Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Goal of these meetings

To whet your appetite to want to look forward for the resons to defend the hope you have within you.

Not to make you a philosopher or a professional apologist.

I can’t make you what I am not myself.

Goal of these meetings

To whet your appetite to want to look forward for the resons to defend the hope you have within you.

What is Apologetics?

Not to make you a philosopher or a professional apologist.

I can’t make you what I am not myself.

What is Apologetics?

Apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, which means a defense, as in a court of law.

Christian apologetics involves making a case for the truth of the Christian faith

Apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, which means a defense, as in a court of law.

Christian apologetics involves making a case for the truth of the Christian faith

We are not to have blind faith

Christians are commanded to know what they believe and why they believe it .

They are commanded to give answers to those who ask ( ) , and to demolish arguments against the Christian faith ( ) .

Since God is reasonable ( ) and wants us to use our reason , Christians don’t get brownie points for being lazy in this regard.

We are not to have blind faith

Scriptural Support

Christians are commanded to know what they believe and why they believe it .

They are commanded to give answers to those who ask ( ) , and to demolish arguments against the Christian faith ( ) .

Since God is reasonable ( ) and wants us to use our reason , Christians don’t get brownie points for being lazy in this regard.

Look at ; ; ;

Scriptural Support

Look at ; ; ;

Why Aologetics is Needed

Secularists are bent on eliminating religion from the public square.

The so - called New Atheists , represented by people like Sam Harris , Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens, are even more aggressive.

They want to exterminate religious belief entirely

Why Aologetics is Needed

Belief in a sort of generic God is still the norm, but belief in Jesus Christ is now politically incorrect.

How many films coming out of Hollywood portray Christians in a positive way?

How many times do we instead find Christians portrayed as shallow, bigoted, hypocrites?

Secularists are bent on eliminating religion from the public square.

The so - called New Atheists , represented by people like Sam Harris , Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens, are even more aggressive.

They want to exterminate religious belief entirely

If Christians could be trained to provide solid evidence for what they believe and good answers to unbelievers’ questions and objections, then the perception of Christians would slowly change.

If you know the answers, then you’re not afraid to go into the lion’s den — in fact, you’ll enjoy it!

A Christian minister at Stanford University recently told me that 40 percent of Christian high school students in church youth groups will quit church involvement altogether after graduation

So before we share with people evidence for God’s existence, we may need to help them see why it matters in the first place .

Otherwise they just won’t care .

By showing them the implications of atheism, we can help them to see that the question of God’s existence is so much more than merely adding another item to our inventory of things — rather it’s an issue that lies at the very center of life’s meaning.

It therefore touches each of us at the core of his being .

What Apologetics is not

Belief in a sort of generic God is still the norm, but belief in Jesus Christ is now politically incorrect.

How many films coming out of Hollywood portray Christians in a positive way?

How many times do we instead find Christians portrayed as shallow, bigoted, hypocrites?

Notice the attitude we’re supposed to have when giving our defense: We should be gentle and respectful.

Apologetics is also not the art of making somebody else sorry that you’re a Christian!

We can present a defense of the Christian faith without becoming defensive.

We can present arguments for Christianity without becoming argumentative.

If Christians could be trained to provide solid evidence for what they believe and good answers to unbelievers’ questions and objections, then the perception of Christians would slowly change.

We should never quarrel with a nonbeliever about our faith.

That only makes people mad and drives them away

If you have good reasons for what you believe and know the answers to the unbeliever’s questions or objections, there’s just no reason to get hot under the collar.

Concerning Trends

Recent Studies:

In this survey of theological beliefs, researchers asked self-professing Christians to respond to a series of statements related to classic, historic Christian doctrine.

In every answer offered related to these theological beliefs, young people between the ages of 18 and 34 consistently held heretical views at a higher percentage than older respondents.

Young people who identify themselves as Christians, are far more likely to hold views that aren’t Christian.

If you know the answers, then you’re not afraid to go into the lion’s den — in fact, you’ll enjoy it!

The majority of teenagers are incredibly inarticulate about their faith, religious beliefs and practices, and its place in their lives.

The de facto dominant religion among contemporary U.S. teenagers is what they call ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’: A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth; God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions; the central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself; God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem; and good people go to heaven when they die.

About 25% of college professors are professing atheists or agnostics (5-7% of the general population is atheistic or agnostic).

Only 6% of college professors said the Bible is “the actual word of God”.

51% described it as “an ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts.”

75% believe religion does not belong in public schools.

The percentage of adults (ages 18 and older) who describe themselves as Christians has dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years, from 78.4% in an equally massive Pew Research survey in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014.

Over the same period, the percentage of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated – describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – has jumped more than six points, from 16.1% to 22.8%.

Students leave faith behind primarily because of intellectual doubt and skepticism (page 89).

“Why did they fall away from the faith in which they were raised?”

This was an open-ended question there were no multiple-choice answers.

32% said they left faith behind because of intellectual skepticism or doubt.

(“It didn’t make any sense anymore.”

“Some stuff is too far-fetched for me to believe.”

“I think scientifically and there is no real proof.”

“Too many questions that can’t be answered.”)

Data from the Southern Baptist Convention indicates that they are currently losing 70-88% of their youth after their freshman year in college.

70% of teenagers involved in church youth groups stop attending church within two years of their high school graduation.

Atheism Worldview

Atheism Worldview

A Christian minister at Stanford University recently told me that 40 percent of Christian high school students in church youth groups will quit church involvement altogether after graduation

So before we share with people evidence for God’s existence, we may need to help them see why it matters in the first place .

Otherwise they just won’t care .

By showing them the implications of atheism, we can help them to see that the question of God’s existence is so much more than merely adding another item to our inventory of things — rather it’s an issue that lies at the very center of life’s meaning.

It therefore touches each of us at the core of his being .

Why it is Attractive