statistic did not have a confidence in what they believed. You can have the confidence they didn’t! Regarding evidences, even when presented with evidence contradictory to one’s worldview, a person may be very resistant to change their worldview. This is why just showing the evidence for Christianity won’t automatically bring a non-Christian to the point of 40
accepting Christ as Savior. Think about your Christian beliefs and worldview. What evidences against Christianity would you need to see to consider giving up your beliefs about God, Jesus, the Bible, etc.? They would need to be significant, right? Another reason a worldview is more influential than evidences alone, is because evidence can sometimes be looked at in such a way that confirms the person’s worldview. Think about Evolution and Creation. The evidence is the same for both beliefs. The difference is how the evidence is interpreted. I hope through this section that you now see that everyone has a worldview. Even if you did not know what a worldview was previously, I hope you now see its influence over a person’s life and actions. I hope as a Christian you also see the importance of having a Biblical Worldview and the importance of living consistent with it. It should affect every area of your life. If it doesn’t, you’re probably living according to a different worldview, as 199 out of 200 do in the 18-23yr age range. An Open Letter To Graduates – Sean McDowell www.conversantlife.com/life-with-god/an-open-letter-tograduates Pt.1 www.conversantlife.com/belief/an-open-letter-tograduates-part-2 Pt.2 How Should Youth Leaders Prepare Students for College? www.conversantlife.com/theology/how-should-youthleaders-prepare-students-for-college Who's Waiting for Your Kids? www.conversantlife.com/belief/whos-waiting-for-your-kids Why Kids Leave The Church in College – Frank Turek www.youtube.com/watch?v=msIXv3_0xTA Intellectual Predators on Campus – Frank Turek www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_LgIFbtuf4 Equipping Youth with a Biblical Worldview – Sean McDowell www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiTFoQP1vVg World-Proof Workshops - Sessions 1-3 – 2014 – Jay Wegter http://gospelforlife.org/sermons 41
Testing Worldviews http://testingworldviews.com The Power of the Christian Worldview In Pagan Evangelism http://truthxchange.com/media/2007/01/21/the-powerof-the-christian-worldview-in-pagan-evangelism Worldview Weekend Online Academy www.worldviewweekend.com/academy/topics.php#topic84 How Some Postmodern Kids Used Logic in Berkeley www.conversantlife.com/theology/how-somepostmodern-kids-used-logic-in-berkeley Christian Student Vs. Atheist Professor Collection http://walkingasjesusdid.blogspot.com/2012/04/christianstudent-vs-atheist-professor_3470.html Sites on Worldviews: http://allaboutworldview.org www.xenos.org/classes/papers/5wldview.htm www.summit.org/resources/worldview-chart www.bibleculture.org/text/worldview/worldview_comparis on_chart.pdf www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian_worldview/whats _a_christian_worldview.aspx www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian_worldview /why_is_a_christian_worldview_important.aspx Real Life Challenges on Campuses http://campusreform.org www.c-span.org/video/?193268-2/political-correctnessdiversity-campus https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/crossexamined/id402803400?mt=2 (Cross Examined – October 29, 2014: Getting Ready for Campus)
Getting Prepared for College The Challenges College Students Face on Secular Campuses http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Challenges-CollegeStudents-Face-on-Secular-Campuses&id=9920
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The Challenges Facing Young Christians http://coldcasechristianity.com/2013/the-challenges-facingyoung-christians Christian College Students: Top 10 Challenges Faced www.hearitfirst.com/blog/christian-college-students-top-10challenges-faced Top 10 Challenges Christian Students Face In College www.cedarville.edu/eNews/ParentPrep/2012/ChallengesChristian-Students-Face-in-College.aspx Challenges Facing Christian Students at UCLA www.dts.edu/thetable/play/social-and-intellectualchallenges-facing-christian-students-at-ucla Are U.S. colleges hostile to Christian students? www.beliefnet.com/News/Home-Page-News-andViews/Are-US-colleges-hostile-to-Christianstudents.aspx College Prep Course http://crossexamined.org/college-prep-course Preparing Students for College www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/students.html Preparing Students for Anti-Christian Hostility http://faithoncampus.com/blog/preparing-students-for-antichristian-hostility Preparing Your Student for Secular College https://answersingenesis.org/college/preparing-yourstudent-for-secular-college Summit Ministries Summit Student Conferences www.summit.org/conferences/student Summit Student Institute www.summit.org/institutes/semester Nurturing Christian Students As They Engage the Challenges of Atheism http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/nurturing-christianstudents-as-they-engage-the-challenges-of-atheism 43
12 Bible Verses for College Students www.christiancollegeguide.net/article/Bible-VersesCollege-Students ** The Atheist Challenge - Sean McDowell, PhD www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNql36qIExA A GREAT video with Sean McDowell taking the roll of an Atheist to demonstrate some of the very effective sounding arguments against God you are likely to face. He spends the 2nd half of the video answering the arguments. This video does a great job of showing how unprepared most Christians are to defend their faith, and some of the very effective sounding arguments used to challenge them. Of the arguments in the video, Sean references two of the latest scientific discoveries being used to challenge Christianity and the existence of God. They are the discovery of the Higgs Boson Particle, and Planck Time. The links below show why they are not a challenge to Christianity and how to answer someone presenting these two challenges.
Higgs Boson Particle Higgs boson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson Higgs Boson—The "God Particle"? www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issu e=977&article=1500 The God particle and the trump card http://flatlandapologetics.blogspot.com/2012/07/godparticle-and-trump-card.html
Planck Time Planck time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_time In Science We Trust www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=1 2&article=4758 Is God Real? Does Science Answer "Is There a God?" www.godandscience.org/apologetics/is_god_real.html 44
3. CHALLENGING STATEMENTS FOR CHRISTIANS “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny...” C. S Lewis “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill How would you respond to the following?
There is no truth
All roads lead to God
You can’t know anything for sure We don’t allow the view of Christianity, we allow all views. Christians shouldn’t be so intolerant
In this section, we will look at some of the statements made to Christians; statements which can seem quite challenging . . . at first. In this section particularly, I want you to remember: John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." It is easy to feel personally insulted when our beliefs are challenged, but it is important to remember that ultimately it is God who is being challenged, not us. We must remember that God doesn’t need our help to defend Him. However, if we have developed the skills which this guide and other resources will help with, He does offer us the privilege of being involved in the process, not so much to defend Him, but to defend truth and correct error. There is no challenge to Christianity that should upset us. If we find ourselves upset we need to increase our knowledge on the subject and remember Greg Koukl’s statement, “When talking with someone, if either of you get upset, you lose” . This section 45
will increase your ability to respond to the challenging statements made by others, so that you don’t need to feel unprepared to respond to someone’s challenge, or possibly feel insulted or upset by their challenge. I believe the following could be some of the main reasons why people make these challenges against Christianity. Some may have become let down by an experience they had in a church. They could have been offended or hurt by an individual in that church, and then associate the actions of that person with Christianity. Maybe others were convinced by professors who persuaded them that God doesn’t exist and that the Bible isn’t from God. Those who have been persuaded that there is no God may look at the collections taken by churches and religious ministries as a rip-off. Whatever the reason, they’ve decided to challenge what they now believe is a lie, possibly thinking they are actually doing good because they believe they are exposing what they believe is false. I believe the best way to answer the challenges made by others is not to get defensive, or offensive for that matter, but to present truths which correct the incorrect information others have, and thus persuade them with truth. This way, not only do you answer their false challenge, but in doing so, you may motivate them to not repeat their false challenge to others, and possibly bring them to a point where they would consider Christianity. This can be beneficial in that Christians who don’t know the answers to the challenges aren’t confronted with these challenges. It can also be beneficial in that there will be fewer non-Christians hearing these false challenges and then repeating them to others. It is important when answering challenges, that you do so with an attitude of love and respect. Our Biblical mandate as Christians requires that we do all we can to reach others, and to do so with respect. We are to share truths to correct the errors of those who repeat these challenges in such a way that does not disrespect them and doesn’t embarrass them for using these challenges. This is because they probably don’t know the challenges are false. I believe it is very important that those who make these statements be given the benefit of the doubt in their motivations for saying them. It is highly probable that they have never heard the 46
responses to the statements which show the falsehood of the claims, and so never had a reason not to believe and repeat them. As Christians, we often avoid challenges because we don’t want others to see us as confrontational or defensive. We also hesitate to speak up because we don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we can be embarrassed because of our inability to accurately defend what we believe. As well, we avoid challenges because we want to avoid the possibility of embarrassing others. These scenarios where Christians have been confrontational, defensive, or lacking in answers have put Christianity in a negative light with non-Christians. Being properly prepared resolves these issues. So, let’s consider some of the challenging statements you are likely to hear. The statements in this section can cause a Christian great concern if they haven’t learned the errors of the statements and how to respond to those making the statements. When you first hear these statements they can sound very convincing, but when you examine them you will quickly discover the inconsistency in each of them. As you will also see, the inconsistency can be brought to the attention of the person making the statement without being offensive or rude, and in a way to show the error of the statement. I stress again that it is very important to be able to respond to challenges with respect, because as Christians, we are to be winning hearts, not winning ARGUMENTS to the point of silencing those raising challenges. The ARGUMENTS referred to here are of the non-legal type, the heated discussion type. Just because you have silenced a person doesn’t mean you have changed their heart. There is a saying that captures this thought quite well, “A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still” . The inconsistency in the challenging statements typically EFUTING or come from the statements being what are called SELF -R SELF - CONTRADICTORY . That means that the statement REFUTES its own claims, it CONTRADICTS itself. The first few statements are simple examples of this so that if you’ve not worked with these types of statements before, you will start to understand the concept. 47
What is wrong with the following statements? “I can't speak a word of English.” “No sentence can have more than three words.” It should be easy to see that these statements contradict themselves. If you’re not quite sure how, the first statement contradicts itself because the person stating it is using English to state that they can’t speak English. The second statement contradicts itself because it is a sentence having more than three words stating that no sentence can have more than three words. You should see by these examples that self-contradictory statements are automatically false. There is no possibility that they can be true. Now, consider these statements: “There is no truth”
“There are no absolutes”
Can you tell what’s wrong with them? The contradictions are a little harder to identify, right? Again, these statements are usually made by non-Christians who have heard them stated by others and they have not examined them. We all have a tendency at times to do this. Think about yourself. Have you ever repeated something you’ve heard without verifying its truth? I know I have. The surprising thing is that these statements are also made by professors who should know better. Some professors might repeat the statements knowing they are false, because they know that many Christians haven’t learned how to respond to them. We’ve already seen in the W ORLDVIEW section the motivation of some professors. Let’s cover these statements so that you will know how to respond in the future.
* T HERE I S N O T RUTH When someone states, “There is no truth” , they are stating THE TRUTH , that THERE IS NO TRUTH , also called MAKING A TRUTH CLAIM . This is a clear contradiction because there can’t be a TRUE statement about there being NO TRUTH , if TRUTH doesn’t exist. When they state, “There are no absolutes”, they are stating the ABSOLUTE , that there are NO ABSOLUTES . Another contradiction. 48
Again, I believe that some professors will make these claims to cause Christian students to doubt what they believe. The professors who do this do so because when you as a student doubt what you believe you are much easier to persuade to believe differently. Or if you are not persuaded to believe differently, you will be less motivated to persuade others to believe in Christianity because you will be less confident that Christianity is true. Check this Frank Turek video: W HY C HRISTIAN K IDS L EAVE T HE C HURCH IN C OLLEGE - Mins 1-8
www.youtube.com/watch?v=msIXv3_0xTA How Do We Know? Epistemology http://arcapologetics.org/objections/how-do-we-knowepistemology
When you think about the idea of TRUTH , if there is no truth, nothing can be known for sure. If there is no truth, then Jesus , and the Life”, statement in John 14:6 “I am the Way, THE T RUTH can’t be true. If the statement isn’t true, Jesus is not who he claimed to be, and either a lunatic or a liar. If there are no absolutes, there can be no MORAL ABSOLUTES . Since the Bible presents moral absolutes, this statement challenges the legitimacy of the Bible. Can you see how effective these statements are at challenging the foundational Truths of Christianity and the beliefs of Christian students? Let’s for a moment look at one of the sentences in the last paragraph. You may have been surprised or offended that I said that if Jesus wasn’t “The Way, The Truth, and the Life”, he was either CRAZY or a LIAR . My apologies if I offended, but let’s consider a few things. Have any of your friends, family, or teachers ever claimed that they were God and that they could forgive sin? If they did and were sincere in their claim, would you consider them a good moral teacher? Of course not. You’d think they were crazy or lying. Many who refuse to believe that Jesus is God consider him just a good moral teacher. But did he leave this as an option? If he was just a man and was claiming to be God and forgive sin, would he be a good moral teacher? No. He would either be a liar or a lunatic. He left no other option. This is referred to as the L ORD , 49
L IAR OR L UNATIC T RILEMMA. Check the YouTube video of an excerpt of C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity .
C.S. Lewis - Lord. Liar or Lunatic www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynyl0hCUIcs
So, how do we respond to these two challenges? “There is no truth” and “There are no absolutes” Here are a few possible responses which should bring the person to the realization of the problems with the statements. When someone states, “There is no truth” , ask them, “Is that the truth?” When they say “There are no absolutes” , ask them “Are you absolutely sure?” If they state, “There are no moral absolutes” , let them know that they are actually stating a moral absolute. The response to a self-contradictory statement will show the person making the statement the contradiction in their statement. People making these contradictory statements have usually heard someone else make the same statement, without the statement being responded to. The statement initially sounded convincing, and since it wasn’t responded to, they themselves never questioned it. Because of this, they now repeat the statement because they don’t have reason to question the validity of it. Do you see that responding to a self-contradictory statement primarily requires recognizing that the statement is selfcontradictory? It only takes a little knowledge and practice to get good at doing this. And as you will see later, a significant benefit of asking questions is that questions are less confrontational, so they better allow another to keep their self-respect. I stress again, our job is to persuade minds and win hearts, not win arguments (and again, arguments of the non-legal kind). Another observation about these statements. If someone is claiming “There is no truth” , they are suggesting that N OTHING CAN BE KNOWN FOR SURE . As such, the claim of the person stating, “There is no truth” can’t be known for sure, and so it can’t be true. If the person saying this is an Atheist, anything they write or say about God not existing, can’t be true either. If someone states, 50
“Nothing can be known for sure” , you can ask, “Well how then can we know THAT for sure?”
One of the increasingly common phrases which is similar in meaning to “There is no truth” , is “That’s true for you, but not for me”, or “I’m glad you found a truth that works for you” , implying that different people can believe different “truths” which are contradictory to each other. When you say something like, “The Bible says . . .” a person might respond, “I’m glad the Bible is true for you, but it is not true for me” . These statements demonstrate one type of truth called S UBJECTIVE T RUTH . S UBJECTIVE T RUTH is based upon a person’s preference, similar to which type of ice cream a person believes is the best. The other type of truth is O BJECTIVE T RUTH . O BJECTIVE T RUTH is true for all people at all times. It isn’t up to each person’s preference. You will see these concepts of differing truths presented in more detail in the T RUTH section. The two specific terms to be familiar with for this subject are R ELATIVISM and P OSTMODERNISM . R ELATIVISM is the philosophy (belief system) that the
different points of view people have are all valid and true. That a person’s point of view is true if they believe it is true. R ELATIVISM http://carm.org/relativism P OSTMODERNISM is the philosophy (belief system) that
centers on there being no ABSOLUTE TRUTH . As you can see, they are closely related concepts. P OSTMODERNISM http://carm.org/dictionary-postmodernism https://carm.org/emerging-church-postmodernism There are some who believe that since Einstein proved the Theory of Relativity , R ELATIVISM has been proven. They believe that R ELATIVITY and R ELATIVISM have similar meanings, since the words look similar. They do not have similar meanings. The following audio will give you a good understanding of both terms and the differences. Paul Copan Audio Interview: Relativism www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbnew.aspx?pageid=8589952825 51
The following links also have great information in this area. They will allow you to gain a much better understanding of these concepts. This will help you to learn more and give you the ability to more readily recognize a person’s worldview and the contradictory statements they might make. http://carm.org/relativism www.asa3.org/ASA/education/views/wva.htm www.apologeticsindex.org www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=12&article=269 www.cslewisinstitute.org/Relativism_BAC_Video www.cslewisinstitute.org/Postmodernism_BAC_Video Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air –Great video on relativism! www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s98Z4tlunA Tackling Relativism with Greg Koukl http://vailchristian.com/podcast/category/message-series/tacklingrelativism-with-greg-koukl
* C HRISTIANS S HOULDN ’ T B E S O I NTOLERANT Another statement commonly stated to challenge Christians is, “Christians shouldn’t be so intolerant ”. Christians are frequently referred to as INTOLERANT . This claim is usually made because Christians believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation and that there is only one way to God. Because of this, some believe that Christians aren’t open minded and that they shouldn’t share their beliefs with others. People who use the term INTOLERANT believe that Christians don’t consider other’s beliefs to be as valid as their Christian beliefs. This initially sounds pretty convincing, right? As we shall see, these people misuse the term INTOLERANT . Consider one of the definitions of INTOLERANT : “Unwilling to grant equal freedom of expression especially in religious matters”. By this definition Christians don’t fit the definition of INTOLERANT , do they? No. The majority of Christians by definition are TOLERANT , not INTOLERANT . Most Christians, while disagreeing with non-Christian beliefs, are certainly not “ unwilling to grant equal freedom of expression”. One of the definitions of TOLERANCE is: 52
“The attitude of someone who is willing to accept someone else's beliefs, way of life, etc. and allow them to hold that belief, even if they disagree with them”. So by definition, most Christians certainly are tolerant.
Our culture and much of the world it seems, have changed the definition of TOLERANCE to mean the ACCEPTANCE AND AGREEMENT of another’s different beliefs as truth, even if those beliefs contradict ours. If we don’t consider true another’s beliefs which are contradictory to ours, we are considered INTOLERANT . This is because many believe that no one can know anything for OSTMODERNISM ), sure, (P OSTMODERNISM ), and to claim to know anything for sure, according to them, them, is very arrogant. This is especially true when it comes to where one will spend eternity. Can you see the contradiction in the statement, “Christians need to stop being intolerant” ? The statement is a statement of intolerance, made by the person who is saying it. it. The person stating it is not just disagreeing with the Christian’s belief, they are urging that Christians not share what what they believe. believe. But if they disagree with the truth the Christian believes, they are not accepting ac cepting of the beliefs of the Christian holds as true. true. Isn’t this intolerant on their part? If anything, Christians are the ones showing TOLERANCE , because we allow all beliefs. We just don’t consider beliefs beliefs that are contradictory as TRUE . This fulfills fulfills the definition of tolerance. The person stating that “Christians need to stop being intolerant” really believes that the Christian shouldn’t share their belief. After all, they they wouldn’t say it if they didn’t believe believe it. So, can you see how the person saying it is trying to impose their belief on the Christian, that the Christian shouldn’t share their Christian belief? The statement is self-contradictory because the person stating that “Christians need to stop being intolerant” is demonstrating an intolerance intolerance of the belief of Christians. Christians. The person making the statement is demonstrating a misunderstanding of the word INTOLERANT . When a person claims that you are intolerant, they do so because they are offended that you think th ink you are right. As we have seen, the truth in this situation is that they think they are right too, 53
otherwise they wouldn’t criticize criticize you, would would they? Greg Koukl uses the following conversation example to demonstrate how to respond to someone claiming you are intolerant. This should effectively show them that they are the ones actually demonstrating intolerance. Challenger: “You’re intolerant!” You: “Can you tell me what you mean by that? Why would you consider me an intolerant person?” Challenger: “Well, it’s clear you think you’re right about fill in the blank, and you think everyone who disagrees with you is wrong.” You: “I guess I do think my views are correct. It’s It’s always possible I could be mistaken, but I don’t think I am. But what about you? You seem to be disagreeing with me. Don’t you think your views are right?” Challenger: “Yes, I think I’m right, too. But I’m not intolerant. You are.” You: “That’s the part that confuses me. Why is it when I think I’m right, I’m intolerant, but when you think you’re right, you’re just right? What am I missing?”
* A * ALL R OADS OADS L EAD EAD T O G OD OD A statement related to the statement of intolerance is, “All roads lead to God” . Think for a moment about the statement. You should notice that it’s a TRUTH CLAIM . When someone makes this statement, do you think they are any less confident about their belief that all roads lead to God than the confidence you have that there is only one way to God? Greg Koukl points out that ultimately, ultimately, anyone who makes the claim is doing so because they believe what they are claiming. Another statement similar to “All roads lead to God” , is the statement, “We allow all views” . Doesn’t this sound very agreeable and accepting of ALL views? However, when they are asked if they allow the view of Christianity, they will often say something like, “We don’t allow that view. We allow all views” . With a response to this, it is clear that they may allow all views except Christianity, and in doing so, they certainly don’t allow all 54
views. And they don’t allow Christianity because of the truth claim we make. Again, this is because the teaching of Christianity, that there is only one way to God, is exclusive, and that contradictory views can’t be true. If those who believed this allowed the Christian view, they would be allowing the view that they are wrong. If there is only one way to God, the belief of Christianity automatically excludes any other contradictory belief. belief. Can you see how the “All roads . . .” , and “All views . . .” statements statements are not accepting of all views and are self-contradictory statements? As well, the last statement is one of intolerance, because they don’t want Christians sharing their beliefs. Again, Christianity allows all views. It just doesn’t agree that all views are true, but it doesn’t try to keep those who believe those views from believing them. In a nutshell, the NEW definition definition of Tolerance is to treat all views as TRUE , not just to be accepting of all views. Again, for nonChristians to have this new view of tolerance would require that they believe that Christianity is true. But Christianity Christianity teaches that beliefs contradictory to Christianity are false. The non-Christians who HRISTIANITY claim that Christians are intolerant DON ’ ’T THINK THAT C HRISTIANITY SHOULD BE ALLOWED primarily because we believe that beliefs contradictory to Christianity are false. Non-Christians of this attitude believe that Christianity is false and not true. Since they they don’t consider it true, they are showing themselves to be intolerant. As well, while Christians allow even views we believe are wrong, these non-Christians don’t even allow the Christian view. So who is really demonstrating intolerance? One of the illustrations sometimes used by those holding OD , is The Blind Men and the this belief, that ALL ROADS LEAD TO G OD http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant.. Elephant, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant If you are not familiar with this Indian proverb, it is used to illustrate the limitations of our ability to come to the full truth about something. This is because we usually don’t have all the information. In the proverb, there are 6 blind men who encounter an elephant for the first time. time. They are trying to determine what the elephant is like, and each is near a different part of the animal. 55
The one touching the leg claims the elephant is like a tree. The one touching the tail claims the elephant is like a rope. The one touching the side claims the elephant is like a wall. The one touching the tusk claims the elephant is like a spear, and so on with the other two. The six men get into a heated argument (the nonlegal type) as to what the elephant is like, because each man insists that he is right. right. A wise man was passing by and saw them arguing. He told them that all of them were partially right, but since each was touching a different part of the elephant they didn’t have all the truth. They only had part of the truth. When someone uses this Indian proverb to claim that a Christian can’t know the truth, it sounds reasonable. But is it accurate? It is true that we don’t have have all knowledge, and knowing this, it seems fair to apply the proverb. However, when the illustration is used we must keep in mind that the person using it doesn’t have all knowledge either. However, they are are proposing the proverb and inferring that they DO have all knowledge. They are inferring that they have the full perspective, and can see that everyone else, especially Christians, only have a limited perspective and limited knowledge. That is why it is self-contradictory for someone to use this proverb against a Christian’s claims of truth. They are saying that THEY HAVE HAVE ALL AL L KNOWLEDGE TO TO KNOW THAT THAT NO ONE HAS ALL ALL KNOW K NOWLEDGE LEDGE . If no one can have all knowledge, then they can’t have all knowledge to know that no one has all knowledge. The other detail not considered, is that the God of the universe does have all knowledge, and if he truly has communicated truths and proven himself true, we can rely on his information even if we don’t know everything. Since he has revealed himself both through supernatural evidences and in the Bible, we can know things that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to know through our limited VIDENCES FOR perspectives. You’ll see these evidences in the E VIDENCES HRISTIANITY section. section. C HRISTIANITY Here is a great video showing the problem with this illustration. Challenge Response: The Blind Men and the Elephant www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO-25yKxQ9M#t=47 The Cheap Shot of "Intolerance" www.christianity.com/blogs/trevin-wax/the-cheap-shot-ofintolerance.html 56
The Intolerance of Tolerance www.conversantlife.com/theology/the-intolerance-oftolerance The previous example is an excerpt from the EXCELLENT book Tactics by Greg Koukl. Koukl. A more thorough exami examination nation of this this excerpt excerpt is is at: at:
http://adozenseconds.com/2013/04/03/intolerance To preview a few few chapters of Greg’s excell excellent ent book, go to: to :
http://books.google.com/books?isbn=0310574757 To hear hear a presentation presentation by Greg Koukl on o n Tacti Tactics, cs, check ch eck out:
Pt 1: http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/2003/17053.mp3 Pt 2: http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/2003/17054.mp3 Are Christians Intolerant? - Greg Koukl www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHQV_QsA_f0 The Intolerance of Tolerance www.str.org/publications/the-intolerance-of-tolerance
Hopefully, you can see the self-contradictory nature of the statement “Christians shouldn’t be so intolerant” . To see a few eye-opening examples of intolerance exhibited toward Christians, check the following YouTube videos: Wretched: Anti-Christian Intolerance www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YQs0I6AQxw Wretched: Shut up, Christian! www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ofS4N2RK8 Anti-Christians Vandalize Pro-Marriage Signs in Maine http://en.gloria.tv/?media=359104 Gay's Attack Christians in Seattle www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI9ckQ6494k Attacked Att acked by Tolerance Tolerance -- How same-sex same-sex "ma " marr rriage" iage" hurt h urts s people
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za0ZvliA3AM#t=32 Here are a few more stories demonstrating this intolerance toward Christi hri stia ans by the t he govermnent govermnent :
US Government Is Now Forcing Five American Pastors To Turn In Their Speeches http://shoebat.com/2014/10/20/us-government-nowforcing-five-american-pastors-turn-speecheshomosexual-sharia-continues 57
American Government To Christian Pastor: Do A Homosexual Wedding Or Get Thrown Into Prison http://shoebat.com/2014/10/20/american-governmentchristian-pastor-homosexual-wedding-get-thrown-prison/
It is important to realize that many non-Christians use names, (“intolerant”, “homophobe”, “racist”, “judgmental”, etc.), because they’ve heard these names used to challenge Christians without most Christians responding to these names. This is very similar to the way the other statements in this section have been used. If you think more about this practice of “name calling” you’ll you’ll see that name calling actually forces you to divert from the subject you are discussing. Whether intended or not by the one calling calling the name, you end up no longer discussing the subject and are now forced to defend yourself against the name. As an example, if you are called “Intolerant”, you are now forced to defend yourself against the charge of being intolerant, instead of talking about the subject you are discussing. Again, since so many people repeat claims they’ve heard, claims which are not usually challenged, I believe that many of the people who call others by these names don’t even realize they are using this diversion. And since most Christians Christians haven’t been taught to deal with this practice of name-calling, the action is very effective at shutting down or diverting the conversation. You will also find that some people will call others names when they dislike the conclusions others present. This is usually because they have a weak argument, or none, with which to respond to the presentation they believe is wrong. This is unfortunately somewhat common, and you will see when one person doesn’t have a response to the other person’s argument, they will start attacking the person, rather than deal with the person’s arguments. If a person resorts to name calling, they are already acting in an aggressive way, so being a little more direct is very fair. Some responses to a person calling you a name could be,
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“Calling me a ______ doesn’t really deal with the evidence (or) conclusion I’ve presented. Do you have a challenge to the evidence/conclusion other than calling me names?”
or, “Whether I’m a _____ or not doesn’t really answer the evidence (or) conclusion I’ve presented. Creative name calling isn’t evidence and isn’t a challenge to the evidence.” H OW D O Y OU D EAL WITH N AME C ALLING ?
www.str.org/blog/how-do-you-deal-with-name-calling H OW D O Y OU H ANDLE N AME C ALLING IN A W INSOME W AY ?
www.str.org/blog/how-do-you-handle-name-calling-in-awinsome-way-video A way to quickly response to the claim “You shouldn’t be so intolerant ” would be to first use the previous example we showed. Then ask, “If I am being so intolerant of another’s views as you claim, and we shouldn’t be intolerant, that why are you being intolerant of my views and why is that OK?” You might be the first person to effectively answer their claim, and bring them to a realization to the truth of their self-contradictory position. Again, people usually make these statements because Christians claim their beliefs are the truth. Others see this as in intolerance of the non-Christian beliefs of others. They believe that Christians are judging other beliefs as NOT THE TRUTH . (see the section on T RUTH , and the following YouTube video: Law of Non Contradiction www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWVzHOhGSC0
The main reason people make these claims is that they don’t like it when theirs or another’s beliefs are judged by Christians. When we make truth claims like “Christianity is true” , or “Jesus is the only way” , others think, “You Christians think you’re better than others, because you think you are right, and others wrong” . They see it as a criticism of the person holding the belief, not the actual belief itself. They see it as a personal attack. However, most Christians don’t do this because they think they are better, they believe that TRUTH matters, and the implication of this truth is eternal. And remember, those making these claims against Christians believe they are right and that Christians are 59
wrong, so they are the ones demonstrating intolerance, not Christians. Think of the illustration of a burning house. Suppose you were out very early one morning and you saw a house that had caught fire. You knew the family was home asleep. If you woke them up to tell them their house was on fire and they refused to believe you and get out of the house, would it be intolerant of you to keep trying to convince them to get out of the house? To claim a Christian is intolerant, is similar to claiming that you were intolerant for trying to persuade the family different than what they were comfortable believing. A Christian in this illustration might be considered persistent, but certainly not intolerant. It is because Christians believe in an eternal hell, that they continue to try to reach others. Once others are dead, there is no further opportunity.
* Y OU S HOULDN ’ T J UDGE Criticisms similar to “Christians shouldn’t be so intolerant” are “You shouldn’t judge” or “Christians are so judgmental” . When they claim “You shouldn’t judge” , they are doing so again because you think you are right. Think about those who believe differently than Christianity, and make the claim “You shouldn’t judge” . Don’t’ they think they are right? When someone states, “You shouldn’t judge” , isn’t that a judgment about the person they are stating it to? “You shouldn’t judge” is in fact a judgment. So they are judging Christians for judging others beliefs. “You shouldn’t judge” is another example of a selfcontradictory statement, and can be responded similarly to responding to the claim that Christians are intolerant. The response to this criticism could be, “If we shouldn’t judge, then why are you judging me? ”
If you had more time, you could respond similar to the following dialog example which Greg Koukl has used when someone has made the statement to him: Non-Christian: “You shouldn’t judge” Christian: “Why not?” Non-Christian: “Because you think you are right, and you think others are wrong” 60
Christian: “Do you think you are right?” Non-Christian: “Yes” (What are they going to say, that they are wrong? No. If they thought they were wrong, they wouldn’t complain.) Christian: “Why when I think I’m right, I’m judgmental,
but when you think you’re right, you’re just right?” This again is a very similar response to being called “intolerant” . Another statement people use about Christians judging is taken directly from the Bible: Matt 7:1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” This verse is used by many in our “tolerant” culture to promote the perspective that Christians don’t have the right to judge anything because Jesus said that we shouldn’t judge. Is this a true and correct understanding of this verse, and are we as Christians obligated to follow the verse the way it is presented by those using it in this way? Often, a single Bible verse can be used to justify something opposite what the Bible actually means. The following answers this challenge and shows the correct understanding of the verse. The Verse the Culture Misquotes Most Regularly in an Effort to Quiet Christians - J. Warner Wallace www.str.org/blog/the-verse-the-culture-misquotes-mostregularly-in-an-effort-to-quiet-christians#.VDA_rmddXE1
* C HRISTIANS ARE H YPOCRITES Another criticism is, “Christians are hypocrites” . Notice, this is NAME CALLING OF A GROUP . In this instance the name calling is of Christians. Some people indicate hypocrisy as the reason for not being open to spiritual things, particularly Christianity. They say this because they see those who call themselves Christian, whether on TV or maybe people they know, who demonstrate characteristics in their lives opposite of the characteristics of a Christian.
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Donald Barnhouse made the statement, “There are two reasons people don’t become Christians. The first is that they don’t know any, and the second is that they do.” To see the significant impact our character has in the perceptions of non-Christians, we only need to see two comments Gandhi made. He stated, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ” , and also “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.” What a condemnation of the way many Christians live. I was privileged to hear an interview with Dr. Jerry Root, who is a professor at Wheaton College` and a C.S. Lewis Scholar, who spoke on this subject. It is the best presentation I’ve heard on this subject. It is one of the S TAND TO R EASON podcasts. The audio is at the following link, but I’ve transcribed it just in case the link becomes unavailable: Dr. Jerry Root - C.S. Lewis Scholar http://www.str.org/podcasts/weekly-audio/dr.-jerry-root--c.s.-lewis-scholar (the following starts at 1hr40minute mark)
Dr. Root states, “When they say they're not interested in spiritual things, especially Christian things because they've seen too many hypocrites in the church. I’ve said to them, ‘That's really insightful of you. Obviously your powers of observation are pretty good. Nobody in the church has it together" “If we judged any segment of society by its worst examples, nobody could stand. We can always find examples of bad pastors, bad students, bad lawyers, and bad car salesmen, whatever it might be."
“But, when I say to the person, ‘It's insightful of you to see that there are hypocrites in the church’ , I say to them, ‘Here's how I know what you're saying is true. I'm one. I believe in the high ideal of love, but there have been times I've had sharp words with people I say I love most in the world. I believe in justice, but there have been times I've been unfair. I did not set out to be unfair, but realized it 62
after the fact. Now I know there are hypocrites in the church, because I'm one."
“With only one exception, hundreds and hundreds of times I've had that conversation, the person has responded to me as openly as I've been unguarded with them. And they've said "When you put it like that, I struggle with these things too." “Now the issue of hypocrisy is not the barrier that keeps us from talking about matters of faith, the ‘barrier’ actually opens the door, so that we can get to the issues of faith.” "So I say to them, “Now as a pilgrim on the same road” with them, “As a struggler in life, knowing I don't have it all together, what's helped you?" And they say to me, "Well, I struggle . . .” I say, "Can I share with you what helps me?" And I'm then able to go and talk with them about the love of God. The God who knows me, knows all of my goofiness, knows my lack of life skill, knows my inconsistencies, and hypocrisies. He knows me and he loves me. And that gives me the encouragement then to pick myself up from my failures, and have a reason to go on, in the light of that love. Not only that, He forgives me of those things, which in a sense, is a fresh start, a second chance". And I think that's brilliant stuff, and we all long to be fixed. Anyone who’s honest with themselves at least longs to be fixed. “CS Lewis says in his essay Christian apologetics, "Before the Gospel can be Good News, it’s got to be bad news" . Lewis says, "Nobody comes to faith in Christ, without acknowledging their need for Christ, without coming to some awareness of sin. That the way to awaken a person to their sins, is probably not to be condescending and condemning.” But Lewis said that, “There's a better way. That way is to talk about our own struggles this last week, and often that kind of honesty, will allow the other person in our presence to be equally honest.” Now we can get to some good places.”
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* S CIENCE I S T HE O NLY W AY W E C AN K NOW R EALITY Let’s look at this statement about science which initially sounds quite valid. Many people have been convinced that science is the only way to know anything about the world and truth, and they will make the claim, “You can’t know anything outside of what can be proven by science” . This is another statement that sounds valid, has not been examined by many of those who use it, and is repeated because it is rarely challenged. Many mistakenly claim that the Bible is contradicted by science, and that you either believe in science or you believe in the Bible/religion. Unfortunately, when many Christians are confronted with this claim, they’ve been persuaded by it and been silenced. When you check out the E VIDENCES FOR C HRISTIANITY section, you will see that the Bible is supported extremely well by science. This is the exact opposite of this incorrect claim about science and the Bible. If you don’t know about the evidences though, it’s really easy to be deceived into thinking that this claim is true. So, what is wrong with the claim? When someone makes the claim, “Science Is the only way we can know reality” , they are essentially saying that one can only gain a knowledge of reality through SCIENCE and no other area of study. So, if nothing can be known other than by SCIENCE , we can’t then know anything about reality through any other area of learning. As such, we can’t know anything through Literature, Philosophy, History, Art, Psychology, or other areas of study. So how do we answer this claim? While the claim is that “Only science gives us a knowledge of reality” , can this claim be known through the scientific method? No. Greg Koukl (www.str.org) observes that the statement “Only science gives us a knowledge of reality” , is not a statement of science, because it can’t be proven using the scientific method. It is actually a statement of belief (or philosophy) about science, also called a S TATEMENT OF P HILOSOPHY . So you could respond to the person, “Your statement can’t be proven using the scientific method” . J.P. Moreland makes a great observation about this. He states, “The statement itself cannot be known through science. 64
So essentially, it is a statement of philosophy that says that you can’t trust statements of philosophy .” What is this type of statement called? That’s right, a self-contradictory statement. Here is the link to his recording with this quote: Has Science Made Belief in God Unreasonable? (audio) www.apologetics315.com/search?q=Has+Science+M ade+Belief+in+God+Unreasonable Reconciling Science and Scripture www.apologetics315.com/2009/12/reconciling-sciencescripture-mp3-audio.html
In this second audio above, he also very creatively answers a person who states, “If you can’t test it and quantify your data and measure it in a laboratory, it’s nothing but a bunch of idle speculation and hot air.” Check out some of the outstanding audio recordings of JP Moreland on this subject. Evidence for Christianity , Reconciling Science and Scripture , and others at: www.apologetics315.com/search/label/J.P.%20Moreland Audio Resources from J.P. Moreland http://thinkingmatters.org.nz/2010/02/audio-resourcesfrom-j-p-moreland Preparing Students for College – Jerry Solomon www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/students.html I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist - Frank Turek www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTmjnxzK3gQ This has answers to many challenging statements.
* H AS ANYONE S EEN OR H EARD G OD ? I remember a few years ago on one of Greg Koukl’s radio call-in programs, his mentioning of an encounter between a professor and a student Greg knows. The professor used a line of reasoning to prove to their students that God didn’t exist. This line of reasoning initially sounded valid. The professor gave the following reasoning to a class the student was in: Professor: “Does anyone believe in God?” - a few hands raise Professor: “Has anyone seen God?” - Silence 65
Professor: “Has anyone heard God?” - Silence Professor: “Has anyone interacted with God?” - Silence Professor: “Since no one has seen, heard or interacted with God, I shall conclude that God must not exist”. After the professor finished talking, a student raised his hand, and the professor acknowledged him. Student: “Can I ask the students a few questions?” Professor: “Go ahead.” Student: “Has anyone seen the professor's brain?” - Silence Student: “Has anyone heard the professor's brain?” - Silence Student: “Has anyone interacted with the professor's brain?” Student: “Based upon the professor's own logic, the professor’s brain must not exist.”
Greg Koukl indicates that you want to have a very good relationship with your professor before you attempt such an answer to this type of challenge by your professor. If you are in a similar situation and you don’t want to give the impression that you are challenging your professor, you could make your point effectively by asking questions similar to the following: “Professor. Are the only evidences for the existence of something being that we be able to see, hear, or interact with it? Wouldn’t it be valid for someone use the same reasoning to question the existence of the brain?” How Some Postmodern Kids Used Logic in Berkeley www.conversantlife.com/theology/how-some-postmodernkids-used-logic-in-berkeley
* G OD I S A J EALOUS G OD AND SO I SN ’ T W ORTHY O F W ORSHIP Some have objected to the verses where God states that He is a jealous God. Exodus 20:5 "You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God." Exodus 34:14 "For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." 66
In this video Oprah tells how she rejected the idea of the God of the Bible because of this description of God being jealous. Oprah really believes God is Jealous of her www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxao4LmTMfU&spfreload=1 When we think of the human emotion of JEALOUSY , it is understandable that some would come to the conclusion Oprah has. www.thefreedictionary.com uses the following words in its definition of JEALOUS: ENVIOUS , RESENTFUL , FEARFUL , and WARY . It seems almost ridiculous to even think of applying these words to God as he is represented in the Bible. That the God of the universe would experience any of these emotions seems absurd. Is there another way to consider the term used by God of Himself? www.thefreedictionary.com lists the 5th definition of jealousy as: “Intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity; autocratic: a jealous god.” Ezekiel 39:25b states, "and I will be jealous for my holy name.” When we consider this definition and the verse, we get a better understanding of the kind of JEALOUSY God is indicating. According to this definition, God is jealous, (or intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity), for his holy name. This makes perfect sense when thinking of the God of the Bible. God is intolerant of our disloyalty or infidelity, or anything which would contribute to intolerance or disloyalty to Him. This is fully consistent with the character of God as He is described in the Bible. Greg Koukl explained to a caller that since God has created us and done so much for us, he is jealous for us and against anything that would take our affections from him. God isn’t jealous OF us, but FOR us. The illustration Greg used is that of a couple’s relationship. Think about a couple you know. Would one of the two people have the right to be jealous if they found out that the other person was having romantic feelings for someone other than them? Think about yourself. If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, would it be OK to be jealous if they were showing more than a friendly interest in another? Of course it would. You have something special with that person, and for them be this inconsiderate would be to show a lack of concern and respect for the relationship they have with you. 67
God’s jealousy is similar to this, but not quite the same. Since God has created us and paid the price for our salvation, he is fully justified in being jealous for us when he knows that any other thing we try to find fulfillment in can never come close to comparing to Him. He is truly interested in our best, and he knows He can provide infinitely better for us than any other person or thing. In the video with Oprah, Opera asks “God is jealous of me?” I think it is much more accurate to see that God is not jealous OF Oprah or us, God is jealous FOR Oprah and us. Hopefully this gives you a better way to look at this objection.
* C HRISTIANITY I S J UST A C RUTCH “Christianity is just a crutch” . This is said to imply that Christians are weak and gullible and that we believe Christianity simply because we want it to be true. We believe that we NEED a God because we can’t handle life on our own. Couldn’t the same be said about the beliefs of those who criticize Christianity? Couldn’t we claim, “Atheism is just a crutch”, or any other belief is just a crutch too? After all, it’s really not about whether someone has a crutch, (what the person wants or doesn’t want to be true), but which crutch that person is using. Whether Atheist, Muslim, Mormon, etc. They want that belief to be true and that there be no God. Everyone, whether a Christian or not, relies on something. Everyone is basing or supporting the foundation for their life on something. Is Religion a Crutch? www.rzim.org/just-thinking/is-religion-a-crutch
The article covering this and many other criticisms of Christians as well as responses, can be found at: Common Criticisms of the Bible and Their Weaknesses www.freesundayschoollessons.org/systematictheology/apologetics/lesson-6-common-criticisms
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* B ELIEFS ARE D UE TO C ULTURE AND G EOGRAPHY Jay Wegter mentions in the following recording: about a Wellesley College class which was taken by the wife of one of his mentors. http://gospelforlife.sermon.net/main/main/10072576 In the first class session, the professor of the class drew attention to the mentor’s wife Janice. He mentioned that she had indicated that she was a born again Christian. The professor then pointed out another student, Alicia, and that Alicia was a Muslim, and had grown up in Saudi Arabia. He then asked Janice if she had grown up in a Christian home and asked Alicia if she had grown up in a Muslim home. When they both acknowledged that they had, the professor stated, “Let’s face it, your religious affiliation is a geographical coincidence. Janice, if you had been born in Saudi Arabia you’d be a Muslim, and Alicia, if you had been born in a Christian family, you’d be a Christian. So let’s drop our exclusivism. Let’s just drop the topic of who’s right and who’s wrong” . How would you handle a situation like this where the professor singled you out and made the statements they did? How intimidated would you feel? Janice waited until all the students had left and gently confronted the professor. She said, “You spoke this morning as if you were speaking from a place of total objectivity. You didn’t own your worldview. You had fun with my worldview, but you didn’t own yours. What is your worldview and how does it weigh objectivity?” She then said, “I want respect from you, and I want respect for my Christian worldview. Otherwise, I’m going to ask you to own your worldview in front of the class” . Her response took the professor completely off guard. He changed his perspective and from then on showed respect for Janice and her beliefs. For the rest of the semester when the class was discussing a topic, he would say, “Janice, if you could tell us what the Biblical worldview is on this topic that would be great” . Jay indicates that, “He showed her complete respect and actually invited her input to share from a Biblical worldview” . Notice that Janice didn’t try to embarrass him in front 69
of the students. She waited until everyone was gone so that she wasn’t putting him on the spot, which allowed her to be more direct. Janice’s professor had probably never had a Christian student point out the inconsistency of the professor’s statements before. How do we respond when someone claims that we only believe in Christianity because we were brought up in a Christian culture, and/or household, and why was Janice’s response to this professor so effective? It wasn’t immediately apparent to me what the contradiction was in what the professor said. What Janice pointed out to her professor is that he was really claiming that beliefs are only based upon culture and geography, and not on truths. Like The Blind Men and the Elephant parable, he implied that he saw the topic from a position of full understanding and objectivity, and implied that Janice and Alicia only had a partial understanding. Considering the professor’s statement, “Let’s just drop the topic of who’s right and who’s wrong”, the professor’s belief is that no one can be fully objective about right and wrong. Of course, he believes himself to be fully objective. Calling on and asking the questions he asked of Janice and Alicia, he implied that he was the only one who had objectivity, which contradicts his implication that no one can be objective. His comments show that what he believed to be true was that religious beliefs are really only based upon where a person is born and raised and the culture they live in. He gives no indication that he is religious, and implies that he IS able to be objective. A few other thoughts about someone holding this perspective. If they are an Atheist, did they grow up in an Atheist home? I’ve read that many atheists actually grew up in religious homes. If the person posing these questions about geography and culture is an Atheist, but they grow up in a religious household, their conclusion from their questions contradicts their own experience. Geography as the Most Important Predictor of Religion www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12& article=2789 www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12& article=4133 70
Jay Wegter’s Worldproofing Workshop 2013
Pt 1 Exposing the Lies of our Public Universities http://gospelforlife.sermon.net/10072576 Pt 2 Is Evolution a Scientific Theory or a Religious Philosophy? http://gospelforlife.sermon.net/10072577 Pt 3 The New Tolerance, Calling Good Evil and Evil Good http://gospelforlife.sermon.net/10072578 Jay Wegter’s Worldproofing Workshop 2014
Pt 1 Biblical Cosmology; the Foundation of the Gospel http://gospelforlife.org/s/WorldproofingWkshop-I-BiblicalCosmology-Gospel-Foundation-2014-awnd.mp3 Pt 2 Deconstructing the Idolatry in Education (Romans One) http://gospelforlife.org/s/Worldproofing-Wkshop-IIDeconstructing-Idolatry-in-Ed.mp3 Pt 3 Christian Apologetics; Answering a Culture of Skepticism http://gospelforlife.org/s/Worldproofing-Wkshop-III Answering-a-Culture-of-Skepticism.mp3 Jay Wegter’s Other Excellent Recordings http://gospelforlife.org/sermons/ http://thesermonnetwork.com/sermon-search Enter “Wegter” in last name of Advanced Search and click “Go”
* I F I D ON ’ T ACCEPT J ESUS , W ILL I G O T O H ELL ? One of the last statements I would like you to be aware of, is actually a question. While it’s not a self-contradictory statement, it can still be challenging when raised. While some do ask the question honestly, I believe others will ask it to trip up Christians. They look to use the Christian’s probable answer as evidence of how narrow minded the Christian is, and how petty God is. The question is: “If I don’t accept Jesus, will I go to hell?” While the question initially seems challenging, I have provided information from Greg Koukl, as to how to respond to this below, as well as in the S HARING THE T RUTHS OF C HRISTIANITY section.
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When you think about the question, you can see that if only the single word answer ”yes” is given, the person will leave with the impression that they are going to hell simply because they picked the wrong preference of religion. If only the single word answer “no” is given, the person will have a misunderstanding of salvation. It will seem to them very trivial on God’s part that they might have lived a GOOD life, and are still going to hell. Since it is impossible to provide an adequate answer to this question using only a single word answer, a question like this needs to be answered very tactfully so that the person asking the question comes to a full understanding of the importance of their question. A single word answer cannot provide this needed understanding and perspective. Greg Koukl stresses that if someone presses you for a single word answer and is not willing to give you the time necessary to give them a full answer, you are not obligated to answer at all. You could respond, “The subject is much too important to give a single word answer to. If you are really interested in an answer rather than just a quick response, I’m happy to talk with you. If you won’t give me the time to show your question the respect it deserves, you must not be that serious about the question and the answer must not be that important to you.” Review Greg Koukl’s effective method of responding to this: Am I Going to Hell? www.str.org/articles/am-i-going-to-hell
* I F G OD IS ALL POWERFUL CAN H E MAKE A ROCK SO BIG . . . There is one question that is almost always asked to stump Christians. It is not typically asked because the person is seriously looking for an answer. The question is, “If God is all powerful can He make a rock so big that he can’t lift it?” It is posed as a challenge to the concept of an ALL -P OWERFUL G OD . When you initially hear the question, it does make you wonder how the question could be answered. The underlying challenge in the question is: If God is all powerful, he could make a rock that big, but then he couldn’t be all powerful because he couldn’t lift 72
it. If he could lift any rock that he could make, he isn’t powerful enough to make a rock too big for him to lift. Either way, God is lacking power in some way.
The answer to this challenge has to do with the nature of God. God has made a logical world, where two or more concepts cannot be both true and contradictory at the same time. The question is similar to someone asking, “Can God make a square circle?” It is a logical impossibility. The rock question is another example of a logical impossibility. Greg Koukl states in the following video, “God is ALL -P OWERFUL , which means He has all the power needed to do anything that requires power to accomplish, but there are some problems power can’t solve.” Greg Koukl - If God is all-powerful, why does evil exist? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jRMWKz4hbw
Have you ever thought that God cannot do certain things? The idea that there are things He can’t do, may surprise you. However, considering the nature of God and His character; we see that God cannot lie, that He can’t act contradictory to his nature, that He can’t violate laws of logic, that He can’t learn (He has all knowledge, so He knows everything), and that His nature will never change. While these may initially seem like limitations, they enable us to have great confidence in God, in His integrity, and in His promises. Malachi 3:6 "I, the Lord, do not change." Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” We can have confidence in God, because He doesn’t change. We know that we will be able to depend on the promises he has made.
* J ESUS IS A C OPY C AT S AVIOR AND C HRISTIANITY IS A C OPY C AT R ELIGION This challenge is not commonly heard, but it can catch you off guard if you’ve never heard it nor the answer to it before. 73
The following are the details about a deity, told to J. Warner Wallace by a man he spoke with. See if you can determine who it is.
He was born of a virgin, born in a cave. His birth was heralded by a star, and attended by shepherds. He had 12 disciples, did interesting things, and preached a sermon on the mount. He preached to save the masses and died to save the world. Three days later he rose from the dead. His birth is celebrated on Dec 25th, and his resurrection is celebrated on Easter. Afterwards His disciples started meeting on Sundays, and celebrated the Lord’s Supper with communion. And he was called the way the truth the light.
Who do you think this describes? Would you be surprised to find that you would be wrong if you said Jesus? These details are believed to speak about Mithra, a God from Persia worshipped 400 years before Jesus. Followers even worshipped alongside the new Christians, who the followers of Mithra believed to have stolen Mithra’s identity, call him Jesus, and built the Christian basilicas in Rome on the foundations of the Temples of Mithra. If someone presented this challenging information, and you had never heard it before, what kind of impact do you think it have on your confidence in what you believe, especially to find that these are actual details of the Greek and Egyptian gods of Horus, Mithras, Krishna, and Dionysus? Was Jesus a Copy of Horus, Mithras, Krishna, and Other Pagan Gods?
http://beginningandend.com/jesus-copy-horus-mithrasdionysis-pagan-gods In the following video, J Warner Wallace, the cold case detective (http://pleaseconvinceme.com), recounts one of the first annual trips he took with Bret Kunkle ( www.str.org). Each year they take a group of students to Berkeley or Salt Lake City to give the students exposure to philosophies contradictory to Christianity. They do this so that they can prepare students for the sometimes very effectively 74
expressed arguments against Christianity. In this video he talks about the presentation given by an Atheist to the group of students in Berkeley, who presented the details about Mithra at the start of this section. Is Jesus a Copycat Savior? - J. Warner Wallace www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORTkCONbYFo The following sites should give you additional information on this challenge, and how to answer it. I have particularly tried to find a number of sites on this challenge because of the impact this claim can have on Christians if they’ve never heard it before. Is Christianity a Copycat Religion? - Sean McDowell www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/apologetics/is-christianitya-copycat-religion Doesn't the religion of Mithra prove that Christianity is false? http://carm.org/christianity/bible/doesnt-religion-mithra-provechristianity-false Impossible Faith Non-Parallel #1: Mitrhaism www.tektonics.org/uz/yeswayjose1.php The Mithras Myth-Makers www.canadianapologeticscoalition.com/the-mithras-mythmakers Exploding the Mithras Myth: Christianity did not borrow its beliefs from a Roman mystery religion www.jonsorensen.net/2013/04/17/exploding-the-mithrasmyth-christianity-did-not-borrow-its-beliefs-from-aroman-mystery-religion Was Christianity Stolen from Mithraism? http://1peter315.blogspot.com/2011/03/was-christianitystolen-from-mithraism.html Doesn't the religion of Mithra prove that Christianity is false? http://carm.org/christianity/bible/doesnt-religion-mithra-provechristianity-false Did Christianity Steal From Mithraism? www.comereason.org/mithraism.asp 75
Is there any validity to the Zeitgeist movie? www.gotquestions.org/zeitgeist-movie.html The Jesus Myth Theory: Investigating Claims of Copying www.apologeticsguy.com/2011/07/is-jesus-a-myth-mithrasosiris-theory-christianity Was the story of Jesus rising from the dead borrowed from pagan myths?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI4m4tj_A3E
* The Bible is Derogatory to Women Some claim that the Bible is derogatory to women. The following sites show that while many of the ancient world and even certain countries today treat women as second class citizens, it is the Bible which has elevated the value of women. Does Christianity Oppress Women? www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRxAK8ApMkg Is Christianity Oppressive to Women? www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/mar5.html The Biblical Portrait of Women: Setting the Record Straight www.gty.org/resources/articles/A265/The-Biblical-Portrait-ofWomen-Setting-the-Record-Straight Christianity: The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Women https://bible.org/article/christianity-best-thing-ever-happenedwomen
* The Bible Promotes Slavery Some claim that the Bible promotes slavery. Is this true? When you examine the information in context, you will see a completely different story. Does the Bible condone slavery? www.gotquestions.org/Bible-slavery.html The Bible and Slavery www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11& article=1587
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You Say the Bible Advocates Slavery? www.christianapologeticsalliance.com/2012/10/20/you-say-thebible-advocates-slavery Why is slavery permitted in the Bible? https://carm.org/slavery Slavery In The Bible https://bibleapologetics.wordpress.com/slavery-in-the-bible-25 Slavery in the Bible: 8 Quick Resources www.apologetics315.com/2011/06/slavery-in-bible-8-quickresources.html
I would like you to be aware of one additional challenging statement. I cover it as well as the answer to it at the end of the S HARING T HE T RUTHS OF C HRISTIANITY section. The statement is: * I C AN ’ T B ELIEVE I N A G OD W HO W OULD C REATE M E K NOWING I W OULD S IN , AND T HEN H OLD M E G UILTY F OR S IN H E K NEW I W OULD C OMMIT .
