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Archaeology and the Historical Reliability of the New Testament

4/29/2015

 
This is only part of the article, and I would highly recommend reading the entire thing. It is without doubt an extremely interesting article.

Archaeology and the Historical Reliability of the New Testament
by Peter S. Williams
(From the
Be Thinking website)

Peter S. Williams examines the historical reliability of the New Testament in the light of the findings of archaeology.

“On the whole … archaeological work has unquestionably strengthened confidence in the reliability of the Scriptural record. More than one archaeologist has found his respect for the Bible increased by the experience of excavation in Palestine. Archaeology has in many cases refuted the views of modern critics.” – Millar Burrows, Professor of Archaeology, Yale University[1]

Charlotte Allen observes that
“Archaeology, which was then a young science, was by and large ignored by the academic biblical scholars of the [nineteenth] century. For the great German exegetes of the era … a voyage to Palestine was beside the point, as the life of the historical Jesus was for them solely a matter of interpreting texts.”[2] Today, scholars know that archaeological data can be a valuable aid to interpreting texts, as well as providing independent adjudication of a text’s historical veracity.

Allen affirms that archaeological excavations in the Holy Land have
“tended to support the historical value of the Gospels, at least as sources of information about the conditions of their times.”[3] As Nelson Glueck states, on the one hand “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever contraverted a biblical reference”, whereas on the other “Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible.”[4]

Archaeologist William F. Albright observes:

The excessive scepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth-and-nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which still appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. 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.[5]

Likewise, Joseph Free confirms:
“Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which had been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contrary to known facts.”[6] Theologian Craig L. Blomberg notes how:

archaeology can demonstrate that the places mentioned in the Gospels really existed and that customs, living conditions, topography, household and workplace furniture and tools, roads, coins, buildings and numerous other ‘stage props’ correspond to how the Gospels describe them. It can show that the names of certain characters in the Gospels are accurate, when we find inscriptional references to them elsewhere. Events and teachings ascribed to Jesus become intelligible and therefore plausible when read against everything we know about life in Palestine in the first third of the first century.[7]

Archaeologist Jonathan L. Reed observes that
“The many archaeological discoveries relating to people, places, or titles mentioned in Acts do lend credence to its historicity at one level; many of the specific details in Acts are factual.”[8] And as Lee Strobel observes:

In trying to determine if a witness is being truthful, journalists and lawyers will test all the elements of his or her testimony that can be tested. If this investigation reveals that the person was wrong in those details, this casts considerable doubt on the veracity of his or her entire story. However, if the minutiae check out, this is some indication – not conclusive proof but some evidence – that maybe the witness is being reliable in his or her overall account.[9]

We will review archaeological evidence under the following three categories:

• Culture – Beliefs and Practices
• Places – Urban centers and individual buildings
• People – Titles, Names and Relationships

CONTINUE READING HERE

Friday Night Lectures - April 24, 2015

4/24/2015

 
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Tonight's Friday Night Lecture is
How to Deliver the Gospel to Mormons

with the late Dr. Walter Martin

In this lecture, Dr. Walter Martin discusses different Mormon beliefs and how to break through them to deliver the true gospel of Jesus Christ.


The Failure of Moral Relativism

4/24/2015

 
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Moral relativism is the philosophical belief that there is no objective moral standpoint that is inherently correct that can be applied to all people, all cultures, all societies for all time. This belief holds that with regard to an individuals morality, personal beliefs and specific situations will determine the correct morals for that situation. Perhaps Friedrich Nietzsche explained moral relativism best when he said, “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” In other words, whatever works for you is right. Perhaps you can see the problems inherent in moral relativism.

Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason wrote an article for Salvo Magazine entitled, “Seven Things You Can't Do As A Moral Relativist”, in which he (obviously) lists these seven things. They are:
1. Relativists can’t accuse others of wrongdoing.
2. Relativists can’t complain about the problem of evil.
3. Relativists can’t place blame or accept praise.
4. Relativists can’t make charges of unfairness or injustice.
5. Relativists can’t improve their morality.
6. Relativists can’t hold meaningful moral discussions.
7. Relativists can’t promote the obligation of tolerance.
During a conversation I recently had with with an individual, a professing Christian, who made the comment that morality was relative. Our conversation was so illustrative of the points being made by Mr. Koukl, I have to share it in conjunction with his above list. We had been discussing the homosexual marriage issue (he was for and I was against) that is being foisted upon America – and more importantly upon Christians – by a small but very vocal segment of our society. The person I was speaking with (I'll call him “Fred”) stated that. “People are people and morality is relative. Although we would consider the genocide of Indians to 'immoral' today, In the 1840's is was not. While gay marriage may be distasteful to some, it simply can't be immoral. What is immoral about two willing people of the same sex living together?”

