Apologetics 1: Introduction

Have you ever heard of apologetics? This is the field where Christians seek to provide the reasons for why they believe what they believe. In a post-Christian society, it is increasingly important to understand the reasons for your faith. For example, why do you believe in God’s existence? Why do you think the bible is true? How do you know God raised Jesus from the dead? What about pain and suffering, modern science, or Christianity’s sexual ethics? In the next fifteen lectures, you’ll get answers to these important questions so you can build your own faith as well as get better at sharing it with 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. Here now is lecture one: Introduction.

Notes:

The Biblical Mandate for Apologetics

“The task of apologetics is to show that the evidence that the New Testament calls people to commit their lives to is compelling evidence and worthy of our full commitment. That often involves a lot of work for the apologist. Sometimes we would rather duck the responsibility of doing our homework, of wrestling with the problems and answering the objections, and simply say to people, ‘Oh, you just have to take it all in faith.’ That’s the ultimate cop-out. That doesn’t honor Christ. We honor Christ by setting forth for people the cogency of the truth claims of Scripture, even as God himself does.[1]”

Objections:

“Sadly, in our day many Christians argue that we ought not to be engaged in attempts to ‘prove’ the truth claims of Christianity, that faith and proof are incompatible. ”[2]

“The Bible never tells us to take a leap of faith into darkness and hope that there’s somebody out there. The Bible calls us to jump out of the darkness and into the light. That is not a blind leap.[3]”

Some say faith-healing is a charade, concocted by charlatans to build their empires on the backs of the afflicted and suffering.  Others think that Christians who reject healing contradict what Jesus said and did, preferring the comfort of tradition instead of unleashing God’s mighty power.  What do you believe about supernatural healing?  Listen in to this interview with Bill and Ann DeNenno to hear what they’ve learned in four decades of pursuing and practicing healing.  In this interview they discuss the benefits of keeping an open mind so that you can learn from others outside your own tradition.  They go on to talk about deliverance (casting out demons), including both some of the excesses they witnessed as well as the genuine results they’ve encountered.  Next they explain inner healing and how God can set us free from emotional wounds that happened long ago, but still push us around today.  Lastly, they share about Christ-centered healing, where they look to Christ as both the example and the active agent in healing today. You can contact the DeNennos directly via email at [email protected].

How much time do you spend with God alone?  Do you have a quiet time each day for scripture reading and prayer and meditation?  Drawing on the image of the vine in John 15, Keith Daniel passionately advocates for a daily devotional time to abide in him.  He argues that this time is the key to holy living.  If we commune with God consistently, then we can draw on the strength we receive then to walk with God the rest of the day.  Daniel believes this time is always under attack so you have to fight for it each and every day.

Today Hugh Knowlton joins Restitutio to talk about how to handle important doctrinal differences with other Christians.  So often such intra-Christian discussions generate more heat than light.  Does that mean we should all just ignore our differences, forcing smiles and hoping that no one peers beneath our thin veneer of unity?  Or should we charge headlong like a bull at the matador, eager to present our case and defeat all objections whatever the cost?  This interview will help you strike the balance between empathy and courage as Knowlton shows how he stood up for his monotheistic beliefs in a gracious way that refused to forsake kindness while disagreeing on a core issue.  In the course of the interview, Knowlton addresses five main questions from a biblical unitarian point of view:

Here is the text of the letter he sent:

Dear Ben,

As I have mentioned I don’t come from a traditional Trinitarian background and as a result, I have a different paradigm or way of thinking in regards to the relationship of God and His son, Jesus. Even though there is a difference I sincerely pray that what I believe will not bring offense or cause you to think that I am diminishing the Son if I believe, as I do, that he is not exactly the same (identical) as the Father.

You will surely agree that Christology is a massive subject! I don’t consider myself a theologian or a master on this subject but do enjoy studying it occasionally; more so during the last several years when I have been attending an orthodox church where the Trinity is not questioned and alternative beliefs as to who Christ is are not generally welcomed. I am not out to change the Christian world to my beliefs but do like to do “a check up from the neck up” to see if what I hold true still makes sense or whether I need to consider changes.

By fellowshipping with men like you, Larry and many others at PBC I have grown in my respect and understanding of your mindset and beliefs. It is good to gain understanding even if it does not end up with agreement on all points.

