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Miracle in christianity essay
Examine the significance of miracles in the New Testament
Miracle in christianity essay
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Apologetics
A couple of months ago, being pretty ignorant, I had to ask myself, “what exactly is Apologetics.” After a little research and a few lectures from my Professors, I learned that “it is the defense of Christian faith, usually on intellectual issues.” (Horton 640). There are many arguments that can be used in order to defend the faith, however, I will focus on four arguments, ontological, Natural Theology, accuracy of scriptures, and personal miracles.
First is the ontological argument. “Human beings almost universally acknowledge that there is something, or someone, beyond themselves and that in some way, or ways, they are responsible to that something or someone (Railey/Aker 40).” This shows that the human race recognizes the fact that we are not alone in the universe and we are to some extent dependent on something supernatural.
Secondly is the appeal of Natural Theology. We can look all around at the beautiful things on this earth and we can see that it must have had divine intervention from some one or thing. “Creation, with its infinite variety, beauty, and order, reflects a God who is infinitely wise and powerful.” (Higgins 69).
Thirdly is accuracy of scriptures. “The Bible is internally consistent even though it was written over a period of some 1,500 years, about 1450 bce to 100 ce, over 40 generations by more than 40 different authors.” (Marino bibliology 4.1.1.3.) “Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details, and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history” (Higgins 88).
Last and most importantly to myself is Personal Miracles. I was a witness to an exorcism when I was at a young age of 13. I was at a youth camp and the evangelist went over and started praying for this young lady out of the clear blue. She immediately pulled away and started to curse him. He continued to pray for her and then she collapsed to the floor and began to convulse and spit up blood. I watched in aw as the evangelist said, “In Jesus name, demon flea!” I was amazed as the girl just sat up and started to praise God and smile and her whole demeanor changed.
Humanity today is looking for something to hold on to and is looking for answers.
The topic we learned that was similar to this was the discovery of ancient copies of bibles. There has been over twenty four thousand copies of bibles found by the archeological digs, and these facts support our reliability for the historical accuracy of the bible. The copies of the bible were found in forms of papyrus, stone carvings, and etc. This discovery supported not only the historical reliability, but the accuracy of the bible itself. There was more than twenty four thousand copies found, but the errors found all together was under one percent. I thought this was a pretty good evidence to use in apologetics because there was many authors and scribes writing the bible, but what they wrote was all the same thing. There can`t be a coincidence where everyone made up something random, and it all turned out to be the same idea.
Science and faith are generally viewed as two topics that do not intermingle. However, Andy Crouch’s work, Delight in Creation, suggests that there is an approach to both faith and science that allows support of scientists in the church community. There is an approach that can regard science as a career that can reflect the nature of God.
Many people have gone through their lives conforming their beliefs and practices for the sake of fitting in or for the happiness of others, but Socrates was not one of these people. In “The Apology” Plato shows Socrates unwillingness to conform through a speech given by Socrates while on trial for supposedly corrupting the youth of Athens and believing in false gods. Although the title of the dialogue was labeled “The Apology,” Socrates’ speech was anything but that, it was a defense of himself and his content along his philosophical journey. At no time during the trial was Socrates willing to change his ways in order to avoid punishment, two reasons being his loyalty to his God and his philosophical way of life.
The article Reasonable Doubt by Alice Camille presents reasons for defending the actions of Thomas, the apostle of Jesus Christ, and relates the factors that not only made Thomas doubt his faith, but the testimonies of the resurrection witnessed by Thomas himself. The article also discusses evidence demanded by Thomas to prove that Jesus had risen from the dead.
The controversial topic involving the existence of God has been the pinnacle of endless discourse surrounding the concept of religion in the field of philosophy. However, two arguments proclaim themselves to be the “better” way of justifying the existence of God: The Cosmological Argument and the Mystical Argument. While both arguments attempt to enforce strict modus operandi of solidified reasoning, neither prove to be a better way of explaining the existence of God. The downfall of both these arguments rests on commitment of fallacies and lack of sufficient evidence, as a result sabotaging their validity in the field of philosophy and faith.
faith through these events. The majorities of the experiences are positive, but people have also
of the arguments in favor of God, or a so-called "higher power" are based on
Entering the ancient discussion about the tension between faith and reason is not an easy task. Of course, when engaging in tensions it is always important to define terms. For the sake of consistency I will refer to Oxford’s online dictionary for both the definition of faith, as well as reason. Faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Reason is “a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event.” These are the definitions that will be used throughout this paper. From the above definitions, the conclusion that is logically deduced is that reason precedes faith.
Jesus, a name known by billions throughout the world. To each, this name means something different; savior, friend, philosopher, prophet, teacher, fraud, fake, liar. Some even believe that He is just an imaginary character from the minds of those who wrote about Him. The Westminster Dictionary of Theology describes apologetics as, "Defense, by argument, of Christian belief against external criticism or against other worldly views" (Apologetics 31-32). Though there are still many mysteries that surround the ongoing debate about Christianity, evidence can now prove some of what Christians took by faith before. Now, more than ever, there is information to prove the existence of this man that walked the earth more than two thousand years ago. Little remains of His life and works except for that which is contained within the pages of the Holy Bible. Throughout the past century alone, there have been numerous discoveries, both scientific and archeological; to further prove the existence of a man called Jesus and reinforce the Bible as a legitimate historical document. The validity of Christianity and Jesus Christ himself has been the center of religious controversy for centuries. Though His identity has not and probably never will be proven, He did exist. This paper will use apologetics to prove this so. Sufficient evidence proves the existence of Jesus and forms a firm basis for Christianity.
Retrieved from http://www.thesmi.org/HCBS/hcbs2.PDF. Hindson, E., & Caner, E. (2008). The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, Inc. Weider, L., & Gutierrez, B. (2011).
Hugo Meynell's book is a clear example of the growing interest in apologetics. Meynell considers four common objections to Christian doctrine, the belief in God is morally irrelevant; that there is no reason to believe in the special claims of Christianity over those of non-Christian religions. Meynell, also says no sense can be made of the doctrines of Incarnation, Atonement, and the Trinity and that Christian doctrine about life after death is based upon an indefensible view of the nature of human persons-and shows to his own views that these remarks can be met. It should be noted that Meynell on the prior assumption that God exists. This is not because Meynell takes that assumption to be indefensible or incapable of demonstration; it is rather that the existence of God is not his topic in this book.
The historical reliability of the Bible is the first matter that needs to be discussed. There are three criteria that the military historian C. Sanders lists as principles for documentary historical proof: the bibliographical test, internal evidence test, and the external evidence test (McDowell 43). The bibliographical test is the examination of text from the documents that have reached us. The reliability of the copies of the New Testament is tested by the number of manuscripts (MSS) and the time intervals between the time in which the piece of literature was written and our earliest copy. There are more than 5,300 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and 10,000 Latin vulgate manuscripts, not to mention the other various translations.
When God created the world “by faith is we understand that the world were framed by the word of God, so that the things which we see how did not come into being out of things which had previously appeared” (Athanasius...
Peacocke, A. R. Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and Becoming--natural and Divine. Oxford, OX, UK: B. Blackwell, 1990. Print. (BL 240.2 .P352 1990)
When I hear the word Theology, I think of the study of the Biblical text, the divine existence of God, and God’s purpose for man. The Bible talks about who God is, why God created man, and God’s instructions on how man should live in this world. The Bible states, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:6). The Bible contains significant instructions on how to manage everyday life and how to have a relationship with God. A person would think a theologian is a highly educated person who go to school to learn about the Bible and interpret it for full understanding; however, anyone can study the scriptures of the biblical text and learn what God has