Apologetics and World Religions - Christianity Responds

APOLOGETICS & RELIGIONS
OF THE WORLD –
CHRISTIANITY RESPONDS
APOLOGETICS TH363
CCBC-PADOVA
INSTRUCTOR: RICK HARRELL, M.DIV., M.A.

THE ROLE OF THE APOLOGIST
IN RESPONSE TO WORLD RELIGIONS
Apologetics - answering the faith questions of the lost from the
position of intimacy with Jesus, affinity with the Scripture, and
compassion for the seeker.
1. Be present and available– Be willing to “go there” in conversation
2. Know the differences – Honor the conversation by knowing what
they believe and listening to their position
3. Build the case for Truth – Draw the distinction by pointing to
truth
4. Do it with compassion and passion.

SEVEN QUESTIONS CHRISTIANITY ANSWERS
THE CREATION QUESTION
1. Where did we come from? How did it all start?
This is the Creation Question that Christianity addresses
with a firm: God, who is eternal, started it all and created
you and me. It began in a Garden, and God’s history is one
of seeking a people who will respond to His love willingly
with love, obedience, and worship.

• Creation defines essence. Essence addresses existence.
(Zacharias)
• That life exists in one place is 1 in 10 to to 40,000 chance.
• Humans have intrinsic worth; the Creator affirms this.
• Acknowledging that God Created us also acknowledges
the invitation to a relationship.

• The Christian Creation story is found “in the beginning.”
God created in time and space (six days in Eden), by His
Word (Jesus), through His power (Holy Spirit).
• He created in order and finished with humankind in whom
God breathed His breath and upon whom He impressed
His image.

THE NATURE OF GOD QUESTION
2. Who is God? What is God like?
This is the Nature of God Question that Christianity
addresses throughout Scripture. In Christianity, God was
always; God is always; and God will be always. His nature is
shown through His law, His actions toward His people and
His world, and finally in the person of Jesus Christ as
revealed in the Bible.

THE NATURE OF GOD QUESTION
• God’s nature is viewed through the overarching
characteristic of love. It is His banner.
• The love of God cannot be earned and it cannot be lost.
(Vitale) God has a covenant with His people
• God’s nature as revealed in the Bible is the ground for
truth and morality. Neither can be divorced from Who
God Is.

THE NATURE OF HUMANITY QUESTION
3. Why is humankind here? And why are we broken?
This is both a Purpose Question and a Reality Question. The
longing to be good, right, free – and the broken nature that
keeps us in guilt, sin, and bondage – is pervasive and global.
What am I supposed to do with my life, and why am I my
own worst enemy?

• Sin, at is basic definition, is “a violation of purpose, an
addiction to the profane.” (Zacharias)
• The effects of sin are to “bring us to the eternal
perspective.” (Vitale)
• We sin, then blame, cover up, ignore, excuse, justify, or
blame God. Our wiring inside has these shorts firing that
make us miss our purpose – and we often like the jolt.

• For Christianity, humans at the start of all things were
created to fellowship with God in purity and joy.
• The first man and woman, and all following, were given
His image, free will, and an inclination to good.
• But, evil had already taken space in paradise, and man
and woman fell, choosing to know both good and evil.
• This sin became inherent in humanity from this point, and
remains today. Humans are inclined toward sin.

THE DICHOTOMY OF GOOD AND EVIL QUESTION
4. Why can’t we all just get along? Why do bad things
happen illogically?
This tension between Good and Evil is addressed in
Christianity, yet continues to be a philosophical quandary
and a practical cause of grief and soul-searching. It is in this
precise difficulty where many, if not most, find God to be
most present and most real.

• Even though both evil and good are systemic to life, how
this question is answered will either lead to God or deny
God.
• Some things are good inherently; some things are bad
inherently. The Christian holds this tension by trusting
God’s love and power.

• Christianity neither sugar-coats evil nor presumes
everything good. Both are realities of a world fallen in sin;
both submit to the purpose and will of God who has
provided a way through these realities.
• For the Christian to deny the pain of evil and the joy of
good, would be to disconnect from the pains and joys of
humankind for whom God sent His Son to save.

