The Christian Apologetics

Over the centuries, Christianity has organised its beliefs into a systematic theology that draws from its sacred writing and tradition. While the main beliefs of Christianity are shared by all Christian variants, there are degrees of different in the interpretation of these beliefs and how they are lived out in everyday life. This can be seen in the important of sacred text, principle belief of the concept of salvation in John 3:16, principle belief of divine and humanity in ‘John 1:14’, principle belief of resurrection in ‘Mark 16:1-8’, principle belief of revelation in ‘1 corinthians14:6’, and beliefs through the Trinity in ‘2 Corinthians 13:14’. This essay will explain the important of the sacred text and the principal beliefs of Christianity.

Christianity is a faith based religious tradition, of which the follower is considered to be a Christian adherent. Thus, being a living tradition, Christianity is continually subject to change in accordance to the needs of the adherent and reaffirming the Christian tradition within a contemporary context. The aspects, which attribute the present existence of Christianity and its dynamism therein, include sacred texts and writings, ritual and ceremonies, beliefs and believers, and ethics. Ultimately, the aforementioned characteristics strive to form and continually validate answers to the enduring questions of life through a process of change, which simultaneously highlights Christianity as a living tradition.

Since the beginning of the Judaism, the Jewish people have been subject to hardships and discrimination. They have not been allowed to have a stabile place of worship and have also faced persecution and atrocities that most of us can not even imagine. Three events that have had a big impact on the Jewish faith were the building and destruction of the First Great Temple, the Second Great Temple and the events of the Holocaust. In this paper, I will discuss these three events and also explain and give examples as to why I feel that the Jewish people have always been discriminated against and not allowed the freedom of worship.

Jesus, a name known by billions throughout the world. To each, this name means something different; savior, friend, philosopher, prophet, teacher, fraud, fake, liar. Some even believe that He is just an imaginary character from the minds of those who wrote about Him. The Westminster Dictionary of Theology describes apologetics as, "Defense, by argument, of Christian belief against external criticism or against other worldly views" (Apologetics 31-32). Though there are still many mysteries that surround the ongoing debate about Christianity, evidence can now prove some of what Christians took by faith before. Now, more than ever, there is information to prove the existence of this man that walked

Levine’s book titled The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus proves to be a highly informative resource when trying to understand the intricate relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Levine’s primary objective seems to be a desire to address the idea that there is a vast, irreconcilable disparity between the beliefs and practices of Christians and Jews. Levine’s central argument focuses upon a common misperception of this dissimilarity: it is the result of Jesus being in direct opposition to Judaism. Furthermore, she contends that only a decided openness and interfaith dialogue between Christianity and Judaism can truly provide the most complete and compelling portrait of Jesus’s life and work. To me, the most edifying facet of Levine’s argument was her call to anchor Jesus within the historical and cultural context in which he was teaching in order to best understand his work and his message. Levine not only provides support for this idea throughout The Misunderstood Jew, but near the end of the novel also offers up ways in which both Christians and Jews can reconcile these two ostensibly conflicting perceptions of Jesus. Therefore, in this essay, I will analyze Levine’s arguments regarding the importance of historical/cultural context in Chapter One and Chapter Four while synthesizing it with her solutions presented in Chapter Seven.

The council of Nicaea occurred in the year 325 AD, by order of the Roman Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantine. Constantine wanted to convert to Christianity,and felt that a meeting of bishops should be held in order to resolve the controversy of the nature of God;and confusion as to whether God and Jesus are “two separate substance” or “of one substance.” At this time the failing Roman Empire was under his rule, and could not undergo division due to doctrinal differences. Too Constantine this was a threat to Christianity, he urged church officials to put their differences aside and to be “Christlike” agents. The main theological differences that arose were “Who is the Christ?

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.

Additionally, the Christians were accused of treason because they refused to worship or sacrifice to the emperor. Christians believed that the emperor was just a man, and that worship was only reserved for God. Many pagans felt this was very suspicious. The fact that Christians gathered together for church services and did not permit entry to non-Christians at these services did not help sway the suspicions held by pagans. In fact, it only fueled more speculation and rumors about the Christians. For instance, they were accused of being cannibals because of the misinterpretations of the Eucharist.

How is one persuaded to belief in God? Social influences certainly play a role in accepting or rejecting Christianity. Many people raised in a Christian environment receive positive classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. However, numerous individuals do not grow up in a positive Christian environment or have had negative experiences related to Christianity. How are they persuaded to belief in God? Rick Wade (1998) in his article “The Relevance of Christianity: An Apologetic,” offers one dimension to persuading non-Christians to believe. Wade’s perspective, however, had little relevance to my own conversion.

At the Council of Nicea, Emperor Constantine presided over a group of church building service bishop and other leadership with the intention of defining the nature of Deity for all of the Saviour ianity and eliminating confusion, controversy, and contestation within the church. The emperor saw the dustup within the church not only as a menace to Christianity but as a menace to society as well. The Council of Nicea overwhelmingly affirmed the divinity and eternality of Jesus Christ and defined the relationship between the Founding father and the Logos as “of one substance.” It also affirmed the Trey —the Father, Son, and Holy Purport were listed as three co-equal and co-eternal Individual . Arius presented his debate that Jesus Christ was not

This paper will highlight some of the historical points of division in Christianity and reflect on ways the church succeeded and failed in practicing professed beliefs. Christianity has become so diverse that some theologians have called it “Christian Pluralism”(Melton, 2007). In 1982 Anglican theologian David Barrett estimated that there were 20,800 denominations in Christianity across the globe (McGavran, 2012).

The authors of this book presented an argument for Christian orthodoxy by presenting eleven heresies, refuting them, and then presenting a case for Biblical Trinitarianism. Within each refutation, the authors gave an overview of the origin of the heresy, including “Key Scriptures” that were used as evidence for the heresy or were important in refuting the heresy and backing orthodoxy. After giving a brief history of each heresy, the authors detail the main defenders of orthodoxy against a given heresy. Each chapter ends with reasons the heresy is a heresy and affirmations of orthodoxy. For example, after talking about the origins of Donatism in North Africa because of the ‘unholy’ consecration of Caecilian, Augustine’s defense of orthodoxy against Donatism is covered detailing how he argued since a sacraments

In 325, close to three hundred bishops from across the Roman Empire gathered in Nicea, a city east of Constantinople, to discuss issues regarding theology and administration. Constantine saw the issues within the church not only as a threat to Christianity, but also as a threat to society. During their meeting, they sought out to define the nature of God and eliminate confusion and controversy within the church. The Council of Nicea eventually came to an agreement and defined the relationship between God and Jesus (the Father and the Son) as “of one substance”. Alongside this relationship, the Council also confirmed the Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) as three equal persons. This meeting set the stage for the way Christianity would

Christianity and Judaism are major world religions which, though they worship the same God, have marked differences which have caused two thousand years of strife and animosity between the two religions. In his book We Jews and Jesus, Samuel Sandmel likens the link between Judaism and Christianity to a type of parent-child relationship, saying, “Early Christianity was a Judaism; within a century after the death of Jesus it was a separate religion. It was critical of its parent, and hostile to it, and elicited from its parent reciprocal criticism and hostility.”1 Opposing views of Jesus Christ caused the initial rift between Judaism and Christianity and is the primary source of the tension between

When it comes to the topic of the early church, most of us will readily agree that Christianity sprang from Judaism and started in Palestine and that the first Christians were Jewish. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of “deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice.” Whereas some are convinced of the dominate position or heretic, others maintain the contrary positon or heresy.