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Answering Questions Concerning the Christian Faith

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  • Answering Questions Concerning the Christian Faith

    Here are some questions I sometimes hear from non-Christians concerning the Christian faith. How would you respond to them?

    1. Suppose that someone claims that Jesus changed his life. He claims that he is no longer an adulterer and a thief because Jesus changed his life. How do you know that the change in his life is due to Jesus intervening in his life? People can change for the better without Jesus.

    2. If God has no beginning, then what is wrong with believing that the universe has no beginning?

    3. Why isn't there any credible evidence outside of the Bible that verifies that Jesus was born of a virgin, did miracles, and rose from the dead? Isn't it odd that there isn't any?

    4. If the cosmological, design, and moral arguments can be used to prove the existence of Zeus or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, then what makes you think that the supernatural entity
    who exists is the God of the Bible?

    5. Where is the proof that God exists? Jesus rose from the dead? Why can't something else besides the supernatural account for Christ's resurrection?

    6. Can you give an example of some phenomena that people can see that can only be caused by the supernatural? Miracles? Where is the evidence for miracles? Things other than the supernatural can account for so called miracles.

  • #2
    I only have a few minutes so I'm just going to tackle a few of these. The ones that require longer answers I'll leave to others.

    Originally posted by Hornet View Post
    2. If God has no beginning, then what is wrong with believing that the universe has no beginning?
    Science.

    3. Why isn't there any credible evidence outside of the Bible that verifies that Jesus was born of a virgin, did miracles, and rose from the dead? Isn't it odd that there isn't any?
    The short answer is, there is.

    5. Where is the proof that God exists? Jesus rose from the dead? Why can't something else besides the supernatural account for Christ's resurrection?
    It's the simplest explanation with explanatory scope and power. (I.e., the "swoon theory" lacks plausibility, "aliens did it" begs the question, "the eyewitnesses were deceived" only accounts for a small portion of the data, etc..

    I hope this helps.
    Curiosity never hurt anyone. It was stupidity that killed the cat.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Hornet View Post
      Here are some questions I sometimes hear from non-Christians concerning the Christian faith. How would you respond to them?

      1. Suppose that someone claims that Jesus changed his life. He claims that he is no longer an adulterer and a thief because Jesus changed his life. How do you know that the change in his life is due to Jesus intervening in his life? People can change for the better without Jesus.
      I'll take this one first...

      The first question to ask is why would the person lie? What do they have to gain? If somebody says they've tried to quit drugs or pornography or anything else, and they credit Jesus with their progress, why question them? It's their personal testimony, on which they are the subject matter expert.

      When somebody "gives their testimony", it's reasonable to check to see if there's a reason they'd be lying, but beyond that - it's their personal testimony.
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
        I'll take this one first...

        The first question to ask is why would the person lie? What do they have to gain? If somebody says they've tried to quit drugs or pornography or anything else, and they credit Jesus with their progress, why question them? It's their personal testimony, on which they are the subject matter expert.

        When somebody "gives their testimony", it's reasonable to check to see if there's a reason they'd be lying, but beyond that - it's their personal testimony.
        Someone with a skeptical attitude could ask, "How do you know that he was not mistaken?"

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by QuantaFille View Post
          I only have a few minutes so I'm just going to tackle a few of these. The ones that require longer answers I'll leave to others.



          Science.



          The short answer is, there is.



          It's the simplest explanation with explanatory scope and power. (I.e., the "swoon theory" lacks plausibility, "aliens did it" begs the question, "the eyewitnesses were deceived" only accounts for a small portion of the data, etc..

          I hope this helps.
          Is it because of the 2nd law of thermodynamics that the universe must have had a beginning?

          The skeptic could that there is a naturalistic explanation for Christ's resurrection.

