A Christocentric Apologetic
The following is an example of showing the truthfulness of the Christian faith by beginning with the person of Jesus Christ.
1. There is a person who has claimed to be God, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. (John 8:58; 9:35-38; 10:33; 20:28)
2. It is wise to listen to and examine all people who claim either divine or prophetical status. All persons who claim or who have ever claimed divine or prophetical status should at least be heard and have their claims tested. The test should include logic, consistency, and substantiation of their teaching and claims. Furthermore, all gods, who have been revered or worshiped throughout history should have equal and fair treatment to this examination.
A. It is wise because the existence of life leads to the strong possibility that an eternal being of some sort created life. Other Theistic arguments such as the Cosmological, Teliological, Fine-tuning, Irreducible Complexity, and Moral Law arguments also show that the existence of a divine being has a high degree of plausibility. This leads to 3 plausible theistic options.
i. There is no god(s) or supernatural beings. Naturalism is correct after all.
ii. There is a god(s) or supernatural being who has not in any way revealed himself / itself.
iii. There is a god(s) or supernatural being who has revealed himself / itself to humanity.
(If i. is correct, than to believe ii. or iii. or anything else matters nothing ultimately. If ii. is correct than no matter what is believed we have no way of knowing whether it is correct or true; ii. is a guessing game. If iii. is correct than we should strive to find the revelation, test the veracity of it, believe it, and obey the being who revealed it.)
B. It is wise because closed-system (and closed-minded) models such as Naturalism, cannot persuade with a high degree of plausibility that their system is possible. For example, a closed-system model must account for such extraordinary claims as life coming from non-life, matter being eternal, or matter spontaneously existing. None of these seem plausible and they are certainly not satisfactory, thus we should at least listen and examine all people who may have other answers from a divine source. This is only fair and logical.
3. There are a large number of documented miracles performed by Jesus, including His own Resurrection, which are validated through various proofs. These miracles confirm that Jesus has divine status and has the right to speak as such. (John 2:11; 5:18; 36).
4. There are a large number of Old Testament prophecies that were directly fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. The sheer number and specificity of these makes it difficult to believe in a forgery and deception.
5. All other world religions or cult groups fall into the following categories: Jewish/Biblical Christianity distortion, Deism/Agnosticism/Prevailing Theology (None of which are grounded in authority), or Eastern Mysticism, which is by and large illogical. In other words, no other prophetical claim or claim to divinity has anywhere near the same grounding in reality, history, and logic as the person and claims of Jesus of Nazareth.
6. By claiming the status of Divinity, and not just prophet, Jesus is in a very small class of people. Nobody else has ever made similar claims and substantiated those claims the way that Jesus did.
7. If Jesus truly is God, then all that Jesus said is by necessity true. Thus, when Jesus authenticated the Old Testament (John 10:35), then the Bible took on the highest level of authority in terms of defining who God is and what He wants. By implication, the New Testament is on the same authoritative par as the Old Testament.
8. The Scriptures repeatedly affirm that God’s motive in His actions is ultimately His own glory. This universal axiom explains most, if not all, of the difficult questions that might arise about His actions.
A. The problem of Evil is explained.
B. The existence of Hell is explained.
C. Why a small remnant is chosen is explained.
D. Why suffering is necessary is explained.
All of this to say, when we begin with the person of Jesus Christ and His self-claim of deity, we must conclude in the end that His words are trustworthy and true.
1. There is a person who has claimed to be God, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. (John 8:58; 9:35-38; 10:33; 20:28)
2. It is wise to listen to and examine all people who claim either divine or prophetical status. All persons who claim or who have ever claimed divine or prophetical status should at least be heard and have their claims tested. The test should include logic, consistency, and substantiation of their teaching and claims. Furthermore, all gods, who have been revered or worshiped throughout history should have equal and fair treatment to this examination.
A. It is wise because the existence of life leads to the strong possibility that an eternal being of some sort created life. Other Theistic arguments such as the Cosmological, Teliological, Fine-tuning, Irreducible Complexity, and Moral Law arguments also show that the existence of a divine being has a high degree of plausibility. This leads to 3 plausible theistic options.
i. There is no god(s) or supernatural beings. Naturalism is correct after all.
ii. There is a god(s) or supernatural being who has not in any way revealed himself / itself.
iii. There is a god(s) or supernatural being who has revealed himself / itself to humanity.
(If i. is correct, than to believe ii. or iii. or anything else matters nothing ultimately. If ii. is correct than no matter what is believed we have no way of knowing whether it is correct or true; ii. is a guessing game. If iii. is correct than we should strive to find the revelation, test the veracity of it, believe it, and obey the being who revealed it.)
B. It is wise because closed-system (and closed-minded) models such as Naturalism, cannot persuade with a high degree of plausibility that their system is possible. For example, a closed-system model must account for such extraordinary claims as life coming from non-life, matter being eternal, or matter spontaneously existing. None of these seem plausible and they are certainly not satisfactory, thus we should at least listen and examine all people who may have other answers from a divine source. This is only fair and logical.
3. There are a large number of documented miracles performed by Jesus, including His own Resurrection, which are validated through various proofs. These miracles confirm that Jesus has divine status and has the right to speak as such. (John 2:11; 5:18; 36).
4. There are a large number of Old Testament prophecies that were directly fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. The sheer number and specificity of these makes it difficult to believe in a forgery and deception.
5. All other world religions or cult groups fall into the following categories: Jewish/Biblical Christianity distortion, Deism/Agnosticism/Prevailing Theology (None of which are grounded in authority), or Eastern Mysticism, which is by and large illogical. In other words, no other prophetical claim or claim to divinity has anywhere near the same grounding in reality, history, and logic as the person and claims of Jesus of Nazareth.
6. By claiming the status of Divinity, and not just prophet, Jesus is in a very small class of people. Nobody else has ever made similar claims and substantiated those claims the way that Jesus did.
7. If Jesus truly is God, then all that Jesus said is by necessity true. Thus, when Jesus authenticated the Old Testament (John 10:35), then the Bible took on the highest level of authority in terms of defining who God is and what He wants. By implication, the New Testament is on the same authoritative par as the Old Testament.
8. The Scriptures repeatedly affirm that God’s motive in His actions is ultimately His own glory. This universal axiom explains most, if not all, of the difficult questions that might arise about His actions.
A. The problem of Evil is explained.
B. The existence of Hell is explained.
C. Why a small remnant is chosen is explained.
D. Why suffering is necessary is explained.
All of this to say, when we begin with the person of Jesus Christ and His self-claim of deity, we must conclude in the end that His words are trustworthy and true.
3 Comments:
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It is sad to see someone with high credentials in degree and association be so blatently blind. Dr. Mouw waters down the degree Dr. He also does damage to the Fullerton Seminary. For someone who has spent hours in study and dialogue, he lacks a lot in his conclusions. ( To borrow from CS Lewis, Mouw "tries to impress us with his ability to read between the lines, but only impresses us with his inability to read the lines themselves.") In his efforts to establish lines of communication, he becomes a personal tool of the Mormon PR machine. If teachers are to be held to higher standards, then Fullerton would do well to rid themselves of him.
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