"Why Believe in God Despite the Evil in the World?" - Chapter 9 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphint
“Why Believe in God Despite the Evil in the World?” – Chapter 9
Introduction
The Pervasiveness of Evil
The Root of Evil
The Problem of Evil for the Christian FaithIs there a God?
Is He good?
Is He powerful?
Then, why is there evil and suffering?
The Problem
Christians should be “ready to give an answer” regarding the problem of evil, because it directly relates to our belief in God and to the character of our God.
Secularists also have a “problem of evil.” They have no way of explaining what evil is.If everything is chance, then shouldn’t we expect “accidents” and “tragedy”?
If everything is chance, then how can there be moral categories of good and evil?
The character of our God and the presence of evil.God is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good.
There is a vast amount of evil in the world.
How do we reconcile these truths?
The problem of evil is not only philosophical; it is also personal.
What are the solutions to the philosophical and personal dilemma of the presence of evil in the world?
Potential solutions cannot create bigger problems.We can’t deny one of God’s attributes.
Atheists suggest we give up our belief in God because they attempt to show the direct conflict between our belief in God and the presence of evil in the world.
But, is there another way? Is there a way to maintain faith in the God of Scripture while holding to a compelling explanation for the presence of evil in the world?
Reasons
We can’t deny the existence of God or one of his core attributes; so, the challenge is put to Christians to come up with a “God-justifying” reason for evil.Theodicy – what reasons or justification God could have in creating a world that contains so much evil.“Greater Good Defense”
The “non-existence” of evil – Augustine
The “Free Will” Defense
Biblical Reasons
The ultimate explanation for why evil is in the world must come from Scripture.
Three central teachings of Scripture that provide clarity on this issue:GodThe Creator and Sustainer of Creation
God’s Eternal Decree – Evil was not a “surprise” to God. It was all a part of his all-inclusive, eternal, sovereign decree.
Image of GodHuman beings are created in the image of God with dignity and dominion.
Humanity had a responsible relationship to God, with responsibility that included dominion over what God had made.
Their dominion was not exhaustive; there were limitations. God is still sovereign.
Adam and Eve sought to extend their dominion beyond God’s boundaries.
These actions had consequences for humanity and all of creation.
God and Image of GodEverything that happens in the world was initiated by God in eternity past.
Even the remedy for the problem was guaranteed before creation ever was.
It was planned by God that those made in his image would be responsible agents in God’s world.
When Adam and Eve sinned, God judged them for their disobedience.
Their sin brought real consequences, both to themselves and to all creation.
God with UsGod himself sees the incompatibility of his character and evil as a serious problem.
God determined to deal with it in a way that deeply involves him.
God is not “outside” the problem of evil.
God involves himself in dealing with the problem of evil in the Garden in Gen. 3.
“Theodicy” is solved by “Theophany.”
God comes down to his creation to solve the problem of evil.
The ultimate and permanent “theophany” of God is Jesus Christ, who is God with us.
Jesus Christ, as fully God and fully man as one person, came into this world to set right what we ruined.
The cost that Christ paid to deal with our problem of sin was high – it involved death and taking on himself the wrath of God against evil.
The problem of evil could be conquered only if the penalty we should pay was paid by him, the innocent one.
God, in the person of his Son, comes to us to solve the horrendous problem that we started and that only he could finish.
No greater concern for the “problem of evil” could God show than the sending of his only Son to be forsaken by him and to die.
The problem of evil, which is our fault, finds its solution only when God solves it.
Responses
Why did God create then, knowing that sin and evil would follow?We don’t have all the answers; we can’t see all things as God sees them. We must not “condemn God in order to justify ourselves.” (Job 40:8)
God didn’t provide answers to Job, but he did remind him of his character.
But that still doesn’t answer the question! Why would God plan this kind of a world?This is the wrong focus.
A better question would be: “Why would God, from eternity past, plan and create a world where he himself, in the person of his Son, would come and suffer and die, being forsaken by his Father on the cross, to bring rebellious human creatures to himself?”
His plan, from all eternity, included suffering in it—the suffering and death of his Son.
And this is where the Bible requires that we stop asking the question.God has given us all we need to know about the solution to the problem of evil.
We stop asking because of the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He is God and we are not.
God has solved the problem of evil. The solution is working itself out in history until the most obvious indication of the problem—death itself—will finally be destroyed.
In the meantime, the proper response to the problem of evil is to trust him.
Since God is God, we can place ourselves in the hands of the one who knows the end from the beginning, who through Christ has provided our deliverance from evil for eternity.
Questions
Why is God’s solution to the problem of evil not satisfactory for some people?
What do you know of how other religions deal with the problem of evil?
Why do you think Paul calls death the “last enemy” (1 Cor. 15:26)?

"Why Believe in God in the Face of Modern Science?" - Chapter 8 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphint
“Why Believe in God in the Face of Modern Science?” – Chapter 8
Introduction
ShortsightednessWhen we consider our present circumstances, we lack a historical horizon to give us perspective.
The comforts and conveniences that we use every day are relatively new in the history of the world.
This historical shortsightedness is detrimental:Whenever we ignore anything beyond our own circumstances, we tend to think that what is “now” is normal. We lose a critical perspective.
We lose context.
When we lose historical perspective, we tend to think that what is new is always better.Technology makes some things better but some things worse.
Now is not always normal. Newer is not always better.
Reasons
The purpose of this lesson is to provide a historical perspective on the relationship between science and Christianity.
Modern science began in the nineteenth century when science was defined and carried out in a radically different way than before.
The word “scientist” was not even coined until the nineteenth century.
There are two reasons for believing in Christianity in the face of modern science: Historical
Foundational
Historical Reasons
In its historical context, the relationship of science and Christian belief has been mostly harmonious, not hostile.
Natural Philosophy or Natural Theology
Natural philosophy concerned itself with the workings of nature. It sought to discover and utilize the forces and laws of nature in order: To better understand how the world works
To improve the quality of life for people
The goal of natural philosophy (or theology) was to connect the workings of the world with the “One” thing or being that could explain and justify those workings.
Natural philosophy intuitively recognized that there had to be something that provided for the harmonious display of nature, something that connected all the different parts.
