June 2019 by abandonedtochrist24

June Issue 2019

...Because Truth Still Matters A Journal in Christian Apologetics and Philosophy

Evidence for The Resurrection of Jesus?

In This Inaugural Issue What Does Athens Have to do with Jerusalem? The Unique Relationship Between the Gospel Presentation and Philosophy

Why We Exist

the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Is the Discipline of

ur earnest desire and mission is to obey the Word of God to give a reasonable defense for the hope that is in us with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3.15) We desire to encourage Christians to know what they believe, and equip them to defend those beliefs in the arena of ideas. As attacks on the very nature of truth escalate, we desire to give evidence for the reality of truth, the existence of God, and the veracity of the Christian Scriptures, the Holy Bible.

e are committed to the search

for truth regardless of where the search inevitably leads. Employing the means of apologetics and philosophy we will adequately demonstrate the truth and logical coherence of the Christian faith as found in the Holy Scriptures. That belief in the existence of God is reasonable, intelligent, and defendable.

his Journal is not solely for Christians, but is published especially with those who oppose the Christian view, the existence of God and truth in mind.

Apologetics for Every Christian?

Dan McDonald M.A. Apol & Phil.

Contributors

e exist to give evidence for the reasonableness of believing that there is such a thing as truth, that truth occurs not in a metaphysical vacuum but in accordance with with the real world that we live in, think about, and experience.

Verifiable Proof for

Christopher Sanford M.A. Phil. Of Religion

What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem ?

I would venture to say that when most people hear a subject concerning philosophy or even the word mentioned, scenes of people sitting around thinking about ideas that have nothing to do with everyday life come to mind. This was my experience before I even began to know the meaning of philosophy much less the riches it can add to our Christian witness. The word philosophy comes from two Greek words, and literally means the love of wisdom. This seemingly insurmountable subject that we long to get through like we longed to get through high school Spanish class, actually means to love wisdom. In the Book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified. She is hardworking, disciplined, diligent, and more than a little eager to share her fruits with mankind. In verse 35 wisdom declares a profound and sobering truth, 'whoever finds Me finds life, and receives favor from the Lord.' To find wisdom is to find life, to love wisdom and pursue her is the practice of philosophy. When many Christians hear the word philosophy we have the opposite reaction. What do philosophy and theology have in common? What is the link between pagan Greece and Jerusalem, the birthplace of Christianity?

In the past great Christian thinkers have had the same reaction. In the great academic work When Athens Met Jerusalem John Reynolds quotes the great theologian Tertullian decrying 'What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?' Needless to say Tertullian was against using philosophy in the presentation of the Gospel. We are afraid because there is a lot of bad philosophy throughout history. Yet to borrow from another scholar's quote 'the reason we need good philosophy is to combat bad philosophy.' What does good Christian philosophy look like? Can we still be true to the Gospel and employ philosophical arguments that undergird the message we are proclaiming? All we have to do is follow the example of the greatest missionaries of all time; the apostle Paul. When Paul entered into the synagogue to reason with the Jews concerning the O.T prophesies fulfilled in Jesus. He began with the written word of God. He needed to start no where else, since the Jewish people already accepted the O.T as the authoritative Word of the Living God. Yet we see a completely different approach when Paul was evangelizing pagans who had no Biblical background.

Themostclassicexample,butcertainlynottheonlyoneis hisexampleatMarsHill.Whenaddressingthosewithno Biblicalbackground,hedoesnotbeginwiththeBible.He beginswiththecosmologicalargumentfortheexistence ofGod.Since...GodcreatedtheWorld....therefore....He cannotdwellinhousesmadebymen.Thisisa philosophicalargument,whichleadsintoapresentation oftheGospelmessage.

'whoever finds Me finds life, and receives favor from the Lord.'

AsAmericansbecomelessfamiliarwithwhattheBible proclaimsandlesspersuadedoftheauthorityofthe writtenWorditwillbeimperativeforChristians everywheretohavetheabilitytomeetanindividual wheretheyareintheirpersonalevangelismefforts. PaulCopanrecognizesthisdynamicincontemporary AmericancultureandinhisworkTheGospelinthe MarketplaceofIdeaswrites:

'Ifyouwalkuptosomeonerandomlyonauniversity campusoratthelocalcoffeebarandattempttoreachthat personbyquotingBibleverses,andthepersonyouare addressingneitherknowswhat’sintheBiblenorreally cares,orhasafaultyimage—acaricature—ofGodthatis unpalatable,youwillnotgetanyfurtherthansomeone whospeaksonlyGermantalkingtosomeonewhospeaks onlyChinese.'

