Christian Beginnings Wednesday May 1st



Wed. May 1st....Talk about Miller, Pg. 77
Fri. May 3rd....talk about Blomberg, Pg. 99
Mon. May 6th....talk about Borg, Pg. 117

-What is apologetics?
- defending a point of view, especially a religion

-What are Christian Apologetics?
- defend the faith of Christianity against skeptics. provides rational foundations for believers.
"to prove Christianity is true."

-Conservatives say "you should believe in Christ because He is true."
-some liberals say all religions have some truth, Christianity no more than others.
-truth is relative and subjective

-apologists: someone who engages in apologetics.

-Did Jesus and the early church embrace the concept of Apologetics?

-yes.
-Jesus says to make disciples of all nations, how could we if we don't know the truth.
-1 Peter 3:15-- "be ready always to give a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason of the hope that is in you."
-John 14:6-- Jesus said, " i am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father(God) except through me."
-Acts--the early disciples " reasoned from the scriptures" and proved to people that Jesus is the Messiah.

counter-argument to skeptics:
-the Gospel of Matthew says the pharisees bribed the guards at the tomb to lie and say the disciples stole the body of Jesus. if the resurrection is a metaphor than why would they cover up a metaphor? the only explanation is that the resurrection must have been seen as literal by those who were there.
-references to the empty tomb. Paul's statement that without the resurrection Christianity is to be the most pathetic group because they believe a lie, but it is not. ( 1 Corinthians 15 )

Miller: apologetics is "preaching to the choir." and it rarely convinces anyone.

-Counter-arguments to Skeptics that not many come to faith in Christ due to Apologetic defenses.
-C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
-Walter Martin (Kingdom of the Cults)
-William Lane Craig
-Lee Strobel (A case for Christ)
-Hank Hanaggraff (Christianity in Crisis)
-Josh McDowell (More than a carpenter)
-Simon Greenleaf
-famous juror
-used legal evidence about the resurrection in court and found that the evidence was in the favor of the Biblical record that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead was true, therefore he became a Christian.