OBJECTIONS TO CHRISTIANITY EVOLUTION & MIRACLES

TOP 10 OBJECTIONS How could a good all powerful God allow evil? How can you prove God exists? Evolution disproves Christianity Miracles are not possible so Christianity is false Truth is relative All Christians are hypocrites so Christianity is false How could a loving God send people to hell? The Bible is just a book filled with errors Jesus was just a man Jesus can’t be the only way

Creator – creature Distinction  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Col 1:16-17 (ESV) One Triune Creator Personal Sovereign God Independent Infinite Authority Creation Dependent Finite Submissive

2 PART APOLOGETIC The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalms 53:1 (ESV) Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Prov 26:4 (ESV) Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. Prov 26:5 (ESV)

APOLOGETIC METHOD “THE CERTAINTY OF THE FAITH” R.B. RAMSAY Demonstrate interest Explain your faith Furnish answers Expose their presuppositions – worldview How do you know that? Why do you believe that? “Ask Them Why”, Jay Lucas Navigate through his A – I – P Direct him to Christ

UNBELIEVER’S ERRORS Arbitrary – unjustified belief Opinion Unargued worldview bias Prejudicial conjecture Inconsistent – cannot live their worldview Behavioral Logical Preconditions for knowledge – no justification Uniformity of nature Laws of logic Reliability of our senses Reliability of our memory Universal moral standard

BELIEFS Knowledge Arbitrary All true belief All false belief A justified true belief Arbitrary An unjustified belief, true or false All true belief Only the Christian worldview All truth is God’s truth Your word is truth All false belief All non-Christian worldviews

CONSISTENCY – INCONSISTENCY Only the Christian worldview Inconsistency All non-Christian worldviews

PRECONDITIONS FOR KNOWLEDGE UNIVERSAL, ABSOLUTE, IMMATERIAL Justified only by the Christian worldview Uniformity of nature: operational science Laws of logic: rational reasoning Reliability of our senses: reliable observation Reliability of our memory: useable knowledge Universal moral standard: moral values and duties Impossibility of the contrary If the Christian worldview was not true, you could not know anything.

EVOLUTIONIST STATEMENTS All scientists believe evolution All intelligent people believe evolution Evolution is a proven fact Miracles are not possible Science vs. religion, myth, superstition All creationist are stupid and possibly evil

TRUTH Evolution is a worldview based on the presuppositions of anti-supernaturalism, naturalism, and empiricism All worldviews have faith based presuppositions Origins science is not operational science Origins science interprets evidence of past events Evidence doesn’t speak; it is interpreted Generalizations and ad hominem attacks are irrelevant Since God exists miracles are possible

EVOLUTION A random, purposeless, deterministic, mindless process that takes impersonal, amoral, non-rational, valueless, disordered nonliving matter and produces personal, moral, rational, free thinking, dignified complex living things Naturalism: the natural, material, physical universe is the only reality – matter in motion Empiricism: all knowledge is derived from the experience of the senses

APOLOGETIC METHOD “THE CERTAINTY OF THE FAITH” R.B. RAMSAY Demonstrate interest Explain your faith Furnish answers Expose their presuppositions – worldview How do you know that? Why do you believe that? “Ask Them Why”, Jay Lucas Navigate through his A – I – P Direct him to Christ

BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW Genesis 1&2 Genesis 3: The fall Genesis 6-10 Six day creation from nothing with first two people No suffering, disease, death or evil Genesis 3: The fall Suffering, disease, and death Genesis 6-10 The worldwide flood The geologic strata Genesis 11 The Tower of Babel One race, but different cultures and languages

ANSWERS FOR CREATION IN GENERAL Accounts for the universe’s beginning Accounts for the universe’s uniformity Accounts for the cosmic fine tuning necessary for life – order of the universe and the earth Accounts for the irreducible complexity of living things – the origin of life Accounts for the biological information in living things – DNA

ANSWERS FOR CREATION UNIQUENESS OF HUMANS Accounts for dignity, persons, value Accounts for greatness and wretchedness Accounts for religious nature Accounts for reliability of senses Accounts for reliability of memory

ANSWERS FOR CREATION NONPHYSICAL UNIVERSAL REALITIES Accounts for laws of logic Accounts for thoughts – brain/mind Accounts for numbers Accounts for moral duties and values Accounts for emotions – love, joy, peace, guilty, lonely, depressed

EXPOSE THEIR PRESUPPOSITIONS Why do you believe that? How do you know that? Naturalism Anti-supernaturalism Empiricism

NAVIGATE THEIR ARBITRARINESS KEEP THEM IN THEIR WORLDVIEW Explain the beginning of the universe Explain how nonliving chemicals became living Explain how disorder produced order Explain how impersonal matter produced personal beings Explain how amoral matter produced moral beings Explain how mindless matter produced the mind Explain how a random process produced information Explain how a deterministic process produced free will

NAVIGATE THEIR INCONSISTENCY KEEP THEM IN THEIR WORLDVIEW Empiricism is self-defeating You reason without justification for logic You do science without justification for the uniformity of nature You trust your observations without justification for the reliability of your senses You use previous information without justification for your memory You speak of right and wrong without justification for morals You value people without justification for dignity You value truth without justification

APOLOGETIC GOALS Defend the Christian faith – your words and life Pray for persuasion – HOLY SPIRIT And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor 2:13-14 (ESV)

DIRECT THEM TO CHRIST “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (ESV) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (ESV) if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8-9 (ESV)