mid-week apologetics (5-24-2023)

Good morning friends,

(Note – I’m sending this a little early this week because I will not be available to send it on Thursday)

Here is a random quote (of over 2600) from Nuggets:

Worldly people imagine that the saints must find it difficult to live with so many restrictions, but the bondage is with the world, not with the saints. There is no such thing as freedom in the world, and the higher we go in the social life the more bondage there is. – Oswald Chambers

To view more of these quotes, visit:

http://www.ps11911.com/bible-app/browseQuotes

Now, here are your weekly links:

1. Introduction to Logic (Curriculum Pack $44) | Biblical Science Institute – This logic course will both challenge and inspire high school students to be able to defend their faith against atheists and skeptics alike.: https://biblicalscienceinstitute.com/shop/introduction-to-logic-curriculum-pack/
2. The Truth About Truth (Podcast) | Cold Case Christianity – Is truth simply a matter of opinion or “lived experience”? Is anything objectively true? What impact does a correct understanding of truth have on culture? In this podcast from one of his teaching seminars, J. Warner examines the nature of truth, and the impact truth has on our understanding of the world.: https://coldcasechristianity.com/podcasts/the-truth-about-truth-podcast/
3. Did Moses Really Write About Jesus? A Look at Messianic Prophecy in the Torah – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM – Anyone who has studied evidential apologetics will see that many apologists have laid a great emphasis on messianic prophecy as one of the keys to demonstrating Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. One thing that is left out of these discussions is that when it comes to prophecy, it is not always predictive. The Greek word for fulfill is πληρόω (pleroo) –  which has a much broader usage than “the prediction of an event.” But in this case, on more than one occasion, Jesus appealed to the fact that Moses wrote about him in the Torah. I will not take the time to argue for Mosaic authorship in this post. That is dealt with elsewhere. Anyway, let’s look at where Jesus discusses this issue: https://wp.me/pCHEG-6Ex
4. A Brief Overview of the Jehovah’s Witness Worldview | Cold Case Christianity – Every worldview has to answer three important questions. First, “How did we get here”? This question is obviously foundational to how we see the world around us and how we understand our role in the world. Secondly, “How did things get so messed up?” All of us know there is something broken about the world and our worldview helps us to understand what has been broken. Finally, “How can we fix it?” This last question is the culmination and conclusion of our worldview. We begin with an idea related to how we got here, but ultimately find ourselves answering the most important questions of life. The Jehovah’s Witness worldview offers answers to these three worldview questions. Let’s examine these answers to see if they are cohesive and relate to the world as we know it.: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/a-brief-overview-of-the-jehovahs-witness-worldview/
5. Three Things The Gospel Authors Would Have Never Invented About Jesus – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM – Over the years, one of the common complaints by skeptics of the Gospels is that the Gospel writers supposedly took great liberty to make up or embellish certain parts of their work to make their point. In other words, many parts of the Gospel authors ‘invented’ or ‘fabricated’ certain aspects of the life of Jesus. Also, the Gospels are supposed to be so biased and given they are written by the ‘insiders’ how can we trust these documents? In response, the more I have studied the Second Temple Jewish period in Jewish history, I have found the exact opposite. Let me offer a few examples: https://wp.me/pCHEG-5OQ
6. Should Christian women wear head coverings? | GotQuestions.org – 1 Corinthians 11:3-16 addresses the issue of women and head coverings. The context of the entire passage of 1 Corinthians 11:3-16 is submission to the God-given order and “chain of command.” A “covering” on a woman’s head is used as an illustration of the order, headship, and the authority of God. The key verse of this passage is 1 Corinthians 11:3 “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” The implications of this verse are found in the rest of the passage. The order is: God the Father, God the Son, the man or husband, and the woman or wife. The veil or covering on the head of a believing Corinthian wife showed that she was under the authority of her husband, and therefore under submission to God.: https://www.gotquestions.org/head-coverings.html
