Christian Apologetics

Speaker:

Dr. Ron Nash

This an introductory course to Christian Apologetics. These lectures were given at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida during the fall of 2001.

Class Outline

Introduction
Introduction	Introduction to Apologetics.
What is Apologetics?	Apologetics involves finding evidence and presenting arguments to defend the Christian faith.
Worldviews in Conflict	Two prominent worldviews are Christian theism and naturalism.
Postmodern Irrationalism
The Law of Non-contradiction	The law of non-contradiction states that A cannot be B and non-B at the same time and in the same sense.
Invalid Worldviews	Explanations and responses to different worldviews.
The Problem of Evil
Introduction	If God is good and all powerful, then why does evil exist?
Divine Omnipotence	Discussion about how the existence of evil is consistent with God's character.
Worldview Issues
Noetic Structure	Your noetic structure, presuppositions and view of epistemology are important elements in the formation of your worldview.
Methodology	Discussion of deductive presuppositionalism vs. inductive presuppositionalism.
Objection	Objections to inductive presuppositionalism.
Rationality of Belief in God
Evidentialism	Arguments for and against evidentialism.
Foundationalism	Arguments for and against foundationalism.
Natural Theology	Discussion of natural theology.
The Existence of God
Background	There are valid, sound and cogent arguments for the existence of God, but no coercive proofs.
Arguments	Discussion of different arguments for God's existence.
Cosmological Argument	One version of the cosmological argument for God's existence emphasizes God as first in time, another emphasizes God as first in importance.
Possible Worlds
Introduction	A possible world is a way the real world could have been. Modal logic, propositions, state of affairs and eternal entities are some of the considerations when discussing a possible world.
Possible Worlds	Something is logically possible if its description does not include a logical contradiction. The existence of the laws of knowledge refute the system of naturalism.
Middle Knowledge	Middle knowledge is a form of knowledge attributed to God by Molina.
Miracles
Introduction	Miracles are a dividing line and central to Christianity.
David Hume	David Hume's rational arguments against miracles and responses to those arguments.
Two Central Miracles	Two miracles central to Christianity are the incarnation and resurrection.
Is Jesus the Only Savior
Introduction	The question of whether or not Jesus is the only savior touches on pluralism, inclusivism and exclusivism.
Pluralism	Pluralism is the view that all religions have salvific value.
Inclusivism	Inclusivism is the view that even though the work of Christ is the only means of salvation, it does not follow that explicit knowledge of Christ is necessary in order for a person to be saved.
When a Baby Dies	Salvation is totally the work of God and all children who die in infancy are elect of God.
The Concept of God
The Concept of God	Discussion from a biblical perspective of God's character and attributes.
Open Theism	Open theists believe that God does not have a perfect knowledge of the future.
Attributes of God	Divine omnipotence and divine omniscience are two attributes of God.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts	When contemplating life after death, remember, Jesus has been there and come back. Will you commit your life to him or reject him?

Bookmark/Search this page with

Recommend this page