STOA APOLOGETICS QUESTIONS

Transcription

1 Christian apologetics is a rational, thoughtful defense of the theological tenets of Christianity. It is not a sermon and it is not necessarily a presentation of the gospel or an overt evangelistic opportunity. Students should approach the question or topic from an apologetic perspective and craft their response as if the audience were not sympathetic to the message being presented. The end goal is for students to understand the rational basis for their faith and to be able to defend and communicate theological truth to those outside the faith. ****** NOTE: When Questions are added/deleted at the start of a new season, the numbering of existing questions can change. Competitors should review all their Apologetics cards to be sure they correspond with the correct question numbers on the updated list. *All NEW Apologetics Questions will be marked with an asterisk (*) for easy referencing. ****** Category 1: EXISTENCE AND NATURE OF GOD 1. Define and defend the significance of the trinity. 2 Define and defend the significance of the omniscience of God. 3. Define and defend the significance of the omnipotence of God. 4. Define and defend the significance of the omnipresence of God. 5. Define and defend the significance of the transcendence of God. 6. Define and defend the significance of the immanence of God. 7. Define and defend the significance of the eternality of God. 8. Define and defend the significance of the immutability of God. 9. Define and defend the significance of the infinite nature of God. 10. Define and defend the significance of the holiness of God. 11. Define and defend the significance of the justice of God. 12. Define and defend the significance of the sovereignty of God. 13. Define and defend the significance of the mercy of God. 14. Define and defend the significance of the grace of God. 1. In what ways has God revealed Himself to man? 2. If God is real, why can t people see or touch Him? 3. If God is holy, why did He allow sin in the world? 4. How can God be both merciful and just? 5. Open theology states that God is constantly changing and growing with His creation. Respond to this idea. 6. Why is the unchanging nature of God essential to who He is? 7. Where did God come from? *8. If God is loving, why is there suffering in the world?

2 Category 1: EXISTENCE AND NATURE OF GOD (continued) 1. Analyze and respond to the statement, The Old Testament God is a God of hate, while the New Testament God is a God of love. Anonymous 2. Analyze and respond to the statement, Gods are fragile things. They may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense. Cohen Chapman Chapman, Cohen. The Devil. An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism. Ed. Gordon Stein. University of Michigan: Prometheus Books, Analyze and respond to the statement, If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him. Voltaire Voltaire. Épître à l'auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs. Paris: Garnier, Analyze and respond to the statement, What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. A. W. Tozer Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life. New York: HarperOne, Analyze and respond to the statement, God is merely an impersonal force in the universe. He is untouchable and unapproachable. Anonymous 6. Analyze and respond to the statement, God set the universe in motion, but He has no interest in it. Anonymous 7. Analyze and respond to the statement, If God understands my humanity and sin nature better than I do, why does He still hold me accountable for what I cannot help doing? Anonymous *8. Analyze and respond to the statement, God is Love. 1 John 4:8 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ). Crossway 2001.

3 Category 2: SCRIPTURES 1. Define and defend the significance of the inerrancy of Scripture. 2. Define and defend the significance of verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture. 3. Define and defend the significance of the divine inspiration of Scripture. 4. Define and defend the significance of the biblical canon. 5. Define and defend the significance of the sufficiency of Scripture. 6. Explain the meaning and significance of higher criticism and lower criticism. *7. Define and defend the unity of Scripture. *8. Define and defend the uniqueness of Scripture. *9. Define and defend the historical reliability of the New Testament. *10. Define and defend the historical reliability of the Old Testament. 1. Jesus clearly demonstrated His belief in the authority of Scripture. Defend this statement with evidence. 2. If the Bible was written by men, how could it also be written by God? 3. How can the Bible be trustworthy when it has been translated so many times? 4. What is the foundation for accurate Bible translation? 5. Does it matter whether the entire Bible is true? Can we accept some parts of it and not others? 6. Why should the Bible be trusted if it is full of contradictions? *7. How can an inerrant book come from errant men? *8. Does science contradict the Bible? *9. How can we trust the Bible if we don t have the original manuscripts? 1. Analyze and respond to the statement, "No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what he means. George Bernard Shaw Shaw, George Bernard. < > 2. Analyze and respond to the statement, The Bible is simply the work of a great conspiracy, where people sought to create a religion of their own. Anonymous 3. Analyze and respond to the statement, The Old Testament is merely a set of myths made up by the Jewish people to establish a national identity and give themselves a feeling of superiority. Anonymous 4. Analyze and respond to the statement, "The Bible supports oppression of slaves and women." Anonymous 5. Analyze and respond to the statement, The Bible is a guidebook. It was never intended to be taken literally. Anonymous 6. Analyze and respond to the following statement, Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived. Isaac Asimov Jeppson, Janet. Notes for a Memoir: On Isaac Asimov, Life, and Writing. Amherst: Prometheus, *7. Analyze and respond to the following statement, The Bible is probably the most genocidal book in the literary canon. 1 Noam Chomsky Chomsky, Noam. < >