THE SALVATION QUESTION
5. Is God knowable or reachable? How does man connect
with God?
This is the Salvation Question that is often central to
religions, and stands at the very center of Christianity in the
form of the Cross. The possibility that we can we know God
and commune with God, is a driving urge pervasive to
humanity.

THE SALVATION QUESTION
• For Christianity, salvation is a free gift and not something
earned. It is the promised result of trusting Jesus,
depending on His sacrifice for sin, believing He conquered
death, and accepting that He is worthy of our love,
worship, and obedience.
• Salvation, then, determines an eternity in God’s presence.
We know Him in increasing measure for eternity.

THE ETERNITY QUESTION
6. What happens when we die? Is there an eternity, a heaven
and/or a hell?
The question of the After-life is often tied directly to the
Salvation question, and a range of philosophies are committed
to dismissing eternity (nihilists), circumventing eternity
(reincarnationists), or ameliorating eternity (the “no-hell”
camp). For the Christian, salvation and eternity with God are
inseparable and intrinsic.

6. The Eternity Question is integral to the Resurrection of
Jesus.
• The resurrection of Jesus has a point of verification in
history, affirmed by multiple writers, hundreds of
witnesses, and opposing groups that would have delivered
“the body” in a moment to prove their positions. (Vitale)

Jesus.
• The resurrection of Jesus affirms the loving heavenly
Father who ”would come to suffer alongside… be willing
to die for…and battle death itself if it meant seeing His
children again.” (Vitale)

Jesus.
• The resurrection is “proof” that God has designated His
Son Jesus will judge all with justice. (Acts 17) Jesus rose
from the dead as proof of who He is and what He has
done to save humankind. (Vitale)

Jesus.
• The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus far outweighs
the probability that He did not. Oxford’s scholar
Swinburne estimates that, based on the body of evidence
we have accumulated, ”it is 97% likely that Jesus
miraculously rose from the dead.” (Vitale)

Jesus.
• The Apostle Paul affirms it is essential to our faith and
message: The “kerygma” is action and content. We preach
the Good News simple and direct. And that Good News is
historically affirmed content, including Jesus resurrected.

Jesus.
• “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (I
Cor 15:14)
• ”If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (I
Cor 15:17)
That means the resurrection is fundamentally relational. We express faith, God
forgives, and our relationship is firmly established by His resurrection.

• “Time is the canvas on which we portray our individual
lives. Eternity is the keyhole through which we see the
whole gallery.” (Zacharias)
• God has put “eternity into the hearts of men” – we long
for knowing what’s next, even though we can’t see the
beginning from the end.

• Christianity affirms that humans are eternal beings
because they are spiritual beings with physical bodies.
• Christianity also affirms that each person will experience
eternity in either heaven, in God’s presence and all He is,
does, and values, or hell, apart from God’s presence and
separated from all He is, does, and values.

THE DISCIPLESHIP QUESTION
7. How do we follow our faith? What practices,
foundational doctrines, and changes to life does our
faith require?
How we “work out” our salvation is the most visible
expression of our faith. It can be both the most confusing
and the most convincing part of our faith experience. One
theologian asked, “How should we then live?”

• While we have already addressed key Christian doctrines
earlier in this presentation, other non-negotiables are:
• God is One (monotheistic), and the Triune Godhead
(Trinitarian), that God is at the same time always Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
• The Church universal and the church local represent both
the mystical and practical “body of Christ” – God’s people.

• The virgin birth, sinless life, and imminent Second Coming
of Jesus Christ. At His return, Jesus will make all things
right and initiate the New Creation.
• The New Birth of the individual who trusts Christ as Lord
and Savior.
• The Bible is the trustworthy Scriptural Canon of God’s
Revealed Word.

• Celebrations such as Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter
flow from our belief that God sent Jesus to save us.
• Disciplines such as Prayer, Worship, Fasting, Solitude, and
Study help define how we relate to God.
• Practices such as Witnessing, Serving, and Disciple-making
are a part of our obedience to His will.
• Ordinances such as Baptism for the Believer and the
Communion Celebration are essential to our worship.

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