Answering The Tough Questions Pastor Tim Carpenter Bethany Church! Welcome to everyone - Skeptics and Believers! E-mail distribution list for updates/resources! Methodology and Overall goals for the class! General Outline for the semester! Please Note: Having a Bible with you at all times will make the class more engaging and will help you grow more. 1
! Methodology and Overall goals for the class! Presentation on the selected topic of the night! Discussion in small groups as is helpful! Resources sent out the following day! Overall goals for addressing each selected topic are: " 1. Glorifying, knowing, and loving God more " 2. Giving a biblical, theological, and philosophical foundation for us to THINK ABOUT and UNDERSTAND the topic " 3. Giving tools on how to engage around the specific topic when speaking with skeptics " So why differentiate between #2 and #3?! So what s a WIN for these classes?! 1. The classes will be a win if you love God more.! 2. The classes will be a win if you more fully understand how to think about these tough questions biblically, theologically, and philosophically! 3. The classes will be a win if you have some new tools that allow you to engage with skeptics in helpful discussions around these topics 2
! Outline for the semester! Week 1 (Tonight) " Introduction of class " Answering The Tough Questions / What is apologetics? " How to Properly use the Bible to answer tough questions " Our Culture and How to engage in helpful discussion around these questions! Week 2, 3, 4 " Focus on individual topics " On Week 4 Gathering of questions for Week 5 Q&A! Week 5 " Questions and Answers! Outline for the semester! Week 6, 7, 8, 9 " Focus on individual topics " On Week 9 Gathering questions for Week 10 Q&A! Week 10 " Questions and Answers 3
! Who is the person who comes to mind?! What is apologetics? What does the word mean?! Modern usage: giving answers to challenging questions about the Christian faith; the rational defense of the Christian faith (Geisler)! Original language (Greek): apologia to respond, to give an answer back! A biblical basis for apologetics " Acts 28;24, Acts 17 " 1 Peter 3:15 " Note: Peter s command is not optional/for just some people See Matthew 22:36-40 4
! Can I really persuade someone into a relationship with God?! No you cannot but reasoning, discussion, and apologetics plays a role! 3 Forms of Faith (Sproul) " Notitia Intellectual awareness " Assensus Persuaded by the truth of the facts " Fiducia Personal trust! Please do not run to the It s just by faith approach! You can play a role in impacting a person coming to faith in Christ! Remember Eternity is in the balance! The goal of apologetics:! To encourage the faith of the Christ-follower! To silence the mouths of the obstreperous (unruly people) (Calvin)! To clear the spiritual brush away to give a clear view of Christ! It has also been described by some as preevangelism (Schaeffer) " Evangelism the clear presentation of the Good News of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus 5
! The goal of apologetics 3 Anecdotes:! To encourage the faith of the Christ-follower " My early Christian faith with Dr. Ravi Zacharias! To silence the mouths of the obstreperous (unruly people) (Calvin) " Objectivist Forum at the University of New Hampshire! To clear the spiritual brush away to give a clear view of Christ " YouTube viewers! Our Reference for all of our answers is ultimately The Bible! We understand people will not necessarily believe in the Bible, but that doesn t make it untrustworthy! It is our objective referent (Zacharias)! We have to end up pointing people to the truth of the Bible because that is where and how we will come to see Christ.! We don t have to start there in our discussions, but it is the bridge to knowing about and coming to faith in Christ. 6
! This use of and knowing the Bible is also vital because MANY of the questions skeptics have are rooted in the Bible itself. The Bible is full on contradictions. Does God really kill all those people in Jesus never said that. Science has disproven the Bible.! Some basic rules of studying and understanding the Bible:! Context is King " Example: Psalm 14 says " So we must always read CONTEXT! Context from: verse - passage - chapter - book - testament - Bible 7
! This is a great skill to learn when someone says, Well, the Bible says! This skill allows you to look at what was said and to respond with what it (likely) REALLY means.! Some basic rules of studying and understanding the Bible:! To whom was this written? " Example: Jeremiah 29:11 " Primary/Biblical Audience first, Modern Audience second 8
! Some basic rules of studying and understanding the Bible:! What is the genre of literature? " Example: Psalms and Proverbs (Wisdom/Poetic) " Example: 1 Kings (Historical)! Some basic rules of studying and understanding the Bible:! A Christo-centric Approach i.e. how does this point to Christ? " Luke 24: 13-27 " John 5:39 9
! Culture and Apologetics:! What is culture?! What is OUR culture?! How does it impact how we engage in answering people s tough questions?! What is Culture?! The belief, customs, arts of a particular society, location, and time! The shared attempts to explain what it means to live the good life (Plato) 10
! What is OUR current America Culture?! Autonomy No one s the boss of me!! Relativism Whatever works for you is fine.! Sexualized Sex is the ultimate expression of my freedom.! Materialistic Whoever dies with the most toys wins.! Power-hungry I desire influence and control.! How does these American values impact us and how we answer challenging questions?! Autonomy Christ is Lord of all; we lose our lives to find them (Matthew 10:39)! Relativism Christ is The Truth (John 14:6)! Sexualized My body is not my own (1 Cor. 6:19-20)! Materialistic We can t take it with us (Mark 8:36)! Power Hungry Putting others first (Mark 9:35) Part of answering the tough questions will be showing an opposing world-view/truth claim 11
And remember that we are fish swimming in the same water. We are not outside of cultural influences. One of the biggest challenges faced by Christians is too often Christians don t look much different than the culture at-large. This is the Jesus doesn t seem to make much of a difference in your life argument.! 6 Skills When! Galatians 5:6b! 1 Corinthians 2:2 12
! 6 Skills When! Listen More Than You Talk (James 1:19-20)! 6 Skills When! Determine the level of REAL interest (Mark 4:1-12) 13
! 6 Skills When! Ask Clarifying Questions and Avoid Accusations (Luke 18:18-19, Luke 10:25-37, Mark 12:13-17)! 6 Skills When! Do Your Homework 14
! 6 Skills When! Know Your Role (John 6:44)! Let s end with this 15