From a Christian perspective “natural theology” understood that “nature” was a “book” written by the one God and that it could only be properly understood through God’s written book, the Bible.Francis Bacon (1561-1626)“Scientific Method”
Offered a genuinely Christian approach to nature. Bacon tried to eliminate pagan roots of natural philosophy and see its task in light of Christianity.
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)One of the founders of modern chemistry
Believed that science could make no progress if viewed through atheistic assumptions.
It was God’s providence that provided for the constancy and regular and rapid motions of celestial bodies.
This consistency had to be there in order to pursue science.
Isaac Newton (1642-1726)One of the most influential thinkers in Western civilization.
Recognized that his task was dependent on the character and activity of God.God, Providence, and therefore theology was central to any proper understanding of science and nature.
The modern antipathy between science and Christianity is not normal in history.
Science and Christianity are fully compatible and meant to work together.
The divide between science and Christianity began to form during the Enlightenment.All external authorities began to be challenged.
The problem with challenging all authority is that the one challenging becomes the ultimate authority.
The Age of Reason sought to ground all truth in individual thinking. Truth could not come from religion or a creed. The search for “real truth” needed to throw off the shackles of religion.
We have all now been “breathing the air” of the Enlightenment for 300 years.
Its influence is profound, deep, and nearly universal.
The “battle” between science and Christianity began in earnest in America in the mid-19th century.John William Draper – “History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science”
Andrew Dickson White – “A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom”
Charles Darwin – “The Origin of the Species”Probably the greatest influence on the divide between science and Christianity in the last 150+ years.
In the history of science, Darwin’s view is new, but it is not, from the historical perspective, normal.
The norm in the history of science was to see nature as understandable only within the context of nature’s God.
Darwin’s view didn’t need God.
Foundational Reasons
New is not necessarily normal, and new is not always better.
Darwin’s views are not better because they are new.
The modern assumption of the separate and hostile spheres of religion and science is virtually universal.
The concept of an unguided process of species development and change is nearly universal in the realm of science today.
Richard Dawkins – “It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid, or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).”
To hold a Christian worldview and not believe in evolution is to invite the hatred (or pity) of much of today’s society.
How could someone not believe in evolution in the 21st century?Initial thoughts:The theory of evolution has gone through numerous changes and mutations since its ascendancy in the last hundred years. There are really numerous theories of evolution (not just one).
The main reason Darwin’s theory caught on and developed is not because it was a completely new and previously never conceived theory. Ideas like Darwin’s can be traced back to ancient Greece.
Darwin’s theories caught on and spread like wild fire because they were planted in the soil of the of the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment was intent on abolishing all external authority and finding answers by human reason alone.
Evolution and Enlightenment goals were mutually affirming and acted like gasoline being poured on a small flame.
With an evolutionary explanation for all things, the Enlightenment could now get rid of God once and for all.
Evolution suffers from a major flaw: it is intellectually incoherent (despite its near universal acceptance).Evolution believes the universe is random and chance-produced and only natural (no supernatural allowed) and only made up of matter (nothing immaterial or spiritual).
Everything we believe about this view is produced somehow by the material that makes up a human being. All of our beliefs are a product of the matter that composes our bodies.
If all of this is true, how can we have any guarantee that our beliefs our true?These beliefs might help us adapt to our environment.
But whether our beliefs are true or not cannot be determined simply through the material workings of our brains and bodies.
Belief in evolution is nothing more than a random collection of chemical reactions or bodily materials. It is no more special or unique than carbonated bubbles.
Evolution in reality has no foundation. It is a theory that cannot make sense of itself.
A lack of foundation is not just an academic or philosophical problem; it goes to the heart of what is true and why it is true.
An atheistic physicist has no way to affirm or argue why the laws of physics are the way they are. He can only teach the laws. He has no way to guarantee that the laws are actually laws and that they will be there tomorrow and continue to run in a predictable pattern.
In order to approach the world in any kind of predictable and stable way, we must assume some organizing principle or being that makes it predictable and stable.
Any theory that is based only on the natural and the material will never be able to make sense of the world.
In the history of science, the recognition of a unifying principle of nature found its true home in Christianity. It gives us a true starting point for a proper understanding of human life and all of nature.
Given the relative novelty of modern science it would be more appropriate to ask how could someone believe in modern science in the face of Christianity?
The Enlightenment was not an argument that human beings were self-sufficient; it was a declaration that they wanted to be.
Modern science has done nothing to discredit the truths of Christianity; it has simply dismissed them.
The rejection of Christianity is more about self-autonomy than it is about “science.”
Unlike unguided evolution, belief in Christianity has a foundation. That foundation is in what God has said in his Word and his world.
Science can flourish with a solid foundation in God’s revelation.
Without this foundation the scientist has no place to stand. He is unable to produce the coherence needed for science to thrive.
Responses
What about the fossil record that show evolutionary changes in species?Darwin himself recognized that the fossil record was actually an evidential argument against evolution.
If evolution were true, then we should have an abundance of fossils of intermediate species not just changes within species.
Some scientists responded with “punctuated equilibrium” – quick evolutionary changes that didn’t have time to leave a fossil record of intermediate species.This is only a red herring solely designed because of the lack of fossil evidence of intermediate species, not because there is actually any evidence of rapid evolutionary change.
The evolutionary view of the fossil record assumes a principle of uniformity, that things have progressed at relatively stable rates throughout time. But there is really no scientific evidence of this kind of uniformity; it is simply assumed.
Scripture provides one explanation for the fossil record: the cataclysmic universal flood. Given the flood we simply cannot assume a principle of uniformity in the formation of fossils and other evidence.
Don’t Christians just assume their position, while evolution is based on scientific evidence?Lewis: “I believe Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
We believe Christianity because we see it. We see it in God’s world. We see it in Scripture. We see it in the church. We see it in our friends and ourselves. It is our life.
Through Christianity we see everything else and make sense of God’s world.
Christianity is a full worldview that can carry the weight of all of life’s most important questions.
Evolution is not a comprehensive worldview; it cannot answer many of life’s questions. It doesn’t provide a full view of the world. It can’t even sufficiently account for its own theory.
