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Apologetics

Week 1: Existence of God Week 2: Reliability of the New Testament Week 3: Resurrection of Christ Week 4: Deity of Christ

Apologetics 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer [apologia] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Presentation Notes: This illustrates the importance of a proper method of interpretation.

Apologetics Apologetics: Defending the faith to those outside the church. Polemics: Defending the faith to those inside the church. Presentation Notes: Emphasize the importance of distinguishing between these two. A good discussion can come about when one considers how the church is to deal with internal disputes in comparison to when we are dealing with outsiders. It would seem that both Paul and Christ were more “harsh” and direct when speaking to those who are in the church. These are people who are “under the authority” of the church and are therefore held to a different level of accountability. When dealing with outsiders, it is not as though they are the only one’s with whom we should be gentle and respectful, but, simply put, they are not under our authority. Just like when we deal with our kids compared to when we deal with those who are not in our family, there is a different approach. This might help to see the difference between Apologetics (to the outside world) and Polemics (in-house stuff).

Apologetics Four types of Apologetics:
Classical Apologetics – Reason oriented approach which argues from the existence of God to the truths of Christianity. Evidential Apologetics – Evidence oriented approach which argues for the probability of Christianity based on the evidences (primarily of the resurrection of Christ). Presuppositionalism – Approach which argues for the presupposed properly basic belief in God and the authority of Scripture. Fideism – Faith oriented approach which argues which argues for a blind faith and the absence of any need for evidences. Presentation Notes: This illustrates the importance of a proper method of interpretation.

Apologetics Who is apologetics for?