7. How Can You Trust Christianity Is True If You Haven’t Examined All the Alternatives? | Cold Case Christianity – I’ve had the privilege to speak on university campuses across the country, making a case for the reliability of the New Testament Gospels and the truth of the Christian Worldview. One of the most common questions asked in the Q and A is something similar to: “Have you taken the time to apply the same approach with all the other religious worldviews?” Sometimes people ask this question because they are curious about how well other ancient religious claims (or alleged eyewitness accounts) hold up under investigative scrutiny. But many times this question is followed by a more pointed objection: “How can you trust Christianity is true if you haven’t examined all the alternatives?” Given the large number of spiritual claims circulating across the globe (and throughout history), why should we conclude one (or any) of them is true until we’ve examined all of them? At first blush, this seems like a reasonable approach, and when it’s asked by a skeptic, it’s typically offered in an effort to expose the inadequate or incomplete nature of my investigation (or some underlying bias I may have against opposing claims). Although I investigated several theistic and atheistic worldviews prior to becoming a Christian, I didn’t examine every view. Is my certainty related to Christianity therefore misplaced? Should the limited nature of my investigation disqualify or temper the case I’m presenting to skeptics and believers? I don’t think so.: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/how-can-you-trust-christianity-is-true-if-you-havent-examined-all-the-alternatives/
8. No, The Growth of Progressive Christian Politicians is Not a Good Thing for America [A Response to the New York Times Opinion Piece by Nicholas Kristof] – In an opinion piece for The New York Times titled, “Progressive Christians Arise! Hallelujah!” Nicholas Kristof made the case this week that “with a churchgoing Democrat in the White House, faith becomes more complicated in America – and that that’s a good thing. The piece is filled with so many logical problems (and equivocation in particular) that I have to respond. Why? Mainstream media loves articles like this because they paint theologically conservative Christians in a negative (or at least inferior) light-all to the praise of thousands who buy into the lack of nuance and critical thinking exhibited in articles like this one. It’s important that Christians are able to see through this confusion, so I’m going to respond to several quotes from the article point-by-point: https://natashacrain.com/no-the-growth-of-progressive-christian-politicians-is-not-a-good-thing-for-america-a-response-to-the-new-york-times-opinion-piece-by-nicholas-kristof/
9. The Materialist Narrative and the Power of Bias | Evolution News – Scientists in Western cultures have been trained to see the world through a materialist metanarrative where the only acting players are matter and energy. In other words, the universe is a closed system where no higher power or non-material forces are believed to interact. Those inculcated with this way of thinking see nature through a lens where all evidence for design is assumed to be an illusion, so all arguments for design are treated a priori as false. In contrast, those operating from a non-materialist viewpoint typically see the world though a design-tolerant lens. From this perspective, the materialists appear to demonstrate as much bias and disregard for empirical evidence as they accuse design proponents of exhibiting.: https://evolutionnews.org/2017/12/the-materialist-narrative-and-the-power-of-bias/
10. Is Jesus the only way to get to God? – bethinking.org – Christians are often accused of being narrow-minded because we assert there is no other way to get to God than through Jesus Christ. People often ask the question “Don’t all religions point to the same God?” or “What’s so special about Jesus? Why is he the only way?”: https://www.bethinking.org/is-christianity-the-only-way/q-is-jesus-the-only-way-to-get-to-god
11. Was the Bible updated? While we would wholly reject the documentary hypothesis, as you can read in many articles on our site by searching for “Documentary hypothesis” and “JEDP”, it is clear that scribal edits and updates did happen. These were limited to what would have been necessary to keep the text understandable to the audience.: https://creation.com/text-updates
12. Three arguments you’ll face on why faith and science are incompatible | Beyond Teachable Moments – Before you reach the age of twenty, I guarantee you will hear one or all of the following reasons why faith and science are incompatible: Most scientists are atheists (implying that science and faith don’t mix). Science is about facts and empirical evidence. Faith is about feelings, moral meaning, and value. (Implying that science and faith have no areas of intersection) Science doesn’t need God to explain anything (implying that God and faith have no place in science). Let’s kick the tires of these arguments to see how well they stand up.: https://wp.me/p3SFzw-u5
