Giving an Answer: Defense

1. Defense The Bible has been changed so many times The Problem of Evil Christianity was derived from pagan religions People who have never heard OT Genocide Christianity is all about blind faith Religion impedes science Atrocities in the name of Christianity Original sin is not fair! I believe in one less God than you Christians are all hypocrites The Bible says Not to judge Giving an Answer: Defense

2. 1 • The Problem of Evil • Claim • If the Christian God is all powerful, and all good, then he would not allow evil to exist. But evil does exist. Therefore the Christian God does not exist. • Responses • What do you mean by “evil”? • What is the basis for “evil” in a naturalistic worldview? • Outside of the Christian worldview, how can you have objective standards like good and evil? The COLUMBO Tactic Giving an Answer: Defense 5

3. People Who Have Never Heard • Claim • It’s not fair that God would condemn forever the people who have never had a chance to hear about Jesus. • Responses • What do you mean by “fair”? • How can you have fairness and justice outside of presupposing a Christian worldview? • Where does Christianity teach that people are condemned just because they don’t believe in Jesus? • (No one is condemned for not believing in Jesus. They are condemned because they have sinned against God.) 2 Giving an Answer: Defense

4. 3 • Christianity was Derived from • Pagan Religions • Claim • Christianity was derived from various pagan religions. • Response • Which pagan religions? • In what ways is Christianity derived? • What evidence do you have of that? Giving an Answer: Defense

5. 4 • The Bible has been • Changed so Many Times • Claim • How do we even know what the Bible originally said? It has been changed so many times over history. History is written by the winners. • Response • What are the changes? When did these changes occur? • What evidence do you have of that? • Which manuscripts reflect these changes? • Have you ever studied the historical transmission of the Bible? • Simon Greenleaf and the rules of evidence Giving an Answer: Defense

6. The Bible has been Changed so Many Times Simon Greenleaf - formulator of the “Rules of Evidence” still in use in the U.S. - “Do not come to a final conclusion until evaluating ALL evidence” - challenge from one of his law students “Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be genuine, and evolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise.” Giving an Answer: Defense

7. 5 • OT Genocide • Claim • The God of the Old Testament is detestable with his ethnic genocide of the Canaanites and native peoples of the promised land. Especially women and children?!?! • Response • What makes you think the people didn’t deserve it? • Why do you assume a Creator doesn’t have authority over His creation? • What makes you think the women and children were not also guilty? Giving an Answer: Defense

8. Unleashing Your Faith Let the TACTICS Continue Discussing Truth and Christian Convictions 6

9. Transcendental Arguments Science Morals Logic Giving an Answer: Proof

10. Classical Arguments Cosmological Teleological Moral Giving an Answer: Proof

11. Evidences Reliability of the Bible Resurrection of Jesus Miracles Archaeology Information in DNA Fine-Tuning of the Universe Giving an Answer: Proof

12. 6 We cannot give up the Authority of Scripture WE – you and I as believers – enter the conversation standing on the Authority of Scripture as determinative in our beliefs… AND determinative in the issue of TRUTH WE do not start from a position of ‘neutrality’ opposite the truths taught in the Bible in order to “reason with the unbeliever” to reach a ‘mutually agreeable answer to: ‘what is Truth?’ If we don’t stand on the authority of Scripture then we have no place to stand in defending the Christian faith. Giving an Answer: Defense

13. Defense Defense The COLUMBO Tactic Giving an Answer: Defense

14. Defense The Bible has been changed so many times The Problem of Evil Christianity was derived from pagan religions People who have never heard OT Genocide Christianity is all about blind faith Religion impedes science Atrocities in the name of Christianity Original sin is not fair! I believe in one less God than you Christians are all hypocrites The Bible says Not to judge Giving an Answer: Defense

15. Defense The Bible has been changed so many times The Problem of Evil Christianity was derived from pagan religions People who have never heard OT Genocide Christianity is all about blind faith Religion impedes science Atrocities in the name of Christianity Original sin is not fair! I believe in one less God than you Christians are all hypocrites The Bible says Not to judge Giving an Answer: Defense