Existence of God

The Theology Leader’s Guide
Trinitarianism The Existence of God Why do we sometimes doubt God’s existence? Activity: group discussion Allow the students to discuss this question before revealing the answers. Try to create an open atmosphere where people are allowed to express the doubts that they my have from time to time. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God I can’t see or hear Him. He does not answer my prayers. It is too good to be true. I can’t comprehend an eternal being. There are too many different views about Him. I can’t understand why He could allow so much suffering. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God Why do we have confidence about His existence? Activity: group discussion Allow the students to discuss this question before revealing the answers. Again, try to find out why they personally are confident in His existence (assuming that many will be). Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God Answers the question “Why is there something rather than nothing?” Design of the universe. The majority of the world is on my side. I have experienced Him. The lack of any other adequate explanation. The universal concept of morality and aesthetics. The Bible says so. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God Why is there something rather than nothing? There is not anything; all is an illusion. The universe is self-created. The universe is created by chance. The universe is created by nothing. The universe has existed for eternity. An eternal self-existent God created the universe. Explanation of slide: This begins a series of slides that are meant to boost people’s confidence in the rationality of a theistic worldview. We will systematically reduce the first five options to absurdity (reductio ad absurdum). Activity: group discussion Have the students answer this question before you reveal the six possible answers listed on the slide. Write down their answers on the board. Show them how all of their answers will boil down to one of the six answers listed above, or a variant there of. There is a full page in their notes for them to write the options given. Presentation notes: We believe that there are no other options than these. Some would combine 2, 3, and 4 because they are so closely related, but we have chosen to separate them because many would not initially see the relationship between the three. Either way, this is an exhaustive list of all possible answers. Reductio ad absurdum: A philosophical argument that seeks to reduce the opposing options to the absurd by showing how they are inherently contradictory. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God There is not anything: All is an illusion. Activity: group discussion Have your students critique this answer before you critique it. Not many have held this option because of its absurdity, but it is an option that must be disqualified nonetheless. ad infinitum: Carried on for eternity or into the infinite. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God There is not anything: All is an illusion. If all is an illusion, where did the illusion come from? If it is an illusion, where did this illusion come from (ad infinitum)? Activity: group discussion Have your students critique this answer before you critique it. Not many have held this option because of its absurdity, but it is an option that must be disqualified nonetheless. ad infinitum: Carried on for eternity or into the infinite. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God The universe is self-created. . Activity: group discussion Have your students critique this answer before you critique it. The concept of self-creation is not really held by many, but, like the previous option, it must be disqualified. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God The universe is self-created. Something could not create itself since it would have to predate itself to create itself. This is a logical contradiction and, therefore, absurd. Activity: group discussion Have your students critique this answer before you critique it. The concept of self-creation is not really held by many, but, like the previous option, it must be disqualified. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God The universe was created by chance. Activity: group discussion Have your students critique this answer before you critique it. Presentation notes: This option is a slight of hand option that amounts to nothing. You often hear people give statistics about the chance that they universe would come into being by stating that is 1 X or something similar. The fact is that chance has no being. It is used to describe possibilities but does not have the power to cause those possibilities. It is absolute nonsense to speak of chance being the agent of creation for anything since chance is not an agent. For an extensive study on this subject see R.C. Sproul, Not a Chance. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God The universe was created by chance. Chance has no being. Activity: group discussion Have your students critique this answer before you critique it. Presentation notes: This option is a slight of hand option that amounts to nothing. You often hear people give statistics about the chance that they universe would come into being by stating that is 1 X or something similar. The fact is that chance has no being. It is used to describe possibilities but does not have the power to cause those possibilities. It is absolute nonsense to speak of chance being the agent of creation for anything since chance is not an agent. For an extensive study on this subject see R.C. Sproul, Not a Chance. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God “Sophisticated arguments of chance creation have been formulated which dazzle our mathematical comprehension… What are the real chances of the universe created by chance? Not a chance. Chance is incapable of creating a single molecule, let alone an entire universe. Why not? Chance is no thing. It is not an entity. It has no being, no power, no force. It can effect nothing because it has no causal power within it. …It is a word which describes mathematical possibilities which, by the curious flip of the fallacy of ambiguity, slips into the discussion as if it were a real entity with real power, indeed, supreme power, the power of creativity.” — R.C. Sproul Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God The universe was created by nothing. Activity: group discussion Have your students respond to this before you critique it. Presentation notes: This is a commonly held theory among the cosmologists. They would believe that the universe sprang into existence uncaused (which amounts to self-caused) through spontaneous generation of time, space, and matter. Some would state that quantum mechanics has demonstrated this, but this is far from the truth. There is no need to get into the theories of quantum mechanics. For a brief critique of this quantum theory see J.P. Moreland, Scaling the Secular City (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1987), The rejection of this argument is the basis for the cosmological argument. Every effect must be explained by an efficient cause. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God The universe was created by nothing. This violates the law of causality. There must be a cause for every effect. There is no possibility of a causeless effect. It is absurd to think otherwise. Activity: group discussion Have your students respond to this before you critique it. Presentation notes: This is a commonly held theory among the cosmologists. They would believe that the universe sprang into existence uncaused (which amounts to self-caused) through spontaneous generation of time, space, and matter. Some would state that quantum mechanics has demonstrated this, but this is far from the truth. There is no need to get into the theories of quantum mechanics. For a brief critique of this quantum theory see J.P. Moreland, Scaling the Secular City (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1987), The rejection of this argument is the basis for the cosmological argument. Every effect must be explained by an efficient cause. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God The universe was created by nothing. ex nihilo nihil fit “Out of nothing, nothing comes.” Activity: group discussion Have your students respond to this before you critique it. Presentation notes: This is a commonly held theory among the cosmologists. They would believe that the universe sprang into existence uncaused (which amounts to self-caused) through spontaneous generation of time, space, and matter. Some would state that quantum mechanics has demonstrated this, but this is far from the truth. There is no need to get into the theories of quantum mechanics. For a brief critique of this quantum theory see J.P. Moreland, Scaling the Secular City (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1987), The rejection of this argument is the basis for the cosmological argument. Every effect must be explained by an efficient cause. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God 5. The universe has existed for eternity. “The universe is all there is, all there was, and all there will ever be.” – Carl Sagan Activity: group discussion Have your students respond to this before you critique it. Presentation notes: This may be the most rationally attractive of all the options thus far. It has been held by a large number of atheistic cosmologists and philosophers throughout the ages. It simply denies that the universe came into existence by any prior cause or that it is made up of an endless series of causes and effects. It is the theory behind the “steady-state” universe theory that was consistently held until the time of Einstein. It is interesting to note that the development of the Big Bang theory was not well received among atheistic cosmologists who held to a steady-state theory of the universe since it undoubtedly requires a beginning to the universe. Steady-state theory: The cosmological theory that the universe has always existed in a constant steady state without change. Big Bang Theory: The cosmological theory that the universe came into being out of nothing some 15 million years ago when all of the matter of the universe was compacted into a infinitely small point and then exploded and has been expanding ever since. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God An infinite number of moments cannot be traversed. It is impossible to have an infinite series of cause and effects. Presentation notes: These options will be explained in the slides that follow. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God Not Possible Infinite time stretching past and future Not Possible Infinite time stretching past Possible Infinite time stretching future Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God If a man were to try to jump out of an infinitely deep hole, when would he come out? Explanation of slide: The answer is never, because he would never be at the bottom from which he could jump. This is not a paradox, but an absurdity. The same is true when we state that the universe has existed for eternity. We could never get to the present moment because there would never be a starting point. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The Existence of God 6. An eternal self-existent God created the universe. “If something exists, there is a God.” – R.C. Sproul Explanation of slide: This is the only option left and there are no logical difficulties with it. In fact, since all other options have been eliminated, it is the only possible solution to the existence of something. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Existence of God Questions?

