We take a break from our normal Off Script format to share some seasonal reminiscences and lighthearted banter about Christmas past and present.  In this somewhat silly episode you’ll learn what Christmas song Rose hates, Dan’s most cherished childhood present, and Sean’s Christmas-eve meal preference.  Other exciting topics discussed in this podcast include: why Handel’s Messiah is awesome, how to poach a Christmas tree from state land, and when it’s ok to start listening to Christmas music.  Additionally, Rose will reveal an ethnic secret about herself that you won’t want to miss.

Apologetics 14: Science (Objection 2)

Although our culture commonly pits science and faith against each other, as if they’ve been at war for centuries, the truth is that faith gave birth to science.  In this lecture, you’ll learn about some of the main science objections that skeptics bring against Christianity and how to respond to them.

If you would like to take this class for credit, please contact the Atlanta Bible College so you can register and do the necessary work for a grade.

Notes:

Why Isn’t God’s Existence Obvious?

Theists Pioneered Most Branches of Science

“To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.” –Nicolaus Copernicus, the mathematician and astronomer (1473-1543) who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe

“…Those laws are within the grasp of the human mind. God wanted us to recognize them by creating us after his own image so that we could share in his own thoughts.”  –Johannes Kepler, the German mathematician and astronomer who discovered the laws of planetary motion

“If you study science deep enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.”  —Lord William Kelvin, who was noted for his theoretical work on thermodynamics, the concept of absolute zero and the Kelvin temperature scale based upon it.

“In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.”

“There can never be any real opposition between religion and science; for the one is the complement of the other. Every serious and reflective person realizes, I think, that the religious element in his nature must be recognized and cultivated if all the powers of the human soul are to act together in perfect balance and harmony. And indeed it was not by accident that the greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious souls.”  —Max Planck, the Nobel Prize winning physicist considered to be the founder of quantum theory, and one of the most important physicists of the 20th century, indeed of all time.

“The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power.”  –Nikola Tesla, the inventor and futurist scientist known for nume

In this episode, we pick up the conversation where the last lecture in my Apologetics class left off.  We review six reasons the bible gives for suffering as well as how to face pain and hardship.

By looking at Jesus and Paul, we see that God did not spare either of them from adversity.  Jesus came into this world as a hunted refugee, faced conflict and opposition his entire ministry, and then, in =the end, faced torture and execution.  Similarly Paul endured rejection, whippings, beatings, shipwreck, and martyrdom.  We can learn from these examples about how we can deal with difficulty in our own lives.

Also, we discuss the prosperity gospel and play a clip from John Piper who puts his finger on why such a theology is so dangerous.  Lastly, we draw inspiration from the words of the prophet Habakkuk who cried out to God to do something to deal with the rampant injustice of his day.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to first listen to podcast episode 62: Why Does God Allow Suffering? before listening to this episode.  It should be the one right before this one.  Here now is off script episode 19: more on why God Allows Suffering

Notes and Links:

Apologetics 13: Problem of Evil (Objection 1)

Now that we’ve established the existence of God, the historicity of Christ’s resurrection, and the bible’s veracity, we come to objections commonly brought against Christianity. The chief classical question posed to Christians throughout the eons is, “How can you believe in God when there is so much pain and suffering in the world?” Thankfully, the bible provides a range of answers to that question though, it’s not always clear which answer applies to a given situation.  In what follows I address the logical argument against God’s existence before going on to cover 6 major reasons why God allows suffering, including: (1) the Fall, (2) the devil, (3) God’s judgments, (4) using suffering for good, (5) lack of faith, and (6) time and chance.  Lastly, I explore some of what the scriptures teach us about dealing with suffering.

If you would like to take this class for credit, please contact the Atlanta Bible College so you can register and do the necessary work for a grade.

