Defending and Defining the Faith

Defending and Defining the Faith PDF Author: Daniel H. Williams
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190620501
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 485

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Early Christian Apologetics, D.H. Williams offers a first comprehensive presentation of Christian apologetic literature from the second to the fifth century CE. Williams argues that most apologies were not directed at a pagan readership. In most cases, ancient apologetics had a double object: to instruct the Christian and persuade weak Christians or non-Christians who were sympathetic to Christian claims. Taken cumulatively, he finds, apologetic literature was integral to the formation of the Christian identity in the Roman world

Defending and Defining the Faith

Defending and Defining the Faith PDF Author: Daniel H. Williams
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190620501
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 485

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Early Christian Apologetics, D.H. Williams offers a first comprehensive presentation of Christian apologetic literature from the second to the fifth century CE. Williams argues that most apologies were not directed at a pagan readership. In most cases, ancient apologetics had a double object: to instruct the Christian and persuade weak Christians or non-Christians who were sympathetic to Christian claims. Taken cumulatively, he finds, apologetic literature was integral to the formation of the Christian identity in the Roman world

True to the Faith

True to the Faith PDF Author: David Gooding
Publisher: Myrtlefield House
ISBN: 187458432X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 580

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Acts of the Apostles is about more than the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth. By the time the ascended Christ had sent the Holy Spirit to guide his disciples, they had no doubt what the basics of the gospel message were: that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day and would one day come again. But, according to Luke’s account, difficult questions and challenges arose for the apostles as they began to spread this message. These questions, when once settled by the apostles, would further define the gospel with answers that are definitive for us today. By carefully tracing Luke’s presentation of the historical material, David Gooding shows us that Luke has arranged his historical material into six sections, each containing a set of issues and a dominant question that confronted the church: – Was the gospel to be under the authority of the Jewish Sanhedrin, even when they called into question the deity and messiahship of Jesus? – Would the temple and its entire system of worship become obsolete because of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, as Stephen claimed? – What would God do when the observance of his own food laws became a barrier to preaching the gospel to Gentiles such as Cornelius? – How would the apostles decide about the rite of circumcision and its relationship to salvation? – How would the gospel distinguish itself from the spiritism, idolatry, religions and philosophies of the pagan world and state positively its own answer to questions of the origin of the universe and life’s ultimate goal? – And how would Paul defend the gospel at the highest levels of society, against every kind of misrepresentation, when he found himself under the power of Roman law and order? The conclusions that the apostles and the early churches reached under the guidance of the Holy Spirit are profoundly relevant. Their defence against each new challenge confirmed the truth of the gospel for every generation of Christ’s disciples. David Gooding’s exposition echoes Acts’ powerful, unspoken exhortation to examine ourselves honestly to see whether the Christianity that we represent and the gospel that we preach and defend are uncompromisingly the same as those established by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Defending Your Faith

Defending Your Faith PDF Author: R. C. Sproul
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781433563782
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
R. C. Sproul surveys the history and fundamentals of apologetics to show that reason and scientific inquiry can be strong allies in defending the existence of God and the authority of the Bible.

Defending Faith

Defending Faith PDF Author: Timothy J. Wengert
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 9783161517983
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 494

Get Book Here

Book Description
When in 1550 Andreas Osiander (1498-1552) advocated a different understanding of the central Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith alone, most other Lutheran churches in Germany rejected his stance, producing nearly one hundred opposing tracts. Timothy J. Wengert examines these reactions as a way of describing the theological side of confessionalization in Lutheran lands.--Back of dust jacket.

Narrative Apologetics

Narrative Apologetics PDF Author: Alister E. McGrath
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493419242
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 188

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Bible is a narrative--the story of God's creation, humankind's fall, and God's plan of redemption. And it is filled with countless smaller stories that teach us about people, history, and the nature of God. It's no surprise that God would choose to reveal himself to us in story--after all, he hardwired us for story. Despite this, we so often attempt to share our faith with others not through story but through systems, arguments, and talking points--methods that appeal only to our mind and neglect our imagination and our emotions. In this groundbreaking book, scholar and author Alister McGrath lays a foundation for narrative apologetics. Exploring four major biblical narratives, enduring stories from our culture such as Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, and personal narratives from people such as Augustine of Hippo and Chuck Colson, McGrath shows how we can both understand and share our faith in terms of story.