Evolution is random, unguided, and without moral or ethical content.Christianity provides the only sure foundation for scientific inquiry.
Questions
Why is it important for most who believe in evolution that it be unguided?
How should Christians respond to the Enlightenment view of human reason?
In what ways does the abundance of design in the universe refute typical views of evolution?
Is it possible to believe what the Bible says and to believe in evolution?

"Why Believe in Life after Death?" - Chapter 7 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphint
“Why Believe in Life after Death?” – Chapter 7
Chapter Overview
Introduction
ReasonsProblems with Persons
Problems with Proofs
Christianity and Life
Responses
Questions
Introduction
An overwhelming majority of people believe in an afterlife.75% believed in life after death.
82% believed they would go to heaven.
But why? Why do most people believe in life after death?
Many believe in an afterlife but without sufficient reasons for doing so.
“Heavenly Tourism” books are popular because people are looking for evidence.
Reasons
A minority (avowed atheists) will prefer to argue that death is the end of everything.
The majority who believe in the afterlife never sufficiently ask the “why” question.
Some have tried to scientifically prove the existence of the afterlife, but these generally come from “near-death” experiences.
But “nearly dead” is not the same thing as “dead.” So, these are not sufficient proof.
There are two dominant traditions that explain the prevalence of belief in an afterlife in Western culture:Christianity and its remnant ideas
Greek philosophy (Plato)The dominant tradition in Greek philosophy believed in the immortality of the soul.
Greek philosophy popularized the concept of a “soul.”
Problems with Persons
Greek philosophy took for granted that there was some kind of “animating” or life-giving aspect to human beings.Plato thought this “soul” was immortal.
Souls preexisted their bodies and existed after they died.
This idea of an immortal soul that continues after we die is still the majority opinion in Western culture.
Most of us recognize that there is more to us and our existence than just our physical bodies and our physical appearance.
Because of Greek influence, most philosophers throughout time have believed in a duality of body and soul.
The problem is that this concept is virtually impossible to prove philosophically or scientifically.Philosophy can’t account for “consciousness.”
What makes us the same person even while our physical bodies grow and change, sometimes drastically?Most of our bodily cells completely replace themselves every 7-10 years.
Do our memories make us a person?What happens if we lose our memories?
How many retained memories constitute a “person”?
Does “continuity of consciousness” make us a person?What about sleep and those in a coma?
Even though we don’t have conclusive answers to these questions, we assume that we are the same persons that we were decades ago. We have not become different persons over time.
We seem to inherently believe in the idea of “personhood” or “consciousness” that is separate from mere biology.
What is significant is that there is a wildly popular belief in the reality of life after death without adequate or successful reason for that belief.
Problems with Proofs
Some Christians have attempted philosophical or scientific proofs, but without much success.
Bishop Joseph Butler (1692-1752) attempted to refute deists by affirming belief in the supernatural and life beyond death.
Butler argued that we all use reason and perception, even over various changes in time, even if we don’t know where they come from or how they are put into practice by us.
In other words, since we use our reason and our senses even though we have no idea of their source, can’t we also recognize that there is a high probability that they will continue after our physical existence ceases?
Problems with this type of “proof”:Butler never really advanced much beyond the typical philosophical argument for the reality of life after death. Like philosophy, there were things he couldn’t sufficiently account for.
The foundation of his argument was in what we do not know and then moves to some kind of probability.
These “proofs” still only leave us with “probability.” This is not sufficient warrant to believe in life after death.
How can it be “probable” that our consciousness and our ability to reason and perceive will continue after death if we don’t even know for sure where they come from or how they function in this life?
We need more solid reasons for believing in the afterlife than philosophy can give us.
The Christian faith and the biblical story provide a coherent explanation for “personhood” as well as the reality of life after death.
Christianity and Life
Only the Christian position is able to give a full account of what it means to be a person and of what life as a person means.
Humanism (and pure naturalistic atheism) is incapable of providing meaning and dignity to human personhood.For the naturalist, the human body is just a collection of physical materials that will one day decompose and be no different than a trash heap.
And yet the “Humanist Manifesto II” declares: “The preciousness and dignity of the individual person is a central humanist value.”
But how is our life precious if it is just a collection of cells and physical materials that arrived completely by accident?
The humanistic position on human personhood is inherently contradictory.
“Preciousness” and “dignity” are terms that point beyond the material and the accidental.
There is only one way to ascribe dignity to human persons: They have to be more than their simple physical existence.
The Christian message provides a more coherent framework for understanding personhood.
Human beings were made from the dust of the ground as were the animals, but then a significant difference took place:God breathed the breath of life into mankind and the human being became a living person or living soul (Gen. 2:7).
God made human beings in his image and likeness.Dignity of BeingSelf-consciousness
Reason
Language and Communication
Morality – sense of right and wrong
An immortal “breath of life”
Dignity of FunctionDominion over creation
Responsibility to care for creation
Special relationship with God
The original command of God to Adam and Eve points in the direction of permanent life:If they had never disobeyed, they would have lived forever.
There would be no life “after death,” because there would be no death.
Adam’s disobedience brought death, which was “unnatural.” It was part of the curse.
Death is not the end of the story.
God provides a way for fellowship with him to continue.Promise of a “seed” to come.
Clothed with animal skins from sacrifice.
We see pointers throughout the Bible of life beyond death:Enoch “walked with God” and “was not” for “God took him.” (Gen. 5:24)
God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – not the God of the dead but the living.
Jesus speaks of a divide separating those who die in Christ and those who do not.The rich man and Lazarus
They both continued to exist in consciousness after death, but with two radically different destinies.
For those who die in Christ, existence continues in him and with God.
For those who die in their sins, existence continues, but it consists of nothing but eternal torment (Luke 13:28-30).
The “image of God” in Scripture includes an inbreathed life, an inbreathed character, that is distinct from everything else in creation.It implies a relationship with God for eternity that ends either in eternal fellowship with him or in eternal torment under his wrath.
In either case, human beings continue to exist beyond death.
The troubling thing about the poll of people who believed in the afterlife is that 82% of them believed they were going to heaven.This demonstrates a great lack of understanding about salvation.
