Apologetics Class 12-20-2015

Hi All,

I enjoyed the class on Sunday with our small little group (the 4 of us).  We read pages 1-10 of the booklet, “The Ambassador’s Guide to Pluralism”.  We also watched a short (4 min 21 sec) video of John Lennox talking about the concept of religious pluralism:

Religious Pluralism: Do all Religions Lead to the Same Goal?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfOb3WL4cA

Here are the notes that we used to drive our discussion:

No Other Name (The Confused Confession) – pg. 1-4

1. (pg. 2) How can someone both confess Christ and retreat from the Gospel at the same time?
2. (pg. 2) What is a “confused confession”?
3. (pg. 2) Why is no one offended when you both align with Christ (in one sense) and deny Him (in another)?
4. (pg. 2) What would Jesus say about such a “confused confession”?  What about Paul or Peter?
5. (pg. 2-3) Christian is not a term the early followers of Jesus applied to themselves.  What did they call themselves?
6. (pg. 3) How did Jesus respond at His trial when asked if He was the Christ?  Why were His words important?
7. (pg. 3) What was Peter’s confession in front of the “rulers, elders and teachers of the law” in Acts 4?  What important description of Peter is offered in Acts 4:8 that explains his boldness?
8. (pg. 3) How do the “ancient confessions” of Jesus, Peter and Paul differ from many modern proclamations of Jesus?
9. (pg. 4) Is it important that we experience inconvenience or discomfort to fulfill the Great Commission?
10. (pg. 4) What is “have your cake and eat it too” Christianity?

One Way for Some pg. 4-7

1. (pg. 4) How does lack of knowledge and the inability to defend our faith lead to religious relativism?
2. (pg. 4-5) How does Christian Apologetics (defense of the faith) help to elevate “mere belief” to “credible and justified conviction”?
3. (pg. 5) Why is it unreasonable to claim that Jesus is your Savior, but not the world’s?
4. (pg. 5) Jesus is either the savior for a____, or He is the savior of n_____.
5. (pg. 6) Do most people recognize that they are guilty before God?  If not, how can we convince someone that they have a “sin problem”?
6. (pg. 6 – bottom) What reason can you give (outside of “the Bible says so”) that Jesus the only way?
7. (pg. 7 – top) What is “the problem”?  What is “the solution”?

Many Ways for All (Now Starting to Talk About Pluralism) pg. 7-10

1. (pg. 7) What are the 2 kinds of religious pluralism?  Which is the most concerning kind?
2. (pg. 8) What is the parable of six blind men and the elephant? How is it used as an argument for religious pluralism?
3. (pg. 9) Why does the parable fail to demonstrate the legitimacy of religious pluralism?
4. (pg. 10) Does further investigation into different religions lead one to believe they can be harmonized, or do more contradictions become apparent?
5. (pg. 10) Someone could respond, “From God’s perspective, the details don’t matter.  He is satisfied with any sincere religious effort”.  How would you respond?

We only got through the first 10 questions, so next week, we will finish covering these questions.

Have a great week and a blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of the God-Man, our Lord and Savior (Luke 2:10-11; Philippians 2:5-11).