The reason for waiting till later to cover it is that the statement touches on a few different sections detailed later in this guide. I believe that it is important to have read through the sections on T RUTH , E VIL , and E VIDENCES , to gain the necessary perspective to fully appreciate the challenge and the answer to that challenge.
* R EVISIONIST H ISTORY A non-question challenge to Christianity and related to some of the misinformation we have already looked at is what is called H ISTORICAL R EVISIONISM . Historical Revisionism is the revising of the record of the past so that people will believe different in the present. This can be done either by changing the details and facts of the historical record, or by leaving out critical details. If the United States wasn’t founded based on the principles of the Bible, how can we object when we see the country moving toward nonChristian values? There is much misinformation about the significant influence of Christianity on the foundation of the United States, about its 77
founders, and significant events in history. Some say that that the the United States wasn’t founded upon Christian values, and that the Founding Fathers were mostly Deists, Agnostics, and Atheists. As in other challenges, people repeat this misinformation simply because they aren’t aware of the facts due to not having researched the accuracy of the information. The people who have created the information itself knowingly look to change what people believe happened in the past, and thus what people now believe in the present. The following quotes illustrate how effective this is: “He who controls the past, controls the future.” fut ure.” George Orwell “A people without a heritage are easily persuaded.” Karl Marx “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!” Adolf Hitler “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Joseph Goebbels Nazi Minister of Propaganda Gone in Only One Generation https://answersingenesis.org/culture/gone-in-only-onegeneration What Are The Dangers Of Revisionist History ? http://society-politics.blurtit.com/295492/what-are-thedangers-of-revisionist-history-
Check the following links to see some of the ways history has been revised and some of the current efforts to revise our history.
H ISTORICAL ISTORICAL R EVISIONISM EVISIONISM What are Some Examples of Historical Revisionism?
www.probe.org/what-are-some-examples-of-historicalrevisionism Who Do You Believe, the Revisionists or the Founding Fathers?
www.revolutionarywararchives.org/revisionist.html The Founding Fathers: Faith or Fiction?
http://god-and-logic.blogspot.com/2010/04/founding-fathersfaith-or-fiction.html Religious Founders? Read Their Writings
www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=161 78
Was George Washington a Christian?
www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=127 The Bullet Proof President
www.c4cg.org/bullet.htm John Quincy Adams and the Bible
https://loopyloo305.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/feb-21-jqathe-bible Confronting Civil War Revisionism: Why the South Went To War
www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=92
E DUCATIONAL DUCATIONAL R EVISIONSIM EVISIONSIM Historic fail? Greatest Americans missing from proposed curriculum
www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/07/historic-fail-greatestamericans-missing-from-proposed-curriculum AP Downgrades History www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3201737/posts My Comments on the U.S. History Standards www.facebook.com/notes/marjorie-holsten/my-comments-onthe-us-history-standards-please-help-me-keep-this-frombecoming-t/226981890650639 Comments on US History Standards from an Attorney and Teacher of the Constitution http://edlibertywatch.org/2011/05/403 Students Walk Out of Class - Protest School Rewriting of History: "You can't Change History" http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/09/students-walk-class-protestschool-rewriting-history-cant-change-history Revisionism: How to Identify It In Your Children's Textbooks www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=112 Colorado Tries to Follow Texas & Stop APUSH, Left Hijacks Narrative over Patriotism. www.breitbart.com/texas/2014/09/27/colorado-tries-to-followtexas-stop-apush-left-hijacks-narrative-over-patriotism Why The Public School System Teaches Revisionist History http://westernconservatory.com/articles/why-public-school-systemteaches-revisionist-history 79
P ROMOTING ROMOTING I SLAM SLAM Islam, Anti-Semitism Sneak Into Tennessee Textbooks
http://political-conservatives.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-arewe-doing-with-our-education.html Islam in a Public School
www.wnd.com/2014/01/islam-in-a-public-school The Islamization of American Public School Children
www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/12/29/islamizationamerican-public-school-children How Historic Revisionism Justifies Islamic Terrorism
www.christianpost.com/news/how-historic-revisionism justifies-islamic-terrorism-107816/ justifies-islamic-terr orism-107816/ Is President Obama Correct: Is America No Longer a Christian Nation?
www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=23909 ____________________ Individuals using the challenges indicated in this section knowingly or unknowingly attempt to marginalize the validity of Christianity. It is important to realize with these challenging statements that most of them do not do anything to disprove the truth of the claims of Christianity. People will use them primarily to silence unprepared Christians, and they are unfortunately effective at doing this. This is confirmed by the number of Christians unprepared to answer these challenges. When Christians are unprepared to answer the challengers, the challengers avoid having to deal with the truths of Christianity and the answers to those challenges. Hopefully you see how these challenges can be responded to effectively using examples in this guide. These answers apply to the challenges whether or not the persons using these challenges knowingly use them as diversions, or that they have only heard others use the challenges and not really investigated their truth. Use these additional websites to gain greater knowledge of many of the techniques used by challengers, and how to answers them. 80
If God is all-powerful, why does evil exist? - Greg Koukl www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jRMWKz4hbw Who Are You to Force Your Morality? – – Greg Koukl www.str.org/articles/who-are-you-to-force-your-morality-2 65 Apologetics Questions Every Christian Parent Needs to Learn to Answer http://christianmomthoughts.com/65-apologetics-questionsevery-christian-parent-needs-to-learn-to-answer Challenge and Response videos by STR www.apologetics315.com/2012/09/featured-resourcechallenge-response.html Four-self-refuting-statements-heard-on-college-campuses- across-america http://coldcasechristianity.com/2013/four-self-refutingstatements-heard-on-college-campuses-across-america Self-Defeating Statements People (Unwittingly) Use Everyday! http://adamlickey.com/2012/09/13/self-defeating-statementspeople-unwittingly-use-everyday Skepticism as Snobbery www.conversantlife.com/belief/skepticism-as-snobbery How to Answer Tough Questions - Conversation Stoppers Stopper s Series http://evangelism.intervarsity.org/how/apologetics/conversati on-stoppers-series 6 Commandments for Answering Tough Questions http://evangelism.intervarsity.org/how/apologetics/6commandments-answering-tough-questions
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4. APOLOGETICS – To Make A Defense For “Christianity has been successfully attacked and marginalized… because those who professed belief were unable to defend the faith from attack, even though its attackers’ arguments were deeply flawed.” - William Wilberforce How would you respond to the following?
Why are you a Christian? Isn’t Christianity just another way to God? I’ll worry about deciding when I’m dying. ______________________
This section covers the importance of providing evidences for Christianity and the Bible. Providing evidences for a belief is called APOLOGETICS , and the person providing evidences is called an Apologist. There are are Christian Christian Apologists, Muslim Apologists, Atheist Apologists, etc. This guide includes information and links on Christian Apologetics. Christian Apologetics came into being out of the need for Christians to defend against the challenges against the claims of Christianity being made by non-Christians. Being that Christianity makes the exclusive claims, “There is a God” , “Jesus is the only way of salvation” , etc., some non-Christians take offense, and make challenges against the claims of Christianity. It is important to realize that the effectiveness of Apologetics is not just in giving people evidences for Christianity. The effectiveness of Apologetics is also in the way you present the evidences, as well as the character we convey. The reason the presentation of the evidences is so important, is because evidences can often be presented in such a way that they appear to support the opposite position. If someone is not familiar with the evidence, this type of presentation can seem quite convincing. 82
One example of evidence being used to support two different positions is is with with Evolution and Creation. The evidences are the strata layers in geologic formations and the fossils found in the strata layers. Evolutionists use the the strata layers as evidence of long time frames necessary for Evolution. Creationists show strata layers forming quickly and trapping organisms quickly as evidence of a global flood. The following sections websites show how the evidence is used support each position. We have THE SAME EVIDENCE but TWO DIFFERENT EXPLANATIONS with TWO DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS . VIDENCES P RESENTED RESENTED I N S UPPORT UPPORT OF E VOLUTION VOLUTION E VIDENCES
Evolutionists claim that the strata layers seen in locations like the Grand Canyon formed slowly over millions of years, with the less complex organisms found in the lower strata layers and the more evolved organisms organisms found in in the upper strata layers. I believe this link gives a basic but accurate representation of the Evolutionary explanation of the strata layers and fossils being evidence of long geologic times. times. If you’ve not seen a presentation regarding the age of the earth before, I think these videos are a fair and accurate representation of the Evolutionary explanation. R OCK OCK LAYERS : : T IMELINE IMELINE OF LIFE ON E ARTH ARTH
www.prehistoricplanet.com/news/index.php?id=48 W HAT HAT ARE F OSSILS OSSILS AND H OW D O T HEY HEY F ORM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_DCP4cLVNg Here are a few question to think about in reference to long ages being evidenced by strata layers and fossils: Have there been observable examples of strata layers forming slowly that one can observe happening, so that this explanation can be verified? Has strata layering ever been observed to happen quickly? How is the age of the layers and fossils determined in the Evolutionary explanation of long time frames? If slowly forming strata layers are an explanation of Evolution, why do many of the types of fossils look the same as current 83
living organisms, if the fossilized examples of the animals died millions of years ago?
E VIDENCES P RESENTED I N S UPPORT OF C REATIONISM
Creationists claim that the strata layers and the fossils are evidence of creationism and that the strata layers formed very quickly through rapid laying down of rock layers by water, through a global flood. Creationist argue that fossils can’t form over long time frames in the method described by Evolutionists, and that they would decompose long before they could be buried and fossilized. ANYON ? H OW LONG DID IT TAKE TO FORM G RAND C www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqbRbjM_B68 I S E VOLUTION ACCURATE SCIENCE OR CONCEALED HUMANISTIC PROPAGANDA? http://strateias.org/evolution.htm XCITED AT M OUNT S T H ELENS ! I G OT E http://creation.com/i-got-excited-at-mount-st-helens
M OUNT S T. H ELENS : E XPLOSIVE E VIDENCE FOR Y OUNG E ARTH C REATION www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0f4URsDWy0 One of the commenters, edgardo bassi , commented: “ A religious creatard explaining science? You are an idiot.” “The guy in the clip is a scientist? Coal made in 30 years? You are or an idiot or a liar. At your own choice.... “
It’s interesting that he refers to the speaker in the video as being a “Creatard” (Creationist Retard), and questions the validity of the speaker is a scientist. Remember we looked at the practice of some people calling other people names when they dislike the conclusions the other people offer. This is usually because they have no argument to respond to the conclusion. This is unfortunately somewhat common, and you will see when one person doesn’t have a response to the other person’s argument, they will start attacking the person, rather than offer an explanation to answer the person’s arguments. The commenter above uses this practice of attacking Dr. Austin’s degree because they don’t agree with his conclusion. It 84
isn’t enough for some to believe different, they feel the need to attack the person and not produce any kind of convincing response. The following links show the credentials of the speaker Steve TEVE AUSTIN - B IO Austin. S http://creationwiki.org/Steve_Austin#Videos http://donotbedeceived.org/dr-steve-austin-bio Here’s a video showing an Evolutionist scientist claiming that Creationist scientists aren’t scientists, because they come up with conclusions different than Evolutionists. S HORTEST S CIENTIST VS C REATIONIST DEBATE EVER .
www.youtube.com/watch?v=txzOIGulUIQ N OTE : I’m not implying that all Evolutionary scientists do this, but you need to realize that there are some who do. They believe that only evolutionary explanations are credible explanations and that Creationist explanations do not need to be taken seriously, because “It’s not real science”. They won’t even consider the evidence a Creation scientist presents because they are a Creationist.
The following video shows how to simulate the forming of strata layers quickly by using a jar, water, and some dirt. I call it N OAH ’S F LOOD IN A JAR . T ESTING S OIL FOR C LAY C ONTENT www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh211b8b5FE AST ? H OW F https://answersingenesis.org/fossils/how-are-fossilsformed/how-fast The first video below shows how circular reasoning is used by Evolutionists to date fossils and strata layers. The 2nd and 3rd videos are by Evolutionists demonstrating the circular-reasoning mentioned in the first video. E VOLUTIONISTS D ATE R OCKS & F OSSILS WITH C IRCULAR R EASONING www.youtube.com/watch?v=efcJEIV2RAk H OW D O W E K NOW H OW O LD F OSSILS ARE ?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2GNJ6tfbY0 AGE , R OCKS , AND I NDEX F OSSILS .MP 4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydDuT5V9zwM 85
The following links show what are referred to as P OLYSTRATE F OSSILS . Polystrate fossils are those fossils which cross between two or more strata layers. Creationists point out that for the item to be fossilized, it would need to be buried quickly. Since the part of the organism that extended beyond the lowest strata layer would have been exposed to the elements and not buried, they wouldn’t have survived to be fossilized over millions of years. P OLYSTRATE F OSSILS www.earthage.org/polystrate/polystrate_fossils.htm http://youngearth.com/topics/polystrate-fossils I think the following video shows a well thought out Evolutionary explanation of how Polystrate tree fossils could have formed over long time frames. I don’t hold to the conclusion that the narrator of the video presents, but I have included it to show an example of a person using a credible argument rather than name calling. Calling names never makes as effective an argument as a well thought reasoned response, and we should not use them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJdLu9CgvVY My apologies at the length of this example of evidences being used to support opposing beliefs in this section, but I wanted to make sure that you had an effective example of the same evidences used to support two opposing theories. I believe this provides a good argument showing why Apologetics is necessary, and why THE WAY THE EVIDENCES ARE PRESENTED IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE EVIDENCES . You might call it MY APOLOGETIC FOR APOLOGETICS . The other main consideration in Apologetics is our character, and how our character can impact how seriously others consider the information we communicate. If others don’t believe that we have integrity, they won’t consider the information we present as credible, and won’t take what we say seriously and truly consider it. Three of the definitions for Character at www.dictionary.com are: M ORAL OR ETHICAL QUALITY :
Ex: A man of fine, honorable character. Q UALITIES OF HONESTY , COURAGE , OR THE LIKE ; INTEGRITY :
Ex: It takes character to face up to a bully. 86
R EPUTATION :
Ex: A stain on one's character. The way you present the information and your character can have a big impact, positive or negative, as to how receptive a person is to considering the information you present. An example of the impact of character is that of Kent Hovind. He is a Creationist, and has a video series called the C REATION S EMINAR . It has a lot of great information, with other creationists questioning some of the content. Still, it is very good. Here is a link where you can see the videos online: C REATION S EMINAR - Kent Hovind www.truthingenesis.com/creation-seminar-by-dr-kent-hovind Unfortunately though, his evidences for Creation are not considered because he was sent to prison for not paying taxes. He indicates that a layer convinced him that he wasn’t legally obligated to pay them. The result of his situation is the ridicule of both Creationism and Christianity. Even though some have this belief, I think you will still find value in much of the content of his videos. Kent Hovind is Still in Jail http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/03/17/kenthovind-is-still-in-jail-a As indicated previously, we need to remember that even with what we might consider great evidences, a person will sometimes still not be willing to consider the evidence because of their worldview. Remember the question from earlier? “What evidences against Christianity would you need to see to consider giving up your beliefs about God, Jesus, the Bible, etc.?” The more evidences we know for what we believe, the harder it is for others to persuade us to believe differently. This the same whether the evidences we believe are for or against Christianity. Others feel as strongly about what they believe as we do about what we believe, and they will not readily be open to considering the evidences presented. 87
When someone has seen a lot of misinformation about Christianity that hasn’t been effectively answered, it will be more difficult to bring them to a point of considering Christianity as reasonable. They have more “reasons” not to believe than to believe. These “reasons” are barriers to considering the evidences. Until these barriers are removed Christianity isn’t viewed as a legitimate belief system. So the Apologetic process helps us discover what the barriers are, so that we can present the evidences in such a way that helps to lower those barriers. Once again, this must be done with love for the individual and a respect for what they believe is true. This way the evidences we share make it to the point of being considered by the person we’re sharing with. You may find it beneficial to check information in support of beliefs contradictory to Christianity to become familiar with arguments non-Christians forward against Christianity. NonChristian beliefs or worldviews are contradictory to Christianity, so anything indicated as an evidence for a view contradictory to Christianity will very probably be a challenge to Christianity. However, before investigating arguments supporting other beliefs, I highly recommend first reading through to the end of this guide. This way you will have a good foundation of the evidences for Christianity. As well, this will reduce the possibility of finding yourself in a situation similar to those 70% of college students unprepared for their professor’s claims. And similar to the C HALLENGING S TATEMENTS section, where you can start learning how to respectfully respond to the challenges others will make, you may find it worthwhile to search for evidences indicated as proofs against Christianity so that you will see what non-Christians actually consider as evidence against Christianity. Again, I recommend strongly that before doing so, you read through the rest of this guide and possibly various websites about Christian Apologetics, so that you will first learn some of the excellent evidences supporting Christianity. This way you will have a firm foundation for what you believe.
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I can’t stress enough the importance of having a firm foundation for what you believe before getting into some of these good sounding presentations of evidences, some of which may seem quite convincing against the beliefs of Christianity. The more you know how to respond to challenging evidences and the way those evidences are presented, the easier it will be to see the flaws in the evidences and the presentation being used. Some of the evidences presented will look pretty foolish, but some will initially sound convincing. They will seem convincing at first, much like the CHALLENGING STATEMENTS do until you see how to respond to them. To be fair, some Christians still use the phrase, “You just need to have enough faith” when trying to persuade others to consider Christianity. This is foolish. Like building a house, you want to make sure you have a very strong foundation before exposing yourself to the winds and storms of these supposed evidences against Christianity. Section 5 covers many of the evidences for Christianity. After reading through this guide and then searching for evidences for other belief systems, you will be amazed at the amount of evidence for Christianity as compared to any other belief system. Possibly the most important reason to learn and understand the importance of apologetic information is so that we can know why we believe what we do, and have confidence in what we believe. As already indicated, the more confident you are in what you believe, the more effective you can be in answering the misinformation presented as the truth about Christianity, and the more persuasive you can be presenting Christian truths and the Gospel. Using the method demonstrated in the S ELF -C HECK - H OW G OOD ARE Y OU ? Section, a person can be shown that they are a sinner and not as good as they originally thought. Even so, they may still resist accepting that Christianity is true because they may still believe mistruths about Christianity, and unfortunately there are many. Again, those who believe the mistruths about Christianity typically do so because they have never been shown the evidences for Christianity or truths to correct those mistruths. 89
As indicated by the statistic in the beginning of this guide, only 30% of Christian students still believe to their faith after their first year in college. And the Barna poll revealed that only half of one percent of 18 to 23 year olds have a Biblical worldview. These low percentages clearly show that most Christian students have not been taught evidences for the truths of Christianity. Considering this, should we conclude that non-Christians who are inclined to believe against Christianity would have learned about any of the evidences which show the truths of Christianity? And considering the effectiveness of the challenges we’ve covered, should we then expect that non-Christians would have become Christians based upon the misinformation many non-Christians (and Christians) believe to be true? Many believe that science has disproved the existence of God, that the Bible is full of errors, and thus concluded that Christianity is not worth considering. Similar to the non-Christians who believe the unanswered challenges they have heard made against Christianity, many who believe that science has disproved the Bible do so primarily because they have heard others make these claims, without the claims being answered. It’s not that they have been shown actual evidences or that they have investigated the challenges to the Bible. They also think that if God actually exists and there is a heaven, as long as they are sincere in what they believe God will accept their sincerity. What many don’t realize is that one can be sincere, but be SINCERELY WRONG . Take driving. A person may run a stop sign in an intersection believing they see no cross traffic. They are sincere in their belief that there isn’t any cross traffic, but they don’t see everything, are sincerely wrong, and they cause an accident, and possibly the injury or death of someone or themselves. The truth isn’t determined by their sincerity. Magic is an example of something showing that we can sincerely believe that we saw something happen, and at the same time knowing deep down that what we see couldn’t happen as we saw it. That’s part of the appeal of magic. We don’t believe that the magician can fool us and we’re amazed when they do. When 90
we learn how a trick is performed, (learning the evidence), the trick loses its intrigue, but all the details make sense. Christianity is an example of something some can sincerely disbelieve because of the misinformation they believe about it. And they can confidently disbelieve Christianity without ever having any knowledge deep down that any of the misinformation they believe as fact is actually wrong. Since they’ve only seen information challenging the truth of Christianity, and not seen anyone respond to the challenges, they have no reasons to believe differently. Why would they believe that there is any truth to Christianity if the only information they know of it is wrong, but they don’t know the information is wrong and believe it as fact? With magic, everyone knows there are hidden details which make the illusion possible. With Christianity, those who don’t believe there are evidences have no reason to consider that any additional details might exist, and so they DON ’ T KNOW about any of the evidences supporting the truths of Christianity. This is where our ability to share these evidences comes in. When you are able to effectively provide and present evidences for Christianity to someone who has questions or doubts, you demonstrate the truths of Christianity and answer the doubts they have. Learning the truths of Christianity doesn’t guarantee that a person will then accept Christianity, but it will show them that Christianity is worth considering. As already mentioned, think about yourself and the evidences you would need to see to abandon what you believe. Those who don’t accept Christianity believe what they do as strongly as we believe Christianity. This is usually because they have never seen any evidence that would motivate them to consider and accept Christianity as true. This contributes to their nonChristian worldview. Changing a person’s worldview is sometimes a long process. In some cases, it may be almost impossible for us. Of course, it’s not impossible for God. It may be that the person isn’t ready to really consider the evidences. There are those who haven’t seen evidences supporting the truths of Christianity, so that they can consider Christianity. There are also people, who 91
unfortunately have decided that no one will ever be able to show them enough evidence to support Christianity. They have already made up their mind that they won’t consider any evidence we may share with them. When a person is not willing to accept Christ, even when they can’t dispute the evidences, their commitment to their worldview is a factor or a sin they don’t want to give up. They like their life as it is, and are not willing to change. Frank Turek will ask a person, “If Christianity is true, would you become a Christian?” He indicates that if they hesitate when answering, their objection to Christianity is not an intellectual one, but one of the heart. We must realize that when a person asks for evidences, they may not actually be interested in evidence and they may not accept any evidences we provide anyway. They may be trying to stump us, and just because we provide evidences doesn’t mean that they will accept those evidences. The conviction to their worldview may be stronger than the evidence we provide. We also don’t know which evidences they will be willing to accept. Hopefully this should help you understand why evidences are not always as convincing to others as we think. If you are a Christian however, these evidences will be very beneficial in giving you much greater confidence in your own belief in Christianity and in the Bible. If you are not a Christian but are willing to consider the evidences, these evidences should give you reasons to consider Christianity, and correct misconceptions you might have about Christianity. If you’ve ever seen someone speak knowledgably about a subject, you’ve probably noticed how confident they appeared and how comfortable they were sharing their knowledge. You can have that same confidence by investing some time learning this information. Wouldn’t you agree that when considering the potential impact to someone’s eternal destiny, it’s hard to think of another endeavor more important or rewarding? At this point, you may be thinking that you don’t have the time. Right? It is easy to say that we don’t have enough time when 92
starting a new endeavor, but in truth, we are able to find the time for those things we think are important enough to spend time on. Right? When you think about it, none of us will ever have enough time to do everything we want to do in this life. It ultimately comes down to how we choose to spend our time. As I’ve told my sons, “When you choose to spend your time doing something, you automatically choose not to spend that time doing something else”. So, when we choose to spend time; watching TV, gaming, texting, surfing, listening to music, etc., we have automatically chosen not to spend that same time reading our Bible, praying, learning the evidences for our faith, etc. It’s not a matter of not having enough time, it’s how we spend the time we have been given. Again, don’t we always make or find the time for what we feel is important? When was the last time you thought, “I just don’t have time to eat today.” or “I just don’t have time to shower or get dressed today” ? What is important to you? What do you find the easiest activity to make time for? I remember someone saying, “What you spend your time on is what controls you” . The following video shows the average time spent on various daily tasks. I hope you are as surprised at the end as I was. It really gives perspective as to how much time we actually waste each day. How do you spend your time? www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv5zNYZlNFI Also pertaining to time, what we spend the greatest amount of time on is often what we consider the most important thing in our lives. It is what drives us, what fulfills us, in some cases it might be considered what we worship. If it is more important than anything else in our life, it might even be considered our “god”. Granted jobs, careers and education take our time, but what is our motivation in spending time on a career or education? Are we ultimately looking to acquire money, power, fame, etc. through a career or education toward that career? The following is a great video showing how we turn different things into “gods” in our life. Counterfeit Gods - Tim Keller www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mK65lpveSM
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With all of this in mind, think about how you spend your time. Would God more honored by you changing your priorities or not? God won’t force you to change what you do, but realize that once you’ve passed from this life, the one thing you will never again have the opportunity to do is to reach others for Christ. Hopefully this should prompt us to think about how we spend our time. Where do we get time from anyway? Have you ever thought of the resource of TIME as being a gift that God has given us? If God were to consider your job as being how you use the time He has given you, what kind of JOB EVALUATION would He give you for how you’ve SPENT His time? Would you receive a promotion, a disciplinary write-up, or would you deserve to get fired? I regularly think about how I spend H IS time, and I hope you will think about this now too. The key verse in the Bible about Apologetics is: 1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”. Notice that the end of the verse emphasizes “with gentleness and respect ”. Again, our task is not to embarrass another or put them in their place and win the argument. Our task is to win their heart for Christ. It is important to remember that people who have beliefs contradictory to Christianity, often hold to these beliefs as strongly as we hold to what we believe. They SINCERELY BELIEVE what they believe, just as you sincerely believe what you believe. Remember however, sincerity is not the same as truth. As mentioned previously, think about the evidences you would need to see to abandon what you believe. Do you understand now why a person may not immediately accept Christianity when they first start to learn about the evidences? It may take them time to consider this new information, especially in light of their current beliefs. That is why the most important task is to show where the evidence leads, and to do so “with gentleness and respect”. 94
You may have heard the saying, “ A person doesn’t care how much you know, till they know how much you care” . If those with whom we share the truths of Christianity feel that we’re just trying to win a debate or argument, do you think they will believe that we sincerely care about where they spend eternity? Another saying you may have heard, “A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still” . You can win the argument and effectively silence someone with your knowledge, but in the end, turn them off to considering Christianity. A good friend of mine was a police officer for 25 years. Early in his career, I shared with him about Christ and Christianity, but without most of the evidences I know now. After a number of my SHARING EFFORTS , he strongly insisted that he did not want me to talk to him anymore about Christianity. He stated that he would find out the truth on his own. Being that he was 6’1” and weighed about 230lbs, he was very convincing visually in his request for me to stop sharing my beliefs with him. Sometime after the last time I tried to share the Gospel message with him, while still early in his career as a police officer, he found himself at the point of committing suicide. In his police work he had witnessed pretty horrific things, and he did not feel that he could take anymore, nor the images his memory reminded him of. He told me that at the point he was about to pull the trigger, he was stopped by the realization that, “committing suicide wasn’t what God wanted for his life” . He believed this because even though he hadn't accepted Christ’s gift to that point, he still believed in God. Something to realize is that a belief in God doesn’t mean one has accepted Christ’s gift of salvation. This is confirmed by James 2:19 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder!” This shows that belief in God doesn’t equate to having accepted Christ’s sacrificial gift. You see, demons believe in God, even though they will never be able to accept Christ’s priceless gift of salvation. Two of the officers my friend worked with were Christians and they had been sharing evidences for Christianity with him. 95
They shared with him prophesies from the Old Testament and showed how these prophesies were fulfilled by Christ. The day after my friend almost pulled the trigger and then came to his senses, these officers led him to accept Christ as his savior, saving his life, and his eternal destiny. I truly believe it was because these officers had showed my friend evidences that he did not kill himself. As Christians, it is easy to come to the mistaken conclusion that since we have accepted Christ, there is something special about us. Some may even think they did something to deserve salvation. Remember, the ONLY thing that makes us different from those who haven’t accepted Christ’s payment for sin on the cross, is just that. They haven’t accepted Christ’s payment for their sin. The truth is that none of are worthy of salvation or ever could be. There is absolutely nothing better, holier, more deserving, or worthier about one who has accepted Christ’s sacrifice as compared to a person who hasn’t. The gift of Christ's payment for our sin by dying on the cross is exactly that, a GIFT . Jesus did everything to provide this gift. We have done nothing to deserve his GIFT , nor is there anything we can do to EARN this gift. Once again, think back to what I wrote about a GIFT in the SELF-CHECK section. Can you earn a gift? If you could EARN it, it wouldn’t be a gift, would it? You can’t earn a gift. Since what Christ offers is a free gift, (Christ has done all the work by his sacrifice on the cross paying for our sin), there is NOTHING we can do to take credit for our salvation. There is NOTHING that we can point to in ourselves making us deserving of this gift. The ONLY thing we can point to is what Christ accomplished on the cross, NOTHING ELSE , because he did everything! Remember, it is a free gift. The only thing we can do, is either accept His gift or reject His gift. Reality – Paul Washer Sermon Jam www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygf3MWEbd3w In the next section we will look at some of the numerous evidences that exist for Christianity as a defense for the truths of Christianity. Once again, APOLOGETICS is giving a defense for what one believes. Giving a defense for Christianity is called C HRISTIAN APOLOGETICS . And again, the key verse in the Bible for the defense of Christianity, is 1 Peter 3:15: 96
1 Peter 3:15 . “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”
As a Christian, there are significant reasons why we should learn some of the solid evidences for what we believe. I’ve found the following reasons to know why we believe what we believe, which includes reasons Brett Kunkle of Stand to Reason and Lee Strobel have both mentioned.
* R EASONS TO L EARN E VIDENCES FOR C HRISTIANITY 1. The knowledge gives you confidence in what you believe. Just like knowing 2+2=4, when you are faced with challenges to your belief, you can be confident that there are answers to those challenges and you won’t find yourself questioning if your beliefs are true or not. You may not have every answer when someone questions you, but you can have confidence that answers exist. 2. This confidence has an impact on your Christian life. You will have a stronger prayer life, because you have confidence that God will hear you. When you know the truths of God and the Bible, you will have a greater desire to share these truths with others, and you will have greater confidence in sharing. 3. Solid reasons help you to face challenges from professors in college and others. As we have seen, there are professors who openly try to destroy the confidence Christian students have in the Bible and the existence of God. You will also have confidence when challenged by friends and other people you talk with. 4. Apologetics chips away at the bad arguments of others, and their denials of the truths of Christianity . Good arguments probably won’t convert the person raising the objections, but it may bring them one step closer to a decision for Christ. This is similar to Greg Koukl’s reference of “putting a stone in their shoe” . You will see some of these arguments later in this guide. 97
5. Good apologetic arguments, change the perspectives non-Christians have about Christians . You will be seen as a very rational, clear thinking Christian, which is not the picture most people have of Christians. Atheist Philosopher Thomas Nagle said, “I want atheism to be true and I am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers.” Many Christians have said things like, “You just need to have enough faith” . This makes Christians look like they have no valid reasons to believe what they do, like a person thinking that they can accomplish something if they “just believe it enough” . To illustrate this idea, could Shaquille O’Neil ever be a professional horse jockey just by having ENOUGH FAITH ? 6. Apologetics contributes to the common good of society . You are able to demonstrate that abortion, homosexuality, embryonic stem cell research, and other cultural issues, are not just a person’s preference. Apologetics can show others how these things negatively impact our society. 7. It may save someone’s life, and possibly their eternity. I wrote earlier about my friend who almost committed suicide. His co-workers shared evidences for the truth of Christianity, and the reliability of the Bible. This not only saved his life, but changed his eternal destination. 8. Because God commands it: Let’s look at 1Peter 3:15 again: “Always being prepared to make a defense”. This is not an option. God wants us to not only be confident in what we believe, he also wants us to be able to provide others with reasons when we are asked or challenged. 9. Ricochet Witnessing: This is the phrase Lee Strobel used in an audio recording I heard. He said that when you are giving reasons for what you believe, others may be listening, but not saying anything. Lee indicates that you might have an impact on these other people without even knowing it. A great example of this is in the college environment. Not only can this have an impact on other non-Christian students but also other Christian students who aren’t familiar with the evidences. This will encourage them! 98
When it comes to being a witness for Christ, we don't really have a choice. Isaiah 43:10 states “You are my witnesses”. This verse shows that we WILL be witnesses for Christ. It is up to us to decide whether we will be good witnesses or bad witnesses for Christ. What about our CHARACTER in communicating the truths of Christianity? How do we represent Christ to others? As witnesses for Christ, does the integrity and character of our lives help others to accept or reject Christianity? How would you feel if you found out that you were the reason someone rejected Christianity? Are there things in your life, which if found out, would damage your integrity and that of Christ’s message? Lastly, there are some Christians who argue against Apologetics, because they believe that Apologetics makes faith unnecessary. Since Apologetics answers the challenges to Christianity, they see this as eliminating the need for faith. I believe an expression that demonstrates their idea of Biblical faith is,”I believe it; that settles it!” But is this accurate to the Bible’s presentation of FAITH ? Isn’t a phrase like this essentially the same as the phrase we looked at earlier, “You just have to have faith” ? It’s as though the FAITH is what makes the difference, and not what the FAITH is in. Remember the two quotes: "Faith is a step in the direction the evidence already points." Lee Strobel “Faith is trust in what we have reason to believe” . J.P. Moreland
Considering the proper understanding of FAITH ; it is not a matter of how much faith you have in something, but what you have placed your faith in. It is not faith by itself, but the object of that faith. When I think of my wife, I have faith that she loves me. Do I have this faith because I have convinced myself after 25 years of marriage that she loves me, or do I have this faith because I have the evidences of all of the things she has done proving that she loves me? Is it my FAITH , or that she has proven her love for me? 99
The following is a simple but effective illustration I’ve heard to show the Biblical concept of faith. Suppose you saw a performer pushing a wheelbarrow across a tight-rope above Niagara Falls. You watched them repeatedly perform the feat, never faltering even once. If someone were to ask you if you believed the performer could do it again, what would you say? Probably “Yes” , correct? Now, what if the performer asked you to get into the wheelbarrow, and they would push the wheelbarrow with you in it across the tightrope to the other side. Would you do it? If you say no, you only have a belief that they can do it. You don’t have faith that they can do it. It is only when you place your full reliance on a person that you have put your faith in their ability to accomplish what they’ve demonstrated they can do. Remember, it is not your FAITH that makes the person’s claims possible, it’s what they have proven they can do. F AITH IN C HRIST is like this. It is not because I’ve decided
to believe in Christ, nor how much I believe in Him, but that He has proven himself capable and faithful to do what he has promised. We can have faith in who He is and what He has claimed, because of His death on the cross and his resurrection proving He is God. He can actually do what He has claimed that makes him God, and gives substance and credibility to our faith. When we look at the Bible, what example do we see? Did Paul ask people to just have faith in his message, or did he use reasons to convince them? Acts 17:2 And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths REASONED with them from the Scriptures. Acts 18:4 And he REASONED in the synagogue every Sabbath, and TRIED TO PERSUADE Jews and Greeks. Acts 18:19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and REASONED with the Jews. As these verses and others show, it was the practice of Paul to REASON with others to reach them with the Gospel of Christ. You won’t find one verse showing Paul recommending others to JUST HAVE ENOUGH FAITH . 100
Paul’s Mars Hill Appeal www.letusreason.org/Current56.htm
In the following audio, Greg shows that the definition of Faith has changed from the original meaning, and now is a kind of wishful thinking. He suggests us using a particular word instead of Faith. Go to 40:40 in the following audio to listen to Greg talk on the subject, and his recommendation of the word we should use. Truth is Not Ice Cream audio - Greg Koukl http://vailchristian.com/podcast/?powerpress_pinw=27podcast (If you click the PLAY button below the title instead of downloading and playing the file, the window will only show you the remaining time of the recording. “40:40” into the recording is the same as “-23:40”) This is the link to his three part series, Tackling Relativism
http://vailchristian.com/podcast/category/messageseries/tackling-relativism-with-greg-koukl So, what kind of witness will you choose to be? Even if your witness did not convert a committed non-Christian, wouldn’t you like to create the same reaction in those you communicate with as that of Atheist Thomas Nagel? Remember his comment:”I want atheism to be true and I am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers.” When Kids Question Their Faith www.conversantlife.com/belief/when-kids-question-theirfaith-part-1 www.conversantlife.com/belief/when-kids-question-theirfaith-part-2 Stop Teaching Young Christians About Their Faith http://coldcasechristianity.com/2015/stop-teaching-youngchristians-about-their-faith/ Why Apologetics is Critical for Youth Ministry http://rebootchristianity.blogspot.com/2013/11/whyapologetics-is-critical-for-youth.html 101
We Live at the Mercy of Our Ideas www.conversantlife.com/theology/we-live-at-the-mercy-ofour-ideas Ideas Have Consequences www.theologytools.com/PDF/MR/7014_Ideas_Have_Cons equences_1_Final.pdf http://solidjoys.desiringgod.org/en/devotionals/ideas-haveconsequences From True Belief to Confident Knowledge www.conversantlife.com/theology/from-true-belief-toconfident-knowledge What Is Apologetics: Arguing Evangelism www.str.org/articles/what-is-apologetics-arguingevangelism What is Apologetics and Why? www.apologeticsbible.com/apologetics-resources/what-isapologetics Do Apologetics Still Work? www.conversantlife.com/theology/do-apologetics-still-work Do Apologetics Matter Anymore? www.conversantlife.com/life-with-god/do-apologeticsmatter-anymore Why Apologetics? - 121 Quotes on Why We Need Apologetics www.thepoachedegg.net/the-poached-egg/why-apologetics Being a Winsome Apologist - John Lennox www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwOpsOudaA8 What an Apologist’s Job is NOT - Melissa Cain Travis http://hcchristian.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/what-anapologists-job-is-not Why Apologetics Has a Bad Name - Sean McDowell www.conversantlife.com/belief/why-apologetics-has-a-badname
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Ambassadors for Christ - Greg Koukl ** Very important presentations showing how our character can affect the impression others have of Christ) http://vimeo.com/13049510 (video - shorter) http://christianaudio.com/ambassadors-for-christ-gregorykoukl (audio) Regarding Apologetics, an Apology www.str.org/articles/regarding-apologetics-an-apology No Apologies www.str.org/blog/no-apologies Why We Must Teach Apologetics Unapologetically www.outreachmagazine.com/features/5486-why-we-mustteach-apologetics-unapologetically.html We Need Knowledge, Not Just Belief www.str.org/articles/we-need-knowledge-not-just-belief Is Faith Blind? – Greg Koukl www.str.org/podcasts/thinking-out-loud/is-faith-blind We Need to Get Rid of Faith www.str.org/articles/we-need-to-get-rid-of-faith Intellectual Faith? www.str.org/articles/intellectual-faith The Reasonable, Evidential Nature of Christian Faith – J Warner Wallace
www.str.org/blog/the-reasonable-evidential-nature-ofchristian-faith Ten Bad Arguments - Greg Koukl http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/1999-2000/01148.mp3 Why Should I Defend My Faith? (Video) www.str.org/blog/why-should-i-defend-my-faith-video Faith & Wishing www.str.org/publications/faith-wishing
Truth is Not Ice Cream audio - Greg Koukl (F AITH starts at 40:40) http://vailchristian.com/podcast/?powerpress_pinw=27podcast 103
More Than a Feeling www.conversantlife.com/theology/more-than-a-feeling The Essence of Apologetics - Os Guinness www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Os%20Guinness The Vision of Literary Apologetics www.conversantlife.com/writing/the-vision-of-literaryapologetics Apologetics for a New Generation Book by Sean and Josh McDowell www.openisbn.com/preview/0736925201/ - Preview of Book Free Study Guide To The Book http://seanmcdowell.org/pdf/Apologetics%20Study%20Gui de.pdf Video – Including Atheist Role Play http://vimeo.com/15733653 God and Cosmology Videos www.youtube.com/user/tacticalfaith/videos How to Get Apologetics in Your Church www.apologetics315.com/2010/09/how-to-get-apologeticsin-your-church.html Common Objections http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/search/label/Common%20O bjections Answering Common Objections to Christianity from Skeptics www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/qa_steve_hay s02.html Why Apologetics Has a Bad Name www.equip.org/article/why-apologetics-has-a-badname/#christian-books-2
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5. EVIDENCES For CHRISTIANITY "Ultimately, the problem with man is not the absence of evidence, it is the suppression of it." - Ravi Zacharias How would you respond to the following?
How do you know God exists? Wasn’t Jesus just a good man? How do you know that the Bible is true? ______________________
The evidences in this section are presented in the following order: TRUTH – GOD –THE BIBLE – JESUS CHRIST I’ve presented the subjects in this order because I believe it is the most logical progression of these subjects.
If there is no T RUTH , then we can’t know that G OD exists. If we can’t know G OD exists, then we can’t know that the B IBLE or any other religious writing is from G OD . If we can’t know the B IBLE is from G OD , then it doesn’t matter about the person of J ESUS C HRIST .
Conversely:
If there is TRUTH , then we can evaluated different beliefs about G OD , as to their TRUTHFULNESS . If a belief about G OD proves TRUE , then any contradictory belief is automatically false, according to the L AW OF N ON -C ONTRADICTION . If God exists and He has communicated to us, then which volume claiming to be from Him shows evidence of this? If the B IBLE , which claims to be from God, proves to be from God, then any volume which contradicts the B IBLE is automatically false, according to the L AW OF N ON - C ONTRADICTION . If the Bible proves to be from God, we then have a decision to make about the central personality of the Bible, J ESUS C HRIST , whether we like it or not. 105
When you consider evidence, think about a court trial and the requirements of the EVIDENCE . I was privileged to be on a jury trial recently found it to be a very accurate illustration. With respect to the evidence, both the prosecuting attorney and defense attorney emphasized the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt” . Neither of them ever stated the phrase, “beyond all possible doubt” . When considering evidence, we look at the most logical explanation and conclusion the evidence proves? Many will explain away an evidence or evidences for Christianity, because they can imagine a scenario, no matter how unlikely, where the evidence won’t support Christianity. In their belief, all they have to do is just come up with a story about the evidence to explain it away, regardless of how unrealistic the story. Greg Koukl will often state, "A story is not an argument" . He has heard many people come up with a story to explain something or explain it away, but they provide no argument using evidences and reason for their objection. They only have a story. In a courtroom you won’t hear a story as part of the evidence presented. Any conclusion in a courtroom must be consistent with the evidence produced. Some even invent alternative explanations to refute a conclusion a person doesn’t like. One example is the F LYING S PAGHETTI M ONSTER . This is something invented by a few Atheist professors, who hold to the belief that there is absolutely no evidence for God (according to them). Since they believe there is no evidence for God, and people believe in God, then why not believe in something else that has no evidence, and is equally unrealistic? They have proposed what they believe is an equally unrealistic subject of belief. They have created the F LYING S PAGHETTI M ONSTER . They have a name for the followers of this pasta invention. They are actually referred to as P ASTAFARIANS . So, is it fair to say that there is no evidence for either? After reading this section you will see the difference is that while there isn’t any evidence for this this pasta invention and creation of the colander, there is great evidence for God as we will see. The mistake many make is that when they see evidence they don’t like which supports Christianity, they don’t consider it evidence or they 106
consider it insufficient to prove the validity of Christianity. Think again about a court trial. As a juror you are instructed to follow the evidence where it leads, not ignore evidence when it doesn’t lead where you want it to. Check Greg Koukl’s commentary on this, and these additional articles. T HE F LYING S PAGHETTI M ONSTER (Video) www.str.org/blog/the-flying-spaghetti-monster-video I NVISIBLE P INK U NICORN , F LYING S PAGHETTI M ONSTER , S ANTA C LAUS AND G OD
www.godandscience.org/apologetics/unicorns.html A BRIEF R EBUTTAL TO "T HE F LYING S PAGHETTI M ONSTER " http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-articledetails.php?article=14769
* TRUTH – ICE CREAM OR INSULIN ? Have you ever thought about T RUTH as being like ice cream? I know this sounds like a strange question, but it will make sense shortly. You may have never given much thought to the idea of T RUTH before, but people regularly confuse the meaning of truth. When considering the concept of T RUTH , It is important to be aware of the two primary designations of T RUTH . Those two designations are: S UBJECTIVE T RUTH , and O BJECTIVE T RUTH . Greg Koukl (www.str.org) uses I CE C REAM and I NSULIN to creatively illustrate the concepts of Subjective Truth and O BJECTIVE T RUTH . There are many people who think about truth in an ICE CREAM kind of way. No, they don’t think TRUTH is actually chocolate or rocky road, but they view TRUTH as if it were a flavor of ice cream. Let’s look at one scenario. When a person states, “Rocky road is the best” , they don’t necessarily expect YOU to believe it’s the best. If you do, that’s fine, but what if you don’t? That’s fine too. And whichever flavor you believe is the best, that person doesn’t feel uncomfortable with you stating it even if they don’t believe it is the best flavor. Let’s look at a second scenario. What if a person claimed a particular flavor was the best and you disagreed with them. Then the person called you a sinner for not believing the flavor they mentioned was the best and that you would go to Hell because you 107
didn’t believe their flavor was the best flavor. It would be very strange for someone to do that, wouldn’t it? The first scenario, “I think this flavor is best, and you think a different flavor is best” , is an example of a SUBJECTIVE TRUTH claim. It is a truth about the SUBJECT , about each PERSON and THEIR PREFERENCE of ice cream flavor, not the ice cream itself. In this example, it is the truth about whoever is claiming that their flavor is the best. It is about their personal likes and dislikes. When many look at different beliefs, they look at them subjectively. Christianity works for you, it is your BELIEF FLAVOR , but they have a different BELIEF FLAVOR that works for them. They are happy for you whether or not your belief flavor is their belief flavor. They are fine with you having a different BELIEF FLAVOR . That is unless of course you insist that your belief flavor is the BEST FLAVOR or THE ONLY TRUE FLAVOR , and then go on to tell them that if they don’t believe your BELIEF FLAVOR is the best, they will go to hell. The second scenario above is an example of O BJECTIVE T RUTH . It is a truth about the OBJECT , about the ice cream. It is about the claim itself, not the preference of the person making the claim. When we state that “Christianity is the truth” , we mean it OBJECTIVELY , that it is actually true for all people everywhere, not just that we LIKE it best. Many look at our claim about the truth of Christianity as a SUBJECTIVE TRUTH , as an Ice Cream kind of truth. Greg’s effective illustration for OBJECTIVE TRUTH is to see it like insulin, and not like ice cream. Think about having a friend with diabetes. What if one day they decided that chocolate ice cream was the best treatment for diabetes because they liked the flavor? Would you feel awkward trying to convince them that they were wrong? Of course not. Would you think it appropriate to try to talk them out of this C HOCOLATE ICE C REAM treatment? Of course. You can see in this scenario that the focus is the treatment of the diabetes, not what someone’s personal preference of treatment is. With beliefs, like medical treatments, we want to choose beliefs that work, beliefs that are true. 108
Greg Koukl states, “When it comes to ice cream, we choose what we like. When it comes to diabetes, we choose what works.” Greg also states, “Subjective truth is NEITHER right nor wrong. Objective truth is EITHER right or wrong.”
Why are beliefs important? Because B ELIEFS HAVE C ONSEQUENCES . Remember earlier when we covered the similar phrase: I DEAS H AVE C ONSEQUENCES . With the TREATMENT OF DIABETES example above we see different consequences depending on the belief someone has about its treatment. In just the last hundred years we have seen the consequences to the world due to the beliefs held by Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Zedong. Those consequences are that over 100 million dead. I believe that deep down we really want to know the truth, but when we are challenged to face the reality that we are wrong our pride gets in the way. We like living in the BELIEF BUBBLE we’ve become happy with and we don’t like the idea of anyone popping our bubble. I’ve been guilty of this too. Just ask my wife if I’ve ever been resistant to change when she’s brought me to the reality of a wrong decision. There is a phrase I like which illustrates our wanting to keep our beliefs just the way they are: “Don’t confuse me with the truth, I’ve already made up my mind.” Does it make sense now why people don’t have an issue when we say, “ Insulin is a treatment for diabetes” , but they do have an issue when we say, “Jesus is the only way” ? When we tell them about Jesus, they think we’re trying to force them to accept our BELIEF FLAVOR as THE BEST FLAVOR , because they are looking at the claim of Jesus being the only way, as our BELIEF FLAVOR . They have a different belief flavor, and they don’t want us trying to get them to switch their flavor for our flavor. They have MADE UP THEIR MIND about the belief flavor they like, and they don’t want anybody challenging that belief. It’s important to realize that when a person looks at beliefs like a BELIEF FLAVOR , it is part of their worldview. Their BELIEF FLAVOR is that a person’s PREFERENCE OF BELIEF is the TRUTH , (SUBJECTIVE TRUTH ), and not that SOME BELIEFS ARE ACTUALLY TRUE FOR EVERYONE (OBJECTIVE TRUTH ). When in conversation with others, it’s very important to remember this difference and even 109
clarify this difference to those you talk with. There are some very effective techniques for clarifying a person’s understanding of TRUTH in the T ACTICS section. One very effective question to get a clearer understanding of a person’s belief, and the first T ACTICS question is, “What do you mean by that?” If they were to say something like “All roads lead to heaven” , you could ask,”What do you mean by ‘All roads’? Truth is Not Ice Cream audio - Greg Koukl http://vailchristian.com/podcast/?powerpress_pinw=27-podcast
Let’s look at a few statements and see if we can tell whether they ). are SUBJECTIVE ( ICE CREAM ) or OBJECTIVE ( INSULIN 1. 2 + 2 = 4 2. Disneyland is better than Magic Mountain. 3. The 2011 Toyota Camry is ugly. 4. 99% of U.S households have at least one TV set. 5. Television is more important than anything else to poor people. 6. Apple only allows company approved apps to be installed on iOS devices. 7. 53% of Americans pay federal income tax. 8. God exists. 9. Premarital sex is immoral. The answers (O = objective, S = subjective ):
1:O, 2:S, 3:S, 4:O, 5:S, 6:O, 7:O, 8:O, 9:O Are you surprised to find that statements 8 and 9 are OBJECTIVE statements? Many students will initially answer that both are subjective. Statement 8 is easier to see as objective when we realize that God either exists or doesn’t exist, and since the statement has to do with God and not our belief about Him, it is an objective statement. Statement 9 is a little more difficult, in that many will answer based on how they FEEL about premarital sex, and not consider MORALS being truly objective. Similar to actual truths being objective and not subjective, morals are actually objective and not subjective because RIGHT AND WRONG are determined by God and not our likes or dislikes. Morality will be covered more shortly. This video by Frank Turek demonstrates the 110
concept of objective moral law, and will give you a better understanding. Is There an Objective Moral Law? www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOJeseNJneg Now think about a situation where you’re in a conversation with someone, and you make the statement, “Jesus is the only way . . .” If the person responds with “I’m glad you’ve found something that works for you, but that is your truth and not my truth”. Would their claim be a claim of OBJECTIVE TRUTH or a SUBJECTIVE TRUTH ? H INT . Is their claim about Jesus (the object), or what their preference is (the subject)? So, with their response, where do we go? We must go to the foundation of everything. That foundation is ABSOLUTE TRUTH . As a Christian you may be thinking, “Isn’t God the foundation of everything?” , and you would be right. God is the foundation of everything. Consider John 14:6. “ Jesus said to him, “I am The Way, T HE T RUTH , and The Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus claimed to be T HE T RUTH not just A TRUTH . He is U LTIMATE T RUTH , so when you point to T RUTH as the foundation for everything, you are actually pointing to God as that foundation. With OBJECTIVE TRUTH we can evaluate beliefs and teachings as to their truthfulness. Whichever belief proves to be OBJECTIVELY TRUE , any beliefs that contradict that true belief are AUTOMATICALLY FALSE . I F there is ONE G OD, the teachings of many Gods, no God, you are God, and any other contradictory beliefs about G OD are automatically false. I F there is NO G OD, then the teaching of One God, many gods, and you are god are automatically false. The same is true for any of the other options about the truth of God(s) existence or non-existence. This is the same with most areas of knowledge. Think about most math problems, all the given answers can be false, but only one answer can be true. This aspect of the truthfulness of something is called the L AW OF N ON -C ONTRADICTION : The Law of Non-Contradiction: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_noncontradiction.
