You are here: Home / Archives for Apologetics

Upcoming Future Congress Workshop on Tactics

07/13/2011 2 Comments

Tactics For Defending the Faith in a Fallen World

Some might think that an apologetics workshop is a bit out of place at the Future Congress. It may seem so on the surface, but I think upon closer examination not only its relevance but its urgent necessity will come to light. The Gospel has always been an offense to prideful men but lately things have escalated. Spiritual warfare largely takes place in the life of the mind. When Satan enticed Eve to sin he did it by implanting a false idea (Gen 3:1). My workshop Tactics for Defending the Faith in a Fallen World is designed to equip you to engage in the realm of ideas.

What would you say if a friend said, “It’s wrong for missionaries to try to change peoples religious beliefs. We should respect their indigenous culture”?

How about when your neighbor says, “Well you can’t really just accept the Bible it’s been translated so many times that no one can really be sure what it originally said”?

Or how about when your son or daughter comes home from school and tells you that their teacher taught them that, “All religions are equally true and valid for those who believe in in them”?

You do not have to be an expert on every subject to respond to these ideas and promote the truth of the Gospel. There is a simple and effective tactical method that anyone can learn to deal with these and more.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. – John 15:18-19

Biblical Christianity is becoming increasingly marginalized in America. For decades, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other radical anti-Christian groups have been on a mission to eliminate the expression of Christian values in the public square. The Alliance Defense Fund is a legal organization committed to defending religious liberty for Christians that has successfully defended these following cases recently:

  • A then-second-grade student at a public school in New Jersey was told that she could not sing “Awesome God” in an after-school talent show.
  • A pastor of a church in Arizona was ordered to stop holding meetings or Bible studies in his private home.
  • Five Christian men were threatened with arrest for sharing their faith on a public sidewalk in Virginia.
  • A Christian student at a university in Missouri was threatened with having her degree withheld because she refused to write a letter to the state legislature expressing her support for homosexual adoption.
  • A pro-life nurse at a hospital in New York was forced to participate in a late-term abortion, even though her workplace had agreed in writing to honor her religious convictions.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/ReligiousFreedom

They report that the persecution and censorship is becoming prevalent especially at the University. Unfortunately, the future promises to become more precarious. All Christians need apologetics skills!

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 11:3

What is worse are the incoherent beliefs expressed by professing Christians. According to the 2008 Pew survey results:

  • 78% overall say there are “absolute standards of right and wrong,” but only 29% rely on their religion to delineate these standards. The majority (52%) turn to “practical experience and common sense,” with 9% relying on philosophy and reason, and 5% on scientific information.
  • 74% say “there is a heaven, where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded,” but far fewer (59%) say there’s a “hell, where people who have led bad lives and die without being sorry are eternally punished.”
  • 70%, including a majority of all major Christian and non-Christian religious groups except Mormons, say “many religions can lead to eternal life.”
  • 68% say “there’s more than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-06-23-pew-religions_N.htm

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. -Matthew 10:16

Jesus taught that when you find yourself a sheep amidst wolves, be innocent but shrewd. This teaching calls for a tactical approach. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ and ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:20). Accordingly, although there is real warfare going on, our engagements should look more like diplomacy than combat. The training offered in this workshop is based on the tried and true techniques I learned myself from master Christian apologist Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason. It is my honor and privilege to pass this valuable teaching on to you.In this workshop you will be introduced for techniques to:

  • Initiate conversations effortlessly
  • Stop challengers in their tracks and turn the tables
  • Graciously and effectively expose faulty thinking
  • Maneuver through mine fields
  • Present the truth clearly, cleverly, and persuasively

The workshop will meet for two one hour sessions Friday July 22 at 3:00 and then Saturday at 3:30. I look forward to meeting you in Branson!

