Some of the most common objections on college campuses.
1. Prove God exists.
In what way would the person asking this objection accept "proof"? Empirical, logical or historical proof? How about all three. If you deny the God of Scripture exists you must affirm there is no such thing as proof. Since God is the foundation for logic, and regularity of nature. How's that for proof that God exists?
2. The Bible is written by men so it cannot be infallible. This is a Non-sequetor. Why can't man tell the truth in a book? Men do it all the time in college textbooks, right?
3. God cannot send people to hell just for not believing in him. Who says men go to hell for simply unbelief? The true nature of sin demands the holy and good God send people to hell.
4. There is more than one way to God. So if my way affirms there is exclusively only one way to God by Jesus Christ is this true to get me to God? If you say yes, then you agree there is only one way, but if you disagree, then all ways do not lead to God, specifically Christianity?
5. If God exists why is there evil? God has a morally sufficient reason for planning evil.
6. There are contradictions in the Bible. Where? Christians affirm contradictions are wrong because they do not reflect God's perfect rationality he created us to reflect. But why should a non-Christian care about contradictions?
7. Christianity borrows from Paganism. This is a genetic fallacy. True beliefs can be acquired independently from a group without having to borrow from another group.
8. Christians don't have the right to judge people according to Jesus.Yes he does say judge righteous judgement.
9. Jesus never claimed to be God. Ok then why did he die? The Jews wanted him killed because of what? Blasphemy, right? What did he say that would provoke the Jews to charge Jesus with blasphemy? John 8:58-59 makes it evident Jesus was claiming deity.
10. Christianity is just a institution established by the elites to keep power over the non-elites. Utterly arbitrary! But so what if its true? It doesn't negate Christianity's truth.
11. Christianity is just a projection of man's nature. Genetic fallacy.
12. Science proves Christianity is false. How so? Given my answer to (1 ) it actually proves it true.
13. What will happen to people in foreign lands who have never heard the gospel? They will go to hell for their willful ignorance. God has given us all sufficient knowledge to serve Him. But many still rebel against him.
The
blogger writes God is unfair, hidden, and narcissistic. The blogger continues
to make moral claims about God. She says God is “unfair” and “narcissistic.”
But can the blogger justify moral absolutes, such as fairness, and
selflessness, given her atheism? I think not. It is as if the blogger has shot
bullets with a gun, and both, she cannot have in principle, since her worldview
cannot justify such things. However, it is on the basis of Christianity, she
can make such claims, since moral absolutes are justified by the Absolute,
omni-benevolent God of scripture. The blogger is made in the image of God
although she continues in self-deception to suppress the truth in
unrighteousness. So we can take the bloggers assertions seriously only because
Christianity is true. What do we make of her claims? First, no one is innocent,
and therefore, God owes mankind only justice. To say that God is unfair is to
bite the hand that provides and sustains the one that makes the claim. But more
to the point, to make such a claim, one must be judging God by some moral
standards that are rationally unjustifiable (e.g. moral realism, and moral
relativism). Since the only necessary justifiable foundation for absolute moral
standards is God’s absolute character.
Is God selfish? No, since God is self-sufficient (in no need of
anything) and morally perfect (doesn't lack any moral perfection).Why then does he require
man to repent and believe in him? Simply put, it pleased him to do so. He
freely chose to condescend, and have communion with his creatures. He was not
obligated to do so but he did. Mankind now is commanded everywhere to repent
and trust in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for salvation.
Here is an excellent sketch on Presuppositional apologetics by Sye Ten Burggencate.
Some helpful material I compiled from Van Til, Bahnsen,
Anderson, Lisle, and Cheung.
5 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always
being prepared to
make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the
hope that is in you;
yet do it with gentleness and respect" 1 Peter 3:15
As this verse says "make a defense" that comes
from the Geek ἀπολογία
which
means to give an argument or reasoned response. Thus as
Christians we are to be
ready to give an argument for our faith with Christ at the
center of it. Our
argument is to honor Christ's lordship and our actions are
to exemplify
likeness of Christ. We are to be gentle and respectful to
all who ask of us a
justification of our faith.