The Existence of God Trinitarianism Traditional arguments for the existence of God: Cosmological Argument Teleological Argument Moral Argument (Anthropological) sensus divinitatis Argument Wager Cumulative Case Argument Presentation notes: There are many other arguments for the existence of God that are not covered here. These are the most well known and the ones that your students need to be aware of. All of these will be listed in the Key Terms list in the student notes. Grudem briefly explains some of these in his Systematic Theology (pp. 143–144), but we encourage you to study one of the suggested books in the student syllabus bibliography for a more thorough study of this subject, since the notes in this presentation will be limited. Ronald Nash, Faith and Reason, 121–174 and Peter Kreft & Ronald K. Tacelli, Handbook on Christian Apologetics (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1994), 47–88 would be a good place to start. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism Cosmological Argument Gk. Cosmos: “an orderly arrangement” This argument states that there must be a cause for every effect, and God must be that Cause. Activity: class discussion Have your students evaluate premise one and two. Have them state possible objections. If they are true, the conclusion is unavoidable. Presentation notes: The cosmological argument comes in various forms. For a good basic summery of many of these forms see Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2002), 27–31. For our purpose, we will stick with a basic definition and represent three forms of the argument through the three syllogisms. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism 2. Teleological Argument Gk. teleos: “end, or complete” This argument states that the order of the universe evidences intelligent design rather than chaotic chance. Therefore, there must be a designer. Paley’s famous watchmaker illustration. Presentation notes: The teleological argument is the most well known and most used today. Most evidential apologists make extensive use of this argument. Most would appeal to the complexities of nature (e.g., the design of the cosmos, the design of the human eye) and the absurdity to attribute these realities to chance. This is a powerful argument that even a child can understand. Illustration: William Paley (1743–1805) is the most famous advocate of the teleological argument. He theorized that if someone were to happen upon a watch, they would examine the watch and all its working parts and undoubtedly come to the conclusion that it was created by someone for a particular purpose. No rational person would ever theorize that the watch just came about by chance. How much more would this be the case when it comes to a human being who is infinitely more complex than a watch? Someone has said that for the universe to come into being through the process of time and chance is like giving a monkey a typewriter on which he randomly pushes the keys, and given enough time, he will eventually write a Shakespearian play word for word, period for period, comma for comma. This is obviously absurd. It is doubtful that the monkey would ever even write one complete sentence that is intelligible. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism Romans 1:20–21 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism Psalm 19:1–4 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism 3. Moral Argument (Anthropological) This argument states that all people have a concept of right and wrong. This concept must have come from something outside of them, a Moral Absolute. All people have a conscience. This conscience must reflect some conscience outside of them. Presentation notes: This argument is of more recent origin than the others and is best defended by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism Romans 2:14–15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism 4. sensus divinitatis Argument This argument states that everyone has an innate “sense of the divine” built within them. This “God-shaped void” causes them to have a great desire to fill the void by searching for God. To varying degrees this argument has been held by Augustine, Calvin, and Pascal. Presentation notes: This argument has been around for ages and has fallen under many different headings, often being linked with the ontological arguments. We have chosen to place it under a different heading because of its uniqueness. While it may not be as logically sound as some of the others (e.g., cosmological), it deserves it place among the traditional arguments. The strength of the argument comes when people attempt to explain why people have universally sought to worship a deity. sensus divinitatis: Lit. “sense of the divine.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism “For thou hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee.” – Augustine Reference: Saint Augustine, Confessions 1.1.1 Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism Romans 1:20 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism Pascal’s “Wager” If you say there is not a God and there is, there will be drastic consequences. If you say there is a God and there is not, you are none the worse; there are no consequences. Therefore, one should believe in God. Presentation notes: The Wager is an argument from indecisiveness first put forth by Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) in his Penses. Pascal believed that reason alone was not enough to come to a conclusion concerning the existence of God. Therefore, he put forth this argument which is meant to “tip the scales” in the direction of belief in God. This is not so much an argument for the existence of God as it is an argument for faith. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

The Existence of God Trinitarianism 6. Cumulative Case Argument This argument sees the greatest value in the cumulative effect of all the arguments. No one argument may be ultimately convincing. Presentation notes: The cumulative case argument also recognizes that any given argument may be more appealing to a person based upon their personality and situation. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

WELCOME

Defending the Faith

Reliability of the New Testament

Introduction

Is the New Testament text reliable?

