Apologetics

• The Cosmological Argument
  
  How exactly does the visible universe show the existence of God? The answer is the main theme of classic apologetics, which uses nature and human experience as starting points for systematic reasoning leading to knowledge of God and His attributes. Each line of reasoning is known as a theistic argument. The four primary arguments are the cosmological, the teleological, the moral, and the ontological. The cosmological argument is the one leading to the conclusion that the universe must have originated in an act of creation by an ever-enduring power. The greatness of that power is suggested by the size of the universe. It is now estimated that in the visible universe there may be as many as 500 billion galaxies. Who knows how many are beyond sight?
  
  
  • lesson 1: Answers to the Question of Origins
    • Three possible answers
    • The possibility that the universe sprang from nothing
    • The possibility that the universe existed forever
    • The prevailing view of origins in the Last Days
    • Mythology masquerading as science
    • Bertrand Russell's objection to the cosmological argument
    
    
  • lesson 2: The Source of Being, Motion, and Life (Paul's expansion of the cosmological argument)
    • The source of being
    • The source of motion
    • The source of life
    • Conclusion
  
  
• The Teleological Argument
  
  The line of reasoning that discovers the Godhead of the Creator is known as the teleological argument (from the Greek word telos, meaning "purpose"). Throughout the created universe we see abundant evidence of purpose and design. We see the intricate beauty of a flower, the marvelous development of a baby, the perfect rhythm of planetary motions. Every purpose is conceived by an intelligent being, and every design is the work of a designer. Why must the source be a person? Because both purpose and design are the product of thought. Without thought there could be neither, because both consist of ideas. But only a person can think. Therefore, the great power that relied on purpose and design in creating the universe must be a person—specifically, because of His great power and wisdom, a divine person.
  
  
  • lesson 1: The Natural World
    • The divine person
    • The anthropic principle
    • Elementary matter
    • Properties of the earth and the sun
    • Evidence of design in birds
    • Evidence of design in the human brain
    • Evidence of design in the living cell
      
      
  • lesson 2: The Principles of Mathematics and Science
    • Evidence of design in mathematics
    • Evidence of design in natural law
      
      
  • lesson 3: Secular Explanations for Design
    • The Big Bang
    • Multiple universes
  
  
• The Moral Argument
  
  We perceive moral value as objective rather than subjective. For example, if I see a vandal breaking a windshield, I perceive not only the incident itself but also its moral significance as external to my own mind. The car is real. The boy is real. The shattering of glass is real. Also, the wickedness of what the boy does is real. I see the wickedness as inherent in the vandalism, not as a product of my own judgment. How could there be objective moral value in a universe containing only matter in motion, evolving by chance? Such value could exist only in a universe created by a moral Being—that is, by God.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • The argument
    • The Scriptural basis
  
  
• The Ontological Argument
  
  Our concept of God is so firmly joined to the concept of His existence that we can avoid the conviction that He exists only by a strong effort of will. This, I believe, is the essence of Anselm's argument. He is saying that no man can deny the existence of God without contradicting what he himself believes.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • The argument
    • The argument reformulated
    • The Scriptural basis
  
  
• Foundations of Faith
  
  We must humble ourselves before Jesus though we lack absolute proof of His deity. We must believe in Him though no writing in the sky or voice from heaven affirms His preeminence. In other words, we must receive Him by faith. Yet faith in Jesus Christ is not a fanciful, subjective preference. As we will show in these studies, a multitude of evidences establish who Jesus was.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Faith in God
    • Faith in the Bible
    • Faith in Jesus Christ
  
  
• The Towering Mind and Character of Jesus
  
  It should be obvious to any reader of the Gospels that Jesus overshadows His followers. He is far loftier in His mind and character than any mythic hero that the early church might have invented. Therefore, if the Jesus of Christianity cannot be a figment of pious imagination, the Gospels must be a truthful memorial to a real man.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Modern view of Jesus
    • Greatness of Jesus
  