          Comment


          • #6
            This should have been broken up into a number of different threads.
            "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Hornet View Post
              Someone with a skeptical attitude could ask, "How do you know that he was not mistaken?"
              Of course, but the "witness testimony" is not all there is.
              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Hornet View Post
                6. Can you give an example of some phenomena that people can see that can only be caused by the supernatural? Miracles? Where is the evidence for miracles? Things other than the supernatural can account for so called miracles.
                Human reason, for one! If natural processes account for our reasoning, there is no basis on which to trust it.

                And miracles are estimated to be supernatural based on our knowledge of natural processes, the same way archeologists estimate natural versus human-generated artifacts.

                Blessings,
                Lee
                "What I pray of you is, to keep your eye upon Him, for that is everything. Do you say, 'How am I to keep my eye on Him?' I reply, keep your eye off everything else, and you will soon see Him. All depends on the eye of faith being kept on Him. How simple it is!" (J.B. Stoney)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Hornet View Post
                  2. If God has no beginning, then what is wrong with believing that the universe has no beginning?
                  What makes more sense:

                  1. That an intelligible universe is the result of non-rational forces, or a Rational, intending force (or Mind)?

                  2. That non-conscious forces created consciousness, or that Consciousness created consciousness?

                  3. That life came from non-life or life came from life?

                  4. That our moral sense is the accidental by product of amoral processes, or that our moral sense is a product of a moral Creator?
                  Atheism is the cult of death, the death of hope. The universe is doomed, you are doomed, the only thing that remains is to await your execution...

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbnueb2OI4o&t=3s

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Skeptics with these sorts of questions will very rarely, if ever, change their mind because of your answers. They are looking to dissuade you from faith usually.
                    "What has the Church gained if it is popular, but there is no conviction, no repentance, no power?" - A.W. Tozer

                    "... there are two parties in Washington, the stupid party and the evil party, who occasionally get together and do something both stupid and evil, and this is called bipartisanship." - Everett Dirksen

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Littlejoe View Post
                      Skeptics with these sorts of questions will very rarely, if ever, change their mind because of your answers. They are looking to dissuade you from faith usually.
                      And, while I'm trying to keep an open mind, many times threads like this are kinda like "a friend has a problem, and I need some advice for him...."

                      NOT saying this is true of you, Hornet, but it's definitely something I keep in mind when somebody says "here are some things 'they' are asking...."
                      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                        And, while I'm trying to keep an open mind, many times threads like this are kinda like "a friend has a problem, and I need some advice for him...."

                        NOT saying this is true of you, Hornet, but it's definitely something I keep in mind when somebody says "here are some things 'they' are asking...."
                        That is a huge percentage of his post history.
                        "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
                          That is a huge percentage of his post history.
                          oh? Good to know.
                          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                            And, while I'm trying to keep an open mind, many times threads like this are kinda like "a friend has a problem, and I need some advice for him...."

                            NOT saying this is true of you, Hornet, but it's definitely something I keep in mind when somebody says "here are some things 'they' are asking...."
                            One of the biggest indicators is how they respond to the answers they receive. If they continue from the skeptical side (regardless of topic) that tends to be a red flag.

                            I'm always still in trouble again

                            "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                            "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                            "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by lee_merrill View Post
                              Human reason, for one! If natural processes account for our reasoning, there is no basis on which to trust it.

                              And miracles are estimated to be supernatural based on our knowledge of natural processes, the same way archeologists estimate natural versus human-generated artifacts.

                              Blessings,
                              Lee
                              That reminds me. Natural processes are the result of evolution and evolution is concerned with survival value, not necessarily towards the truth. If one's cognitive faculties originate from something that was directed towards survival value, then they are not necessarily directed towards truth. A good question to ask the skeptic?would be this: What accounts for the fact that our cognitive faculties can reliably find truth, if they originated from something that was just directed towards survival?

                              Obviously, miracles have a supernatural cause, but a person who refuses to give up his skepticism will always think that miracle claim have a naturalistic explanation. Someone with this mindset is not open to God's existence.

                              Comment

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