16. 6 • Atrocities in the name of Christianity • Claim • Christianity is downright dangerous! Look at all the people Christians have killed: the Crusades, the Inquisition, and even Hitler was a Christian. • Response • Where in the Bible does God approve of these activities? • What makes you think these people were Christians? • Have you ever considered that these people are acting against the teaching of the Bible? • How many people were actually killed in all the incidents you cited and were the killers following Christ’s teaching? Giving an Answer: Defense

17. Historians distinguish four different manifestations • of the Christian Inquisition: • Medieval Inquistion (1184–16th century) • - 2500-3000 deaths/executions • the Episcopal Inquisition (1184–1230s) • the Papal Inquisition (1230s) • Spanish Inquisition (1478–1834) • - 2250 + deaths / executions • Portuguese Inquisiton (1536–1821) • - 1183 executions • Roman Inquisition (1542 – c. 1860) • - 1250 executions 1184 – 1860 (7 centuries) Total deaths / executions - approx. 7600 recorded ( 10 deaths per year) 11 1959 – China crushes Tibet 30,000 Tibetan deaths

18. 67 – 162 MILLION 20th Century Deaths Mao – China 1949- 1976 49 – 78 million Soviet Union 1917 - 1953 8 – 61 million [Soviet Famine 1932-33 2.5 – 8 million] The HOLOCAUST 4 – 17 million Nigerian Civil War 1967-70 1 – 3 million Cambodian Genocide 1975 - 79 1 – 3 million Bangladesh Genocide 1991 3 million Rwandan Genocide 1994 1 million The INQUISITIONS 1184 – 1860 .0076 million The Crusades 1095 - 1291 1 – 3 million

19. 7 • Christianity is all about Blind Faith • Claim • Christians have a blind faith. There’s no hard evidence that God exists. • Response • What kind of evidences would convince you? • What makes you think Christian’s don’t have evidence? • Do you have a blind faith in your system? Giving an Answer: Defense

20. 8 • Religion Impedes Science • Claim • Religion shuts down any scientific inquiry. It just sticks “God” in the gaps and tells us not to worry about it. • Response • What do you mean by ‘Religion.’ • How does science even make sense outside of having the God of the Bible uphold the uniformity of nature? • Where in the Bible does it teach that Christians should impede science? • Are you sticking “Science” in the gaps? (i.e. we don’t know where the universe came from, but “give us enough time and science will answer that”). Giving an Answer: Defense

21. 8 Religion Impedes Science "Astronomers now find they have painted themselves into a corner because they have proven, by their own methods, that the world began abruptly in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in this cosmos and on the earth. And they have found that all this happened as a product of forces they cannot hope to discover. That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work which is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact." Robert Jastrow (September 7, 1925 – February 8, 2008) was an American astronomer, physicist and cosmologist. He was a leading NASA scientist, author and futurist. Giving an Answer: Defense

22. 8 Religion Impedes Science “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance, he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”  ― Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers Giving an Answer: Defense

23. 9 • Christians are all Hypocrites • Claim • Christians are a bunch of hypocrites: they say not to do something but then go do it themselves. • Response • Isn’t God the one who gives commandments, not Christians? • What is a hypocrite? • If a Christian agrees that he is a sinner, how does that make him a hypocrite? Giving an Answer: Defense

24. 10 • The Bible says not to Judge • Claim • The Bible says we are not to judge other people, so you need to stop judging. • Response • Why are you judging me for judging other people? • Where in the Bible does it say we shouldn’t judge? • Don’t you think God has the right to judge? • Hasn’t God already said what He will judge based on… ? Giving an Answer: Defense

25. 11 • Original Sin is Not Fair • Claim • Why should I be held accountable for Adam’s sin? That’s not fair. • Response • What do you mean by “fair”? • What is unjust about Adam acting on our behalf? • Have you ever broken one of God’s laws? • Do you really think you would have done any better? Giving an Answer: Defense