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The L AW OF N ON -C ONTRADICTION states that, “Contradictory statements cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time. As an example, the two propositions ‘A is B’ and ‘A is not B’ are mutually exclusive.” Ravi Zacharias illustrates this law
very effectively in this YouTube video Law of Non-Contradiction www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWVzHOhGSC0
It’s important to realize that this is the LAW of non-contradiction, and not the THEORY of non-contradiction. This means that it is proven, not just a theory. Considering the LAW OF NON - CONTRADICTION , when there is a scenario where there are multiple possible answers, you will usually find that while all the answers given can be false, only one answer can be true. Math is a great example of this: 2+2=4, not 57, -5, 273, or any other number. Whichever answer is true, anything contracting that true answer is automatically false. One way to think about TRUTH is that it is exclusive and intolerant. Think about the importance of truth. Remember, if there is no truth, there is nothing you can know with any certainty. If you can’t know anything with certainly, you can't know for sure that there is a God, or that Jesus is God, or that He is the only way of salvation. John 14:6 states that “Jesus is THE truth”. Once again, some professors will state “There is no Truth” . If there is no T RUTH , Jesus can't be the T RUTH . This means that the verse is
false, and that the Bible has errors and can't be from God. When students hear a professor say this, most don't think the professors statement through. If there is no truth, then nothing can be known with any certainty. And if nothing can be known with any certainty, then the professor’s claim that THERE IS NO TRUTH , can't be known with any certainty either. Anyone making this statement can’t have it both ways. They can’t try to convince you that their statement is true while also stating that there is no truth. Knowing this reality about OBJECTIVE TRUTH and the L AW OF N ON -C ONTRADICTION , we can be confident that OBJECTIVE TRUTH 112
exists. Since OBJECTIVE TRUTH exists, we can be confident in being able to evaluate beliefs and claims as to their TRUTHFULNESS . As such, we can evaluate the truthfulness about beliefs and teachings about God, Allah, the Bible, the Quran, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, etc. When you consider OBJECTIVE TRUTH , any truth is true no matter; its popularity, whether somebody really wants it to be true, whether it is believed no matter how sincerely, strongly, or confidently. We’ve already looked at SINCERITY , (Magic and driving), and DESIRE (Deal or no Deal), as not having any bearing on truth. What about CONFIDENCE ? The Super Bowl is a good example of individuals exhibiting great confidence in a future outcome. I think we can reasonably conclude that the majority of the people who watch the Super Bowl REALLY believe one of the two teams will win. What they BELIEVE or WANT doesn't change the truth of the outcome of the game, no matter how strongly they believe it or want it. Ultimately, only one team will win and in upwards of 50% of the fans will be wrong. One of our son's previous teachers bet $1600 on a team in the 2013 Super Bowl! Considering that he bet $1600, how confident do you think he was that his team would win? If you had $1600 would you bet it all on a team if you weren’t fully confident they would win? Before the game started, he was so confident in his choice he was willing to bet $1600 dollars on the outcome. His team lost and he lost $1600! Do you think he would have made the bet if he had any thought his team would lose? With the 2014 Super Bowl, the owner of a furniture company was so convinced that the Denver Broncos would beat the Seattle Seahawks that he held a promotion for anyone spending more than $6,000 on furniture and having it delivered before game day. The Denver Broncos lost the Super Bowl and the promotion he ran cost him 7 million dollars! Texas Furniture Store Owner Loses $7 Million In Super Bowl Bet www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMAfl8PQA1w Think about the Earth. According to history books, before 1492 it was believed with great confidence that the Earth was flat. 113
What was the belief about the Earth after 1492? Eventually almost everyone believed it was spherical. Was the earth flat before 1492 because people believed it was flat, and then in 1492 because of Columbus it became spherical because people changed their belief? Or was it always a sphere? Did it matter that at one time almost the entire world believed the Earth was flat? No. So truth is not based upon the number of people who believe something, is it? So you see, truth is not dependent on how much confidence one has in something or how popular the belief either. It is my understanding that there are over 20 religious volumes which claim to be inspired by God. According to the L AW OF N ON C ONTRADICTION , if one volume proves to be from God any other book contradictory to that volume is automatically not from God. Let’s consider the Bible and the implications if true. The Bible speaks of the person Jesus the Christ. It indicates that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the debt for the sin we have committed so that everyone might have the opportunity to receive eternal life. The Bible also indicates that none of us can do anything to be worthy of receiving the gift he offers. Isaiah 64:6 “ But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags”. If everything we try to do is described as FILTHY RAGS , then the only hope we have is not in anything we can do but only in one who actually has the qualifications and ability to pay the debt we owe. Our only hope is to accept Christ's payment for our sin, (which we don't deserve and can’t earn ), so that we can receive God’s gift of eternal life. If the Bible is true, we have no choice but to make a decision about this person Jesus Christ, his claims to divinity, and his claims to be able to take away sin. Can you see that If we choose not to choose, we have still made a choice? Not choosing is actually making a choice to reject his gift. So the question is, “Is the Bible true?” Think again about the idea of TOLERANCE , that what everyone believes is TRUE (subjective), even where one person’s belief contradicts another person’s belief. If what everyone believes is TRUE , then what about the different beliefs in God? What about 114
those who don't believe in God? Is God’s existence based upon how strongly someone does or doesn’t believe in His existance? If so, God would exist for those of us who do believe He exists and not exists for those who believe He doesn’t exist. He would both exist and not exist at the same time. You see the obvious contradiction here, as only one of these two beliefs can be objectively true. God exists or doesn't exist, because He does or doesn't exist (objective), not because people choose to believe or not believe in His existence (subjective). So you see, TRUTH is also not based on the strength of a person’s BELIEF . Is Truth Knowable? - Frank Turek www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNuULwwSMzg Does Truth Exist - Is It Knowable?" - Pt. 1 www.youtube.com/watch?v=APwu8c9JLXQ
Sites on Truth: www.knowtruth.com/truth www.letusreason.org/Apolo1.htm www.gotquestions.org/absolute-truth.html www.allabouthow.com/is-there-absolute-truth.htm http://coldcasechristianity.com/?s=truth http://pleaseconvinceme.com/?s=truth Truth or Consequences - Greg Koukl http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/1999-2000/00925.mp3 Why the Correspondence Theory of Truth is Superior http://clearlens.org/2013/03/23/why-the-correspondencetheory-of-truth-is-superior The Usual Suspects- Responses to "Notable" Skeptics http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2009/07/usual-suspectsresponses-to-notable.html A Basic Logic Primer www.apologetics315.com/2009/05/basic-logic-primer.html
Straight Thinking www.reasons.org/explore/type/straight-thinking
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* GOD Now that we have a better understanding of truth, we can apply this understanding to the different beliefs about God(s). Whichever teaching about God or gods is true, any contradictory beliefs or teachings to the true teaching are automatically false. The major beliefs about God are: 1) There is one God, 2) There are many gods, 3) There is no god, or 4) You are god. Can you see that whichever belief is true, the other beliefs are automatically false? If there truly is no God, then the teaching of ONE G OD, MANY GODS , or YOU ARE GOD are automatically false. The same is true for any of the other beliefs about God. Consider the existence of the universe. The three major options for the existence of the universe are: 1. It has always existed 2. It created itself 3. It was brought into existence by a being outside of time, space, and matter. Einstein was one of the scientists within the last 100 years who proved that the universe (TIME, SPACE, MATTER), had an origination point sometime in the past. He proved, that the universe had a beginning at some point in the past, and so it hasn’t always existed. So the first option, that THE UNIVERSE HAS ALWAYS EXISTED , that it is eternal, HAS BEEN DISPROVED . Is The Universe Eternal? www.gotquestions.org/universe-eternal.html The Universe is Not Eternal, But Had A Beginning www.godandscience.org/apologetics/beginning.html Origin Of The Universe – Quote from well-known scientists www.veritas-ucsb.org/library/origins/quotes/universe.html
The second option is that the universe brought itself into existence. For the universe to bring itself into existence, the universe would already need to exist first to be able to bring itself into existence. Essentially, IT WOULD NEED TO EXIST , BEFORE IT EXISTED . Does that sound logical to you? To say that the universe created itself, is philosophically and logically impossible. 116
AUSALITY , also called T HE This also violates T HE L AW OF C L AW OF C AUSE AND E FFECT . This is a LAW and not a THEORY . This law states that for anything that has come into existence, (which is the effect), there must be a cause. Notice that it doesn’t say “For anything that exists”. As well, the cause must be at least as powerful as the effect, and must exist outside that effect. So, whatever was the cause of the universe (TIME, SPACE, MATTER), the L AW OF C AUSE AND E FFECT requires that the cause of the universe be at least as powerful as the universe itself. Think of the mass and energy of all of the suns the universe which contains an estimated 100 billion galaxies, with each galaxy containing an average of 100 billion stars. The cause is greater than this incomprehensible amount of energy and mass! So the third option, where the universe was brought into existence by a being who is outside time, space, and matter, and who has power equivalent or greater than all the power in the universe, is the only logical option. Origins of the Universe. A Philosophical Perspective www.johnanning.com/origins.html.
Greg Koukl, of Stand To Reason (www.str.org) states humorously, “If there was a big bang, there must be a big banger!” Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” “In the beginning” - - - - - - - TIME , “God created the heavens” - SPACE , “And the earth” - - - - - - - - - MATTER .
This is a scientifically accurate statement written 3500 years before the statement could ever be confirmed by science. The description of a being who is outside of time, space, and matter and more powerful than the entire universe is a very accurate description of the God indicated in the Bible. This description of the universe having a beginning, and requiring a cause is called T HE C OSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT . One way to remember this could be to think of the word C AUSE , as having the same sound as the first syllable in the word C OSMOLOGICAL . 117
J.P. Moreland gives evidences for the existence of God in his audio presentation, Evidence for Christianity www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AU-R7cKo-U (video) www.apologetics315.com/2011/03/evidence-for-christianityby-jp.html (audio) How Do I Know God Exists - Dinesh D'Souza www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ien2Ah3lEY What's Consciousness?.. and Evidence for the Existence of the Soul - J. P. Moreland www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNZhk_bDicA
Sites on God : www.godandscience.org www.allaboutgod.com www.everystudent.com/menus/existence.html www.evidence.info/html/Evidences (use capital “E”) www.gotquestions.org/questions_God.html www.alwaysbeready.com (Click God, Evidence for at left) If you receive an “Unsupported Browser”, click HOME at lower left.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster . http://www.str.org/blog/the-flying-spaghetti-monster-video Greg Koukl effectively illustrates the difference between NO EVIDENCE and NOT ACCEPTED EVIDENCE in this video. Arguments For God's Existance
www.inspiringphilosophy.org/arguments-for-god-sexistence.html This is a site/author I’ve just discovered, who is looking to build the largest apologetic video library on the Internet. The videos are very thought provoking and some may be difficult to understand just watching themonce. Even so, they are great videos covering many different topics, and I highly recommend them. He is looking to make an additional video every month!
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P RIMARY ARGUMENTS F OR G OD ’ S E XISTANCE T HE C OSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT T HE O NTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT T HE T ELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT (also called Argument from Design) T HE M ORAL ARGUMENT T HE C OSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT for the existence of God, is the
argument we’ve already looked at briefly of the universe having a beginning, and requiring a cause outside the universe www.allaboutphilosophy.org/cosmological-argument.htm T HE T ELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT for the existence of God is also referred to as the ARGUMENT F ROM D ESIGN . The universe shows
amazing design, in that there are so many aspects of it which must to be ultra-fine-tuned to an incredible degree, before life can exist. T HE T ELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT (What it really says)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yt7hvgFuNg T HE M ORAL ARGUMENT for the existence of God states that if
objective morality exists, then God exists. If objective values and obligations do not exist, then God doesn’t exist. If God doesn’t exist, then everything is relative – which means that there is no standard of right or wrong. Richard Dawkins Confirms Moral Argument for God's Existence www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQYGiccUUKw Any Old God Won’t Do - Greg Koukl’s http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/2003/17127.mp3 God Exists - J.W. Wartick http://jwwartick.com/god-exists Hitchens' Presumption of Meaning www.conversantlife.com/theology/hitchens-presumption-ofmeaning What Skeptics Want Christians to Know www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/atheism/what-skepticswant-christians-to-know True U - Does God Exist – 8 Parts. An EXCELLENT series! http://vimeo.com/channels/579135 119
Also check these arguments for God at: www.allaboutphilosophy.org – In the M ATTERS OF THOUGHT section www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-godsexistence.htm www.gotquestions.org/does-god-exist.html www.reasonsforgod.org T HE T RUTH P ROJECT
This is an excellent program to gain an understanding of the truths of the world around us, the universe, and how we fit into it, from a Biblical perspective. If you have the opportunity to attend a class, I highly recommend doing so. Use the website below to find a group. T HE T RUTH P ROJECT Website: www.thetruthproject.org The description of T HE T RUTH P ROJECT indicates: “Each lesson discusses in great detail the relevance and importance of living the Christian worldview in daily life.”
This is the list of the lessons: 1-What is Truth? 2-Philosophy and Ethics 3-Anthropology 4-Theology 5-Science
6-History, 7-Sociology, 8-The State, 9-Am I Alone?
10-The American Experiment, 11-Labor: Created to Create, 12-God Cares; Do I
Click the following link to see one of the lessons: T RUTH P ROJECT L ESSON 7 S OCIOLOGY : D IVINE I MPRINT
http://vimeo.com/71233946 T HE T RUTH P ROJECT L EADER G UIDE
www.thetruthproject.org/en/downloads/~/media/files/PD F/ttp-leader-guide-final.ashx T HE T RUTH P ROJECT - Find a Group
www.mytruthproject.org/small_group_support/search_gr oups.aspx
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* GOD, EVIL, AND PAIN I was initially hesitant about including this section because there are so many who have experienced pain through various circumstances and the actions of others. This pain seems to best be described as E VIL . I sincerely hope that if you are reading this and you have experienced pain in your life, you will see that I would never make light of the pain you have experienced. If through including it I have caused you to relive pain that you’ve experienced, I am truly sorry, and hope that you will forgive me. I have added this section because the E XISTENCE OF E VIL is considered one of the strongest challenges to the existence of God. What you will find after reading this is that the existence of evil is actually one of the best proofs FOR the existence of God. Even if this is so, this probably won’t provide you much consolation for the pain you may have suffered. It seems almost impossible at times to make sense of the meaningless violence, unprovoked assaults, and other very infuriating events we only need to watch to news to see. These events have caused people to question God as to why a circumstance has happened to them or a friend or loved one, and then caused them to question if God actually exists. I can only make an attempt to understand what people are going through who have experienced this kind of pain. If you have experienced evil in your life, my prayers are with you and I hope this section provides some answers. While this section is not intended to make sense of the evil that people experience and cause, it is included to provide an answer to the challenge made that the existence of Evil proves that God does not exist. I may not understand what you are going through, but I hope the included links will help to bring you some understanding and comfort. Many who don't believe God exists believe this because of the existence of evil. Essentially, their logic is as follows: 1. If God is all-loving, He would want there to be no evil. 2. If God is all-powerful, He would be able to eliminate evil. 121
3. Since evil exists, God either lacks the will or the ability to save us from evil. 4. If He lacks the will, He is not all-loving. 5. If He lacks the ability, He is not all-powerful. 6. Therefore, the existence of evil stands as evidence that God cannot be both all-loving and all-powerful, or it is evidence that God doesn't exist at all.
This argument sounds very logical and convincing at first, because the only options considered as proof or disproof of the existence of God in reference to EVIL are the ones given. What if there is another way to look at the issue of EVIL ? Greg Koukl, (www.str.org) gives insight into this subject. When you look at the above references to EVIL , the underlying assumption in the statements is that EVIL is an ACTUAL THING , that it is a substance that has material properties which can be measured. The statements are valid if evil is an actual thing. But that is the question. Is EVIL a thing? Let’s look at a few illustrations which answer the question. One of Greg Koukl’s illustrations for the concept of EVIL is HOT AND COLD . When we say that something is cold, we are not referring to cold as a substance, but as a description of a lack of HEAT ENERGY . Heat energy can be measured, but there is not a measurement for COLD ENERGY because there is no such thing as cold energy. The other illustration he uses is L IGHT AND D ARK . The same is true with the concept of DARK as the concept of COLD . D ARK doesn’t exist in and of itself. D ARKNESS is a description of the absence of light. You can measure LIGHT , but you can’t measure DARK . My favorite illustration from Greg Koukl is that of a donut. Think about a regular glazed donut and the opening in the center. This opening is called a DONUT HOLE . Have you ever eaten a donut hole? Not the small pieces of dough that are sold at donut stores, but have you ever eaten the opening in the center of a donut called the DONUT HOLE ? You haven’t, have you? You see, the DONUT HOLE in the center of a regular donut is not a substance itself. The name DONUT HOLE describes where the donut is not. Greg Koukl 122
humorously illustrates this by saying, “Cold is the absence of heat, darkness is the absence of light, and the donut hole is the absence of donut” . Evil is like this. It is not a substance that can be measured. It is the name for the absence of something. What is that something that is absent? That something is GOOD . Let’s look back to the argument that God can’t exist because the existence of EVIL . This is the misunderstanding that EVIL is a thing. If there is no God, then there is no standard for GOOD. With no standard for GOOD , nothing can be considered GOOD . Without GOOD, nothing can be called EVIL because there is nothing to compare it to, nothing to contrast it with. If there is no standard for GOOD , there can be no EVIL . Just like there can’t be cold without heat, and there can’t be dark without light, and there can’t be a donut hole without a donut. T HERE CAN ’T BE EVIL WITHOUT GOOD . If there is no God, there is no good or standard for good, and without good, there can be nothing called evil. Recognizing the existence of EVIL is only possible when we recognize a standard of GOOD to compare it to. A standard of GOOD , is only possible if God exists, and only with a standard of GOOD , can things be recognized as EVIL . So when we understand this relationship between EVIL and GOOD , we understand that the existence of evil is actually one of the best evidences for the existence of God, rather than against His existence. Hopefully this section has brought greater understanding to this subject, and shows an effective answer to the objection of evil. What about pain though? Is there any explanation for the existence of pain in our lives, considering God’s stated love for people? I heard the following statement that gives one reason for pain that makes it at least understanding to me. “God will take us where we don’t want to go so that he can create in us what we could not accomplish on our own.” When I look back at the times I’ve experienced pain, I realize that in many of those circumstances the pain caused me to change what I was doing, stop doing something that I was doing, or take 123
action when I was avoiding doing so. If we are honest, pain can be a great motivating factor in our lives. Can you think of times in your life when pain caused you to make a change? Maybe change a relationship or a circumstance? I remember hearing Greg Koukl mention in one of his programs a reason for some of the discomforts we experience. He gave the example of Arnold Schwarzenegger, when Arnold was a body builder. Greg asked if Arnold had been born with the physique that he had when he won the Mr. Universe competitions. The obvious answer is that he hadn’t. He had the genetic makeup, the particular physiology necessary to eventually win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, but he wasn’t born with his Mr. Universe physique. Arnold had to train many hours a day for years to develop his physique. Greg said, “God wants to change us into the type of people he wants to spend eternity with” . He wants to change us to have the qualities and characteristics we don’t currently have, or don’t have to the degree he desires; characteristics of patience, forgiveness, thanksgiving, long-suffering, etc. The only way for us to acquire these characteristics is for God to allow us to experience troubles and difficulties necessary to develop the characteristics. Like Arnold working against the force of the weights, it is only in those times of difficulty and inconvenience where we have the opportunity to develop those valued qualities. The characteristics which God is looking to develop are those we value in others and ourselves too. However, they are things which God cannot simply create us with. Like the SQUARE CIRCLE , mentioned earlier God cannot do certain things. This is one of the things that He can’t do. He can’t automatically make us to be thankful without an experience requiring us to express thankfulness. Greg indicates that the only way to develop forgiveness, is to experience a situation where we have to show forgiveness. Similarly, the only way we can develop other qualities, is to experience circumstances which give us the opportunity to exercise those qualities as well. Think about the CHARACTERISTIC of PATIENCE . Have you ever heard anyone say, “Give me patience, and give it to me 124
now” ? It is only in times of impatience and inconvenience that we can develop patience. The same is true for any other characteristic.
Something else to consider when thinking about qualities God is developing in us. Think about those you know who have been given things they’ve not had to work for. Don’t they appreciate less what they’ve been given than those who have had to work for what they have? Its human nature to appreciate something that cost us something and see less value in something that we didn’t work for, that which we have nothing invested in. Have you ever heard someone say of another, “They are not invested in the situation” ? We place a much higher value on those things that cost us something; be it money, effort. It’s the same with the desirable characteristics we want to aquire. We wouldn’t value them if we didn’t have to invest effort, and only through this effort are they even possible. Isn’t it worth it though? Think about your closest friends. Don’t they have characteristics that you admire? Isn’t your relationship with them close because of the valued characteristics they demonstrate? That is why God wants to do the same work in us, to have that same close relationship with all of us, having developed those characteristics of value to Him. The limitation in all of this though, is that since these characteristics are developed through work, difficulty, pain, and discomfort, we only have this life to develop them for God. I believe the following links provide perspectives on evil which have not been considered by those who use evil as an argument against the existence of God. The Problem of Evil – Peter Kreeft www.peterkreeft.com/topics/evil.htm How Can A Good God Allow Evil? www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/evil.html Good God & Evil World - Paul Copan http://vimeo.com/12216276 The Problem of Evil www.reasonablefaith.org/the-problem-of-evil 125
Can We Be Good Without God? – William Lane Craig www.reasonablefaith.org/can-we-be-good-without-god Does Pain and Suffering Prove There Is No God? www.str.org/articles/does-pain-and-suffering-prove-thereis-no-god Resources to Help You Respond to the Problem of Evil (Free Bible Insert)
www.conversantlife.com/belief/resources-to-help-yourespond-to-the-problem-of-evil-free-bible-insert 7 Things Not to Say to a Grieving Person www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/7-things-not-to-say-tosomeone-who-is-grieving.html Sites on God and Evil: http://users.binary.net/polycarp/evil.html www.str.org/articles/a-good-reason-for-evil http://carm.org/why-there-evil-and-suffering-world www.str.org/articles/the-strength-of-god-the-problem-of-evil www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jRMWKz4hbw&playnext=1&list=P L95016912C8EE1E87&feature=results_video If God’s all powerful, why does evil exist? www.comereason.org/god-and-evil.asp Isaiah 45:7
* CAN EVOLUTION EXPLAIN MORALS? While the existence of evil has been a fairly compelling proof of God’s existence, there is a recent challenge to the concept that EVIL and the existence of OBJECTIVE MORALS are evidence for God. This section covers this new challenge to the existence of God. In the W ORLDVIEW section I indicated a more recent challenge to the existence of God, and that being the Atheistic explanation as to where morality comes from. For many years the existence of morality and evil have been two challenges to evolution and Atheism, which have been difficult for Evolutionists and Atheists to answer. Since the beginning of this century however, Evolutionists and Atheists have been claiming that objective morals can be accounted for through evolution. I believe the following video is a fair and effective presentation of this position: 126
Morality Comes From Evolution www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLuRfUU4sYM
This has been one of the more challenging topics for me to gain a good understanding of, so don’t be discouraged if you find it slightly confusing at first. I hope that I have given an effective and understandable explanation in the limited space given. I strongly encourage you to explore the links provided as they will connect you with many of the resources I found for the topic. Like the other topics in this guide, these sources will allow you to not only access more information on the topic but also see the explanations given by the speakers themselves. With this topic especially, I believe that reading this content more than once and exploring the additional links is very important to gain a good understanding. If you’re not fully clear on what morality is, it is what would be considered the RIGHT thing to do in a situation. It relates to RIGHT AND WRONG . An example of doing what’s right or doing what’s moral would be not stealing something, or not cheating someone, etc. Not doing these things would be the RIGHT and MORAL thing to do even if you could do it without anyone ever finding out. Another term for morality is E THICS . It is important to realize that with MORALITY there is more than one definition. Like truth, there is OBJECTIVE MORALITY and SUBJECTIVE MORALITY . Remember in the section on Truth where we used Greg Koukl’s illustrations of ice cream and insulin to represent the two different classifications of truth: SUBJECTIVE TRUTH , and OBJECTIVE TRUTH ? M ORALITY is very similar. S UBJECTIVE M ORALITY is like ice cream, in that it is that
morality which we choose or decide upon for ourselves. It is what we prefer and decide is right. O BJECTIVE M ORALITY is like insulin in that it is a standard which exists outside of anyone’s preference or what any individual or group decides. It is the same for all people at all times, whether 1000 years ago or 1000 years from now. Rape has always been wrong and will always be wrong, regardless of any feeling or preference of any person or teaching by any culture. To illustrate the difference between the two definitions of MORALITY , Greg Koukl uses the phrase “It’s the difference between REAL BAD and FEEL BAD ” . 127
J.P. Moreland’s presentation E VIDENCE FOR C HRISTIANITY (referenced earlier) www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AU‐R7cKo‐U shows evidences for objective moral laws at 21:50 minutes. He uses the example of TORTURING BABIES FOR FUN , and KINDNESS and HONESTY . Without anyone telling you, you automatically know which of these three examples is bad and which is good. In his presentation above, J.P. Moreland also shows a very creative way to respond to a moral relativist, one who believes that all morals are subjective. When someone makes a statement about morality, it is important to determine whether they are referring to objective or subjective morality. Hopefully you are starting to be able to identify the difference between the two, and their significance. As in the previous T RUTH section, determining which morality a person is referring to is very important when in conversation with them. Again, refer to the T ACTICS section for methods of determining what a person means without being insulting. The T ACTICS methods can also be used so that the person you are talking to doesn’t assume that you mean something you don’t. Once again, Evolutionists now make the claim that morals can evolve. They indicate that the evidence for this can be seen in nature. As shown in the video at the link above, animals show a SOLIDARITY in the way the members of their community interact with one another. This solidarity is pointed to as an evidence of a N ATURAL M ORALITY . The author of the video points to the fact that animals in the community behave the way they do because it is ultimately better for the community, and thus better for the members of the community. It is better for the members to be more MORAL to each other, so that the community has a better chance of survival and is able to maintain larger populations. Referring to the Mexican Beaded Lizard, the author indicates, “Natural selection seems to be the only thing that explains the necessity of this sort of behavior” . Referring to the spectacled Cayman Alligators, where one female remains behind at the nursery pool, he states, “The survival of the population greatly outweighs the 128
inconvenience of the lone adult female” . The author states that “Complex courtship rituals provide an advantage over rape” in the ability of the species to thrive. Toward the end of the video, he gave a current example showing the benefit of teamwork over independence, and illustrated this through his playing C APTURE THE F LAG with other students when he was in college.
I believe that this video provides a good example of the concept that EVOLUTION CAN BRING ABOUT MORALITY . While the examples the author gives seem to be good evidence to support his conclusion, I believe there is information critical of his conclusion which needs to be considered as well. Fortunately, when I first saw the video the comments below from both Sam A and James Wallace existed. They do not currently. I don’t know if they were deleted because they were effective at showing the limitations of attributing OBJECTIVE MORALITY to the behaviors of animals or not. Unfortunately the majority of comments currently on the video page are not worth viewing, and are primarily insults to other commenters. Sam A writes, “If we get our morals from Evolution that means what is morally correct could change, since the word Evolution itself means 'to change’.” And “Rape takes place all the time in the animal kingdom, does this mean it came from Evolution and that it is justified?” Sam’s comment that ”Evolution itself means 'to change” is very observant. If objective morals don’t change, but evolving morals do, then evolution by definition cannot be an adequate explanation for OBJECTIVE MORALITY . Claiming that evolution can bring about morality is the same as saying that “Change over time can produce something that doesn’t change over time ”. This qualifies as self-contradictory, and would be a better example of SUBJECTIVE MORALITY , not OBJECTIVE MORALITY . Brett Kunkle of www.str.org demonstrates this effectively in an interview with Bobby Conway, in this O NE M INUTE APOLOGIST video. 129
Can Evolution Explain Morality? www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLC-Rx5F6WE
Sam also mentions that rape takes place all the time in the animal kingdom. I’m not sure of the number of species which do this, but I found that male Mallard ducks will gang up on a female Mallard duck to mate with her. Since male Mallard ducks do engage in courtship rituals as well, should we conclude that this GANG activity found in mallards is of less evolved members of the group? This video shows mallard ducks in a courtship ritual. Mallard Duck Mating Dance www.youtube.com/watch?v=drK2bwzjY9c This video shows this GANG activity by male mallard ducks. Male mallards force female with ducklings to mate www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uI2CKCOwQc Maybe this is why a group of ducks is not referred to as a FLOCK , but can be referred to as a BADLING . Could the ducks in the second video be described as “Ducks behaving BADLING ?” ;-) Sorry, I couldn’t resist. While this Can Evolution Explain Morality? video seems to indicate that animal morality has evolved so that they now engage in courtship rituals. The second video on mallard ducks demonstrates that members of at least one animal species don’t act morally in every instance, as is evidenced by the first video where the ducks demonstrate courtship rituals. This contradicts the idea that evolution is a sufficient explanation for the origin of morality. Could there be other species which behave similarly? James Wallace writes, “Animals exhibit moral behavior, ……they don't exhibit ‘ought to’ behavior like we choose to do.” And, “I ought to be unselfish because it is better for the group, which is better for the species, which is better for me. So why ought I be unselfish? Because it is better for me. But looking at what is better for me, is selfishness. So all of this so-called description of 130
where morality comes down to, gets reduced to this ludicrous statement: I morally ought to be unselfish so that I can be more thoroughly selfish . . . . Morality is something altogether different. We may debate about all that moral views and understandings entail, but one thing we can all agree on, I think, is that when we are looking for a definition of morality, we know it isn't about selfishness. It is about not being selfish, just the opposite. That's why these explanations don't work. They either smuggle morality into the equation by describing the behavior that is meant to be explained by evolution so they depend upon morality to do the job, or else the descriptions and explanations end up being reduced to selfishness, which isn't what we're trying to explain. We're trying to explain why one ought not to be selfish, not why one ought to be selfish.”
James makes a great observation. He shows that the reasoning given by Evolutionists, while sounding convincing, is contradictory when brought to its logical conclusion. That conclusion being that ACTING UNSELFISH IS IN ACTUALITY ACTING SELFISH . Something else to think about is that even ants and other insects demonstrate a type of COMMUNITY in the way their colonies seem to work and in the way the colony defends against predators. Even insects demonstrate courtship rituals. C OURTSHIP R ITUALS IN I NSECT M ATING
http://insects.about.com/od/matingreproduction/p/courtship _rituals.htm Courtship Behavior of a Jumping Spider www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dw3-w4JyyI
If community and courtship rituals in higher level species are pointed to as evidences of morals evolving, don’t the same community and courtship rituals in lower level insects argue against evolution as an explanation for this activity? Considering this tendency in both higher level and lower level organisms, might there be a better explanation than Evolution, since both demonstrate these characteristics? 131
As well, since both the female Black Widow and Praying Mantis will regularly eat the male right after the mating process, how do we factor this into an explanation of morality originating through evolution? Since the regular consuming of the male during mating reduces the population of the male of the species, is there any explanation which could show a benefit to the species as a whole as is proposed by Evolutionists in other examples? Could a more simple explanation be found? Since this explanation of objective morality coming through evolution has valid criticisms, couldn’t another simpler explanation be worth considering? Wouldn’t it be valid to conclude that all of these behaviors demonstrate nothing more on the part of the animals/insects than an example of INSTINCT ? Greg Koukl has written a great article on this subject of whether animals actually demonstrate NATURAL MORALITY . Monkey Morality: Can Evolution Explain Ethics? www.str.org/articles/monkey-morality-can-evolutionexplain-ethics
What Greg aptly indicates in the article, which isn’t addressed by this evolutionary theory, is that MORALITY HAPPENS BEFORE THE ACTUAL ACTION . This is like a person’s MOTIVE in a crime. The motivation of a person who does a crime is of primary consideration in the punishment of the perpetrator in a courtroom. Consider the two following news reports where a person is killed in two different traffic accidents. While a person was killed in both, the motivations of the two drivers are very different. In the first event the man clearly determined what he was going to do before he did it. In the second event the death was determined to be an accident. Lake County jury finds Mundelein man guilty of murder www.dailyherald.com/article/20140926/news/140928658 Death from Route 145 wreck ruled an accident www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehighcounty/index.ssf/2014/04/death_from_route_145_wreck _rul.html 132
Since only the physical action can be observed in animals, there is no way to determine the motivation of the animal before the physical action takes place. To attribute morality to animals overlooks this important point. In the following video, Greg Koukl speaks on the difference between OBJECTIVE and SUBJECTIVE morality. He shows that the most Evolution can do is to make us feel that a particular action is wrong. It can’t make that action OBJECTIVELY wrong. How Do Moral Absolutes Prove That God Exists ? - Greg Koukl www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZWiqK3wl_k Why are you so afraid of subjective moral reasoning? www.youtube.com/watch?v=0218GkAGbnU In the following interview between Sean McDowell and Atheist Michael Shermer, Michael Shermer contends that right and wrong would still be recognized in a world without God. But isn’t this really speculation? As an Atheist, isn’t he assuming that this would be the case? Objective Morality | Cross Examination | Ep. 6 www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvxJVkcK6aM Objective Morality 2 | Cross Examination | Ep. 7 www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfARUVDSXjE
Check the other great Cross Examination videos on YouTube! Begin with this one and find others in the series in the right column. Intelligent Design | Cross Examination | Ep. 1 www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aW5wnlqxqM The Bible states that we know that EVIL and RIGHT AND WRONG exist previous to us ever being instructed. Jeremiah 31:33 “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts”. Children demonstrate this knowledge of right and wrong quite early in their actions and statements, “He hit me!” , “She took my toy!” , and an actual comment from the child of a friend of my wife and I, “He’s looking out my window!” Grounding Morality - Greg Koukl www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz6HBn1ZwK0 133
Morality from Science? - Greg Koukl www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rw4MLqGuvc Objective morality - Greg Koukl www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki5YVNwJR9c Is There an Objective Moral Law? - Frank Turek www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOJeseNJneg Why Morality Must Be Objective http://apologetics-notes.comereason.org/2014/10/whymorality-must-be-objective.html
From a Moral Law to a Moral Law-Giver - Dr. Ravi Zacharias http://resplect.com/from-a-moral-law-to-a-moral-law-giver/ Objective Morality – Search at www.str.org www.str.org/Search?q=objective+morality Ravi Zacharias On The Evolution Of Morality by Richard Dawkins
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGy_mGogXxM Atheism and Morality - William Lane Craig vs Lewis Wolpert www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKkcZ9ZSI5o Where do Objective Morals Originate in the Universe WL Craig www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmg720wO6tY Is There an Explanation for Moral Obligation on Atheism WL Craig www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSLxh4FpmW8 5 Common Objections to the Moral Argument www.apologetics315.com/2013/08/5-common-objections-tomoral-argument.html America Adrift – You Can’t Legislate Morality – D James Kennedy www.truthimpact.me/index.php/2014/01/america-adrift God, Evolution, and Morality - Greg Koukl: This is an EXCELLENT ARTICLE in STR’s Solid Ground publication! Pt1.www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/Solid%20Groun d-God,%20Evolutino,%20Morality%20May%202014-1.pdf Pt2.www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/Solid%20Groun d-God,%20Evolution,%20Morality%202%207-2014-1.pdf
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In the above 2-part article, Greg states, “Exactly how does this work? How does a mechanistic process produce a moral obligation? In what sense is goodness or badness a physical quality? Genes might determine behavior, but how do they determine beliefs about behavior when it comes to right and wrong?” Greg adds, “Remember what makes a behavior good or bad is not in its chemistry or physics. Right and wrong, virtue and vice, values and obligations are not material things.” I encourage you to read and re-read this EXCELLENT article for the additional points Greg makes to answer this challenge to the existence God! Considering there are very effective arguments against this new theory that Evolution can explain morality, it’s clear that the E VOLUTIONARY M ORALITY theory, while an initially convincing explanation, doesn’t stand up to analysis. Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the claims, as well as the contradictory evidences relating to this topic.
* WHO CREATED GOD? One of the other challenges made is the question, “If God created the universe, who created God? ” This makes the assumption that everything has had a beginning. According to this belief, if God created the universe, God must have had a beginning also. This then begs the question, “Who created whoever created God?” , and then, “Who created whoever created whoever created God?” and so on. This is called an INFINITE REGRESS . As you can see, you never arrive at the beginning. Think back to the universe having a beginning, the EFFECT of TIME, SPACE, and MATTER. We saw that the only logical explanation for the universe coming into existence, consistent with the L AW OF C AUSE AND E FFECT , is that it was CAUSED by a being outside of time, space, and matter, and as great as or greater than time, space, and matter. Look again at the definition of T HE L AW OF C AUSE AND E FFECT . This law states that for anything that has come into 135
existence there must be a cause. Notice that it indicates “For ANYTHING THAT HAS COME INTO EXISTENCE , there must be a cause” and not “For ANYTHING THAT EXISTS there must be a cause”. Everything that exists is not an EFFECT . If everything was an effect, the L AW OF C AUSE AND E FFECT would also apply to the scenario “Who (THE CAUSE) created God (THE EFFECT)?” This means that by the L AW OF C AUSE AND E FFECT , the WHO would have to be as GREAT AS OR GREATER than God. Then, in the “Who created whoever created God” , the W HO would have to be AS GREAT AS OR GREATER than the WHOEVER , and the WHOEVER would be AS GREAT AS OR GREATER than God. Isn’t this starting to sound illogical? Can you see how this scenario still needs an ETERNAL FIRST CAUSE , which has always existed? It has been proven that the cause of the universe, ( TIME, SPACE, AND MATTER), existed OUTSIDE OF TIME, SPACE, AND MATTER, and BEFORE TIME, SPACE, AND MATTER EXISTED. AN INFINITE AN ETERNAL GOD, WHO EXISTS OUTSIDE OF TIME, SPACE, AND MATTER; is the only logical explanation for the existence of the universe, and is fully consistent with the law of cause and effect. Something else to consider. If the God of the Bible were created by another “greater” God and the God of the Bible is still powerful enough to create the universe out of nothing, would it really matter? We would still need to satisfy the requirements of this God of the Bible, wouldn’t we? We don’t have the option of bypassing the God of the Bible. Deciding not to honor the requirements of the God who created this universe, and demanding that we deal with His creator would be like the President of the United States sending a representative to a person, and that person demanding an audience with the President rather than showing respect to the representative and taking the representative’s message seriously, as would be expected by the Presicent. Do you see how foolish this is? As well, having a G OD who created God, would be in conflict with the Bible, would prove the Bible wrong, and violate the L AW OF C AUSE AND E FFECT . 1 John 3:20 “for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.” 136
Isaiah 44:6 “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
These verses show that G OD KNOWS EVERYTHING , that H E IS THE FIRST
G OD AND THE LAST G OD , AND BESIDES H IM , THERE IS NO
G OD . Since he knows everything, and knows that there is no other
God, then according to the Bible there can’t be another God who created Him. These are very specific claims. As you will see in the next section on the evidences for the Bible being from God; if the Bible shows evidence that it is from God, and true, and the above verses are in the Bible, then the above verses are by default, true. Who Created God? www.gotquestions.org/who-created-God.html http://christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c039.html www.comereason.org/exst_god/exs010.asp http://whocreatedgod.net/ www.compellingtruth.org/who-created-God.html www.doesgodexist.org/Pamphlets/WhoCreatedGod.html
What about those who say, “Since no one was there at the beginning of the universe, no one can really say whether there was a God or not?” Is it necessary that we see the creative act taking place to know the cause? As an example, do you need to see a painting being painted to know that a painter painted it? If you found a watch on the beach, would you think it just happened by accident through the movement of the waves and sand over time? What about Mount Rushmore? If you never knew anything about its construction, would you conclude that the rain and wind over time shaped the faces of the presidents? None of these would be logical conclusions. There are a vast number of things in our world, which we have never seen being created or built. Does this mean that since we haven’t see the creative act, we can’t logically conclude that a creator was responsible for the existence of these things? The other thing to realize is that if God can be shown as the most logical cause of the universe, and the Bible shown to be written by God, then there was someone at the beginning of the universe, who was 137
the FIRST CAUSE . The logical conclusion would be that God was there at the beginning, and he has provided information about the beginning. If we think about the Atheist belief that there is no God, and the proof that the universe came into existence in the past, the logical conclusion is the entire universe came about out of nothing, with no help whatsoever. A direct statement that illustrates this effectively is, “Nothing times nothing equals everything” . This is a theory actually promoted by some Atheistic physicists, that quantum physics could generate something coming out of nothing. One particular example is a recent book by Steven Hawking. In it Hawking claims that with gravity the universe will come into existence on its own, so there is no need for God. But doesn’t that ultimately mean that you have either eternal God or eternal gravity? This would also apply to anything else any scientist indicates could bring the universe into existence without God. If gravity has always existed then we’re faced with the question, “Where did gravity come from?” The existence of ETERNAL GRAVITY doesn’t qualify as NOTHING existing at the beginning as some will claimed. John Lennox illustrates a major problem with this theory using a JET ENGINE . He states that the laws of physics can describe HOW a jet engine works, but it doesn’t answer WHY the jet engine exists. L AWS may be able to answer the HOW question dealing with function, but they can't describe WHY the jet engine was invented. John Lennox indicates that even with physics and the inventors mind you still need matter. He states, “Matter is humble stuff, but it cannot be produced by laws". I believe John Lennox also made the following quote which provides an additional illustration for this idea, “Science nor scientific theory didn't, in fact couldn't have brought the universe into existence. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but science can't cause the movement of the sun.” When considering the evidence that the universe had a beginning, and then looking at the two options that there is a God or there is no God, which option is more logical to believe? Remember, don’t choose based upon what is more popular or what 138
you might really want or prefer. Choose what the most logical conclusion based on the evidence. A Matter of Gravity - Prof John Lennox This answers the challenge of Stephen Hawking www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xy4gMVlUCE Bethinking 2/6: John Lennox on Stephen Hawking's " The Grand Design"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eHfhbP1K_4 Why Do Some Physicists Talk Nonsense about Nothing? http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philoso pher/2012/01/why-do-physicists-talk-nonsense.html Ravi Zacharias Answers Stephen Hawking – Parts 1 and 2 www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wMyMmjPgLs www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHUh9S6Kg7Y
* THE BIBLE As previously indicated, the Bible is one of over 20 religious works claiming to be inspired by God. There are the Hindu Vedas, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, etc. If the evidence proves the Bible as actually being from God, any other religious book which contradicts the Bible’s teachings is automatically false and not from God. One of the ways bank tellers are trained to spot forgeries is by handling authentic currency. They handle so much currency that they become VERY familiar with it; with its feel, thickness, scent, sound, etc. They become so familiar with the authentic that when a forged bill just passes over their fingertips, the teller knows immediately. They don’t need to be trained in all the forgery techniques, they just need to be VERY familiar with the authentic. www.bankersonline.com/security/gurus_sec1001d.html This is why in this guide, we will primarily look at the evidences for the Bible and not so much the specific challenges to the bible nor specific differences between Christianity and other religions. Similar to truth being applied in the previous examples, if the Bible is proven to be from God, any other book claiming to be from God and contradicting the Bible is automatically false. This 139
doesn’t mean that these books don’t contain ANY truth, but if the Bible is from God, and doesn’t have error, and these other volumes contradict the Bible in areas, that means that these other volumes have errors and can’t be from God. For further study on the differences between Christianity and other religions, check this link: www.patheos.com/Library/Lenses/Side-By-Side. This will allow you to compare the teachings of different religions side-by-side. While we won’t be covering most other religions in any detail, it is important to address the claim some people make. The claim is that most religions are basically the same, so what is the real issue? After all, they all teach a belief in god, right? The following links will give much greater insight into this idea. Greg Koukl uses the illustration of aspirin and arsenic. He states that while they are both white and come in powdered form, it is not the similarities but the differences that matter. The Christian Story – Greg Koukl www.str.org/articles/the-christian-story “When studying religions, the point is not to focus on the things that are similar because it’s the differences that really matter.” – Greg Koukl Aren’t All Religions the Same? http://revstephenj.com/2014/05/22/arent-all-religions-the-same Religious Stew www.equip.org/articles/religious-stew All Religions Are Basically the Same www.str.org/blog/all-religions-are-basically-the-same
Some of the main challenges to the Bible are the supposed contradictions in it. If you are interested in finding out about many of the supposed contradictions in the Bible and answers to those contradictions, go here: http://defendinginerrancy.com/bibledifficulties The answers to these contradictions, combined with all the evidences presented in this guide should go a long way toward answering the challenges raised against the Bible. Remember the concept of T RUTH , that if something can be proven true, anything that contradicts it is automatically false. If the 140
Bible proves to be true, you can have confidence in it. And even if you don’t have an answer to a challenge someone might make, you can have confidence that there is an answer. If you look at the evidence supporting the Bible and apply the same standards to any other religious book, you will see the tremendous amount of evidence in support of the Bible, which is lacking in any other book claiming to be from God and which contradicts the Bible. The evidences for Bible being from God which we will briefly examine are in four areas: 1. Archeological Evidences: The accuracy of history, places, and people indicated. 2. Prophesy and Statistics: The probability of predicting the future, with very specific details. 3. Manuscript Evidence: The evidence for the credibility of the original documents, and the consistency of those documents. 4. Scientific Evidences: The scientific accuracy of historical writings. Verifiable scientific principals are indicated, and scientific concepts are described accurately well in advance of them being discovered through more modern scientific observations. How Accurate is the Bible? https://bible.org/article/how-accurate-bible Is the Bible Fact or Fiction? – Josh McDowell www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvNdqyrOVls * Archaeological Evidences: Nelson Glueck is a renowned Jewish archaeologist. He wrote: "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever invalidated a biblical reference."
http://christiananswers.net/archaeology www.bibleevidences.com/archeology.htm www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/maps/archaeologicaland-external-evidence
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To compare other beliefs, perform an internet search for “ xxxxx and archaeology”, replacing “xxxxx” with a religion or religious work: Bible, Quran, etc. * Prophetic Evidence: As has been mentioned, there are over 20 religious works that people of faith believe are divinely inspired. Of these 20+ works only the Bible contains specific fulfilled prophecies. With the Bible there are an estimated 2500 prophesies with 2000 fulfilled so far, without a single one wrong. The other prophesies speak of events in the future which is why they haven’t been fulfilled yet. In the section on Jesus there are a few of the over 300 prophesies about Christ listed, which were written in the Old Testament. The amazing fact about the prophesies of the Bible is that all of the prophesies were written hundreds and sometimes thousands of years before they were fulfilled! And these prophesies were not generic, they were very specific and detailed. There is no other book like the Bible which has prophetic evidence as proof of being from God. Of course, considering that God is outside of time, God knowing what will happen in the future is fully consistent with the accuracy of the prophesies. The accuracy of very detailed prophecies prove that God is outside of time. Fulfilled Prophecy as Evidence for the Bible's Divine Origin www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/maps/fulfilledprophecy-as-evidence Fulfilled Prophecy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible www.reasons.org/articles/articles/fulfilled-prophecy-evidencefor-the-reliability-of-the-bible
ADDITIONAL SITES SHOWING FULFILLED B IBLE PROPHESIES www.100prophecies.org http://bibleprobe.com/365messianicprophecies.htm https://carm.org/prophecy-bible-and-jesus N OW COMPARE THE DETAIL OF PROPHESIES LISTED IN THE Q URAN I SLAMIC P ROPHESIES www.alislam.org/library/articles/prophecies.html www.islamreligion.com/articles/347 www.nairaland.com/225114/fulfilled-prophecies-holy-quran http://worldview3.50webs.com/quranvbible.html 142
* Manuscript Evidences: Manuscript evidence deals with
how accurate the oldest manuscripts are to the original documents, called S OURCE D OCUMENTS . Manuscript evidence also relates to how many of the source documents there are, and the length of time between the manuscript and source documents. The following chart illustrates these details as they apply to both the New Testament documents and also apply to many unquestioned documents from ancient history. The chart will allow you to see the specifics of each of the documents listed, and also compare the details of the New Testament to the other accepted works of ancient literature. www.biblicaltheology.com/Research/MartinezR02.html Author
Date Written
Homer (Iliad)
900 B.C.
400 BC
500 yrs.
643
95%
Herodotus
480-425 BC
900 AD
1300 yrs.
8
?
Thucydides
460-400 BC
900 AD
1300 yrs.
8
?
Plato
427-347 BC
900 AD
1200 yrs.
7
?
384-322 BC 1100AD
1400 yrs.
49
?
Pliny
61-113 AD
850 AD
750 yrs.
7
?
Suetonius
75-160 AD
950 AD
800 yrs.
8
?
New Testament
50-100 AD
130 AD
Less than 100 years
24,000+
99.5%
Aristotle
Earliest Approx. Time Number Copy Between Orig of Copies & Copy
Accuracy of Copies
As you can see by the chart above, the Bible is so incredibly confirmed by manuscript evidence that no other ancient book, religious or otherwise, even comes close. When comparing the number of partial or full manuscripts of the New Testament to other unchallenged ancient documents, and also compare the distance of the copies to the originals, there is absolutely no comparison, as shown by the chart above. F. F. Bruce: "There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good attestation as the New Testament." 143
William F. Albright: "Thanks to the Qumran discoveries, the New Testament proves to be in fact what it was formerly believed to be: the teaching of Christ and His immediate followers circa. 25 and circa. 80 AD." Many people mistakenly think that the different translations of the Bible show that it was translated from the original language to a 2nd language, then from the 2nd language to a 3rd language, then from 3rd to 4th, 4th to 5th, etc. Many translation steps. This would be much like the T ELEPHONE G AME : How to Play Telephone www.ehow.com/how_2044551_play-telephone.html
In reality, the way the Bible was translated into each language was that each language was translated from the same original documents. Only one translation step. www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bib-docu.html www.str.org/articles/can-we-trust-the-bible Despite the overwhelming manuscript evidence for the Bible as compared to other ancient works, the accuracy and reliability of the Biblical text is still challenged while other ancient works are not. I believe there are two primary reasons for this. One reason is that misinformation about Christianity is continuing to be repeated. The second is the overwhelming desire by some to create doubts in others about the authenticity and reliability of the Bible and subsequently the truths of Christianity.
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS One of the amazing discoveries providing one of the best M ANUSCRIPT E VIDENCES for the Bible is the discovery of the D EAD S EA S CROLLS . The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 in Qumran, and are referenced in the quote above by William F. Albright. The scrolls are manuscripts and portions of manuscripts of both Biblical and non-Biblical works, with the Biblical works being almost all of the books of the Old Testament. They have been described as the greatest manuscript discovery of modern time. 144
Until the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in Qumran, the oldest manuscripts of the Old Testament we had date to about 800 years after Christ. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and verified, it was discovered that they were written about 200 BC, approximately 1000 years before the oldest manuscripts we had to date. The amazing fact of the Dead Sea Scrolls is that when they were compared to the manuscripts 1000 years later, they were found to be nearly identical. This answered the critics who claimed the Old Testament we have isn’t accurate to the original manuscripts, and that over 100 prophesies regarding Jesus Christ in the Old Testament were written after Jesus lived. Since the prophesies of Christ have now been shown to be made centuries before He was born, the Dead Sea Scrolls have proven the critics wrong. W HAT ARE THE D EAD S EA S CROLLS ?
www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/bible-faqs/what-are-thedead-sea-scrolls W HAT ARE T HE D EAD S EA S CROLLS ?
www.josh.org/resources/study-research/answers-toskeptics-questions/what-are-the-dead-sea-scrolls W HAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE D EAD S EA S CROLLS ?
www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a023.html T HE D EAD S EA S CROLLS
https://bible.org/article/dead-sea-scrolls T HE D IGITAL D EAD S EA S CROLLS
http://dss.collections.imj.org.il * S CIENTIFIC E VIDENCES : Again, Scientific Evidences refer to
the scientific accuracy of historical writings when scientific principals are indicated which can be verified. As well, do they accurately indicate scientific concepts in advance of the concepts being discovered through more modern scientific observations? We’ve already looked at Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens, and the Earth”. The following are some of the other major scientific evidences. 145
ATOMIC S TRUCTURE : Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” This is an accurate description of the atomic structure of matter, and was written 2000 years ago. The electron microscope, necessary to view a molecule or atom, wasn’t invented until 1930. www.inplainsite.org/html/scientific_facts_in_the_bible.html (In the “Earth” section) BLOOD R EQUIRED T O S USTAIN LIFE : Leviticus 17:11 “The life of the flesh is in the blood” This was written 3000 years ago. Even up to almost 1800, sick people would be BLED to resolve IMBALANCES , sometimes resulting in death. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodletting AST N UMBER OF STARS : T HE V Jeremiah 33:22 “I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” The earliest telescopes did not exist until the early 1600s. Looking into the night sky, one can count approximately 4000 stars. Jeremiah was written between 630 and 580BC. 2500 years ago, and 2000 years before telescopes could give modern science the tools to learn about the actual number of stars. Check out the Hubble Extreme Deep Field in the next link and read the description, as well as the area of sky the picture represents. Click any of the Image Formats in the right column for much larger versions of the pictures. When looking at the pictures, remember that each spec of light in the picture is not a star but an entire distant galaxy containing an estimated 100 billion stars!
The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field
www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1214b In 2014, scientists made a 3D model of the Ultra Deep Field: The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg 146
H YDROLOGIC C YCLE – T HE W ATER C YCLE : Ecclesiastes 1:7 “All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again”.
The hydrologic cycle wasn’t observed scientifically until the 1700s, more than 2700 years after this verse was written. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle (check the “7.3 Precipitation alone” section) C LOUDS H OLDING I NCREDIBLE W EIGHT OF W ATER : Job 26:8 “He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight”.
One inch of rain over one square mile equals 17.4 million gallons of water weighing 143 million pounds (about 72,000 tons), or the weight of a train with 40 boxcars. www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream//tstorms/ll_h2ocontent.htm I wasn’t able to find a reference of the scientific discovery of the clouds ability to do this, but it is still amazing to think that this was referenced 5000 years ago in the Bible. W ATER E VAPORATION : Job 36:27 “He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams”
Nils Wallerius 1706-1764 was a Swedish physicist, philosopher and theologian. He was one of the first scientists to study and document the characteristics of evaporation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nils_Wallerius G ENETIC C LASSIFICATION : Genesis 1:21-31 v21 “So God created . . . and every living thing . . . according to their kinds , and every winged bird according to its kind . v24 “. . . according to their kinds . . . each according to its kind . v25 “God made the wild animals according to their kinds , the livestock according to their kinds , and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.”
“The modern science of genetics, seeking to understand this process, began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-19th century” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetics 147
G LOBAL W IND P ATTERNS AND G LOBAL O CEAN C URRENTS : Ecclesiastes 1:6 “The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.” Psalms 8:8 “. . the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas”.
Matthew Fontaine Maury 1806–1873 nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" . Maury made many important new contributions to charting winds and ocean currents, including ocean lanes for passing ships at sea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Fontaine_Maury AS W EIGHT : AIR H
Job 28:25 “When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure”
Evangelista Torricelli began the first accurate measurement of the pressure (or weight) of air, in 1644. www.robinsonlibrary.com/science/science/biography/torricelli.htm 2 ND L AW OF T HERMODYNAMICS (E NTROPY ): Psalm 102:25-26 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away” Isaiah 51:6 “. . . for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment,” Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot 1796 – 1832 was a French military engineer and physicist, often described as the "The Father of Thermodynamics" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_L%C3%A9onard_Sadi _Carnot
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ARTH S USPENDED IN S PACE : T HE E
Job 26:7 (Written 3000 BC) “He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he hangs the earth on nothing.”
This was written 4000 years ago. The beliefs of many people even as recent as 1000 years ago was that the Earth was supported on the backs of elephants, or on the back of a tortoise. http://christianevidences.org/scientificevidence/astronomy/suspended-earth/
* WHAT ABOUT CLAIMED SCIENTIFIC ERRORS IN THE BIBLE? Many critics of the Bible claim that science has proven the Bible wrong and that it has errors when indicating scientific facts, so it can’t be true. Since critics claim the Bible has errors so they conclude then that it certainly can’t be from God. After all, the God of the universe wouldn’t make scientific mistakes because he knows everything, right? What is true is that these criticisms are misinterpretations of the Bible, or they are wrong themselves. We’ve already seen some of these misinterpretations. These sites answer many of the scientific criticisms of the Bible. www.godandscience.org/apologetics/sciencebible.html www.godandscience.org/apologetics/bible_science_criticisms. html www.faithdefenders.com/from-thedesk/inerrancyofthebible.html Sites Showing Bible Evidences: http://bibleandarchaeology.blogspot.com www.everystudent.com/features/bible.html www.alwaysbeready.com (Click “Bible, Evidence for the Bible” at left) If you see “Unsupported Browser”, click the HOME link at lower left.
http://sciencespeaks.dstoner.net The Bible: Has God Spoken? - Greg Koukl’s http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/2002/14173.mp3 Scientific Facts In The Bible www.inplainsite.org/html/scientific_facts_in_the_bible.html 149
Scientific, archeological, and prophetic evidences show that God has proven Himself in the things we can check so that we can have faith in Him in the things we cannot check. These evidences also show that the claim “The Bible is scientifically inaccurate” is made by one who has never investigated the evidences, or that the evidences don’t point to the conclusion they have decided. Now that we’ve seen evidences for the Divine origin of the Bible, we can be confident in the verses it contains. 2 Tim 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” It is clear through this verse and the confirmation of the different evidences, (Scientific, Archaeological, etc.), that the Bible contains all we need to know, and is the ONLY reference proving to be from God and necessary to answer the important questions concerning God, our lives, our eternal destination, etc. There are some religions which consider the Bible authoritative, but they use a slightly changed Bible, or consider other works on the same level of authority as well to support their unbiblical teachings. This verse shows that this is not the position of God. If we think about it logically, isn’t it foolish to think that this God who is outside of time, who has created 100 billion galaxies out of nothing, etc. would have left anything necessary out of the book which He has provided.