On what basis do they believe that they will go to heaven?Probably on the same unsure foundation as their belief in the afterlife in general.
They are holding on to some basic remnants of Christianity without the true biblical substance.
Some clarifications:When we die, it is not just a “soul” (a thing) that goes to heaven (Greek philosophy).
The Bible speaks of “us” personally going to be with the Lord.
Our separation from our bodies when we die is an abnormal separation.For the Christian, to be “with Christ” after death is to be absent from the body.
But there will be a time, at the end of time, when we will receive resurrected bodies.
The time between our death and the end of time is commonly called the “intermediate state.”This means that even though we live “with Christ” after we die, we have not yet become what we will be for eternity.
In Scripture, our final destination is not heaven.
The place where Christians will reside for eternity is called “a new heaven and a new earth.” It will be a real physical place, and we will have real bodies (imperishable).
While Christians live eternally in a new heaven and new earth, those who die in rebellion against God will experience eternal death. It is called the “second death.”
The second death is not an end, but an eternal existence. It is the final and eternal punishment for sin.
Existence after death is a fact of life. A majority of people believe it. The only real reason to believe it, however, is given to us in the Christian faith.
Responses
The primary objection to the idea of life after death is that there is no real evidence for it. Neither philosophy nor science can provide an adequate explanation or proof.
There is, however, evidence for life after death.The Bible records real historical events.
Biblical events did not take place in a hidden corner.
The Bible records numerous facts about life after death, including testimonies from some who actually saw those alive who had previously died (Mark 9:2-8).
It is our status as “image of God” that alone can support our belief that there is more to us than our physical bodies, and that we, as persons, will exist for eternity.But because the “image of God” is defaced by the effects of sin, our existence can be restored to true life again only if we are, by faith, in Christ.
Questions
What evidence is there that people are more than simply material bodies?
Why is it important for us to receive new spiritual bodies in the end?
Why do most people believe that they will spend life after death in heaven?

"Why Believe in Salvation?" - Chapter 6 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphint
“Why Believe in Salvation?” – Chapter 6
Chapter Overview
ReasonsThe God Who Saves
The “People” Problem
The Divine Design
Divine Determination
Response
Conclusion
Questions
Reasons
The God Who Saves
Who is the God who saves?Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit
No salvation without the harmonious but distinct operations of the triune God.The Father sends the Son.
The Son comes as a man to suffer, die, rise, and ascend.
The Spirit glorifies the Son and applies the redemption accomplished by the Son.
The “People” Problem
The Human ConditionMust be understood through the lens of God and his Word.
Made by God in his image.Given responsibility over creation.
Given moral commands to be obeyed.
Original human parents rebelled.
Adam, our representative, plunged all of humanity into the universal condition of sin.
All of humanity is now in this fallen sinful condition and liable to the judgment of God.
Death is the penalty for sin against God.
Now, “There is no one righteous; there is no one who seeks God; there is no one who does good.”
All of humanity is guilty of sin and condemned to death and all of creation suffers under the weight of the curse.
We cannot measure up to God’s standard.
The Need for DeliveranceIt is essential to understand that sin and death is the universal condition of humanity in order to understand salvation.
“Salvation” means there must be deliverance from something.
Divine salvation is deliverance from sin and its consequences.
We All Need SalvationComparing ourselves with others doesn’t work, because the standard is God.
Salvation is not just for the “really wicked,” because we are all wicked.
We are all rebels against God, and we all need to be saved.
The Divine Design
The One OffendedGod is holy and righteous.
Sin is an offence against God’s holy and righteous character.
God’s holiness and righteousness demand that he judge sin.
God cannot simply overlook our rebellion.
We are condemned sinners; we cannot remedy our standing before God.
The One Offended Removes the OffenceOur sinful and rebellious condition is not the end of the story.
God has determined to rescue and forgive sinners.
Salvation is God’s design.There is no possibility of self-atonement.
Salvation involves atonement for sin by means of sacrificial death.
The death that sin brings can be covered only by the death that bloodshed requires.
The only sacrifice that can truly cover our sin is a sacrifice that God initiates, that he can accept, and includes the shedding of blood.
But more than an animal sacrifice is required to atone for human sin.
Only another human being in God’s image can stand in the place of another person.
Only a perfect, spotless human being can stand in the place of a condemned, guilty person.
Divine Determination
Christ, the Final SacrificeThe good news is that God’s attitude toward sin is not only to punish it. God also determines to cover the sin that we have brought into the world.
Animal sacrifices in the OT were only provisional and temporary.
Only the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ, could truly atone for our sins.
Christ’s whole work from Bethlehem to Jerusalem and then to heaven is necessary for our salvation:Incarnation as a man to represent us.
Life of perfect obedience.
Sacrificial, blood-shedding death as an atonement.
Resurrection as validation of his atonement and victor over death and the forces of evil.
Ascension to reign at God’s right hand.
The sacrifice that God requires was now met in the Son. It was met because God provided it. He provided it in his own Son.
He alone was able to accomplish what we could not accomplish in order to provide a solution to the problem that we ourselves perpetuate in the world.
Response
Unless we respond properly to what God has done, we will remain in our sins and will suffer the deserved penalty, which is eternal death.
What Christ has done has to be applied to us to be effective in and for us.
What is the response?Believe the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does this mean?
Saving FaithNot just a mental acknowledgment of facts about Christ
Acknowledgment of sin and rebellion and a renouncing of it and desire to turn from it
Acknowledgment of personal inability and insufficiency to save ourselves
Trust/reliance on Christ aloneWhen we trust Christ, we place ourselves—our very lives each and every day—into his hands.
Saving Faith Is a Work of GraceIt is an awakening and transformation by God himself.
Our eyes are opened to see things properly for the first time. We see the world as God’s world.
We see Christ, our Savior, as the only one capable of delivering us from eternal peril.
He transports us from the darkness of our sin into the light of his glorious grace.
Conclusion
We can’t believe in salvation without believing in sin (our sinfulness).
We can’t believe in sin without believing in the holy, righteous God whom we have offended.
When we see God as he has revealed himself to us in creation and in his Word and when we see ourselves as we truly are, we recognize that we need God’s salvation.