  
• The Claims of Jesus
  
  The proof that Jesus is the Christ rests on the convergent testimony of two persons: Jesus Himself and God the Father. The testimony of God the Father exists in two forms: in the Scriptures that speak prophetically of Jesus, and in Jesus' supernatural works. These Scriptures and these works are the two main evidential bases of Christian faith.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • The need to test Jesus' claims
      • Jesus' view of Himself
      • View of John the Baptist
      • Relation between faith and facts
      • Twofold witness of the Father
      • Witness of prophecy
      • Witness of Jesus' works
  
  
• The Sixty-Nine Weeks of Daniel
  
  In all of the world's literature apart from the Bible, there is no prophecy that correctly specifies the nature and timing of unusual events hundreds of years in the future. Yet the prophecy laid out in Daniel 9:25-26, written centuries before the time of Jesus, yields specific dates for several key events in His ministry. Thus, this prophecy is in itself enough to establish, first, that the Bible is the Word of God and, secondly, that the One who came at the appointed time was the promised Messiah.
  
  
  • lesson 1: Event Starting the Clock
    • Oracle of Daniel
    • Starting point of the sixty-nine weeks
    • Persian edict to rebuild Jerusalem
    • Author of the commandment
      
      
  • lesson 2: Dates of Start and Finish
    • Date of the heavenly commandment
    • Transferring the date to the Julian calendar
    • Term of sixty-nine weeks
    • Date of the terminal month
      
      
  • lesson 3: Fulfillment
    • The Triumphal Entry
    • The Transfiguration
    • The coronation of Christ
    • The offices of Christ
    • Conversation signaling the start of the terminal month
    • Date of the Transfiguration
      
      
  • lesson 4: Date of the Crucifixion
    • Day of the week
    • Month and calendar day
    • Passover
    • Year
    • Date of the Transfiguration verified
      
      
  • lesson 5: Condemnation of Christ
    • Cutting off of the Messiah
    • Span of sixty-two weeks
    • Official condemnation
    • Date of Jesus' condemnation verified
      
      
  • lesson 6: Resurrection of Christ
    • Double meaning of Jerusalem
    • Jerusalem as the church
    • Opening and closing events
    • Convergence of prophecy and history
    • A pattern by design
    • Significance of the sixty-nine weeks
    • Illogic of unbelief
      
      
  • lesson 7: Chart Showing How the Prophecy Was Fulfilled
  
  
• The Lineage of Christ
  
  The Gospels furnish two genealogies of Jesus, and both trace His ancestry to David. Throughout His ministry, Jesus allowed others to call Him David's son. In the Book of Acts, which chronicles the early expansion of the church, the first reference to Jesus as the son of David occurs in an excerpt from one of Paul's sermons during his first missionary journey. The kingly descent of Jesus must therefore have been a teaching of the church from the very beginning.
  
  
  • lesson 1: Old Testament Prophecy
    • The righteous Branch
    • From the human race
    • From Abraham
    • The land of Moriah
    • From Isaac and Jacob
    • From Judah
    • From Jesse and David
      
      
  • lesson 2: New Testament Fulfillment
    • Consensus of the early church
    • Extrabiblical evidence
    • Reconciliation of the two genealogies
  
  
• The Virgin Birth of Christ
  
  Critics say that the early church invented the Virgin Birth to accomplish two apologetic purposes at once: first, to prove that Jesus was the Christ of prophecy, and, second, to prove that Jesus was God, on the assumption that it was more reasonable to view Him as the Son of God if He was not the son of a human father. Five lines of argument decisively set aside this view.
  