* A CHALLENGE TO THE BIBLE FROM WITHIN The Bible has proven itself to be the word of God, and there are many verses, 2 Tim 3:16-17 included, claiming its truth and perfection, and that it will last forever. John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
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Matthew 5:18 “ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished .” John 10:35b Jesus answered them ". . . to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken" 2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” I NERRANCY OF THE B IBLE – ADDITIONAL VERSES
www.openbible.info/topics/inerrancy_of_the_bible The Bible is described as the “Word of God”, “is truth”, “is profitable for teaching . . . for every good work”, “cannot be broken” and “will stand forever”. The God of the universe knows everything, created all 100 billion galaxies out of nothing, and is outside of time. If this amazing God has provided this incredible resource for us, should we conclude that He is also able to keep it the way that he has promised? Of course we can! If you are not familiar with the word INERRANCY , it has to do with ERROR . www.thefreedictionary.com defines INERRANCY as: “Freedom from error or untruths; infallibility”. When applied to the Bible, it means that the Bible is free from errors or untruths, and is infallible. Norman Geisler states: “If the Bible is the Word of God and God cannot err, then the Bible cannot err. To deny the inerrancy of the Bible one must either affirm that God can err or that the Bible is not the Word of God.” Considering the definition and the Bible verses, Norman Geisler’s conclusion is logical and reasonable. W HAT 'S I NERRANCY !? AND W HY S HOULD I C ARE ?
http://defendinginerrancy.com/why-is-inerrancy-important P ROOF I NERRANCY I S H ISTORICAL / B IBLICAL
http://defendinginerrancy.com/historical-evidence-forinerrancy T HE I NERRANCY OF THE B IBLE
www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbbible.aspx?pageid=8589952767
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B IBLE ACCURACY
www.4truth.net/accuracy Here is Norman Geisler’s presentation at the V ERITAS 2014 N ATIONAL APOLOGETICS C ONFERENCE : D OES T HE B IBLE H AVE E RRORS ?
http://defendinginerrancy.com/does-the-bible-have-errors Today in many of the evangelical seminaries the professors have signed S TATEMENTS O F I NERRANCY . This means that they hold to the position that the Bible is without error. If you were going to a seminary, would you want to learn under a professor who doesn’t hold that the Bible is without error? Would you be surprised to learn that a number of these professors who hold that the Bible is inerrant also believe certain passages didn’t happen as these verses indicate, that they were myth, or that they were exercises in creative writing on the part of the writer ? Does this sound contradictory to Norman Geisler’s statement? His statement again: “If the Bible is the Word of God and God cannot err, then the Bible cannot err. To deny the inerrancy of the Bible one must either affirm that God can err or else that the Bible is not the Word of God.” To see some of the statements of these professors, check the articles at these links: www.albertmohler.com/2011/09/14/the-devil-is-in-the-details-biblicalinerrancy-and-the-licona-controversy www.normgeisler.com/articles/Bible/Inspirationinerrancy/Blomberg/DenialOfMiracleStory.htm www.normgeisler.com/articles/Bible/InspirationInerrancy/Licona/InerrancyWorse.htm www.normgeisler.com/articles/Bible/InspirationInerrancy/Blomberg/2014ResponseToBlombergCanWeStillBelieveInTheBible.htm www.normgeisler.com/articles/Bible/InspirationInerrancy/ETS/OpenTheistsAndInerrancyCPinnockOnBibleAndGod.htm Also check out this excellent presentation by David Farnell demonstrating the larger concern regarding the influence of professors teaching this “ NEW ” inerrancy in seminaries. 152
R ESPONDING T O T HE N EW ATTACKS O N S CRIPTURE - David Farnell
http://defendinginerrancy.com/responding-new-attacks-scripture In the section covering the amazing number of fulfilled prophesies, I also made reference to certain prophesies not having been fulfilled yet. As well, many of the fulfilled prophesies could not be confirmed as fulfilled until recent archaeological discoveries discovered the evidence. Did archaeologists make up stories about the unfulfilled prophesies while waiting for the archaeological discoveries? No. Would it be fair to conclude that there are prophesies which we will never be able to verify? I believe probably. It seems foolish that some professors would feel the necessity to have an explanation for every possible Bible difficulty. I realize that there are those who will use any unresolved Bible difficulty as evidence that the entire Bible is fallible, or that Christianity isn’t worth considering. However, when the few items in question are contrasted to the OVERWHELMING amount of confirmed evidence for the Bible and Christianity, it shows that those making the challenges are looking for any excuse to discount the Bible, and shows that they are not interested in honestly considering the facts. Can one be a Christian without believing the Bible is fully inerrant? Yes. However, you put yourself at risk. You leave yourself open to the possibility that someone will come up with a convincing sounding argument against an important part of the Bible. Take for example the resurrection? If one part of the Bible cannot be trusted, who is to say another more important part of the Bible won’t be questioned in the future? I point to Norman Geisler’s statement yet again, “If the Bible is the Word of God and God cannot err, then the Bible cannot err. To deny the inerrancy of the Bible one must either affirm that God can err or else that the Bible is not the Word of God.” COLOSSIANS 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ.”
It is important to realize that despite the position of many of those professors who are changing the traditional definition of INERRANCY pertaining to the different Biblical passages, many of 153
them have still done tremendous work in most other areas of Apologetics. Because of this, you will see some of them included in the L EADING S PEAKERS AND T HINKERS section. Considering the importance of inerrancy, it is vitally important to check any speaker or author’s position on the inerrancy of the Bible, regardless of their effectiveness in other areas. Remember Acts 17:11 ACTS 17:11 “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
My intention in including this section is that you will be aware of what is being taught in evangelical seminaries, especially if you are planning on going into ministry and attending one of these seminaries. Most of these seminaries were originally started as an answer to this CHALLENGE TO THE INERRANCY OF THE B IBLE back in 1914-15. 100 years later, this challenge to inerrancy is being advanced now at these very seminaries. I highly recommend David Farnell’s presentation on this subject: R ESPONDING T O T HE N EW ATTACKS O N S CRIPTURE
http://defendinginerrancy.com/responding-new-attacks-scripture
* JESUS If the Bible proves itself as the only book truly inspired by God, we can trust in everything written there. One of the proofs that the Bible is inspired is PROPHESY . Fulfilled prophesy is a proof exclusive to the Bible. No other book claiming to be from God has the evidence of detailed prophetic fulfillment that the Bible does. The following site compares prophesies between the Bible and the Qur’an The Qur'an (Koran) vs. The Bible: Predictions of human actions show which one is truly from God
http://worldview3.50webs.com/quranvbible.html Below are just a few of the over 300 specific prophesies written in the old testament just about Jesus Christ during his life and death. He fulfilled all of them! 154
A few of the Old Testament prophesies fulfilled by Christ: He would be born of the seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3, 22:18), Born of the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10), In the lineage of David (2 Samuel 7:12f). He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) He’d come while the temple was still standing (Malachi 3:1), He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), He would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, and cause the lame to walk (Isaiah 35:5-6), He’d be rejected by His own people (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:7). The precise time in history when He would die (Daniel 9:24-26), That He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27-32). How He would die (Psalm 22:16-18, Isaiah 53; Zechariah 12:10)
One of the other 300 prophesies is Psalm 22:16-18. It is the oldest of the prophecies Christ fulfilled, and it is the prophesy indicating the type of execution Christ would suffer. Psalm 22:16-18 “For dogs encompass me; a company of evil doers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots ”.
I found this prophesy to be particularly amazing. It is dated at 1000BC, 1000 years before Christ’s birth, which is amazing in itself! However, it was also written 400 years before crucifixion had even been invented by the Romans! It is kind of a dual prophesy. Now, let's take a closer look at the amazing probabilities of these prophesies: The odds of just 8 of over 300 prophecies being fulfilled in any one individual by accident is 1 in 10 17th power, (1 with 17 zeroes after it). This number, 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 is a little hard to comprehend at first. This illustration should help. 1017th power silver dollars would fill the state of Texas 2ft deep. If you marked one silver dollar and mixed it into the rest, the odds of someone picking that marked silver dollar out on the first try would be 1 in 10 17th power.
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The odds of 48 of over 300 prophecies being fulfilled by accident in any one individual, (less than 1/6th of the total number of prophesies), is 1 in 10157th power or 10 with 157 zeroes after it. The size of the known universe is estimated to be able to contain only 1080th power atoms. This is a microscopically small number compared to 10157th power. If your recollection of exponents is a little foggy, each increase of one in the exponent indicates 10 times the number. So 1080thx10 = 1081st, 1081stx10 = 1082nd, etc.! 10157th atoms would fill not one universe, but trillions and trillions of universes! Now pick one atom, mark it, mix it in with all the others . . . You get the idea. Remember, these odds only apply to the fulfillment of less than 1/6th of the total number of fulfilled prophecies of Jesus! The Law of Probability www.answering-islam.org/Walid/10probability.htm B OREL ' S L AW indicates that anything with odds beyond
1 in 1050th power has a zero probability of happening by accident. Considering this, it is IMPOSSIBLE for someone to have ACCIDENTALLY fulfilled these prophecies. No human has been able to foretell future events with any specific accuracy, but the Bible foretells specific details about a large number of future event. In the life and death of Jesus Christ alone the Bible prophecies date to in some cases more than 1000 years before Jesus Christ fulfilled them. Even if we don’t consider any of the other evidences these prophecies by themselves provide convincing proofs of the Divine origin of the Bible and the Divinity of Christ. God and the Laws of Science: The Laws of Probability www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12& article=3726 M ESSIANIC P ROPHECIES F ULFILLED B Y J ESUS C HRIST
www.thedevineevidence.com/prophecy_jesus.html
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354 Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus Christ www.accordingtothescriptures.org/prophecy/353prophecie s.html Biblical Prophecies Fulfilled By Jesus www.cbn.com/spirituallife/biblestudyandtheolo gy/jesus_prophecy_fulfilled.aspx Jesus In Prophecy - Ed Hindson http://ffmp3.com/catalog/2001/13145.mp3
I believe it is important to cover one particular prophesy in more detail. It is the resurrection, prophesied in Psalm 118:22 and fulfilled by Christ. The reason becomes clear when we look at the following passages: HRIST HAS NOT BEEN 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 “And IF C RAISED , your faith is futile and YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR SINS. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Hebrews 9:22 “ Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” C OULD THIS BE THE SHEDDING OF JUST ANYONE ’S BLOOD ? Hebrews 10:19 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus” 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin”.
The 1st Corinthians verse above clearly shows that without Christ’s resurrection, our sins are not forgiven and others should pity” us. Jesus’ resurrection is one of the most important events in the Bible. Hebrews 9:22, 10:19 and 1 John 1:7, show that only the “shedding of blood” of Jesus forgives and cleanses us from sin. Don’t these two verses seem to contradict each other? One verse indicates RESURRECTION is necessary while the other 157
indicates that ONLY THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD forgives us of our sin. How do we resolve the seeming conflict of one verse showing that the shedding of blood is required for forgiveness and the other verse showing that the resurrection is necessary to forgive sin? It is easy to resolve when you realize that while the shedding of blood is essential for the forgiveness of sin, only the blood of one who can actually forgive sin is valid. And only God is qualified to pay for sin, and to forgive sin. When you think about everyone eventually dying, what would a person need to do to prove they were God? What would be something that only God could do that no one has ever done before or since, to prove they were God? Wouldn’t rising from the dead, their resurrection, qualify as something that only God could do? And with Jesus, not only was the resurrection proof that He was God, Jesus foretold that He would rise from the dead. Luke 9:21-22 “ And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised .”
Do you see how these two verses actually work together? Jesus resurrection three days after dying on the cross proves that He is God. And his dying on the cross shows that he paid the price for our sin using his own blood. His prediction about His resurrection was also true. Evidence for the Resurrection – Josh McDowell www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html There are those who challenge the validity of the Bible, because of supposed contradictions similar to this one. Some want the bible to be false so that they can feel more confident in their belief that there is no reason to believe in the existence of God. The supposed contradictions are proof to them that the Bible has errors, and can’t be from God. They therefore don’t try to find an answer for the supposed contradiction because an answer would conflict with what they’ve already decided to believe. The supposed contradictions confirm their worldview. 158
Do a Bing search for: Bible Contradictions Answered, to find many sites answering supposed contradictions in the Bible. Alleged Bible Contradictions: 5 Questions to Ask Before You Answer Objections
www.thepoachedegg.net/the-poached-egg/2014/02/allegedbible-contradictions-5-questions-to-ask-before-youanswer-objections.html When all the evidence is considered, it is not difficult to come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is who the Bible says, and who He claimed to be, God in human flesh. Considering the evidences demonstrating fairly conclusively the truth that Jesus is God, do you want to be one who chooses to ignore these evidences and the implications of rejecting His payment for your sin? S ITES ON J ESUS : “The Real Face of Jesus” – Amazing documentary on the Shroud of Turin!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNJPJ4JwHeE If you find the video has been pulled, do a Bing video search for “ TH E R EAL F ACE OF J ESUS ” Other Sites With Evidence About Jesus
www.allaboutgod.com/is-jesus-god.htm www.christiananswers.net/jesus/home.html www.everystudent.com/menus/jesus.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcJ9i_apd_E www.jesusevidence.org www.risenjesus.com/top-10-myths-about-jesusresurrection www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay_Db4RwZ_M www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iyxR8uE9GQ One more point. There are some who believe that Jesus never died and so He could never have been resurrected. They conclude that, “There can’t be a resurrection from the dead, if the body never died.” This belief ignores a few major facts: Rome had been performing crucifixions as a capital punishment for hundreds of years. They were experts at performing crucifixions, and wouldn’t have made the mistake of allowing someone to survive the ordeal.
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The Roman guards certainly didn’t have any sympathy for Jesus that they would have reduced the torture that Jesus experienced. The guards wove a crown of thorns because of Jesus being referred to as king, they beat him, and even pulled out parts of his beard. It is probably the case that the Roman guards actually enjoyed beating him, considering he was a criminal of Rome and sentenced to death. Check out the links below under the: Medical Detail of Jesus Suffering
Jesus was killed by one of the most excruciatingly painful forms of execution in all of human history. When I realized this, I started to wonder WHY . I didn’t wonder, “Why would Jesus Christ choose to be sacrificed for our sin?” I wondered, “Since Jesus Christ is God, why did he chose to enter history in the time of one of the most excruciating forms of execution ever invented?” After all, if Jesus Christ was God, couldn’t he decide to enter history during a time when a quicker much less painful execution was the norm? What about being run through with a sword in the Middle Ages? Wouldn’t that be quick and much less painful (respectively), while still allowing him to shed his blood? I believe Christ chose the time history he did is because He wanted us to know that not even the most brutally excruciating execution would be enough to keep Him from his mission, to pay the price for the sin we’ve committed and will commit, so that we can spend eternity with Him in Heaven, because He loves us so much! “I asked Jesus how much He loved me, and He stretched out His hands and He died.” To see specific details of the incredible price Jesus paid through scourging and crucifixion and the evidences of His death, investigate the medical examination of the crucifixion of Jesus: Medical Detail of Jesus Suffering http://the-crucifixion.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=RptnOb-IFFM www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC9krDwjfZE
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Evidence for the Resurrection: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzNREgNC11k www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVoKR_cvJJM www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iyxR8uE9GQ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pV5XxZQDLs Evidence For The Resurrection - Craig Hazen http://ffmp3.com/catalog/2001/13061.mp3 Did Jesus Really Rise? – Dr. Phil Fernandez ` http://ffmp3.com/catalog/2009/45623.mp3 Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? - John Ankerberg http://ffmp3.com/catalog/2001/13142.mp3 The Resurrection Argument That Changed a Generation of Scholars
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay_Db4RwZ_M How Do The Twelve Apostles Deaths Prove Easter? http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2009/04/whathappened-to-the-twelve-apostles-how-their-deathsevidence-easter/?nabe=6241452902318080:1 Historical Evidence for the Resurrection www.desiringgod.org/articles/historical-evidence-for-theresurrection Testimony of the Evangelists - Simon Greenleaf www.bibleteacher.org/sgtestimony.htm If Jesus Wasn’t God, He Deserved an Oscar – John Ankerberg http://ffmp3.com/catalog/2009/45551.mp3 Reclaiming Easter www.josh.org/pages/reclaiming-easter Essay Series: Is Christianity True? www.apologetics315.com/2010/04/essay-series-ischristianity-true.html Tackling Tough Questions - Sean and Josh McDowell www.conversantlife.com/theology/tackling-toughquestions-sean-and-josh-mcdowell-on-conversant-live
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How Can You Trust That Christianity Is True If You Haven’t Examined All the Alternatives? http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/how-can-you-trust-christianityis-true-if-you-havent-examined-all-the-alternatives/
It is important to realize that we will probably never have evidences for everything pertaining to the Bible and God. There will be things that are impossible to check, primarily because archaeology hasn’t yet discovered the evidences. But remember again, archaeology has verified over 2000 of the approximately 2500 prophesies listed in the Bible, and not a single one has been wrong. The others haven’t yet been fulfilled because they speak of future events. Considering this, I believe that the way to consider all of the evidences God has provided for us; the scientific, archeological, and prophetic evidences, is that he has proven Himself in the things we can check so that we can have full faith in Him in the things we cannot check.
* THE TRINITY This is one of the doctrines of the Bible which most will admit is difficult to understand. This lack of understanding has caused some to determine that it can’t be true. The fact is that we will never fully understanding the doctrine. Even so, we can accept it if it is true even if we don’t understand it. As we will see, TRUTH is not determined by our UNDERSTANDING of something. Christianity teaches that Jesus is one of three persons of the T RINITY , also referred to as the G ODHEAD. Jesus is co-equal with God the Father and also God the Holy Spirit. However, each of the Persons of the Godhead have different roles. Some claim that the Trinity isn’t a Biblical concept because the word “ TR INITY ” is not found in the Bible. It is true that the word “T RINITY ” is not found in the Bible. The term “M ONOTHEISM ” isn’t found in the Bible either, but few would deny that M ONOTHEISM is clearly taught in the Bible. Like Monotheism, if the concept of the T RINITY is taught, does it really matter that the Bible doesn’t use a particular word to describe the concept?
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What does the Bible teach about the Trinity? www.gotquestions.org/Trinity-Bible.html
Again, some will claim that because they don’t understand the trinity, it can’t be true. Remember, T RUTH isn’t determined by our UNDERSTANDING . 25 years ago Pastor Wayne Stockstill stated, “If God were a God we could understand, he wouldn’t be much of a God, would he?” Think about Proverbs 3:5: Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
There are many things we use every day, of which we don’t understand that thing’s complexity or functionality. With a car, do you need to have a complete understanding of how the fuel system atomizes the fuel and how the pistons and valves are synchronized to compress the fuel air mixture to be able to start the engine? Do you need to have an understanding of how an automatic transmission works to drive to work or school? Do you need to understand how an LED screen works to watch a program on TV? Again, the TRUTH of something isn’t determined by whether we understand it or not. One of the main criticisms of the concept of the Trinity is that if God the Father is God, and Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, then you have something similar to the equation 1+1+1=1. Just as this equation isn’t logical, it also isn’t an accurate description of what Christianity teaches about God. I believe a more accurate math equation is to look at the Trinity not as 1+1+1=1, but 1x1x1=1. I believe when some people first hear the 1+1+1=1 analogy, they don’t bother to think beyond it and instead use it as an example of Christians not thinking logically, because it supports their belief. But does this 1x1x1=1 relationship exist elsewhere? Our world has a number of T RINITARIAN or 3 in 1 aspects to IME = PAST, PRESENT, it. The following are three examples: T FUTURE; M ATTER = SOLID, LIQUID, GAS ; V OLUME = LENGTH, WIDTH, and HEIGHT. In all of these there is a 3 in 1 relationship. In T IME ; the past is time, the present is time, and the future is time. They are 3 distinct components of time, but they are still 1 time. In V OLUME ; length is volume, height is volume, and width is volume. They are 3 distinct and separate aspects of volume, but they are 1 Volume. The same with MATTER . 163
I think V OLUME is the most accurate illustration I’ve heard for the Trinity. V OLUME = LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT . When you look at an object from each view, (LENGTH, WIDTH, OR HEIGHT), aren’t you seeing the entire object? Yes. Are any of the three views the same as the other two? No. But they are still of the same object, right? Yes. So you have LENGTH , and WIDTH , and EIGHT each being the object. And LENGTH is not WIDTH , WIDTH is not HEIGHT , and HEIGHT is not LENGTH . So, you have three separate identities of an object each being different from each other, but all being the one object. Another Look at the Trinity http://carm.org/christianity/christian-doctrine/another-look-trinity
We must remember that any attempt to describe an INFINITE God using FINITE illustrations will always fall short. However, this is still the best illustration I’ve heard. When you look at either Jesus, God the Father, or the Holy Spirit, you are seeing all of God. However, each is not the other. The link below will take you to a great article going into some nice detail on the subject. There is also one of the best diagrams I’ve found illustrating the essential characteristics of the Trinity. Something I believe gives credibility of the Trinity being a nonhuman concept, is that it is almost impossible to think of a person inventing this almost incomprehensible idea. Remember Wayne Stockstill’s quote: ”If God was a God we could understand, he wouldn’t be much of a God, would he?” Another criticism of the concept of the Trinity, is that it has its origin in Paganism. As such, it can’t be true or Biblical. At first, the challenge does seem to have merit. The examples used are: The Greek triad of Z EUS , ATHENA, and APOLLO ; the Hindu triad of B RAHMA, V ISHNU , and S HIVA; and the Egyptian triad of I SIS , H ORUS , and S UB . Once researched though, the comparison doesn’t work, because in each of the above examples, what are presented as evidences of the pagan trinity, are actually three gods. They are tritheistic and are not the Christian representation of the Trinity. As well, they have no unity as the unity indicated in the Bible. Here are two links which show that the Trinity has no basis in paganism. 164
I S THE T RINITY P AGAN ?
www.letusreason.org/Trin8.htm T RINITY IS NOT BORROWED FROM THE PAGANS !
www.bible.ca/trinity/trinity-pagan.htm
SO WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH? If the Bible has come from God, then what is written there is true. If there is only one God, and God the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, then there are three persons being the one God, whether we understand it or not. So, what does the Bible teach about this concept that there is one God, and that God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are each God? There is only one God 1 John 3:20 "for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything." Isaiah 43:10 " Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me." Isaiah 44:6 "'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me." Isaiah 44:8 " Is there any God besides Me , or is there any other Rock? I know of none." Isaiah 45:5 "I am Yahweh, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God ." Isaiah 45:14 "Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God."
We see through these verses that the Bible clearly teaches there is one God. This, for the most part, is acknowledged in Judaism, Islam, and even Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness teachings. This is consistent with the teaching of G OD THE F ATHER in Christianity. What is denied is the Christian teaching that while God is one, God consists of three persons. Let us look at what the Bible teaches about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Once again, if the Bible is true and is God’s word, the truth is not based upon our understanding of the truth and any contradictory teaching to the truth is false. 165
O NE G OD IS REFERENCED IN THE PLURAL Gen 1:26 “Then God [singular] said, “Let Us [plural] make man in Our [plural] image, according to Our [plural] likeness...” Gen 1:27 “So God [singular] created man in His [singular] own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Verse 26 mentions God three times – U S, OUR and OUR In verse 26, God refers to Himself in the plural while immediately following in verse 27 He refers to Himself in the singular, indicating - H IS, H E and H E Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” [plural]
We are not baptizing in multiple names, but ONE NAME . There is but one God and Lord to baptize in the name of. But we are also to baptize in the one name of the threeperson Lord – Father, Son and Spirit. 1 John 5:7 “For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father , the Word , and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.”
This verse states the concept clearly. 2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
This verse gives us a glimpse into the different rolls the persons of the Trinity take. T HE B IBLE TEACHES J ESUS IS G OD John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God , and the Word was God ”
This verse shows two Persons of the Godhead and one God. John 1:3 "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." 166
Only God has always existed. If all things were made by Christ, He has always existed, and so must be God John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” The Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM .”
This shows that Jesus existed as God before his human life, and also referencing God speaking to Moses in Exodus 3:14: Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘ I am has sent me to you.’”
, is Hebrews 1:8 “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
God the Father refers to the Son as “O God”, and that the Son has a kingdom. Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
This verse shows that Jesus Christ doesn’t change. God the Father doesn’t change. Being that Christ doesn’t change, both He and the Father are God. T HE B IBLE TEACHES THAT THE H OLY S PIRIT IS G OD Acts 5:3-4 "But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit . . . You have not lied to man but to God .”
Lying to the Holy Spirit is the same as lying to God 2 Corinthians 3:17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit , and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” T HE H OLY S PIRIT HAS C HARACTERISTICS OF P ERSONHOOD Acts 20:28 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
The Spirit is capable of MAKING . 167
1 Corinthians 2:10 "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things"
The Spirit is capable of SEARCHING 1 Corinthians 2:11 “Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God .” The Spirit is capable of KNOWING . Acts 8:29 “Then the Spirit said to Philip , ‘Go near and overtake this chariot.'” Acts 10:19 “And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him , “Behold, three men are looking for you.”
The Spirit is capable of COMMUNICATING Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
The Spirit is capable of BEING GRIEVED Romans 8:27 "And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit , because[a] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God"
The Spirit has a mind, and is capable of INTERCEDING John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
The Spirit is capable of TEACHING John 16:12-15 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes , he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority , but whatever he hears he will speak"
The Spirit is capable of GUIDING and has his own authority Hebrews 10:29 ". . . and has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
The Spirit is capable of BEING INSULTED These verses clearly teach the concept of the Trinity; that there are three distinct Persons in the Godhead, and that there is only one God. Each Person is not the other person, yet they are all the one God. The truth of this concept is not based upon our 168
understanding of the Trinity. If we are to discount the teaching of the Trinity because of the criticism that the word T RINITY isn’t found in the Bible, we could discount the Biblical teaching of One God because the word M ONOTHEISM isn’t found in the Bible. DIVINE T ITLES ,
F UNCTIONS AND C HARACTER Q UALITIES ASCRIBED TO THE F ATHER , S ON AND H OLY S PIRIT www.bible.ca/trinity/trinity-definition-god-divine-qualitiesascribed.htm
God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit http://truth4freedom.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/theolog y-god-the-father-the-son-and-the-holy-spirit H OW CAN ONE G OD BE THREE PERSONS ?
http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t002.html U NDERSTANDING T HE T RINITY
www.bethinking.org/god/understanding-the-trinity The God head-Trinity Described by Ravi Zacharias www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys326rDQTNY What is the Trinity? - Inspiring Philosophy - playlist www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gCvFAjgps&list=PL1mr9ZTZb3TWpnOJV09MuEAwbbQ NCS6Qf
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6. HAS CHRISTIANITY BENEFITED THE WORLD ? “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others...not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer “We are called to service in the kingdom of God. The Christian life is not about what you claim. It is about what you believe. True belief cannot be separated from what we do.” ― Tyler Edwards How would you respond to the following?
Christianity promotes intolerance, and ignorance. Christianity contradicts modern science. Christianity promotes slavery Christianity degrades women Christianity is the cause of millions of deaths. God commanded genocide in the Old Testament. ________________________
Some people believe Christianity has not been a benefit to the world. They believe that if we could just get rid of Christianity or at least the influence of Christianity, the world would be a much better place. They believe that the influence of Christianity actually holds us back from progress, that it is the restrictions of Christianity that keep us from achieving real freedom. This could be one of the reasons why Atheistic professors make an attempt to reduce and even eliminate the confidence students have in Jesus and the Bible. Remember the term INTOLERANT being used of Christians? If the world truly would be better without Christianity then many have good reason to ignore the evidences in the previous sections of this guide. Is not one of the measures of a belief-system, the actual impact of that belief-system on the world? So, has Christianity had an impact on the world, and if so, has it been positive or negative? 170
To see the impact of Christianity, one need look no further than the western societies based on Judeo Christian values as compared to the other societies in the world. What you may be very surprised to find out is that Christianity has had a significant beneficial impact on the world. Below are a number of the impacts of Christianity and Judaism, as well as links to be able to research them further. Think about how much you would want to live in a country where these qualities didn’t exist. It is easy to take these benefits for granted when we’ve never lived in a country that doesn’t have them. www.inplainsite.org/html/impact_of_christianity.html
M ODERN M EDICINE .
Not as modern as originally thought. Medical principals were specified in the Old Testament, and developed further by Christians http://creation.com/modern-medicine
U NIVERSITIES , which also began during the Middle Ages. In
addition, most of the world’s greatest universities were started for Christian purposes. www.tysknews.com/Depts/Educate/history_part3.htm
LITERACY AND E DUCATION for the masses. http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/56682 C APITALISM AND F REE E NTERPRISE . www.allaboutworldview.org/christian-economics.htm R EPRESENTATIVE G OVERNMENT , particularly as it has been seen in the American experiment. www.faithfacts.org/christ-and-the-culture/the-bible-and-government T HE S EPARATION OF P OLITICAL P OWERS .
www.probe.org/the-declaration-and-constitution-theirchristian-roots
C IVIL LIBERTIES . www.reformationsa.org/index.php/history/the-reformation1517-1610/87-howthereformationchangedtheworld T HE ABOLITION OF S LAVERY , both in antiquity and in more modern times. www.summit.org/resources/truth-and-consequences/christianityand-slavery 171
M ODERN S CIENCE . Most of the major branches of science were founded by Christians.
www.christianity.co.nz/science4.htm www.godandscience.org/apologetics/sciencefaith.html www.exploringchristianity.com/index.php?option=com_content &view=article&id=213&catid=47&Itemid=270
T HE D ISCOVERY OF THE N EW W ORLD by Columbus. www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0196_Columbus_Christian_C.html T HE E LEVATION OF THE P OSITION OF W OMEN in Society. https://bible.org/article/christianity-best-thing-ever-happenedwomen http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Amazing-Things-Christianity-HasDone-to-Advance-the-Cause-of-Womens-Rights&id=2661871 B ENEVOLENCE AND C HARITY ; the Good Samaritan ethic.
www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2013/05/08/3754498.htm
H IGHER S TANDARDS OF J USTICE . http://creation.com/the-christian-foundations-of-the-rule-of-law-inthe-west-a-legacy-of-liberty-and-resistance-against-tyranny T HE E LEVATION OF C OMMON M AN .
www.phc.edu/gj_schirrmacherv3n2.php
H IGH R EGARD FOR H UMAN L IFE .
www.mtio.com/articles/bissar53.htm
T HE C LASSIFYING AND F OUNDING OF M ANY OF THE W ORLD ’ S W RITTEN AND S POKEN L ANGUAGES . India: www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/february-web-
only/how-white-missionaries-helped-birth-modern-dayindia.html Taiwan:www.thefreelibrary.com/Pentecost+of+the+Hills+i n+Taiwan%3a+The+Christian+Faith+Among+the...a060138400 Check the last paragraph of the article. Maraland: Check the section Literature work and Bible translation.
Ghana:www.thefreelibrary.com/%22Obstinate%22+pastor+ and+pioneer+historian%3a+the+impact+of+Basel +Mission...-a0197989375 Check the section “Ideas on African Languages and the "Nation" 172
G REATER D EVELOPMENT OF ART AND M USIC . The inspiration for
the greatest works of art. www.mightystudents.com/essay/Christianity.impact.music.15296 H OW C HRISTIANITY C IVILIZED B ARBARIAN E UROPE in Just
One Hundred Years www.newenglishreview.org/Emmet_Scott/How_Christianity_Ci vilized_Barbarian_Europe_in_Just_One_Hundred_Years
T HE C OUNTLESS C HANGED L IVES Transformed from Liabilities
into Assets to Society Because of the Gospel. www.faithfacts.org/christ-and-the-culture/changed-lives Is Christianity Good for America? – Dinesh D’Sousa debate www.youtube.com/watch?v=rACrVLuIfDY What if Jesus Had Never Been Born www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHLioeL9dYk The Social and Historical Impact of Christianity www.probe.org/the-social-and-historical-impact-of-christianity
The Impact of Christianity www.faithfacts.org/christ-and-the-culture/the-impact-of-christianity What has Christianity done for the World? http://godtalk.hubpages.com/hub/What-has-Christianitydone-for-the-World 21 Positive Contributions Christianity Has Made http://verticallivingministries.com/tag/the-historicalbenefits-of-christianity The Benefits of Christianity in Society http://mbogartministries.hubpages.com/hub/TheBenefits-of-Christianity-in-Society The Influence of Christianity on Western Civilization http://crossandquill.com/journey/the-influence-ofchristianity-on-western-civilization
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Also, as to whether the United States was founded as a Christian nation, (not that it is currently), check the videos at this link: Popular David Barton & Politics Videos www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFxZAfgz_jo&list=PLY7LUJl9N36QWYpywH-xS1EEzFDlNOFY Also check: www.faithofourfathers.net
* What About the Crusades, Witch Trials and Inquisitions? While the many previous examples show the positive benefits of Christianity on the world, there are many non-Christians who point to specific times and events in history as evidence of the negative influence of Christianity. The primary historical events they point to are the C RUSADES , the S ALEM W ITCH T RIALS , and the S PANISH I NQUISITIONS . Many Non-Christians claim that these events show that religion in general, and Christianity specifically have been responsible for more deaths in history than any other reason. With the exception of the Crusades, a study of the actual numbers of those killed in these historical events show that the claim of MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DEATHS is vastly inflated. These claims have been repeated so often, that many believe and repeat the claims without ever checking them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_and_disasters_by _death_toll In the case of the Crusades, it is important to realize that the initial reason for the Crusades was to take back land which was taken by Muslim Conquests. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades People were motivated to take part in the Crusades because of various reasons. Many of the reasons were not consistent with Christian teachings, especially considering the incentive offered by Pope Urban II. The Wikipedia article above indicates that for anyone who participated, he would grant that all of their sin would be forgiven. This certainly is not consistent with the teachings of
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Jesus Christ, as only God can forgive sin, and only Jesus Christ offered the necessary sacrifice to pay for sin. Considering again the objection raised of the deaths by Christianity through history, it is absolutely tragic that 10 deaths, much less 1,000,000+ deaths, are attributed to those who have caused them in the name of Christianity. It is important however to consider the teachings of Jesus, and then compare His teachings to the actions of these individuals who killed IN THE NAME OF G OD . Can one truly claim to act “In the name of God” , when they are acting opposite the teachings of Christ? This link shows the facts of the Crusades, www.inplainsite.org/html/atheism_or_christianity.html The same site answers many of the “Barriers to Faith” www.inplainsite.org/html/Page3a_barriers_to_faith.html I asked the question earlier, “Isn’t one measure of a belief- system, the actual benefits of that belief-system?” If we were to consider the same question in regards to other belief systems and whether or not they have been a benefit to the world, what do the facts show? The first link above exposes the lie of MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DYING because of Christianity, and shows the real influence on the world that the philosophies of Atheism and Secularism have had. Many non-Christians claim that the deaths caused in the Salem Witch Trials and the Inquisitions, were done to force the spread of Christianity, or because the persons being killed violated Christian standards. Because of this, they claim that Christianity is the cause of the deaths. Some non-Christians object to claim that the deaths caused by Hitler, Mao, Stalin, and others were caused because of Atheism. They believe that since the murders weren’t committed to forward Atheism, the deaths shouldn’t be attributed to Atheism. Is it reasonable to conclude that Christianity is responsible for the deaths blamed on it when the deaths are caused by those working in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ, but not conclude that Atheism is responsible for the deaths which happened under Atheistic and Secular leaders living consistently with the philosophies of atheism and secularism? 175
Consider the philosophies of both belief systems and the logical results of each system. Do we blame the philosophy because of those living opposite to the teachings of that philosophy, or because of those living consistent with the philosophy? Consider Christianity. What are the teachings of Christianity and its founder Jesus Christ? Is it to spread Christianity “by the sword” ? No. What does Christianity teach through the verses of the Bible? Proverbs 10:12 “ Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.”
Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD Matthew 22:37–39 “ your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” John 15:13 “ Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “ If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love , I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love , I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love , I gain nothing.” Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Exodus 20:13 "You shall not murder." Romans 13:9 "For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder ,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ”"
Christianity teaches to love, and against murder, (not against self-defense). Anyone not living consistent with these commands is violating the teachings of Christianity. We can also 176
see how the benefits indicated earlier are quite consistent with the teachings of Christianity. What about Atheism? Some non-Christians will object that Atheism isn’t a religion and shouldn’t be considered. It is a philosophy though, like Christianity, which makes it valid to consider in reference to the deaths in history. With no book similar to the Bible to quote from we are limited to the observation of the events in the world which are consistent with the teachings of the philosophy itself. The philosophy of Atheism when taken to its logical conclusion is that without God, nothing is evil nor prohibited. Once again, Atheists can and do live moral lives, but without God there is no foundation for Atheistic morality. What is atheism?
http://carm.org/what-is-atheism
When we consider the philosophy of Atheism, and then look at the actions of Marx, Stalin, Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot in history, is this philosophy consistent with the actions of these leaders? Let’s look at the events in history. Think back to the W ORLDVIEW section. People usually act consistent with their worldview or philosophy and a person doesn’t need to have intentionally determined to push their worldview. Their actions give insight to their motivations, and are the evidence of their true worldview. Atheism has no OBJECTIVE foundation for right of wrong. As such, while most Atheists live according to a moral standard they have determined (SUBJECTIVE ), there is no foundation for an absolute morality in Atheism. Some leaders in history who hold to an Atheistic worldview have lived consistent with the belief that there is no God or morality. Killing is a means to an end, and in some instances in history, the killing of millions of people. Many were killed because of their belief that there was a God and many were not. Either way, killing millions of people toward an end is consistent with an Atheist philosophy and not a Christian philosophy. And this is regardless of whether Atheism is promoted or not. Atheism / Secularism Influence on Life www.missiontoamerica.org/faith/atheism-influence-onlife.html 177
Atheism and Mass Murder www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_Mass_Murder http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/who-is-moreresponsible-for-the-mass-murders-of-history-christians-oratheists/ www.csustan.edu/history/darwin-hitler Richard Dawkins, atheist atrocities, and historical revisionism www.conservapedia.com/Richard_Dawkins,_atheists _atrocities,_and_historical_revisionism Atheism and Child Murder http://atheisticviolence.wordpress.com/atheism-and-childmurder
This last link above gives us an even greater appreciation of Matthew 18:6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea”. If this punishment is what the Bible suggests for causing a child to sin, what punishment would be valid for killing a child? Doesn’t this seem to conflict with the Old Testament, where God ordered the killing of entire cities of people, including children? Non-Christians point to this KILLING OF INNOCENT PEOPLE as proof that God is really not a God of Love. When we consider ALL the information, what is the most reasonable conclusion? When this objection is raised it is easy to assume these cultures and peoples were as the culture we ourselves live in with the human rights we enjoy. Remember that it is difficult to conceive of living in a culture without the benefits we so often take for granted. History confirms the Bible which shows these cultures to be very wicked, even sacrificing their children to idols. Psalm 106:36-38 “They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of 178
their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood." Did God Commit Atrocities by Ordering the Killing of Entire Cities of People? www.godandscience.org/apologetics/killergod.html Genocide in the Old Testament www.rationalchristianity.net/genocide.html Did God Command Genocide In the Bible? www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FGv9aOCcyU A Response to New Atheism www.conversantlife.com/belief/a-response-to-new-atheism Six Questions to Ask an Atheist – Bottom link on page. www.rzim.org/media/questions-answers Christopher Hitchens Masterfully Submits Flyweight Dinesh D'Souza in Debate www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUSTEV3Qu68
In this last link I think you will see that Dinesh D’Souza, the Christian, is not bested by Christopher Hitchens as indicated by the title. You will see that Dinesh D’Souza very effectively and I believe much more articulately presents his case. I’ve included it so that you can see a very effective response to those who claim that religion is the cause of the problems of the world. One last illustration I remember from some time ago as to the effect Christianity has had and still has: Suppose you were walking down a dark street at night in a rough part of Chicago and you saw a group of young men walking towards you, each carrying something. Would you feel more comfortable if you knew that they had just come from a Bible class, and you could see that what they were carrying were Bibles? I hope this section has clearly demonstrated the difference between the philosophies of Christianity, and that of Atheism. I hope it has also shed light on the true impact these two philosophies have had on the world throughout history. 179
7. SHARING THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIIANITY “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” ― G.K. Chesterton How would you respond to the following?
I’m a good person, why do I need to accept Christ? If I don’t accept Christ, am I going to hell? Why would a loving God send someone to hell? Aren’t all religions are basically the same?
_________________________ There can be no greater privilege for a Christian, than being part of the activity of changing the eternal destiny of others. And when we considering the following verses, there is also no greater importance than helping others see that there is no Getting right with God AFTER this life. These verses also proves that the Bible doesn’t teach reincarnation. Hebrews 9:27 “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” 2 Corinthians 5:8b "to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."
Considering there is so much evidence validating the Bible as being from God and being true, and also the equally great probability that we will all be judged after this one life, there is then only this life without the possibility of reincarnation where we can make a difference in other’s lives and their eternal destination. And while we realize this importance, many of us still avoid sharing with others the message of salvation Christ offers. And just as there is NO GETTING RIGHT WITH G OD after this life, once we leave this life we will never be able to reach others with the amazing news of salvation through Jesus Christ’s payment for our sin on the cross. Think about those people you enjoy 180
investing time with in this life. Do you love your friends and loved ones enough to share this knowledge with them? Do you hesitate sharing with others, and instead hope that someone else might share Christ’s gift of salvation? I believe the main reason that many of us avoid sharing Christ’s gift of salvation is because many of us don’t know how to talk with others without feeling unprepared. Many of us hesitate to share because we feel the person we want to share with will ask us questions we won’t be able to answer. If this describes the hesitation you have, I know how you feel. I have been there too, but because of the methods developed by others included in this section, I have a much greater confidence in being able to raise the important questions most people don’t bother to consider. I believe the information in this guide will give you much greater confidence too, not only in your knowledge of Christianity and your confidence in its truths, but also in your ability to share the truths of Christianity with others. This section of this guide covers two aspects to sharing the truths of Christianity which will increase your confidence and effectiveness in sharing with others. The first part is the method taught by The Way of The Master ministry. You’ve already seen this method used in the S ELF -C HECK section. It is one of the most effective techniques I’ve seen to bring a person to the realization of their sinfulness and need for a Savior. The second part deals with being able to respond to questions and challenges in a conversation. As mentioned earlier, often a challenger doesn’t realize that their question or challenge has logical inconsistencies. This method allows you to guide the conversation and show the logical inconsistencies of the challenge without the other person feeling insulted.
* THE WAY OF THE MASTER Again, this method is one of the simplest and most effective techniques I have seen, and again the one used in the S ELF -C HECK section. It was developed by Ray Comfort of the ministry, The Way of The Master (www.wayofthemaster.com). Ray Comfort calls it The Way of the Master , because it follows the way Jesus used to 181
persuade people of their need for a Savior. Ray and Kirk Cameron demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in videos on their website: www.wayofthemaster.com/watchwitnessing.shtml. One video I think is of particular importance to watch is the one with Kirk Cameron talking to the Santa Monica Gang Members. It can be viewed at the above link and also on YouTube at: K IRK C AMERON T ALKS WITH G ANG M EMBERS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVco8t-R8KU The reason I believe this video is so important to watch is because of the following video showing an event The Way of the Master did 5 years later. They noticed that one of the gang members Kirk spoke with 5 years earlier was in the crowd. K IRK C AMERON & G ANG M EMBER - 5 Y EARS L ATER ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuDFWFKalsU At its most basic level this method uses just three or four of the Ten Commandments. The person being interviewed is asked a question like, “You believe you are a good person, right?” Almost everyone believes they are good. The people they interview in the videos are no different. They think they are pretty good too. The person being interviewed is then asked if they’ve kept all of the Ten Commandments. Most will respond that they ”haven’t killed anyone” or done anything major and that they believe they have essentially “kept the Ten Commandments” . This is the typical response when a person believes they are GOOD . Then they are asked about their ability to keep the commandments dealing with lying; stealing, committing adultery, and blasphemy. “Have you ever told a lie, even a small one?” When they respond, “Of course, who hasn’t?” Ray then asks, “What do you call someone who tells a lie, even a small one?” They usually admit, “A liar” . Then he asks, “Have you ever taken anything that doesn’t belong to you, even if it was very small?” “What do you call someone who takes something that doesn’t belong to them?” They will concede, “A thief” . Ray then proceeds the same way through the other few commandments.
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Going through these commandments, a person is brought to the realization they are “lying, thieving, blaspheming, adulterers at heart” , (as are we all). They are then asked, “If God were to judge you right now would you be found guilty or innocent?” An honest person realizes that they can only answer “Guilty” . They are then asked, “Does that concern you?” Many are concerned as this is sometimes the first time they’ve ever considered themselves guilty of sin before, as this method so effectively shows. This is because they previously have only compared themselves to others who are worse than they are. Once most people compare themselves to God’s STANDARD OF PERFECTION , they realize their sinful condition, and they are much more interested in a solution to their sinful state. This is why this method is so effective, because it shows a person their sinful state. If a person doesn’t see themselves as a sinner they won’t see their need for a Savior. Just like many of us don’t see the need for a mechanic until we hear a noise we’ve not heard or see a dash light lit that wasn’t lit before. If you are a Christian, think back to when you decided to accept Christ and his payment on the cross for your sin. When you accepted Christ was it because you realized you were a sinner in need of a savior? If we only show a person evidences for Christianity, many will believe they are still basically GOOD . Even if heaven does exist, many reason that God will let them into Heaven anyway because God is a G OD OF LOVE and a God of love wouldn’t really send anyone to hell. Or would He? What many don’t realize is that God doesn’t send anyone to hell. People ultimately make the choice to go there, through their own actions and their refusal to accept Christ’s payment for their sin. We either accept Christ’s payment for our sin or we are left to try to pay for the penalty of our sin ourselves. Since God is the only one capable of paying for sin, we can’t pay for it no matter what we try to do. Without Christ, we are still guilty in God’s sight and deserving of the penalty that all sin requires.
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Why Would a Loving God Send Someone to Hell? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/apologetics/why-woulda-loving-god-send-someone-to-hell
Through a person’s actions they show that they are not interested in having God in their life while here, as evidenced by not wanting to do things God’s way. If they have no interest in God in this life why would God force them to spend eternity with him in the next life? Think about a person who really liked you romantically but you didn’t like them romantically. Would you want them to keep pursuing you or would you want them to respect your wishes and stop pursuing you? Now think about God pursuing a person. If they don’t want God why would God not respect their wishes? God loves people too much to force them against their will. That is why it is so important to bring a person to the realization of their sin. Most methods of sharing with others don't really touch on sin and so don't bring a person to believe they have any need for a Savior. These methods usually try to show the significance of the price Jesus paid or stress how much better a person’s life will be after choosing Christ. This presentation by Ray shows the ineffectiveness of methods which don’t bring someone to the realization of their sin. Hell’s Best Secret - Audio Lessons www.wayofthemaster.com/audiolessons.shtml
The first link below is to the same presentation, and a number of others available to listen or download. Go to the 2nd link below to see videos of Ray’s method. The 3rd link is a flash version which takes a person through evaluating if they are truly Good. The Way of the Master method lessons and examples www.wayofthemaster.com/audiolessons.shtml www.wayofthemaster.com/watchwitnessing.shtml www.needgod.com Sites on sharing the truths of Christianity: www.sohmer.net/wotm_only_way.php www.onemilliontracts.com/pdf/witnessmanual.pdf www.repentandturn.com/wst_page10.php 184
Why do Christians leave the faith? www.patheos.com/blogs/blackwhiteandgray/2011/11/why-dochristians-leave-the-faith-the-surprising-importance-ofapologetics How Many Youth are Leaving the Church? www.conversantlife.com/theology/how-many-youth-are-leavingthe-church You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church www.conversantlife.com/the-church/you-lost-me-why-youngchristians-are-leaving-church The Elephant in the Room: Why many kids leave the faith www.conversantlife.com/belief/the-elephant-in-the-room-whymany-kids-leave-the-faith Arming Christian Students With the Truth http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/arming-christian-studentswith-the-truth/ Four Ways to Strengthen Your Kid’s Faith http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/four-ways-to-strengthenyour-kids-faith/ Being a Winsome Apologist - John Lennox: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwOpsOudaA8 How to Disagree - Matt Chandler, Tim Keller, Michael Horton www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0bK04wAwhM How To Share Jesus With Your Non-Christian Friends Pt.1 http://ffmp3.com/catalog/2009/45552.mp3 - John Ankerberg Pt. 2 http://ffmp3.com/catalog/2009/45553.mp3 - John Ankerberg Evidence For Christianiy http://wellspentjourney.wordpress.com/evidence-forchristianity
* TACTICS The second aspect of sharing the truths of Christianity is ACTICS IN DEFENDING THE F AITH resource by Greg based upon the T Koukl. It comes from his DVD by the same title, and his book, T ACTICS : A G AME P LAN FOR D ISCUSSION Y OUR C HRISTIAN C ONVICTIONS . 185
As I indicated earlier, facts sometimes aren’t enough. If you don’t have an effective way to present the facts they can fall on deaf ears. It is not too difficult for a person to take the FACTS by themselves and view them in such a way that the facts fit into that person’s worldview, or that they just disregard the facts and come up with a creative explanation for them. Similar to the techniques of The Way of the Master method, Tactics uses the method of asking questions rather than stating claims. The beauty of asking questions is that you’re not under an obligation to defend a claim because you haven’t stated a claim. When another person is making a claim and you are asking questions, they have the burden of proof to defend their claim, not you. The other beneficial aspect to this method, is that when you ask questions, you actually control the direction of the conversation. By deciding what questions to ask, you determine the subject or topic. An additional encouragement to using this method is the quote from Francis Schaeffer - "If you give me an hour, I'll listen 55 minutes and talk 5”. When you ask questions, the other person is encouraged to talk more, and this will provide you with more information about their beliefs, feelings, and reasoning. Whenever possible, ask OPEN ENDED questions and not CLOSED ENDED questions. Closed ended questions are questions that can be answered with a single word, like yes, no, three, etc. Open ended questions can’t be answered with a simple yes or no, or a single word. They are far better for getting to know the person you are talking with because you learn much more about what the person believes. Open ended questions are questions which have WHO , WHAT , WHERE , WHEN , HOW , and WHY , as the first word in the question. Be careful though when asking WHY questions as WHY questions can make the other person feel a little like they are being interrogated. The primary tactic in the T ACTICS system is called the C OLUMBO M ETHOD . The technique is named after the lead character in an old TV police series named Columbo, and his style of police detective work. He very effectively used questions to determine the true details of a crime he was investigating. 186
Again, this method has the benefit of placing the burden of proof on the person who is challenging your beliefs. This is very important because of the misunderstandings that so many have about Christianity. And unfortunately, even some Christians have some of these misunderstandings too. If the person you are talking with isn’t being confrontational and challenging your beliefs, questions can help them discover the reasons, or lack of reasons they have for the beliefs they hold. As stated before, we must show respect to the person we are talking with, so that they will be open to participating in the conversation, and not close us out. The following are examples of situations and the first questions you could ask in these situations:
When someone declares, “There is no God ,” you can ask, “What do you mean by God? ” or, “What particular idea of God are you rejecting? ” It is easy to assume another thinks about God, (and many of these topics), in the same way we do. If they reject God because they think He is an old man in the sky, I would reject that concept as well because that’s not the God I believe in.
When someone asserts, “ All religions are basically the same,” you can ask, “Really? What do you mean by the same? ” or “In what way are they the same ?” Remember Greg Koukl’s comment, “When studying religions, the point is not to focus on the things that are similar. It’s the differences that really matter.”
When someone makes the objection, “You shouldn’t force your views on me,” you can ask, “Specifically, what is it I’m doing to force my views on you right now? ” then perhaps, “How is that forcing my views? ”
When someone states, “The Bible has been changed over the years,” you can ask, “What in the Bible has been changed? ” and/or, “How exactly do you think it has been altered? ”
Something to be aware of when asking questions. The way you ask the question is critically important. Think about the following questions, and think about the way they are being asked: “Oh yeah, well what about _______?! You don’t have an answer for that, do you?” 187
Can’t you almost hear the harsh tone of voice of someone asking questions in this way? If you were having a conversation with someone and they asked questions of you in this way, would you be more willing or less willing to have an open conversation with them, and consider their information? That is why it is important not to ask questions in this manner. Hopefully you can see that asking questions in a nonconfrontational manner will result in much more consideration being given to what you are asking and what you have to say. This method of asking questions is demonstrated in the resource links below. Remember, we are trying to be persuasive not offensive. As Greg Koukl says, “The Gospel message is offensive enough. It doesn’t need us to help in the offense. We need to make sure it is the Gospel and not our conduct that is offensive, but we dare not leave the Gospel message out.” Ambassadors for Christ – Greg Koukl A very important presentation showing how our character can affect the impression others have of Christ, and the first audio in the Ambassador Basic Curriculum series. http://vimeo.com/13049510 (video - shorter) http://christianaudio.com/ambassadors-for-christ-gregorykoukl (audio) This is free, but you still need to click Buy Now and then Checkout. Ambassador Basic Curriculum - Greg Koukl Greg’s full self-study curriculum on being an ambassador – for purchase
http://store.str.org/SearchResults.asp?Search=ambassadors& Submit=Search Greg Koukl demonstrates aspects of this very effective technique, in the following excellent YouTube video. How to Defend the Faith without Sounding Defensive
www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Eu6GRts_s Terrible Arguments Against Religion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3vSAKmzuCc Bad Arguments Against Christianity
www.youtube.com/watch?v=teA6g8qti54 The Intolerance of Tolerance – Greg Koukl www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG_R9e60Wp4 188
Is Tolerance Intolerant – Ravi Zacharias http://veritas.org/talks/tolerance-intolerant Check out additional examples on the STR videos channel
www.youtube.com/user/STRvideos?feature=watch “That’s Just Your Opinion” and Tactics Resources MP3s www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Greg%20Koukl Tactics in Defending the Faith - 2 Part audio - Greg Koukl Pt 1: http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/2003/17053.mp3 Pt 2: http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/2003/17054.mp3 Greg Koukl Tactics Resources MP3 and Video www.apologetics315.com/2009/02/greg-koukl-tacticsresources-mp3-and.html
Tactics In Defending The Faith – Video Training Series Part 1 - Learning the "Columbo" Tactic www.cross.tv/122924 Part 2 - Refining the "Columbo" Tactic www.cross.tv/122925 Part 3 - Perfecting the "Columbo" Tactic www.cross.tv/122926 Part 4 - The "Suicide" Tactic www.cross.tv/122927 Part 5 - The "Taking the Roof Off" Tactic www.cross.tv/122928 Part 6 - The "Steamroller" Tactic www.cross.tv/122929 Faith Under Fire – Greg Koukl using Tactics methods representing Christianity with Deepak Chopra representing Hinduism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYyWOu_xIMo
I F I DON ’ T ACCEPT C HRIST , AM I GOING TO HELL ? This is the same question shown in the C HALLENGING S TATEMENTS section, and I’ve included it here in the event that you’ve not read that section yet. I would recommend going to that section to see the detailed response to this. In summary, Greg Koukl presented this question on his radio program and then demonstrated his T ACTICS methods to answer it. 189
He showed that it’s important to answer this question carefully and skillfully, and not get pulled into responding with just a single YES or NO answer. The reason for this is because if you only use a single word answer, your answer can cause the one asking the question to completely misunderstand the principal of salvation and the gift Christ provides through his sacrifice. If you answer “Yes”, they will believe they are going to hell simply because they picked the wrong BELIEF FLAVOR . It will seem to them very trivial on God’s part, that they might have lived a GOOD life but still go to hell. If you answer “No”, they will mistakenly think that living a good life really is what matters, and not the decision to accept Christ’s payment for their sin. Hopefully, you can see how if only a single word answer YES or NO is given the questioner will end up with the wrong impression. This is why a question like this needs to be answered very tactfully, so that the person asking the question comes to a full understanding of the importance of the situation. A single word answer cannot provide this needed understanding. Review Greg Koukl’s very innovative method in responding to this question: www.str.org/blog/do-you-think-i-m-going-to-hell www.str.org/articles/am-i-going-to-hell http://apologeticjunkie.blogspot.com/2010/07/am-i-goingto-hell-if-i-dont-believe-in.html Another consideration when sharing the truths of Christianity is the terminology many Christians use when talking to others. At the start of this guide I mentioned terminology to become familiar with as a Christian so that you gain a greater understanding of the subjects. It is also important to realize the confusion that can occur using certain terms with non-Christians. You’ll notice that throughout this guide I’ve tried to avoid using the word “Witnessing” , and tried to use “Sharing the truths of Christianity” . Most Christians usually understand what WITNESSING and other terms and phrases mean but many nonChristians don’t. And they won’t understand many of the other terms and phrases Christians regularly use.