ContemporaryWesternCivilizationismorefamiliar withtheworld-viewsofDavidHumeandVoltairethan theyarewiththewordsofJesusortheapostles.When PaulwaspresentingtheGospeltotheintellectualelitein Athens,hequotedtothemtheirownphilosophers.Paul musthavebeenschooledinwhattheGrecianworldview andfamiliarwiththepopularphilosophiesthatshaped thatworldview,orhowcouldhehavepossiblyquoted thembacktothesesupposededucatedmen? InordertostrivetobeambassadorsforChristin contemporaryculture,wemustknowhowandwhythe culturethinksthewaytheydo,lestwefindourselves continuallyunabletoanswertheargumentsthat are beingputforthbyaneverincreasingskepticalpopulace. AmericahasbecomethecontemporaryMarsHillasseen inthebackground,andwehavenochoicebuttobuta reasonabledefenseforthehopethatexistswithinus. ChrisSanfordM.A.PhilosophyofReligion

Is It Reasonable to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus?

he Resurrection of Jesus Christ is one, if not the cornerstone of the Christian faith. It proves that Jesus was whom He said He was, it proves that He was able to do what He claimed would He do. Despite the importance the resurrection of Jesus from the dead holds for the Christian faith, the question begs to be asked did it truly occur? Is the Biblical account accurate when it claims that Jesus did in fact come back from the dead? Is there extra-Biblical evidence, evidence that exists outside of the Bible that verifies the validity of the Biblical account? In this article we will explore 3 strands of evidence that proves the resurrection is an actual historical event. First the extra-Biblical evidence that confirms the veracity of the resurrection.

Beginning with Josephus who was a 1st century Jewish Historian, who was not a Christian wrote 'About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.' Josephus wrote this towards the close of the first century. The second strand of evidence is the willingness of the disciples of Jesus to die for their belief in the resurrection. History shows that the original disciples died horribly painful deaths, because they refused to recant their faith in Christ, especially their belief in the resurrection. Now people are willing to die for what they believe to be true. We see this all the time in differing religions and cults worldwide. Yet no one is willing to die for what they know to be a deception.

Therefore if the disciples were actively engaging in deception, they would have gone to their death with the knowledge of deceiving people for no benefit for themselves whatsoever. We rightfully honor those who are slain on the field of battle to protect our freedom from tyranny, yet the conviction to willingly die rather than recant what you know to be true is one of the strongest testimonies to the proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The third strand of evidence is seen in the transformed life of the apostle Paul. Paul was a Pharisee, the strictest order of Judaism, seeing any perversion of the law of God as anathema. The Pharisees in order to perfectly keep the Sabbath Day as commanded in the law states in the Mishnah, a commentary on the O.T Law that is a chicken lays an egg on the Sabbath Day and a person eats that egg, they are in violation of observing the Sabbath. Paul persecuted Christians believing they were perverting the law of God. He consented to their death, imprisoned them, and was on his way to Damascus to arrest those who had fled there to escape the persecution he was instrumental in bringing about.

On his way to Damascus, Paul encountered the glorified, risen Christ. He continued on is journey to Damascus no longer in order to persecute Christians but to become one. What could possible cause a man who was absolutely convinced that this new teaching was a perversion of the law of God to take up the very teaching he tried to destroy. A method commonly used today to determine the historicity of an event is "inference to the best explanation." William Lane Craig describes this as an approach where we "begin with the evidence available to us and then infer what would, if true, provide the best explanation of that evidence." Since the evidence points to the veracity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it must be inferred logically unless counter-evidence is presented that the men who proclaimed Jesus risen from the dead were indeed telling the truth. Therefore since the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, the teachings of Jesus concerning the general resurrection must also be true. Jesus taught that there is coming a day when every person who has lived and died in the vast course of history will arise from the dead. Some will arise to everlasting bliss, others will arise to face an everlasting judgement. Based upon the evidence presented which resurrection will you personally be risen to? ChrisSanfordM.A.PhilosophyofReligion