4 Category 3: THE NATURE, PURPOSE, AND DESTINY OF MAN 1. Explain the meaning and significance of the image of God. 2. Explain the meaning and significance of the depravity of man. 3. Explain the meaning and significance of original sin. 4. Explain the meaning and significance of the sin nature. 5. Explain the meaning and significance of sanctification. 6. Explain the meaning and significance of repentance. 7. Explain the meaning and significance of regeneration. *8. Explain the meaning and significance of glorification. *9. Explain the meaning and significance of the resurrection of the body. 1. Do all men have a longing for God? 2. Do all men have a conscience? 3. If God is invisible (1 Timothy 1:17), how can man be made in the image of God? 4. If man is inherently sinful, why do most men lead relatively good lives? 5. What is the purpose of man? 6. What is the destiny of man? 7. Why would a loving God create Hell? 8. What is the essential duty of man? 9. What is meant by the "Fall of Man", and how does it impact man s relationship with God? *10. What is the essential nature of man? *11. Does God hate the sin but love the sinner? 1. Analyze and respond to the following statement, All men are born with a nose and five fingers, but no one is born with a knowledge of God. Voltaire Voltaire. < > 2. Analyze and respond to the following statement,...whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Galatians 6:7b The Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible (NASB ), The Lockman Foundation Analyze and respond to the following statement, Heaven is only a state of mind. Anonymous 4. Analyze and respond to the following statement, He s only human. (as a justification for sin and the need for leniency). Anonymous 5. Analyze and respond to the following statement, I still believe in the nonviolent Jesus and the basic human goodness present in all of us. Martin Sheen Sheen, Martin. < > 6. Analyze and respond to the following statement, Man is not of divine origins, nor is he headed that way; he is not perfect, nor is he perfectible. He is what he is; by nature formed. Peter Landry Landry, Peter. < >

5 Category 4: SALVATION or HOW TO KNOW GOD 1. Explain the meaning and significance of justification. 2. Explain the meaning and significance of atonement. 3. Explain the meaning and significance of propitiation. 4. Explain the meaning and significance of redemption. *5. Explain the meaning and significance of eternal life. 1. How can a man know God? 2. Can a man become right with God by keeping the Ten Commandments? 3. Isn't it narrow-minded to believe there is only one way to Heaven? 4. Why does man need salvation? 5. What does it mean to be adopted as a child of God? 6. Can a Christian have assurance of his salvation? *7. What will happen to the innocent people who have never heard about Jesus and the gospel? *8. Do good people go to heaven? 1. Analyze and respond to the following statement, It doesn t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. Linus in the comic strip Peanuts Schulz, Charles. < > 2. Analyze and respond to the following statement, There are many roads to God. Anonymous 3. Analyze and respond to the following statement, Every charitable act is a stepping stone to Heaven. Henry Ward Beecher Beecher, Henry Ward. < > 4. Analyze and respond to the following statement, I commune best with God when I am out in nature. I don t need organized religion to feel close to God. Anonymous 5. Analyze and respond to the following statement, Religion is a private matter. Anonymous 6. Analyze and respond to the following statement, Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ). Crossway Analyze and respond to the following statement, God helps those who help themselves. Anonymous 8. Analyze and respond to the following statement, Preach the gospel always; if necessary, use words. Francis of Assisi Francis of Assisi. < > 9. Analyze and respond to this bumper sticker, BORN OK THE FIRST TIME. 10. Analyze and respond to the statement, At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church, there have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins and all will be reconciled to God. Rob Bell Bell, Rob. Love Wins. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co, *11. Analyze and respond to the statement, Christians are all hypocrites. Why would I want to become one of them? < >