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Here are some terminology examples: Sanctified
Trinity
Anointing
Born Again
Repent
Love Gift/Offering The ‘Word’ - The Bible
Fellowshipping
Ask Jesus into your heart
How about those terms or phrases that probably sound quite disturbing to non-Christians: Filled with the spirit
Washed in the blood
The first question of the Tactical method is, “What do you mean by that?” A non-Christian can be left feeling like an outsider if we’re not careful in the terms and phrases we say, and they probably won’t ask what the terms and phrases mean. I know I’ve been in conversations where a term I didn’t understand was used, and I gave the impression that I knew what the other person was talking about. Remember, we want to draw others to the truths of Christianity, not make them feel like they are an outsider. If they feel like an outsider they will probably become uninterested in the truths we share and probably think we are rude, even though that is not our intention. We should heed Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Verse 22b: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” Whenever possible, we should make our message as easy to understand as possible to others we speak with. How NOT to Speak Christianese http://evangelism.intervarsity.org/how/conversation/how-notspeak-christianese
Here are a few sites defining many of these terms/phrases that can confuse people we talk with. It might be a good exercise to see if you can come up with your own way of describe these terms and phrases so that you can better communicate to those you want to reach. www.genuineleatherbible.net/2012/religious-terms-thatconfuse-non-christians www.aboundingjoy.com/Bible%20studies/terminology.htm 191
Why Christian Case Makers Need to Learn a New Language http://coldcasechristianity.com/2013/why-christian-casemakers-need-to-learn-a-new-language/ Here are a few links which show the importance and effectiveness of Apologetics. Remember that APOLOGETICS is being able to provide reasons for what you believe. What I Needed to Hear When I Was An Atheist http://pastormattblog.com/2014/04/08/what-i-needed-to-hearwhen-i-was-an-atheist-and-how-i-needed-to-heartit/?utm_content=buffer00337&utm_medium=social&utm_ source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer A Harvard University student explains how evidence changed her mind about God: http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/a-harvarduniversity-student-explains-how-evidence-changed-hermind-about-god-2
Professor Anthony Flew was a very famous Atheist for most of his life. He debated many Christians over the years, and became a Deist before his death. A Deist is one who believes that a God exists, but a God who isn’t involved in the workings of humans. Typically and not the God represented by any particular religion. Although he did not accept the God of any particular religion nor accept the salvation gift of Christ, he came to this belief because of the design and complexity that he found in DNA. Here is a quote from him: “What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce life, that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together. It’s the enormous complexity of the number of elements and the enormous subtlety of the ways they work together. The meeting of these two parts at the right time by chance is simply minute. It is all a matter of the enormous complexity by which the results were achieved, which looked to me like the work of intelligence. ” -Interview in 2004
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He realized that random chance couldn’t have brought the incredible complexity of everything into existence. Once again, a belief in God by itself doesn’t save anyone. And while there doesn’t seem to be evidence that Anthony Flew ever accepted Christ, the move from a belief in No God to a belief that there is a God is far greater than the move from a belief that there is a God to believing in the God of the Bible. Anthony Flew Never Converted to Christianity http://divineirony.tumblr.com/post/36643191211/anthonyflew-never-converted-to-christianity What is the Deal with Anthony Flew's Conversion to Theism? http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-is-dealwith-anthony-flews.html Antony Flew and his conversion to theism www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVZEfeYN5oI Antony Flew on God and Atheism www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHUtMEru4pQ
I want to emphasize again the importance of our character. How do others perceive our character? When we talk with others about Christianity, our character is critical as to how much credibility others place in our message. In the APOLOGETICS section, I listed a reference for Greg Koukl’s presentation, Ambassadors for Christ . If you haven’t already listened/viewed the message, I really want to encourage you to do so through the links below. As mentioned in the original reference, this is a very important presentation showing how our character can significantly affect either positively or negatively the impression we leave with others about Christ and Christianity. Again, how would you feel if you found that another person rejected Christ because of the character you demonstrate? Ambassadors For Christ: The Essential Skills http://vimeo.com/13049510 (video – shorter than the audio) http://christianaudio.com/ambassadors-for-christ-gregorykoukl (audio) The Best Question to Ask When Starting a Conversation about God
www.str.org/blog/the-best-question-to-ask-when-starting-aconversation-about-god 193
* I C AN ’ T B ELIEVE I N A G OD W HO W OULD C REATE M E K NOWING I W OULD S IN , AND T HEN H OLD M E G UILTY F OR S IN H E K NEW I W OULD C OMMIT . This is the challenging statement I indicated would be included toward the end of the guide. As I indicated earlier, I recommend that you have read through the previous sections on T RUTH , E VIL , and E VIDENCES , so that you have a much better understanding of this challenge and how to respond to it. A longtime friend made this challenging statement to me when we were talking about the concept of God. I presented some of the information and evidences included in this guide. Even though they saw evidence for the existence of the God of the Bible, they still concluded that they couldn’t believe in this God. Their primary reason was because they didn’t like the idea of a God who would hold them guilty for the sin they committed even though this God created them knowing they would commit sin. This is one of the current objections challenging Christianity. I think it is an objection which is well intentioned on the part of the person making the challenge and it does seem when first heard to be difficult to answer. I certainly found it so when my friend said it to me a few years back. As with the other challenges, I believe it can it can be answered. And similar to the other challenges, there are facts not considered by the questioner. As you can see by the objection, the position of the one making the objection is that they “can’t believe” because they don’t like the idea of a God as they understand Him. Their belief in this matter is not based upon the evidence but what they like or don’t like. We’ve already seen in the T RUTH section that truth isn’t based upon what we like or don’t like. If something is true and if it impacts us, we must consider its implications. If we ignore the implications or if we CHOOSE not to believe them, they will still affect us. Think about a teacher giving a pop quiz that they know many of the students aren’t prepared for. Do you think the teacher would have allowed the following objection from any of the students, “I can’t believe in a teacher who gives a quiz, and then holds me responsible for knowing the answers, even though they know that I probably don’t know them?” 194
Can you see that this is part of the person’s worldview, that there can’t be a God who created them and then holds them responsible for the sin they commit? They are basing what they believe on their worldview, their likes and dislikes rather than evidences. They are expressing a subjective view of truth. As shown in the T RUTH section, the real truth of something has nothing to do with what we like or dislike, what we’re confident about, or what is popular. In other areas of our lives, if we have evidence but we don’t like the conclusion the evidence determines, do we say that we just don’t believe the conclusion because we don’t like it? Across the country there are thousands of inmates who are serving time in prisons because the evidence brought during their trial proved their guilt. They are sitting in a prison cell, even though they didn’t LIKE the consequences of the truth indicated by the evidence. Another possible reason for my friend’s objection is that they don’t understand how a loving God would allow this situation. They’ve already concluded that if God would do this then God isn’t loving as Christians claim. Looking back to the T RUTH section, truth again is also not based upon whether we understand something or not. How many things would cease to exist if they depended on everyone’s understanding of them? Nuclear reactors, the space shuttle, Wi-Fi, internal combustion engines, etc. would all cease to exist. If we don’t understand something, is it possible that we don’t have all the information and that we haven’t considered that additional information? And are we willing to consider additional information? As was indicated earlier, God being all-powerful doesn’t mean that God can violate the laws of logic. God has all the power to do anything that power requires. However, regardless of how much power God has He can’t make a square circle. So could our sin nature be one of the inevitable realities of being created with FREE WILL ? And if God knows everything and chose to create us with a free will so that we could freely choose to love and worship Him, He also knew creating us with this choice would require the brutal death of His Son on the cross. When we ask the following question, we focus on ourselves. “Why God would create us knowing we would sin?” 195
There is a better question to ask to more accurately understand the situation. The question we should be asking is, “Why would God create us knowing that our sin would require the brutal execution of His Son on the cross?” Rather than focusing on what we believe is unfair, we need to look at the situation honestly, and consider all the facts. The reality of God’s decision to create people with free will is that all of us would choose to sin, and that some would freely choose Him while others would freely choose to rebel against Him. Adam and Eve only had one command to obey and they failed. God has given us free will to choose to accept or reject Christ’s payment on the cross. The inevitable result of us having free choice is that we would also freely choose to sin. God also knew that our sinning would be the result our free will and also require the death of His Son to pay the sin debt we owe. Now let’s consider a few observations about God. We’ve seen significant evidence for the existence of the God of the Bible and that the Bible could only have come to us through God. If the Bible is true, the following verses are true even if we don't like or understand them: G OD IS ALL POWERFUL :
Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable 1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.
Again, God has all the power to be able to do what power can accomplish. God cannot violate the laws of logic – He cannot make a square circle even with unlimited power. 196
G OD KNOWS EVERYTHING :
Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure . 1 John 3:20 For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything. Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable
God knew what the implications of creating people with free will would be even before He ever created Angels and people. He knew that our free will would result in us sinning, which would require Jesus Christ’s death on the cross to pay the debt. G OD IS GOOD :
Luke 18:19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all . Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good ! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
It is because of God’s goodness that he freely paid the sin debt that we owe, so that we can spend eternity with Him in heaven. G OD IS UNCHANGEABLE : Malachi 3:6 For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Numbers 23:19 God is not man , that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind . Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
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Since God does not change, his promises will never change. His love for us will never change, and his judgment on sin will never change. We can fully rely Gods promises. G OD HAS CREATED US WITH A FREE WILL : John 1:12 But to all who did receive Him, who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins , he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may
be blotted out Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him
Since he has given us free will, we have the choice to choose his will or our own. Since we live in a sinful fallen world our natural tendency is to choose sin. We face the consequences of our choices. G OD LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE WOULD DIE FOR US :
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16
Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world , that He gave His only Son , that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
God has a love for us that goes beyond our understanding. He loves us so much so that he was willing to die to pay the penalty for the sin we choose to commit, and which He has no blame for. G OD IS JUST AND RIGHTEOUS SO HE MUST PUNISH SIN , BUT H E HAS ALSO PAID THE PENALTY FOR ALL WHO WILL CHOOSE TO ACCEPT THE PAYMENT HE MADE , BY ENDURING THE PENALTY HIMSELF :
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves , and the truth is not in us. 198
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins , he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness . 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful , and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape , that you may be able to endure it. Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but the Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
As we saw earlier, if God didn’t punish sin, he wouldn’t be a good God. No judge would be good who let offenders off. The way God solves the dilemma of having to judge our sin and also forgiving that sin, is to pay that penalty himself by dying on the cross. I’m reminded of a saying I heard years back which really impacted me. “I ASKED J ESUS HOW MUCH H E LOVED ME ? AND H E SAID ‘T HIS M UCH ’ AND H E STRETCHED OUT H IS ARMS , AND H E DIED ”
G OD
IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SIN WE COMMIT NOR THE
DECISIONS WE MAKE :
Is God Responsible for Evil? www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A189 Did God create sin? http://carm.org/questions/about-god/did-god-create-sin Original Sin - Are We Condemned by the Sin of Adam and Eve?
www.godandscience.org/apologetics/original-sin.html Considering the specific truths already indicated in this section, who has the greater price to pay for us to spend eternity with the perfect God of the universe? Is it we, who have only to accept Jesus’ death on the cross for our sin and show this choice through our lives? Or is it God, who is perfect and knew that creating us would require that his Son would be brutally executed on the cross before he ever created us or the angels? 199
Considering the original objection and that we almost always focus on ourselves, there is a statement that comes to mind, “It’s not about you!” . . . . . . . . . . and it’s not about me either. Who then is it really about? It is about the God who created 100 billion galaxies out of nothing and who knows everything. Since he knows everything, he knows that the only possible way to create us with free will, to be able to choose Him, would also result in us choosing to sin. He also knew that our choosing to sin would require the brutal death of His son. He knew all this and still decided to create us, because he loves us and wants us to be able to spend eternity with Him. Do you think that the God of the universe who knows everything, could have created us with freewill but without the ability to sin? To believe this is to presume to know something the God of the universe doesn’t know is possible. Does it sound logical for someone to believe they know something that God doesn’t? Since God knows everything, he must know that creating us with freewill but without the ability to sin is not possible. He decided to create us with free will, knowing we would sin. And He decided to do this before he created angels and humans knowing that He would pay the price for the sin we have and will commit. He did this why? So that we could spend eternity with Him. The only requirement on our part is to truly accept His payment for our sin. If we choose to reject Christ’s payment for our sin in light of these truths then the only other option is that we try to pay for our own sin. Since God is the only one qualified to pay the penalty for our sin, that means we are unable to pay the penalty for our sin and still guilty. If we choose to try to pay for our own sin and don’t accept Christ’s payment on the cross, we will suffer the penalty for our sin. Sin must be punished. Not wanting to believe in this God because we don’t like his plan doesn’t change reality. To put all of this in perspective, look at the question again. AN ’T I C BELIEVE I N A G OD W HO W OULD C REATE M E K NOWING I W OULD S IN , AND T HEN H OLD M E G UILTY F OR S IN H E K NEW I W OULD C OMMIT .
Who is this statement focusing on, God or us? There are 2 “I”s and 2 “Me”s. Again, IT ’S NOT ABOUT US . For us to ask a question like this only focuses on ourselves. It may be sincere but it isn’t looking 200
at the entire picture. When we only focus on ourselves we miss the BIG PICTURE , and in this situation, THE PICTURE IS HUGE ! Let’s consider the specifics again. The incomprehensible God of this universe created all 100 billion galaxies, each having an estimated 100 billion stars. This God knows everything and created a plan to resolve our sinful condition, which doesn’t require anything from us. A plan whereby He would pay the debt we owe by willingly dying by the most brutal execution ever devised by human kind; the same humans he died to save. And all we are required to do is to accept the priceless gift He offers. And we feel we have the right to complain to this God that His plan is unfair to us? Remember again, that this perfect God paid the debt we owe. He had done nothing wrong. He was innocent. We deserve to be in His place on the cross, but He took our place and paid our debt. And why did he do all this? For no other reason than because He loves us so much and wants us to be able to spend eternity with him. Do you now see the amazing picture of His love and mercy?
* W HAT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES FROM OTHER RELIGIONS ? There are four non-Christian religions which I believe are important to have a knowledge about. The religions are Mormonism (Latter Day Saints), Jehovah’s Witness, Islam, and Wicca. The primary reason I believe it is important to have a knowledge about the first three religions is because of their significant efforts to convert individuals. It is almost guaranteed that you will be approached by members of one or more of these three belief systems in an effort to convert you to their belief. With Islam, we see the significant effect on current events by radical factions, with the forced conversions by these factions of this religion. I’ve included Wicca because of their popularity among young people, not because they work at converting others. The reason I’m not covering other religions than these four is because most other religions do not have the focus of converting, or that they expend significantly less effort to convert others than these three. Many consider both Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness C HRISTIAN religions, while Islam (covered later), teaches the opposite of many of the main teachings of Christianity. The official sites of both Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness make claims to 201
being Christian. I believe this is because they both use terminology and have details and about their religions which are mistaken as being the same as Christianity. I am including the religion of Wicca because Wicca is believed by some to be the fastest growing religion among young people. It is not my intention to offend anyone who considers themselves a member of one of these four religions and who sincerely believe they are following the truth, and I do not question the motives of those who are sincere in their beliefs of one of these four religions being true. However, as covered in the T RUTH section, TRUTH is NOT determined by sincerity. One can be SINCERE but be SINCERELY WRONG . I DEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES , and if the consequences of some ideas are eternal, it is important to look at what are the TRUE facts and not rely on our SINCERITY . I am presenting this information because I believe the best evidence shows that everyone will pass from this life into one of two eternities. If I were to neglect my sharing of these truths, I would essentially be saying that I didn’t care about the eternal destination of others, and that I would be thought of as not loving others. It is because of my belief that the evidence proves these truths that I want to get this information out to others. I have included passages from the Bible because of the tendency of some religions to pick certain verses which seem to support the teachings of those religions. Similar to understanding the full meaning of a word by seeing it in different uses, seeing multiple verses on a topic gives us a much better understanding of the accurate Biblical teaching on that topic. As with other sections in this guide, I have also included websites so that you can research further. It is important to always go to the Bible to learn what it teaches rather than to assume a teaching is Biblical, and then go to the Bible to try to find evidence. Consider again the question: “Will we make the Bible flexible to our beliefs, or will we make our beliefs flexible to the Bible?” As there are similarities in the teachings of both Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness, we will examine these two religions first.
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The following links show that both organizations consider themselves Christian. As indicated before in the Truth section, you cannot have two contradictory beliefs both be true. If they contradict, only one can be true. If both these religions claim to be Christian, but they contradict the essential teachings of Christianity, they can’t be Christian. ARE M ORMONS C HRISTIANS ? (Official Mormon site)
www.mormon.org/faq/mormon-christian M OST M ORMONS S AY T HEIR R ELIGION IS C HRISTIAN
www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2012/January/Most-MormonsSay-Their-Religion-is-ChristianARE J EHOVAH ’S W ITNESSES C HRISTIANS ? (Official Jehovah’s Witness site)
www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/are-jehovahswitnesses-christians C HRISTIANS OR NOT C HRISTIANS ?
http://en.az24.info/jehovahswitnesses/are-jehovahswitnesses-christians.html The above sites, show that the beliefs of many and the teachings of the churches are that both religions are Christian. Both religions place strong emphasis on the family, and teaching to love and care for others. This is fully consistent with Christianity, and Christians applaud their emphasis of these ideals. We also admire their efforts and dedication to share what they believe is true, even if we disagree that the beliefs are true. Remember Greg Koukl’s observation about different beliefs, “When studying religions, the point is not to focus on the things that are similar. It’s the differences that really matter.” Even though these family ideals are consistent with Christianity, there are other important details which are essential to consider from the standpoint of eternal destinations. Both Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness teachings differ from the ESSENTIALS of the Christian faith, and these differences cannot be bridged by teachings of how we should treat others. Looking back at T HE L AW OF N ON C ONTRADICTION , the different teachings about the essentials between these two religions contradict each other as well as the Bible. As such, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, and Christianity can’t all be true. Only one teaching can be true, and 203
whichever is true the contradictory teachings are automatically false. If you have the wrong teaching, you don’t have a Jesus who can pay for your sin and so you don’t have a salvation that works. W HAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS OF THE C HRISTIAN FAITH ?
www.gotquestions.org/essentials-Christian-faith.html www.str.org/articles/essential-christian-doctrines https://carm.org/essential-doctrines-of-christianity There is a saying I heard years ago which I believe captures how Christians are to relate to others regarding beliefs. “I N E SSENTIALS U NITY , I N N ON -E SSENTIALS LIBERTY , AND I N ALL T HINGS C HARITY ” . We can partner in unity with other individuals and religions when they hold to the same essential teachings of Christianity. We can show liberty and not break fellowship with them over teachings which are non-essential. And we can show charity to all individuals and groups whether or not they hold to the essentials of Christianity. While there may be differences in teachings between major denominations of Christianity almost all of them hold to the same ESSENTIALS as indicated in the links above. Any who don’t would also not be Christian by definition. Both Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness claim to be Christian, as those links above indicate. However, we will see that their teachings contradict the essentials of Christianity as the official church information and information in each of the sections below confirm. As such, their teachings prove they cannot be Christian religions. Again, it is not my intention to offend. Ideas have consequences, and if the consequences of an idea has an eternal ramification, we need to take seriously the actual teachings of any belief system we are considering adopting. If the teachings of Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness are contradictory to the essentials of Christianity then they are not Christian religions. Again, if you have the wrong Jesus, a Jesus who is not the eternal God, you don’t have the Jesus who can save you from sin.
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* MORMONISM Mormonism teaches a Father God, Jesus Christ, and a Holy Spirit. They teach on sin, salvation, and atonement, and use many terms similar to Christianity. Mormonism also has the name of J ESUS C HRIST in the full name of the church. This is where the abbreviation LDS originates, T HE C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS . It is important to realize that just because the same name or terminology is used doesn’t mean that a religion has the same meaning for that name or the terminology used. Mormons may feel that they are being persecuted by those who point out specifics about the Mormon religion which are inconsistent with Christian teachings. Since this “Criticism” issue is raised by Mormons, we should consider the original Mormon criticisms of Christian churches. This link clearly shows the criticisms of Christianity raised by the founding and influential members of the Mormon Church and that it began long before teachings of Mormonism were challenged. "W E N EVER C RITICIZE C HRISTIAN C HURCHES "
www.mrm.org/we-never-criticize Once again, we need to focus on what is true about the E SSENTIAL ’ S teachings between both religions and indicate the actual differences. Another possible reason for Mormons feeling persecuted is that the Mormon Church doesn’t seem to encourage its members to think critically. Mormons and others are encouraged to pray about the Book of Mormon, to get what Mormons call “ A burning in the bosom”, to see if it is true. R EAD THE BOOK OF M ORMON AND P RAY TO DETERMINE ITS T RUTH www.godandscience.org/cults/praytruth.html P RAYING ABOUT THE BOOK OF M ORMON - I S IT BIBLICAL? www.mrm.org/praying-about-bofm What does the Bible say? “The Bible tells us to compare all things with Scripture (Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 3:16) because it is through the word of God that we have spiritual truths revealed to us.”
https://carm.org/james-1-5-pray-book-of-mormon 205
The E SSENTIALS OF C HRISTIANITY focus on the identity and characteristics of God, of Jesus, and of Salvation. The links below contrast the teachings of the two religions on E SSENTIALS . The links reference actual Mormon works. M ORMON – Doctrines differing from Christianity https://carm.org/dictionary-mormon C OMPARISON C HART - M ORMONISM AND C HRISTIANITY www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbnew.aspx?pageid=8589952801 M ORMONISM V S . C HRISTIANITY www.contenderministries.org/mormonism/comparison.php I S THE M ORMON R ELIGION A C HRISTIAN R ELIGION ? www.philvaz.com/apologetics/num23.htm HY THE M ORMON C HURCH IS NOT THE T RUE C HURCH J ESUS C HRIST STARTED W ?
www.letusreason.org/LDS32.htm The following links will connect you to the Mormon works referenced in the above links and some of the teachings in official Mormon works.
MORMON LITERARY WORKS
B OOK OF M ORMON
www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng Current https://archive.org/details/bookmormon01smitgoog 1840 version DOCTRINE AND C OVENANTS https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc?lang=eng http://sacred-texts.com/mor/dc/index.htm P EARL OF G REAT P RICE
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp?lang=eng Current https://archive.org/details/pearlofgreatpric00hall 1867 version M ORMON D OCTRINE - Bruce R. McConkie www.josephsmithacademy.org/inspira/ebooks/mormon-doctrine J OURNAL OF D ISCOURSES
http://journalofdiscourses.com D ISCOURSES OF B RIGHAM Y OUNG
www.josephsmithacademy.org/inspira/ebooks/discourses -of-brigham-young 206
K ING F OLLETT D ISCOURSE
www.lds.org/ensign/1971/04/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng ARTICLES OF F AITH - 1899
https://archive.org/details/articlesfaithas00talmgoog T EACHINGS OF THE P ROPHET J OSEPH S MITH http://scriptures.byu.edu/tpjs/STPJS.pdf H ISTORY OF THE C HURCH – by BYU Studies https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/hcpgs/hc.aspx
QUOTATIONS FROM MORMON LEADERS
“As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be.”
http://www.mrm.org/lorenzo-snow-couplet "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!" K ING F OLLETT D ISCOURSE - 3rd Section - G OD IS AN E XALTED M AN
www.lds.org/ensign/1971/04/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng "Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves" K ING F OLLETT D ISCOURSE 4th Section - ETERNAL L IFE TO K NOW GOD AND J ESUS CHRIST
www.lds.org/ensign/1971/04/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng “Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God! I say that is a strange God anyhow—three in one, and one in three! It is a curious organization… All are to be crammed into one God, according to sectarianism. It would make the biggest God in all the world. He would be a wonderfully big God —he would be a giant or a monster” T EACHINGS OF THE P ROPHET J OSEPH S MITH - p. 372
http://scriptures.byu.edu/tpjs/STPJS.pdf "We cannot remember that Lucifer, a son of God the Father, a brother of Jesus Christ, rebelled against God’s plan" Robert D. Hales - Presiding Bishop T HE AARONIC P RIESTHOOD : R ETURN WITH H ONOR - Paragraph 3
www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/04/the-aaronicpriesthood-return-withhonor?lang=eng&query=aaronic+priesthood%3a+return+ with+honor
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"It is the Devil, the mighty Lucifer, the great prince of the angels, the brother of Jesus" http://journalofdiscourses.com/6/31 - Paragraph 12 “no less a person than Jesus Christ was married on that occasion” http://journalofdiscourses.com/4/49 - Paragraph 11 “We say it was Jesus Christ who was married” http://journalofdiscourses.com/2/18 - Paragraphs 34 and 35 "The Christian world, so called, are heathens as to their knowledge of the salvation of God" - Brigham Young http://journalofdiscourses.com/8/44 - Paragraph 3 “We know that it is by grace that we are saved AFTER ALL WE CAN DO ” www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/25?lang=eng - 2 Nephi 25:23 "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1.8?lang=eng Articles of Faith 1:8
The Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible, and also contradicts other inspired Mormon works. T HE BOOK OF M ORMON V S T HE BIBLE www.equip.org/article/the-book-of-mormon-vs-thebible/#christian-books-2 T HE BOOK OF M ORMON CONTRADICTS I TSELF , OTHER INSPIRED M ORMON WRITINGS AND CONTRADICTS THE BIBLE ! www.bible.ca/mor-contradictions.htm BIBLE AND BOOK OF M ORMON C ONTRADICTIONS www.utlm.org/onlineresources/bibleandbomcontradictions.htm T HE BIBLE OR THE BOOK OF M ORMON ? www.str.org/articles/the-bible-or-the-book-of-mormon This link also answers the Mormon claim: “We believe in the Bible insofar as it has been translated correctly”.
Consider prophesies made by Mormon leaders. God indicates that fulfilled prophesy is one of the verifications as to whether those prophesying are speaking for God or not. If the prophesy does not come true, the one making the prophesy is not speaking for God. 208
Deuteronomy 18:22, "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." 1 John instructs us to test any prophecy claiming to be from God. 1 John 4:1 "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
What was the punishment in the Old Testament for a false prophet? Deuteronomy 18:20 "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die." Deuteronomy 13:5 "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you."
These verses show that the primary test God has established to determine whether or not a prophet is speaking for God is whether the prophesy comes to pass. If it doesn’t happen, it is a failed prophesy and the prophet is clearly not speaking for God. The determination that a prophet is false does not change based upon one’s sincerity or dedication. It also doesn’t change depending on whether one decides to “Bear their testimony” as Mormons suggest. Deuteronomy 18:20 also shows that in the Old Testament God commanded that any person who makes a false prophesy be put to death. This is because a false prophet draws people away from God, not toward him. As shown earlier, God is jealous for us because he has created us and wants the best for us. Being drawn away from God takes us away from His best for us. So, does Joseph Smith Jr. claim to be a prophet of God and if so, do his prophesies prove him to speak for God or not? 209
JOSEPH SMITH: PROPHET TO OUR GENERATION Official LDS page
www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/10/joseph-smithprophet-to-our-generation?lang=eng FAILED PROPHESY - The following are two of the failed prophesies. T HE U NITED S TATES G OVERNMENT TO BE OVERTHROWN IN A FEW YEARS “I prophecy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left for their wickedness in permitting the murder of men, women and children, and the wholesale plunder and extermination of thousands of her citizens to go unpunished.” H ISTORY OF THE C HURCH , V OL . 5, PAGE 394
https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/5/21.html#HOC SUMMARY OF VOL.5 IN THE INTRODUCTION REFERENCES THE YEAR 1842
https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/hcpgs/hc.aspx T HE C OMING OF THE L ORD “President Smith then stated that the meeting had been called, because God had commanded it; and it was made known to him by vision and by the Holy Spirit. . . . it was the will of God that they should be ordained to the ministry and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, for the coming of the Lord, which was nigh - even fifty six years should wind up the scene.” H ISTORY OF THE C HURCH , V OL . 2, PAGE 182
https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/2/14.html#HOC SUMMARY OF VOL.2 IN THE INTRODUCTION REFERENCES THE YEAR 1837
https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/hcpgs/hc.aspx SITES SHOWING FAILED PROPHESIES
https://carm.org/false-prophecies-of-joseph-smith http://saintsalive.com/resourcelibrary/mormonism/testing-theprophecies-of-joseph-smithhttp://mit.irr.org/failed-prophecies-of-joseph-smith www.exmormon.org/prophet.htm www.utlm.org/onlineresources/falseprophecies.htm Again, I have no criticism of the Mormon people or their sincerity and dedication. I bring this information to light because of 210
my concern about the eternal destination of all persons, and the false teachings by some religious leaders who would try to convince us to believe false information which would draw us away from God.
S HARING THE T RUTH W ITH M ORMONS C HRISTIANS W ITNESSING TO M ORMONS
http://4witness.org/what-we-offer/christians-witnessing-tomormons M ORMONISM R ESEARCH M INISTRY - E VANGELISM
www.mrm.org/evangelism-and-dialog R ON C ARLSON M ESSAGES
http://higherpraise.com/RonCarlson.htm U NDERSTANDING J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES AND M ORMONISM
http://waltermartin.com/realaudio.html M ORMONISM
www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?currSection=sermonst opic&keyword=Mormon&keyworddesc=Mormonism M ORMONISM
www.towertotruth.net/Mormon/mormon_main.htm M ORMONISM
www.towertotruth.net/audio.htm#mormon M ORMON AUDIO F ILES
http://mmoutreach.org/mormon/mormon_audio.htm S AINTS ALIVE - AUDIO L IBRARY
www.saintsalive.com/media-library/audio-library
* JEHOVAH’S WITNESS Jehovah’s Witnesses like Mormons are very sincere in their beliefs. We commend them for their dedication to what they believe as the truth. As with Mormons, we do not challenge the dedication and sincerity of Jehovah’s Witnesses. We challenge the teachings of the organization as those teachings compare to the E SSENTIALS OF C HRISTIANITY . We want to focus on the truths of the teachings, not the sincerity of those who hold these beliefs. I stress again that TRUTH is not determined by our SINCERITY or DEDICATION . 211
In addition to being sincere and dedicated, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons are also similar in that the teachings of the religions deviate from the E SSENTIALS OF C HRISTIANITY ; who God is, who Jesus is, and what is required for salvation. One of the primary differences between the two religions is that most of the deviations from the E SSENTIALS OF C HRISTIANITY taught by Jehovah’s Witness are located in their version of the Bible, the N EW W ORLD T RANSLATION . W HAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS OF THE C HRISTIAN FAITH ?
www.gotquestions.org/essentials-Christian-faith.html www.str.org/articles/essential-christian-doctrines https://carm.org/essential-doctrines-of-christianity Besides the Jehovah’s Witness Bible translation, the additional publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses are the two magazines; T HE W ATCHTOWER and AWAKE . I also found a reference to S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES . The link to view the Scripture Studies online is below. According to the Sept 10, 1910 Watchtower issue, the Jehovah’s Witness organization places particular importance on these S TUDIES as indicated by the quotes below. "If anyone lays Scriptural Studies aside even after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them ten years, and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness" "If the six volumes of Scriptural Studies are practically the Bible topically arranged, with Bible-proofs given, we might not improperly name the volumes, The Bible in Arranged Form. That is to say, they are not merely comments on the Bible, but they are practically the Bible itself" Charles Taze Russell W ATCHTOWER , S EPTEMBER 15, 1910, PAGE 298 . www.scripturessay.com/a-reply-to-a-jehovahs-witness/9
Scanned pages with some of these quotes are at: http://jehovahswitnessrevealed.com/wpcontent/uploads/2006/10/bstudy.PDF
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The following publications can be seen at the following links: S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES – Volumes 1-7 M ILLIONS LIVING W ILL N EVER DIE http://jehovah.net.au/classic-watchtower-publications W ATCHTOWER M AGAZINES ONLINE – 2000 to Present
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/11891
W HAT DOES THE B IBLE SAY ?
2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." This first passage shows that to be “approved unto God”, we need to study the Word of God. It also indicates “rightly handling the word of truth." This shows the importance of making
the effort to correctly understand God’s word, not coming to it with our minds already made up as to what it means. We need to let the Bible be the teacher so that we can accurately learn its wisdom and truth. The verse commands us to “Study”. Since there wasn’t any other works, references, or the S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES for centuries after the Bible was completed, (see the William F. Albright quote below), this command can only mean that we need to study the Bible, without the need for other works. This contradicts the Jehovah’s Witness teaching that without the Watchtower Society and S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES , we “Go into darkness”. "According to archaeological evidence there is "no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80." William F. Albright was the world's foremost biblical archaeologist. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”
This second passage emphasizes that “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful”. It does not indicate “Most Scripture”or “Some Scripture”, and it doesn’t mention any work other than 213
Scripture! It states that “All Scripture is “God-breathed”, which means it is from God and not man. We can have confidence that God has provided us with the Bible because of its confirmation by the volume of evidences shown earlier in the B IBLE section. This verse shows that all Scripture “is useful for teaching, correcting, and training in righteousness.” It also states that the reason this is important is so “the person of God will be equipped for every good work”, not “equipped for some/many/most good works”. I wasn’t able to find references as to Jehovah’s’ Witnesses holding the W ATCHTOWER and AWAKE magazines as INSPIRED like as they do the N EW W ORLD T RANSLATION B IBLE . Both publications present teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness religion. You can view back issues of the Watchtower magazines online from year 2000 to present on the Jehovah’s Witness website, at: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/11891 Unfortunately, the W ATCHTOWER magazine issues before 2000 are not available on the Jehovah’s Witness website. You may be able to find scans of specific issues by performing a Bing or Google I MAGE SEARCH using the DATE as well as the term W ATCHTOWER . In the SEARCH field. example: Watchtower Sept 15 1910 As indicated by the quotes above, Jehovah’s Witnesses are instructed that studying the Bible without the Scriptural Studies one “goes into darkness” . As you can see by these quotes, the method of B IBLE S TUDY indicated by the Bible is to STUDY THE BIBLE , without relying on any other reference for understanding. I found it interesting that the Jehovah’s Witness claim implies that without the Scriptural Studies everyone “goes into darkness”. Remember the Berean Jews in Acts? Acts 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. How were these Jews able to accurately compare the teachings of the scriptures to those being preached since the S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES wouldn’t be written for almost two thousand years? And how was Charles Taze Russell able to put together the S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES , without the benefit of the S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES ? Shouldn’t he have gone into darkness 214
as he claimed would happen to those who do not keep using his S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES ? This claim by Charles Taze Russell is self-contradictory being similar to the universe bringing itself into existence. It also contradicts God’s recommendation. Again, Timothy 3:16-17: Timothy 3:16-17 “ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”
Could the Jehovah’s Witness Scriptural Studies be something that is added as is commanded against in the Bible? Revelation 22:18-19 “For I testify together to everyone who hears the Words of the prophecy of this Book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add on him the plagues that have been written in this Book. And if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which have been written in this Book.”
Let’s look at some of the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses pertaining to the E SSENTIALS OF C HRISTIANITY .
JEHOVAH’S WITNESS TEACHINGS ON GOD
THE TRINITY
The Jehovah’s Witness Religion rejects the teaching of the Trinity, as evidenced by quotations from two of the religions leaders. “How strange that any should attempt to misuse and pervert these our Lord’s words, to make them support the unreasonable and unscriptural doctrine of a Trinity, – three Gods in one person.” (Atonement Between God and Man/ Studies In The Scriptures Vol. 5, page 76, 1912) Charles Taze Russell http://jehovah.net.au/books/5-The-At-one-ment-BetweenGod-and-Man-1.11Mb.pdf “That there are three gods in one; God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all there equal in power, 215
substance and eternity. If you ask a clergyman what is meant by the trinity he says: “That is a mystery.” He does not know, and no one else knows, because it is false. Never was there a more deceptive doctrine advanced than that of the trinity. It could have originated only in one mind, and that the mind of Satan the Devil.” (Reconciliation, page 101, 1928) - J.F. Rutherford
If you’ve not yet read the earlier section on the Trinity , please do so to have a better understanding of the evidences that answer these challenges to the Trinity. Wikipedia appears to have a very good article on the Trinity and how the doctrine was developed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity The Jehovah’s Witness organization attempts to use passages from the Bible to prove that Jesus is not the eternal God and that the Holy Spirit is not a person, so they claim Christianity’s understanding of the verses are wrong and that Christianity’s teaching on the Trinity is wrong. At this link on their Church’s website the first paragraph of the article gives the definition of the Trinity according to the Athanasian Creed. http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101989276?q=trinity&p=par Their article also lists publications which make reference to the doctrine of the Trinity not being established in Christianity until about the 4th century. The article suggests that the doctrine originated from pagan sources and that the term isn’t found in the Bible. These “details” seem to be included to shed doubt on the doctrine, and I think the author has been fairly effective at raising doubts about the doctrine of the Trinity. Let’s consider some of the points raised by the article. Does the indicated 400 year delay mean that we can’t be confident in the conclusion about the Trinity? Hardly. The Trinity wasn’t the only doctrine debated early in Christianity and there are doctrines still being debated 2000 years after Christ lived on earth; doctrines such as: the Tribulation, Predestination vs. Election , the Millennium Reign, etc. Debating a topic is a good way to bring out all the information available, so that an accurate conclusion can be arrived at. I believe this article leaves out important details which might 216
cause one to believe a different conclusion about the Trinity than the Bible teaches. Something else to consider about this 400 year delay. How difficult was it at that time for people to obtain information? No internet, no newspapers, libraries were only in very major cities, and very few people had any written works. The printing press was to the past what the Internet is to us now. The printing press allows us to have multiple copies of the Bible in our homes, but it didn’t exist till 1000 years after Christ lived on earth, and 600 years after the Athanasian Creed was finalized. The Gutenberg Bible, the first Bible printed by printing press, wasn’t printed until about 1450, almost 1000 years after the Athanasian Creed was finalized and almost 1500 years after Christ. Until then, most people probably never had the opportunity to touch a Bible, much less own one. Think about the Bible, a hand copied work of over 1000 pages. It would be surprising if more than a few who were involved in determining the Athanasian Creed had a complete Bible. Creating copies of Bibles was something commissioned only by kings because it was so expensive, and time consuming. Now think about how easy it is now for us to access so many resources and being able to do so now on a phone we carry with us. Remember, the cell phone and all the other quick information access options we have didn’t exist even 40 years ago. This pretechnology information access world existed unchanged for over 1500 years. Does this give you a better understanding as to the challenges faced by those in the past; those determining official doctrine? A few of the paragraphs from this Jehovah’s Witness article demonstrate some of the mistaken assumptions made by the author. And since this is on an official Jehovah’s Witness site these assumptions must be those of the organization as well. “Other statements of the dogma emphasize that these three “Persons” are not separate and distinct individuals but are three modes in which the divine essence exists.” http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101989276?q=trinity&p=par 217
This sentence is in the first paragraph of the same document above. The paragraph starts by indicating the Christian definition of the Trinity as indicated in the Athanasian Creed, with the exception for this sentence. The writer of the article adds the sentence indicating “Other statements” but they don’t include what these “statements” are. If you only read this sentence and don’t read any of the Athanasian Creed you will get the impression that this sentence gives an accurate view of the Athanasian Creed. The Athanasian Creed can be read at the following link. This link is one of many that are easily found through a search. www.reformed.org/documents/athanasian.html The above sentence also states “these three ‘Persons’ are not separate and distinct individuals” The following statements from the Athanasian Creed are the only ones which use the word “ PERSON ”. Do any of these statements give any indication that the PERSONS of the Trinity are not separate? 3. “Neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance” 4. “For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son and another of the Holy Spirit.” 18. “For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person by himself to be God and Lord;” 25. “But the whole three persons are co-eternal, and co-equal.” 35. “One altogether, not by the confusion of substance, but by unity of person.”
The sentence in the Jehovah’s Witness article also states “these three “Persons” are not separate and distinct individuals but are three modes” . This is a teaching called M ODALISM , where God is not three persons but one person. This one person operates in three different MODES at different times. https://carm.org/modalism This is a representation of God which Christianity rejects also. “The Holy Scriptures tell us the personal name of the Father—Jehovah. They inform us that the Son is Jesus Christ. But nowhere in the Scriptures is a personal name applied to the Holy Spirit.” 218
In this paragraph of the same link, the author states that there is no personal name applied to the Holy Spirit in any Biblical Scripture. They suggest that this is evidence of the Holy Spirit not being a person. However, most Biblical verses about the Holy Spirit describe the Holy Spirit using personal attributes. Acts 5:3-4 "But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit . . . You have not lied to man but to God .”
The Holy Spirit can be lied to and is also referred to as God. 2 Cor 13:14 "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit , be with you all"
We can have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. John 14:26 "But the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things , and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." (He not it)
The Holy Spirit can teach. John 16:13-15 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak ; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.
The Holy Spirit can guide, speak, and disclose. Romans 8:27 "And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
The Holy Spirit can intercede. Even Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as Him and not It . John 16:7 “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send HIM to you.” Do these verses seem to describe a person or an impersonal force, and does this verse give at least one name to the Holy Spirit, the Helper ? Consider also the verses which describe God both in the singular and the plural. These verses demonstrate the concept of the One God being composed of the three persons. 219
G OD DESCRIBING H IMSELF AS SINGULAR .
Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be Isaiah 43:10 " none after Me." Isaiah 44:6 "'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me." Isaiah 44:8 " Is there any God besides Me , or is there any other Rock? I know of none."
G OD DESCRIBES H IMSELF AS BOTH SINGULAR AND PLURAL
Gen 1:26 “Then God [singular] said, “Let Us [plural] make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...” Gen 1:27 “So God [singular] created man in His [singular] own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
G OD DESCRIBES H IMSELF AS PLURAL
Genesis 3:22 “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of US in knowing good and evil.” Genesis 11:7 “Come, let US go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" "Baptize in the name" singular, not "names" plural
It is important to stress again the command of the Bible, and also the emphasis the Bible places on itself as the only true authority to best learn the characteristics of God. 2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
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Another paragraph from the same article demonstrates the author’s confusion with the terms G OD and P ERSON . “Which translation of John 1:1,2 agrees with the context? John 1:18 says: “No one has ever seen God.” Verse 14 clearly says that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . we have beheld his glory.” Also, verses 1, 2 say that in the beginning he was “with God.” Can one be with someone and at the same time be that person? At John 17:3, Jesus addresses the Father as “the only true God”; so, Jesus as “a god” merely reflects his Father’s divine qualities.—Heb. 1:3”
You can see that their understanding of the teaching of the Trinity is the 1+1+1=1, and not the Christian teaching of 1x1x1=1. Seeing this confusion, it is understandable why Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the teaching of the Trinity. As mentioned earlier, the author equates the teaching of the Trinity with Modalism, and not the accurate teaching of Christianity. In this next paragraph the author fully acknowledges passages which use terms of personal attributes, but then discounts them because of other passages which don’t use terms of personal attributes. “Some individual texts that refer to the holy spirit (“Holy Ghost,” KJ) might seem to indicate personality. For example, the holy spirit is referred to as a helper (Greek, pa·ra kle·tos; “Comforter,” KJ; “Advocate,” JB, NE) that ‘teaches,’ ‘bears witness,’ ‘speaks’ and ‘hears.’ (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:13) But other texts say that people were “filled” with holy spirit, that some were ‘baptized’ with it or “anointed” with it. (Luke 1:41; Matt. 3:11; Acts 10:38) These latter references to holy spirit definitely do not fit a person. . . . What is the reasonable conclusion? That the first texts cited here employ a figure of speech personifying God’s Holy Spirit, his active force, as the Bible also personifies wisdom, sin, death, water, and blood.” http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lpe/1101989276?q=what+is+holy+spirit&p=par ′
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The
author
then
asks “What
is
the
reasonable
conclusion?”
Wouldn’t the reasonable conclusion be the Holy Spirit that the Bible indicates, with both characteristics of PERSONHOOD and NON -P ERSONHOOD ? While a square-circle is a contradictory concept, the Holy Spirit having both attributes of personhood and non-personhood is not contradictory. Haven’t you heard of people been referred to as A ROCK , A PILLAR of the community, A BEACON of righteousness? I’m sure some have said that talking to me sometimes is like talking to A BRICK WALL . If people can be referred to in non-personal terms, why would we limit the God of the universe in the way this author does? Also, no Bible verse indicates that the Holy Spirit is ONLY these non-personal attributes. In this article, the author has concluded that the Holy Spirit can only be personal or non-personal, and not both. The author has also concluded that the personal attributes don’t justify the possible consideration of the personhood of the Holy Spirit. I think the author’s concept of God is too small, because their concept is limited to a God they can understand. Again, the quote: “If God was a God we could understand, He wouldn’t be much of a God, would he?” Pastor Wayne Stockstill
JEHOVAH’S WITNESS TEACHINGS ON JESUS
Jehovah’s Witness teachings about Jesus are consistent with their teaching that there is no Trinity. They teach that Jesus is the savior and that He is A GOD , a MIGHTY GOD , but not the ALMIGHTY G OD . Their New World Translation is the only translation to add the letter “a” to the end of John 1:1. The end of the verse becomes, “the Word was a god” and not “the Word was God” as in the other major translations. “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." John 1:1 New World Translation
Jehovah’s Witness teaching is that Jesus is not Jehovah God. He is a separate and lesser god. They teach that Jesus was actually created and was Michael the Archangel before his earthly existence, and they also teach that he is savior. 222
Both of these links will provide you with information as to why adding the “a” before God is incorrect: https://carm.org/religious-movements/jehovahswitnesses/john-11-word-was-god www.dianedew.com/john1.htm Jehovah’s Witness teach Jesus was created. As a created being, he cannot be part of the Trinity. John 14:28 “The Father is greater than I am,” said Jesus. Section 3 at this link
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lpe/102010283?q=jesus+created+being&p=par Jehovah’s Witness teach Jesus was Michael the Archangel . http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lpe/2010250?q=jesus+michael&p=par Jehovah’s Witness teach Jesus was Savior Jesus Christ He is the Savior, “the Son of God,” and “the firstborn Section 3 at this link of all creation.” http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lpe/102010283?q=jesus+created+being&p=par
These are significant claims and challenges to three of the essentials of Christianity about God, about Jesus, and about salvation. If Jesus isn’t the one God, and if the Holy Spirit is not a person, there can’t be the Trinity. And since only God can save, if Jesus is not the one true God, He can’t be the Savior.
RESPONSES TO JEHOVAH’S WITNESS’ TEACHINGS ON JESUS
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is a created angel and is not Jehovah God. They seem to only accept Jesus Christ’s human characteristics indicated in the Bible, and either ignore or explain away His divine characteristics indicated in the Bible. And that is if they are even aware of them. As indicated above, John 14:28 “The Father is greater than I am,” is one of the verses used to justify their teaching that Jesus was a created being. What they don’t seem to consider is that John14:28 is only talking about Christ’s human existence, not his pre-human existence in Heaven.
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Philippians 2:5-8 shows that Jesus Christ emptied himself taking
the form of a servant. Adding to Himself a human nature automatically limits aspects of His divinity. One example is Jesus Christ as a man not being able to be everywhere at once. Philippians 2:5-8 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped ,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
If he
EMPTIED HIMSELF to take on FILLED PRIOR to taking on human
human form, he must have been form. Right?
I N W HAT S ENSE D ID J ESUS E MPTY H IMSELF ?
www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_795.cfm Colossians 1:15 is also cited as proof of Jesus creation. They
teach that being the FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION is the same as being the first created thing. Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. J ESUS C HRIST : T HE F IRST OF G OD ' S C REATIONS ?
www.godandscience.org/cults/jesuscreated.html n the beginning was the Word In John 1:1, they claim that “I (Jesus)” is a reference to when time existed. They reason that since God existed before time, Jesus wasn’t eternal because he was at the beginning. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was A God.
This conclusion has problems though, as the verse doesn’t state, “In the beginning, the Word began”. The Jehovah’s Witness conclusion is the same type of conclusion as those who claim that there is a contradiction between two of the Gospels because John indicates “Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early” (John 20:1), while Matthew indicates “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb” (Matthew 28:1). Notice that John doesn’t indicate 224
that ONLY Mary Magdalene visited the tomb. Mary Magdalene was the only woman John references, not the only woman there. In the same way, Jesus was there at the beginning, but the Bible never claims that Jesus didn’t exist until the beginning of time. If this reference to T HE B EGINNING means the beginning of time then even Almighty God would have been there also, because He already existed before the beginning of time. By the author’s reasoning, if Jehovah God was there at the beginning He couldn’t then be eternal. This isn’t a logical conclusion. Now look at the N EW W ORLD T RANSLATION of Colossians 1:16, Colossians 1:16 because by means of him all OTHER things were created in the heavens and on the earth. http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/l/r1/lp-e?q=colossians+1%3A16 Jehovah’s Witness indicate the word OTHER is in their accurate translation implying all other translations are not accurate because they do not have the word OTHER . This is their argument proving that Jesus Christ was created first. However, contrast this Colossians 1:16 verse with their John 1:3. John 1:3 All things came into existence through him , and apart from him not even one thing came into existence .
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/l/r1/lp-e?q=john+1%3A3-4 These two verses show a clear contradiction in the N EW W ORLD T RANSLATION B IBLE . According to the Law of NonContradiction, you can’t have the Jesus Christ of Jehovah’s Witness “creating all OTHER things”, implying that He was CREATED first, while at the same time being the same Jesus Christ who “apart from him not even one thing came into existence”. That would be like the contradictory idea of the universe creating itself. The universe would by necessity need to exist before it was created. Let’s consider other verses and information about Jesus Christ and His identity.
W AS J ESUS AN ANGEL AS J EHOVAH ’ S W ITNESSES T EACH ?
Consider again John 1:3 John 1:3 All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. 225
If all things came into existence through Christ, and apart from Him not even one thing came into existence , the only logical conclusion is that Jesus Christ has always existed. Since He created everything, He created all of the angels, and so he can’t be an angel, unless an angel could create themselves like some believe the universe did. As well, while He is not God the Father, He is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Consider these additional verses. Hebrews 1:5-6 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “ Let all God's angels worship him.”
Look at the last sentence in this verse. when He (God ) brings the firstborn into the world, he (God ) says, “ Let all God’s angels worship him.” If God is the only one to be worshipped, and God commands his angels to worship Jesus Christ, the only logical conclusion is that Jesus Christ is God. Not another God, but another person in the one true God. And this is true whether or not we understand this. Consider the following verses where Jesus Christ is called God.
J ESUS I S C ALLED G OD Romans 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all , blessed forever. Amen Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel ” (which means, God with us). Hebrews 1:8 But of the Son He (God) says , “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever , the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is 226
true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ . He is the true God and eternal life . Colossians 2:9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells
bodily John 20:28 Thomas answered him, “ My Lord and my God!” Isaiah 10:20-21 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return , the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God . Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” . Titus 1:3-4 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 2:13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ
G OD D OES N OT S HARE H IS G LORY W ITH ANY O THER Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord ; that is my name; my glory I give to no other , nor my praise to carved idols.
But the following verses show that Jesus had glory with His father. Mark 8:38b when He comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed .
If God does not share His glory with any other, and Jesus wasn’t God, the previous verses would not be logical. The only way that the previous verses are logical is if Jesus Christ 227
is the same God as God the Father, and that Jesus Christ and God are separate persons. Again, when Jesus Christ took on His human nature, it limited his attributes as God. JOHN 17:5 illustrates this, and that Christ would once again be glorified as He had before. If Jesus is God, it is acceptable for Him to not only request Glory He indicates that He had, it is also fully acceptable for Him to receive glory, and thus, does not contradict the verses stating that God will not give His glory to another. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT ONLY GOD IS TO BE WORSHIPPED. Exodus 34:14 "for you shall worship no other god , for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God"
The Angels of God Refuse Worship Revelation 22:8-9 “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God .” also Revelation 19:10 Even Jesus Stated That Only God Is To Be Worshipped. Matthew 4:9-11 "And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” D OES J ESUS ACCEPT WORSHIP AS G OD ? From the angels Hebrews 1:6 "And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “ Let all God's angels worship Him.”
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From the disciples Luke 24:51-52 "While he blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy" From the believers John 9:38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Him. Commanded by Angels Revelation 14:7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship Him who made heaven and earth , the sea and the springs of water.” (Remind me again, who made everything?) From everyone eventually Philippians 2:10-11 “ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” D ID J ESUS R ECEIVE W ORSHIP AS G OD ?
http://letusreason.org/Trin18.htm
J EHOVAH ’ S W ITNESS T EACHING ON S ALVATION
Jehovah’s Witness’ teach a different doctrine of salvation than what is taught by Christianity and the Bible. They teach that there are four requirements to be saved. In the Watchtower February 15, 1983 issue: 1. Taking in knowledge of the true God and of Jesus Christ 2. Obeying God’s laws and conforming to the moral requirements set by the Bible 3. Being associated with God’s Channel, his organization . . . “To receive everlasting life in the earthly Paradise we must identify that organization and server God as part of it.”
4. Showing Loyalty to God The issue is unavailable online on the Jehovah’s Witness website, but click the Feb 15, 1983 link at this site to see a picture: www.spiritualhostages.org/questions/what-do-jehovah'switnesses-say-is-required-of-salvation/ 229
The Watchtower-September 1, 1989 issue states the following: Only Jehovah’s Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the “great crowd,” as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil. (Revelation 7:9-17; 2 Corinthians 4:4) The issue is also unavailable online on the Jehovah’s Witness website. Click the Sept 1, 1989 link at this site to see a picture: www.spiritualhostages.org/questions/what-do jehovah's-witnesses-say-is-required-of-salvation/ This statement from the Watchtower indicates that there is a “united organization” under protection, and the inference is that the Jehovah’s Witness organization is that organization. Looking up the two passages referenced, only Rev 7:10&17 seem to apply, and there is no mention of any organization: Revelation 7:10, 17 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
In the following 2 Cor. passage we see a reference to a blinding of the minds of UNBELIEVERS by the “god of this world”, and there is the reference to the “gospel of the glory of Christ”. The Watchtower section above doesn’t reference the next verse 5. ”what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord”. 2 Corinthians 4:4-5 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
Two of the verses Jehovah’s Witness point to as support for their teaching of requirement 2 of salvation, are James 2:20 and Philippians 2:12: 230
James 2:20 "Faith without works is dead" Philippians 2:12 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"
W HAT DOES THE B IBLE T EACH ABOUT S ALVATION ?