Filed Under Apologetics Tagged With ACLU, Alliance Defense Fund, Apologetics, Cris Putnam, Future Congress, Greg Koukl, postmodernism, Tactics

Presuppositional Apologetics

03/24/2011 6 Comments


This essay will attempt to demonstrate that the presuppositional apologetic method is a potent posture yet falls short as a methodology for comprehensibly demonstrating the legitimacy of the Christian worldview. Presuppositional apologetics is a systematic defense of Christian theism based on the assumption of certain basic propositions. While it is often associated with fideism which is placing faith above reason, not all presuppositionalists are fideists.[1] In fact, the presuppositonalist would argue that reason itself proves God’s existence. The apologist simply assumes the truth of Christianity to varying degrees and argues from that platform. This varies from a fideistic position that non-Christians are so corrupted by their sin nature that they are incapable of responding to evidence to a more modest position that belief in God is properly basic. The rationale offered by presuppositionalists is that everyone presupposes basic premises which define their worldview. It is certainly true that some beliefs such as the law of non-contradiction must be presupposed for rational discourse to be possible. Accordingly, this is known as a properly basic belief. Philosopher Alvin Plantinga has convincingly argued that belief in God can also be held as properly basic.[2] The different presuppositional approaches all share this epistemological foundation yet vary on issues of truth, scope of human depravity and use of evidence.

Norman Geisler delineates four main approaches based on their means of establishing truth: revelational, rational, systematic consistency and practical presuppositionalism.[3] The revelational approach championed by Cornelius Van Til is perhaps the most well-known and also the most fideistic. He boldly proclaimed, “that all reasoning is, in the nature of the case, circular reasoning.”[4] This style presupposes the authority of scripture and also that those who do not hold this presupposition are incapable of even basic reasoning.Greg Bahnsen is advocate and teacher of Van Til’s method. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries is another modern day practitioner of this Van Tilian style.[5] Here is James discussing the topic:

Rational presuppositionalism is a less strident variant employed by Gordon Clark and Carl F. H. Henry that allows that the secular mind still can use logic and reason. The test for truth is the law of non-contradiction.[6] John Carnell and Gordon Lewis pioneered a method, systematic consistency, which uses the rational approach with the additional qualifications that it must take account of all knowledge and meet man’s basic needs.[7] The style most open to non-believers is the practical approach in the style of Francis Schaeffer who set about demonstrating that all other worldviews are not livable in a consistent fashion.[8] These approaches share the assumption of Biblical revelation yet vary on discerning truth and the scope of unregenerate depravity. There seems to be valid thinking behind each variety and I maintain respect for the respective apologists even if I do not entirely agree with all of their methodology.

It seems reasonable for believers to assume theism because the average Christian does not have time to master complicated philosophical arguments. However, trained apologists should be able to employ those arguments to provide warrant for the average believer. Yet some presuppositionalists fail to distinguish between belief in God and belief that God exists. Many presuppositionalists completely reject traditional apologetics as a futile concession to the skeptic’s methods.[9] Yet we all use the same rules of logic. A principle criticism offered by Geisler is that there is a confusion of epistemology and ontology. He writes,

The Christian fideist may very well be right about the fact that there is a God, but this begs the question unless he can tell how he knows this is the case. God may indeed have revealed himself to us through the Bible, but how do we know that the Bible is the Word of God?  [10]

Van Til did not seem to mind question begging. His style is tactically advantageous but it is unlikely to influence non-Christians. While it is true that men suppress the truth, evidential apologetics causes even hardened skeptics like Antony Flew to change their minds. Ultimately one should remember that Jesus and the apostles appealed to evidence, (Jn 2:23, 1 Cor. 15:3-7).

This essay has briefly summarized the presuppositional method and its four approaches. God’s existence and biblical revelation were defined as the basic foundation. The different styles were differentiated by the scope of their assumption and their test for truth. Critique was offered that the method strongly proclaims that Christianity is true but falls short of adequately explaining why it is true. A hybrid approach along the lines of Schaeffer’s technique in Escape From Reason and other works are worthy of further study. I must admit I am very interested in the ideas and techniques employed. It seems that there are some valuable tactics and truths in this method yet is not entirely convincing.

This site is powerful example of how the presuppositional method can be employed: Proof That God Exists

[1]Norman L. Geisler, Christian Apologetics, Includes Index. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), 47.

[2] Thomas Provenzola. “Apologetics, Reformed.” In The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, by Ed Hindson, & Ergun Caner, ( Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2008), 59.