We believe in salvation, because without it we perish.
A further argument for the truthfulness of biblical salvation is that it is so unlike every other religion in the world.Every religion has some way of reaching the “right” place, but it is always by human effort.
Christianity is unique in that it tells the story of a holy God who in grace condescends to save those who rebelled against him.
Questions
What would God be like if he did not punish sin?
Why is death deserved for those who sin?
Are there different kinds of “belief”?What is biblical saving faith?
What are some reasons why people do not trust in Christ to be saved from their sins?

"Why Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead?" - Chapter 5 of Know Why You Beleive

KNOW WHY YOU BELIEVEBy K. Scott Oliphint
Why Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead? – Chapter 5
Reasons⦁ Historical Reasons⦁ Christian Reasons
Historical Reasons⦁ How can we prove that an event actually happened in history when all of the original people and witnesses involved are now dead?⦁ How can two people investigate all of the historical evidence and have the same information and come to opposite conclusions?
Two Reasons:○ The nature of historical investigation
► Uses limited resources► Gaps in knowledge and data► Purpose not to give absolute certainty► Historical evidence can only bring us to a probably conclusion.
○ The nature of presuppositions
► Presuppositions are even more stubborn than facts.► We all have basic commitments that force us to interpret facts a certain way.► Our basic commitments lead us to different conclusions.
Christian Reasons⦁ The historical reasons point to the probability of the resurrection of Jesus.⦁ Historical reasons point to the credibility of the Christian faith.⦁ Christianity has more historical evidence than any other religion.⦁ Historical data can support our belief in the resurrection, but this evidence is insufficient to conclusively answer the “why” question.
○ Why believe Jesus rose from the dead?
⦁ The center of our response to the “why” question is that, without the resurrection of Christ, there is no Christianity at all.
○ The historical fact of the resurrection and the “meaning” of the resurrection go together.○ The resurrection is the “key” that unlocks the whole of Christianity.
⦁ Three aspects of the resurrection make it central to Christianity:
○ “According to the Scriptures”○ “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…”○ “The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…”
⦁ Christians believe in life after death because Jesus is risen.
○ He is not probably risen or probably alive.○ That only leads to the conclusion that our faith is probably in vain.○ But if he is risen indeed, and because he lives, we will live.
⦁ Only Scripture testifying of itself through the Holy Spirit can give ultimate certainty.⦁ Our belief in life after death hangs on the resurrection of Christ.
○ Life and death are more than physical concepts in Scripture○ Death in Scripture is an existence without fellowship and communion with God.○ Life is union with Christ and eternal existence in the presence of God in his eternal kingdom.
Responses⦁ Objections based on Historical Evidence⦁ Objections based on the “problem” of miracles⦁ Objections based on presuppositions and impossible demands of proof on Christians.
Conclusion⦁ Historical Evidence is helpful but insufficient⦁ The Holy Spirit must open the eyes of faith through the testimony of the Scriptures.⦁ “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:27-31)
Questions⦁ How does Scripture make clear that the resurrection of Christ was a public event?⦁ Why couldn’t Jesus just come to earth and give life to any who trust in him? Why did he have to be raised from the dead?⦁ What do you think is the most significant objection to the resurrection of Christ? How would you respond?

"Why Believe in Miracles?" - Chapter 4 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphint
“Why Believe in Miracles?” – Chapter 4
Lesson Overview
ReasonsFrom Hume to Hitchens
Theism to the Rescue?
Christian Theism to the Rescue
Responses
Conclusion
Reasons
From Hume to Hitchens
Objections to the Idea of MiraclesDavid Hume (1711-1776)Empiricism – we can know only what we experience through the senses (“naturalism”). Everything else is illusion.“A wise man…proportions his belief to the evidence.”
If there is no evidence for a miracle, or if the “proportion” of evidence is only slight, the possibility of the miracle must be rejected.
Probability – the likelihood of something happening or taking place.Probability is in part determined and dependent on other things.
The probability that I will drive to work depends on what day it is.
Hume’s philosophy:Can it be measured or quantified?
Can it be sensed by experience?
Is it matter or physical?
No to all of these: “Commit it then to the flames: for it contains nothing but sophistry and illusion.”
Christianity is by definition ruled out of bounds in this philosophy.
No place for miracles or “supernatural.”
Hume’s definition of a miracle: “an act which is a violation of the laws of nature.” Since the laws of nature are unalterable and fixed, then there can be no such thing as miracles which violate these fixed laws.
Which is more probable? To think that a man was raised from the dead or to think that a person was deceived into thinking someone was raised from the dead?
So, Hume rejects miracles on the basis of empiricism (what is experienced through the senses) and probability (miracles are not as likely as other more likely explanations).
Hume’s argument against miracles is still followed today by many atheists. It is viewed as the preeminent argument against miracles and the supernatural.Christopher Hitchens is a modern example.
Theism to the Rescue?
There is a major flaw in Hume’s argument: his understanding of “nature”It assumes that no one has ever experienced a miracle.
Empiricism only works as an argument against miracles if miracles have never happened in anyone’s experience and perceived by the senses.
The only way to know with certainty that no one has ever experienced a miracle is if miracles are impossible.
Arguing in a circle: miracles are impossible because no one has ever experienced them; no one has ever experienced them because miracles are not “normal” and “natural” – thus not possible.
What if we suppose the existence of God—that there is more to what is “natural” than what can be seen or experienced empirically?
Would establishing God’s existence prove the possibility of miracles?
Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677) didn’t think so.A Jewish theist who reasoned that the unchangeability of God required the unchangeability of nature – no miracles.
The miracles of the Old Testament were “natural” occurrences that only appeared new or supernatural because of man’s ignorance.
So, like Hume, Spinoza thought that “witnesses” of miracles were themselves deceived or confused.
Bare theism alone does not solve the debate over miracles.Deism would deny miracles based on the unchangeability of the nature God made. He wound it up and let it go.
Christian Theism to the Rescue
Some flaws in definitions that need correcting:The assumption that “nature” is all there is and that it moves on its own according to unchangeable laws/forces.