13. Spiritual Spackle: Reaching the Lost: Apologetics and More – It was a hard process for me to become a Christian, because of various factors. I would like to talk about the things that kept me away from God for so many years, discuss what we can do to help people come to Christ. Some things are beyond our control because of the world we live in. Those should not be your focus. Instead, look at the things under your control. I know you can impact lives positively, because there were people who impacted mine.: http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2013/11/reaching-lost-apologetics-and-more.html?m=1
14. The Difference Between Knowing and Showing God Exists – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM – Here is a chart on some of the differences between knowing and showing God exists. Obviously, there is much more to it than what is displayed here.: https://wp.me/pCHEG-5Mo
15. No Real Jesus Without the Trinity – The Trinity may be a rather neglected doctrine in the church today, even seen as secondary by many. In this article, we’ll consider some of the responses from Christians and non-Christians objecting to the importance of the necessary doctrine of the Trinity and evaluate them. Non-Trinitarians may seem to be Christian, especially in their avowal for a love for Jesus, but if the Trinity issue is raised, they will usually denounce it as a non-issue, pagan, evil, a man-made doctrine, not a Bible teaching, etc. All non-Trinitarians deny the personhood of the Holy Spirit. The main question is this: If the Trinity is not true, then where does that leave Jesus? There are many Christian scholars who have written books on this topic – both on the Trinity and on anti-trinitarian views, giving responses. I have resources listed at the end for those who want to read further.: https://christianapologeticsalliance.com/2018/04/17/no-real-jesus-without-the-trinity/
16. What is Faith ? – YouTube – Animation defining what faith is, and explains what our problem is if we lack faith? Let’s know Christ more together…: https://youtu.be/FLzBOnlvN4w
17. Unmarried 35-year-old woman reflects on her adventurous life of fun, travel and serial cohabitation. WINTERY KNIGHT found an interesting article featuring a 35-year-old woman who is alarmed that her approach to life has left her in debt and single, with a gap-filled resume of short-term jobs. I thought it might be useful for young women to read this, and consider whether making “rash” decisions and being “adventurous” works out.: https://winteryknight.com/2019/06/16/unmarried-35-year-old-woman-reflects-on-her-adventurous-life-of-fun-travel-and-serial-cohabitation-2/
18. Are Evolution and a Historical Adam Possible? Sean McDowell interviews Dr. Josh Swamidass – What do you see as the proper relationship between theology and science? I understand science as a conversation among scientists. Theology is a conversation among theologians, but it is also a conversation in the Church. The proper relationship between theology and science is dialogue, a meaningful exchange between two communities with different ways of understanding the world. Each community, theological and scientific, has its own legitimacy and autonomy. Good conversations are shaped by constructive resistance, not capitulation. Dialogue includes an exchange of good-faith questions. Whether they come from theology or science, questions should be taken seriously, answered with honesty, rigor, and empathy.: https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/are-evolution-and-a-historical-adam-possible-a-provocative-model
19. Giraffes: Testimonies to God’s Design | Answers in Genesis – Towering tall over the African savanna, the giraffe looks as if it belongs in the circus. It strolls on stilt-like legs, and its neck parades high in the sky. But the giraffe is no comic freak of nature. It displays divine design. Since the giraffe gives birth standing up, the newborn calf falls more than five feet to the ground. Within 15 minutes after the calf is born, it stands up on those gangly legs.: https://answersingenesis.org/mammals/giraffes-towering-testimonies-to-gods-design/
20. The Gospel (Paul Washer) – YouTube: https://youtu.be/cqbPaXhK4Zw
21. That’s Just Your Opinion – YouTube – Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason shares how to respond when someone says, “That’s just you’re opinion” when you’re sharing your faith.: https://youtu.be/j_r51x10Paw
22. How can I overcome sin in my Christian life? | GotQuestions.org – The Bible presents several different resources to aid us in our effort to overcome sin. In this lifetime, we will never be perfectly victorious over sin (1 John 1:8), but that should still be our goal. With God’s help, and by following the principles of His Word, we can progressively overcome sin and become more and more like Christ.: https://www.gotquestions.org/victory-over-sin.html