The Problem

The Problem Objection: We don’t have the originals and the Bible has been transmitted so many times that it is impossible to know what it really said. Illustration: Bring out some modern translations of the Bible and have people look up the copyright date. Explain how distant the copies we have are from the original. Refer to the “pass the word” exercise we did at the beginning.

The Problem “ [How] Can we hope to get back to anything like the original [biblical] text, the text that the authors actually wrote? It is an enormous problem. In fact, it is such an enormous problem that a number of textual critics have started to claim that we may as well suspend any discussion of the “original” text, because it is inaccessible to us.” (p. 58) Activity: Group Discussion Take time to have your audience engage this question.

The Problem In the New Testament alone there are anywhere from 300,000 to 400,000 differences among the existing texts. This amounts to close to three differences per word!

The Problem How do we know that the Bible we have today is an accurate representation of the original? Activity: Group Discussion Take time to have your audience engage this question.

The Problem Transcription activity Presentation Notes:
“Drinking apples with regular frequency, docs says, is good for the ticker in your chest.”

The Problem “Drinking apples with regular frequency, docs says, is good for the ticker in your chest.” Presentation Notes: “Drinking apples with regular frequency, docs says, is good for the ticker in your chest.”

Textual Criticism

Textual Criticism The Old Testament was originally written in two languages, Hebrew and Aramaic (portions of Ezra and Daniel), from the years 1500 to 400 B.C. The New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek from the years 40 to 100 A.D. We do not have any original writing (autographa). All transmissions of the Bible were handwritten until the invention of the printing press in 1450s by Johann Gutenberg. The most readily available writing materials were stone, papyri, and parchment/vellum. Later (second century B.C.) the codex was developed.

Textual Criticism

Autographs Critical Texts Translations
1500 B.C A.D. Autographs A.D. Manuscripts 1600 A.D. - Present Critical Texts 1600 A.D. - Present Translations

Textual Criticism: Science of reconstructing the original text of the Scriptures based upon the available manuscript evidence.

Textual Criticism Critical Texts 100 -1600 A.D. Manuscripts
1600 A.D. - Present Critical Texts

Textual Criticism Four Types of Scribes:
Teacher’s Notes Textual Criticism Bibliology and Hermeneutics Four Types of Scribes: Hired hand: Most objective. Mistakes will be unintentional. Pastoral: May smooth the text over, making some of the language more understandable. Zealous Apologist/Theologian: May seek to correct what he perceives bad theology Commentator: May add notes or exclamations of praise. Copyright © Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Textual Criticism Three types of manuscript: Teacher’s Notes
Bibliology and Hermeneutics Three types of manuscript: Copyright © Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Textual Criticism Manuscripts Evidence
Teacher’s Notes Textual Criticism Bibliology and Hermeneutics Manuscripts Evidence Dead Sea Scrolls (2nd Century B.C.) John Ryland Papyri (125 A.D.) Codex Sinaiticus (a; 350 A.D.) Codex Vaticanus (B; 350 A.D.) Presentation notes: Although there are many more manuscripts in the student notes, these are the three most important manuscripts. The students need to remember them. Dead Sea Scrolls contain portions of every book in the Old Testament except Ester. The John Ryland Papyri contains a small portion of the Gospel of John and is our oldest extant manuscript. Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus contain both the LXX and most, if not all, of the NT. They are the oldest and most complete extant copies of Scripture. They also contain portions of the Apocrypha. Copyright © Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Early Church Fathers and Jewish Writings
Teacher’s Notes Bibliology and Hermeneutics Early Church Fathers and Jewish Writings Codes of religion. Commentaries, diaries, books, and letters Polycarp, Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Tertillian, etc. John Burgeon, a biblical scholar, catalogued over 86,000 quotations before A.D. 325. Reconstruction of the New Testament could be accomplished within 100 years of its completion using these manuscripts. Copyright © Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Teacher’s Notes Bibliology and Hermeneutics Translations 15,000 copies Syriac, Old and New Latin, Sahidic, Bohairic, Middle Egyptian, Armenian, Gothic, Georgian, Ethiopic, and Nubian versions. Copyright © Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

25,000 handwritten copies of the NT alone
Teacher’s Notes Bibliology and Hermeneutics 25,000 handwritten copies of the NT alone Copyright © Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Author of Work When Written Earliest Copy Time Span No. of Copies Caesar (Gallic Wars ) 100–44 B.C. 900 A.D. 1,000 yrs. 10 Livy (History of Rome) 59 B.C.–17 A.D. N/A 20 Plato (Tetralogies) 400 B.C. 1,300 yrs. 7 Pliny the Younger (History) 61–113 A.D. 850 A.D. 750 yrs. Thucydides (History) 460–400 B.C. 8 Herodotus (History) 480–425 B.C. Sophocius (History) 469–406 B.C. 100 A.D. 600 yrs. 193 Aristotle 384–322 B.C. 1,100 A.D. 1,400 yrs. Homer (Iliad) 900 B.C. 400 A.D. 1, 500 yrs. 643 New Testament 50–90 A.D. 125 A.D. 25 yrs. >25,000

Textual Criticism Ninety-nine percent of the variants make no theological difference. Of the one percent that do, none affect any major doctrine. Presentation Notes: Give examples of the different type of insignificant variants (e.g. “Christ Jesus” instead of “Jesus Christ”; absence of the definite article; movable nu, variant spellings, etc.).