The assumption that God’s unchangeability prevents him from disrupting or momentarily changing the “laws of nature.”
Is “nature” moving on its own?The Scriptures know nothing of a “nature” or creation that moves on its own.Psalm 104:10-13: “He makes springs pour water into the ravines… He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.”
The workings of nature are the workings of the God who made it.
The “laws of nature” are actually the faithful activity of a faithful God.
Hume denied miracles because he defined nature as a predictable, closed system.
Spinoza denied miracles because he defined nature as invariably law-like.
Both of these conclusions misunderstand “nature.”Nature is what it is because God is working in and through it – actively and dynamically.
Why would God want to act differently in his world at special times?Miracles are not God’s magic tricks.
They are not arbitrary displays of God’s power.
They are given to point toward the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.
Miracles are testimonies; they communicate a message. That message is ultimately pointing to salvation through Christ.
Example:Jesus calms the sea (Mark 4; Matt 8; Luke 8).Given to increase the faith of his disciples in their Savior.
This miracle demonstrated the nature of the kingdom of God that Jesus had been teaching his disciples about.
Miracles are given to authenticate the message and the messenger.
The works affirm the words.
The calming of the sea was intended to point the disciples to Psalm 107:“He stilled the storm to a whisper… Let them gives thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.”
The disciples were meant to see that Jesus was himself the Lord of creation who calmed the sea in Psalm 107.
Miracles are intended to point to something higher. They accompany the proclamation of redemptive truth.When you come across a miracle in Scripture, ask “What redemptive truth is God communicating through this miracle?”
Responses
Are Christians arguing in a circle in the same way as David Hume?There is an important difference:When Hume assumed “nature” as a closed, law-like uniformity he was making an assumption that he could not prove because he had not experienced all of nature. He had not experienced the entire system that he speculated about.
When Christians begin with God, we are not beginning with our limited experiences. Our belief in God is grounded in what he has said and done.
We begin with God not because we “sense” him, but because he has spoken.
We do not believe that we can know only what we experience. We can know because of who God is and what he has done.
How can we believe in an unchangeable God who at times disrupts the normal pattern of nature/creation?The unchangeable God is not aloof, disconnected from his world.
We believe in the Triune God; we believe that God the Son became flesh and lived among us. This was the “Grand Miracle” and certainly a disruption of the normal order of things.
God is dynamically, actively involved.
God is at work in his world and in history to save a sinful people.
All the miracles in the Bible are meant to point to, explain, and testify to that great and glorious “Grand Miracle” of God coming to man by becoming a man.
All other miracles serve that one redemptive act of God.
Conclusion
We believe in miracles because we believe in Christ.
When we believe in Christ, we believe that he is the greatest miracle of all.
Once we believe in him, it is no step at all to believe in those great acts of God that show us his plan of redemption, in and through his Son.

"Why Believe in Jesus?" - Chapter 3 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphint
Why Believe in Jesus? – Chapter 3
Introduction
⦁ What makes someone worthy of worship?
⦁ Teaching?⦁ Miracles?⦁ Creator of a movement?⦁ Sacrificing for others?
⦁ Many have done these things, so why worship Jesus? What makes Jesus worthy of worship?
Where Do We Begin?
⦁ Will we start with a search for a “historical” Jesus where only the natural is allowable?⦁ Beginning with this premise, the conclusion is already predetermined. Jesus can be nothing more than an influential teacher who started a movement. ⦁ If we start with our own assumed authority, rather than the Bible’s authority, we wind up with teachings and ideas that have no more authority than our own basic prejudices.⦁ We cannot begin with our own prejudices based on our own authority. ⦁ Why believe in Jesus?
⦁ The Bible gives us the answer. The Jesus we are to believe in must be the Christ of the Bible. The Jesus we create with our own ideas is not the real Jesus.
The Jesus of the New Testament
“In simple fact, Jesus’ career was not that of an ordinary man: and the dilemma is inevitable that He was either something more than a normal man or something less. We, like His contemporaries—and His contemporaries like us—have only the alternatives: either supernatural or subnormal, either Divine or else `out of His mind.’” Benjamin Warfield
⦁ The Bible’s claims are too extraordinary for Jesus to be just an ordinary man:
⦁ Jesus is both God and man.
⦁ John tells us that Jesus Christ is the one who was in the beginning, who created all things, who is, as fully God, with God and who took on human flesh in order to live among us. (John 1:1-3, 14)
⦁ From the very beginning, Jesus’ life was supernatural; nothing was ordinary.
⦁ From his virgin conception and birth to his death, resurrection, and ascension, nothing was ordinary.⦁ His birth marks the center of world history.
⦁ Jesus’ mission was to rescue sinners and end the reign of sin and its devastating effects.⦁ The eternal divine Word took on human nature and lived among us. He did not remain distant and aloof. He lived among the people and exposed himself to the hardships, ridicule, and persecution.⦁ Jesus engaged in a public ministry, healing the physically afflicted, liberating the demon possessed, and encouraging the downtrodden.⦁ The claims that Jesus made about himself do not allow us to think of him as a normal teacher:
⦁ Authority to forgive sin⦁ Existed before Abraham as the “I Am”⦁ Identified himself as the Son of Man (Messiah) and Son of God⦁ Predicted that he would rise from the dead on the third day after his death
The Jesus of the Old Testament
⦁ The revelation of who Jesus is does not start in the NT; the biblical picture of Jesus begins immediately after the entrance of sin in humanity.
⦁ He is the eternal Word and Creator.⦁ He is the “seed of the woman.”⦁ He is the Angel of the Lord.⦁ He is the “Man” who appeared to Abraham.⦁ He is the fire in the burning bush appearing to Moses.⦁ He is the Captain of the Lord’s army who appears to Joshua.⦁ He is the “fourth man” in the fire in Daniel 3.⦁ Ultimately, he is the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, born of the virgin Mary.⦁ The Son of God is the “revealer” of God from the beginning.⦁ The NT writers routinely apply to Jesus texts that speak of Yahweh.⦁ After his resurrection, Jesus taught his disciples how all of Scripture pointed to him.