Why Christians Must Study and Learn Apologetics Sarah was born and raised in a small town of about thirty thousand people in the Midwest. She came from a middle class family and was heavily involved in sports and

The unsuspecting Sarah said, “Sure I would be glad to.” Professor Hess said, “I am having a hard time understanding the apparent

academic clubs in her middle school and high

contradictions in the Bible regarding

school years. In addition, Sarah was reared in

the morning that Jesus was

the First Christian Church in her town; in fact, she was attending that church nine months before she was born. In her thirteenth year of life, after vespers one night at church camp, she was baptized. Upon graduation from high school, Sarah was accepted to a popular university in the Midwest to study microbiology. One of her general education classes required her to take a philosophy class. The first day of that class changed her life forever. After some preliminary remarks, the professor asked if any of her students were Christian, and without hesitation Sarah raised her hand. The philosophy professor, Professor Hess, said, “Really? I have some questions surrounding the resurrection of Christ, perhaps you could clear some things up for me.”

supposedly raised from the dead. For instance, In Matthew 28:1, Matthew records that women went to the tomb “as it began to dawn”, while Mark records in Mark 16:1-2 that they went to the tomb very early in the morning “when the sun had risen.” Yet, Luke states in Luke 24:1 that they came to the tomb at “early dawn”; finally, and even more inconsistent, is John’s account. John states in John 20:1 that they came to the tomb early “while it was still dark”.” “Would you be kind enough, young Sarah, to explain to the class, and myself, which account is correct? And also, how is it that the Bible is the true word of God when there are obvious contradictions? Surely if you trust this “so called” Jesus, you can clear this up for us now, right? I mean, after all, the bible can be trusted right?” (The class breaks out in laughter).

Sarah sat in a total state of humiliation and bewilderment. She rehearsed in her mind all the years of Sunday school, youth group, and church camp, and nothing like this had ever been brought up. As she was trying to collect her thoughts, Professor Hess chided, “Sarah we are all waiting; will you clear this up for us? Or do you not have an answer?” Finally after much harassment, Sarah had to admit that she could not explain the differences in the accounts, and she had no idea which account was correct. Professor Hess was quick to point out to the class that this was a text book example of how the Bible violated the law of noncontradiction, that something cannot be “A” and not “A” at the same time and in the same sense. Therefore, it logically follows that the Bible indeed cannot be trusted. The professor went on to inform the class that only logic and human reasoning can truly be trusted. Two years later, Sarah’s parents were stunned when she informed them that she would not be attending Christmas service while she was home on Christmas break, for she was an atheist. There were too many inconsistencies in the Bible and, through higher education, she realized that the teachings of morality in the Bible were good for society; however, all major religions taught basically the same thing. The above parable was actually crafted from numerous accounts of children that went off to college and came back home to announce that they no longer believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible. The parable above illustrates one reason why Christians must study and learn apologetics. The writer of this article (myself), can answer the professor with respect to the alleged contradictions surrounding the resurrection account. Am I going to do that now, you ask? No, I am not. Why? Because you have been commanded by God through His word to learn it for yourself, and this is the superlative reason why Christians must study and learn apologetics.

In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter, writing in the imperative mood (command form), informs true believers to set Christ apart in our hearts; He is to be the central pivotal authority of our lives. He then informs us to always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks for the reason for the hope within us. This reason, or defense (apologetics), is the Greek word ἀπολογία, which means an intelligent, methodical, and rational accounting of why we believe what we believe.

Again, this is not a suggestion! It is a command given by the Lord through the apostle Peter. Christians are not given, through grace, a permit to exercise the “line item veto” with Christ. We are not free to obey what we desire to do, and disobey what we do not desire to do. In addition, it is very possible that someone’s eternal destiny could depend upon our ability to engage apologetics. A refusal to do so is engaging in willful, intentional, disobedience, especially when the opportunity to study and learn apologetics is available. Within the worldwide culture, Christians are called to engage in the battle for the mind and heart of the lost, just like Paul and the apostles were in their time. As this heartfelt appeal ends, please bear in mind the words of our beloved brother Paul: “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ”. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (ESV)

11 Dan McDonald M.A. Apol & Phil.

The purpose of critical thinking, is rethinking: that is, reviewing, evaluating, and revising thought. John Stratton

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