Before I address your questions I want to say that my answers are, in my estimation, more of a summary of what I believe; they are certainly incomplete and are not as full an explanation with all the reasoning, historical evidence and scriptural support that I would like to include. I think that would take writing a book, which I want to avoid! I am sure more questions will be raised and if we want to continue a dialog, either in person or by email, we can both share more.

In your email below you express a concern about ‘agreeing on His nature’. I don’t see a similar concern shared by Jesus, Paul, John or the other writers in the New Testament. I am not saying the concern does not exist but I don’t recall scriptures that place an abundant emphasis on it other than what I read in Math 16:13-17 where Jesus asks his disciples ‘Who do you say that I am?’ and Peter’s reply ‘You are the Christ (the Messiah), the son of the living God’. I think this is a great start for having common ground.

And this is where I would like to start by addressing your last question as who I think Jesus is. I believe him to be the son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, the promised seed, my redeemer and savior, the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation, the resurrection, the way, the truth and the life, the bread of life, the living Word of God, He declared the Father and reveals

Have you heard about Esther’s courage?  She had the audacity to stand for God in an incredibly dark time.  Though the Persian Empire had decreed the genocide of her people, she could have easily remained in the closet about her ethnicity and enjoyed the comforts of the palace.  Nonetheless, she would not stand idly by, but courageously trusted in God and risked her life to petition the king for the lives of her people.  Even if you already know the story of Queen Esther, it’s worth your time to consider how her example can encourage you to stand up for God in your own context.

Notes:

Act 1: Queen Vashti disobeys Ahasuerus

Act 2: The Search for a New Queen

Act 3: Haman’ Plot

Act 4: Esther Takes a Stand

Act 5: Mordecai Exalted

Act 6: Haman’s Demise

Act 7: The Jews Delivered

What does the bible teach about forgiveness?  Is it optional or mandatory?  Are Christians allowed to hold grudges?  Do we only have to forgive if someone apologizes?  Join us as we discuss four reasons why you should forgive: (1) if we don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive us; (2) forgiving others makes sense in light of how much God forgave us; (3) forgiveness offers an opportunity to testify; (4) forgiving is better for your health.  Forgiving others is simple but far from easy.  Even so, it’s something we need to become good at doing.

Richard Hays, Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, explains the incredible effect Jesus’ resurrection has on theology and practice.  His lecture divides into two parts: (1) a proper New Testament understanding of the resurrection requires a robust affirmation of the resurrection of the body and (2) resurrection of the body is a sign of God’s power invading creation and therefore preaching resurrection requires embodying resurrection ethics as well.

This is now our third and last episode in our series on work.  We’ve talked about the Christian work ethic and honorable work (i.e., what sorts of jobs Christians should shoot for as well as avoid) and now today we are talking about work’s opposite: rest.  This is a really important topic to consider.  Listen in to the discussion with Sean Finnegan, Rose Rider, and Sean Kelly as we talk about the crazy pace of American life today as well as why we need to take breaks each day, each week, and each year.  What is the Sabbath?  Should Christians keep the Sabbath?  How can we lead balanced lives?

What do you believe about hospitality?  The scriptures lay out three major kinds: (1) hospitality to the saints; (2) hospitality to the needy; (3) hospitality to the unbeliever.  As it turns out showing hospitality is an important Christian practice, even if it takes courage to invite others into our houses.  In our present age, hospitality just might be the secret the church has been looking for to reach out to others with God’s grace and love.  For example, when a pastor invited over Rosaria Butterfield, a lesbian, feminist, vegetarian, English professor, she was able to begin seeing through the negative hype about bible-believing Christians and started on a journey that ultimately led to her conversion.

Picking up where we left off last week, we continue discussing the Christian work ethic and, in particular, delve into Max Weber’s “Protestant work ethic” hypothesis.  Next Rose shares about her own career path, including graduating with a 4.0 in graphic design and her two year struggle to find a career job.  After that, we looked at three criteria for honorable work:

If you can say, “No,” to each of these, then you’re in good shape.  However, considering that the most common jobs in America are retail salespersons, cashiers, food preparers, and office clerks, all of which pay well under the mean wage, how should a Christian feel about such work?  We talk about how we have to be careful to find our identity in Christ rather than in our job, no matter how well or poorly it pays.  Drawing on the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi we talked about ideal jobs that produce enjoyment, enable a team mindset, and better our world.  Last of all, we addressed how we as Christians should think about unemployment.