Why am I keen to prepare and teach this course?
Even though many believe in God and believe that the Bible as His inspired word, there are many people who have no knowledge of God or Jesus or many of the other things we Christians hold dear. A person who has never been introduced to the concept of God is similar to when I wake up in a very dark room. When I first woke up, I knew nothing. As I began to “know” things through personal observation I discovered (and came to believe) in the world around me. It was a step by step process.
We Christians are challenged to take the message into all the world. Mark 16:15 “Jesus said to them, ‘Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.’” Paul said we need to meet people where they are 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. and Paul arguing in Acts 17:16-33. We need to be prepared to explain why we believe what we believe – I Peter 3:15.
The Foundation – Truth
a) To begin our proof of God, we first must agree on the subject of “TRUTH”.
• We demand truth in just about every aspect of our lives: money, marriages, safety, and health. So why would we not also demand it on matters related to faith?
• Truth is “telling it like it is” or “that which describes an actual state of affairs”.
• If something is true, it is true for all people, at all times, in all places. All truth claims are absolute, narrow and exclusive. All truths exclude their opposites. Even religious truths.
o Truth is discovered, not invented.
o Truth is trans-cultural.
o Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth may change. (e.g. flat earth belief)
o Beliefs cannot change a fact, no matter how sincerely they are held.
o Truth is not affected by the one professing it.
o All truths are absolute truths.
o In short, contrary beliefs are possible but not contrary truths.
o What does our world today says about “Truth”?
b) Our society will often try to say that “truth does not exist” or “truth cannot be known”. Can you comment on the analysis below? How do you react to point’s a-f?
• These are self-defeating statements.
• They use a “truth statement” to prove “truth does not exist”.
• With the statement “there is not truth” we need to ask “Is that true?”
• With the statement “Truth cannot be known” we need to ask “How do you know that is true?”
• If there is no truth, why learn anything at all?
• We demand truth in our marriages, in our banking relationships, when we go to a doctor. Why not demand it when we discuss God?
c) A side note in this course: Evidence cannot convince the unwilling.
• I need to ask “If we showed beyond a reasonable doubt that God existed would you believe?” If no, then it is a problem with “WILL” not “INTELLECT”.
Can you comment where our culture might be today when it comes to wanting to know if there really is a God? What other key issues and questions do people have when it comes to proving God’s existence? Why is this important or is it still important today?