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Apologetics Class 8/6/2017

Today was the first day of the Apologetics class for the 2017/2018 year. We started off this year by watching a video entitled Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace:

Here is the note-taking form I handed out:

Cold Case Christianity – J. Warner Wallace

Warner Wallace was a committed a____________ until the age of 35 years old.
I want to help you to process through evidential claims.
There are some similarities between what we use to examine cold cases and what we use to examine the Christian worldview:
1. Event in the distant p___________
2. No living e__________________
3. Little or no forensic e_____________
4. Cases must be built on convincing c_________________ evidence
Important to understand the difference between “what’s p____________” and “what’s a r_____________________” inference from circumstantial case.
Eyewitness testimony is considered “direct evidence”
Circumstantial evidence is “indirect evidence”
It’s not “beyond a possible doubt”, we’re asking people to make a decision “beyond a reasonable doubt”
Judges tell jurors all the time that they are not to consider “circumstantial evidence” as less v________d than “direct evidence”.
Reason why circumstantial case better than a direct case: witnesses want to l______ sometimes
Circumstantial evidence does not intentionally lie to you.
Christianity built on direct evidence – how do we test the witnesses? 4 categories
1. Were the witnesses even th________ to begin with?
2. Are the witnesses supported ex______________?
3. Have they been h___________ and accurate in the past?
4. Do the witnesses have an ulterior m______________?
If they pass in these 4 categories, we’re to consider them reliable. Can we assess the apostles in the same way?
Were they p___________? If someone’s not there, they can’t be your suspect (or your witness)
1. Destruction of t___________ in 70 AD is not included in the book of Acts
2. Siege of J_____________ 69 AD is not included in the book of Acts
3. P_________ Martyred (64-67 AD) is not included in the book of Acts (P_________ too)
4. J___________ Martyred (61 AD) is not included in the book of Acts
5. Most important players in book of Acts – author doesn’t say anything about their deaths
6. Luke writes Acts 60 AD, Luke writes the Gospel of Luke (53 AD)
7. Paul quotes Luke’s Gospel in several places
8. Mark writes Gospel (45-50 AD)
Were they v__________________ (corroborated)?
1. Outside sources – Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, etc.
2. Internal evidence
3. Archeology
Were they h______________?
1. If your story is changing over time, there’s a good chance I shouldn’t trust you.
2. Chain of custody (of evidence over time) – Polaroid (snapshot) of evidence at various points in time. You can verify that it didn’t change.
3. John –>Ignatius, Papias, Polycarp –> Irenaeus –> Hippolytus
4. Paul –> Linus –> Clement –> Evaristus –> Alexander –> Sixtus –> Telesphorus –> Pius –> Justin Martyr –> Tatian
5. Peter –> Mark –> Anianus –> Avillus –> Kedron –> Primus –> Justus –> Pantaenus –> Clement –> Origen –> Pamphilus –> Eusebius
6. 3 different locations (Rome, Ephesus, North Africa) – couldn’t coordinate w/each other
7. If you lost all the o_________ d____________ from the biblical authors and all you had were other non-biblical writings from the 1^st century chain of custody, what would you know about Jesus? He Was Born of a Virgin, Worked Miracles, Preached Sermons, Claimed to be God, Worshipped as God, Crucified and Buried, Rose from the Dead, Ascended into Heaven, Through Whom in Faith Alone you are Saved.
Were they b_____________? Bias is driven by motive. There are only 3 motives behind any homicide or behind anything you’ve done wrong in your life: 1. Financial G________, 2. Sexual L________, 3. Pursuit of P___________.
1. The 12 apostles suffered and died for what they saw and reported
2. No 1^st century evidence that any of 12 are reported to have recanted their testimony.
3. All died without financial success
4. The vast majority died alone
5. All were persecuted for their position
6. Matthew, didn’t start off with bias, he ended up with a conviction based on observation
Can we t___________ what the scriptures say? The Gospel Accounts Are Reliable:
1. T_______________? The Gospel Writers Were Present
2. V_______________? The Gospel Writers Were Corroborated
3. A_______________? The Gospels Were Accurately Delivered
4. A_______________? The Gospel Writers Had No Ulterior Motive
You’re trying to discover whether something supernatural exists – you don’t begin that investigation by r________________ the supernatural.
If you’re a “1 decision Christian” (decided to trust Christ), why haven’t you taken the additional step to learn this so that your Christianity won’t be “a_______________”?

Discussion Questions

How are Cold Case Homicide investigations similar to investigating the evidence for Christianity?
Why should we think that the Gospel writers were early enough to be eyewitnesses? Why is that important?
What is the “Chain of Custody” and how is this relevant to the Bible?
How would the different locations of John, Peter and Paul (thousands of miles apart) lend credence to the reliability of their individual writings?
Did a church council in 363 AD determine which books were in the Bible?
By what 3 motives could we evaluate eyewitnesses (including the biblical authors) to see if they might be lying?
Why is the distinction between what’s “possible” and “reasonable” so important in determining the truth in evidential cases?