The S ALVATION section toward the end shows many aspects of salvation taught in the Bible. These verses in James and Philippians are part of salvation, but not in the way Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons use them. The importance of works is not in that there is anything we can do for our salvation, as if we could do anything. The importance of works is that it is one of the evidences of our decision to accept Christ. There is nothing we can do to justify our salvation. It is fully and completely the work of Jesus Christ. Our works don’t save us, they ONLY give evidence of our being saved. We’ve already seen the two following verses. They both show that God the Father, and Jesus are involved in the work of Salvation. This make sense as only God can save. Titus 1:3-4 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 2:13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ
This link indicates many verses which show the different Persons of the Trinity being referred to as S AVIOR . W HO IS O UR S AVIOR ?
www.godandscience.org/cults/savior.html
P ROPHESIES BY J EHOVAH ’S W ITNESS O RGANIZATION
As is also consistent with Mormons, Jehovah’s Witness teachings include Prophesies about future events. Considering the other evidences of the errors of the Jehovah’s Witness organization in this section, in their teachings on the essentials of Christianity, should we expect that their prophesies will be accurate? 231
1872 – B REAKING I NTO P IECES OF THE K INGDOMS OF T HIS W ORLD “In this chapter we present the Bible evidence which indicates that six thousand years from the creation of Adam were complete with A.D. 1874; and hence that, since A.D. 1872, we are chronologically entered upon the seventh thousand or the Millennium - the forepart of which, the 'Day of the Lord,' the 'day of trouble,' is to witness the breaking into pieces of the kingdoms of this world and the establishment of the Kingdom of God under the whole heavens.” (Charles T. Russell: Studies in the Scriptures vol.2 - The Time Is At Hand, 1913 ed . p.33) S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES V OL .2
http://jehovah.net.au/books/2-The-Time-Is-At-Hand-.87Mb.pdf Does it seem that there has been any “ breaking into pieces of the kingdoms of this world and the establishment of the Kingdom of God under the whole heavens” for the past 100+ years?
1914—A S IGNIFICANT Y EAR IN B IBLE P ROPHECY (Jesus return)
www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/1914-asignificant-year-in-bible-prophecy The 8th paragraph states, “Just as Jesus predicted, his “presence” as heavenly King has been marked by dramatic world developments—war, famine, earthquakes, pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Luke 21:11) Such developments bear powerful testimony to the fact that 1914 indeed marked the birth of God’s heavenly Kingdom and the beginning of “the last days” of this present wicked system of things —2 Timothy 3:1-5” .
This refers to one of the earlier of the Jehovah’s Witness prophesies about Jesus Christ’s returning, and is from the official Jehovah’s Witness site. This talks about 1914 marking “the birth of God’s heavenly Kingdom and the beginning of “the last days” of the present wicked system of things” As this has been 100 years since the
prophesy, do you see any evidence that God’s Kingdom has come into being, or any specific details in what they are saying? Here are a few of the sites indicating many of the Jehovah’s Witness inaccurate prophesies. J EHOVAH ’S W ITNESSES / W ATCHTOWER P ROPHECIES
www.letusreason.org/JW47.htm W ATCH T OWER S OCIETY UNFULFILLED PREDICTIONS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_Tower_Society_unfulfilled _predictions#1914:_The_end_of_human_rulership 232
J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES OF THE W ATCHTOWER F ALSE P ROPHECIES
www.truthandgrace.com/WTfalseprophecies.htm P ROPHECY BLUNDERS OF J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES
www.bible.ca/Jw-Prophecy.htm C HANGED D ATES :: F AILED P REDICTIONS
www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1800s.php J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES AND THEIR MANY FALSE PROPHECIES
https://carm.org/jehovahs-witnesses-and-their-many-falseprophecies When we consider the Jehovah’s Witness prophesies, we find that they are also similar to Mormon prophesies in their lack of accuracy. Again, the Bible shows us how to tell if a prophesy is from God or not. And again, The Old Testament also shows how serious it was to say you had a prophesy from God. Deuteronomy 18:22 "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." 1st John instructs us to test the prophecy claiming to be from God. 1 John 4:1 "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
And again, what was the punishment for a false prophet? Deuteronomy 18:20 "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die." Deuteronomy 13:5 "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you."
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The Bible has proven itself through accuracy over time and through prophecy. How do the quotes by Charles Taze Russell compare to the Bible’s accuracy? 2 Timothy 3:15-17 “… from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” Revelation 22:18-19 “For I testify together to everyone who hears the Words of the prophecy of this Book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add on him the plagues that have been written in this Book. And if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which have been written in this Book.” 2 TIMOTHY 3:15-17 shows that the Bible is fully sufficient for everything necessary for a Godly person. REVELATION 22:18-19
indicates the punishment God has for anyone adding anything to or taking anything away from the prophesies of the book of Revelation and possibly the entire Bible. Whether the Revelation passage applies to only the book of R EVELATION or the entire Bible, can you think of any reason why any of these works; B OOK OF M ORMON , P EARL OF G REAT P RICE , T HE W ATCHTOWER , AWAKE , and S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES with their false prophesies which contradict Biblical Teaching wouldn’t fall under God’s warning of “adding to or taking away from” ? If these works and failed prophesies qualify, do you really want to be associated with one of these religions? We have seen that the Bible teaches that there is only one God and that God knows everything and knows of no other Gods. This one and only God doesn’t share His glory with any other, and is the only one to be worshipped. The Bible teaches that Jesus created everything that has always existed, that He received Glory, and accepted worship. The Bible also teaches that the Holy Spirit has personal characteristics with even Jesus referring to the Holy 234
Spirit as “H IM ”. The only logical conclusion regardless of our understanding is that there is only one God; and The Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are that one true God, and are also separate persons from one another. The teaching of the Trinity by the Bible is clear. The following publications can be seen at the following links: S TUDIES IN THE S CRIPTURES – Volumes 1-7 M ILLIONS N OW LIVING W ILL N EVER DIE http://jehovah.net.au/classic-watchtower-publications W ATCHTOWER M AGAZINES ONLINE – 2000 to Present
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/11891 ATCHTOWER O NLINE LIBRARY W http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0
F REE O NLINE BOOKS www.jwfiles.com/online_books/index.htm S HARING THE T RUTH W ITH J EHOVAH ’ S W ITNESSES C HRISTIANS W ITNESSING TO J EHOVAH ’ S W ITNESSES
http://4witness.org/what-we-offer/christians-witnessing-to jehovahs-witnesses Q UICK T IPS : M INUTES W ITNESS TO A J EHOVAH ’ S W ITNESS
www.christianministriesintl.org/articles/Quick-TipsWitnessing-Jehovahs-Witness.php H OW TO W ITNESS TO A J EHOVAH 'S W ITNESS
www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-witness-to-a jehovahs-witness-1408500.html W ITNESSING T IPS
www.towertotruth.net/witnessing_tips.htm W ITNESSING TO J EHOVAH ’S W ITNESSES
www.onthewing.org/user/Cul_Witnessing%20to%20JWs.pdf www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/martin_walter/jw/How _to_Witness_to_Jehovah_s_Witnesses.cfm T ESTIMONIES OF FORMER J EHOVAH ’ S W ITNESSES
www.jwinfoline.com/Page/audio.htm 235
S AINTS ALIVE - AUDIO L IBRARY
www.saintsalive.com/media-library/audio-library J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES
www.towertotruth.net/JW/jw_main.htm U NDERSTANDING J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES AND M ORMONISM
http://waltermartin.com/realaudio.html R ON C ARLSON M ESSAGES
http://higherpraise.com/RonCarlson.htm J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES T ESTIMONIES
www.towertotruth.net/audio.htm J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES
www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?keyword=Jehovah%2 7s+Witnesses&selectsearch= J EHOVAH ' S W ITNESSES
www.towertotruth.net/JW/jw_main.htm
* ISLAM There are significant differences between the doctrines of Christianity and Islam; in the nature of God as Trinity, the identity of Jesus Christ, and Salvation. As such, we come back to the concept of Truth, and again The Law of Non-Contradiction. Remember, two contradictory concepts/beliefs/ideas cannot both be true at the same time and in the same way. Since these teachings are contradictory, if either Christianity or Islam is true, the other is automatically false. If you have the wrong savior, you don’t have a salvation that works. This segment on Islam and the following one on Wicca are the last segments to be added to this guide. Unfortunately due to obligations and lack of time, I am limited to providing links to websites on the two religions. My apologies for any inconvenience, and hopefully these links will provide you with the resources to sufficiently research the information at your convenience. You will find likely find duplicated information between some of the different websites. I believe that seeing the information presented in the different ways these websites do help to gain a more complete understanding of the different subjects. 236
S ITES ON I SLAM H ISTORY OF I SLAM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Islam ABOUT I SLAM www.christiananswers.net/evangelism/beliefs/islam.html W HAT IS I SLAM ? www.truthnet.org/islam/whatisislam.html H ISTORY OF M UHAMMAD & I SLAM http://bibleprobe.com/muhammad.htm I SLAM AND C HRISTIANITY www.dianedew.com/islam.htm C OMPARISON G RID BETWEEN C HRISTIANITY AND I SLAMIC DOCTRINE https://carm.org/comparison-grid-between-christianity-andislamic-doctrine C ONTENDER M INISTRIES – I SLAM http://contenderministries.org/islam.php T HE Q UR ' AN VS . T HE BIBLE http://worldview3.50webs.com/quranvbible.html C HRISTIANITY AND I SLAM : A S IDE BY S IDE C OMPARISON www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Jesus-Muhammad.htm S CIENTIFIC E RRORS , C ONTRADICTIONS , AND I NCONSISTENCIES IN THE Q UR ' AN www.faithdefenders.com/articles/worldreligions/Scientific_ Errors_in_the_Quran.html www.faithdefenders.com/articles/worldreligions/Contardict ions_and_Inconsistencies_Quran.html ADDRESSING I SSUES IN I SLAM W ILL THE R EAL I SLAM P LEASE S TAND U P . www.equip.org/broadcast/will-real-islam-please-stand-drdavid-wood M ETHODS M USLIMS USE TO ATTACK C HRISTIANITY https://carm.org/methods-muslims-use-attack-christianity BILLION BIBLES www.billionbibles.org
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W ITNESSING TO M USLIMS www.gotquestions.org/witnessing-Muslims.html www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/howtowitnesstomuslim s.shtml http://arabsforchrist.org/witnessing101 http://standupforthetruth.com/2011/08/7-tips-for-witnessingto-muslims www.equip.org/search/?q=WITNESSING%20TO%20MUSLI MS www.cbn.com/spirituallife/OnlineDiscipleship/UnderstandingI slam/Witnessing_to_Muslims.aspx https://carm.org/questions-muslims www.learnthebible.org/witnessing-to-muslims.html www.answering-islam.org/Christians/index.html www.answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Vol1/index.html http://engagingwithislam.org/training www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbworld.aspx?pageid=8589953031 http://bibleanswerstodayblog.com/how-to-witness-to-amuslim http://edrodgers.net/witnessing-to-muslims-using-the-quran http://216.198.197.57/Truth%20to%20Say%20to%20Muslim s%20-%20Camel%20Method.htm S OME D RAMATIC C ONVERSIONS F ROM I SLAM M Y D RAMATIC C ONVERSION F ROM I SLAM This is the testimony of the dramatic conversion of Tass Saada, a former Muslim and PLO Sniper.
www.focusonthefamily.com/media/daily-broadcast/mydramatic-conversion-from-islam-pt1 www.focusonthefamily.com/media/daily-broadcast/mydramatic-conversion-from-islam-pt2 I SLAM : N ABEEL ' S T ESTIMONY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nqj4nZMvXk
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A N EW C ONCERN There is a recent movement of the last decade or so called the Insider Movement , also referred to as C HRISLAM . From the description, it looks to offer Muslims the opportunity to come to Christ, while still holding to Muslim practices and beliefs. The following will allow you to gain a greater understanding of this movement, and the concerns voiced by Greg Koukl and others. www.gotquestions.org/Chrislam.html www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/DigitalSG_1112_ New-1.pdf www.cc.org/blog/presbyterians_boost_new_chrislam_religion www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/piper-responds-to-theinsider-movement
* W ICCA Wicca, like Islam, doesn’t claim to be Christian as the Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness religions do. I have included Wicca because it is considered by some to be the fastest growing religion among young people and especially girls. The following description is from the referenced link, and gives some of the reasons for its growth: “Wicca is a fast growing religion. Some have said that it is the fastest growing religion in America. Whether or not that is true, the fact remains that the number one source of numbers in the Wiccan ranks, are the young.” “In our postmodern world where moral absolutes are disparaged and truth statements are doubted, Wicca fits right in. It offers a subjective religious experience that is aided by your own invention. Wicca is the religion of nature worship, of gods and goddesses, of spells and incantations designed to bring influence upon circumstances and/or people.” “Youth sometimes get lost in that transition between childhood and adulthood, and often do not know what direction to go to find truth and meaning. But this does not 239
stop them from trying. They seek to identify with groups, music, causes, and philosophies. It helps to give them purpose, meaning, and identity. So too with Wicca. It is a world religion based upon ancient agrarian religious belief out of northern Europe that allows them to cater their beliefs and practices to their own desires. How satisfying! Think about it. There is an attraction to the idea that you can construct a religious system that suits your preferences and use that system to gain control and influence. That is why many of the youth of today are joining up with it.” W ICCA AND T HE YOUTH
https://carm.org/religious-movements/wicca/wiccaand-youth W HAT IS W ICCA? I S W ICCA WITCHCRAFT ?
www.gotquestions.org/Wicca.html W ICCA
https://carm.org/wicca
W ICCA AND P AGANISM
http://www.christiananswers.net/evangelism/beliefs/wicca .html W ICCA: W HAT ' S THE F ASCINATION ?
http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/books/elliottb_wicca.a spx W HAT ' S T HE B IG D EAL W ITH W ICCA?
http://seanmcdowell.org/media/articles/061031.asp W HY Y OUNG P EOPLE ARE ATTRACTED T O W ICCA
http://www.equip.org/PDF/JAW180.pdf H IDDEN T RAPS OF W ICCA
www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/teens/hiddentraps-of-wicca A C HRISTIAN R ESPONSE TO W ICCA
www.contenderministries.org/wicca/response.php W HAT ’ S WRONG WITH W ICCA?
www.equip.org/bible_answers/whats-wrong-with-wicca 240
P ROTECTING Y OUR T EEN FROM T ODAY ' S W ICCA
www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/protecting-yourteen-from-todays-wicca-1363841.html S HARING W ITH W ICCANS
www.dare2share.org/worldviews/wiccans This last link is not a Christian website, but the article shows the impression some Christians have left on the author of this article and some of the commenters. This is a good reminder to all of us how important our character is and the negative impression we will leave with others when we exhibit non-Christian characteristics. I think it is also a good illustration showing how others will be less open to considering the truths of Christianity if they feel we’ve been disrespectful to beliefs they hold to be true. Something tells me that the Christians the author references weren’t using questions from the T ACTICS section. T HE 10 M OST ANNOYING T HINGS C HRISTIANS S AY TO P AGANS , W ITCHES , & W ICCANS http://modernalchemyst.hubpages.com/hub/The-10-Most-Annoying-ThingsChristians-Say-to-Pagans-Witches-Wiccans
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8. SALVATION ”He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.” ― Augustine ”Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it.” ― C.S. Lewis H OW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING ?
Why is salvation necessary? Why do I need to accept Christ to be saved? Can’t I just be good enough? If Jesus paid for my sins, aren’t they forgiven even if I don’t decide to accept His gift? ________________________
I’ve included this section on salvation because some of the specific details about salvation throughout this guide might not have been clear and because they might not have been referenced in complete context. Also, since the details are located at different locations throughout this guide, it might be difficult to gain a wellrounded understanding of the subject. If you didn’t have a clear understanding of the concept of Salvation before reading this guide hopefully you have a more accurate understanding now. If you still are not very sure, I’ve attempted in this section to present the concept as completely and logically as I can. Hopefully you will then have a fairly complete understanding of the subject. In a nutshell, we are sinners because we have violated the just laws of our infinite creator God. Our sin has damaged the relationship God originally established with us and wants to have again. God has made a way to resolve this damage by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for the sin we’ve committed. Jesus Christ freely chose to allow Himself to be sacrificed on the 242
cross to fulfill the payment penalty for our sin. If we decide to accept this gift He offers, we will spend eternity in a relationship with Him. If we don’t accept the gift He offers, we will spend eternity in a location separated from Him. Our desire to live our lives consistent with God’s desires is the evidence of our having truly accepted his gift. Will we still fail? Yes, but our desire will be to live for Him. One of the most important things we can do is to have a good understanding of the meaning of the words in the Bible. Misunderstanding the meanings of words in the Bible will cause us to misunderstand the Bible. When I was young and would ask my dad what a word meant, he would ask me to read the sentence the word was in so that he could see how the word was used. Words frequently have different meanings depending on how they are used. When you see all the ways a word is used, it gives much better understanding of that word. A Concordance is a tool for studying the Bible, which allows you to see all the verses that contain a particular word. This allows you to get a very good understanding of the full Biblical meaning of a word used in the Bible. Online Concordance: www.biblesuite.com Another good Bible tool site: www.openbible.info This section on salvation is similar in that we will look at many verses which speak to the subject of Salvation, so that we gain a more complete understanding of the way the Bible means S ALVATION . Like the term T RINITY though, there are verses which don’t use the word S ALVATION . Even so, the concept is taught in the verses. These verses will show why salvation is necessary, what Christ did to provide it, and how to receive it. I have used a series of questions I’ve wondered about when younger or heard people ask as the framework to provide the information on the different aspects of salvation. I believe that most of us have initially thought that our Salvation was based upon how GOOD we were, and how many GOOD WORKS we had done. We initially thought that God would then weigh our works to see whether our GOOD outweighs our BAD , and if our GOOD outweighed our BAD , we would go to Heaven. 243
Without any other information to bring us to a different conclusion, thinking this way would seem reasonable considering most of our experiences. So many aspects of our lives are based upon what we’ve done or not done. Just think about some of the questions you probably hear, or have heard if you are living with your parent(s) or guardian in your household: “Did you clean your room?” , “Did you do your homework?” , and “How did you do on your test?” As an adult, we hear questions like, “Did you make the deposit?” , “Did you make the payment?” , “Did you get the documents in the mail?” Depending on your answer, the subsequent results can be either positive or negative. With only our reasoning to go by, it’s natural to conclude that with Salvation, God will judge us by what we have done or have not done. However, the Bible is the reference we need to use. When we consider what the Bible says, we see God’s perspective on Salvation, which really is the only perspective that matters. I’ve tried to think of many of the questions that one might have about salvation and answer them using the Bible. Since the Bible shows such great evidence as being from God, we can have confidence in what it states as being the perspective of God. In the end, we each need to answer the question we looked at earlier in this guide as related to salvation, “Will we make the Bible flexible to our beliefs, or will we make our beliefs flexible to the Bible?”
W HY IS SALVATION NECESSARY ? 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light , and in him is no darkness at all .” 1 Timothy 6:15-16 “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light , whom no one has ever seen or can see.”
In these verses we see some of the characteristics of God. It’s important to remind ourselves regularly, myself included, of just a few of the characteristics of this God who desires a relationship 244
with us. These presentations will provide you with greater insight into this truly Awesome God the Bible communicates to us. H OW G REAT IS O UR G OD – LOUIE GIGLIO www.youtube.com/watch?v=azFFc20_Ub4 I NDESCRIBABLE – LOUIE GIGLIO www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNgJhuICrVA
To keep things in perspective, Louie Giglio’s first presentation just barely covers our own Milky Way Galaxy. The second presentation expands coverage to a very small area of the universe. In the Evidences section, I listed a link for the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. An absolutely breathtaking picture taken of an area of the sky smaller than the visible moon, showing an incredible 4000 of the 100 Billion Galaxies estimated to exist, with each galaxy having an average of 100 Billion stars. The creator of this incredible universe is the God we have offended with our sin. His is the God the Bible indicates. Are you starting to feel a little insignificant? Me too. And yet, as insignificant as we might consider ourselves, this incomprehensible God loves us so much that He would die on the Cross to pay the sin debt that we owe. Do you think of this awe-Inspiring God in the way that these presentations and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field show Him to be? According to the Law of Cause and Effect , this God has more power than the entire Universe, all 100+ billion galaxies of 100+ billion stars in each galaxy, and created it from nothing. He knows everything and exists everywhere. And to think, he probably created the entire universe for no other reason than to demonstrate His power and glory. Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
This is the God we have offended with our sin. Is it more understandable now how our sin is viewed by this perfect God? As the verses below the first question indicate, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” and “dwells in unapproachable 245
light”. God cannot share his presence with sin and so he cannot exist with us in our current condition because we are sinful. This is why he provided a way of salvation through Christ, so that we would have the incredible privilege to spend eternity with him in heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake God made Christ to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of God.”
W HY
CAN ’ T
G OD
JUST FORGIVE OUR SIN ?
W HY
DOES THERE
NEED TO BE A PRICE FOR SIN ?
Some have wondered why God couldn’t just forgive our sin. After all, if he is God, can’t he do anything? Remember, just because God is all powerful this doesn’t mean that he can do anything. Some issues can’t be solved by power. Think about God as a judge. The Bible refers to him as a RIGHTEOUS JUDGE : Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day”. Think for a moment about someone committing a horrendous crime against you or one of your loved ones or friends. Now think about the person being caught and standing before the judge. How would you feel if the judge decided to let them go without any sentence simply because the person hadn’t done anything wrong before? If the judge released them would you feel that the judge was a RIGHTEOUS judge or would you consider them a terrible judge? If God is a righteous judge he must judge sin and require a penalty, because to not do so would mean that he wasn’t a righteous judge. “
An illustration I’ve heard as to what Jesus does is that of a owning a very expensive collectible car in mint condition. Think about owning such a car. Would you own a classic collectable, or a new exotic? Now, suppose you let a friend drive it and they got into a major accident that caused major body and structural damage? You can forgive them but what is still required? The car still needs to be repaired and a payment has to be made to repair that damage. If you pay for the damage you have effectively paid the debt they owed. 246
Think about the word Savior . If Jesus is Savior, doesn’t that mean that he saves us from something? Our SIN has caused infinite damage to the relationship we have with God. There is a price to repair this damage, an infinite price, which is far too great for us to pay. Only Christ is qualified to pay the price but it costs his death on the cross. If we don’t choose to humble ourselves and accept his payment we are left to our own ability to pay for our sin. Since we are unable to pay such a price for our sin debt we are destined for an eternity separated from God. As mentioned earlier, hell is a place God created for Satan and the demons where God is not present. So the only location God can send those who reject Christ’s sacrifice on the cross where they are separated from God is hell.
I S SIN REALLY THAT BAD , AND WHY DOES G OD HATE SIN ? Isaiah 59:2 “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God , and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” “Sin takes many forms. It can be aggressive as in rape and murder. It can be passive as when we do not do what is right and let others suffer. Sin can take the form of misrepresentation so that such things as adultery is called “an affair”, Homosexuality is called “an alternative lifestyle,” and abortion is called “the right to choose.”
http://carm.org/why-god-hates-sin We need to remember that SIN IS all the things we do and don’t do which are the OPPOSITE OF WHAT G OD DESIRES . The reason God desires that we don’t sin is because sin goes against God’s very nature. Because of this, it ultimately damages our relationship with Him and with others. How close would you feel to someone who has lied to you or stolen from you? You would probably be very hesitant to have any kind of relationship with them. That’s what our sin does to our relationship with God. Why is Sin so Bad?
http://odb.org/2005/04/14/why-is-sin-so-bad 247
D OES EVERYONE NEED SALVATION ? Romans 3:10 “as it is written: “ None is righteous , no, not one” Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ”. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned ”
The verses indicate NONE and ALL, not many or most. It is clear that everyone has sinned and has failed to live up to God’s standard. If there was any doubt of our tendency to sin we need only look to Adam and Eve in The Garden of Eden, in Genesis. We see that Adam and Eve failed only having one command to follow. Genesis 2:17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat”. They couldn’t even do that. They couldn’t even follow just one command. If they couldn’t keep from violating just one command then what hope is there for us to keep most of God’s commands? No hope at all. Considering this fact as confirmed by the S ELF - C HECK section, it’s pretty easy to see that everyone has sinned and needs salvation. I believe God has shown us through the example of Adam and Eve that even if there were only one command, each of us would eventually violate the command, showing our true need for his gift of salvation.
W HY DID G OD CREATE US IF H E KNEW WE WOULD SIN AND THAT OUR SIN WOULD REQUIRE J ESUS C HRIST ’ S DEATH ? God knew that to create us with free will to choose Him would also mean that we would have the ability to not choose Him. Without free will we couldn’t choose to love him. He did all this knowing that it would require the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and knowing this before he ever created us. He did this for His glory, which he must have felt was worth the sacrifice.
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Why Did God Create Man Knowing He Would Sin?
http://kirkcameron.com/god-create-man-knowing-sin If God knew that Adam and Eve would sin, why did He create them?
http://www.gotquestions.org/if-God-knew-Adam-Evesin.html Ultimately, God created us to bring glory to himself. Everything God does, everything He doesn’t do, everything He allows or doesn’t allow, is ultimately for His glory. Even the punishment of sin brings Him Glory, because He is glorified in His righteousness. He created all 100 billion galaxies out of nothing for His glory. He has created us for His own glory! And he has provided the opportunity for salvation to all so that He will be glorified. Isaiah 43:6-7 Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory. W HAT DOES IT MEAN TO GLORIFY G OD ?
www.gotquestions.org/glorify-God.html ALL TO THE G LORY OF G OD
http://founders.org/fj56/all-to-the-glory-of-god L IVING T O T HE G LORY O F G OD
www.prca.org/sermons/I_Cor_10-31.htm
D OES G OD WANT EVERYONE TO BE SAVED ? Some have claimed that God only saves some and doesn’t want everyone to be saved. What does the Bible indicate as what God’s desire for our salvation is? 1 Timothy 2:3-4 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The unfortunate truth, is that since we have free will to choose or reject God, some will choose to reject Him and His gift. 249
H AS C HRIST PROVIDED THE OPPORTUNITY OF SALVATION TO EVERYONE ? 1 Timothy 2:6 “who gave himself as a ransom for all ” 1 John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world .”
These verses show that His sacrifice on the cross is enough to pay the price for all the sin of everyone who has lived or will ever live. There is an acronym using the word GRACE which illustrates G ODS R ICHES AT C HRIST’S E XPENSE this idea. Through the expense Christ paid on the cross we have the opportunity to receive the riches of God, eternal life with Him for all eternity. It is important to realize though, that even though Christ’s death on the cross is sufficient to pay the price everyone owes for the sin we all commit, that doesn’t mean that everyone is saved. Only those who have truly accepted his payment will receive it. John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him , who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ”
C AN WE BE GOOD ENOUGH THAT G OD THINKS US RIGHTEOUS ? Romans 3:10 “as it is written: “ None is righteous , no, not one” Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the Law ; rather, through the Law we become aware of our sin.” Isaiah 64:6 “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”
Most of us have looked to our own works as a justification for our goodness. While this does apply somewhat in this life in our relationship with others it doesn’t apply to God’s requirement for entrance into Heaven. I used to think that the Bible showed me how GOOD I could be and thus be GOOD enough to go to Heaven. Romans 3:20 clearly shows that the Bible doesn’t show me how good I can be but how bad I truly am and have been. Romans 3:10 and first part of Romans 3:20 show that none
of us are righteous, nor can be made that way though our own efforts. 250
Romans 3:20 shows that rather than a GOAL to reach, the Bible shows G OD ’ S PERFECT STANDARD , and shows me how far
short I am of his standard. Think about driving on a road without a speed limit sign and thinking the speed limit is 55mph and driving at 55. When you finally see a speed limit sign, and it reads 15mph. You now see the standard and you then realize how far away from it you are. Where this illustration falls short is that while our speed can be adjusted on the road, our ability to meet God’s standard can never reach his requirement. The Bible shows how far below God’s standard each of us are. As in the S ELF -C HECK section, we only need to look to the 10 Commandments. Have we ever taken anything that wasn’t ours regardless of the value? Have we ever lied about anything or anyone, even if a very small lie? You get the picture. And if we had any remaining thought that we could possibly be good enough our entire life, the following verse should clear up any confusion. James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point , is guilty of breaking it all”
We only need to sin once in our entire lifetime to be guilty before God. The only person who accomplished not sinning their entire human life was Jesus. This is one of the ways he proved that He was God and why he is the only one qualified to pay the price for our sin.
I F I’ M GUILTY OF SIN , WHAT PUNISHMENT DO I DESERVE ? Romans 6:23a “The wages of sin is death”, but the gift of God, is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord”
Wages are what we earn for the work we do. So “The wages of sin is death” means that what I’ve earned for the sin I commit is death which the Bible defines as eternal separation from God in hell. The verse also states, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ” Can you earn a gift? No. Think about giving 251
someone a gift and as you are handing it to them they try to pay you for it. Would you feel that their attempt to pay you was a compliment or an insult? An insult of course! This is the same with God. If we try to earn the gift he offers, through our good works, we insult God. We are essentially saying, “Jesus dying on the cross wasn’t enough to pay for my sin. I need to do something.” This is the typical human reaction. We have difficulty accepting something of great value, when it’s given without strings or if we haven’t earned it. If we feel we did something we feel more worthy of what has been given to us. Romans 6:23a also states, “Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord ”, and NOT “through Jesus Christ our Lord after all we can do”. Since Jesus is God He is the only one qualified to pay the
price for my sin. And since it states “through Jesus Christ our Lord” it only applies if Jesus Christ IS our Lord. James 2:19 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe —and shudder!”
Satan and the demons recognize Jesus Christ as Lord but they aren’t going to heaven are they? Because to them Christ is THE Lord, but He is not their Lord. So just believing that God exists doesn’t get anyone to heaven.
I F J ESUS
PAID THE PRICE FOR MY SIN , AND MY GOOD WORKS DON ’ T
COUNT AT ALL, WHY DO I NEED TO BE GOOD AND DO GOOD WORKS ?
James 2:26 “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead .” John 14:15 “ If you love Me, keep my commands” John 15:5,8 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing”. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
When we choose to do works that please God we show that we value the price Christ paid for our salvation. Our living for Christ 252
is not to earn our salvation but to show evidence of us choosing Christ’s payment for our sin. If I say “I’ve been saved by Christ” but my life doesn’t show any evidence, (my works and lifestyle), it’s easy to conclude that my statement is just words and not what I’ve really chosen. John 14:15 “ If you love Me, keep my commands”. If I don’t
keep his commands, it is proof that I don’t love him and have not been saved by him. , Romans 10:10 “For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” 1 Samuel 16:7 “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
When we tell someone something, they can only determine the truthfulness of our statement by what we’ve said and then by our actions. But God can see into our heart and our true motives. Remember my example of the penalty in a jury trial? When a defendant is found guilty our justice system typically determines the severity of the penalty based on the motivation of the defendant. In the examples given previously showing the two news stories about the two different deaths, one was an accident and the other was premeditated. The trials resulted in very different outcomes. Since God knows everything and is outside of time, He not only knows our motivations, He knows our motivations before our first thought! God offers the gift of eternal life to us, not because of what we’ve done but because of what Christ did on the cross for us. And our going to heaven comes down to whether or not we’ve decided to accept his payment for our sin. How we live our life proves if we’ve truly accepted His gift or if our claim was just words we said.
C AN I REALLY KNOW I’ VE ACCEPTED C HRIST ’ S GIFT , AND AM SAVED, AND CAN I LOOSE MY SALVATION IF I SIN REALLY BAD? 1 John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” John 10:28 “ I give them eternal life , and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand“. 253
God not only offers us the gift of salvation but also the knowledge that if we are truly saved we can be fully confident in that salvation. If Christ paid an infinite price to guarantee my eternal destination, God won’t let anything affect his investment. I’ve learned that if we’ve truly accepted Christ’s payment for our sin, God gives us the confidence that our salvation is secure. This way we can quit wasting time worrying about whether or not we are saved and invest our time reaching others with the message of God’s gift of salvation. Salvation means that Christ has paid for our sin. Unfortunately, in this life, salvation doesn’t mean that we no longer sin. We certainly will sin but our lifestyle won’t be to sin. 1 John 1:8-10 “ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves , and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar , and his word is not in us.”
Christ will forgive us of our sin if we have decided to accept his gift of salvation, but his forgiveness doesn’t necessarily remove the consequences or our sin. As an example, if a Christian drives drunk and injures or kills someone Christ will forgive this sin, but the Christian is still subject to the penalties and punishments of the laws of the land. Another saying I like in reference to sin is, “Sin will keep you from the Bible, or the Bible will keep you from sin.” Are you regularly reading your Bible? Also, as 1 John 1:8-10 indicates, we will all continue to sin. However if we are truly saved God will not allow us to remain comfortable in our sin.
DOESN ’ T G OD WANT ME TO GET MY LIFE ON TRACK FIRST ? Romans 5:8 “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.
God “showed his love for us”, he didn’t just tell us, He proved it by dying on the cross. And he did this before we could do anything 254
for him. “while we were still sinners” this part of the verse shows that God didn’t wait for us to get better. He died for us while we were still sinners. And He did this knowing that many of those he died for will never choose to accept Him. Salvation and the Work of Christ – An in-depth study http://godswordforyou.com/bible-studies/salvation-and-thework-of-christ.html
I F J ESUS PAID FOR MY SINS , AREN ’ T I FORGIVEN DON ’ T DECIDE TO ACCEPT H IS GIFT ?
EVEN IF
I
Some may come to the conclusion from the two following verses that they will be saved even if they don’t decide to accept Christ’s payment for their sin on the cross: 1 Timothy 2:6 “who gave himself as a ransom for all ” 1 John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world .” When only one or two verses are considered, it’s easy to come to an inaccurate conclusion. That is why it is important to consider many verses when researching a subject in the Bible. And can there be a more important subject to have a correct understanding of than Salvation? Let’s look at a few other verses which give additional insight. John 5:40 “you refuse to come to me that you may have life” Luke 13:23-24 “And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many , I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Matthew 7:21 “ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘ I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” 255
And the verse we saw earlier: John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him , who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ” As we can see, there are people who will not enter the kingdom of heaven. God actually indicates that he doesn’t know them. And this is even after a plea on the part of some that they were doing his will. It seems that those making the plea that they were doing God’s will have decided on their own what God’s will is. Could it be that since they are pointing to things they’ve done, they are trying to receive God’s gift through their own works? As we’ve already seen, it is an insult to God for us to think that anything we do provides any justification for us to go to Heaven. God paid the infinite price and he will not allow anyone to take credit for what He has done. If He is God and has paid in infinite price, He has every right to take credit for his work. The first verse above, John 5:40, clearly indicates that some will refuse to come to Him. Remember, he will not force anyone to choose Him. He respects a person’s freedom of choice. It is only those who decide to follow God’s will and accept Christ’s payment on the cross for their sin, and then prove their choice by living for Him who will be saved. Lastly, think of God offering a pardon for your sin because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. You still have to make the decision to accept his pardon or else it doesn’t apply. Until recently, if a criminal sentenced to death was pardoned they still had to accept the pardon, otherwise the sentence was carried out. This link shows an event in history where someone refused a pardon. The Man Who Refused the Pardon http://members.core.com/~lpm8998/man_who_refused.htm
In the end, it ultimately comes down to who or what we will place at the center of our lives, who or what we will choose to worship and follow. Some will say that they don’t worship anything, but in reality we all worship, regardless of our belief in the existence of a God. For each of us there is something that drives us that gives 256
our lives meaning. Whether power, influence, money, sex, God, or something else; we all worship something. Everyone Worships Something www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUnoaMp5k58 Counterfeit Gods - Tim Keller www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mK65lpveSM David Warner Wallace - Anything Else You Worship Will Eat You Alive - This is the author referenced in Tim Kellers Counterfeit Gods presentation at 14:25 www.afaithtoliveby.com/2011/09/21/anything-else-youworship-will-eat-you-alive-what-david-fosterwallace-came-to-see
The most important part of his speech is the following segment. He proves to be very insightful. “Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship — be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles — is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. 257
But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful, it’s that they’re unconscious. They are default settings. […] And the so- called real world will not discourage you from operating on your default settings, because the so-called real world of men and money and power hums merrily along in a pool of fear and anger and frustration and craving and worship of self.”
The very sad reality is that three years after he gave this presentation he committed suicide. What do you suppose it was that ate him alive? The following verse shows the same futility and was written over two thousand years ago. Ecclesiastes 5:10 "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money , nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity."
I Am Second - www.iamsecond.com This site shows individuals who give their video testimonies. Some are well-known celebrities you may have seen before. They tell in their testimonies about an issue they dealt with and the pain caused by that issue, and how God met them and their decision to turn to him. If you have or are currently experiencing a similar situation, I hope you find inspiration in their experiences. If Christ loved you so much to Die on the cross for your sin He wants to reach you in your situation and provide healing in your pain. All you need to do is to call to him and ask him.
S O WHAT NOW ? Romans 10:9-10 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is
Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved . For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
If you are a not a Christian and you have gone through this guide and particularly this section, you have a decision to make. You can accept the information and make the decision to accept the gift Christ offers. Or you can reject Christ’s gift and Him having 258
first priority in your life. You’ll continue going in the direction you’ve been going, that direction which all of us were headed, which eventually leads to an eternal separation from him. God will not force you to choose Him. He has done everything possible for you to be saved, but the decision is still yours. If you don’t want to spend eternity with God and with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, he will not force you. If you have reached the point of making a decision to accept Christ’s priceless gift of salvation, and you have chosen to live for him and not yourself anymore, you can pray the following prayer to God. It comes from the following webpage. I recommend reading the entire page. Remember, God knows your heart and motivation before you pray. Prayer of Salvation www.allaboutgod.com/prayer-of-salvation.htm “Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
Paul Washer states, “It doesn't matter whether or not you know Jesus. It does matter whether or not Jesus knows you. To better illustrate this, he indicates that it is not a matter of us going up to the Whitehouse and saying that we know the President that is what allows us in, it is a matter of the president saying that he knows us.” When it comes to Salvation, you have only two choices; to accept the payment Christ made for the sin you have committed and meet Jesus Christ in this life as Savior, or to try to pay yourself for the infinite debt owed and meet Christ after this life as a 259
righteous Judge. The choice is completely up to you, and I hope after reading through this guide, you realize the importance of this decision, and the implications of each choice.
C LOSING T HOUGHTS I hope you have found value in the information in this guide and in the resources listed in the following section and throughout. If you are a Christian, I hope you now have a better understanding of the incomprehensible God we worship. I hope you also have a better understanding of what it means to be a Christian, and that this guide has helped correct any misinformation you formerly believed as true. I hope this guide has also shown you the value of being able to provide evidences for the truths of Christianity you believe, and that has provided you with a stressfree and skillful method of sharing the Gospel message with others. I hope you also realize a much greater confidence in what you believe, and feel that you can be much more capable in defending your faith to those challenging what you believe, and correcting misinformation. If you haven’t accepted the claims of Christianity, I hope the information and resources in this guide have shown that Christianity is worth investigating, not because Christians hope that it is true, but because of the abundance of evidence to confirm it. If you are in this last group, I hope this information motivates you to seriously consider these numerous evidences for the truths of Christianity, and the implications for your life and where you will spend eternity. Thank you again for your time in reading through this guide and considering the information, and may God bless you for it. Hugo Schraer
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9. RESOURCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH This last section provides resources to enable you to research further, as well as other websites to check additional topics not covered in the previous sections. I have found many of the included websites while performing searches on the topics for this guide. The information at the links indicated seemed accurate and Biblical, and applicable for what I was looking for, to add to this guide. However, I have not been able to check every topic at every site. As mentioned earlier, be like the Berean Jews and check everything by the Bible. That is the best way to be sure what you are learning is true. I encourage you to support the ministries which you find have provided resources and information to strengthen your knowledge and confidence in Christianity, and increased your ability to respond to the challenges to Christianity. If you are unable to support them financially, please pray for them.
* GROWING AS A CHRISTIAN As a Christian student you not only need knowledge in what you believe and why but you also need to have resources to grow as a Christian. If you are a Christian are you growing? Do you find yourself at the same maturity level in your walk and knowledge level on Biblical subjects as you were a year ago? If so, you’re probably not growing. As Christians, we will never exhaust the knowledge we can learn, and since God is eternal I believe it will take an eternity to learn of Him. One of my greatest anticipations when I pass from this life, is to a great memory too! As Christians we usually gain the greatest satisfaction when we are in the will of God, and also being used of God. Jay Wegter emphasizes in “Every Man’s Battle” Pt1 at 51:12 the character and qualities of the man God will use. Every Man’s Battle - Jay Wegter Pt1 www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32008027544
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Since the recording is focused specifically on pornography and men, the audience he is speaking to when this was recorded is men. Women can also benefit from the characteristics and illustration he indicates. Jay quotes 2 Timothy 2:21-22 “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Jay
states, “God wants to use you, but God uses clean vessels. And perhaps some of you could be more useful of you were more clean” . Jay then recalls when in Bible College and sharing a house with four other men. When he was real thirsty he went to get a drink of water he found every glass was dirty in a sink of greasy water. He then went to the cupboard and found a clean peanut butter jar and used that to drink the water. Jay uses this story to effectively illustrate how God will pass on using what might seem the most appropriate vessel, if the vessel is contaminated with the filth of this world. God will use the most humble Christian, if they are serious about being cleansed from the filth of this world, so that they can be:
“a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work ” I hope these sites will provide you with great tools to grow in your Christian life.
www.growingchristians.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncEhCvrVgQ www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org/growing-in-christ.htm https://bible.org/series/abcs-christian-growth-layingfoundation www.worldwidechallenge.org/stories/christian-growth www.gospel.com/topics/christian+growth www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/sermons-about-christiangrowth.asp Paul Washer : (there are many links to other great sermons by Paul Washer)
The Importance of Prayer for Christians www.youtube.com/watch?v=53P-L7wu4h0 262
Do you see God working on your life? www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxzRXb0fHik Do You Bear Fruit? (John 15) www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbeT5Aef0_I Too many believe that God will make our lives HAPPY simply because we are Christians and have accepted Christ. It is important to remember that God’s goal for our lives is holiness not happiness. If you consider the idea of HAPPINESS , what is it that makes you happy? Before we were Christians, what we wanted was what brought us happiness. If you are a Christian, your heart and desires should begin to be changed so that what God wants to do in your life is what brings Him happiness. He wants the life of a Christian to be holy, and he is willing to use circumstances which cause pain and discomfort in our lives, if necessary, to bring that holiness. Our happiness should be the result of the holiness we are developing for God. Our happiness is achieved in our growing in knowledge of Jesus and a growing relationship with Him. Leviticus 11:45 “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you were bought with a price. So glorify
God in your body”. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;”
* T HE BIBLE “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” Ronald Reagan "Sin will keep you from this Book or this Book will keep you from sin" D.L. Moody "A thorough understanding of the BIBLE is better than a college education" Theodore Roosevelt "Here then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, no so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy." R.C. Sproul 263
The most important resource you will ever have as a Christian is the Bible. It is the very I NSPIRED W ORD OF G OD . Nothing else is. All of the information and websites included in this guide and all of the reasoning and arguments indicated are listed here to eliminate the barriers to your confidence in the Bible and the God of the Bible, and to be able to respond to challenges you encounter. Only the verses listed are the I NSPIRED W ORD OF G OD . The information in this guide is important for that purpose and for the purpose of us helping to break down the barriers to other’s accepting the truths of Christianity, accepting the Bible, and coming to accept Christ’s payment for their sin. This guide and other resources are not the Bible and they should not replace your time in God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Notice, it doesn’t say, “All Christian Websites and Apologetics Guides”, etc. are God-breathed , but “All Scripture”
This link will take you to additional verses about the importance of Scripture in each our lives. www.allabouttruth.org/all-scripture-is-inspired-of-god-andbeneficial-faq.htm I bring up the importance of keeping the Bible as your primary resource, because when learning EVIDENCES and ARGUMENTS , some will get caught up in the excitement of learning the information. Finding apologetic information becomes their priority. Their primary desire becomes wanting to learn more evidences and arguments, and not God’s Word. I know this can happen because it happened to me. Learning evidences and arguments is important, but don’t let it replace your time in the Word. The following tools should enable you to improve your reading and study of G OD ’ S W ORD . In addition to these tools, there are many apps for your phone. BIBLE READING
www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan 264
www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/?version=esv NEVER READ A BIBLE VERSE – Greg Koukl
http://www.str.org/articles/never-read-a-bible-verse BIBLE STUDY AND EDUCATION
http://bibleresources.org/how-to-study-bible www.biblestudy.org http://biblestudylessons.com www.biblestudytools.com www.biblicaltraining.org www.free-bible-study.org/bible-study-links.html http://freebibleseminary.net www.gotquestions.org www.openbible.info/topics www.summit.org/resources/summit-lecture-series/archive www.trinitytheology.org BIBLE MEMORIZATION
www.pursuinglife.com/biblememory.php http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/tips/scripturememorization-11634857.html www.memverse.com www.free-online-bible-study.com/memorize-bible-verses.html GRACE CHAPEL BIBLE INSTITUTE – Grace Chapel’s excellent Bible Class
http://gclancaster.com/index.php/audio-2/serieslist/ministry/8 God’s Promises in the Bible www.intouch.org/you/gods-promises www.smilegodlovesyou.org/promises.html www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/gods-promises.aspx Devotionals
www.devotionalsforteens.blogspot.com www.365promises.com
* C HURCH One of the most important things you can do as a Christian is to be involved with a Bible believing church which provides solid teaching of the Bible. I’ve heard more than a few Christians state 265
that they don’t need to go to church. From the standpoint of being saved by Jesus’ payment for our sin and our going to an eternity in Heaven, that is true. Others mistakenly believe that attending a church makes one a Christian. Going through the previous Salvation section should effectively answer that belief. Even though salvation doesn’t require it, being involved at a healthy Biblical church provides significant benefits as a Christian. It provides the opportunity to assemble with others of similar mindset, be encouraged by them, and provide a resource for learning and growing as a Christian. It also provides an opportunity to serve and be accountable in our Christian life. Without this connection to a healthy church, the distractions of the world give us a distorted view of life and what is really important. Why should Christians go to church? How important is it?
http://christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t009.html 6 Wonderful Benefits Of Church Membership
http://christianpf.com/benefits-of-church-membership The life benefits of regular church attendance
www.sundaysoftware.com/stats.htm
* P RAYER In regards to prayer, you may have thought the following: “If God knows everything and will exercise his will anyway, what is the purpose in praying?”
While there are examples of God answering the prayers of those in the Bible making requests of Him, you may be surprised to learn that the purpose of prayer isn’t primarily to get what we want. The primary purpose of prayer is to align our thinking with God, and keep us focusing on His will rather than our own. It is to show our reliance on Him and recognize His authority in our lives. As with anything Biblical, when we look to gain greater knowledge it’s important to make sure the information we are relying on to form our conclusions lines up with the Bible. Acts 17:11 “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great 266
eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true”.
It is important to remember with prayer that God does not always answer in our time, nor in the way that we want him to. God knows everything, sees the entire picture, and has all knowledge and wisdom to be able to do the absolute best. When thinking about God answering prayer, the answer may not be “Yes” , and it may not be “No” . The answer may simply be, “Not now” . T HE I MPORTANCE OF P RAYER FOR C HRISTIANS www.youtube.com/watch?v=53P-L7wu4h0
http://intouch.org/watch/new-believer/why-pray-what-is-prayerfor-all-things http://lifeteen.com/why-pray-truth-prayer http://studentsoul.intervarsity.org/why-pray www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worthfinding/read/articles/since-god-knows-everything-whyshould-we-pray-9549.html www.wycliffe.org/prayer/why-we-pray www.monergism.com/topics/prayer/sovereignty-god-prayer www.gotquestions.org/why-pray.html www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/faith_in_life/prayer/pray er_has_its_reasons.aspx www.allaboutprayer.org/why-should-we-pray.htm www.allaboutprayer.org/why-pray-faq.htm
* T EMPTATION Carm.org has one of the best single-sentence definitions for temptation. The definition is broad, but very simple: “T EMPTATION IS THAT WHICH MOVES US TO SIN ”
https://carm.org/dictionary-temptation Philip De Courcy’s audio series mentions that many times the temptation is for something legitimate, but Satan will encourage us to “fulfill the temptation illegitimately with the wrong person, in the wrong way, or at the wrong time” . For those things that 267
are legitimate, acquiring them becomes sin when we try to obtain them outside the will of God, when we try to obtain them OUR WAY instead of HIS WAY . Is using credit sin? It depends. When we at times have a need to use it to perform a major repair of a vehicle, or even the replacement of a vehicle or other legitimate and necessary purchase, it isn’t sin. However, when we knowingly use credit to gain things that are wants and not needs and that we can’t afford those things it would be. Is having a lot of money bad? Not necessarily. Then why are aspects of Gambling sin? I’ve mentioned to our sons that some people like to play cards and like to gamble. If they gamble with their goal not being to try to win lots of money but that they consider it entertainment, like going out to dinner and a movie, and they budget a certain amount to do that, it would not be considered sin. I remember when our sons were young our family stayed at a hotel which had a casino, I thought of a teaching moment. Before we went in, I told them that we would need to walk through part of the casino section to get to the elevator to go to our room. I told them, “When we go through the casino, look at the faces of all of the people you can see who are gambling and see if those people are smiling.” The found out very quickly that none of the people they could see were smiling. I told them that the commercials you see of people gambling and smiling and excited are not what is true of almost everyone who gambles, and the beautiful architecture and fountains were paid for by the money people lost gambling. Temptation often has the appearance of being innocent, with that temptation to obtain what is desired distorting our ability to see the sin within the temptation. Because of this characteristic of TEMPTATION , we usually don’t recognize the potential sin until after we have fallen for it. They kind of “sneak up” on us. Since the temptation starts out subtle, we don’t notice as it grows and becomes harder for us to control until it’s too late. How many married individuals have allowed an innocent work relationship to turn into adultery and ruin their marriage? Many who have had this happen comment that they felt blindsided and that it took them completely by surprise. 268
Many temptations start out seemingly innocent and subtle, and some even noble. There have been those with the desire to make money to help others with the money, and then found themselves consumed with the desire to just make more money. With the temptation for more, the desire changed from helping others to simply making more money. It is important to remember that temptation itself is not sin, and that God does not tempt us. However, how we handle that temptation and what we do with that temptation can be sin. As Philip De Courcy says in his audio series below, “T EMPTATION IS INEVITABLE , YIELDING TO IT IS NOT .”
The following sites should give you good information on temptation and recommendations as to how to recognize it and keep it from controlling your life. I believe a quote I’ve heard before relates to temptation: “Sow a thought; reap an action. Sow an action; reap a habit. Sow a habit; reap a character. Sow a character; reap a destiny.” https://whatheisteachingme.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/sow -a-thought-reap-a-destiny www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/character-developmentdonna-kazenske-sermon-on-character-60405.asp W HAT THE B IBLE S AYS ABOUT T EMPTATION
http://bibleresources.org/temptation http://whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/What.Bible.Says .Temptation.html W HEN T EMPTATION APPEARS
www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/when-temptationappears-1220961.html T OP 8 W AYS FOR C HRISTIAN T EENS TO AVOID AND O VERCOME T EMPTATION
http://christianteens.about.com/od/advice/tp/OvercomeTemp ata.htm 269
7 T IPS TO AVOID T EMPTATION
www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/7-tips-to-avoidtemptation H OW DOES ONE GAIN VICTORY OVER TEMPTATION ?
http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-g005.html H OW TO O VERCOME T EMPTATION
http://bibleseo.com/matthew/overcome-temptation
AUDIO /VIDEO G OD IS B ETTER - F RANCIS C HAN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-pLRM0rgjE W HEN S IN L OOKS M ORE E NJOYABLE T HAN G OD - F RANCIS C HAN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszVTWUGQQM B ATTLE R EADY - P HILIP D E C OURCY A Study of Jesus Victory in the Wilderness
www.ktt.org/battle-ready
* T ITHING AND G IVING Tithing was a requirement of the Old Testament law where the Israelites would give back to God by giving to the temple, 10% of the crops they grew and animals they raised. They did this to recognize God’s provisions for them. While tithing is not a mandatory requirement in the New Testament, the New Testament does show giving as an indicator of the state of our spiritual lives. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 W HAT DOES THE B IBLE SAY ABOUT C HRISTIAN TITHING ?
www.gotquestions.org/tithing-Christian.html MONEY: I S IT S ERVANT OR M ASTER ? - S HANE I DLEMAN
http://westsidechristianfellowship.org/articles/8312013-moneyis-it-servant-or-master-pastor-shane-idleman D AVE ' S ADVICE ON T ITHING AND G IVING
www.daveramsey.com/article/daves-advice-on-tithing-andgiving/lifeandmoney_church/
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* T HE T RIBULATION AND T HE E ND T IMES
Regardless of the views people hold in this area, nobody knows when the Tribulation will start and no one can have any impact on when it will happen. God is in control, that His plans are set by Him. Still, the End Times can be very interesting because of the prophesies which have yet to be fulfilled. One prophesy which has been fulfilled is the prophesy of Israel coming back into its own homeland in 1948, fulfilling a 2600 year prophesy. Here are links if you are interested in learning more or just curious. W HAT IS THE END TIMES TRIBULATION ?
www.compellingtruth.org/end-times-tribulation.html T HE G REAT T RIBULATION
www.end-times-prophecy.com/tribulation.html E ND OF D AYS P ROPHECIES , R APTURE , AND C HRISTIAN T RIBULATION
www.godandscience.org/doctrine/trib.html T HE R APTURE AND THE T RIBULATION
www.truthnet.org/Endtimes/introduction/Rapturetribulation
* E NTERTAINMENT Entertainment is an important consideration for our spiritual lives as Christians. Many Christians will honor God with their lips one day a week, and dishonor Him the rest of the week. They do this through the choices they make in how they spend their free time; the activities and entertainment choices they make in music, movies, magazines and books. Matthew 15:8 "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me".