26. 12 • I Believe in One Less God Than You Do • Claim • Of all the gods out there (e.g. Thor), you Christians don’t believe in any of them, and I don’t either. I just take it one step further: I believe in one less god than you do. • Response • How do you explain science, logic, and morality without the Christian God? Giving an Answer: Defense

27. Defense The Bible has been changed so many times The Problem of Evil Christianity was derived from pagan religions People who have never heard OT Genocide Christianity is all about blind faith Religion impedes science Atrocities in the name of Christianity Original sin is not fair! I believe in one less God than you Christians are all hypocrites The Bible says Not to judge Giving an Answer: Defense 8

28. Offense • Defense • Proof Giving an Answer: Defense

29. Offense • Defense • Proof Giving an Answer: Offense

30. Offense • Offense Giving an Answer: Offense

31. Offense Claims Consistent with a Biblical Worldview Trinity Gravity Diety of Christ Algebra Inconsistent with a Biblical Worldview Mormonism Oneness Atheism JWs Hinduism Abortion Buddhism Islam Homosexuality Romanism Hold to “Biblical Authority” Appeal to External Authority Giving an Answer: Offense

32. Examples • Romanism • Oneness Pentecostal • Jehovah’s Witnesses • Mormonism • Islam • Abortion? • Homosexuality? Approach • Take up their “accepted authority” to prove the validity of the Bible • Demonstrate inconsistencies. • Place the burden on them to resolve the inconsistencies. Inconsistent with a Biblical Worldview Hold to “Biblical Authority” Giving an Answer: Offense

33. Examples • Atheism • Hinduism • Buddhism Approach • Take up their worldview and demonstrate the lack of justification for: • Science • Morals • Logic Inconsistent with a Biblical Worldview Appeal to External Authority Giving an Answer: Offense

34. Examples • Abortion • Homosexuality Approach • Take up their view and show where it leads. Inconsistent with a Biblical Worldview Appeal to External Authority Giving an Answer: Offense

35. If it’s not a person, then no justification is required to do whatever you want with it. If it is a person, then it deserves the same rights and protections as all other persons. Abortion Only One Question: “What is it?” Giving an Answer: Offense

36. S.L.E.D. Test Size Level of development Environment Degree of dependency Trot out the Toddler Abortion Two Key Tools Giving an Answer: Offense

37. “It’s not a person.” Response • At what point does it become a person? • Demonstrate arbitrariness with S.L.E.D. / Toddler “It’s a person, but not with rights equal to the Mother.” Response • At what point does it get equal rights? • Demonstrate arbitrariness with S.L.E.D. / Toddler Abortion Only One Question: “What is it?” Giving an Answer: Offense

38. It's a woman's right to choose. • This is a private matter; No government influence. • Women are going to have them anyway. • Unwanted child • Not financially able • Too young to have a child • Rape and incest (it will remind the mother) • The mother's life is in danger? Like what? Abortion “Defenses” Giving an Answer: Offense

39. Objective: “Where does the objective standard come from?” Relative: “Why stop at two men, or two women, why not polygamy, and cross-generational, and cross species?” Homosexuality Does “Marriage” have an objective meaning, or Does it mean whatever we want it to mean? Giving an Answer: Offense

40. Offense Claims Consistent with a Biblical Worldview Trinity Gravity Diety of Christ Algebra Inconsistent with a Biblical Worldview Mormonism Oneness Atheism JWs Hinduism Abortion Buddhism Islam Homosexuality Romanism Hold to “Biblical Authority” Appeal to External Authority Giving an Answer: Offense

41. Offense • Offense Giving an Answer: Offense

42. Offense Giving an Answer: Offense

43. Offense • Defense • Proof Giving an Answer: Offense

44. Offense • Defense • Proof Giving an Answer

45. Set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts • and always be ready • to give an answer • to anyone who asks • about the hope you possess, • yet do it with courtesy and respect… 1 Pet 3:15 Presuppositions Tactics Know Your Audience Credo Ambassador Model Proof, Defense, Offense Defending Your Faith