l) Lesson 9 APOLOGETCS - The Evidences that Strengthen Christianity’s Circular Reasoning

Read pages 225 - 254.

Limitations of Apologetics

1) One focus of this book has been to clearly show that everyone must begin with faith assumptions.
Everyone must make the leap of faith before they can even begin the reasoning process.
(See page 190 textbox)  Before we even begin with Apologetics we need to be aware of its limitations.

eg.  We can know that someone like Jesus did live at the turn of the millennia.  There is enough extra
biblical evidence for that. But we do need to accept by faith that the Bible’s interpretation of that one
solitary life is the truth.

2) Discuss:  A good grasp of a strong apologetic of the Christian Faith can never prove the truth
of the gospel.  It can only show that the Jesus-truth is the best hypothesis (the best intelligent guess)
for life and all that needs explaining.  It is a far better hypothesis than all the others from the various
religions (including secular atheism) that are available.

(a biased statement to be sure but given after careful examination of all the facts))

3) How do we move from the humble realization that the Bible Story is the best hypothesis we have
to the confidence of faith that will stay true even in the face of a martyr’s death. (See page 193  External / Internal Validation)

Witnessing to Others

4) How important is the humble confession that we too are beginning, or did begin, with faith assumptions when we
share with others who are struggling to understand and believe?  

5) Why doesn’t God come right out and show himself to those struggling to belief?  Consider that
Jesus never appeared to any of the Pharisees after his resurrection? Consider too that only two
(Joshua and Caleb) entered the promised land from the whole generation that witnessed the Exodus
and all of the unbelievable wilderness wandering miracles.  Consider the value that God places on faith and a love
response to him. He could overwhelm anyone if he wanted to but he doesn’t.

Apologetics and Personal Growth

6) There are two struggles in our lives: first of all the struggle to believe that Jesus is indeed the “Way,
the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6)  and secondly the struggle to live that truth in our day to day through
all the ups and down of life’s varied situations. How are these two struggles related?.  Which of these
struggles is the focus within your life at this time? (Possibly a sharing and a praying for each other time.).

7) Western culture, and much of the church with it, is focusing more and more on experiences, on feelings. 
This is a reaction to the more intellectual approach to the faith of yesteryear?  (Apologetics was a strong
component of that earlier trend - during the age of Modernism / rationalism)  

    

How is this lack of apologetics teaching today impacting our grasp of and our commitment to the Christian Story? How is the increased emphasis on feelings in our day impacting the strength of our commitment to Jesus?

8) How important is it that every believer have a working knowledge of their personal 12 Stones?
How might one develop such a working knowledge?

9) Evaluate the following facts, realities.  How helpful are they for our individual struggle to believe
that Jesus is the truth,

• Many highly influential contemporary people have been solid believers in Jesus.  Stone # 6
• Many highly successful scientists are committed believers.  Stone # 8
• It is helpful to understand the negative bias (so often unrecognized) that critics of the Christian Faith have.
• Good intellectually satisfying answers have been presented by Christian apologists to all the criticisms leveled at Christianity and its book, the Bible.
• The Bible has earned the right to be seriously considered when searching for answers to life’s big questions.  (Most now a days simply dismiss the Bible out of hand. Most are unaware of its long unprecedented history.)

10) Today’s critics are strongly focusing on undermining confidence in the Bible as a reliable document
from antiquity. They see it simply as myth. They point to the unbelievable miracles, the supernatural events

in the Bible. When processing this criticism we need to be aware that we are dealing with a completely

different perspectives of reality. The atheists view reality simply as monolayered, no spiritual dimension,

no god, angels Satan etc. The Bible teaches a multilayered perspective of reality. There is both a godly

supernatural layer, as well as a Satanic evil layer. Both layers do intersect with our material layer.

Which perspective of reality fits our observation of our world better? Consider all the amazing advances in science

over the last half century. The mega information in DNA, molecular machines, .the mystery of life that

evolutionary scientists have tried to solve for 50 years with no success, the mystery of evil that seems

again to be overwhelming the human story.. ..

A perspective that allows for a Creator God will have no problem with miracle and the supernatural.

Wrap Up

Romans 1: 18-20  This passage claims that their is plenty of evidence for Biblical perspective of reality  Where is all this
evidence? What has happened to it? Consider the fact that most science facts need to be interpreted.

Has all the evidence been kidnapped by science?

 

Psalm 19  Possibly a simple meditative read-through as a closing.  God-evidence in creation,
in his Word, and in experience.