23. Is the Astronomy in the Book of Job Scientifically Consistent? | Cold Case Christianity – In the past, I’ve posted a number of scientific consistencies found in the Old Testament. While I think there are good reasons why God might not reveal advanced scientific details in Scripture, I do expect God’s Word to be scientifically consistent with the world we experience. One interesting scientific consistency seems to exist in the ancient book of Job. I am obviously not a scientist or astronomer, so I’ll try to provide links to the references you might use to further investigate these claims. As you may remember, Job was extremely wealthy and had a large family. Tragedy struck and Job lost his wealth, his children and his wife. Job eventually began to accuse God of being unjust and unkind. In response to Job’s complaining, God challenged Job’s authority and power relative to His own. God asked the following series of questions to demonstrate Job’s comparative weakness…: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-the-astronomy-in-the-book-of-job-scientifically-consistent/
24. How I Get So Much Done | Sean McDowell – This is one of the most common questions people ask me. After all, I teach full time at Biola University, part-time at a Christian school in Orange County, co-host a podcast, blog regularly, have a YouTube channel, write books, have a busy speaking schedule, and am also a husband and father. To be honest, I have hesitated to write this blog for a long time. There are many people much more productive than I am. I still can’t figure out how people like J. Warner Wallace, Tim Challies, and my father do everything they do! Nevertheless, here are five things that help me: https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/how-i-get-so-much-done
25. Was Jesus a Religious Pluralist? Some people, to my surprise, say Jesus never made an exclusivist claim. They believe He never said that Christianity alone is the true religion. Rather, they suggest, He would have considered many approaches to God. My guess is that these people have not read the Gospels carefully. In fact, even a cursory reading of Jesus’ words would lead you to think He rejected pluralism.: https://www.str.org/w/was-jesus-a-religious-pluralist-#.WzwKTWhlA0M
26. Did Darwin Promote Racism? | Answers in Genesis – The human heart is a factory for all kinds of evil-including the evil of racism (see Jeremiah 17:9 and Matthew 15:18–19). Still, while Darwin certainly didn’t invent racism, his ideology of evolution has fostered it. Consider the case of Ota Benga-a pygmy from Central Africa, who in 1906 was caged in the Bronx Zoo with an orangutan. Remember the Jews in the gas chambers devised by Hitler to advance the Aryan “master race.” Reflect on the Australian aborigines hunted down in the 1800s by evolutionists in search of the “missing link.”: https://answersingenesis.org/charles-darwin/racism/did-darwin-promote-racism/
27. The Impossibility of Life’s Evolutionary Beginnings | The Institute for Creation Research – The hypothetical naturalistic origin of life and its most basic biomolecules from non-living matter is called abiogenesis. This paradigm lies at the very foundation of biological evolution, but the immensity of its naturalistic improbability is often brushed aside by evolutionists, who prefer to focus on other facets of evolution that seem less daunting.: https://www.icr.org/article/10456/
28. 3 Ways Christian Parenting is Like Being a Personal Trainer | Josh Daffern – Paul instructs Christian fathers to bring their children up in the training and instruction in the Lord. The word for “bring them up” is the idea of nurturing, and it has a holistic connotation. Paul actually uses the same word in the previous chapter when he says, “no one ever hates his own body, but he feeds and cares for it.” It’s the concept (which we should all understand as parents) of making sure that you care for the development of your child, not just feeding them and caring for their physical development, but caring for their mental, emotional and spiritual development as well.: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/newwineskins/3-ways-christian-parenting-is-like-personal-trainer/
29. Stephen Meyer: DNA and Information – Science Uprising Expert Interview – YouTube – In this bonus interview footage from Science Uprising, philosopher of science Stephen Meyer discusses DNA, biological information, and how the information encoded in DNA points to an intelligent cause. He appears in Science Uprising EP3 DNA: The Programmer. Is the software that runs life the result of accumulated copying errors? Or does it require a programmer?: https://youtu.be/7c9PaZzsqEg
30. What Does It Mean to Have Been Created In the “Image of God”? | Cold Case Christianity – I can understand why so many of us hope that our pets will be part of our eternal life with God. I’m convinced from scripture that animals have souls, but I still have my reservations about whether or not the souls of animals are eternal. I’m not sure that the Bible is emphatically clear on that issue. One thing is certain, however: we humans are different. According to Genesis 1, we have been created in the “image of God”; we are His last creation, placed carefully in our world after God prepared our environment and filled it with other creatures. Much can be said about what distinguishes us from the other creations of God, but three characteristics of humans seem to stand out as the key to understanding what it means to bear the image of God: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/what-does-it-mean-to-have-been-created-in-the-image-of-god/