⦁ All of Scripture reveals to us who Jesus, the Son of God, is—not just the New Testament.⦁ The same Son who permanently took on a human nature and came to earth was the one who had been coming to all of the saints ever since sin entered the hearts of people.
Jesus and the End of History
⦁ Jesus ascended to heaven to reign as King over the earth with all authority.⦁ One day he will return to judge the earth.⦁ John’s record of his vision in Revelation points to the reign of Christ over all the kingdoms of men.⦁ The lordship of Jesus is moving toward a specific goal: the return of Christ as judge over every human being and the consummation of history.⦁ This final judgment will seal the fate of every human being who has ever lived:
⦁ The unbelieving (the default condition of everyone) will be eternally condemned.⦁ The believing (by God’s grace) will live eternally in a new creation.
Why Believe in Jesus?
⦁ Son of God, Messiah, and Savior?
⦁ Hundreds of years of prophecy fulfilled⦁ A supernatural birth⦁ A ministry of authoritative, clear teaching⦁ Healing the ill and disabled, liberating the demon possessed, raising the dead to life, controlling nature⦁ Predicting his own death and resurrection⦁ Voluntarily laying his own innocent life down in sacrifice for the sins of others⦁ Rising from the dead the third day⦁ Ascending to heaven 40 days after his resurrection⦁ All of his ministry, death, and resurrection testified to by hundreds of eyewitnesses.⦁ The radical transformation of lives, including Saul of Tarsus.⦁ The endurance of his church and disciples for 2,000 years.⦁ The abundant written manuscript records of his life, ministry, and impact.⦁ Starting a movement that served as the foundation for all of western civilization.⦁ The current and ongoing transformation of lives, families, and societies.⦁ The powerful and divine testimony of Holy Scripture.⦁ The living and active testimony of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of people.

"Why Believe in God?" - Chapter 2 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphant
“Why Believe in God?” – Chapter 2
The New Atheism
Recent ResurgenceRichard Dawkins
Christopher Hitchens
Sam Harris
Daniel Dennett
Hostile and “Evangelistic”
Religion is “Destructive.”
Reasons
Reasons to Not BelieveReligious Abuses and EvilsWorst possible caricatures
Argument is not about religion per se but about the adherents of that religion.
Must distinguish between what Christianity is and what Christians do.
A skewed view of God based on a distorted reading of Scripture.Reflects more the bias of the reader than a legitimate, fair reading of the Bible.
All the things that are wrong and all the suffering in the world.If all the wrong in the world proves that everything is random and meaningless, then why is it so evil to believe in God?
Reasons to Believe“Agreement of the People” argument75% of people believe in a god.
Has been the dominant belief of people through the centuries
Not a sufficient proof, but does point to something deeper.
“Internal” ReasonsThere is a reason why most people throughout time have believed in deity.
There is in every person a “sense of deity.”
“since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” Rom 1:19
We know God through general revelation.
Our sin is direct rebellion against our Creator, because we know him.
Because of this knowledge, we are without excuse.
This knowledge is continually suppressed by sinful humanity.
These truths help to explain why there is a general agreement of the people
regarding the existence of deity.
The false deities that people have worshiped are evidence of the suppression and distortion of the basic knowledge of God available to us in conscience and nature.
“External” ReasonsGod’s revelation in and through creation is always and everywhere both “internal” and “external.”“Internal” revelation is that which God “implants” in us that speaks to our consciences.
“External” revelation is that which God is showing us through the world that we experience every day.
God’s revelation is in all creation, inside of us and outside of us.
This general revelation gives strength to so-called “proofs” for God’s existence.Cosmological argument – argument from cause and effect.The world is the “effect,” and God is the eternal “first cause.”
An atheist will not make the connection between this argument and the general revelation of God, because they have suppressed that knowledge.
It is easier and “more free” to believe in an uncaused universe than to believe in an uncaused God to whom we are accountable.
Ontological Argument – argument of necessary beingOur existence is limited and dependent, so there must be a being who is infinite and independent.
Teleological Argument – argument of design and purposeThe intricate design of the universe points to a master designer.
All of these “external” reasons for God testify of his existence. They ought to be obvious to everyone.
But sin clouds, distorts, and hides the obvious. Sinners distort and suppress the knowledge of God and reasonable arguments for his being.
How can the blind see?
Digging Deeper
What is the root cause of the denial of God and a rejection of reasonable arguments for his existence?
The atheist opts for a blind faith in an uncaused universe rather than a reasonable faith in a personal Creator God because the atheist does not want there to be a God.
The “internal” and “external” reasons for God will not alone change the mind of an atheist because deep down they don’t want there to be a God.
They have libertarian reasons for rejecting the existence of God that are stronger than any compelling arguments.
Responses
So what do we do if the problem is in what people want rather than what they think?
Atheistic arguments are inherently contradictory. They argue that religion poisons everything because it tries to influence everyone. But aren’t atheists trying to influence others?
If everything that exists is by chance and meaningless, how do we determine good and bad?
Why is it a bad thing for Christians to seek to evangelize others? By what standard?
Why is opposition to evolution bad? Their strong defense of evolution proves that things do have meaning, which undercuts their belief in a meaningless universe.
What makes evolution “better” than religion and creationism if everything is morally indifferent and neutral?
Conclusion
No matter how articulate and educated the denial of God is, the diagnosis is always the same.
The unbeliever lives as if there is no God, and deep down they don’t want there to be a God.
Unbelief is not due to a lack of evidence but to an inward rebellion.
The only thing powerful enough to change the rebellion of the human heart, which itself is enslaved to sin, is the truth of God in the gospel.
The sinful chains that bind the heart must be broken. Only the gospel can do that.
We make our appeal to unbelievers based on the shared truth that all humanity has access to in conscience and in nature.
We show how Christianity helps us to see everything else more clearly. It illumines the world and provides it meaning and purpose.

"Why Believe in the Bible?" - Chapter 1 of Know Why You Believe

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphint
Why Believe in the Bible? – Chapter 1
Introduction
Especially in our current cultural climate, people generally approach the Bible with a skeptical mindset.How credible are the Bible’s claims?
Are there really people who believe it?
Can it be proved?
What about its contradictions?