[3]Norman L. Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker reference library (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1999), 607.

[4]Cornelius Van Til and William Edgar, Christian Apologetics, 2nd ed. (The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing     Company: Phillipsburg, NJ, 2003).

[5] White, James. Alpha and Omega Ministries. n.d. http://aomin.org/articles/bio.html (accessed 10 08, 2010).

[6] Geisler, Baker, 607

[7] Geisler, Baker, 607

[8] Geisler, Baker, 607.

[9] Mark Coppenger. “Presuppositonalism.” In The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, by Ed Hindson, & Ergun Caner, 401-404. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2008), 402

[10]Norman L. Geisler, Christian Apologetics. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), 61.

Filed Under Apologetics Tagged With Apologetics, Fideism, Francis Schaeffer, Greg Bahnsen, James White, Norman Geisler, Presuppositional Apologetics, Reformed, Van Til

History 101 – Resurrection Challenge

09/12/2010 Leave a Comment

These are just a few principles that historians use to make determinations about sources and testimony. I learned these from Habermas and Licona’s book The Case For the Resurrection of Jesus. Many of the replies I have received on Youtube reveal that skeptics resort to attacking the bible rather than accounting for the historical evidence. When a critic attempts to simply dismiss the bible out of hand, he is committing what is known as the genetic fallacy. The genetic fallacy is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on its origin. Basically because the bible is a religious book they dismiss it as a historical source. Yet the truth is the New Testament has proven itself reliable over and over again. For instance, skeptics used to claim Pontius Pilate was a fictional character until archeologists uncovered a stone monument bearing his name. There have been many such vindications. A 19th century archeologist,  Sir William Ramsay , set out to expose the book of Acts as a work of fiction but after thorough investigation he ended up being so impressed by Luke’s accuracy that he converted from skeptic to christian believer. He wrote,

    Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of the true historic sense…in short, this author should be placed along with the greatest of historians.1

The New Testament is regarded as historically accurate as far as its mundane claims, thus the skeptic cannot simply dismiss its testimony to the miraculous. The evidence is abundant and compelling. How do you account for it?

____________________________________________________________________________________

1 Sir William M. Ramsey, The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, Hodder & Stoughton, 1915.

Filed Under Apologetics Tagged With Apologetics, Cris D. Putnam, Gary Habermas, History, Jesus Resurrection, Mike Licona, The Case For the Resurrection of Jesus, YouTube

The Ultimate Apologetic!

08/19/2010 Leave a Comment



There has been a lot of insistence by skeptics for extraordinary evidence lately, reminds me of this:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”  But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Mat. 12:38-39)

I have been hard at work on a resurrection evidence project for a few months now. Several videos have been produced. Many books have been read. It’s not just any project. I’m preparing to confront YouTube skeptic community with a challenge. True faith is founded on historical facts, which eye witnesses have corroborated. I believe there was an event that occurred 2000 years ago that was so phenomenal that it transformed the very nature of reality. It’s not just about the gospel or apologetics… it’s the ultimate apologetic.

This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.(Acts 2:32)

Jesus performed many miracles or signs which authenticated his public ministry.  The Gospel of John was written with a purpose. It is unique amongst the four accounts of Jesus in that its author sets down the purpose that the reader would “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31).  Scholars have distinguished two divisions by dividing the fourth Gospel into the “Book of Signs”, chapters 1 through 12, since they record Jesus’ public miracles and the “Book of Glory”, chapters 13 through 21, because of his glorious death and resurrection.[1] In addition to the seven signs found in Book of Signs there is an eighth positioned at the end of the book. John uses the Greek word semeion seventeen times in his gospel in reference to miracles. In Greek literature the word often means an event that indicates or confirms an intervention by a transcendent power.[2] Dr. Elmer Towns contends that this word choice emphasizes the spiritual significance of the eight miracles, whereas the synoptic gospels employ the Greek dunameis accentuating power.[3] The eight signs are: (1) turning water into wine (Jn. 2:1-11), (2) healing of the nobleman’s son (Jn. 4:46-54), (3) healing of the lame man (Jn. 5:1-9), (4) feeding of the 5,000 (Jn. 6:1-14), (5) walking on water (Jn. 6:15-21), (6) healing of a blind man (Jn. 9:1-12), (7) raising Lazarus from the dead (Jn. 11:1-44), (8) the miraculous catch of fish (Jn. 21:1-11). John seems to have organized the signs in particular settings as a commentary on the institutions and festivals of Judaism. Accordingly, there appears to be a connection between the seven discourses and the seven signs found with the “Book of Signs.” [4] Each sign uniquely facilitates John’s purpose to lead the reader to believe by pointing to a unique aspect of Jesus divine power. But what about Jesus’ own resurrection?