Textual Criticism Examples of Problems
Teacher’s Notes Textual Criticism Bibliology and Hermeneutics Examples of Problems John 7:53-8:11 (pericope adulterae) Matthew 18:15 1 John 5:7-8 (comma johanneum) Mark 16:9-20 Romans 5:1 Matthew 5:22 Copyright © Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Textual Criticism Field Ops: Discuss how many ways can this statement be misunderstood and mis-transcribed? “Paul went to the mall to buy apples. Paul also went to the mall to buy orangutans.” Come up with at least three ways to mis-transcribe this. Activity: Group Discussion Everyone who comes up with three gets a prize.

Textual Criticism How does the manuscript evidence give testimony to the uniqueness of Scripture? Why do you think that God did not allow the originals to be preserved? Does it disturb you that there are so many variations? Why or why not?

Defending the Faith

The Resurrection of Christ

The Importance of the Resurrection of Christ

The Importance A priest during a television interview: “If they were to find the bones of Jesus Christ, this would not effect my Christian faith at all. And it does not have to yours.”

The Importance If Christ has not been raised from the dead, Christianity if false. Period. If Christ has been raised from the dead, Christianity is true. Period.

The Importance EXODUS RESURRECTION Old Testament New Testament
Presentation Notes: Two foot prints of God in apologetic history: 1) the Exodus and 2) the resurrection of Jesus. In the Old Testament, God is continually calling on people to look back to the historic event of his deliverance of his people from Egypt. After the resurrection, God calls on us to look back to the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. Old Testament New Testament

The Importance 1 Samuel 10:18-19 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you. But you today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses.

The Importance Psalm 78:12-13 He wrought wonders before their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.

The Importance Psalm 136:13-15 To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness is everlasting; But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

The Importance Nehemiah 9:9-10 You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea. Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants and all the people of his land; For You knew that they acted arrogantly toward them, and made a name for Yourself as it is to this day.

The Importance 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

The Importance Objection: I was not there to see Christ raised. It is a matter of blind faith. How could God expect us to believe something that have no firsthand evidence for?

The Importance Getting pulled over with my daughter.

The Importance What other ancient historical events do people believe?

The Evidence Internal Evidence:
Evidence coming from within the primary witness documents. External Evidence: Collaborative evidence coming from outside the primary witness documents.

Internal Evidence

Honesty Irrelevant/Incidental details Harmony in Accounts Public historical claims Lack of motive for fabrication

Internal Evidence Internal Evidence For the Resurrection of Christ, the primary witness documents are the twenty-seven works that make up the corpus that Christianity has traditionally called the New Testament. These works stand or fall individually from an historical standpoint. Therefore, they provide twenty-seven separate sources of documentation, not one.

Internal Evidence Internal Evidence Honesty/Embarrassing Moments
Irrelevant/Incidental details Harmony in the accounts (but not too much) Public historical claims Lack of motive for fabrication

Internal Evidence Honesty/Embarrassing Moments The entire Bible records both successes and failures of the heroes. I have always been impressed by this. It never paints the glorious picture that you would expect from legendary material, but shows them in all their worst moments. The Israelites whined, David murdered, Peter denied, the apostles abandoned Christ in fear, Moses became angry, Jacob deceived, Noah got drunk, Adam and Eve disobeyed, Paul persecuted, Solomon worshiped idols, Abraham was a bigamist, Lot committed incest, John the Baptist doubted, Abraham doubted, Sarah doubted, Nicodemus doubted, Thomas doubted, Jonah ran, Samson self-served, and John, at the very end of the story, when he should have had it all figured out, worshiped an angel (Rev 22:8). Presentation Notes: A hallmark of embellishments and fabrications is that they display people in a positive light, normally only bringing to light their successes and triumphs. True history, on the other hand, will contain accounts that might cause some embarrassment.