  
  • lesson 1: Prophecies in Genesis and Isaiah
    • The Protevangelium
    • Isaiah's oracle
    • The meaning of almah
    • Demonstration that the prophecy refers to a virgin birth
      
      
  • lesson 2: Prophecy in Jeremiah
    • Jeremiah's oracle
    • Demonstration that the prophecy is Messianic
      
      
  • lesson 3: Evidence of Its Historicity
    • The birth narratives
    • Demonstration that the Virgin Birth is not a fable
  
  
• The Name of Christ
  
  The reader is going to look at some tightly woven exegesis. If he follows along patiently despite the intricacies, he will come to understand some remarkable prophecies that, by themselves, verge on being decisive evidence of the supernatural, for they reveal, hundreds of years before the fact, that the coming Messiah would be a man named Jesus.
  
  
  • one lesson:
    • Prophecies
      • The pivotal prophecy in Zechariah 6
      • The pivotal prophecy in Zechariah 3
    • Types
    • Fulfillment
  
  
• The Birthplace of Christ
  
  Micah clearly states that the future ruler of Israel would come from Bethlehem. By associating the Messiah with the birthplace and ancestral home of King David, the prophet recalls and reaffirms the earlier prophecies that the Messiah would come from David's line. Yet Micah cautions the nation not to expect a mere man, for the Messiah would be the One "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." No mere man could be described as eternally preexistent. Thus, the ruler who would "come forth unto me" must unquestionably be God Himself.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Micah's prophecy
    • Invalidity of modern translations
    • Evidence from two birth narratives
    • Jesus' Galilean origins
    • Circumstantial evidence
  
  
• The Ministry of Christ
  
  Christ's prophetic ministry had two main aspects. First, through His teaching He lifted men to a higher understanding of God's will and purposes, and He pointed the way to becoming right with God. Second, He performed supernatural works attesting the truth of His teaching.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Teacher
    • Miracle worker
  
  
• The Suffering and Death of Christ
  
  Besides generally foretelling the humiliation of Christ, the passage from Isaiah 52:13 to the end of Isaiah 53 contains twelve specific prophecies that came to pass in the course of Jesus' life and death.
  
  
  • lesson 1: Isaiah 53
    • Prophecies
    • Fulfillment
    • The illogic of other interpretations
      
      
  • lesson 2: Zechariah 12:10
    • Prophecy
    • Fulfillment
  
  
• The Crucifixion of Christ
  
  A verse-by-verse exposition of Psalm 22 demonstrates that it points with great fullness and precision to Jesus' death on the cross.
  
  
  • lesson 1: The Crucifixion of Christ: Roman Practice
    • Structure of the cross
    • Remains of the crucified man found near Jerusalem
    • Piercing of the hands
    • Piercing of the feet
    • Elevation of the victim
      
      
  • lesson 2: Roman Crucifixion: Cause of Death
    • Case against asphyxiation
    • The trauma Jesus endured
    • Jesus' loss of body fluids
    • The seepage from Jesus' side
    • The cause of Jesus' death
      
      
  • lesson 3: Psalm 22 as Prophecy
    • Exposition
    • Answer to an objection
  
  
• The Resurrection of Christ
  
  The most straightforward interpretation of Psalm 16:10 is that a single event in the experience of the Holy One would both terminate His soul's stay in hell and spare His body from decay. The event that the prophecy foreshadows must be a resurrection, reuniting His soul and body in new, unending life. To forestall the corruption of His body, the resurrection would have to take place soon after His death, within a few days at most.
  
  
  • lesson 1: Prophecies
    • Exposition of Psalm 16:10
    • Answer to an objection
    • Exposition of Hosea 6:1-2
      
      
  • lesson 2: Types
    • The Feast of First Fruits
    • Fulfillment
    • Jonah's escape
  
  
• The Destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
  
  For scoffers at the supernatural, these prophecies must be among the most indigestible in the Old Testament. With utmost transparency, they say that soon after the death of the Messiah, the Jews would suffer a great disaster. A foreign people would invade the land, attack Jerusalem, and destroy both the city and the sanctuary.
  
