1. Apologetics why believe? why not?

2. “Apologetics”????  “…but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence…”  1 Peter 3:15-16a NRSV  defence/answer/case = apologia

3. Apologetics as a subject

4.  Here are some reasons  there are many more! What keeps people from believing?

5. Ignorance  People increasingly have never heard the gospel  which means there are many opportunities!  Perceptions of religion are vague, gleaned from the media and other people  Media portrayals of Christians are rarely positive What keeps people from believing?

6. Religion is seen as ignorant  Faith starts where reason ends  Science has disproved religion  There’s no evidence What keeps people from believing?

7. Religion is seen as harmful  Religion is to blame for all the wars  Terrorists are always religious  Child abuse is rife in the church  the God of the Old Testament is bloodthirsty and vengeful What keeps people from believing?

8. Many religions – why this one?  There are so many religions  what’s special about yours?  I like the certainty of Islam, meditation in Buddhism, family values of Judaism…  An apologetic answer:  2+2=?  3? 5? 17? 932? -200,000? 4?  the existence of incorrect answers doesn’t mean there isn’t a correct one. What keeps people from believing?

9. Suffering  Philosophical or  Personal  ‘why is this happening (to me)’?  Is there ever an acceptable reason?  Is a good reason enough? What keeps people from believing?

10. video  John Lennox  Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford  Speaking at Unbelievable?  2011, London

11. 1. What is your inclination when people ask you about your faith?  Do you talk about why you go to church and your personal experience of God?  Do you give logical reasons and sound arguments for believing?  Do you keep quiet and move away? questions

12. 2. What reasons do people give for not believing? (how many can you list?) questions

13. 3. How much do most people know about Christianity? What kind of person do you expect to know most or least? What factors affect this? (age, education, race, gender, city dweller…) questions

14. 4. Do you find people are mostly apathetic to religion, or actively opposed to it? questions

15. 5. Reading about Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16-32), do you think today’s situation is similar to what the early church faced? questions

16. 6. People often give intellectualized reasons for not believing in God. Are these genuine, or is there something deeper going on? How can you tell? questions

17. 7. John Lennox suggested that you should ask people questions until they ask you one. Will that work? With everyone? questions

18. 8. What answer do you think you might get if you ask people about what hope they have? Do people without Christ have any hope? In what? questions

19. 9. Paul in Acts 26 gives his apologia, his defence of his faith, by using personal testimony. Do you think being able to tell people about your own personal experience of God is always the best approach? questions

20. 10. Do you think that if you knew every answer to the difficult questions that people ask about God, you could then convince everyone to believe? questions