Hub
Apologetics
But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect…
Giving a reason for the hope: the Bible's reliability, supposed contradictions, logic, other beliefs, science and history.
Apologetics. 5 choices.
Is the Bible Reliable?
Why the church receives these books, how they were copied, and which books it did not receive.
- Receiving the ScripturesThe Bible is God-breathed, given so that we may know Him, be corrected, and be equipped.
- Copyist NumeralsHebrew numbers were easy to mistype. A clash between 40,000 and 4,000 in two ledgers is not the same kind of problem as “who is Jesus.”
- Outside the CanonA book can tell a true war and still not be Scripture. The test is not whether the church finds it moving. It is whether it was received as the writings God gave.
- Chronological SnobberyAssuming people long ago were gullible because they lived long ago. Mary and Joseph knew exactly how babies come.
Supposed Contradictions
Most claimed clashes are a few kinds of difference. Learn the kinds, then look up the pair.
- ContradictionsMost claimed clashes are a few kinds of difference. A short note names each kind, and the longer teaching unrolls below it.
- The list of pairsLook up a claimed contradiction by its title, a word from it, or a verse. Most of them come down to a few kinds of difference, and once you know the kinds, the long list gets much shorter.
- Misused VersesA true verse, cut short or moved out of its setting, can still mislead. Find the verse, see how it gets misused, then read what it is actually saying.
- Hard Sayings of JesusSome things Jesus said are meant to sting on the first reading. Find the saying, then how to hear it without softening it.
Logic and Reasoning
The plain rules of thought, and the common ways an argument goes wrong.
The Laws of Logic
Three rules every argument already uses.
- The Laws of LogicThree plain rules everyone uses to think. They come from a God who does not lie and does not change.
- IdentityA thing is what it is. God names Himself this way, and His sameness is our safety.
- Non-ContradictionA claim and its opposite cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense. This is the law every contradiction list appeals to.
- Excluded MiddleA claim is either true or false. Elijah put it to Israel on Mount Carmel, and Jesus speaks of Himself the same way.
Logical Fallacies
The moves that make a weak argument sound strong.
- Logical FallaciesA fallacy is a mistake in reasoning. These are the ones that come up most when people argue about the Bible, on both sides.
- Out of ContextPulling a verse out of its place so it says something it never meant. Satan did it to Jesus, and Jesus answered with Scripture.
- The Straw ManAnswering a weak copy of someone's view instead of what he really holds.
- The Argument from SilenceConcluding that a writer denied something because he did not mention it. The Gospel writers tell us they left things out.
- EquivocationUsing one word in two senses inside one argument. Many supposed contradictions are built this way.
- Circular ReasoningAssuming what you are trying to prove. Christians should be careful here, and so should skeptics.
- Moving the GoalpostsChanging what would count as proof once the proof is given. Jesus met it the day after He fed five thousand.
- Attacking the PersonGoing after the person instead of the claim. Jesus faced it, and Christians are tempted to do it too.
- Judging by OriginDeciding a claim is true or false by where it came from. Nathanael tried it with Nazareth, and Philip answered, “Come and see.”
- Appeal to the CrowdArguing that something is true because many people believe it. Numbers do not settle truth, either way.
Other Beliefs
What the churches and the old confessions teach, named plainly.
- Churches and DenominationsA first map of the churches and groups that use the name of Christ: what each one teaches, and where it differs.
- Historic CreedsStatements of faith the church wrote, usually after a fight over what the Bible teaches. They do not replace Scripture. See when each was written and what it confesses.
- The Ninety-Five ThesesMartin Luther's ninety-five sentences of 1517, written to call the church back, not to leave it. Each thesis gives what he wrote and the problem of his day it was aimed at.
Science and History
Where the text meets dates, stones, and records outside the Bible.
- Science or Faith?Offering two choices when there are more. Jesus refused this trap more than once.
- The Biblical Timeline
- The Date of the ExodusAbout 1446 BC if the 480 years are a straight count. About 1260 if the cities and the late bronze are the clock. Merneptah only says Israel is in Canaan by about 1208.
- The Royal InscriptionsQarqar, the Black Obelisk, and the Mesha stele. What each stone says, and what it does not say.
- Sennacherib's CageSennacherib's prism says he shut Hezekiah in Jerusalem and took tribute. It does not say he took the city. The Bible says the army died and he went home.
- The Cyrus CylinderThe cylinder shows a policy of restoring peoples and their gods after Babylon fell. It does not name Jerusalem or the LORD. It still explains the kind of decree Ezra 1 records.
- The Census of QuiriniusLuke 2 places the birth at a census under Quirinius. The famous census of Quirinius is AD 6, after Herod is dead. The verse is a real difficulty, and it has more than one serious answer.
- Gallio and the LettersAn inscription from Delphi dates Gallio's year as proconsul of Achaia to about AD 51 or 52. Acts 18 puts Paul in Corinth in that year. The other dates in Acts are steps from that peg.
Lessons
Lesson
Contradictions
Most claimed clashes are a few kinds of difference. A short note names each kind, and the longer teaching unrolls below it.
Underneath The Person in View, Complement, Not a Clash, Different Occasions, A Different Sense, Genre, Not a Ledger, Copyist Numerals, The Covenant Horizon, Rounding and Convention, A Selective Line
Lesson
The Laws of Logic
Three plain rules everyone uses to think. They come from a God who does not lie and does not change.
Underneath The Law of Identity, The Law of Non-Contradiction, The Law of Excluded Middle
Lesson
Logical Fallacies
A fallacy is a mistake in reasoning. These are the ones that come up most when people argue about the Bible, on both sides.
Underneath Attacking the Person, Judging by Origin, Chronological Snobbery, The Straw Man, Circular Reasoning, The False Dilemma, Appeal to the Crowd, Moving the Goalposts, Equivocation, The Argument from Silence, Out of Context
Lists to look things up
List
Supposed Contradictions
Look up a claimed contradiction by its title, a word from it, or a verse. Most of them come down to a few kinds of difference, and once you know the kinds, the long list gets much shorter.
List
Misused Verses
A true verse, cut short or moved out of its setting, can still mislead. Find the verse, see how it gets misused, then read what it is actually saying.
List
Churches and Denominations
A first map of the churches and groups that use the name of Christ: what each one teaches, and where it differs.
List
Historic Creeds
Statements of faith the church wrote, usually after a fight over what the Bible teaches. They do not replace Scripture. See when each was written and what it confesses.
List
The Ninety-Five Theses
Martin Luther's ninety-five sentences of 1517, written to call the church back, not to leave it. Each thesis gives what he wrote and the problem of his day it was aimed at.