ASK F OR A P D F
H TTP : //R D C H AM BE R L AIN . CO M
FAC E BO O K ( S IL IG U R I)
E M AIL :
R D C H AM BE R L AIN5 0 @ G M AIL . CO M
UNDER ATTACK:
D E FE ND ING YO U R FAITH
The importance of Christian
apologetics in 21st century
S TAR TIN G T O THINK
I N TE L L I G E N TLY
A BO U T W H A T YO U
BE LI E VE
A P O LO G E TI C S
G R E E K W O R D : SP EAK I N G I N D E F E N S E "
RE A S O N E D A RG UM E N T S T O
P ROV E THE C HRIS TIAN FAITH
A P O LO G E TI C S
- E V E RY C H RI S TI A N
- K N OW G O D S W O RD
- BE ABLE T O ANS WE R
Q UE S TI O N S A N D O BJ E C TI O N S
( IS THAT) A G O OD P OI N T ?
Could you
from the Bible that we should be engaged in
apologetics - what are the important texts?
1 Peter 3:15
Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope that you
have. But do this with gentleness and
respect,
This is an order.
Philemon 6
And I pray that the sharing of
your faith may become
effective for the full knowledge
of every good thing that is in
us for the sake ofChrist.
Romans 10:11-15
How then will they call on him in
whom they have not believed? And
how are they to believe in him of
whom they have never heard? And
how are they to hear without
someone preaching [telling them]?
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you, and
you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of
theearth.
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them,
All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all
nations
W H A T W O U L D YO U SA Y ?
W H A T W O U L D YO U SA Y ?
I am not a sinner / I am a good person
W H A T W O U L D YO U SA Y ?
I am not a sinner / I am a good person
I already believe in God
W H A T W O U L D YO U SA Y ?
I am not a sinner / I am a good person
I already believe in God
I am an atheist. I don't believe in God
W H A T W O U L D YO U SA Y ?
I am not a sinner / I am a good person
I already believe in God
I am an atheist. I don't believe in God
Why did Jesus have to die in order
for me to go to heaven?
W H A T W O U L D YO U SA Y ?
I am not a sinner / I am a good person
I already believe in God
I am an atheist. I don't believe in God
Why did Jesus have to die in order
for me to go to heaven?
What makes you think the Bible is
the word of God?
O P E N D O O RS W O RL D W A T C H L I S T 2015
O P E N D O O RS W O RL D W A T C H L I S T 2015
A FEW EXAMPLES
OF EVIDENCE
E A R TH I S
P E RF E C TLY
DESIGNED FOR
LI FE
E A R TH I S
P E RF E C TLY
DESIGNED FOR
LI FE
If Earth were smaller it couldnt
support an atmosphere, like on
Mercury. If it were larger, like Jupiter,
the atmosphere would contain free
hydrogen, which is poison for us.
If Earth were smaller it couldnt
support an atmosphere, like on
Mercury. If it were larger, like Jupiter,
the atmosphere would contain free
hydrogen, which is poison for us.
Earth is the only planet we
know of that contains an
atmosphere that can support
human, animal, and plant life.
The Earth is at a just
right distance from the sun
and the other planets in our
solar system. If we were closer
to the sun, wed burn up. If we
were farther away, wed
freeze.
Earth rotates on every 24 hours:
So the sun warms the planet evenly. On
the moon there are massive
temperature variations because it lacks
enough atmosphere or water to keep or
deflect the suns energy.
A SENSE OF
M O RA L I T Y
I F W E J U S T E VO LV E D F RO M TH E
A P E S , A N D TH E RE I S N O TH I N G
E XC E P T S PA C E , TI M E , A N D
M A TTE R, TH E N F RO M W H E RE
DID OUR MORAL SE NSE OF
RI G HT A N D W RO N G A RI S E ?
DOS T OYEVSKY,
I F TH E RE I S N O G O D ,
THE N E VE RY THI N G I S
P E RM I S S I BL E .
Children, without being taught, know
if something is fair.
Who taught them what fair is?