"2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit
together in love, to reach
all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the
knowledge of God's
mystery, which is Christ,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge." Col 2:2-3
"7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and
instruction." Proverbs 1:7
"1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no
God." They are corrupt, they do
abominable deeds, there is none who does good. " Psalm
14:1
Biblical Guidelines
"1. That we use the same principle in apologetics that
we use in theology: the
self-attesting, self-explanatory Christ of Scripture.
2. That we no longer make an appeal to "common
notions" which Chris- tian and
non-Christian agree on, but to the "common
ground" which they actually have
because man and his world are what Scripture
says they are.
3. That we appeal to man as man, God's image. We do so only
if we set the
non-Christian principle of the rational autonomy of man
against the Christian
principle of the dependence of man's knowledge on God's
knowledge as revealed
in the person and by the Spirit of Christ.
4. That we claim, therefore, that Christianity alone is
reasonable for men to
hold. It is wholly irrational to hold any other position
than that of
Christianity. Christianity alone does not slay reason on
the altar of "chance."
5. That we argue, therefore, by "presupposition."
The Christian, as did
Tertullian, must contest the very principles of his
opponent's position. The
only "proof" of the Christian position is that
unless its truth is presupposed there is no possibility of "proving"
anything at all. The actual state of affairs as preached by Christianity is the
necessary foundation of "proof" itself.
6. That we preach with the understanding that the
acceptance of the Christ of
Scripture by sinners who, being alienated from God, seek to
flee his face, comes
about when the Holy Spirit, in the presence of inescapably
clear evidence, opens
their eyes so that they see things as they truly are.
7. That we present the message and evidence for the
Christian position as
clearly as possible, knowing that because man is what the
Christian says he is,
the non-Christian will be able to under- stand in an
intellectual sense the
issues involved. In so doing, we shall, to a large extent,
be telling him what
he "already knows" but seeks to suppress. This
"reminding" process provides
a fertile ground for the Holy Spirit, who in sovereign
grace may grant the
non-Christian repentance so that he may know him who is
life eternal. "[1]
An easy apologetics outline: AIM
A- Arbitrariness=Expose the unbelievers assertions that
have no justification.
I- Inconsistencies= Expose any inconsistencies in what
the unbeliever says.
M- Mistaken foundations for knowledge. One must demonstrate
only the Christian worldview can provide the necessary foundations or
presuppositions for knowledge. Only from the Christian worldview can one claim
to have knowledge (i.e. justified true beliefs) for two reasons:(1) The
absolute triune God has revealed truth to us in His Word and continues to
illuminate our minds by His Spirit (2) Scripture tells us all mankind are the image
bearers of God and hence possess intellects and wills that can reliably acquire
knowledge.[2] The goal is to show the unbeliever must assume the
Christian viewpoint to know anything with certainty. If any unbeliever claims to have
knowledge of anything, he can never be certain since one must either be God or
know God to have knowledge of anything. That is because one must be
everywhere at once, be outside of time and control everything in order to know
something. Since all facts are related to each other. And in order for one to
know a fact in its proper context one must know them all.
Unbelievers either reason in a circle putting human
reason or experience on the
throne as ruler and ultimate standard of their knowledge.
We must show only God
and His Word can rightly be the ultimate standard and
authority. Only God can
give us knowledge. Christians, too, argue in a circle. But
our circle from God’s
Word provides the necessary foundations/assumptions for
knowledge. Moreover, the
circle is rational since the authority appealed to as
ultimate is in fact
Ultimate, namely God. Unbelievers are forced into
skepticism and/or fideism.[3]
If a Christian gets stumped he can always resort to these
questions that can
be phrased in different forms.
“1. Why? A question that demands reasons for whatever is
asserted by the
unbeliever so the mistaken foundation can be exposed.
2. So? This question seeks to counter irrelevant things the
unbeliever asserts.
3. Really? The question exposes the fact Christianity is
the truth and the
unbeliever ought to reexamine his view. But most of all it
gives Christians
opportunity to show the unbeliever the necessity of
presupposing the Christian
worldview in order to have knowledge.”[4]
[1] Cornelius Van Til. The Defense of the Faith, 3rd
ed. rev. (Nutley, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company,
1967), pp.298-99.
[2] I made my own acronym from Jason Lisle. The Ultimate
Proof Of Creation. (Green Forest: Master Books, 2009),pp.84-95.
