Christian Apologetics
- What is apologetics?
- Comes from Greek word: apologia
- A defense: As in a court of law
- Making a case for the truth
- Like in Fencing: Thrust and Parry
- Why do apologetics?
- Reason demands it (Jude 10, Is. 1:18, I Jn. 4:6, Heb. 5:14)
- Bible commands it (I Pet. 3:15, II Cor 10:15, Jude3, Acts 17:16-17)
- Strengthens our faith
- Assists in evangelism
Let’s Talk About Truth
- Truth about reality is knowable
- How do you define truth?
- That which corresponds to the facts and to its referent
- Telling it like it is
- This is called the correspondence theory of truth
- Two types of truth
- Absolute Truth: True for all people, in all places, at all times
- Relative Truth: True for some people (but not all), true in some places (but not in
all), true some of the time (but not all)
- Do you believe that absolute truth exists? Why or why not?
- Examples some people have provided of “Relative” Truth
- Cold at the North Pole in the winter and hot in Egypt
- True wherever you are
- Corresponds to its referent; either the North Pole or Egypt
- Location doesn’t change the truth
- People once thought the earth was flat, but now we know its round
- Was this a relative truth? Did this truth change?
- Truth never changed. But what did?
- Our understanding of the truth changed
- Relativism is self-defeating
- Someone claims “truth is relative.”
- How should you respond?
- “Is that true for everyone?”
- Can we know reality?
- If someone says:
- “You can’t know reality.”
- Response? “Is that a statement about reality?”
- The answer to the question is yes, we can know something about reality!
- What are some things we know about reality?
- The Law of Non-Contradiction
- Opposite ideas cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense
- Examples:
- The world is flat. The earth is round. Both can’t be true. It’s one or the other.
- God exists. God doesn’t exist.
- Avicenna’s quote
- Objections to Objective Truth
- No such thing as truth
- You can’t know truth
- All truth is relative
- True for you but not for me
- No one has the truth
- Truth depends on your perspective
- How can we respond to these statements?
- Apply the claim to itself
Example: I can’t speak a word of English!
- Response: Didn’t you just say that in English
- The Road Runner Tactic: Leave the person with no ground to stand on
- An easy way for you to be a lie detector!
- How would you respond to “No truth is found in religion, it’s found only in science.”
- “You should not judge.”
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