Transcript DEFENDING YOUR FAITH

DEFENDING YOUR FAITH
A Basic Course in Christian Apologetics
“Science expert”?
Interest ≠ expertise
What is apologetics?
Greek “Apologia”
Speaking in defense
A story
Reasoned arguments
What is apologetics?
Does God exist?
There are good reasons to believe
God exists.
If God exists, it matters.
What is apologetics?
Did Jesus rise again?
There are good reasons to believe
Jesus rose again.
If Jesus rose, it matters.
What is apologetics?
Is the Bible reliable?
There are good reasons to believe
the Bible is reliable.
If the Bible is reliable, it matters.
Why do apologetics?
Because it matters for everyone.
We are made to reason
Imago Dei (Gen. 1:27)
“Come, let us reason” (Is. 1:18)
The Great Commission
“Make disciples” (Mat. 28:18-20)
Preach the Word
“Be prepared” (2 Tim. 4:2)
Why do apologetics?
“…both in my imprisonment and in
the defense and confirmation of
the Gospel all of you became
partners in God’s grace together
with me. …I am placed here for
the defense of the Gospel.”
(Phil. 1:7,16)
Who does apologetics?
Jesus
(Jn. 14:10-11; Mat. 22:37)
Paul (Acts 17:16-34)
Peter (Acts 2, 1 Pet. 3)
Isaiah (Is. 8:11-22)
Prophets (OT)
Apostles (NT)
Christians (History)
How to do apologetics
"But in your hearts revere Christ as
Lord. Always be prepared to give
an answer to everyone who asks
you to give the reason for the hope
that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect..."
(1 Pet. 3:15)
How to do apologetics
“…in your hearts
revere Christ as Lord.”
The Gospel is the goal.
How to do apologetics
“Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks
you to give the reason for the
hope that you have.”
Reason for hope
(for you as well as others)
How to do apologetics
“But do this with
gentleness and respect…”
Speak the truth in love.
Fruit of the spirit.
Argue not with a fool.
Arguing ≠ quarreling
Leave the results to God.
Where does faith fit in?
Where does faith fit in?
Faith is the foundation of our belief, so it
has to come first.
Where does faith fit in?
"Now faith is confidence in what we
hope for and assurance about what
we do not see."
(Hebrews 11:1)
Where does faith fit in?
"By faith we understand that the
universe was formed at God’s
command, so that what is seen was
not made out of what was visible."
(Hebrews 11:3)
By faith
we understand
Where does faith fit in?
”The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom…"
(Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10)
By faith
we understand
Where does faith fit in?
He’s the loftiest idea in literature
He’s the highest personality in philosophy
He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism
He’s the fundamental doctrine in true theology
(S.M. Lockredge)
Where does faith fit in?
God is “that than which nothing greater
can be conceived.”
(St. Anselm’s Ontological Argument)
God is, for the Christian…
• Properly Basic
• Ultimate Commitment
• Deepest Conviction
• Highest Authority
• Most Fundamental Presuppositions
• First Principal
• Axiomatic
• A Priori Assumption
Where does faith fit in?
• God is our most important belief.
• Our most important beliefs require
faith. Why?
• We can’t prove our most important
belief (God) by anything greater, so
He must be held by faith.
Where does faith fit in?
CHRISTIANITY
THE GOD OF THE BIBLE
Where does faith fit in?
ISLAM
ALLAH OF THE QUR’AN
Where does faith fit in?
BUDDHISM
TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA
Where does faith fit in?
ANY BELIEF SYSTEM
YOUR MOST BASIC BELIEF
Where does faith fit in?
ATHEISM
“I believe in
logic and
reason.”
“I’m a person
of science.”
“There’s no
evidence for
God.”
LAWS OF LOGIC
Where does faith fit in?
MOST BASIC
BELIEF
CIRCULAR
REASONING
MOST BASIC
BELIEF
(ALL BELIEFS)
Where does faith fit in?
CIRCULAR REASONING
“When God made His promise to
Abraham, since there was no one
greater for Him to swear by, He swore
by Himself…”
(Hebrews 6:13)
Where does faith fit in?
CIRCULAR REASONING
“I am One who testifies for Myself; My
other witness is the Father, who sent
Me.”
(Jesus in John 8:18)
Where does faith fit in?
This is “Christian apologetics”??
What sets Christianity apart from
other belief systems?
Our faith in what we CAN’T see
makes sense of what we CAN.
Where does faith fit in?
True or False:
FAITH and REASON
are INCOMPATIBLE
False!
Where does faith fit in?
"By faith we understand…”
FAITH vs. REASON?
Where does faith fit in?
"By faith we understand…”
FAITH vs. REASON?
Faith vs. Reason
is a False Dichotomy
Where does faith fit in?
"By faith we understand…”
FAITH vs. REASON?
Faith vs. Reason
is a Straw Man
Where does faith fit in?
"By faith we understand…”
FAITH vs. REASON?
Faith vs. Reason
is a Red Herring
Where does faith fit in?
FAITH
REASON
"By faith we understand…”
The Argument
from Reason
The Argument from Reason
THE CHRISTIAN CLAIMS BY FAITH:
1. Logic and reason come from God
WE ALL OBSERVE:
2. Logic and reason are Laws we follow
3. Laws of Logic are universal & unchanging
4. You can’t NOT know the Laws of Logic
The Argument from Reason
Our faith in what we CAN’T see
(The God of the Bible)
makes sense of what we CAN
(Universal laws of logic)
The Argument from Reason
1.
1.
2.
3.
NATURALISTS CLAIMS BY FAITH:
Laws of Logic come from a mindless universe
WHAT WE OBSERVE:
Laws don’t come from mindlessness
Laws of Logic aren’t personal preference
We would need logic to invent logic
The Argument from Reason
THE LAWS OF LOGIC
AND REASON
CIRCULAR
REASONING
THE LAWS
OF LOGIC AND REASON
The Argument from Reason
Christian faith makes sense
of what we can observe.
Faith in Naturalism does not make sense
of what we can observe.
The Argument
from Morality
The Argument from Morality
THE CHRISTIAN CLAIMS BY FAITH:
1. Morality (right & wrong) comes from God
WE ALL OBSERVE:
2. Moral obligations are Laws we follow
3. Moral Law are universal & unchanging
4. You can’t NOT know about Moral Law
The Argument from Morality
Our faith in what we CAN’T see
(The God of the Bible)
makes sense of what we CAN
(Universal, unchanging moral law)
The Argument from Morality
NATURALISTS CLAIMS BY FAITH:
1. Morality is a product of human evolution
WHAT WE OBSERVE:
2. Morals/Ethics are Law-like
3. Moral obligation is not subjective/relative
4. We would need morality to invent morals
The Argument from Morality
THINGS ARE
RIGHT OR WRONG
CIRCULAR
REASONING
THINGS ARE
RIGHT OR WRONG
The Argument from Morality
Christian faith makes sense
of what we can observe.
Faith in Naturalism does not make sense
of what we can observe.
Moral Argument  Gospel
More reading on these topics
The Allure of Gentleness by Dallas Willard
A Reason for God by Timothy Keller
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace
God Breathed: The Undeniable Power and Reliability of Scripture (2015) by Josh McDowell
Is The Bible True…Really? (2011) by Josh McDowell
When Skeptics Ask (2008 version) by Norman Geisler
How We Got the Bible by Rose Publishing
How The Bible Came To Us by Meryl Doney
Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie
www.GodAndNeighbor.net (Mike Johnson’s blog)