Studying Apologetics

Matthew and Luke each contain short but elaborate birth narratives concerning Jesus’. Within each of their narratives,both Matthew and Luke mention the genealogies of Jesus which when compared to each other are quite different. In Matthews gospel he traces Jesus’ ancestry back to that “of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1). While in Luke’s gospel, Jesus is traced back through David and Abraham to Adam and God. Now, even though both Matthew and Luke’s genealogies are not the same, what is even more concerning is that neither is overly correct. In regards to Matthews take on Jesus’ genealogy, one can see that his “genealogy suggests — indeed, it almost demonstrates— that the entire course of Israel’s history has proceed according to divine providence” (116). However, historians today know about two thirds of

Brown, Neil. "The New Atheism and The Existence of God.” Compass, 46, no. 3, 2-5. Kensington, Australia: Compass, Spring 2012.

I do possess my own ideals, but for the most part believe in the existence of God and understand the controversial debates that go on about the issue versus science. Because I was knowledgable about faith, I figured this assignment would be simple and not time-consuming. But here is where I thought wrong, my knowledge would not help me because the focus of our research paper had to be based and supported by proven facts and statistics. How would I write a paper on an issue that is fully backed by the faith of an

Without knowing that there are philosophies that try to explain the idea of Skepticism, I have always tried to not claim anything or accept anything that could not be proven to me in some way (Detrick, “In Search of Truth: Western Philosophy”). This can be a problem for some people when it comes to religion, but the facts that have been produced, have me able to accept the idea of Christianity in most instances. That being said, I now know that I am also a little agnostic because, I believe, “that it is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty (Detrick, “In Search of Truth: Western

Christian gospel in many ways is perceived in this day and age are a lost word. People have the art of praying and staying faithful to the word of God. God provided us with all kinds of blessings and opportunities in life so that we can flourish and prosper. Also God took all our sin to the cross and forgave us for everything we done that was not right in his eyes. We need to also understand that there is only one God and we need to cherish it every day of our lives. Today’s culture perceives the Gospel almost the same was as old days but how man tries to rewrite the word to fits our society today, people believe that s God except so of things that are going on today

Groothuis, Douglas R.. Christian apologetics: a comprehensive case for biblical faith. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic ;, 2011.

Yes, the author is able to support his conclusion through the evidence provided in the book. Though the evidence is provided, it is still up to the reader to fulfill the actions discussed by the authors as to how to live out their faith in a secular Western culture. In order to succeed in this, the readers must also be knowledgeable in the stories of the biblical narrative. This will allow them to represent Christianity as faithful witnesses of Christ’s love.

The question of the importance of historicity aside, there can be little harm done in pondering the accuracy of a work. The Hebrew Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh have come under close scrutiny

Either way fact or not, this was a great read, it left me as a reader with many questions to ask those who may know more. It gave me the want to resource the people mentioned and the events that took place. It did what it was supposed to, it stated historical content, brought up spiritual questions and informed of others thoughts and

There are many things about Jesus that Dr. Ehrman and Dr. Bird do not debate in these books. They both recognize that Jesus was a real historical figure that was born in Galilee. They both believe that: the Gospels are the earliest writings we have of Jesus, Jesus was crucified, died on the cross, and some of Jesus’ disciples truly believed he rose from the dead (Robert Bowman). In class, Dr. Ehrman talked about veridical vs non-veridical vision. He believes that they may have had visions, or hallucinations, of Jesus after his crucifixion. It is nearly impossible to prove if Jesus truly appeared to them or not. It would be amazing if new evidence could be found for these types of discussions.

The Case for Faith, was written by Lee Strobel who at the time was an outspoken atheist. Strobel set out on a mission to disprove the Christian faith. Along the way, as he gathered information he was slowly convinced that there was truth to the religion. In result of his findings Strobel published three books to help explain his findings. In this book he discusses objections that arise in the minds of believers. Strobel discusses eight different objection, thoroughly explains them, and provides deep information to help resolve these objections. Some of the issues that he touched on are tilled; Since Evil and Suffering Exist, A Loving God Cannot, A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell, and I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't Be a Christian. Within each obligation Strobel includes Bible verses and professional explanations on objection at hand. The most beneficial sections are those where he gives simple analogies that can benefit anybody no matter where one is in the faith journey.

The aim of the Christian apologist is to appeal to the mind and to the heart of the unbeliever, with the necessary guidance and intervening of the Holy Spirit, by building a good case for the truth of Christianity. The classical method is a compelling approach because the “two-step” method establishes a strong case for the truth of theism and also creates a foundation which builds on the truth of the Christian worldview. This approach engages with natural theology but also recognizes that there are certain truths that can only be known through special revelation from God. Classical apologetics successfully provides an objective, solidified establishment of the Christian worldview in light of logic and reason through which the Holy Spirit uses those arguments and evidences to convict and convince the unbeliever.

In our modern times, Van Til, a Reformed Dutch philosopher and theologian was a major advocate for presuppositional apologetics. He said, “To find out what man is and who God is, one can only go to Scripture. Faith in the self-attesting Christ of the Scriptures is the beginning, not the conclusion, of wisdom!” That means that Scripture is the source of authority, the basis for all beliefs and the deepest conviction of the heart. If our thoughts are subject to God and we have repented of independent thinking than we can present the biblical worldview rightly. The purpose of an apologetic encounter is to bring an unbeliever to repentance and belief. Frame continues to build upon Van Tillian presuppositionalism. “It might seem strange to look in Scripture for teachings about knowledge, reasoning, proof, evidence, logic, and so on, but God often surprises us by getting involved in areas of life we would prefer to keep to ourselves. Indeed, every part of life is his domain, and thus he rules all of life, directly or indirectly, by his Word (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3: 17; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).” In the following discussion, Scriptures’ preeminence must be kept in the forefront.

I'm not one of those atheists who completely ignore theology or apologetics, but now, unless I uncover a book containing an argument that is unique, I feel like I've put in my time. I've read theology, apologetics, and watched many video lectures by the more prominent theologians. I've even taken a 300 level philosophy of religion course. (I am aware this doesn't make me a theologian.) Not to mention, I've read the Bible several times.

The mystery of God's existence has been a crucial element of many religious studies and traditions. Who is God? What is God? Where is God? To effectively discuss the existence of God, it is necessary to illustrate the notion of faith. People of faith believe that God does exist, and that relationship with God gives meaning to their lives. Others who are skeptical point to God as an obsolete hope of an ignorant human race. People today live in a world distinguished by sophisticated technology in which modern science has been a strong agent in questioning the existence of God.