“Fred” went on to explain that at his church he was a music minister and had always had gay men in key positions. He was aware of it, and even the pastor was aware of this, however, he said, “we don't meddle in parishioners private lives. Being gay is not a sin, Having sex outside wedlock is.”

As I went to explain that morality is not relative and, in fact, cannot be relative without disastrous results, is pointed to a recent news article as what happens when morality is considered relative, the gang rape of a young woman on a public beach, surrounded by hundreds of onlookers who did absolutely nothing other than video record the rape and then post it online. [Panama City Gang Rape: A Kitty Genovese for the YouTube Era, by Charlotte Lytton 04.16.15]

“Fred” tried to explain that what was different in the example of the Panama City gang rape is that in that incident there was a victim, therefore it was morally wrong because rape is a criminal action. However, that only addresses who is criminally responsible for that act, not who is morally wrong. I responded by asking “Fred” who he thought was morally wrong then? Was it the rapists? Was it the hundreds of onlookers who stood by and did nothing other than video record the rape? How about those who allowed the video to be posted to their website? How about the people who watched or downloaded the video? Are any of these people morally wrong? I asked “Fred” if he thought, as he apparently did, that an act is only immoral if there is a victim, then who decides if there actually is a victim? If a court of law allows a child molester to go free and makes the determination that the three year old that the molester actually raped, wasn't legally raped because there wasn't enough evidence to convict him, then no crime actually occurred and therefore there is no actual victim. Then, according to “Fred's” moral relativist belief, that rape of a three year old would not be immoral since the court determined that no rape took place.

Of course, “Fred” had no answer, and in fact, he told me that he could not argue with that. He did not, however, reject his moral relativism belief. “Fred's” responses, his arguments in our conversation perfectly illustrate Mr. Koukl's list of seven things a moral relativist cannot do. “Fred” could not accuse those involved in the Panama City gang rape of wrongdoing. He could not call what they did wrong or evil, he could not place any blame upon them for the rape or the video recording of it and he could not say that what the rapists or video recorders did was unfair or unjust; and clearly, “Fred” was unable to hold a meaningful moral discussion.

This is the problem, the failure of moral relativism. Since nothing is really immoral or moral, other than what the individual “believes” is moral or immoral in a given situation or at a particular moment in time, the moral relativist cannot, as Mr, Koukl states, improve their morality because they have no objective or absolute moral standard.

As Christian's – and I will even go so far as to make the distinction of “True Christian's,” we have an absolute, unchanging moral standard, and that standard is God. In fact, every person has that standard of God's absolute morality written on their heart, their DNA so to speak. The problem arises when the individual chooses to ignore that absolute moral standard in favor of their own personal wants and desires which they rationalize and justify by waving the banner of moral relativism, and that brings us back to the issue “Fred” and I started our conversation with. Homosexual marriage. It is morally wrong, and the only thing that an approval of homosexual marriage will do, is to lend a governmental approval of the immoral sexual wants and desires of a select group of individuals. And if that approval is lent by the government, then how can they disapprove of any other immoral sexual wants or desires of any other group?

Moral relativism is the key to a Pandora's Box that once opened, cannot legislatively be closed. Ever.

Recommended Reading:
The seven fatal flaws of moral relativism
https://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/the-seven-fatal-flaws-of-moral-relativism-3/

Seven Things You Can’t Do as a Moral Relativist
http://www.apologetics315.com/2011/12/top-7-things-you-cant-do-as-moral.html

What is moral relativism?
https://carm.org/moral-relativism

What is moral relativism?
http://www.gotquestions.org/moral-relativism.html

What Did Jesus Have To Say About Homosexuality?

4/17/2015

 
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What Did Jesus Have To Say About Homosexuality?

Last night I had a very interesting discussion with an individual who, while professing to be a Christian, simply could not find anything immoral about same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, this is a common mindset among many in the church today. Glennon Doyle Melton writes in favor of same-sex marriage on her blog. She says, “For example: when a married Christian says that he loves gay people but can’t support marriage equality, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love. Because loving your neighbor as you love yourself, I think, must mean that you bestow every right you claim for yourself onto your neighbor. If you are free and you love your neighbor as yourself, you want your neighbor to be free, too. If you claim your right to be married, but deny it to your neighbor, then you are loving your neighbor just a little bit less than you love yourself.”

