Basic Christian Evidence

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Basic Christian Evidence

• Do We Have Sound Evidence for Our Faith?

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How should we defend our faith?

• Always be ready to make a defense to everyone .
  . . with gentleness and reverence
• 1 Peter 315

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Apologetics - Whats it all about?

• Apologetics is the science and art of defending
  Christianitys basic truth-claims. Gordon
  Lewis

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The purpose of this session

• Provide you with a basic toolbag of evidences
  and arguments.

• Ground you more securely in your Christian faith.

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Section One God
Question Does God exist?
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Cosmological argument

• This argument is concerned with the origins of
  the universe.

• The first cause of the universe is assumed to
  be God.

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Design argument

• The observable order and purpose in the universe
  indicates intelligent design.
• This designer is taken to be God.

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Moral argument

• Our inherent sense of right and wrong argues for
  an absolute moral authority.
• That authority is understood to be God.

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Section Two The Bible
Question Why should I believe the Bible? Its
just another ancient holy book.
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Testing a documents validity

• Internal evidence what the document claims for
  itself
• Bibliographic evidence from the original
  documents to the copies we possess today
• External evidence how the document aligns with
  facts, dates, persons from its own contemporary
  world

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Testing a documents validity Internal evidence

• Old Testament Thus saith the Lord
• New Testament Jesus words were considered Gods
  words

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Two Key Questions to Ask

• How many manuscript copies do we have?
• How close are the copies to the original?

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Testing a documents validity Bibliographical
evidence

• The New Testament

• Over 5600 Greek manuscripts extant
• Over 10,000 manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate.
• Over 9200 other translations

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Number of New Testament Manuscripts
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Dating of New Testament Manuscripts

• Work Written Copy Time Span
• Plato 447 BC 900 AD 1200 years
• Gallic Wars 44 BC 900 AD 1000 years
• Tacitus 100 AD 1100 AD 1000 years
• Aristotle 384 BC 1100 AD 1400 years
• Illiad 900 BC 400 BC 500 years
• New
• Testament 90 AD 125 AD 30 years

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Testing a documents validity External evidence

• Historical records

• Archaeology

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The Anvil? Gods Word.
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmiths door And
heard the anvil ring the vesper chime Then
looking in, I saw upon the floor Old hammers,
worn with beating years of time. How many
anvils have you had, said I, To wear and batter
all these hammers so? Just one, said he, and
then, with twinkling eye, The anvil wears the
hammers out, you know. And so, thought I, the
anvil of Gods word, For ages skeptic blows have
beat upon Yet though the noise of falling blows
was heard, The anvil is unharmed the hammers
gone.
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Section Three Jesus
Question Wasnt Jesus just another great
religious leader?
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The historicity of Jesus

• The events of Jesus life are recorded in the
  context of real history.

• Extra-Biblical Sources

• Jewish
• Roman

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The identity of Jesus

• The Works and Claims of Christ

• Forgave sins
• Performed miracles over nature
• Healed people of diseases
• Fulfilled Messianic prophecies
• Allowed others to worship Him

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The identity of Jesus

• The Works and Claims of Christ

• Claimed He had absolute, moral authority
• Claimed to be God, Messiah, and the way to God
• Allowed others to call Him God and Messiah

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What are the options?

• Choose one

• Liar
• Lunatic
• Legend
• Lord

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The only reasonable choice

• A man who was merely a man and said the sort of
  things Jesus said would not be great moral
  teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level
  with the man who says he is a poached egg--or
  else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make
  your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son
  of God, or else a madman or something worse
  (C.S. Lewis).

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The Resurrection of Jesus
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The reason for the empty tomb

• The disciples stole the body??
• The disciples were deceived??
• The Jewish leaders took the body??
• Jesus didnt really die??
• Jesus was raised from the dead!!

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The importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ

• The resurrection certifies that what Jesus
  proclaimed about Himself is true, that He is the
  Son of God (Romans 14).
• His completed work of redemption has made it
  possible for us to have direct access to God.

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Jesus is the Lord of History!

• Its all true!

Jesus Christ is worthy to be entrusted with our
lives, our purpose, and our destiny!
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