  
  • lesson 1: The Holocaust in Psalm 69
    • Prophecy
    • Fulfillment
      
      
  • lesson 2: The Holocaust in Daniel 9
    • Prophecy
    • Fulfillment
  
  
• The Miracles of Jesus
  
  The requirement to do miracles has made it impossible for any false Messiah to fulfill prophecy. All the other requirements are stringent enough, but to do miracles also is beyond human cleverness. You, dear reader, may think yourself very shrewd and capable. But do you think that you could fool multitudes into accepting you as a miracle worker?
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Greatness of the miracles
    • Corroborative testimony
    • Answers to objections
  
  
• The Resurrection of Jesus
  
  The core affirmation of the Christian gospel is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. While insisting that men must accept the gospel by faith, the church does not neglect to give them sufficient proofs that the Resurrection was an actual event in history. The proofs we will lay out in these studies are not only sufficient; they establish the Resurrection as one of the best-attested events in antiquity. Our confidence in the Resurrection rests on competent eyewitnesses, otherwise inexplicable circumstances, and telling historical results.
  
  
  • lesson 1 : Eyewitness Testimony
    • The many appearances of the risen Jesus
    • Harmony of the four Gospel accounts
      
      
  • lesson 2 : Explanations Viewing the Disciples as Deluded
    • Rebuttal of the first counterhypothesis
    • Rebuttal of the second counterhypothesis
    • Rebuttal of the third counterhypothesis
    • Circumstantial evidence of the Resurrection
      
      
  • lesson 3 : Explanations Viewing the Disciples as Dishonest
    • Faults in the official story
    • Faults in modern skeptical theories
    • Integrity of the apostles
    • Historical aftermath
  
  
• The Church
  
  The great size, worldwide scope, and salutary influence of the church that Jesus founded are threefold testimony that He is indeed the Christ, and that His church is indeed God's chosen instrument for revealing Himself to the whole world.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Great size of the church
    • Worldwide scope of the church
    • Salutary influence of the church
  
  
• The New Creature in Christ
  
  The first or nearly the first miracle that every Christian can remember in his own life is conversion. At the moment someone believes in Christ, the benevolent hand of the Holy Spirit touches him and wholly transforms his life and character. Whether his former life was, in human estimation, sinful or exemplary, he becomes a new creature. The metamorphosis does not produce a perfect butterfly. Yet the convert does not remain the same old caterpillar either. The beauty that now shines forth from his face and heart defies natural explanation.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • He forsakes old sins.
    • His life acquires new meaning and purpose.
    • He gains a new perspective on life.
    • New virtues of indescribable sweetness possess his inner self.
    • He enjoys fellowship with God and sees answers to prayer.
    • As he matures and meets difficulties that would ordinarily be insurmountable, he receives divine aid to overcome them.
  
  
• The Reliability of the Gospels
  
  We will review the evidence that the Gospels were actually written by men who knew Jesus or Jesus' apostles. But since many opponents of Christianity have alleged that the Gospels contain false stories which the apostles fabricated for personal gain or for furtherance of the Christian cause, we will also review the evidence that the Gospels are not only authentic, but also trustworthy and true.
  
  
  • lesson 1: Physical and Literary Evidence of Authenticity
    • Numerosity of ancient manuscripts and versions
    • Early date of some ancient manuscripts
    • Early citations and parallels
    • Traditional attributions
      
      
  • lesson 2: Internal Evidence of Authenticity
    • Unity of style and purpose
    • Clues to authorship
    • Irrelevant evidence (prophecies of the holocaust in AD 70)
      
      
  • lesson 3: External Evidence of Authenticity
    • Absence of inaccuracies pointing to a later date of origin
    • Absence of deviant theologies influential during the second century
    • Inclusion of facts that only the contemporaries of Jesus would have known
      
      
  • lesson 4: Circumstantial Evidence of Trustworthiness
    • Presence in the church of many people who remembered the facts
    • Jewish conservatism
    • Persecution
    • Early scattering of believers
    • Willingness of the apostles to undergo a martyr's death
      
