For my FBS students:
Thank you for allowing me to be your teacher last week. I greatly enjoyed being with you, and thank God for all of you!
Here are some thoughts and resources regarding our Apologetics course I want to share with you.
OUR KEY BIBLE VERSES WERE: 1 Peter 3:15; Acts 17:16-32.
1 PETER 3:15 - the English words "to give the reason" translate one Greek word - apologian. "Apologetics" is to give the reason for the hope we have inside of us.
Here are some very good websites for studies in Christian apologetics:
- reasonablefaith.org - the website of Christian philosopher William Lane Craig
- rzim.org - Ravi Zacharias ministries
- http://afterall.net/citizens/moreland/ - the website of Christian philosopher J. P. Moreland
- http://www.paulcopan.com/ - the website of Christian philosopher Paul Copan
The Moral Argument for God's Existence, as formulated by William Lane Craig, is this:
1. If there is no God, then objective moral values do not exist.
2. Objective moral values do exist.
3. Therefore, God exists.
For Craig's argument go here, sign up for free, then go to "scholarly articles," "Existence of God," and finally to "The Indispensability of Theological Meta-Ethical Foundations for Morality."
Some very good books that relate to what I taught in class include:
- The Resurrection of the Son of God, by N.T. Wright (In class I shared that a strong historical argument can be made for the resurrection of Jesus)
- Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message, by Ravi Zacharias (This relates to my presentation on the uniqueness of Jesus and Christianity among the other world religions)
- C.S. Lewis's Dangerous Idea: In Defense of the Argument from Reason, by Victor Reppert (Reppert's argument relates to by free will argument I gave in class)
- Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis (This is one of the most famous apologetic books ever written.)
- When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics; True for You, But Not for Me: Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith; and That's Just Your Interpretation: Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith; all by Christian philosopher Paul Copan. (These three books are excellent and very accessible to seminary-level students.
- Satan & the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy, by New Testament Scholar and Christian philosopher Greg Boyd (On evil, Satan, and human free will. I really like Greg's response to the question "How can there be an all-loving, all-powerful God and evil in the world?")
If you have any questions please e-mail me at: johnpiippo@msn.com.
Blessings!