Internal Evidence Honesty/Embarrassing In addition, the most faithful are seen as suffering the most (Joseph, Job, and Lazarus), while the wicked are seen as prospering (the rich man). In the case of the Gospels, the disciples who recorded it claimed to have abandoned Christ and did not believe in His resurrection when told. Even after the resurrection, they still present themselves as completely ignorant of God’s plan (Acts 1:6-7). Women are the first to witness the resurrection which has an element of self-incrimination since a woman’s testimony was not worth anything in the first century. If someone were making this up, why include such an incriminating detail? (I am glad they did—what an Easter message this is for us today!) Presentation Notes: A hallmark of embellishments and fabrications is that they display people in a positive light, normally only bringing to light their successes and triumphs. True history, on the other hand, will contain accounts that might cause some embarrassment.

Internal Evidence Honesty/Embarrassing None of the Gospel writers give their names. Presentation Notes: This might seem odd and is often used as evidence *against* the resurrection. But the reality is that the unnamed authorship is a mark of authenticity, not fabrication. In the day when the Gospels were written, it was characteristic of people to produce works and tag it with the name of their favorite teacher (pseudopigrapha—”false writings”). Why? To gain authority to their writing. But the Gospel writers completely left their name out. Why would someone do this if it was a false embellishment! The last thing one would do is leave their name out. Read here for more information:

Internal Evidence Mark 8:22-25 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?“ And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.“ Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

Internal Evidence Irrelevant/Incidental Details Presentation Notes:
Refer to this story and have people tell what irrelevant details are included. Ask people why would a fabrication contain irrelevant details.

Internal Evidence Irrelevant/Incidental Details The Gospel writers (especially John) include many elements to their story that are really irrelevant to the big picture. Normally, when someone is making up a story, they include only the details that contribute to the fabrication. Irrelevant details are a mark of genuineness in all situations.

Internal Evidence John 20:4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first.

Internal Evidence Polar bear in Lost Presentation Notes:
Everyone what very upset that they never explained what the polar bear that showed up in the first season of the television show Lost was all about. Why? Because Lost is a fictional show that cannot contain incidental details. Everything, every camera shot, every dialogue fits into the bigger picture. Fabrications do not contain incidentals. True history often does and it is a mark of its historicity.

Internal Evidence Mark 14:50-52 And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Internal Evidence Harmony in Accounts

Internal Evidence Harmony in Accounts The four Gospel writers claim to have witnessed the resurrected Christ. The same is the case for most of the other writers of the NT. The four Gospel writers all write of the same event from differing perspectives. Although they differ in details, they are completely harmonious to the main events surrounding the resurrection, and all claim that it is an historical event.

Internal Evidence Harmony in Accounts (but not too much) The differences among the accounts add to the historicity. Why?

Internal Evidence Public Historical Claims

Internal Evidence Public Historical Claims The Bible records that the resurrection of Christ happened and gives the time, place, people involved, and it names many of the witnesses. In other words, the extraordinary claims were not done in secret as would be the case if it were fabricated. Look to all the ancient myths and you will see how obscure the mythology has to be in order to claim historicity. Why? Because if you give too many details of times, people, and places it can be easily disproven. If it was a fabrication, the author should have said only one person knew about it. He should have said it happened in a cave or a place no one has ever heard of. We have those type of stories that start religions.

How Christianity started

How Other Religions started

Internal Evidence

Internal Evidence Acts 26:26 For the king knows about these matters [concerning the resurrection of Christ], and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.

Internal Evidence Lack of Motive for Fabrication

Internal Evidence Motives for Fabrication: Why would someone make this up? Popularity Power Riches

Internal Evidence 1. James – Killed with a sword. A.D Peter - Hung on a cross “head downward.” A.D Andrew - Hung from an olive tree. A.D Thomas - Burned alive. A.D Phillip - Crucified. A.D Matthew - Beheaded. A.D Nathanael - Crucified. A.D James - Thrown from the temple. A.D Simon - Crucified. A.D Judas Thaddeus - Beaten with sticks. A.D Matthias - Stoned on a cross. A.D John - Natural death. A.D Paul - Beheaded. A.D. 69

Internal Evidence Beyond this, it was culturally unacceptable at all levels to have a crucified and resurrected Messiah. The Jews certainly were not expecting their Messiah to be crucified. The Greek world would have nothing but disdain for the idea of a bodily resurrection since, from their perspective, the material body was something from which we desire to escape. Therefore, for this idea to arise as a fabrication at this time in history would have been about the most counterproductive story anyone could have made up!

Internal Evidence Relation of these things to getting pulled over Do you believe that I got pulled over? Why?

External Evidence

External Evidence While the internal evidence looks to the evidence coming from within the primary witness documents, the external evidence seeks to find collaborative evidence coming from outside the primary witness documents.