      
  • lesson 5: Internal Evidence of Trustworthiness
    • Absence of ordinary imperfections
    • Distinctive treatment of miracles
    • Absence of editorializing
    • Unflattering treatment of the apostles
    • Inclusion of difficulties
    • Overall harmony
  
  
• Birth Date of Jesus Christ
  
  The best available evidence concerning the date of Christ's birth indicates that the date was possibly 6 January (25 Kislev) 4 B.C.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Year when Jesus was born
    • Month and day when Jesus was born
    • Theological ramifications
  
  
• The Star of Bethlehem
  
  For many reasons a legion of commentators ancient and modern have believed that the star was a supernatural visitation of some sort. One reasonable possibility is that the star was an angel
  
  
  • one lesson
  
  
• Against Evolution
  
  When I belonged to the secular academic world, the well-informed people still believed in evolution by chance. They were pinning their hopes on neo-Darwinism, but this refinement of Darwin's theory failed to eliminate its implausibilities and its dearth of supporting evidence. The turning point in learned opinion arrived in the 60s and 70s, when it became exceedingly obvious that cell chemistry is far too complex to have been the product of random events. Any theory of evolution by chance became untenable to the extent of being absurd.
  
  But although leading intellectuals have known for over thirty years that classic evolutionary theory is bankrupt, the truth has not filtered down to ordinary people. It has not even filtered down to people who are reasonably well educated but who nevertheless depend on others to tell them what to believe. Why are most people still under the impression that evolution is a proven fact? Because most of the knowledgeable elite are not willing to say otherwise. The reason is fear, actually two fears: first, fear of reprisal. The academic world looks with hostility on anyone who challenges evolution, and it marginalizes or ostracizes him if he is trying to pursue an academic career. A second fear inhibiting the knowledgeable elite from speaking out is that they will open the flood-gates of irrationalism. "Irrationalism" is a code word for Biblical Christianity.
  
  
  • lesson 1: The Origin of Life
    • Darwinism's recent loss of credibility
      • The complexity of life
      • The dependence of life upon DNA
      • The impossibility of building useful molecules by chance
      • Absence of original conditions thought to be favorable to the origin of life
    • The verdict of sober science
    • Silence of the knowledgeable elite
    • Alternatives to Biblical theism
      
      
  • lesson 2: Mechanisms of Change
    • Lamarckism
    • Darwinism
    • Neo-Darwinism
    • Evolution by punctuated equilibria, or quantum speciation
  
  
• What Is Truth? (the philosophy of relativism)
  
  What is relativism? Relativism says that truth may be one thing for me, another for you. Such a simplistic philosophy would never have gained a serious hearing in the past. Only by working hard these last fifty years to dummy down education has the devil been able to convince people to accept relativism as a world view. Why can we reject it? For five reasons.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • What is relativism?
    • Relativism is illogical.
    • Relativism is hypocritical.
    • Relativism distorts what religions teach.
    • Relativism destroys religion.
    • Relativism keeps men from seeking the truth.
    • Christianity is the only tenable world view.
  
  
• Why Apologetics is Important
  
  Apologetics is unique to Christianity. Other religions never encourage their adherents to investigate deeply whether they are true. Nor do they ever use any manner of apologetics in their efforts to win converts. The reason is obvious. These false religions do not stand up to scrutiny. They fear being exposed for what they are—a clever system of lies. Therefore, they demand unreasoning faith in their teachings and unquestioning obedience to their teachers. But Christianity is different. It welcomes examination. Why? It is confident that it offers truth.
  
  
  • one lesson
    • Christianity as truth
    • Fallacies in relativism and pragmatism
    • Doctrines of Christianity
    • Purposes of apologetics
    • Mandate for apologetics
    • First objection to apologetics
    • Second objection to apologetics
    • Primary evidences of Christianity

© 2007, 2012 Stanley Edgar Rickard (Ed Rickard, the author). All rights reserved.