INTRODUCTION TO APOLOGETICS

Grace Bible Church Sunday School

Dec. 09 – Feb. 10

The days of creation Yom is the Hebrew word for “day” in the genesis account.

Normally, it references a 24 hour day or the daylight portion of a day.

Yom is always a 24 hour day when used with an ordinal prefix.

Yom is always a 24 hour day when used with “evening” and/or “morning”

Yom is not used in an indefinite sense unless the context clearly indicates a literal meaning is not intended

The 7th day, “God rested”…not “God is resting on the 7th day”

Moses uses the timing of creation to explain the Sabbath in Ex. 20:8-11 and 31:15-17.

Moses could have used the Hebrew word “olam” to specify an era or long period of time

The original audience would have assumed it meant an actual 24 hour day.

The Watchmaker William Paley (1743-1805) popularized the

Watchmaker analogy. The Watchmaker analogy shows that if the

complex inner workings of a watch prove the existence of a watchmaker, then the complex inner workings of nature prove the existence of a universe-maker.

The Law of Cause and Effect

The Law of Cause and Effect states that every effect has a cause.

The universe had a beginning, so it must have been “caused” by someone or something.

The only rational cause for the universe is God.

Moral Law The human sense of morality points to a

lawgiver. The Moral law cannot be explained by

nature. The Moral law is explained in scripture:

Rom. 1 – “…they know God’s decree…” Rom. 2:15 “…the law is written on their

hearts…” Eccl. 12:14 – God is the standard and the

judge

Argument from desire All innate human desires have objects

that exist. There is a desire for “we know not what”

whose object cannot be identified. If the object of this desire is not of this

world, it must exist in another.

Argument from art “Art is the signature of man”

Pascal’s Wager

Did it Didn’t do itGuilty Justice Innocent go to jailNot guilty Guilty go free Justice

God doesn’t exist God does existWager against God Lose nothing MiseryWager for God Lose nothing Gain all

What if you’re wrong?

Actual condition present

Actual condition absent

Test result positive True positive False positive (type I error)

Test result negative

False negative (type II error)

True negative

Class exercise

The Problem of Pain While we may not recognize pain and

suffering as “good”, God can and does use it to accomplish His purposes in our lives. (Gen. 50:15-21)

The “Problem of Pain” is more a problem for the atheist than the Christian.

The “Problem of Pain” is often looked at with an incorrect perspective, for “sinners deserve to be cast into hell”.

How can God exist when there is so much evil in the world?

Evil is more of a problem for the atheist than the theist.

Evil is a result of the fall. Evil is about God’s sovereignty and glory.

(Rom 9:22-23)