External Evidence Antiquity of the Documents Archeology
Extra-biblical Attestation

External Evidence Antiquity of the Documents

External Evidence Archeology

External Evidence Significance of the empty tomb Historical markers in the Gospels

External Evidence “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries.” (Nelson Glueck Rivers in the Desert; History of Negev [Philadelphia: Jewish Publications Society of America, 1969], 31).

External Evidence Extra-biblical Attestation

External Evidence Extra-biblical Attestation There are numerous first-century and second-century extrabiblical writings that witness to the historicity of Christ death, resurrection, and/or early worship: Josephus, Tacitus, Trajan, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, Clement, Papias, Didache, Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria.

External Evidence No Yes The Apostles lied The Apostles were mistaken
Fabrication theory The Apostles were mistaken Mistaken identity theory Christ did not die “Swoon” theory Christ’s body was stolen Stolen body theory No motivation to lie? They were martyred for an unwavering testimony to have seen Christ alive. Christ only appeared dead, yet He came to the Apostles after three days, beaten, bruised, pierced, and stabbed, and convinced them that He was their risen king? They claim to be eye witnesses of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and they all went to their deaths for mistaken identity? Who stole it and what was their motivation? This still would not explain the Apostles’ testimony to have seen Christ alive.

Questions

The Deity of Christ

Does God Exist? Is the Bible Accurate? Did Christ Rise? Who is Christ?

Outline: -Deity of Christ in History -Deity of Christ in the Bible -Problem Passages

“Who do men say that I am?”

Matthew 16:13-17 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?“ And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?“ And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.“ And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Jehovah’s Witnesses: “You are the first creation of God though whom he created all things.” Mormons: “You are the son of God, the offspring of God and his wife and the brother of Lucifer.” Jews: “You are a false prophet.” Islam: “You are a great prophet, second only to Mohammad.” Liberal Theology: “You are a man who inspires us to love others.”

Orthodox Christianity: Christ is the Son of God, the second Person of the eternal Trinity, fully God and fully man.

Deity of Christ in History

Two Early Heresies: Docetism Arianism

Docetism: Christ was God, but he was not man
Docetism: Christ was God, but he was not man. God would not lower himself by having a physical body. Therefore it only “seemed” like Christ was man.

1 John 4:2-3 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Arianism: (Arius: 256 – 336) Christ was the first creation of God through whom God created all things. He is god, but not God.

“Since there was a time when Christ was begotten, there was a time when Christ was not.”

Eternity Past Time God Christ All other Creatures

Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty [pantokratora], creator of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten [pro panton ton aionon] of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same essence [homoousion] with the Father.

Council of Nicea (A. D. 325) Through him all things were made
Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Deity of Christ in the Bible

Divine names: Emanuel (“God with us” Matt. 1:23) Son of God (John 5:18) I AM (John 8:58) Son of Man (Dan. 7:13–14, John 5:27) Eternal Father, Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)

Jesus is worshiped:

Trinitarianism Matt. 2:11 “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Matt. 14:33 “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” Presentation notes: Either the disciples here were so frightened by what had occurred that they became instant polytheists, or in some sense they recognized that Christ was divine, not yet working out the implications of this profession with their monotheism. Certainly, the disciples did not fully understand what it meant that Christ was God’s Son, and, therefore, had not worked out the doctrine of the Trinity, but they were willing to worship Him. Just as significant, Christ did not refuse their worship. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Matt. 28:9 “And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.” Presentation notes: This passage describes the post-resurrection encounter that the women fleeing from the tomb had with Christ. It is again significant that Christ did tell them not to be afraid (v. 10), but not to stop worshipping Him. He again accepted their worship without reservation. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Titus 2:13 “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” 2 Peter 1:1 “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Presentation notes: These passages more explicitly teach the deity of Christ in the modern English versions (NAU, NIV, NET, ESV, etc.) than does the KJV since the discovery of the Granville Sharp rule late in the 18th century. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” Presentation notes: This passage clearly teaches the deity of Christ. Because of the use of different manuscripts, the KJV follows the Textus Receptus in translating the phrase, “only begotten God” as “only begotten Son.” This, however, is considered by virtually all N.T. critics to be the inferior reading. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Romans 9:5 “To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever! Amen.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Col. 1:15–17a “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism John 8:58–59a “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him.” Presentation notes: This is a direct reference to the Tetragrammaton (the divine name YHWH). That is the reason why they picked up stones to stone him. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism John 10:30–33 “‘I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, ‘I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?’ The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.’” Presentation notes: It is hard to dispute that the Jews thought that Christ believed Himself to be God. It is significant that Christ does not refute their claim. If Christ did not believe Himself to be God, why did He not simply explain that they were mistaken in the interpretation of what He meant? Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism N.T. passages that directly refer to Christ’s deity Jn. 1:1, 18, 8:58–59, 10:30–33, 20:28 Acts 20:28 Rom. 9:5 1 Tim. 3:15–16 2 Thes. 1:12 Tit. 2:13 2 Pet. 1:1 Heb. 1:8 Phil. 2:6 Col. 1:15–17, 2:9 . Presentation notes: This does not exhaust all of the passages that refer to Christ’s deity; it only contains the ones that are the most indisputable. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism New Testament Quotation: Lord=Christ Old Testament Source: Yahweh Matt. 3:3 “prepare the way for the Lord” Isa. 40:3 Lk. 1:76 “go before the Lord” Mal. 3:1 Rom. 10:9–13 “call upon the name of the Lord” Joel 2:32 Rom. 14:9–12 “every knee will bow” Isa. 45:23 1 Cor. 1:31 “boast in the Lord” Jer. 9:24 1 Cor. 2:13 “mind of the Lord” Isa. 40:13 Heb. 1:10 “Lord, you founded the earth” Ps. 102:25–27 . Presentation notes: These often overlooked Scriptures give a strong presentation of Christ’s deity for two reasons: 1) Christ is presented plainly as YHWH. It is difficult to dispute Christ’s claim to deity when it is associated with the divine name in such a way. 2) They present a “back door” approach to defending the deity of Christ to which most have never been exposed. The cults that deny the full deity of Christ many times have a hard time with these because most have never noticed them before. Pick out a couple of these passages to go over in class. My suggestion is to take Matt. 3:3/Isa.40:3 and Rom. 10:9–13/Joel 2:32. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Arrogance of a madman? Christ’s implied deity in Matthew: Blessings for those who are persecuted because of Him (Matt. 5:11). “I have not come to abolish the Law and Prophets” (Matt. 5:17). He will say who enters the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 7:21–23). We are to give up our lives to follow Him (Matt. 16:25). He will repay each person for what they have done (Matt. 16:27–28). Presentation notes: This is important because most Christians do not appreciate the indirect testimony that these passages give to the deity of Christ. Suppose that a mere man were saying the things that Christ states. As C.S. Lewis put so classically, if Christ were not God, He was an absolute madman. I have used only Matthew here, but this does not mean that this type of defense for the deity of Christ cannot be found elsewhere. Indeed, it can be found throughout the New Testament. I suggest that you use Matthew simply to get people to begin recognizing these types of passages elsewhere. References: I am indebted to John Frame for his excellent presentation of the deity of Christ in a section of his book called “Taking Jesus’ Deity for Granted” (The Doctrine of God, ) for the content of this slide and the slide that follows. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism The basis of the judgment will be man’s relationship to Christ (Matt. 25:31–46). He speaks of “his angels” (Matt. 13:41; 16:27; 24:31). The only thing the rich young ruler lacks for eternal life is to follow Christ (Matt. 19:16–21). People are commanded to love Christ more than their own families (Matt. 10:37). Eternal life depends on belief in Him and the Father (Jn. 17:3). Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Problem Passages

Trinitarianism “First born of all creation” Col 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Presentation notes: This is a Scripture that many cults use to evidence that Christ was created and therefore not equal with God the Father. While this verse could teach that, one would have to take it out of its biblical context. It could also mean, as stated above, that he is “the one who possessed priority.” In the context of the rest of the witness of Scripture (including Paul), using the analogy of Scripture (Scripture interprets Scripture and always interprets the obscure with the obvious), this passage clearly teaches that Christ is “the one who possessed priority,” as the next slide teaches. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Answer: “First born” (prototokos) does not mean that Christ was created. In Scripture it could either mean, “The first born Child,” or it often meant, “one who possessed priority.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Answer: Recent linguistic studies have shown that the Greek word monogenes (“only-begotten”) does not come from gennao, “to bear, beget,” but from genos, “kind, class.” Therefore, monogenes would be better translated, “one-of-a-kind” or “unique.” This explains why Isaac is referred to as the monogenes of Abraham when Abraham did have another son, Ishmael (Heb. 11:17). Presentation notes: These studies are reflected in most modern translations. Here are the NET Bible notes on the word in John 3:16: Although this word is often translated "only begotten," such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant [1.222]) who was not Abraham's only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means "one-of-a-kind" and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (tevkna qeou', tekna qeou), Jesus is God's Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18). References: See appendix 5 in Grudem, Systematic Theology. Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism Rev. 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

Trinitarianism John 14:28 “You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

A king may be greater than his servant, but that does not mean that his actual being is greater. Just his current position is greater. This passage speaks of functional, not ontological, greatness. Trinitarianism Copyright © 2005 The Theology Program. All Rights Reserved.

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