Arguing the resurrection
06 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Apologetics Tags: apologetics, Atheism, Belief, Bible, christianity, Jesus, mission, New Testament
The resurrection of Jesus is obviously one of the central teachings of christianity, and is also under attack from sceptics. Disciples need to know why they believe it in the first place, how to defend their belief, and even perhaps how to use the resurrection as a challenge to non-believers.
Photo: malpansj2008 on Picasa)
Reasons to believe 1 – Jesus
21 Feb 2012 3 Comments
in Apologetics Tags: apologetics, Belief, Bible, christianity, history, making disciples, New Testament
1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Jesus is the centre of our faith, so we need to understand, and be able to explain clearly, why we believe in him.
This isn’t as easy as it used to be. (This post follows on from my discussion of Training disciples to stand and Apologetics for disciples.)
How does reading the Bible change you?
13 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bible Tags: Bible, christians, ethics, science and faith, world
Some people read the Bible nearly every day. Some people feel guilty that they don’t read it every day. Some people read it only to criticise it, while others never read it.
What effect does Bible reading have on the reader? Some recent surveys have some interesting findings.
Jesus the subversive
27 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bible Tags: Bible, Bible interpretation, Jesus, New Testament
Not only did Jesus re-interpret many Old Testament passages (see Interpreting the Old Testament), but he sometimes undermined the authority of the Old Testament. This has some interesting implications.
Interpreting the Old Testament
25 Aug 2011 9 Comments
in Bible Tags: Bible, Bible interpretation, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament
A long time ago I noticed that when Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted the Old Testament, they did not always do it literally or accurately, but often used translations and interpretations that did not seem to be present in the original.
I felt this was an important fact, so I researched the matter (the way to learn new truths is to examine difficult facts).
Should christians obey the Old Testament Law?
03 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bible Tags: Bible, Old Testament
Isn’t it a no-brainer? The Bible is inspired from beginning to end, and Jesus said that not even one tiny piece of the Law could pass away. Doesn’t that settle it?
Well, it’s not that simple actually – because no-one obeys it, or even attempts to! It is a pious fiction.
Does fulfilment of Bible prophecy prove anything?
12 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bible Tags: Bible, Old Testament
A long time ago I read a book which (primarily) examined a bunch of Biblical prophecies which had come true in verifiable history, and attempted to estimate the mathematical probability of this happening by guesswork. The book was Science Speaks, by Peter Stoner, a college professor of mathematics and astronomy, and I have just found it is now available on the internet.
Of course the study found that it was quite implausible that these correct prophecies could have been made by chance, and I remember being very impressed at the time. But the argument for the truth of the Bible from fulfilled prophecy has since fallen on hard times. Should we be using it today?
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