We are born with an inner sense of
what is fair, right and good - though it
gets distorted over time.
Certain values can be found in all
human cultures
Murdering people is wrong.
Lying and cheating are wrong.
Stealing is wrong
...etc.
Does feeling guilty indicate ultimate
right and wrong?
We feel guilty when we think weve
broken a moral rule. And that
feeling hurts our souls. Guilt is
ethical pain.
Life starts with us knowing right
and wrong, showing that we are
made in the image of God.
When someone does us wrong we
feel bad because a moral law has
been broken a moral law given
by a moral law giver.
P O P UL A R C ULTURE SA YS
P O P UL A R C ULTURE SA YS
F IN E TU NIN G OF
THE UN I VE RSE
Many people think that science
disproves the need to believe in God.
Many respected and world known
scientists believe in God.
The discoveries of physics and
cosmology in the last 50 years strongly
support Gods existence.
Apologists and scientists talk of the
world being fine tuned for life. That
means the world was precisely
designed in such a way that complex
life was possible.
Here are some (simplified) examples
of that design.
3 Categories:
1. Fine-tuning of the laws of nature
2. Fine-tuning of the constants of physics
3. Fine-tuning of the initial distribution of massenergy of the universe at the time of the big bang.
3 Categories:
1. Fine-tuning of the laws of nature
2. Fine-tuning of the constants of physics
3. Fine-tuning of the initial distribution of massenergy of the universe at the time of the big bang.
T W O E X AM P LE S
The value of the weak force (the force operating
inside the nucleus of an atom) is so fine tuned that if
it were changed by even one part in 10x100 a life
permitting universe would not have occurred.
T W O E X AM P LE S
A change in the cosmological constant (which drives
the acceleration of the universes expansion) by as
little as 10x120 would have prevented a life
permitting universe.
Roger Penrose of Oxford University, the odds of the
low entropy state which exists in our universe,
existing by chance are 10x10(123)!
To put this fine tuning in context - an accuracy of one
part in 10x60 is like firing a bullet towards the other
side of the observable universe, 20 billion light years
away, and hitting a one inch target.
Steven Hawking:
The remarkable fact is that the
values of these numbers [i.e. the
constants of physics] seem to have
been very finely adjusted to make
possible the development of life.
A Brief History of Time, p. 125
THE BI BLE
YO U C H RI S TI A N S LO O K A F TE R A
DOC UMENT C ONTAININ G EN OUGH
DYN AMITE T O BLOW ALL C IVILISATION
T O P I E C E S, TURN THE W O RLD UP SI DE
DOWN AND BRIN G PEAC E T O A BATTLET O RN P L A N E T. BUT YO U TRE A T I T A S
THO UG H I T I S N O THI N G M O RE THA N A
P I E C E O F L I TE RA TURE . MAHATMA
GA N D H I
Can We Trust the New
Testament as a Historical
Document?
Does it tell the truth?
The Bible in historical terms is
the most reliable ancient
document in history.
TH E BIBL IO G R AP H IC AL TE S T
The number of copies
The time interval between the original
and the existing copies
The degree of accuracy of the copies
5,686 hand written Greek N.T. manuscripts
10,000 Latin Vulgate
9300 Old Latin, Slavic, Arabic, Anglo
Saxon, etc. Other Languages
A total of 24,970 manuscript copies of
portions of the New Testament exist today
Josh McDowell, The New Evidence That
Demands A Verdict P. 34
Author
Date
Written
Approx Time
between
Number of Accuracy
Earliest Copy
original &
Copies
of Copies
copy
Caesar
100-44 B.C.
900 A.D.
1000 yrs
10
----
Sophocles
496-406 B.C. 1000 A.D
1400 yrs
193
----
500 yrs
643
95%
Homer (Iliad) 900 B.C.
New
Testament
1st Cent. A.D.
(50-100 A.D.
400 B.C.
2nd Cent.
less than 100
A.D.
years
(c.130 A.D.)
5600
99.5%
Author
Date
Written
Approx Time
between
Number of Accuracy
Earliest Copy
original &
Copies
of Copies
copy
Caesar
100-44 B.C.
