Apologetics:
Essays Defending Christianity's Truth
Documents
Available for Downloading:
Can belief in the Bible be
rationally defended? This essay briefly argues why
Christians should learn something about defending their
faith (i.e., apologetics):
Why
Christian Apologetics Matter .doc
Why
Christian Apologetics Matter .htm
Why
Christian Apologetics Matter .pdf
This is a general-purpose defense
of the rationality of belief in the Bible from a conservative Christian
viewpoint:
Is
the Bible the Word of God? .doc
Is
the Bible the Word of God? .htm
Is
the Bible the Word of God? .pdf
Do the sins of (traditional) Christians
prove Christianity is false? That is, do the
sins of medieval Catholicism, such as the Crusades
and the Inquisition, show that God doesn't
exist and the Bible isn't true? But then,
would the sins of atheists (meaning, the communists)
in slaughtering roughly 100 million people during
the 20th century demonstrate atheism's falsity?
Read this essay to understand why it's bad
logic for the sins of minister X shouldn't
shake the faith of Christians in Jesus.
Does
Christian Hypocrisy Refute Christianity?.doc
Does
Christian Hypocrisy Refute Christianity? .rtf
Does
Christian Hypocrisy Refute Christianity? .htm
Did Christian theology help
promote the rise of science? Some of the surprising historical
evidence for Christian theology helping cause the rise
of science rather than retarding it, is surveyed in
the essay below. Consider its evidence against the old
stereotype of the warfare of science and religion coming
from the trials of the Italian scientist Galileo
and the Huxley/Wilberforce debate over evolution:
Is
Christianity a Cause of Science? .doc
Is
Christianity a Cause of Science? .htm
Is
Christianity a Cause of Science? .pdf
Are the Jews right? Is
the New Testament a historical fraud? Was
Jesus a false prophet? Was first-century Christianity
a (Roman-Greek) pagan mystery religion? These are conservative Christian
rebuttals to an apostate elder who advocated (effectively)
conversion to Judaism. The historical evidence
on the pagan mystery religions of the Roman Empire and
the Biblical evidence for Jesus being the Old Testament's
prophesied Messiah are examined in detail:
Is
Christianity a Fraud? vs. Conder Round 1 .doc
Is
Christianity a Fraud? vs. Conder Round 1 .htm
Is
Christianity a Fraud? vs. Conder Round 1 .pdf
Is
Christianity a Fraud? vs. Conder Round 2 .doc
Is
Christianity a Fraud? vs. Conder Round 2 .htm
Is
Christianity a Fraud? vs. Conder Round 2
.pdf
Is
Jesus the Old Testament Messiah? vs Conder .doc
Is
Jesus the Old Testament Messiah? vs Conder .htm
Is
Jesus the OT Messiah vs Conder .pdf
(More on this general
subject can be found in my book refuting Jewish arguments
against Christianity: book.html
Was
the Book of Mormon inspired by God? A
brief analysis of the Mormon Church's Scriptures, with
an emphasis on their contradictions, including
with the Bible itself:
Are
There Problems with the Mormon Scriptures? .doc
Are
There Problems with the Mormon Scriptures? .htm
Are
There Problems with the Mormon Scriptures? .pdf
Is it Wrong to Prove God's
Existence? These essays argue that Christians
may prove God's existence, moral absolutes, and/or the Bible's historical
accuracy by using human reason in support of the Christian
faith. The basic case against the Calvinist
school of apologetics called presuppositionalism
is made here:
Is
It Wrong to Prove God's Existence? Fideism
vs WCG .doc
Is
It Wrong to Prove God's Existence? Fideism
vs WCG .htm
Is
It Wrong to Prove God's Existence? Fideism
vs. WCG .pdf
Should
God's Existence and Moral Absolutes Be Proven?
.doc
Should
God's Existence and Moral Absolutes Be Proen? .htm
Is the theory of evolution
true? Can an moral relativist condemn God
for allowing evil to exist? This essay, which is mostly
a book review, points to some of the astonishing
philosophical inconsistencies of evolutionists
when they argue for their theory. For example,
they use natural theology based on nature's imperfections
and evils to attack belief in God, but claim arguments
based on nature's wonders for God are "unscientific."
If you're an evolutionist, you should read
this review:
Darwin's
God Review.doc
Darwin's
God Review.htm
Darwin's
God Review.pdf
Is the Bible without error?
This essay replies against Samuele Bacchiocchi,
the Seventh-day Adventist church historian, who
argued the Bible does have some errors and contradictions
but should still be deemed to be reliable overall.