31. Apologia Sophia: “Apologetics Wisdom” – Preparation – Are you prepared for apologetic engagement? In part 3 (of six) in this series, I’ll offer three practical suggestions to help prepare you for potentially life-changing interactions with nonbelievers. As noted in parts 1 and 2, the term Apologia Sophia Apologia Sophia (Gk: ἀπολογία σοφία) transliterates the Greek word endings and roughly translates to “apologetics wisdom.” These three points will help provide you with such wisdom, whether you’re a professional or lay Christian apologist.: https://wp.me/p1hVym-W2
32. 3 Questions You Need to Ask When Reading the Bible – YouTube – Apologetics Tip #7: Alan Shlemon of Stand to Reason shares the right questions to ask when reading the Bible so that you can get the most out of the meaning of the text.: https://youtu.be/ut0jA0OvQ5g
33. Apologetics in Your Teaching: Four Ways You Can Aim Your People Higher | Tom Gilson – There’s a fine line between challenging people and scaring them. Of course I use the word “scare” advisedly. I’m talking about what happens when people get pushed beyond their comfort limits – which could happen in all kinds of ways in church. Talk to them about sharing Christ with friends, co-workers, or classmates, and if they hear you, and if you don’t include the right Spirit-directed encouragement and equipping, they’ll be scared. Talk to them about buckling down to learning reasons to believe and some of them will be scared, too. It sounds too much like homework. (The interesting thing is how much evangelism and apologetics have to do with each other. I’ll come back to that another time.) So again, there’s a fine line there; but too many pastors and teachers are fine with keeping the challenge so low, their people never have to step up to it. That runs the serious risk of encouraging your people of settling into a comfortable pattern of sin. Remember, Paul told Timothy to study well (2 Tim. 2:15). That wasn’t just a pastor’s instruction: We’re all responsible to know how to give an answer (1 Pet. 3:15).: https://www.thinkingchristian.net/posts/2018/05/apologetics-teaching-aim-them-higher/
34. Fishless Fishermen’s Fellowship – YouTube – When was the last time you had a conversation with someone specifically to win them to Christ? As Christians, we need to get into the habit of preaching the gospel to those around us. Unfortunately, many churches are filled with people who don’t do much when it comes to evangelism. Let’s read the parable of the Fishless Fishermen’s Fellowship.: https://youtu.be/XVBXrknp9x8
35. Tips for Memorizing a Book of the Bible. Yes, it’s possible, even if you’re not a memorization genius! Start with one of the shorter books-Jude, Philippians, 2 Timothy, etc.-or pick a set of chapters in your favorite book (preferably, start from the beginning). When you’re finished, that book will become part of you; you’ll know it more deeply than you thought was possible. It will change you, and God will bring it out of you to bless others at the most surprising times.: https://www.str.org/w/tips-for-memorizing-a-book-of-the-bible
36. Skin deep – Many people still think that ‘light’ skin is somehow tremendously different from ‘dark skin’, in spite of the scientific evidence that shows overwhelming biological similarity among all the people of the world. However, over the past several decades, sophisticated studies of human skin pigmentation using special stains and the electron microscope have shown that the differences in skin pigmentation among the so-called races of mankind are only very minor.: https://creation.com/skin-deep
37. Chances of a producing a functional protein by chance – YouTube – This is Stephen Meyer and Doug Axe discussing the probability of a functional protein occurring via mutation and selection.: https://youtu.be/-5p4T8MD7aA
38. Early Christianity Overview: The Ante-Nicene Era and the Apostles’ Churches – The Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 is a natural time to end “early Christianity,” the post-apostolic period. Almost every history book will refer to the period from A.D. 100, which is about the time of John the apostle’s death, to A.D. 325 as the “Pre-Nicene” or “Ante-Nicene” era.: https://www.christian-history.org/early-christianity-2.html
39. The Amazing Unity of Scripture | ChristianCourier.com – The Bible claims to be the divinely inspired Word of God. Is there any support for this affirmation? Evidence for the inspiration of the Bible falls into two general categories. Some evidences are classified as external in nature, while others are viewed as internal.: https://christiancourier.com/articles/the-amazing-unity-of-scripture
40. How did we get the Bible? – YouTube – Dr. Robert Plummer answers in Honest Answers | Episode 77 (12:44): https://youtu.be/aEAPWac19a4

And the Levites–Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah–said: “Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. ” “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. Nehemiah 9:5-6

Blessings to you all

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