Upon reading her statement I did a double take, and I am sure you can imagine why. Following her logic I can say the same thing about any sin (and make no mistake, the Scripture clearly labels homosexuality as sin), such as say, murder. “When a married Christian says that he loves adulterers but can’t support adultery, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love.” Or how about Child Molestation? “When a married Christian says that he loves child molestors but can’t support child molestation, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love.”Or maybe murder? I'm sure you get the point. As can be seen, Mrs. Melton's logic is severely flawed.

But can't the same be said of any line of reasoning that allows, condones, promotes or encourages any sin? Of course it can, and I am discovering that the various arguments being presented from so-called Christians are all as equally flawed. One of the most common of these arguments is, “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, so He obviously did not condemn it. The simplest line of reasoning against this fallacy can be found on the Stand to Reason blog, where Melinda Penner writes that since Jesus is God, and all of Scripture is God-Breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), then obviously anything the Bible has to say about homosexuality comes from Jesus. You can read her article here: What Jesus Said about Homosexuality.

While Miss Penner's reasoning could be called simple, it is also quite profound on many levels, and it is also quite true. I do have to say that left on its own, however, it leaves the door wide open for many counter arguments (all faulty in the light of a clear understanding of Scripture), and I wish she had addressed them in her blog article. They are, however, addressed in the comments section, so be sure to read that as well.

There is another article that addresses this subject posted on the Eternity Matters blog, titled What Jesus didn't say?. It is a more in-depth article on this subject, and provides a more well-rounded treatment of the subject. I highly recommend reading both articles.

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) once said, “Hell's next attack will be on that doctrine on which all religion and all morality are based, the existence of a personal, infinite, and eternal God. That effort will be accompanied by a mighty effort to sweep away the standards of Christian purity.” In light of the state of morality in America (and the world) today, I would say Mr. Chesterton's words were prophetic, and coming true today.

Where Did All The Genesis Flood Water Go?

4/16/2015

 
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Or where did it even come from for that matter?

Although I have never personally felt the need to research this, I am pleased that someone has, and even more pleased that they have an answer.

From the Practical Bible website comes a “Creationism Moment” with Ian Taylor

http://www.practicalbible.com/top-stories/where-did-all-the-water-go

You can read the article and or listen to the audio spot by clicking here

Genesis 7:11
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."

Evolutionists and atheists like to think they've got Bible-believing creationists stumped when they ask, "If a worldwide flood really happened, where did all the water go? If Noah's flood covered the mountaintops, what happened to all that water?"

Creationists have often responded by saying that the water ended up in the deep ocean trenches like the Mariana trench in the western Pacific. The trench is so deep, the world's tallest mountains could be submerged without breaking the ocean's surface!

But another answer was suggested by the recent discovery of a vast reservoir of water that's three times larger than all of the world's oceans combined! As reported in NewScientist, "The water is hidden inside a blue rock called ringwoodite that lies 700 kilometres – that's 434 miles – underground in the mantle, the layer of hot rock between Earth's surface and its core."

According to researcher Steven Jacobsen of Northwestern University, "It's good evidence the Earth's water came from within." This statement by a secular scientist agrees with the Bible when it says that in addition to the rain, the "fountains of the great deep" were broken up.

This could also explain where all the water went after the flood subsided. It suggests that the waters of the flood ended up in the sponge-like ringwoodite that's buried beneath the entire United States and possibly the whole world. Christians never need to fear the charges brought against the Bible by atheists and evolutionists.

Notes: "Massive 'ocean' discovered towards Earth's core", A. Coghlan, NewScientist, 6/12/14.
Science 13 June 2014: Vol. 344 no. 6189 pp. 1265-1268 DOI: 10.1126/science.1253358.
Photo: Courtesy of Jasperox. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Friday Night Lectures - April 10, 2015

4/10/2015

 
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Tonight's Friday Night Lecture is:
Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? A Christian vs Muslim
Debate

In this debate from February 2009, Christian apologist Dr. William Lane Craig debates Muslim academic Dr. Shabir Ally, at McGill University in Montrealm Quebec, Canada.


Does God Exist? A Craig - Dacey Debate

4/9/2015

 
From one of my favorite blogs, Wintery Knight:

William Lane Craig debates Austin Dacey: Does God Exist? Here is the video and summary of a debate between Christian theist William Lane Craig and Austin Dacey at Purdue University in 2004 about the existence of God.

The debaters:
  • William Lane Craig

  • Austin Dacey

Read more and watch the video at:
https://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/william-lane-craig-debates-austin-dacey-does-god-exist-4/
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