900 A.D.
1000 yrs
10
----
Sophocles
496-406 B.C. 1000 A.D
1400 yrs
193
----
500 yrs
643
95%
Homer (Iliad) 900 B.C.
New
Testament
1st Cent. A.D.
(50-100 A.D.
400 B.C.
2nd Cent.
less than 100
A.D.
years
(c.130 A.D.)
5600
99.5%
The Amount of Time
Earliest
Copy
Modern
version
x Years
Is it better for X to be longer or shorter?
The shorter time (X) between the earliest copy
and the original copies, the less chance things
have been changed or added
Earliest
Copy
x Years
Modern
version
For the New Testament X = 75 years
ARC H AE OLOGY
A lot of history is recorded in the
Bible places, people, and events.
Archaeology has shown many of these
are true.
This shows the Bible records things
truthfully.
In John 5:1-15 Jesus heals a
man at the Pool of Bethesda.
Five porticoes were
discovered 40 feet (14m)
underground matching
John's description.
In 9:7 John mentions the
Pool of Siloam. People had
suggested it didnt exist.
This pool was discovered in
1897, showing the accuracy
of John.
A stone bearing the
writing,
Pontius Pilate Prefect
of Judea 26-37 A.D.
(Discovered 1961)
J E S US
THE
RE S URRE C TI O N
Every sermon preached by Christians in
the NT centres on the resurrection.
The Gospel is the good news of Christs
resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ, was the
greatest event in human history.
Other religious leaders still lie in the
grave - only one, Jesus, has ever risen
from the dead!
The disciples were changed after the
resurrection - before hidden behind
closed doors, after confident world
changers ready to face death.
Other religious leaders still lie in the
grave - only one, Jesus, has ever risen
from the dead!
The disciples were changed after the
resurrection - before hidden behind
closed doors, after confident world
changers ready to face death.
The resurrection can be proved and
believed with as much historical
credibility as any other well
documented event in ancient
history.
There are 5 theories about what
happened.
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
1. Christianity
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
2. Hallucination
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
2. Hallucination
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
The apostles were
myth-makers
2. Hallucination
3. Myth
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
The apostles were
myth-makers
2. Hallucination
3. Myth
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
The apostles were
myth-makers
The apostles
were deceivers
2. Hallucination
3. Myth
4. Conspiracy
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
The apostles were
myth-makers
The apostles
were deceivers
2. Hallucination
3. Myth
4. Conspiracy
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
The apostles were
myth-makers
The apostles
were deceivers
Jesus
didnt die
2. Hallucination
3. Myth
4. Conspiracy
5. Fainted
5 Theories about the resurrection
Jesus Died
Jesus Rose
Jesus
didnt
Jesus didnt rise
rise
1. Christianity
The apostles
were deceived
The apostles were
myth-makers
The apostles
were deceivers
Jesus
didnt die
2. Hallucination
3. Myth
4. Conspiracy
5. Fainted
THE S W O O N
( FA I N TI N G )
THE O RY
1. Jesus could not have survived
crucifixion. Roman procedures
were very careful to eliminate
that possibility.
2. The Roman soldier did not break
Jesus' legs, as he did to the other
two crucified criminals (Jn 19:31-33)
This means that the soldier was sure
Jesus was dead.
3. John, an eyewitness,
certified that he saw blood
and water come from Jesus'
pierced heart (Jn 19:34-35).
This shows that Jesus' lungs
had collapsed and he had
died of asphyxiation.
4. The body was totally covered
in bandages and in a sealed
tomb (Jn 19:38-42).
5. The Roman guards at the
tomb were overpowered by a
man who had been beaten and
crucified?
THE C O N SP I RA C Y
THE O RY
Did the disciples make up the
whole story?
- The apostles were great liars
- No one ever confessed to lying,
even under intense pressure
- They were attacking the Roman
and religious authorities
- The disciples were changed
people - by what power?
- Many were martyred for a lie
- These simple uneducated
men made up the greatest story the Gospel
THE E N D
THE E N D