Confronting Christianity

Confronting Christianity PDF Author: Rebecca McLaughlin
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433564262
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Get Book Here

Book Description
Although many people suggest that Christianity is declining, research indicates that it continues to be the world's most popular worldview. But even so, the Christian faith includes many controversial beliefs that non-Christians find hard to accept. This book explores 12 issues that might cause someone to dismiss orthodox Christianity—issues such as the existence of suffering, the Bible's teaching on gender and sexuality, the reality of heaven and hell, the authority of the Bible, and more. Showing how the best research from sociology, science, and psychology doesn't disagree with but actually aligns with claims found in the Bible, these chapters help skeptics understand why these issues are signposts, rather than roadblocks, to faith in Christ.

Relational Apologetics

Relational Apologetics PDF Author: Michael Sherrard
Publisher: Kregel Publications
ISBN: 0825442338
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 1

Get Book Here

Book Description
Defending the Christian faith by demonstrating its reality "Relational Apologetics" is about your life "becoming" a defense of the Christian faith. Every relationship you have is an opportunity for you to connect people to their creator by displaying your hope, both in word and deed. Defending your faith is not just about answering questions and "proving" that God exists. It is about showing that He is real by the way you live. It is about demonstrating the power of God through your holiness. And it is about drawing people to Jesus through your kindness. Using stories and drawing on personal experiences, Sherrard teaches the importance of holiness, treating skeptics with respect, engaging in authentic conversations instead of shouting matches, and having well thought out answers to the skeptic's questions. The book doesn't delve deeply into the scientific and philosophical arguments for the existence of God and the validity of Christianity. Rather, it provides solid, simple, and easily remembered reasons why one should believe. It also teaches essential relational skills that are necessary for talking to skeptics and maintaining healthy relationships with them.

Christian Apologetics

Christian Apologetics PDF Author: Douglas Groothuis
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 1514002760
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 725

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Christian faith offers people hope. But how can we know that Christianity is true? How can Christians confidently present their beliefs in the face of doubts and competing views? In this second edition of a landmark apologetics text, Douglas Groothuis makes a clear and rigorous case for Christian theism, addressing the most common questions and objections raised regarding Christianity.

A Public Faith

A Public Faith PDF Author: Miroslav Volf
Publisher: Brazos Press
ISBN: 1441232079
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Get Book Here

Book Description
Covering such timely issues as witness in a multifaith society and political engagement in a pluralistic world, this compelling book highlights things Christians can do to serve the common good. Now in paperback. Praise for the cloth edition Named one of the "Top 100 Books" and one of the "Top 10 Religion Books" of 2011 by Publishers Weekly "Accessible, wise guidance for people of all faiths."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Highly original. . . . The book deserves a wide audience and is one that will affect its readers well after they have turned the final page."--Christianity Today (5-star review)

Biblical Apologetics

Biblical Apologetics PDF Author: Clifford B. McManis
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1483623491
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 455

Get Book Here

Book Description
The book you are holding in your hands is perhaps the simplest, most straightforward summary and how-to guide for presuppositional apologetics now in print. It is both informative and practically helpful. I believe you will fi nd it an extremely useful tool whether you are an professor at the seminary level seeking supplemental reading material or just a simple lay person looking for practical answers. Pastor McManis writes with crisp clarity in a way that is certain to give you fresh insight into what Scripture teaches about the defense of the Christian faith. I wish this book had been available when I was studying apologetics in seminary." John MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church; President of The Masters College and Seminary Cliff has rescued the discipline from the elite circle of the intelligentsia and returned it as a biblical theology of truth communication to the common people (i.e. to all believers). This volume will be of great help in the restoration of the practicality of biblical apologetics as it was exemplified in the early Church. Hopefully, todays readers will be able to understand and put into practice the true nature of Peters command in 1 Peter 3:15 as it is strategically situated in its defi ning context. George J. Zemek, Academic Dean, The Expositors Seminary, Jupiter, Florida.