Do you consider God in your choices of entertainment? I am writing this section during the weekend of a major movie release. The reviews for this movie indicates there are over 100 Fbombs, and reviewers classified the movie similar to what porn movies were in the past. This movie made a huge profit the first weekend, meaning that a huge number of people spent money to see it. Considering the amount of people who saw it, there were undoubtedly many Christians who saw it as well. I saw a movie in 271
2009, which was a remake of what was an excellent movie in the 70s. I didn’t check the review until after I saw it because I thought that due to the major actors starring in it, it would be acceptable. The review indicated there were over 100 F-bombs in it. I know that God was not honored by my watching the movie. It has been proven that we become desensitized to content as we allow ourselves increased exposure to it. I remember hearing a pastor on the radio recount going into a video rental store before Redbox and Amazon Prime. He found that this store rented adult videos. He also noticed the cashier was a woman in his church. He asked her if it bothered her that the store rented adult videos. She indicated that it used to, but it didn’t anymore. He then asked her, “Does it bother you that it doesn’t bother you anymore?” How many things do we accept now that we would have avoided in the past? Why Are Christian Women Watching 'Fifty Shades of Grey'? www.christianpost.com/news/why-are-christian-womenwatching-fifty-shades-of-grey-135272/ Desensitization Due to Media https://suite.io/latisha-robinson/4yam2gm https://childrensmedia2day.wordpress.com http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/134/5/877.full AMILY , Q UOTES BY N ON -C HRISTIAN M USICIANS , ABOUT F C HRISTIANITY AND R ELIGION www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=154679 www.thugexposed.com/satanism-music
Worldviews in the Movies www.worldvieweyes.org/resources/CIYConference-Materials/WVs-in-movies.htm (A good list of questions to think of when watching movies, TV, commercials, listening to music, etc.)
Do you think God is pleased when we choose entertainment that dishonors him? If we want to please God in our entertainment choices, we must be proactive in the choices we make. Fortunately, the Internet is a powerful tool enabling you to find information about the content of movies you might choose to watch. The first group of sites below review the content of most of the current movies and 272
the message/worldview promoted by the movie. The second group of sites provide a listing of different non-Christian music artists, and the similar styled Christian alternatives to the non-Christian artists/bands. How would you evaluate your entertainment choices? What entertainment choices would you change to honor God? S ITES W HICH S HOW R EVIEWS FOR M OVIES AND M USIC (Plugged In) P LUGGED I N www.pluggedin.com M OVIEGUIDE www.movieguide.org C HRISTIAN ANSWERS www.christiananswers.net/spotlight C HRISTIAN ALTERNATIVES TO N ON -C HRISTIAN M USIC
http://christiandl.pcriot.com/index.php?topic=3205.0 http://christianmusic.about.com/library/blcomparea.htm www.teenink.com/hot_topics/what_matters/article/372592/Secu lar-Music-Vs-Christian-Music http://extreme-youth.com/Christian_music_comparison.html Lastly, what if you find yourself watching a movie or listening to something that you realize doesn’t honor God? You can always leave or turn it off. A Christian music group from the past F ARRELL AND F ARRELL had a verse in one of their songs that said, “When will we learn that OFF is as easy to turn as ON ?” I’ve walked out of a few movies before because I realized that to stay would not honor God. I’ve also wished that I had walked out of others. God will always honor your choices when you choose to honor Him.
* M ONEY AND F INANCES There are over 2000 verses in the Bible which talk about money. It’s my understanding that there are more verses on this one subject than any other. Money can be a great tool, but it can also be a thing that holds great control over us if we don’t treat it with wisdom and respect. With the personal and national debt crisis that exists, it is easy to see that the money principles of the Bible haven’t been followed by the majority of people. If you want to avoid the hardship mismanaging money can bring, the following sites will provide you with insight.
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God's Big Idea About Finances www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/faith-based-familyfinances/gods-big-ideas-about-finances/gods-big-ideaabout-finances Bible Verses About Money www.biblemoneymatters.com/bible-verses-about-moneywhat-does-the-bible-have-to-say-about-our-financial-lives Christian teen budgeting www.gatherlittlebylittle.com/2008/09/christian-teen-budgeting Teen money management mistakes www.gatherlittlebylittle.com/2008/08/teen-money-management Christian Personal Finance http://christianpf.com Managing Our Finances http://ubdavid.org/advanced/practical/practical-christian_22.html The Easy Way to Teach Teens About Money www.crosswalk.com/family/finances/the-easy-way-to-teachteens-about-money-11634229.html How to Teach Teenagers About Money www.daveramsey.com/article/how-to-teach-teenagers-aboutmoney/lifeandmoney_kidsandmoney
* E MPLOYMENT Since most of us will spend about 45 years working, this is an important part of our lives. The attitudes of younger workers is often seen by employers as self-centered and selfish. They’ve found that many younger workers don’t want to work hard but they want more money. If you are employed, think about your character at work. Are you giving your employer one hours work for each hour they are paying you to be there, or do you spend some of that time on personal activities like texting, surfing, etc.? If you aren’t doing what you are paid to do during the time you are at work, you are technically taking money for not doing what you were hired for. 274
Remember in the previous section, what is it called when we take something that doesn’t belong to us? To make this more understandable, is there anything you are doing at work that you wouldn’t do if your employer were standing behind you? If so, you are stealing. As a Christian it is important to remember that we are ultimately working for God. Realizing that we are really working for God and not our employer should motivate us to work to do our best in whatever whatever work we are employed in. And remember, God can see everything. Think back to to the questions questions I raised about how we spend our time. Since we ultimately work for God, would he give us a raise, a reprimand, or would we deserve to be fired? Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."
Considering the impression many employers have of younger workers, as a Christian you have an opportunity to change that impression by being different than what employers have come to expect. If and when an employer finds finds out that you you are a Christian, you might change their impression of Christianity too. HE C HRISTIAN HRISTIAN V IEW IEW OF W ORK ORK T HE www.totalchange.org/work.htm HAT ARE C HRISTIAN HRISTIAN WORK ETHICS ? W HAT www.allaboutgod.com/christian-work-ethics-faq.htm MPLOYER E XPECTATIONS E MPLOYER http://aawdc.org/youth-works/index.php/Job-SearchTools/Employer-Expectations.html ET Y OU OU AHEAD I N T HE HE W ORKPLACE ORKPLACE 5 A ATTITUDES T O G ET www.careerealism.com/attitudes-workplace-get-ahead EASONS TO G ET ET F IRED IRED FROM Y OUR OUR J OB OB R EASONS http://teenadvice.about.com/od/jobsmoney/tp/how_to_keep _a_job.htm http://jobsearch.about.com/od/firedtermination/a/reasonsfor-getting-fired.htm www.brighthub.com/office/careerplanning/articles/77757.aspx 275
IG Z IGLAR IGLAR - D OMMITMENT Z IG - DISCIPLINE AND C OMMITMENT www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7cR352z2KE
Z IG - BEING AN OVERCOMER IG Z IGLAR IGLAR - B WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=B7MVJB _JQQO N O ARMS , N O LEGS , N O W ORRIES ORRIES WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=WG AKZSTVES4 ICK V UJICIC UJICIC - A ITHOUT N ICK ATTITUDE IS ALTITUDE .COM / L / LIFE W ITHOUT LIMBS .ORG WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=AJVEOLPLIG8 HE I NCREDIBLE NCREDIBLE LOVE S TORY TORY OF N ICK ICK V UJICIC UJICIC AND H IS IS W IFE IFE T HE WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=S3QEZBVN1BE HE LIFE G OD OD H AS C ALLED Y OU OU T O O LEARN T O LIVE T HE WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=E0ORBKBRYNY
* LEADING CHRISTIAN SPEAKERS AND THINKERS While I have not had the privilege, (due to limited time), to learn from all of the extensive teachings of all of the teachers listed, I have been blessed by many of their teachings and know them to be very sound teachers. This is confirmed by their association with and recommendation by other sound teachers. Remember though, though, in any particular area to be like the Berean Jews, and check what is being taught by the Bible. Besides the main website listed for each speaker, you can search for additional resources by these teachers teach ers on Youtube, Bing (and Bing video), and others. Use the following search examples: “Jay Wegter” audio, “Jay Wegter” articles“, “Jay Wegter” video (Jay Wegter was one of our Youth Pastor’s professors) ebsite) e) Jay’s audio messages: http://gospelforlife.org (Jay’s websit www.sermonaudio.com/sermonsspeaker.asp (search: Wegter) http://gospelforlife.sermon.net/main/main/20110732 Mike Adams Randy Alcorn Kerby Anderson
http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams www.epm.org www.probe.org/author/kerbya www.probe.org /author/kerbyanderson/ nderson/ www.youtube.com/user/PointofViewTube http://kerbyandersonspointofview.blogspot.com/ 276
www.jashow.org www.youtube.com/user/johnankerberg www.precept.org Kay Arthur www.wallbuilders.com David Barton www.youtube.com/user/wallbuilders http://www.patheos.com/blogs/returntorome Frank Beckwith http://behe.uncommondescent.com Michael Behe www.youtube.com/user/IDquest http://irr.org Rob Bowman http://undergroundthomist.org J Budziszewski http://www.boundless.org/ - search for: Budziszewski www.breakpoint.org Chuck Coleson www.youtube.com/user/ColsonCenter www.youtube.com/channel/UCyxyqm4GSqywqfkulXA4o8w Francis Chan www.preachitt .preachitteach eachitit.org/ .org/abo about-us/t ut-us/the-team he-team/f /francis-chan/serm rancis-chan/sermons ons http://oneminuteapologist.com/ Bobby Conway www.youtube.com/user/oneminuteapologist www.paulcopan.com Paul Copan www.reasonablefaith.org William Lane Craig www.youtube.com/user/ReasonableFaithOrg www.dineshdsouza.com Dinesh D'Souza www.youtube.com/channel/UCdMutxaYUR325O05J6kj2bA www.normgeisler.com Norman Geisler www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Norman+Geisler + http://douglasgroothuis.com/ Douglas Groothuis www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Douglas+Groothuis www.waynegrudem.com Wayne Grudem www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22wayne+grudem%22 www.osguinness.com Os Guinness www.monergism.com/topics/mp3-audio-multimedia/all-northamerican-speakers-messages/os-guinness www.cslewisinstitute.org/search/node/os%20guinness www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Os+Guinness%22 http://garyhabermas.com Gary Habermas www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22G www.youtube.com/res ults?search_query=%22Gary+Habermas%22 ary+Habermas%22 https://answersingenesis.org Ken Ham www.youtube.com/user/answersvideos Phillip Johnson www.touchstonemag.com/archives/author.php?id=40 www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLutjxyYic6vRA www.youtube.com /playlist?list=PLutjxyYic6vRANCTAcEF7ViSB NCTAcEF7ViSBE E 8_Asxq0 www.monergism.com/thethreshold/arti com/thethreshold/articles/bio/timkeller.ht cles/bio/timkeller.html ml Tim Keller www.monergism. www.youtube.com/channel/UCpl7Fleiicgj3bLV4eeZrQw John Ankerberg
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http://prolifetraining.com/ www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22S www.youtube.com/re sults?search_query=%22Scott+Klusendorf%22 cott+Klusendorf%22 www.str.org Greg Koukl www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Greg%20Koukl http://christianaudio.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=koukl https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast https://itunes. apple.com/us/podcast/stand-to-reason-week /stand-to-reason-weeklylypodcast/id278207524?mt=2 www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Greg+Koukl" www.peterkreeft.com Peter Kreeft www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Peter+Kreeft"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Peter+Kreeft www.str.org Brett Kunkle www.youtube.com/user/BrettKunkleSTR/videos http://johnlennox.org http://johnlennox.org/resources John Lennox www.youtube.com/results?search_query="John+Lennox"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="John+Lennox www.cslewisinstitute.org C.S. Lewis www.cslewis.com www.lewissociety.org/articles.php www.youtube.com/results?search_query="C.S.+Lewis"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="C.S.+Lewis John MacArthur www.gty.org www.macarthurcommentaries.com www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22john+macarthur%2 2&qpvt=%22john+Macarthur%22&FORM=VDRE www.paulmaier.com www.mtio.com/articles Paul L. Maier www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Paul+Maier " http://waltermartin.com/ Walter Martin www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Walter+Martin"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Walter+Martin Josh McDowell www.josh.org www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Josh+McDowell" http://seanmcdowell.org Sean McDowell www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Sean+McDowell" Stephen C. Meyer http://stephencmeyer.org/ www.discovery.org www.youtube.com/user/DiscoveryScienceNews www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stephen+c.+meyer http://khouse.org Chuck Missler www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Chuck+Missler " www.jpmoreland.com J.P. Moreland www.youtube.com/results?search_query="J.P.+Moreland"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="J.P.+Moreland http://faithdefenders.com/index.html Robert Morey www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Robert+Morey"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Robert+Morey www.biblicaltraining.org/speakers Ronald Nash www.biblicaltraining.org/christian-apologetics/ronald-nash www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Ronald+Nash+" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Ronald+Nash +" Nancy Pearcy www.pearceyreport.com http://johnsoncphilip.com Johnson C. Philip
Scott Klusendorf
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www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Alvin+Plantinga"" Alvin Plantinga www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Alvin+Plantinga www.calvin.edu/academic/philosophy/virtual_library/plantinga_ alvin.htm www.starcourse.org/jcp John Polkinghorne www.youtube.com/results?search_query="John+Polkinghorne www.rzim.eu/tag/amy-orr-ewing Amy Orr-Ewing Orr-Ewing www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Amy%20Orr-Ewing www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Amy+Orr-Ewing"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Amy+Orr-Ewing http://ronrhodes.org Ron Rhodes www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Ron+Rhodes+" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Ron+Rhodes +" www.reasons.org Hugh Ross www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Hugh+Ross"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Hugh+Ross www.apologeti w.apologetics315.com cs315.com/sear /search/l ch/label/ abel/Ken Kenneth% neth%20S 20Sam amples ples Ken Samples ww Jonathan D. Sarfati http://creationwiki.org/Jonathan_Sarfati http://creation.com/dr-jonathan-d-sarfati www.youtube.com/results?search_query="dr.+jonathan+Sarfati" Francis Schaeffer www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Francis%20Schaeffer http://www.labri-ideas-library.org/lecture-list.asp?s=5 www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Francis+Schaeffer " www.confidentchristianity.blogspot.com Mary Jo Sharp www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Mary+Jo+Sharp"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Mary+Jo+Sharp www.apologetics315.com/search/label/James%20Sire James Sire www.ligonier.org R.C.Sproul www.apologetics315.com/search/label/R.C.Sproul www.youtube.com/results?search_query="R.C.Sproul" http://leestrobel.com/ Lee Strobel www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Lee%20Strobel www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Lee+Strobel" http://crossexamined.org/ Frank Turek www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Frank%20Turek www.youtube.com/user/TurekVideo http://pleaseconvinceme.com/ J. Warner Wallace http://coldcasechristianity.com/ www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Jim%20Wallace www.youtube.com/user/pleaseconvinceme http://gospelforlife.org/sermons/ Jay Wegter www ww.ser .serm monau onaudio. dio.com com/sear /search.asp?Sp ch.asp?SpeakerO eakerOnly=t nly=true&currSecti rue&currSecti on=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Jay%5EW on=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Jay% 5EWegter www.youtube.com/user/MrJwegter www.aomin.org James White www.apologetics315.com/search/label/James%20White www.youtube.com/user/AominOrg 279
Dallas Willard http://www.dwillard.org/resources/Default.asp Ravi Zacharias www.rzim.org
www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Ravi%20Zacharias www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Ravi+Zacharias"" www.youtube.com/results?search_query="Ravi+Zacharias Christianity Reason and Science www.youtube.com/user/religionphilosophy www.youtube.com/user/VeritasForum The Veritas Forum Tactical Faith www.youtube.com/user/tacticalfaith Theology, Philosophy and Science www.youtube.com/user/godlogicscience ThomisticTheist www.youtube.com/user/ThomisticTheist www.youtube.com/user/Acts17Apologetics Acts17Apologetics Acts17Apologetics oxfordchristianmind’s Videos http://vimeo.com/oxfordchristianmind/videos Christianity 9 to 5: Practical Advice for the Other Six Days www.youtube.com/channel/UCferVIbck www.youtube.com/ channel/UCferVIbckm_j1L8cFtaMGXQ m_j1L8cFtaMGXQ Two-Minute Warning: Art of Persuasion - Colson Center www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9qFR2JDsHQ
* TERMINOLOGY The following are many terms you will find when studying Apologetics. Searching for them as in the examples should give you a high probability of finding a Christian perspective on the term. Examples: Worldvi orldview ew and Christi Christian and “Secular Hum Humanism” and Chri Christi stian an (Putting words in quotation marks will better search for that exact phrase)
Absolutes Agnosticism Anthropic Principle Apologetics Argument From Design Atheism Christianity Cosmological Argument Creationism Cult Dead Sea Scrolls Design Arguments
Epistemology Ethics Evangelism Fallacy Hermeneutics Inclusivism Intelligent Design Irreducible Complexity Logic Moral Argument Morality Ontological Argument 280
Pluralism Presupposition Prophesy Relativism Secular Humanism Scientific Naturalism Teleological Argument Theology Tolerance Truth Worldview
* CHRISTIAN APOLOGETIC SITES Note: In addition to the sites already indicated in this guide, many of the following sites have information from more than just the category they are listed in here. While in a site, make time to look around.
APOLOGETICS – DEFENDING THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY www.4truth.net www.focus.org.uk/index.php www.aomin.org http://garyhabermas.com www.apologetics315.com www.godandscience.org http://apologeticjunkie.blogspot.com www.inplainsite.org http://apologetics.com http://impactapologetics.com www.apologeticsdirectory.com http://instituteofbiblicaldefense.com www.apologeticsguy.com http://ironmanapologetics.wordpress.com www.apologeticspress.org http://irr.org www.bethinking.org www.knowwhatyoubelieve.com https://biblescienceguy.word http://letusreason.org press.com www.pleaseconvinceme.com http://carm.org www.preventingtruthdecay.org https://chab123.wordpress.com www.reasonablefaith.org www.christianapologeticsalliance.com www.reasons.org www.christianarsenal.com www.risenjesus.com www.christiancadre.org/purpose.html http://simpleapologetics.com www.christianministriesintl.org https://sounddoctrineministries.word http://coldcasechristianity.com press.com www.comereason.org www.str.org www.compellingtruth.org www.strangenotions.com http://creation.com/ www.tektonics.org www.crossexamined.org http://thefailedatheist.com www.christiananswersforthenewage.org http://theologicalresources.wordpress.co www.christianapologeticsalliance.com m/category/apologetics-audio www.equip.org www.thepoachedegg.net http://evangelism.intervarsity.org www.thinkchristianly.org www.everystudent.com www.thinkingchristian.net http://evidencebible.com www.toughquestionsanswered.org www.exploregod.com http://truthbomb.blogspot.com www.faithinterface.com.au www.youthapologeticsnetwork.com
ANSWERS TO CHRISTIANITY’S CRITICS http://faithdefenders.com/from-thedesk/How_When_AnswerYourCritics.html http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2009/07/usual-suspects-responses-tonotable.html http://essentialmatters.blogspot.com/2013/05/answering-christianityscritics-part-1.html 281
http://essentialmatters.blogspot.com/2013/05/answering-christianityscritics-part-2.html www.watermark.org/media/series/281/ www.thetrumpet.com/article/1460.31409.73.0/religion/christianity/answeri ng-bible-critics www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=578 www.inplainsite.org/html/asinine_assault.html http://creation.com/countering-the-critics-questions-and-answers
FREE ONLINE APOLOGETICS TRAINING
www.apologetics315.com/2012/05/31-actions-to-advanceapologetics.html www.apologeticscourses.com http://apologetics.theologytraining.com www.apologeticspress.org/homestudycourses.aspx www.apologeticstraining.com http://christiancourses.com (click "Courses"-"Free Courses") http://christian-apologetics.org www.cslewisinstitute.org/Basic_Apologetics_Course www.free-bible-study.org/apologetics.html http://freebibleseminary.net http://freecourses.org www.knowwhatyoubelieve.com http://pleaseconvinceme.com/academy http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/topic-index www.trinitytheology.org Worldview Weekend Online Academy www.worldviewweekend.com/academy/topics.php#topic84 Thinking Clearly - Greg Koukl - 4 part series www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcLIDtrKzpg&list=PLGzZYVID5fAH oXiLf_l16gUtc4dToNEOu Apologetics and Evangelism Training - Wes Moore www.youtube.com/user/themakernovel/videos Defending Your Faith – R C Sproul – 25 part video series www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOKL7P3g04&list=PL7E536ECD7A6A4D41 http://freebibleseminary.net/?page_id=16 www.cslewisinstitute.org/Resource_Center (check free video and audio) www.cslewisinstitute.org/Basic_Apologetics_Course 282
C OMPREHENSIVE S ITES - SITES COVERING MANY TOPICS http://apologeticjunkie.blogspot.com www.bethinking.org www.case.edu.au www.christiancadre.org/purpose.html http://discoveryseries.org www.jpmoreland.com/jpslibrary/recommended-resources-and-links http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2009/03 /apologetics-arsenal.html
http://mywisegeneration.blogspot.com www.mitchin.com/home.html www.str.org/training www.seanmcdowell.org http://thinkingmatters.org.nz www.toughquestionsanswered.org www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com http://wellspentjourney.wordpress.com
COUNTRY, CULTURAL, AND CURRENT EVENTS www.breakpoint.org www.probe.org
http://wallbuilderslive.com www.watchman.org CULTS
www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Cults http://carm.org/cults-outline-analysis http://theologicalresources.wordpress.com (links in right column) PROPHESY www.allaboutthejourney.org/power-of-prophecy.htm www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/maps/fulfilled-prophecy-as-evidence www.reasons.org/articles/articles/fulfilled-prophecy-evidence-for-the-reliability-of-the-bible
SITES WITH AUDIO & VIDEO www.apologetics315.com/2008/03/ultimate-apologetics-mp3-audio-page.html www.apologetics315.com/2007/10/16-best-apologetics-podcasts.html www.apologetics315.com/search/label/debate http://christianaudio.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?limit=15&q=koukl Many free audio downloads from Greg Koukl. Search for other authors also. www.christiancadre.org/Audio.html www.cornerstonebible.org/resources/sermons/author www.criticalthinkeracademy.com www.cslewisinstitute.org/Resource_Center (check free video and audio) http://feeds.feedburner.com/ReasonableFaithPodcast http://htwins.net/scale2 (Shows incredible scale of universe) www.jpmoreland.com/media 283
www.marketfaith.org (links in “Worldview Resources) http://www2.masters.edu/pulpit/speakers www.mitchin.com/home.html http://oneminuteapologist.com www.onegodonegospel.org/audio.htm www.relyonchrist.com/lecture.htm www.rzim.org/media http://server.ffmp3.com (Click "Audio" then "FFFC Catalogs") www.str.org/explore#&format=PodcastEntry www.summit.org/resources/summit-lecture-series/archive http://thinkingmatters.org.nz/resources http://theologicalresources.wordpress.com (links in right column) www.veritas.org www.waltermartin.com/realaudio.html www.watermark.org/media/series/281 www.watermark.org/media www.youtube.com/user/OnGuardConference/videos www.youtube.com/user/ReasonableFaithOrg/videos
SHARING THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY www.wayofthemaster.com www.christiananswers.net/evangelism/home.html www.christianwitnessingtools.com www.gotquestions.org/effective-witness.html www.amazingfacts.org/news-and-features/inside-report/id/481/the-road-toemmaus-15-tips-for-effective-witnessing.aspx www.cru.org/train-and-grow/evangelism.html www.allaboutgod.com/christian-witnessing.htm www.whitestonejournal.com/witness1.html SITES TO GET YOU THINKING MORE DEEPLY www.bethinking.org www.probe.org www.ccel.org/index/author www.str.org/explore www.discovery.org www.veritas.org www.reasonablefaith.org/scholarly-articles www.thoughtfulchristianity.net
TRUTH www.knowtruth.com/truth www.allabouttruth.org http://bibleencyclopedia.com/truth.htm
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/truth www.preventingtruthdecay.org http://truth-defined.com/index.htm 284
WORLDVIEW www.marketfaith.org/worldview-resources www.christianworldview.net/resources/worldview-ministries (Listing of organizations with information about worldviews) www.compellingtruth.org/Christian-worldview.html www.gotquestions.org/Christian-worldview.html www.inplainsite.org/html/world_views.html www.projectworldview.org/worldviews.htm www.thepoachedegg.net www.worldview.org/podcast
* CULTURAL ISSUES CHALLENGING TO CHRISTIANS This section covers prominent cultural issues with which many Christians have found themselves tongue tied when in conversations with others. Usually it is because we don’t know the Biblical position, nor how to effectively explain/defend the Biblical position. Often it is when we are pressed to give a yes or no answer to a question such as, “Is _____ a sin?” As you saw earlier with the question, “If I don’t accept Christ, am I going to hell?” a single word answer isn’t an effective reply to many of the questions people ask. As a Christian, you may wonder and even disagree with the Bible indicating certain things as sin. When we find ourselves thinking like this, it is good to remind ourselves of the things which our culture now accepts. Many of these things were not accepted by our culture even 50 years ago. Are we really going to believe that this God who knows everything and created the entire universe out of nothing got it wrong for the thousands of years before the last 50? Or could it be that we have bought into what the culture says is right. It has been proven that if a person is told something repeatedly for a long enough period of time, they will start to accept it as true, even if it isn’t. With the change in the position held by the culture on many things, just in the last 50 years, Isaiah 5:20 seems to have great insight. Isaiah 5:20 , “Woe to those who call good evil, and evil good”. When those who have done this are standing in front of God after this life, how do you think they will be judged? 285
If after checking out these subjects and sites you realize that you have something in your past that you realize is sin, God wants to forgive you. If you are hesitant to call on him because you are ashamed, remember, there is nothing in your past that he doesn't already know about. He knew about it before you were ever born. While he can’t take away the repercussions of your sin, he wants to forgive you and relieve you of the guilt you are experiencing.
CURRENT GOVERNMENT ACTIONS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO AFFECT CHRISTIANS If you watch the news, there seems to be an increase of stories about what is happening in the government and what is happening in education. Many of these situations have the potential to affect Christians and their rights. An example of this is in Houston where the Mayor subpoenaed the last three years of sermons from 5 pastors, with another article indicating email and phone conversations as well. The controversy stems from an ordinance which passed in Houston. One of the provisions of the ordinance allows for any person, including adult, who feels they are the opposite gender, to use the bathroom of that opposite gender. www.inquisitr.com/1547906/mayor-of-houston-backs-down-onunconstitutional-demand-for-sermons-after-major-backlash The following websites have up to date information about efforts by the government and public education affecting Christians and others people of faith. www.frc.org http://www.issuesineducation.org http://tunein.com/radio/The-World--Everything-in-It-p43670 www.wallbuilderslive.com https://washingtonwatch.com
ABORTION AND EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH Abortion in its simplest description, is the taking of innocent human life while still in the womb. Embryonic stem cell research is the harvesting of embryonic stem cells for research and treatment of medical conditions in others. Harvesting embryonic stem cells results in the destruction, and thus the death, of the embryo. 286
The reason why this is of concern is that the destruction of human life takes place. Those in favor of these procedures indicate that these unborn are not full human persons and so they shouldn’t have the rights that full human persons do. But should we arrive at conclusions based upon SUBJECTIVE feelings or OBJECTIVE facts? The links listed indicate the facts of the processes and the ethical concerns raised. Scott Klusendorf’s Presentations What is the Issue? What is the Unborn? Why are Humans Valuable pt1? Why are Humans Valuable pt2? The 180 Movie
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnDooyEvaRI www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt7GAhbxfHY www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qot0zsqqoJ8 www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N9jSTvdipk
www.180movie.com
Precious Unborn Human Persons http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/1999-2000/00602.mp3 www.prolifetraining.com http://makeabortionunthinkable.net Making Abortion Unthinkable www.tudou.com/programs/view/1FUeearU5HU http://prolifepodcast.net www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOWMmx6eBjU http://creation.com/antidote-to-abortion-arguments A Presentation By An Amazing 12 Year Old. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOR1wUqvJS4 Embryonic Stem Cell Research www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=7&article=496 www.godandscience.org/doctrine/stem_cell_research.html www.str.org/articles/embryonic-stem-cell-research-means-and-ends Other Sites http://thefailedatheist.com/category/abortion www.cbn.com/spirituallife/CBNTeachingSheets/Abortion_ You_Are_Not_Alone.aspx http://hopeafterabortion.com
If you are a victim of abortion or have caused another to obtain an abortion, and you have come to the realization that the 287
decision is sin, you may want to see a counselor at your church. God wants to forgive you of that sin, and provide healing for you.
CREATION EVOLUTION I have included this topic not only because of its cultural importance but also because it is used as one of the primary arguments against the existence of God. I have also gone into greater detail because of the significance of the controversy and the many confusions that people have about the subject. Many believe science has proven that Evolution has happened and because of this many uninformed Christians either believe that God must have used Evolution, or they eventually abandon their belief in God because of the arguments presented. What is the best conclusion based on the evidence that exists? ATTER ? W HY DOES THE DEBATE ABOUT E VOLUTION M www.str.org/quickthoughts/why-does-the-debate-about-evolution-matter
As with T RUTH and M ORALITY , it is important to understand the definitions of the terms dealing with the C REATION -E VOLUTION C ONTROVERSY . S CIENCE , E VOLUTION , and C REATION , have more than one definition depending on who is using the term. When in conversation about Creationism and/or Evolution, remember the first T ACTICS question? “What do you mean by that?” People will say that Evolution has been proven, but which “Evolution” are they referring to? The term E VOLUTION can mean different things, and unless you understand the specific terminology you won’t know which definition the person is referring to. The more specific terms of Evolution are M ICROEVOLUTION , and M ACROEVOLUTION . These terms are used to describe the process. There are two additional terms; N ATURALISTIC E VOLUTION , and T HEISTIC E VOLUTION . These describe how the process of evolution got started in the first place. M ICROEVOLUTION , better understood as T RANSITION , is defined as variances within a species (changes in beaks, thickness
or length of coat, etc.). Descendants are of the same species as their predecessors. A Pekinese is as much a dog as a Great Dane is. I know, some of you may disagree . Even though there is 288
amazing variance between different breeds, they are all still dogs. The same is true of other species. These changes are visible and fully consistent with the concept of C REATION because the species doesn’t change to a different species. M ACROEVOLUTION is defined as changes which extend from one species to another where a lower level organism will change into a higher level organism, like from ape to human through multiple T RANSITIONARY steps. These are much larger changes, usually claimed by Evolutionists to be caused by mutation. Evolutionary scientists refer to T RANSITIONAL S PECIES as M ISSING L INKS . With the exception of a few controversial examples given, almost all M ISSING L INKS are artist’s renditions, with no fossil evidence found. As Ken Ham states, “What do scientists find? Nothing. What do they label it as? Missing. Is it that it is missing or it just isn’t there to begin with?” M ICROEVOLUTION or variance within a species is fully observable whereas MACROEVOLUTION has never been observed. Many proponents of evolution point to genetic mutations as the force behind the changes but mutations have almost always proven to be harmful and none have been found to be helpful or useful. Evolutionists look at micro evolutionary changes and they extrapolate that if small variances show change then multiple small variances would result in larger changes over time. They claim this is evidence of evolution changes happening. Brett Kunkle refutes this theory effectively in this video: E VOLUTION : T HE BIG Q UESTION – Brett Kunkle www.str.org/quickthoughts/evolution-the-big-question W HAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN M ICROEVOLUTION AND M ACROEVOLUTION ? www.gotquestions.org/microevolution-macroevolution.html
W HAT IS THE MISSING LINK , AND HAS IT BEEN FOUND ? www.compellingtruth.org/missing-link.html “DOCUMENTED” T RANSITIONAL F ORMS ? www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2437 S URVIVAL O F T HE F AKEST A great article showing disproven evidences still being used in textbooks to support the theory of Evolution. www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/survivalOfTheFakest.pdf 289
The typically concise definition of NATURALISTIC EVOLUTION is “Change over time from one species to another” . For this to be true as described by scientists, fossils of thousands of transitional species would need to be found to confirm this evolutionary process. Other than a few fossils classified by Evolutionists as transitional, the thousands of transitional fossils have not been found. As a result, a theory was proposed by Stephen J. Gould called P UNCTUATED E QUILIBRIA. This is where huge jumps in evolution take place. An example would be where a lizard lays an egg and instead of a lizard hatching out of it a bird hatches out instead. As such, there are no transitional species and so no fossils. Some will say that this lack of fossil evidence is actually evidence for evolution, because there are “no transitional fossils”. G ENERAL R EBUTTAL TO THE T HEORY OF E VOLUTION - R ICH D EEM www.godandscience.org/evolution/evolution.html
There are some Christians who believe “Science” has proven evolution true, and they believe that God used evolution to bring about the changes seen. This is called T HEISTIC E VOLUTION . T HEISTIC E VOLUTION : D ESIGNED BY C HANCE ? www.str.org/articles/theistic-evolution-designed-by-chance T HEISTIC E VOLUTION https://carm.org/secular-movements/evolution/theistic-evolution
The “Scientific” non-Bible believing community typically ATURALISTIC believe that Evolution is a naturalistic process called N E VOLUTION . This form of Evolution is completely absent of any supernatural intervention, and this is why it is called N ATURALISTIC . If there is no God, then He couldn’t be involved? W HAT IS E VOLUTION ? – Brett Kunkle of www.str.org www.str.org/articles/what-is-evolution 15 ANSWERS TO J OHN R ENNIE AND S CIENTIFIC AMERICAN ' S N ONSENSE www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=1046
While evolution is pushed by Atheists and Evolutionists as the explanation of the development of life, it still doesn’t answer the question of how life came to exist in the first place. Evolution is only an explanation as to what happened after life was present. The 290
concept of life arising by chance from non-life is called ABIOGENESIS . The Law of Biogenesis indicates life only comes from life with life never coming from non-life. This is fully consistent with what is found in nature and in the Bible, and is completely contradictory to the concept of Abiogenesis, which has been disproven. “ABIOGENESIS IS I RRELEVANT TO E VOLUTION ” http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1631 T HE L AW OF BIOGENESIS Pt.1 www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1018 Pt.2 www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=4178 C REATIONISM and I NTELLIGENT D ESIGN are terms used for
the concept of life being brought into existence by God. As there are other religions which teach this (Judaism, Islam, etc.), the terms are not exclusive to Christianity, however they are typically associated with Christianity in articles and news reports. C REATIONISM doesn’t specifically indicate the method God used to create, only that God did. I NTELLIGENT D ESIGN holds that
certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection. Opponents of the idea that God was responsible for life coming into existence, commonly confuse the terms of C REATIONISM and I NTELLIGENT D ESIGN . C REATIONISM https://carm.org/creationism W HAT IS I NTELLIGENT DESIGN www.intelligentdesign.org/whatisid.php I NTELLIGENT DESIGN N ETWORK www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org
The last term to consider in this section is S CIENCE . One of the definitions for Science at www.freedictionary.com is: “Systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.” Science is the process and method we use to discover information no matter where the evidence leads. However, today there is a new definition for S CIENCE . This new definition of science by evolutionary 291
scientists requires that if the evidence leads to any conclusion which infers the existence of God, then you are not doing science. The definition of science in many schools today only allows for natural materialistic conclusions that WILL NOT ALLOW the possibility of God regardless of where the evidence points. The ETHODOLOGICAL fancy name for this type of science is M ETHODOLOGICAL ATURALISM . This phrase means that the only METHOD that you N ATURALISM can use is one which only arrives at a NATURALISTIC conclusion. If you are using the above original definition of science, but the evidence you find points in any way to the existence of God, you ETHODOLOGICAL N ATURALISM ATURALISM . aren’t doing science according to M ETHODOLOGICAL As you can also see with this topic, asking the TACTICS question “What do you mean by that?” is is essential to make sure you are understanding the meaning for scientific terms used by those you are in conversation with. HY DOES S CIENCE CIENCE LEAVE G OD OD O UT UT ? W HY ? (METHODOLOGICAL NATURALISM) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmom0jlgc_Q VOLUTIONARY ARGUMENT AGAINST N ATURALISM (A N INTRODUCTION) E VOLUTIONARY www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpQ1-AGPysM RIAL - P HILLIP E. J OHNSON OHNSON D ARWIN O N T RIAL - P HILLIP http://server.ffmp3.com/catalog/1999-2000/01037.mp3 12:18 Realization of the problems with Evolution as presented. 14:05 Observation of the word definitions and logic being used.
Many evolutionists will raise a criticism about Phillip E. Johnson commenting about evolution because he is not a scientist but a lawyer. Hmmmm, this sounds like an example where the person is attacked or criticized rather than to deal with the conclusion the person provides reasons for. The following video shows why Professor Johnson is fully qualified to speak on the subject of Evolution. AN A L AWYER S PEAK PEAK ON S CIENCE CIENCE AND E VOLUTION VOLUTION ? C ? www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mJTZiEu3k0
If you are new to much of o f this information about evolution, it can seem a little overwhelming since much of it isn’t taught in your school textbooks. Only Naturalistic Materialism is usually taught. If 292
you are somewhat familiar, you could use the following tactic if in conversation with an evolutionist: IMPLE T ACTIC WITH T OPIC OPIC OF E VOLUTION VOLUTION – S IMPLE – Brett Kunkle www.str.org/blog/what-is-a-simple-tactic-you-can-use-with-the-topic-ofevolution-video
Even after being shown the astronomical odds against Evolution some Evolutionists will still make a statement similar to this, “Evolution has to be true because we are here.” How How would they respond if we used almost the same statement? That statement is, “Creationism has to be true because we are here.” INKS : ADDITIONAL L INKS
What What does do es the Bible say?
www.gotques .gotquestitions ons.org/cr .org/creation-evoluti eation-evolution.htm on.htmll
Frequently raised but weak arguments against Intelligent Design
www.uncommondescent.com/faq Categories www.uncommondescent.com/faq/%20-%20notsc You must paste this address in the ADDRESS bar, bar, and then press Enter. page you are are looking looki ng for Once you are taken to the page with the " The page is not here" here" message, scroll down past message for the categories.
ANSWERS IN G ENESIS ENESIS – – ONLINE B OOKS https://answ https:/ /answersingene ersingenesis. sis.org/answ org/answers/books ers/books// ARK E ASTMAN : M Former Atheist/Evolutionist: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBG9VwdDotg The Cosmos & The Creator www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mtzMrceQuM
I N T HE HE BEGINNING – AL T B ROWN – BOOK BY DR. W ALT www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/IntheBeginningTOC.html NTELLIGENT DESIGN AMAZING SEMINAR ON I NTELLIGENT www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Vf6MvBiz8 EMOLISHING S TRONGHOLDS TRONGHOLDS V IDEOS IDEOS : D EMOLISHING War of the Worldviews - Session 1 & 2 - Ken Ham https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/worldview/war-worldviews/ Evolution in Pop Culture - Session 3 & 4 - Carl Kerby https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/evolution/evolution-pop-culture/ Counterfeit Reality - Session 5 & 6 - Bill Jack https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/worldview/counterfeit-reality/
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Answers to Difficult Issues: Issues: How to Share Your Christian Worldview- Session 7 & 8 - Carl Kerby https://an https:// answ swersinge ersingene nesis.org/m sis.org/media/video edia/video/god /god/dif /diffificult-i cult-issu ssues es// Simple Tools for Brain SURGERY - Session 9 & 10 - Bill Jack https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/worldview/brain-surgery/ Special Forces for the Savior - Session 11 & 12 - Charles Ware https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/god/special-forces/
ANSWERS ACADEMY VIDEOS : Defending the Faith https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/bible/aa-defending-the-faith Where Did God Come From? https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/god/aa-god-come-from The Rocks Cry Out https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/science/aa-rocks-cry/ Big Problems with the Big Bang https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/evolution/aa-big-bang/ Astronomy: What Do We Really Know? https://answ https:/ /answersingene ersingenesis. sis.org/m org/media/video/science/aa-astronom edia/video/science/aa-astronomy/ y/ A New Reformation: Changing Lives, Rocking the Culture! https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/bible/aa-reform/ After Its Kind https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/creation/aa-after-its-kind The Ultimate Proof of Creation https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/creation/ultimate-proof/ Nuclear Strength Apologetics https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/bible/nuclear-strength-apologetics Why Won't They Listen? https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/god/why-wont-they-listen REATION N ETWORK ETWORK - http://nwcreation.net NW C NW C REATION REATION E DUCATION DUCATION C ENTER ENTER - www.cecwisc.org C REATION I NSTITUTE NSTITUTE FOR C REATION REATION R ESEARCH ESEARCH - www.icr.org/creation-astronomy D ARWIN ON T RIAL RIAL - Philip Johnson www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwj9h9Zx6Mw T HE HE C REATION REATION C ONVERSATION ONVERSATION – Dr'. Stephen Meyer, Dr. Michael Behe, and Dr. David Berlinski: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgsEtVe_Bis
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XPELLED N O I NTELLIGENCE NTELLIGENCE ALLOWED E www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EPymcWp-g ADDITIONAL V IDEOS IDEOS https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/creation Links to more videos in left margin. UEST Y OU OU T ID Q UEST TUBE UBE VIDEOS www.youtube.com/channel/UCV4Zy3ry9DrDCdxwyAxXs0g HINK C REATIONISTS REATIONISTS S HOULD HOULD NOT U SE ARGUMENTS W E T HINK NOT U SE http://creation.com http://creation.com/qa#bad_arguments ONSPIRACY D ARWIN C ONSPIRACY http://darwinconspiracy.com/index.php
APPEARANCE OF DESIGN http://creati http:/ /creationism onism.org/heinze/App .org/heinze/Appearan earanceO ceOfDes fDesign.htm ign.htm NTELLIGENT DESIGN - www.intelligentdesign.org I NTELLIGENT NTELLIGENT DESIGN N ETWORK ETWORK - www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org I NTELLIGENT HE C ATCH -22 OF P EER EER -R EVIEWED J OURNALS OURNALS T HE -22 OF -R EVIEWED www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=2508 This presentation answers the challenge that Creationist scientists aren’t legitimate scientists because they have few Peer-Reviewed articles.
ECONOMICS AND POLITICS These two subjects have many related points and they are often contentious issues for Christians. Political decisions usually have an effect on the national and state economies, which ultimately affect our own personal economies. As in every area area of life, worldviews impact economic and political decisions as well. With economics, there is confusion among Christians as to which system is most consistent with the Bible. Some believe that a OCIALISTIC system is more in line with the truths of Christianity S OCIALISTIC because Jesus called for helping the poor and downcast. Others believe a C APITALISTIC APITALISTIC system is more in line with the truths of Christianity because Jesus spoke against theft, and if the government takes from you to give give to others then that is theft. There are aspects of both systems which are consistent with the Bible, and aspects which are not. The links below will give you greater greater insight into the the teachings of the Bible pertaining to economics. 295
With politics, the philosophies of the two current political parties have resulted in different outcomes in the past and having significant economic results. As with economics, there have been aspects of both which are consistent with the Bible and aspects which are not. One additional consideration is whether or not it is Biblical to be involved in the political process, whether with voting or even running for political office. There are those both inside and outside the church who argue for Christians to be involved or not be involved in politics.
ECONOMICS HRISTIAN E CONOMICS CONOMICS C HRISTIAN www.allaboutworldview.org/christian-economics.htm
A BIBLICAL V IEW IEW OF E CONOMICS CONOMICS www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bib-econ.html CONOMICS H AS C ONSEQUENCES ONSEQUENCES http://vimeo.com/55419730 E CONOMICS : www.compassclassroom.com/wpStudy Guide content/uploads/2013/02/Economics-for-Everybody-Study-Guide-Sample.pdf HE F INAL INAL E CONOMIC CONOMIC C OLLAPSE OLLAPSE T HE www.gty.org/resources/sermons/80-195/the-final-economic-collapse-part1?Term=economics www.gty.org/resources/sermons/80-196/the-final-economic-collapse-part2?Term=economics HINKING HINKING B IBLICALLY IBLICALLY ABOUT THE E CONOMY CONOMY OVERNMENT OVERNMENT OUR OUR M ONEY ONEY T , G , AND Y www.gty.org/resources/sermons/80-358/thinking-biblically-about-theeconomy-government-and-your-money?Term=economics
POLITICS OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN HRISTIAN VIEW POLITICS ? H OW www.gotquestions.org/Christian-politics.html
C HRISTIANS HRISTIANS AND P OLITICS OLITICS www.gty.org/resources/Articles/A124/Christians-and-Politics-Part-1
C HRISTIANS HRISTIANS AND POLITICS http://townhall.com/columnists/gregorykoukl/2007/04/30/political_passivity %E2%80%94vice_or_christian_virtue C HRISTIANS - P HRISTIANS AND P OLITICS OLITICS - P ART OF THE BIBLICAL C ITIZENSHIP ITIZENSHIP ERIES S ERIES www.f .focu ocuson sonthefam thefamilily.com y.com/sociali /socialissu ssues/ch es/chri ristians-in-poli stians-in-polititics/bibli cs/biblicalcalcitizenship/christians-and-politics 296
W HAT HAT ABOUT C HRISTIANS HRISTIANS IN P OLITICS OLITICS AND G OVERNMENT OVERNMENT http://carm http:/ /carm.org/christi .org/christian an-polit -politics-gov ics-governm ernment HOULD C HRISTIANS HRISTIANS SEEK POLITICAL POWER , OR SHOULD WE ONLY S HOULD FOCUS ON CHARITY ON CHARITY AND AND EVANGELISM EVANGELISM ? ? http://christi http:/ /christian anan answ swers.ne ers.net/ t/q-w q-wall all/wa /wall-g0 g005.h 05.htm tmll
No Hint of Politics This is a great article by Greg Koukl showing that if Christians are to avoid politics, all the opposition needs to do is label something we’re against “Political” to keep us quiet. www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/December%202004-1.pdf AS J ESUS ESUS A PACIFIST ? W www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-pacifist.html
HOMOSEXUALITY This is another dividing issue in our culture and even some churches. Some churches and many Christian Christian students are unclear as to the Bible’s position and that if two people love each other what could be wrong. This section will give you good information about the Bible’s position on this subject, as well as the reasons behind the Bible’s position. I have included this topic specifically because it causes so much criticism of Christians. Many non-Christians believe that Christianity teaches that homosexuality is a sin far worse than other sins. Considering most non-Christians non-Christians don’t consider it a sin, this this belief contributes toward their feeling that Christians are intolerant. This is not the case. Remember, all sin is an offense to God, and sin which isn’t forgiven by God will will keep a person out of heaven for eternity. We are all sinners, and deserve hell. And only God can and did pay the price for our sin so that we could choose Him and live eternally with him. As you can see by the following verse, the Bible classifies homosexuality as no greater or lesser a sin than the others listed. 1 Cori Corinth nthians ians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 297
AY , LESBIAN , G OD' S LOVE G www.everystudent.com/wires/gay-lesbian.html
Homosexuality: Compassion and Clarity – Sean McDowell This is a powerful message showing the importance of our being compassionate when discussing this issue. www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7a2RJgAGcM
W HAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ? www.gotquestions.org/homosexuality-Bible.html www.openbible.info/topics/homosexuality www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=7&article=358 www.str.org/articles/homosexuality-giving-your-point-of-view www.crossconnection.net/2011/07/apologetics-homosexuality http://ratiochristi.org/uncg/blog/post/sex-faith-and-utterconfusion/3068?tab=all_blogs_tab#.VBelX8WwIr1 www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1627 http://carm.org/homosexuality www.alwaysbeready.org/homosexuality
H OMOSEXUALITY : K NOW THE T RUTH , S PEAK IT WITH C OMPASSION www.conversantlife.com/god-and-culture/homosexuality-know-the-truthspeak-it-with-compassion-part1 www.conversantlife.com/god-and-culture/homosexuality-know-the-truthspeak-it-with-compassion-part2 www.conversantlife.com/apologetics/homosexuality-know-the-truth-speakit-with-compassion-part3
MODESTY When looking at TV shows, movies, commercials, magazines, billboards, and the selection of clothing we see being worn, it is easy to conclude that our culture has an obsession with sexuality. What does the Bible say? We’ve already seen Matthew 5:28 “ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 298
See the other verses listed here: www.openbible.info/topics/modesty To see the importance in the way a woman dresses and the effect on guys, check the first link below. To see information about studies showing scientific evidence about how guys view a woman when she dresses immodestly, check the second link below. ART II - CJ M AHANEY W HAT G UYS T HINK ABOUT M ODESTY M ODESTY P
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpWMlacQqzY AN M ODESTY M AKE A C OMEBACK ? - T HE E VOLUTION OF THE S WIMSUIT C www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYY2mqIr7cA
“When a woman veils her body in modest clothing, she is not hiding herself from men. On the contrary, she is revealing her dignity to them.” This great quote and others, showing the value of a Godly woman, are at this link: http://sistersinchrist-bethany.blogspot.com/2012/05/quotes-godly-women.html
Guys, after you’ve watched the videos at these links, please don’t get the idea that you are excused from taking any responsibility for what you allow yourself to see and your thoughts about a woman who may not be dressed modestly. You must exercise every effort to not see women as objects. The evangelistic preacher Billy Graham said, “You may not be able to help the first look, but you can help the second look.” This means that we may not always be able to help the first glimpse of images and those women in attire who could cause us to have lustful thoughts if we choose to continue looking. However, we are responsible for what we do with the second look, whether we will continue to look or will look away. And just in case you think that once you get older or married that you won’t have to worry about the visual impact a woman can have if she is dressed in certain attire, you do. In his message E VERY M AN ’S B ATTLE , (39 mins into Pt.1), Jay Wegter talks about one of the founders of the Dallas Theological Seminary, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer. While Dr. Chafer was walking down the longest hallway of the seminary with a young male student, they found that they were going to have to walk the length of the hallway about 4ft behind a woman wearing a skin-tight leotard. The young student said to Dr. Chafer (in his 80s), “Boy Dr. Chafer. It will sure be great to reach that age where that type of thing won’t bother me.” And Dr. Chafer said, “It sure will.” Every Man’s Battle - Jay Wegter
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Pt1 www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32008027544 Pt2 www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32008032490
Guys, this will be a challenge for most of you for your entire life. This tendency to lust does not go away, and you will need to decide every day, and even every hour whether you will control it or allow it to control you. Girls, when you think of the description Jay gave of the woman walking in front of Dr. Chafer and the young student, what very popular garment among women could be compared to a skin tight leotard? My thought is yoga pants. They may be comfortable, but so many young women are wearing them and don’t even know the thoughts guys are having about them. Once again, it’s not right for a guy to not control his thoughts. My purpose in sharing this information is so that you as a woman will know what many guys are thinking, and if the guy is not a Christian, they have no reason to control their thoughts. O VERCOMING LUST www.thestraitgate.org/devotionals/faith-at-work-devotional/overcoming-lust-part-one www.thestraitgate.org/devotionals/faith-at-work-devotional/overcoming-lust-part-two Additional Articles www.overcoming-lust.com/articles What does the Bible say about overcoming lust? www.gotquestions.org/overcoming-lust.html Keys to Powerful Living: Overcoming Lust www.cbn.com/spirituallife/cbnteachingsheets/keys-Overcoming_Lust.aspx How To Overcome Lust http://brotherjohn.org/how-to-overcome-lust Overcoming Lust – Book Preview https://books.google.com/books?id=djvKy3iTDp4C&printsec=frontcover&dq= overcoming+lust
DATING Modesty can also be a consideration in our actions. The dating world can be one of the greatest challenges for Christian students, and their ability to maintain any standard of modesty. I believe that the following scenario encompasses many of the situations Christian students find themselves in, and the conflicts they are forced to deal 300
with. I hope the questions in this section help to give you a more complete perspective in this challenging area. Suppose that you found out an attractive and popular person wanted to date you but who you didn’t know much about. Others would think you were crazy if you were to turn down a date offer from this person. You decide to agree to go on a date with them but then found out they usually dated others who were willing to be quite intimate with them. Or, that this person had expectations as to what they would get in return because they were spending money on the date. Would you still accept the date, or would you cancel knowing that others would probably look at you as THAT STUDENT who turned down a date with one who others would jump at the chance to date? This seems like a difficult conflict but if you think about the following questions, they might help to put this scenario in perspective.
Is it important to find out about the reputation of another before agreeing to date them? Can you think of possible consequences of accepting a date, even if you plan on keeping your modesty? If you do accept the date, what conclusions to you think others might come to about your modesty? If other students think you are “that kind of girl/guy”, do you think a committed Christian student would be more or less interested in considering going out on a date with you?
I hope these questions illustrate how important your reputation is, and the potential impact to your reputation if you don’t think through the choices you make. A fairly well-known saying applies in this situation. The saying is, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Here are a few other questions to think about: What kind of first impression do you want others to have of you? If you focus primarily on the looks or popularity of another person, what does that convey to others about your character? Is your character and reputation worth protecting? Are you willing to sacrifice personal satisfaction, and possibly some ridicule from other students at times to maintain your personal integrity and character? 301
It’s natural to want to try to fit in, but is fitting in at the expense of your character worth it? Statistics indicate that there is little difference these days between the sexual ethics of many Christians as compared to non-Christians. If the world sees no difference in how Christians live, why would they be motivated to become a Christian? Another quote, and one that made me really think about my life is: “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
Again, when we invite Christ to be our Lord, Christ will convict us of our sin. If you call yourself a Christian and are living no different than your non-Christian friends, and you are not feeling any conviction about aspects of your lifestyle which are unpleasing to God, you should really consider whether you have truly accepted Christ, or only said a phrase. God knows our thoughts, motivations, and actions, and knows our heart. Since your eternal destiny is at stake, isn’t this important! W HAT ARE THE BIBLICAL GUIDELINES FOR DATING RELATIONSHIPS ? http://christiananswers.net/q-dml/dml-y006.html S HOULD C HRISTIAN T EENAGERS D ATE ? www.justindeeter.com/archives/1208 T HE T OP F IVE M YTHS OF C HRISTIAN D ATING www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/the-top-five-myths-of-christian-dating11620987.html BIBLICAL D ATING : H OW I T 'S DIFFERENT F ROM M ODERN D ATING http://www.boundless.org/relationships/2012/biblical-dating-how-its-different-frommodern-dating C HRISTIAN D ATING C ULTURE – P ART 1 www.christianpost.com/news/christian-dating-culture-part-1-majority-of-singlechristians-reject-idea-of-waiting-for-marriage-to-have-sex-114422/# Click the small Magnifying Glass and search “C HRISTIAN D ATING C ULTURE ” for parts 2 and 3.