My essay argues for the Bible's full infallibility,
including in matters of history and science, not
just doctrine or moral teaching:
Is
the Bible Only Partially Inerrant? .doc
Is
the Bible Only Partially Inerrant? .htm
Is
the Bible Only Partially Inerrant? .pdf
Are
the Gospels historically reliable? Mel
Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ,"
has generated great controversy. Among other
issues, it has caused standard higher critic arguments
against the historicity of the Gospels to come out
of the woodwork. This essay rebutts briefly
Jon Meacham's recent cover article in "Newsweek"
magazine, which was basically a full-scale assault
on the historical reliability of the Gospels:
The
Gospels' Historicity Defended Against Newsweek.doc
The Gospels'
Historicity Defended Against Newsweek.htm
Will
America fall like Rome did? Is
America today like the Rome of Marcus Aurelius (pictured
in the movie "Gladiator" with Russell
Crowe), both complacent and decadent? Or is
America like Great Britain between the two
World Wars: An economically weakened and militarily
strained empire taking on too many burdens in policing
the world shortly before its dissolution? Is
there a way to systematically examine and analyze
past empires historically in order to consider whether
America is now at the same stage in its existence
as Rome was before its decline? Could we (including
policy makers) REALLY learn from history? Consider
reading this essay summarizing the theories of the
British army officer and historian, Sir John Glubb
Pasha (1897-1987):
The
Life Cycle of Empires and America Sir Glubb
Pasha's Thesis .doc
The
Life Cycle of Empires and America Sir Glubb
Pasha's Thesis .htm
The
Life Cycle of Empires and America Sir Glubb Pasha's
Thesis .pdf
This
essay is basically made up of two emails sent to
as responses to a sincere seeker who had questions
about the truth of Christianity. The issues
briefly dealt with here include whether Paul's
teachings contradict Jesus', the historical evidence
for the existence of Jesus, contradictions between
what Paul and James believed in salvation theory
(in the source of justification), the alleged influence
of pagan beliefs on Christian practice and teaching,
and whether the sins of Christians refute the truth
of the Bible.
A
Short Defense of Christianity and the Bible's Inspiration.doc
A
Short Defense of Christianity and the Bible's Inspiration.htm
Was Mary Magdalene
married to Jesus Christ? Did they have any
children? Did they become part of the lineage
of later French royalty? Are the apocryphal
gospels, which aren't in the New Testament, reliable
sources historically? Dan Brown's novel, "The
Da Vinci Code," has been a mammoth best seller
(perhaps around 10 million copies sold). It
claims to be historically accurate about the facts
that one group in the Catholic Church was supposedly
attempting to suppress in this page-turning thriller.
But is this really true? This brief essay answers
some of the kinds of arguments Brown makes in his
novel.
Da
Vinci Code Critique.doc
Da
Vinci Code Critique.htm
Is
Islam really a "religion of peace"?
Do poverty, ignorance, and oppression explain
why Muslims on average are more apt to resort to
non-state terrorism? Have Muslims always
been the victims of "Christian" Crusades
and Western imperialism throughout history? Or
have Muslim nations been frequently guilty of launching
jihads and aggressive wars of conquest of their
own? Are crusades evil, but jihads good? If "equal
opportunity" conquest by many different civilizations
has happened historically, why is the
West being unfairly singled out for excessive criticism
on this issue? Can non-Western civilizations
also be imperialistic? Is the modern
State of Israel, the product of the Zionist movement,
a uniquely sinful and illegitimate state? Does
its very existence violate God's law more than any
other nation's existence? Is the self-determination
the ultimate political value that overrides all
others? This revised version now includes
a table of contents. Click on the essay
below to find out more about these subjects:
Moral
Equivalency Applied to Islamic History .doc
Moral
Equivalency Applied to Islamic History .htm
Moral
Equivalency Applied to Islamic History .rtf
Moral
Equivalency Applied to Islamic History .pdf
Is the Christian
theory of atonement a fairy tale? That is,
is there a good reason why Jesus had to die for
the world's sins instead of God's just forgiving
us? Is there rational evidence for belief
in the Bible? How do we deal with the problem
of (apparently) unanswered prayer? This letter
to a friend (personal information removed) deals
with such issues:
Atonement
Christian Apologetics Bible Defended Letter.doc
Atonement
Christian Apologetics Bible Defended Letter.htm
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"But
sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being
ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to
give account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness
and reverence" (I Peter 3:15, NASB).
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