6 Category 5: THE PERSON OF CHRIST 1. Define and defend the significance of the deity of Christ. 2. Define and defend the significance of the Virgin Birth. 3. Define and defend the significance of the Incarnation. 4. Define and defend the significance of Jesus claim that He is the Son of Man. 5. Define and defend the significance of Jesus claim that He is the Son of God. 6. Define and defend the significance of Jesus as the Mediator. 7. Define and defend the significance of Jesus as the Messiah. 8. Define and defend the significance of Jesus as the Word of God. 9. Define and defend the significance of Jesus as the Lamb of God. *10. Define and defend the significance of the preeminence of Christ. 1. Why is the Resurrection essential to the Christian faith? 2. If God is infinite, how could He limit Himself in the person of Christ? 3. The Bible presents Jesus as both God and man. Why is this central to the Christian faith? 4. Why did Jesus have to die to provide salvation for men? 5. What evidence is there for the historical existence of Jesus? 6. How do we know that Jesus really died? Didn't he just swoon on the cross and then become revived in the coolness of the cave where they buried Him? 7. What evidence is there for the resurrection of Jesus? 8. Did Jesus attain deity by His sacrificial death, or was He God from the beginning? 9. If Jesus is God, what did Jesus mean by, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:34 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ). Crossway Analyze and respond to the following statement, Jesus life and death are merely examples to us that we should all live sacrificial lives. Anonymous 2. Analyze and respond to the following statement, Jesus was a good man and a good teacher, but certainly not the Son of God. Anonymous 3. Analyze and respond to the following statement, The story of Ulysses and Agamemnon and Menelaus, of Jesus, of the Good Knight of Chaucer, lives in every one of us. James Lee Burke Burke, James Lee. < > 4. Analyze and respond to the following statement, I'm so thankful for the active obedience of Christ; no hope without it. J. Gresham Machen Piper, John. J. Gresham Machen s Response to Modernism.1993 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors, January 26, Unpublished conference proceedings. Bethlehem, 1993.

7 Category 6: CHRISTIANITY COMPARED (*NOTE: This entire category of questions are NEW for the season, except for SA1 which was moved from another category.) Compare and Contrast 1. Compare and contrast the Biblical portrait of Jesus with the Islamic portrait of Jesus. 2. Compare and contrast the Muslim view of God with the Christian view of God. 3. Compare and contrast the origins of the Koran and the origins of the Bible. 4. Compare and contrast Muhammad and Christ as messengers of God. 5. Compare and contrast the spread of Islam with the spread of Christianity. 6. Compare and contrast the Hindu view of the nature of man with the Christian view of the nature of man. 7. Compare and contrast the book of Mormon s view of Jesus with that of the Bible. 8. Compare and contrast the Christian view of man s destiny with that of Buddhism. 1. How is Christian stewardship distinct from the environmentalist movement? 2. Is Christianity a religion of intolerance? 3. Is transcendental meditation a viable activity for Christians? 4. Is the concept of Karma found in the Bible? 5. Do Christians, Jews and Muslims worship the same God? 6. How do the beliefs of Jehovah s Witnesses differ from traditional Christianity? 1. Analyze and respond to this quotation from the Quran, Surah 28:67: However, the one who has repented in this life, and believed, and done good deeds may hope to be among those who will achieve salvation. Quran, Surah 28:67. < > 2. Analyze and respond to the following statement, We want to worship a living God. I have not seen anything but God all my life, nor have you. To see this chair you first see God, and then the chair in and through Him. He is everywhere, saying, I am. The moment you feel I am, you are conscious of Existence. Where shall we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own heart and in every living being? Vivekananda Harvey, Andrew. Teachings of the Hindu Mystics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Footnotes Scripture quotations marked (NASB ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." < > Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. < >