PORNOGRAPHY Pornography is one of the greatest threats to a person’s Christian witness and their walk with the Lord. It has caused people to lose their jobs, and in some cases ruined their marriage and family relationships. It is also one of the most difficult addictions to break because the material is so easy to access, and one can do this in 302
private. It can be done in private from everyone except God. God knows everything and he knows our thoughts before we do. Pornography used to be an issue primarily for men, however due to the effective message of our culture that women should “enjoy” this too, this is a growing issue for women as well. If you are struggling with this issue, PLEASE use the information at these links to help you gain victory in this area. W HAT ’S T HE BIG DEAL W ITH P ORN ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/pornography/whats-the-big-deal-with-porn W HAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ? www.gotquestions.org/pornography-Bible.html www.itbn.org/index/detail/ec/N2cmIzMzrP3aAYGy5Bzbkwi8a1EylvH2 (Every Young Man’s Battle) www.alwaysbeready.org/pornography http://just1clickaway.org www.befreeinchrist.com (also click the Links category at the right) AY W EGTER http://gospelforlife.org/videopage J Great articles and audio about this issue, from Jay Wegter
Every Man’s Battle - Jay Wegter This is an outstanding message showing the battle men face and how vigilant we need to be to battle this temptation. Pt1 www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32008027544 Pt2 www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32008032490 Overcoming Sexual Lust http://gospelforlife.org/s/Overcoming-sexual-lust-4w7e.mp3 Sermons on Overcoming Pornography www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?keyworddesc=Pornography&keyword=Porno graph
H OW TO G UARD Y OUR E YES F ROM P RNOGRAPHY AND N UDITY www.virtualpreacher.org/contemporary-issues/guard-eyes-porn-nudity LIES Y OUNG W OMEN BELIEVE www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=1836
T HOSE WHO REALIZE THEY MIGHT HAVE AN ADDICTION TO PORNOGRAPHY
C AN THE E FFECTS OF P ORN BE R EVERSED ? http://marriagemissions.com/can-effects-porn-reversed-mark-gungor AY E- COURSE - http://2.bebroken.com/40-day-e-course.html 40-D HAOS C OMPASS - www.chaoscompass.org/how-to-use.html (check phone app) C 303
TOXIC PORN, TOXIC SEX: A Real Look at Pornography www.everystudent.com/wires/toxic.html
Also check Jay Wegter’s message above Every Man’s Battle B RAIN C HEMICALS AND P ORN ADDICTION : S CIENCE S HOWS H OW P ORN H ARMS U S www.covenanteyes.com/2014/02/03/brain-chemicals-and-porn-addiction www.covenanteyes.com/2010/04/19/your-brain-on-porn-part-1-interviewwith-dr-bill-struthers
ADDITIONAL LINKS: http://churchpurity.com/resources.php http://curetobepure.blogspot.com www.thepureman.org/help-overcoming-pornography-addiction.html http://porntopurity.com www.puresexradio.com
SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE This area is similar to pornography in that it can have a very harmful effect on your Christian walk. Unlike pornography though, the consequences can last a lifetime because of pregnancy and disease, or the regret of an abortion. In regards to sex outside of marriage some have said “God doesn’t want me to have fun” . But is this true? In actuality, could it be that God doesn’t want us to be hurt so that we can truly enjoy this gift within guidelines that are designed to virtually guarantee we won’t be hurt? Consider a couple who is married, and their wedding night is the first time either of them have sex. If they remain faithful to each other for the rest of their lives, will they ever need to worry about any of the dozens of sexually transmitted diseases that exist? Would they ever need to go through the emotions those feel who have been dropped by another after sex, and feel they have been used for sex? A big NO on both accounts! In addition to the other links, I have included one that responds to, “God doesn’t want me to have fun” . If you are a woman reading this, ask yourself the question, “If you are intimate with a guy before marriage, which of you has the most to lose?” It should be pretty easy question to answer. You do! This was illustrated briefly in just the last few paragraphs. I will provide more significant things to consider later in this section. If you are considering being intimate with a guy, you are considering giving him 304
the most personal part of yourself that you can offer anyone and are also putting yourself at risk for issues which could last your entire life. Men are typically visual, while women are typically relational. The relationship aspect is typically more important to a woman, at least initially. So what a man will often look for is the woman who makes a visual impact on him, while a woman thinks more long term, and will usually look for a man she could see herself in a relationship with. It’s not that the guys looks aren’t important to a woman, but the relationship is as important, if not more so. If both looks and relationship are there in the man, so much the better for the woman. As we all have a tendency to conceal what we believe would be found negative by others, men won’t typically acknowledge how strongly they are motivated by the physical appearance of a woman. Considering the impact of APPEARANCE on a guy, how a young woman dresses has a significant effect on guys, whether intended or not. If you have not yet checked out the links in the M ODESTY section, I really encourage you to do so. Another thing to realize is that guys have typically been goal oriented. One of the phrases I was reminded of while writing this is that of a man telling a woman, “If you loved me you would” . Can you tell what the goal is for someone making this kind of statement? Considering today’s culture, this might not only be said by a man to a woman but also by a woman to a man. If you are dedicated to remaining pure until marriage or have made mistakes in the past and you are dedicated to remain pure from now until you get married, there are a few responses to the above statement you might find helpful. It is not my intention for anyone reading this to be made uncomfortable by my bluntness, but as in other areas of this guide, my desire is to provide you with tools to be able to respond to the challenges you may be confronted with. I believe that the following statement has a lot of truth to it, “Guys use love to get sex, and girls use sex to get love” . Being GOAL ORIENTED , and not always RELATIONSHIP ORIENTED , guys have been known to promise LOVE to a girl, if they can achieve their goal. The unfortunate truth is that many guys will be lying when they tell a young woman that they love her, to convince her to give them this gift intended for the wedding night. And unfortunately many young women have given into this deception only to find out that the guy didn’t really 305
mean it when he said that he loved them. The guy got the sex he wanted but the girl didn’t get the relationship she wanted. When challenged by the statement, “If you loved me you would” , it might seem that the intent of someone who says this is to provoke the other person to actually PROVE their love to the one who made the statement. Unfortunately, many young women have been deceived into actually believing they can prove their love by sleeping with the guy. Isn’t this statement requesting the proof of love onesided? Why is it that one person has to prove their love to the other by sacrificing the most intimate gift they will ever give their future spouse? In reality, the person making the statement is incredibly selfish. If you are a young woman and a guy says this to you, he is basically saying that he wants you to give your most personal and intimate gift to him, to prove that you love him. He’s asking you to give up your confidence in; not contracting a STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease), not getting pregnant, and then not going through a 9 month pregnancy, not going through a long and likely painful delivery of a child, and not potentially having to raise the child by yourself. Or the other position you are put in, having to consider even the possibility of ending the baby’s life through abortion and possibly be rendered sterile through the process of an abortion. And he is asking you to do this why? So that he can satisfy his desire for a few moments of pleasure, at your expense! This sounds like a fair trade-off, right? . . . . . NOT! How much concern for YOUR SAFETY , MENTAL WELL -B EING , and Hopefully you CONFIDENCE does a guy like this have for you? understand why I feel this is an important subject to cover, and to provide you with answers to challenges like this. If told, “If you loved me you would” , a direct response is, “Well, if you loved me, you would respect my choice/decision” . Thinking about a person “proving their love” , God loved you so much that he sacrificed his life so that you could spend eternity with Him. The Creator of the entire universe did this to prove his love for you, and did it before you could change and become better! How much are you valued by this God? Hopefully you know the answer to this question. You are of infinite worth to Him! If you know that God loves you this much, how much do you need the selfishly motivated affections of the kind of guy indicated in this section? Yes, another question easily answered. You don’t! 306
If this selfish immature guy persists by saying, “But everyone is doing it” , you could respond, “Great! You shouldn’t have any problem finding someone to satisfy your immature need” . I thought of one more possible follow up response if the guy is very persistent (and not getting the hint), “But I want to do it with you” . Your response could be, “No, you just want to do it with anyone” . Remember, you are of infinite worth to God, as evidenced by Christ’s decision to die on the cross and pay an infinite price for your sin. If you are worth this much to God and he loves you so much, do you think you need to get proof of your value from a person who is only concerned about their own selfish needs; a person who has such disregard for you and your safety and confidence? Tim Keller mentioned that a man who does this is saying “I want you to give your life for me” , (to fulfill my needs), while Jesus says, “I’ve given my life for you”, (to fulfill all your needs and give you eternal life). Jesus wants so much more for you than to fulfill some guy’s selfish needs. Can you see now why God has designed the intimacy of sex to be shared only within the marriage between one man and one woman, and only between those two people for life? As a young woman, if a man is willing to wait until you are both married to be sexually intimate with you, he is proving his love to you. God doesn’t want you to settle for anything less than the best, since you are so valuable to him. Considering how valuable you are to God, think about the comments we’ve all heard which are critical about the physical aspects of another person. If those comments have been made to you, how does that make you feel? If you have made those comments about another, do you realize now that you have made those comments about a person who the Creator of the entire universe died for? If you have had those comments made about you, especially about something about you that you have no control over, these comments have possibly caused you to feel inferior to the person saying them. You might even be willing to compromise your virtue and change yourself in some way, to make yourself more appealing to this other person or group. I hope you realize that the approval of this person or group is meaningless when compared to the love and affection of the God of the universe. And he already died to prove his love for you! Isn’t waiting till you meet a real man worth it, (or a real 307
woman, if you are a guy) who is willing to love you the way that God has intended? Ever since I’ve heard the following songs, I’ve thought of those who have questioned their worth, or allowed their worth to be determined by others. Watch and listen to the lyrics and know that the God of the universe loves you so much and wants the best for you. AME - F RANCESCA B ATTISTELLI H E K NOWS M Y N
Video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYpBgJHmGmw Lyrics - www.metrolyrics.com/he-knows-my-name-lyrics-francesca-battistelli.html
F URIOUS LOVE - V ERIDIA Video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts_osvAzEhA Lyrics - www.metrolyrics.com/furious-love-lyrics-veridia.html
J ONNY DIAZ - M ORE BEAUTIFUL Y OU Video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNqQUojBg84 Video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5LPc9jXk80 Lyrics - www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BWI1PxWrcw S OMETHING E VERY G IRL N EEDS T O H EAR - Alyssa Bethke www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhOLl86Y5YA 10 T HINGS E VERY T EENAGE G IRL N EEDS TO K NOW www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/10-things-every-teenage-girlneeds-to-know.html 10 LIES C HRISTIAN T EENS T ELL T HEMSELVES ABOUT S EX , D ATING , AND H OW F AR I S T OO F AR http://christianteens.about.com/od/dating/tp/liessexdating.htm Peer Pressure
www.creationtips.com/peer.html www.jesusisthelight.net/PEER-1.htm
When my wife and I were engaged, we had already made the decision that we would not be intimate till our wedding night. One of her friends asked her, “Don’t you want to make sure you are both compatible physically before you get married? Shouldn’t you both ‘ TRY IT OUT ’ so that you know everything will be good, like trying on a pair of shoes?” Using the SHOES illustration, my wife responded to her, “Hugo doesn’t want to buy a pair of shoes that have already been ‘tried on’ by other people.” Also, think about this logically. With millions and millions of marriages happening since the beginning of mankind, it is pretty easy to conclude that the physical 308
aspect of the marriage relationship is virtually guaranteed to work just fine. If you are a virgin, hopefully you have decided to remain a virgin till marriage. Hopefully, the earlier illustrations showing what you stand to lose gives you encouragement to wait. You may have “friends” who are giving you a hard time and/or are pressuring you to lose your virginity. A great response I’ve heard to answer them is, “Any time I want, I can become just like you. But you can never again become just like me” .
You may no longer be a virgin because of a mistake you’ve made in your past, and have now decided to remain pure until marriage. If you’ve not already asked God to forgive you of these mistakes I encourage you to do so. He is the God of forgiveness and second chances. If you have given away your virginity in the past but are committed to remaining pure till marriage, you may be wondering how God can give you a second chance in this area. Check out the following links for encouragement in your commitment to now honor God in your physical life:
W HAT IS S ECONDARY V IRGINITY ? www.reapteam.org/what-is-secondary-virginity AN Y OU BECOME A V IRGIN AGAIN ? C
www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/hottopics/sexabstinence/can-youbecome-virgin-again.html
My wife was a virgin when we married, but I very regrettably was not. While she had committed to save herself for her future husband, even though we had never met, I had not saved myself for her. I had given in to the lies of the culture; “cost-free pleasure” and “it’s not hurting anyone”. In doing so, I sacrificed the gift I should have been saving for our wedding night. The “Wedding Gift” I ended up giving to my wife for our marriage was to cause my wife to question herself, wondering how she compared to the other intimate relationships I had experienced in my past. Even though we talked about my past before we married, she still had concerns and doubts for the better part of the first year we were married. Even though I repeatedly told her that she had nothing to worry about, it didn’t lessen her concern for almost the first year of our marriage. I share this with you to encourage you to remain committed to save yourself for your spouse on your wedding night so that you don’t bring this ”gift” of doubt into your marriage, as I had. 309
I also want to stress the importance of deciding your limits before you are in a situation where you could be compromised. The saying I’ve heard which best describes this is, “You need to decide what you are going to do in a parked car before you are ever in the situation where you are in a parked car, not once you are there.” I guarantee that if you choose to be in that situation, you will not be thinking critically about limits and consequences. You will be caught up in the emotions of the moment. One discipline you could practice in situations like this is to not allow yourself to be alone with another person. If going on a date, make it a double date. If at home, make sure other people are there. Lastly, many students try to think about limits in this area using the question, “As a Christian, how far CAN I go?” You want to change one word and ask, “As a Christian, how far SHOULD I go?” To illustrate this idea, if you were at the Grand Canyon, would it be better to ask, “How close to the edge can I go?” or “How close to the edge should I go?” I would encourage you to work with your parents and/or youth pastor/leader, and get their perspective on potentially compromising situations and how best to prepare/deal with them. W HAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ? Definition http://carm.org/dictionary-fornication www.gotquestions.org/sex-before-marriage.html www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=7&article=1726 AVE S EX FOR M ARRIAGE ? W HY S HOULD I S http://christiananswers.net/q-sum/sum-f001.html http://carm.org/fornication-sex-marriage-forgiven www.ucg.org/christian-living/sex-outside-marriage-whats-big-deal/ AS A P RICE T AG – P AM STENZEL S EX H CHURCH VERSION www.youtube.com/watch?v=yigIdLStbwY PUBLIC SCHOOL VERSION www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL48E0AE8ACB0DC78D APPINESS ? I S S EX E SSENTIAL FOR H www.breakpoint.org/tp-home/blog-archives/12985-is-sex-essential-to-happiness
T HE G IFT OF S EX
www.rogerswebsite.com/others/The-Gift-of-Sex.htm
M Y BOYFRIEND WANTS TO HAVE SEX . I DON 'T WANT TO LOSE HIM . W HAT SHOULD I DO ? (Could also apply to a Christian guy by his girlfriend) www.christiananswers.net/q-dml/dml-y010.html 6 R EASONS G OD C REATED S EX FOR M ARRIAGE 310
http://stuffthatsrelevant.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/mark-driscoll-6reasons-why-god-created-sex-for-marriage/
I’ VE G OT S EX O N M Y M IND http://chadfisheronline.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/ive-got-sex-on-my-mind-part-1 ANT U S TO H AVE F UN ” ARGUMENT ANSWERING THE “G OD DOESN ’ T W www.missiontoamerica.org/christianity/fun.html
STATISTICS, REALITY, AND RESOURCES www.puritycoalition.org/web_page.html http://createdforpurity.com/crisis/crisis.html www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechallenges/love_and_sex/purity.aspx http://disciplesforpurity.com/materials www.premaritalsex.info http://restoringsexualpurity.org http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/topics/charctr_05_sexual_purity.cfm
* DEFENDING AGAINST P HYSICAL AND S EXUAL ASSAULT This is a section I chose to add because of the statistics of the number of young women who are physically and sexually assaulted every year. That statistic is that 1 in 4 young women will be assaulted and 1 in 3 will face dating abuse. Self-defense is fully consistent with Biblical principles. Also, consider 1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” As a brother in
Christ, it is my desire TO PROVIDE FOR MY RELATIVES , by showing you a tool for your safety against any who would try to take your virtue by force. The program was created by a young woman who was a high school student, and studying Jiu Jitsu. She was motivated to do something after hearing the same statistics that 1 in 4 young women will be assaulted and 1 in 3 will face dating abuse. This is the program she was motivated to create. Check her website: www.justyellfire.com As a 25 year veteran police officer, my brother recommends learning a few techniques till they are 2nd nature, rather than trying to learn many techniques which you need to think to use. If you are ever in a situation where you need to use defenses, you will only be able to use the techniques which have become automatic. The techniques 311
shown in this program fit my brother’s recommendation. I recommend partnering with a family member or friend to practice the techniques shown until they are second nature for you. In doing so, hopefully you can reduce the possibility of becoming one of the statistics indicated above. If you have been assaulted, please talk to someone you trust. Hopefully the J UST Y ELL F IRE program will help keep this from happening again. J UST Y ELL F IRE – Original Film – For Girls 11 to 19 www.justyellfire.com/movie.php?video=Just_Yell_Fire_Movie J UST Y ELL F IRE C AMPUS L IFE –
Newest Film – For College Girls www.justyellfire.com/movie.php?video=JYF_Campus_Life
RECOMMENDED FULL LENGTH VIDEOS Expelled No Intelligence Allowed www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EPymcWp-g
LOUIE GIGLIO: How Great Is Our God www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCrvibgo1LM Indescribable www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNgJhuICrVA Unthinkable You www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA4gI-6PM2s When God Breaks Through www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH5OyEHzgn4 Check other videos by Louie Giglio on YouTube and Bing Videos LEE STROBEL: The Case for a Creator The Case for Christ The Case for Faith” audiobook The Case for the Real Jesus The Case for the Resurrection
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajqH4y8G0MI www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikxb09pyZwM www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zDdd-PzWZc www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooItL-caoyg www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVoKR_cvJJM
ADDITIONAL VIDEOS: Icons of Evolution www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKD12szbshY The Privileged Planet www.godtube.com/watch/?v=7GGGGGNX God of Wonders www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvVt4lDSPeY Unlocking the Mystery of Life www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWvS1UfXl8k&list=PL9F238BF1EB056938 Signature in the Cell www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW6egHV6jAw God’s not Dead - Argument Scenes www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc5s1ZKNmcc The Signs of God's Existence www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS1x-6al2pE 312
THE VISUAL BIBLE Gospel of John Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Mark (audio) Gospel of Luke The Book of Acts: The Jesus Movie The Passion of the Christ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ-xbrMecBc www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3XOO-yLv2c www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhjkxfiakLg www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTb4UIbnOHE www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWZKprMCFp4 www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0k_Uj3nTj4 http://vimeo.com/92163567
RECOMMENDED PODCASTS /APPS http://pastormattblog.com/2014/01/31/the-three-apologetic-podcaststhat-every-christian-should-subscribe-to/ http://thefailedatheist.com/2015/01/03/top-10-recommended-podcasts/ www.apologetics315.com/2007/10/16-best-apologetics-podcasts.html LISTS OF RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR APOLOGETICS www.apologetics315.com/2012/03/apologetics-reading-plan-for-beginners.html http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/books.html http://1peter315.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favorite-12-books-to-recommend.html www.challies.com/recommendations/apologetics http://thefailedatheist.com/book-resources http://christianmomthoughts.com/16-book-recommendations-for-studyingapologetics SITES WITH BOOKS AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE https://answersingenesis.org/answers/books www.apologeticspress.org/PDF-books.aspx http://carm.org/online-bible www.ccel.org www.christianapologetic.org/book01.htm http://classicapologetics.com/ www.freechristianresources.org/books www.monergism.com/thethreshold/books/onlinebooks.html http://ntslibrary.com/index.html http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/browse?type=lcsubc& key=Apologetics http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2009/07/free-apologetics-e-book-library.html http://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/free-christian-worldviewand-apologetics-books-online-week-on-veritas-domain http://ntslibrary.com/Christian-PDF-Books.htm 313
O NLINE AUDIOBOOKS K NOWING G OD – JC Ryle www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2FD9xugRY8&list=PLvwgUlicDKGo qqzLI-Yv3cCKQLCbOajfr H OLINESS – JC Ryle www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq8FDeBjG40&list=PLzOwqed_gET1 bxl9WiAqsleAfFhskne4q DEBATES - www.apologetics315.com/search/label/debate
APOLOGETICS S TUDY BIBLE FOR S TUDENTS TUDY This section includes questions which are in the APOLOGETIC S B IBLE FOR S TUDENTS . I believe the questions are very important and are those which many people have a desire to find answers for. Below each question are links to some of the answers found when you perform an Internet search for the questions.
Q : UESTIONS F ROM THE APOLOGETIC S TUDY B IBLE FOR S TUDENTS HAT ARE W ORLDVIEWS AND WHY ARE T HEY I MPORTANT W ? http://everyschool.com/what-are-worldviews http://everyschool.com/ www.allaboutworldview.org/worldviews.htm http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/22-important-questions-for-thebuddhistic-worldview/
I S R ELATIONSHIP I MPORTANT IN APOLOGETICS ? www.everyschool.com/is-relationship-important-in-apologetics www.rzim.eu/what-is-the-relationship-between-evangelism-and-apologetics H OW O LD IS THE E ARTH ? http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-old-is-earth-by-chris-sherrod.html http://www.gotquestions.org/earth-age.html I F G OD K NEW ADAM AND E VE W OULD S IN , W HY D ID H E P UT THE T REE IN THE G ARDEN ? www.gotquestions.org/tree-knowledge-good-evil.html www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVanswers/2008/02-01.html
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W HAT IS EVOLUTION ? www.allaboutscience.org/what-is-evolution-faq.htm www.alwaysbeready.com/evolution www.truthnet.org/Christianity/Apologetics/Evolutiontrue4 C AN W E T RUST THE O LD T ESTAMENT ? www.cltruth.com/blog/2012/can-we-trust-the-old-testament www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfCWFix43E0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYG_-6DN4bQ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulCbh_1SlwE T HREE T OUGH Q UESTIONS ABOUT H EAVEN How can God be good if some of my loved ones are not in Heaven? www.epm.org/resources/2010/Mar/26/if-our-loved-ones-are-hell-wontspoil-heaven Will there be sex in heaven? www.gotquestions.org/sex-heaven.html www.equip.org/bible_answers/will-there-be-sex-in-heaven Will there be animals in heaven? www.equip.org/bible_answers/will-there-be-animals-in-heaven http://carm.org/animals-heaven W HY D OES G OD ALLOW E VIL? www.gotquestions.org/God-allow-evil.html www.compellingtruth.org/God-allow-evil.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNzs6YujPo W HAT D OES I T M EAN T O H AVE F AITH I N G OD ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/theology/what-does-it-mean-to-have-faith-in-god www.gotquestions.org/faith-in-Jesus.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OlY40qlxQ E VIDENCE FOR G OD : T HE M ORAL ARGUMENT www.reasonablefaith.org/moral-argument www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5YdtMxls-c www.gotquestions.org/does-god-exist.html www.apologetics315.com/2013/08/5-common-objections-to-moral-argument.html W HAT D OES T HE B IBLE S AY ABOUT C LONING ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/ethics/what-does-the-bible-say-about-cloning www.gotquestions.org/cloning-Christian.html www.allaboutpopularissues.org/cloning-ethics.htm 315
I F I C AN ’ T S EE G OD , H OW D O I K NOW H E’ S R EAL? www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c038.html http://christianteens.about.com/od/christianliving/a/Common-Christian-QuestionsHow-Do-I-Know-God-Is-There-When-I-Ca-Not-See-Him.htm H OW C AN J ESUS ’ D EATH B RING ABOUT F ORGIVENESS ? www.jesus.org/death-and-resurrection/the-crucifixion/how-does-the-death-of jesus-save.html www.gotquestions.org/got-forgiveness.html W HAT D OES THE B IBLE S AY ABOUT H OMOSEXUALITY ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/ethics/what-does-the-bible-say-abouthomosexuality http://carm.org/bible-homosexuality www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcIhzSwUWnY S AME -S EX M ARRIAGE : W HAT ’ S THE B IG D EAL? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/ethics/same-sex-marriage-whats-the-big-deal http://apologeticjunkie.blogspot.com/2012/09/same-sex-marriage-equal-rightsreligion.html (check the additional links at the bottom of the article) http://apologeticjunkie.blogspot.com/search/label/same-sex%20marriage www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXOu6hwt4jk www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAYvSeDiBbM C AN G OD ’ S LOVE B E R ECONCILED W ITH H IS O RDER TO K ILL T HE C ANAANITES ? www.thinkingchristian.net/posts/2009/06/did-god-commit-genocide-in-the-bible http://mysavior.info/article/223 www.reasonablefaith.org/slaughter-of-the-canaanites W HAT ’ S THE B IG D EAL WITH Y OGA? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/cults-religions/whats-the-big-deal-with-yoga www.gotquestions.org/Christian-yoga.html http://carm.org/should-christians-practice-yoga ARE T HERE C ONTRADICTIONS IN THE B IBLE ? http://christiananswers.net/q-comfort/contradictions-bible.html http://carm.org/bible-difficulties/genesis-deuteronomy www.exploregod.com/what-about-contradictions-in-the-bible www.allabouttruth.org/bible-contradictions.htm D O P SYCHICS H AVE S UPERNATURAL P OWER ? www.christiancourier.com/articles/1264-do-psychics-really-have-mystic-powers 316
www.gotquestions.org/psychics-Christian.html www.soundwitness.org/pop_culture/psychic_mediums.html W HAT D OES THE B IBLE T EACH ABOUT W AR ? www.gotquestions.org/war-Bible.html http://bibleresources.org/war www.godandscience.org/apologetics/just_war_principle.html H ASN ’ T S CIENCE D ISPROVED M IRACLES ? www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/rfsm-miracles.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbTft0VlcRQ H OW D O I C HOOSE M Y F AITH ? www.thinkingchristian.net/posts/2010/08/choosing-your-faith-by-mark-mittelberg www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-choose-your-faith-wisely11572196.html http://choosingyourfaith.com http://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/FirstChapters/978-1-4143-1579-9.pdf www.christianity.com/11572196/ W HAT IS THE N EW AGE M OVEMENT ? http://carm.org/new-age-what www.gotquestions.org/new-age-movement.html www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-is-new-age-religion-and-why-cantchristians-get-on-board-11573681.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqIf_b-OOdU H OW D O I G ROW S PIRITUALITY ? www.exploregod.com/how-can-i-grow-spiritually www.compellingtruth.org/spiritual-growth.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMiRJXMy4jA W HAT ’ S THE B IG D EAL WITH ASTROLOGY ? www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_Astrolgy.html www.gotquestions.org/horoscopes-Christian.html www.christianfaith.com/resources/astrology D OES G OD W ANT M E TO B E R ICH ? http://gamerfaith.com/does-god-want-me-rich www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/does-god-want-us-to-be-rich-a-bible-study www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDuDN2FtrIo 317
W HY D OES G OD C ARE ABOUT M Y E NTERTAINMENT C HOICES ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/ethics/why-does-god-care-about-myentertainment-choices www.gty.org/blog/B130502 www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCaPj5xYhns I S I T OK TO P ICK AND C HOOSE R ELIGIOUS B ELIEFS AND P RACTICES ? www.inplainsite.org/html/religious_pluralism.html www.christianpost.com/news/most-americans-pick-and-choose-religious-beliefs-36368 www.str.org/articles/religious-stew E VIDENCE FOR G OD : C OSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT www.gotquestions.org/cosmological-argument.html www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/questions-of-christians/does-god-exist www.allaboutphilosophy.org/cosmological-argument.htm www.cross.tv/115904 W HAT ’ THE B IG D EAL WITH W ICCA? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/cults-religions/whats-the-big-deal-with-wicca http://carm.org/wicca www.godtube.com/watch/?v=DKWZKWNX C AN A C HRISTIAN B ELIEVE IN E VOLUTION ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/science/can-a-christian-believe-in-evolution http://realtruth.org/articles/130530-006.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf5ovSpS2GU D OES THE B IBLE D EMEAN W OMEN ? http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2012/01/common-objection-17-christianity.html www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A265 http://kelvinho-kh.blogspot.com/2012/01/does-bible-demean-women-bysharon-james.html E VIDENCE FOR G OD : B IOCHEMISTRY www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQt3b-ovbrs http://godandscience.org/evolution/design_in_biology.html E VIDENCE FOR G OD : P HYSICS AND ASTRONOMY www.godandscience.org/apologetics/quotes.html (quotes from scientists) www.alwaysbeready.com/god-evidence 318
https://biblescienceguy.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/17-evidence-for-god-designconvinces-scientists-3 W HAT D O H INDUS B ELIEVE ? www.christianministriesintl.org/articles/What-Do-Hindus-Believe.php www.gotquestions.org/hinduism.html www.compellingtruth.org/what-is-Hinduism.html I S R ELIGION THE C AUSE OF E VIL IN THE W ORLD ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/apologetics/is-religion-the-cause-of-evil-in-the-world www.allaboutworldview.org/presence-of-evil.htm H AS G OD S POKEN ? www.christianity.com/bible/authorship-and-inspiration/what-evidence-is-therethat-the-bible-is-in-fact-gods-word-11542346.html www.gotquestions.org/which-book.html www.allabouttruth.org/how-do-we-know-the-bible-is-the-inspired-word-of-god-faq.htm www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Can_We_KNOW_the_Bible_is_the_Word_of_God D O C HRISTIANITY AND P OLITICS M IX ? www.gotquestions.org/Christian-politics.html www.allaboutworldview.org/christian-politics-and-obedience-faq.htm www.allaboutworldview.org/christian-politics.htm W HAT I S G OD LIKE ? http://everyschool.com/what-is-god-like http://gotquestions.org/What-is-God-like.html I S G OD M ALE ? www.compellingtruth.org/God-male-or-female.html http://godandscience.org/doctrine/male.html www.gotquestions.org/God-male-female.html www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1165 W HY D OES G OD S EEM H IDDEN ? www.conversantlife.com/life-with-god/why-does-god-seem-hidden-from-us www.gotquestions.org/God-hidden.html www.compellingtruth.org/God-hidden.html D OES THE F OSSIL R ECORD S UPPORT E VOLUTION ? http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c006.html www.cecwisc.org/QuestionOfTheMonth/does-the-fossil-record-support-evolution 319
http://creation.com/refuting-evolution-2-chapter-8-argument-the-fossil-recordsupports-evolution S O, W HAT M AKES THE B IBLE S O S PECIAL? http://everyschool.com/print/article/so-what-makes-the-bible-so-special www.josh.org/resources/study-research/answers-to-skeptics-questions/whatmakes-the-bible-so-specia/ http://biblicalreliability.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-makes-bible-so-special.html W HAT D OES THE B IBLE S AY ABOUT ABORTION ? www.gotquestions.org/abortion-Bible.html http://carm.org/bible-abortion http://prolifetraining.com/resources/five-minute-5/ http://strplace.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/answer-every-defense-for-abortionchart-amp-video/ E VIDENCE FOR G OD : B EAUTY www.evidence-for-god.com/ www.icr.org/Aesthetics www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2012/03/the-beauty-of-creation http://godandscience.info/gs/new/beautyguiding.html I S P ORNOGRAPHY T HAT B AD ? www.porn-free.org/porn_is_bad.htm www.marketfaith.org/implications-of-worldview/what-makes-pornography-so-bad/ http://carm.org/pornography H OW D O I K NOW G OD ’ S W ILL FOR M Y LIFE ? http://christiananswers.net/q-dml/dml-y001.html www.gotquestions.org/know-God-will.html www.gotquestions.org/know-God-will.html I S ALCOHOL B AD ? – R YAN S NUFFER www.gotquestions.org/sin-alcohol.html www.crosswalk.com/1120038/ http://pastorbrett.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/should-a-christian-drink-alcohol/ W HAT ’ S THE B IG D EAL WITH G AMBLING ? www.gotquestions.org/gambling-sin.html www.christianity.com/blogs/al-mohler/a-christian-understanding-of-gambling.html www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1251 320
H OW D O W E K NOW J ESUS W AS B ORN OF A V IRGIN ? https://blog.apologia.com/blog/2011/11/10/how-do-we-know-jesus-was-born-of-a-virgin www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/virgin.html www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=How_Do_We_Know_the_Virgin_Birth_Is_True H OW C OULD S ATAN F ALL IF H E W AS WITH G OD ? www.gotquestions.org/Satan-fall.html www.gotquestions.org/Satan-defeat.html http://carm.org/why-did-god-allow-satan-and-angels-to-sin E VIDENCE FOR G OD : DNA https://brokenredeemed.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/evidence-for-god-dna www.allaboutthejourney.org/dna-molecule.htm www.allaboutthejourney.org/dna-and-computers-video.htm www.allaboutscience.org/dna-double-helix-video.htm H OW I MPORTANT I S D ARWINIAN E VOLUTION ? www.credomag.com/2012/01/05/how-evolutionary-ethics-influenced-hitler-andwhy-it-matters http://darwintohitler.com/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5EwYpLD6A www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mxXICZ9mXo I N W HAT W AYS D ID J ESUS F ULFILL P ROPHECIES ? www.newmediaministries.org/Jesus/Prophecies2_S.html www.provethebible.net/T2-Divin/D-0401.htm www.compellingtruth.org/Old-Testament-prophesy-Christ.html W HY ARE T HERE S O M ANY T RANSLATIONS OF THE B IBLE ? www.compellingtruth.org/Bible-translations.html www.gotquestions.org/Bible-translations.html https://bib.irr.org/faq-why-are-there-so-many-different-translations-bible H OW D O I T ALK WITH S OMEONE OF ANOTHER R ELIGION ? www.everyschool.com/how-do-i-talk-with-someone-of-another-religion http://christiananswers.net/evangelism/methods/home.html www.livingwaters.com/evangelism W HAT ’ S THE B IG D EAL WITH S CIENTOLOGY ? www.apologeticsindex.org/s04.html www.equip.org/articles/scientology/#christian-books-2 www.bible-study-lessons.com/Scientology.html 321
S HOULD ABORTION B E ALLOWED FOR R APE OR I NCEST ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/ethics/should-abortion-be-allowed-for-rape-or-incest http://prolifetraining.com/resources/five-minute-8 http://prolifetraining.com/resources www.equip.org/articles/abortion-and-rape-answering-the-arguments-for-abortion-rights ARE UFO’ S R EAL? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/theology/are-ufos-real www.godandscience.org/apologetics/ufo.html www.academia.edu/7197557/UFOs_ETs_and_the_new_age_a_christian_perspective W HY D OESN ’ T G OD ANSWER M Y P RAYERS ? http://coldcasechristianity.com/2013/why-doesnt-god-answer-all-my-prayers/ www.bethinking.org/human-life/why-doesnt-god-answer-my-prayers http://far-above-rubies-and-pearls.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-doesnt-godanswer-all-prayers.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFdI_A7qbSQ W HAT D OES THE B IBLE T EACH ABOUT S ATAN ? www.godandscience.org/doctrine/who_is_satan.html www.epm.org/blog/2011/Jun/13/what-does-bible-teach-about-satan www.openbible.info/topics/satan W HY W OULD A G OOD G OD S END P EOPLE TO H ELL? www.christiananswers.net/q-grace/hell-and-god.html www.gotquestions.org/why-does-God-send-people-to-hell.html http://coldcasechristianity.com/2013/why-would-god-send-good-people-to-hell W AS J ONAH R EALLY S WALLOWED BY A B IG F ISH ? http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t004.html www.icr.org/article/did-jonah-really-get-swallowed-by-whale W HAT ABOUT THE C RUSADES ? http://seanmcdowell.org/index.php/apologetics/what-about-the-crusades http://www.gotquestions.org/christian-crusades.html www.apologetics315.com/search?q=crusades S HOULD C HRISTIANS C ARE ABOUT THE E NVIRONMENT ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/ethics/should-christians-care-about-the-environment www.godandscience.org/apologetics/environment.html www.equip.org/articles/christians-and-the-environment-how-should-christians-thinkabout-the-environment/#christian-books-2 322
H OW W ERE P EOPLE S AVED BEFORE C HRIST ? http://coldcasechristianity.com/2013/how-were-old-testament-saints-saved http://www.gotquestions.org/before-Jesus.html http://carm.org/how-were-people-saved-who-died-before-jesus W HY D O C ATHOLICS H AVE M ORE B OOKS IN T HEIR B IBLE ? www.equip.org/perspectives/the-apocrypha-the-apocryphal-books-of-thecatholic-bible http://carm.org/apocrypha-it-scripture www.str.org/articles/the-apocrypha#.VIx2j9LF_E0 I F G OD ALREADY K NOWS W HAT W E N EED , T HEN W HY P RAY ? www.gotquestions.org/why-pray.html www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/read/articles/since-god-knowseverything-why-should-we-pray-9549.html www.compellingtruth.org/Prayers-supplication-why-pray.html www.str.org/blog/get-this-prayer-app#.VIx30dLF_E0 W HAT D OES THE B IBLE S AY ABOUT D EMONS ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/theology/what-does-the-bible-say-about-demons www.gotquestions.org/demons.html www.openbible.info/topics/demons W HY ARE S OME C HRISTIANS H YPOCRITES ? – R YAN S HARP http://christianteens.about.com/od/becomingachristian/a/Common-ChristianQuestions-Why-Are-So-Many-Christians-Hypocrites.htm www.godandscience.org/apologetics/why_are_christians_hypocrites.html www.gotquestions.org/Christians-hypocrites.html I F T HERE I S S UCH G OOD E VIDENCE FOR G OD , T HEN W HY D ON ’ T M ORE P EOPLE B ELIEVE ? www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=2&issue=792&article=1208 www.compellingtruth.org/scientists-believe-God.html H OW C AN I M AKE S ENSE OF THE T RINITY ? www.str.org/articles/does-the-trinity-make-sense#.VIyGENLF_E0 http://carm.org/trinity-makes-no-sense-it-isnt-logical www.bible-truth.org/Trinity.html D ID THE APOSTLES R EPORT J ESUS ’ W ORDS ACCURATELY ? http://hcsb.org/b/authorjournal/archive/2012/02/22/did-the-apostles-report-jesuswords-accurately.aspx 323
http://readingacts.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/are-these-really-the-words-of-jesus www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-alone.html I S I T O KAY TO H AVE D OUBTS ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/theology/is-it-okay-to-have-doubts http://vimeo.com/93857093 www.reasonablefaith.org/christian-doubt D OES THE B IBLE C ONTAIN E RRORS ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/bible/does-the-bible-contain-errors/ www.gty.org/resources/bible-qna/BQ073112/Does-the-Bible-Contain-Errors www.ucg.org/booklet/bible-true/bible-and-you/does-bible-contain-errors W HAT D OES THE B IBLE T EACH ABOUT ANGELS ? http://christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t005.html www.gotquestions.org/angels-Bible.html www.christforums.org/forum/10-apologetics-and-theology/238-what-does-thebible-teach-about-angels H OW D O I K NOW J ESUS E VEN E XISTED ? https://brokenredeemed.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/how-do-i-know-jesus-evenexisted www.gotquestions.org/did-Jesus-exist.html www.reasonsforgod.org/the-best-reasons/did-jesus-exist/ W HAT ’ S THE P ROBLEM WITH J UDGING O THERS ? www.gotquestions.org/do-not-judge.html www.godandscience.org/apologetics/why_are_christians_judgmental.html www.openbible.info/topics/judging_others D ID J ESUS R EALLY R ISE FROM THE D EAD ? www.str.org/articles/did-jesus-really-rise-from-the-dead#.VI-3LtLF_E0 http://gracebts.com/apologia/the-resurrection-of-jesus www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2Gl-TPTxX8&list=PL925D60A5D4241319 W HAT D O M ORMONS B ELIEVE ? www.mrm.org/what-mormons-believe www.gotquestions.org/Mormons.html http://carm.org/mormonism www.alwaysbeready.com/mormonism?id=97
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I S J ESUS THE O NLY W AY ? www.str.org/articles/is-jesus-the-only-way www.rationalchristianity.net/only_way.html www.josh.org/resources/study-research/answers-to-skeptics-questions/why-is jesus-the-only-way-to-god www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-only-way.html D ID J ESUS C LAIM TO B E G OD ? http://bobsiegel.net/articles/2008/04/did-jesus-really-claim-to-be-god www.compellingtruth.org/Jesus-claim-God-deity-biblical.html www.josh.org/resources/study-research/answers-to-skeptics-questions/did-jesusclaim-to-be-god ARE T HERE “LOST ” G OSPELS THAT W ERE LEFT O UT OF THE B IBLE ? www.thinkchristianly.org/what-are-the-lost-gospels-and-were-they-left-out-of-thebible www.cbn.com/spirituallife/BibleStudyAndTheology/perspectives/carpentermissinggospels_bock.aspx http://carm.org/are-these-lost-books-bible W HO I S THE H OLY S PIRIT ? www.gotquestions.org/who-Holy-Spirit.html www.everystudent.com/forum/hspirit.html http://christianity.about.com/od/topicalbiblestudies/a/whoisholyspirit.htm www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/who-or-what-is-the-holy-spirit-a-bible-study C AN S OMETHING B E T RUE FOR Y OU , BUT N OT T RUE FOR M E? – D ILLON B URROUGHS http://nightmare2atheists.wordpress.com/category/true-for-you-but-not-true-for-me www.thewhyman.jesusanswers.com/photo6_1.html www.mtio.com/articles/aissar23.htm www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/youth-culture/true-for-you-but-not-true-for-me W HAT ABOUT T HOSE W HO H AVE N EVER H EARD OF J ESUS ? www.josh.org/resources/study-research/answers-to-skeptics-questions/whatabout-those-who-have-never-heard-about-jesus www.gotquestions.org/never-heard.html www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=423 D ON ’ T R ELIGIOUS B ELIEFS J UST R EFLECT W HERE O NE W AS R AISED ? http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2010/02/common-objection-if-you-were-born-in.html http://kelvinho-kh.blogspot.com/2012/01/dont-religious-beliefs-just-reflect.html 325
www.everyschool.com/dont-religious-beliefs-just-reflect-where-one-was-raised W HAT IS THE C ONNECTION BETWEEN C HRISTIANITY AND J UDAISM ? www.gotquestions.org/difference-Christianity-Judaism.html www.christchurchcentralsheffield.co.uk/tough-questions/whats-the-differencebetween-christianity-and-judaism www.diffen.com/difference/Christianity_vs_Judaism I S H OMOSEXUALITY N ATURAL? www.thinkchristianly.org/part-8-answering-the-toughest-questions-abouthomosexuality-with-alan-shlemon http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2013/11/video-are-people-born-gay-or-not-by.html www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/homosexuality-know-the-truthand-speak-it-with-compassion-11606976.html H OW C AN A P ERSON G ET I NTO H EAVEN ? www.mrm.org/get-into-heaven http://jesus-is-savior.com/how_to_be_saved.html www.jesus-is-lord.com/2_heaven.htm H OW C AN I B E S URE T HAT I AM S AVED ? www.jesus.org/following-jesus/repentance-faith-and-salvation/how-can-i-be-sureim-saved.html www.cuttingedge.org/salvation.html www.thebiblechristian.com/?p=3945 http://so4j.com/how-can-i-know-i-am-saved D OES W HAT I T HINK R EALLY M ATTER ? www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/does-it-matter-what-i-think-kevin-hoddinottsermon-on-apologetics-general-36042.asp http://thechristianforum.org/2014/05/it-doesnt-really-matter-what-you-thinktruthexists http://dougbrittonbooks.com/onlinebiblestudiestemptationandovercomingsin/purelife-guardyourthoughtlife.php W HY S HOULD I W AIT U NTIL M ARRIAGE TO H AVE S EX ? www.soencouragement.org/nosexbeforemarriage.htm www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/sex/answers-to-tough-questions-about-sex http://powertochange.com/discover/sex-love/dynamicsex/ H OW D O W E K NOW THE B IBLE INCLUDES THE R IGHT B OOKS ? www.thinkchristianly.org/how-do-we-know-the-bible-includes-the-right-books/ 326
http://thetruth-blog.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-do-we-know-66-books-in-bible-are.html www.angelfire.com/nt/theology/theology/04canon.html I F G OD M ADE E VERYTHING G OOD , W HY S HOULDN ’ T I S MOKE P OT ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/ethics/if-god-made-everything-good-whyshouldnt-i-smoke-pot/ www.godandscience.org/doctrine/marijuana.html www.relevantmagazine.com/current/nation/should-christians-smoke-pot-or-not W HAT ARE THE C RUCIAL D IFFERENCES BETWEEN M UHAMMAD AND J ESUS ? www.godresources.org/compare-jesus-muhammad/differences-jesusmuhammad.shtml www.equip.org/article/muhammad-messiah-comparing-central-figures-islamchristianity/#christian-books-3 www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Jesus-Muhammad.htm I S T HERE E VIDENCE FOR LIFE AFTER D EATH ? www.equip.org/articles/is-there-evidence-for-life-after-death http://discoveryseries.org/ten-reasons/in-life-after-death www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2461227/posts?page=20 H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN RELATE TO CULTURE ? http://jameseckman.blogspot.com/ http://kelvinho-kh.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-should-christian-relate-toculture.html http://life.biblechurch.org/slifejom/corporate-publications/599-christians-andculture-tim-keller.html www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/book/e/21/t/culture-and-the-christian.aspx W HAT MAKES CHRISTIANITY UNIQUE ? www.christianministriesintl.org/articles/What-Makes-Christianity-Unique.php www.everyschool.com/print/article/what-makes-christianity-unique www.gotquestions.org/Christianity-unique.html www.comereason.org/what-makes-christianity-unique.asp http://impactapologetics.com/world-religions-what-makes-jesus-unique-mp3/ W HY ARE THERE SO MANY DENOMINATIONS ? www.gotquestions.org/denominations-Christian.html www.gotquestions.org/so-many-religions.html http://compellingtruth.org/so-many-religions.html www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-r006.html 327
H OW DO I SHARE MY FAITH ? www.churchleaders.com/youth/youth-leaders-blogs/138405ten_reasons_i_love_sharing.html www.christianpost.com/news/5-ways-to-inspire-your-teenagers-to-share-thegospel-97281/ www.sermoncentral.com/article.asp?article=a-Greg_Stier_1_15_07 www.dare2share.org/worldviews/buddhists/ www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/faithandlife/devotionals/17.10.html www.simplyyouthministry.com/resources-curriculum-small-groupsevangephobia.html H OW C AN J ESUS B E G OD AND M AN ? www.gotquestions.org/hypostatic-union.html http://carm.org/jesus-two-natures www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-can-jesus-be-god-and-man I F G OD M ADE THE U NIVERSE , T HEN W HO M ADE G OD ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/apologetics/if-god-made-the-world-then-whomade-god http://christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c039.html www.godandscience.org/apologetics/who_created_god.html http://carm.org/who-made-god-richard-dawkins
A REN’ T A LL RELIGIONS B ASICALLY THE S AME ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/apologetics/arent-all-religions-basically-the-same www.bethinking.org/is-christianity-the-only-way/q-dont-all-religions-basicallyteach-the-same-thing http://apologeticjunkie.blogspot.com/2011/08/do-all-religions-lead-to-god.html W HAT D O B UDDHISTS B ELIEVE ? www.christianministriesintl.org/articles/What-Do-Buddhists-Believe.php www.compellingtruth.org/what-is-Buddhism.html www.gotquestions.org/buddhism.html W HAT D OES I T M EAN THAT G OD “I NSPIRED ” THE B IBLE ? www.gotquestions.org/Bible-inspired.html www.compellingtruth.org/Bible-inspired.html www.bethinking.org/is-the-bible-reliable/q-what-does-it-mean-the-bible-is-inspired
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C AN G OD M AKE A R OCK S O B IG T HAT H E C AN ’ T LIFT I T? – ALEX M CF A RLAND www.alexmcfarland.com/Can-God-Make-A-Rock-So-Heavy-that-He-Could-NotL.html http://carm.org/questions/about-god/can-god-make-rock-so-big-he-cant-pick-it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jRMWKz4hbw D OES THE B IBLE E NDORSE S LAVERY ? http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201104/201104_108_NT_slavery.cfm hwww.apologetics315.com/2011/09/slavery-in-bible-articles-audio.html www.godandscience.org/apologetics/slavery_bible.html W HAT IS THE C ORE OF THE B IBLICAL W ORLDVIEW ? www.compellingtruth.org/Christian-worldview.html http://carm.org/what-are-some-christian-worldview-essentials www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian-worldview/why-is-a-christianworldview-important/why-your-worldview-matters D O C HRISTIANS AND M USLIMS W ORSHIP THE S AME G OD ? www.str.org/articles/do-christians-and-muslims-worship-the-same-god www.answering-islam.org/authors/clarke/worship_same_god.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=n52BzWKLn9g D OES THE B IBLE T EACH R EINCARNATION ? www.gotquestions.org/reincarnation.html www.watchman.org/articles/new-age/does-the-bible-teach-reincarnation http://whataboutjesus.com/ressurection/afterlife-series/does-bible-teachreincarnation www.godandscience.org/apologetics/reincarnation.html C AN P EOPLE W HO C OMMIT S UICIDE G O TO H EAVEN ? www.godandscience.org/doctrine/christians_who_kill_themselves.html http://christiananswers.net/q-dml/suicide-and-heaven.html www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/can-a-christian-commit-suicide-and-still-besaved-a-biblical-analysis S HOULD C HRISTIANS B E T OLERANT ? www.youtube.com/watch?v=e28x8N_T1tc www.thinkchristianly.org/are-christians-intolerant-should-they-be/ www.compellingtruth.org/tolerance-Christian.html www.gotquestions.org/tolerance-Christian.html
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W HAT I S APOLOGETICS ? www.apologeticsindex.org/373-apologetics www.gotquestions.org/Christian-apologetics.html http://carm.org/apologetics I S THE N EW T ESTAMENT R ELIABLE ? http://carm.org/manuscript-evidence www.josh.org/resources/study-research/answers-to-skeptics-questions/hasntthe-new-testament-changed www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfCWFix43E0 I S C HRISTIANITY A C OPYCAT R ELIGION ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/apologetics/is-christianity-a-copycat-religion http://carm.org/christianity/bible/doesnt-religion-mithra-prove-christianity-false http://creation.com/pagan-copycat-thesis-refuted www.tektonics.org/copycat/pagint.php ARE THE T EACHINGS OF J EHOVAH ’ S W ITNESSES C OMPATIBLE WITH THE B IBLE ? www.seanmcdowell.org/index.php/cults-religions/are-the-teachings-of-jehovahswitnesses-compatible-with-the-bible/ www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-r005.html http://wit.irr.org/four-dangers-of-jehovahs-witnesses W HAT D OES THE B IBLE T EACH ABOUT P URGATORY ? http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/what-does-the-bible-say-about-purgatory/ www.compellingtruth.org/purgatory.html www.equip.org/article/is-purgatory-a-biblical-concept W HAT I S H EAVEN LIKE ? http://everyschool.com/what-is-heaven-like www.everystudent.com/forum/heaven2.html www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-is-heaven-like11636670.html www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCC4D03ED733C539E
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APOLOGETIC S TUDY BIBLE - QUESTIONS (NON-STUDENT VERSION) Similar to the Apologetic Study Bible for Students, the following is the list of questions which are in the non-student edition of the Apologetic Study Bible. As many of the questions are the same, I’ve only included the list and not the links. If you are interested, you can search for answers to these questions as I did for the questions from the student edition. AN WE STILL BELIEVE IN DEMONS TODAY ? C W HAT IS APOLOGETICS ? H OW CAN MODERN MEDICINE RELATE TO THE O LD T ESTAMENT ? I S THE N EW T ESTAMENT T RUSTWORTHY ? ARE THE TEACHINGS OF J EHOVAH ’S W ITNESSES COMPATIBLE WITH THE BIBLE ? T HE T RINITY : IS IT POSSIBLE THAT G OD CAN BE BOTH ONE AND THREE ? DOES SCIENCE SUPPORT THE BIBLE ? AN A C HRISTIAN HAVE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION ? C H OW CAN J ESUS ’ DEATH BRING FORGIVENESS ? DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THERE IS A PURGATORY ? I S M ORMONISM COMPATIBLE WITH THE BIBLE ? I S G OD A MALE ? I NTELLECTUALS WHO FOUND G OD W HAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT C HRIST ? H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN RELATE TO THE N EW AGE MOVEMENT ? ARE THE DAYS OF G ENESIS TO BE INTERPRETED LITERALLY ? H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN UNDERSTAND THE AGE OF THE EARTH CONTROVERSY ? W HAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ABORTION ? W HAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT EUTHANASIA? I SN ’T LOGIC ARBITRARY ? AS I SRAEL’ S RELIGION UNIQUE IN ITS ANCIENT CONTEXT ? W AN BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY BE TRUSTED? C AN G OD’ S ACTIONS BE DETECTED SCIENTIFICALLY ? C I S PSYCHOLOGY BIBLICAL? H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN RELATE TO CULTURE ? H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT ? AN SOMETHING BE TRUE FOR YOU AND NOT TRUE FOR ME ? C W HO ARE YOU TO JUDGE OTHERS ? I SN ’T THAT JUST YOUR INTERPRETATION ? BUT ISN ’T C HRISTIANITY INTOLERANT ? DOES THE MORAL ARGUMENT SHOW THERE IS A G OD? W HAT IS NATURAL LAW ? H OW SHOULD WE HANDLE UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE ?
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DOES THE N EW T ESTAMENT MISQUOTE THE O LD T ESTAMENT ? W HY WOULD A GOOD G OD SEND PEOPLE TO AN EVERLASTING H ELL? AREN ’T RELIGIOUS BELIEFS JUST REFLECTING WHERE ONE WAS RAISED? DOES THE BIBLE TEACH REINCARNATION ? I F G OD MADE THE UNIVERSE , WHO MADE G OD? ASTERN RELIGIONS ? H OW DOES C HRISTIANITY RELATE TO OTHER E DID J ESUS REALLY RISE FROM THE DEAD? H OW CAN THE BIBLE AFFIRM BOTH DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY AND HUMAN FREEDOM ? DOES THE DESIGN ARGUMENT SHOW THERE IS A G OD? H OW CAN WE KNOW ANYTHING AT ALL ? W HY SO MANY DENOMINATIONS ? DOES THE BIBLE REALLY CONTAIN NO ERRORS ? DOES THE BIBLE AFFIRM O PEN T HEISM ? H OW CAN G OD HAVE ALL POWER AND BE LOVING AND YET THERE BE EVIL ? DOES THE BIBLE SUPPORT THE IDEA OF A JUST WAR ? H OW CAN WE KNOW THE BIBLE INCLUDES THE CORRECT BOOKS ? AS THE BIBLE BEEN ACCURATELY COPIED THROUGH THE CENTURIES ? H AN RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE SHOW THERE IS A G OD? C H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN RELATE TO THOSE IN NON -C HRISTIAN MOVEMENTS AND RELIGIONS ? H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN UNDERSTAND P OSTMODERNISM ? H OW DOES C HRISTIANITY RELATE TO B AHAI ? ARE J ESUS ’ CLAIMS UNIQUE IN THE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD? W HAT ABOUT H OLY WAR ? W HY THE DISCIPLES ’ CONVICTION THEY SAW THE RISEN J ESUS ESTABLISHES THE HISTORICITY OF THE RESURRECTION ? I S THE TRANSFORMATION OF J ESUS ’ DISCIPLES DIFFERENT FROM THE FOUNDERS OF OTHER RELIGIONS ? AN N ATURALIST THEORIES ADEQUATELY ACCOUNT FOR THE C RESURRECTION ? ARE BIBLICAL MIRACLES IMITATIONS OF PAGAN MYTHS ? H OW DOES THE H OLY S PIRIT RELATE TO EVIDENCE FOR C HRISTIANITY ? W HAT SHOULD A C HRISTIAN THINK ABOUT NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES ? H OW SHOULD A C HRISTIAN DEAL WITH DOUBT ? I S THERE EVIDENCE FOR LIFE AFTER DEATH ? AREN ’T ALL RELIGIONS BASICALLY THE SAME ? H OW DOES THE BIBLE RELATE TO J UDAISM ? I S BEAUTY IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER ? DOES THE BIBLE DEMEAN WOMEN ? ACT OR F ANTASY ? E VOLUTION : F I S THE O LD T ESTAMENT TRUSTWORTHY ? ALILEO ? DIDN ’ T THE CHURCH OPPOSE G DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THE ABUSE OF NATURE ? 332