Was His resurrection just another sign amongst many? In a sense that it authenticated Jesus yes, but in the same manner as the other signs no. While the resurrection is certainly the central evidence authenticating Jesus ministry, I think it stands apart from the other signs. It is the very foundation of the Christian faith. Christianity “stands or falls with the question of His bodily resurrection.” [5] When Jesus resurrected Lazarus, it was called a sign by the Pharisees (Jn. 11:47). Morris contends that this sign and the “good shepherd” discourse are linked to “set forth emphatically that Christ has supreme authority over death.”[6] Yet he does not call the resurrection a sign. When Jesus rose, he was considered dead. So in this sense, he was not performing a sign. It was external from the physical person of Jesus. Thus tt was much more than a “sign” in the sense of Jesus other miracles. In fact, it was necessarily an external authentication from heaven. The NT is clear that the Father raised Jesus (Gal. 1:1, Rom. 10:9). Boice writes, “The resurrection proved that Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be and that he accomplished what he claimed to have come to earth to accomplish.”[7] The resurrection was a supernatural event so well evidenced and undeniable that it has served to validate the Christian faith for the last 2000 years. Paul wrote in his first letter to Corinth that if “Christ is not raised, your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:17a). It was the ultimate and final sign to stand for all time. It stands alone in a unique category as the ultimate apologetic.

Stay tuned for the Resurrection Challenge!

[1]Gary M. Burge, The NIV Application Commentary: John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 41.

[2]William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 920.

[3]Elmer Towns. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2002, xiii.

[4] Leon Morris. Jesus is the Christ: Studies in the Theology of John. Grand Rapids MH: Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1989, 22.

[5]John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord (Galaxie Software, 2008; 2008), 191.

[6] Leon Morris. Jesus is the Christ: Studies in the Theology of Lohn. Grand Rapids MH: Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1989, 38.

[7]James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith : A Comprehensive & Readable Theology (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 341.

Filed Under Apologetics Tagged With Apologetics, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Resurrection, Resurrection Challenge, Sign of Jonah

Coming Soon… Take the Resurrection Challenge Win a Free Book!

08/17/2010 1 Comment

Friends,

Skeptics claim there’s no evidence for the Christian faith. That is simply not true. I fell like it’s time for me to do my small part to help set the record straight on the issue of central importance. And I would love for you to join in. I have been working on mastering the historical evidence for the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus. I would like to suggest to you the book, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Habermas and Licona. I believe that the position one takes on this particular matter has eternal ramifications. Because I genuinely care about people, believers and skeptics alike, I feel called to present the evidence so people can make an informed decision.

Many people are not aware of the factual historical case for the literal resurrection Of Jesus Christ. This was the pivotal event of all human history. The evidence is astonishingly good considering the extreme antiquity. To stimulate the conversation I will be giving away two brand new books for the best response videos from Christians and skeptics alike.



Just keep your eye out for a new video which will be posted here on this website and on my YT channel by Tuesday August 24th called the “Resurrection Challenge – Can You Account for the Evidence?” Christians should respond with arguments and evidence supporting my presentation and skeptics must posit an alternate scenario that still accounts for the accepted data. I will make a decision at the end of September and mail prizes to the winners.  I will be posting videos all through the month with my research supporting the resurrection. I hope you will follow the evidence where it leads!

In Christ,

Cris

Filed Under Apologetics Tagged With Apologetics, Cris D. Putnam, Gary Habermas, Gospel, Jesus, Lee Strobel, Mike Licona, Resurrection, Resurrection Challenge, William Lane Craig
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »