16Sep 2024 by Post

The Early Martyrs Were Cross Examined to Death

4. Is the NT True?, Al Serrato, Apologetics, Early Church, Gospel, historical apologetics, Martyrdom, New Testament, Persecution. Evidential Apologetics
Skeptics often challenge believers by claiming that the “evidence” for Christianity would never hold up in a courtroom. It’s hearsay, they contend, and since these witnesses can’t be cross-examined, the case would never even see the inside of a courtroom. For many unfamiliar with the legal system, this challenge seems solid. After all, why should we trust our eternity to a message that wouldn’t pass muster in a court dealing with comparatively less important issues? Christianity On Trial A bit of reflection shows the problem with this line of reasoning. First, it doesn’t take into consideration that we know many things that could never be “proven” according to the rules of evidence in a courtroom. Just about any historical event that is beyond the lifetime of living persons would suffer…
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19Jun 2024 by Post

Why the Best Explanation Can Be a Miracle

3. Are Miracles Possible?, 4. Is the NT True?, abductive reasoning, Al Serrato, Apologetics, Christianity, Cumulative Case, Evidence, forensics, historical apologetics, J. Warner Wallace, miracles, New Testament, theology
By Al Serrato We all intuitively seek the best explanation for a set of facts or circumstances. It’s called abductive reasoning. Detectives make use of this method of reasoning when endeavoring to solve a crime; they put the pieces together so that a picture of what occurred emerges in sufficient detail to have confidence that it is true. Parents do it when they notice that a freshly baked pie has a piece missing and little Johnny has crumbs on his fingers and fruit staining his lips. Perfect knowledge is not required to know with sufficient certainty what occurred. Abductive Reasoning in Christian Apologetics As it relates to apologetics, abductive reasoning is a formal way of supporting the case for the validity of Christian truth claims. Though there are dozens of…
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27May 2024 by Post

Recommended Books on Historical Apologetics for The Gospels & Acts

4. Is the NT True?, Acts, Apologetics, Bible, Erik Manning, Gospel, historical apologetics, history, New Testament, Testify, The Gospels
I am often asked which books I recommend for defending the reliability of the Gospels/Acts and Christianity in general, so here is my list. It is not exhaustive, but it will definitely give you a good start. The categorized as “mandatory” are more basic, while some of those labeled as “recommended” or “supplementary” delve into more profound and scholarly content. Any item marked with a * can be accessed for free online as PDF files. A significant number of these works are downloadable from http://historicalapologetics.org, http://books.google.com, or http://archive.org.   Mandatory Reading: Recommended Reading: Author Book Title Bauckham, Richard Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 2nd edition Blomberg, Craig The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel Blomberg, Craig The Historical Reliability of the New Testament Boyd, Greg & Eddy, Paul Rhodes The Jesus Legend:…
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