Notes:

This is a serious problem

outline

The problem stated and some possible solutions

Some suggested solutions

reformulating the proof

evil points to a source of evil

In part two of our series on objections to Christianity, we look at the issue of hypocrisy.  Many are unwilling to even consider Christianity as a viable option because they’ve witnessed or heard about some horrible act of hypocrisy by a Christian leader.  It’s hard to deny that hypocrisy is a major problem in Christianity today.  Whether we look at child molestation among Catholic priests, evangelicals who fall into adultery, or prosperity gospel preachers who squeeze every penny out of their poor congregations, hypocrisy is a black eye on the bride of Christ.  How can we talk to skeptics and unbelievers about this issue?  How can we avoid hypocrisy in our own lives?  The cure lies in the teaching and example of Jesus.  Listen to this frank discussion and learn how to respond to this ubiquitous objection.

Notes and Links:

Apologetics 12: New Testament Trustworthiness

For the New Testament we can employ several of the same lines of reasoning as the Old Testament, though there are a couple more to consider like internal evidence and messianic prophecies that help bolster the case. Furthermore, many people’s lives have been changed by reading and believing the words of the New Testament. No other book has such a legacy for radical life transformation.

If you would like to take this class for credit, please contact the Atlanta Bible College so you can register and do the necessary work for a grade.

Notes:

Reason #1: Archeology Supports the Bible

Reason #2: Unflattering Honesty

Reason #3: Changed Lives

Reason #4: Preservation

Reason #5: Internal Evidence

Reason #6: Messianic Prophesies

With this episode we are beginning a series on overcoming objections to Christianity.  To start with we want to address the criticism often leveled at bible-believing Christians today that our perspective on salvation is too narrow-minded and exclusive.  Who are we to say that all the other religions are wrong?  In order to tackle this issue, we begin with the words of Jesus himself who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14.6).  If we remain committed to scripture then the question is not, “Is Christ the only way to salvation?” but “How is that fair?”  What about the old lady in Fiji who never got a chance to hear about Jesus?  Listen in as we explore five answers to this important question.

Notes and Links:

Apologetics 11: New Testament Transmission

With the New Testament we can’t argue for a reliable transmission on the basis of meticulous Hebrew scribes. More often, especially early on, the Christian scribes focused more on quantity than quality so they could get the word out as quickly as possible. However, the sheer number of manuscripts that survived and the relatively early date of several ensure that we can employ a range of strategies to recover the original text with 99.5% accuracy. In fact, when we compare the New Testament to other ancient literature it is almost embarrassing how much better it is than the others.

If you would like to take this class for credit, please contact the Atlanta Bible College so you can register and do the necessary work for a grade.

Notes:

How To Determine Reliable Transmission

A Wealth of Manuscripts

Time Between Autograph and Extant Manuscript

Variants between Manuscripts

What do you believe about holiness?  Do you view it as an impossible ideal?  Slogans like “I’m not perfect, just forgiven” and “I don’t want to be holier than thou” show how uncomfortable we are with this whole subject.  Even so, God calls us to be holy as he is holy.  We cannot ignore or dismiss such a calling.  There must be some way to live up to his ideals.  In this episode, Keith Daniel, the revival preacher and evangelist from South Africa, brings a convicting and much needed message about holiness.

Notes and Links:

Apologetics 10: Old Testament Trustworthiness

Last time we looked as reasons to believe the Jewish scribes reliably transmitted the Old Testament so that what we have today is what they actually wrote. This time you’ll learn five main reasons why we believe the Hebrew bible is true: (1) archaeology, (2) medical insights, (3) unflattering honesty, (4) predictive prophecy, and (5) martyrdom. Although some of these are stronger than others, cumulatively they establish the veracity of scripture quite convincingly.

If you would like to take this class for credit, please contact the Atlanta Bible College so you can register and do the necessary work for a grade.

Notes:

Five reasons to believe the bible is true:

Reason #1: Archeology Supports the Bible

Reason #2: Miraculous Medical Accuracy

Reason #3: Brutal Honesty

Reason #4: Predictive Prophesy