Reasons
There are two kinds of reasons or types of evidences for believing the Bible:External Reasons – evidence or reasons that come from outside of the Bible.
Internal Reasons – evidence or reasons that come from inside the Bible.
External Reasons
There are several types of external reasons:Historical Reliability Historical Records
Archaeological Evidence
Transmission ReliabilityHow can we be sure the manuscripts are accurate?
Abundant manuscript testimony in agreement.
Canon ReliabilityHow can we be sure the books we have are the right books?
No councils met to decide on which books to include or exclude because it was never a matter of serious disagreement in the early church.
On the whole, the churches were in harmony on recognizing the authoritative books.
Internal Reasons
External evidence is inconclusive. It can never produce certainty, only probability or plausibility.
The Bible’s truthfulness runs deeper than just external historical testimony. It begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Belief in the Bible is personal and relational.
Belief in the Bible is like a marriage. You cannot experience what marriage is really like without the commitment of marriage.
Only a personal commitment to Jesus Christ brings to light what Christianity really is.
The best reasons for believing the Bible come from the Bible itself:Its unity in diversityThe Bible was written by dozens of writers over a period of 1500 years.
This diversity results in a collection of books that is amazingly unified in its message.
“the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof.”--Westminster Confession of Faith—
In order to discover the internal reasons, one must sit down and read what the Bible says. It requires a familiarity with the content of Scripture.
But even more than external and internal reasons are needed to bring us to a point of believing the Scriptures.
Divine Reasons
“Yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.”--Westminster Confession of Faith
The only way that one can be fully persuaded and assured of the “infallible truth and divine authority” of Holy Scripture is when the Holy Spirit himself testifies of the truth of Scripture in our hearts.
The Holy Spirit does not do the internal work by himself. He works “by and with the Word in our hearts.”
We must expose ourselves to what Scripture says. Only then can we hope to see its heavenliness.
Without that exposure, the best answer to the why question is little more than a historical probability, and the power of what the Scripture says can never be known.
Responses
Isn’t this reasoning in a circle? Beginning with the Bible to prove the Bible?This is a misperception of the Christian understanding of the Bible.
Can you prove that your senses are a reliable guide to experiencing the world without using your senses?
There are no external sources that establish the reliability of the use of your senses.
So it is with the Bible, no outside authority can ultimately prove the reliability of the Bible. It’s authority and reliability are axiomatic.
Because the Bible is the ultimate authority for Christians, then there can be no other authority that can establish its authority.
If another authority were to establish the Bible’s authority, then the Bible would get its authority from something else and, by definition, would not be the final authority.
What about all the contradictions in the Bible?It all depends on your starting presupposition.
Does a doctor detect a problem in the body and assume that the Bible is a collection of parts that don’t work together? No, he begins with the assumption that body is mean to harmoniously work together.
The only way to diagnose perceived problems in Scripture is to study Scripture.
When Scripture is studied with the commitment that the parts will be coherent because God is the primary author from beginning to end, contradictions disappear.
But when Scripture is studied apart from that commitment, one encounters contradictions and problems because one begins with the premise that the Bible is full of contradictions.
So, the starting presupposition matters.
Conclusion
The only way someone can acquire a “full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority” of Scripture is, as in marriage, by first making a commitment to Christ himself.
This commitment/belief can only come through reading the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit opening our hearts to believe it as God’s Word.
By believing Christ, we are able properly to see everything else.
Unless we recognize the truths about the Bible, we will not be able to understand why we believe anything else about Christianity.
In trusting Christ and believing his Word, we begin to see the world and everything else in its proper light.

"Know Why You Believe": Introduction

Know Why You BelieveBy K. Scott Oliphant
Introduction
What is this study about?
In this study we are essentially doing “Apologetics.”
Apologetics – “a defense”
An example would be Paul’s defense before the Jews in Acts 22.
We are defending what we believe and offering reasons why others should believe as well.
1 Peter 3:15-16
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. 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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
“Always be prepared to give an answer”
More literally “be ready always with an “apology.”
Apology – not in our standard usage of saying “sorry,” but a defense, a reasoned answer for our Christian hope.
Peter’s audience was a group of scattered and persecuted Christians, probably living during the time of the reign of Caesar Nero (A.D. 62-64)
They needed to know in their hearts why they believed and were willing to die, but they also needed to be ready to explain that hope to others.
“In your hearts, revere Christ as Lord.”
The emphasis in the statement is on the “Lord.”
Peter wanted his readers to be firm in their conviction of the absolute lordship of Christ.
“Always be prepared to give an answer.”
Ready always with “an apologetic” (a defense).
Addressed to all Christians
What do we need to be prepared?
The Bible is the primary tool used to defend our faith and give reasons to others for our hope in Christ.
“To anyone who asks for a reason”
“Reason” is the Greek word logos (λόγος) or “word.” It is also where we get our English word “logic” from. In this context we are to be ready to give “a reasoned word” or “a logical, reasoned response” for our Christian hope.
Our ultimate “reason” is the reality of the Triune God. Christianity’s “logic” begins with the reality of God.
Without God and his Word, we really can’t understand anything in his universe.
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." (C. S. Lewis)
As we give our reasons, we draw them from Scripture.
Scripture alone has the power of God to change hearts and minds.
It ultimately does not depend on our speaking ability, intelligence, or logical persuasion. It depends on God’s Spirit through his Word.
“With gentleness and respect”
Even to those who persecute and mock and slander, our reasoned apologetic from Scripture should be clear but gentle and respectful.
Order of the Study
We begin with Scripture, because it is God’s Word and by it we know him and his will.
We then will discuss why we believe in the Triune God of the Bible.
All the topics are important, but the first two (God and the Bible) are foundational.
Two Final Thoughts
One concession: There is no amount of evidence, or discussion, or argument that will, by itself, change anyone’s mind to a belief in Christianity. Christianity is only properly understood by knowing and trusting Jesus Christ. It is ultimately a work of grace.
One challenge: While reading the book, there may be things you simply cannot believe. If so, ask yourself this question: “What am I trusting in that will not allow me to believe this?” We all trust in something—or in some things.
Do I believe this? Why or why not?