Apologetics Flashcards
From “Defending Your Faith” Define notitia, assensus, and fiducia in one sentence each.
Notitia - is the content of our faith, or things we believe, the knowledge of our faith.
Assensus- is our conviction that the content of our faith is true.
Fiducia - is personal trust and reliance of the content of our faith.
From “Defending Your Faith”
What are the four essential principles of knowledge? Identify them and offer a one-sentence definition of each.
Law of Noncontradiction: Two contrary things cannot both be true at the same time
Basic Reliability Sense Perception: Our senses are our connection to the world. Though they be flawed they can be trusted, otherwise you cannot trust anything.
Analogical Use of Language-Created in God’s image. He gave traces of himself in our minds and though we cannot comprehend everything, we can speak and know true things about him.
Law of Causality: Every effect must have a cause. If there is no cause there is no effect.
From “Making a Difference” What is the difference between secular and secularism? Be sure to adequately define secularism in your one-paragraph answer.
Secular simply means to be in the world, part of the here and now. Secularism makes the here and now all there is. R.C. “right now counts for forever” vs secularism “right now counts for right now.” God becomes one option of many in secularism because ultimately there is only the present and nothing else.
From “Making a Difference” What is the difference between plurality and pluralism? Be sure to adequately define pluralism in your one-paragraph answer.
Plurality is that there are multiple cultures, religions, all in the same world. God created diversity and plurality. Even in the church there is diversity. Pluralism validates all of them equally, and embraces contradiction. Everything ends at the same spot eventually in pluralism. Breaks the law of noncontradiction.
Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy: In one paragraph, define the cause.
The principle of original existence. Instigator of motion, change, being. Lose the cause, lose the effect. Source. The principle originator that something comes from with dependance. Directly influences the being or change of something else. Gives existence for another thing. The reason for the existence of another thing.
Define apologetics
A rational or reasonable defense of the Christian faith. People are rational because they are made in the image of God. Prove that God is (exists), that God speaks (reliability of scripture, he communicates to his creatures), that God saves (and he saves in the uniqueness of Christ).
Not evangelism, but moving in the same direction
What does 1 Peter 3:15 teach about apologetics?
Hope - shorthand for the gospel
Our lives shouldn’t make sense to unbelievers.
It gives us the who (the defense should be made to), what the defense is (a rational defense), when the defense should be made (always).
See the Bible as an apologetic for who God is and what he is doing in the world.
How is Genesis 1-3 apologetic for God?
Shows the uniqueness of God and his character. God is not the chaos of the eastern religions. Perfect, finished work.
God has revealed himself in his creation, he’s given an apologetic through his creation. Goes back to the cause. Without excuse.
Give an example of how John uses testimony in the Gospel of John.
Belief/Testimony. John the baptist, the disciples, all these people are giving their testimony as they are converted. It’s part of our apologetic. Use the testimony of Christ or about miracles–culmination = resurrection. Don’t be afraid of being a feidesit. Use your testimony. The testimony is grounded in something.
John, Peter….
What can we learn about apologetics from Paul’s example in Acts 17?
Observation, aware of the setting, he’s grieved (expressing his hope) then used something they resonated with- their relationship with the gods of their land. He didn’t just intrude in righteous anger but expressed pity based on their need. Presented truths about God and man/judgment and how they all point to Christ. Common response to apologetics: belief, mocking, and indifference. Paul gave an amazing defense, but people still rejected him. It’s gonna happen to us too, peeps.
What were the big three charges against Christianity in the early church?
Cannibals (Lord’s Supper),
Atheists (a refusal to worship the Roman gods)
Incest (called each other bros and sisters and their “love feasts” aka Lord’s Supper).
Therefore, christians are bad for society.
How did Athenagoras respond to those charges against christianity?
Nope
We worship one God, like the best philosophers, Plato,
Nope, come ON, we care about morality
We’re not atheists, we’re not incsesters, and we’re not cannibalises.
What did Anselm contribute to apologetics?
He gave us the ontological argument in the Proslogion.
Helpful in his methods and orderly use of reasons, while still embracing the reason for faith.
Atonement- why the Godman (Cur Deus Homo). Must be God and man in order for our atonement.
faith, and reason…he offers reasons for the faith. Scholasticism. Stress the great weight of sin. What are you saved from?
What is the difference between evidentialism and classical apologetics?
Evidentialism: evidence is all we need. Historical arguments are sufficient. Proof in and of itself and cannot deny the truth once confronted with the historical reality.
Classical: Uses evidence, but started with the basic philosophical arguments that man already must accept and then uses history and evidences to further back that point up. Focuses on the rational and then moves on to the evidence. The effects of the world, the reliability of Scripture and Christ. How has the fall affected the rational mind? 4 Principles.
What are the key ideas of presuppositionalism?
Because of the Fall, we cannot prove the existence of God, we must assume that all know God. We must assume christianity to make any rational sense of the world. We were made for worship and man internally knows this, but suppresses this. Total depravity precludes the use of rational arguments.
Van Til
Given the fall and the doctrine of total depravity, is it even possible to make rational arguments for the credibility of Christian truth claims? (assuming classical apologetic)
Yes. Man has not lost all rational because it is a part of being in the image of God. Therefore, we still have the ability to reason. We can see this in Scripture with how Paul, John, and Jesus interact with people in Scripture.
General revelation. Natural theology can be accurate.
What is the ontological argument for the existence of God?
If we have an idea of the greatest being, He must exist. If you’re imagining the greatest/most perfect being and think there’s a possibility that He doesn’t exist, then that means you’re NOT thinking of the greatest being. “Greatest being” requires existence, or else He wouldn’t be greatest.
What are the Five Ways of Thomas Aquinas?
Motion - effect back to source Efficient cause - source to the effect Necessary being Gradation of design Argument for intelligence
Can you walk through the Kalam Cosmological Argument?
Effect all the way back to the cause Question leads to another question to another question.
All gets back to the traces of God in creation and seeing that he has revealed himself as a personal God. Based in the nature of Causality, and the impossibility of infinite regress.
The world… is or is not?
→is because of… cause or no cause?
→caused because of… intelligent or unintelligent?
→creator is… personal or impersonal?
→would it… communicate or not?
With existential arguments we follow the trace.
Can the reliability and trustworthiness of Scripture be rationally demonstrated?
Bible’s uniqueness: quality & quantity of the manuscripts. 40 authors. 1600 years. 3 continents. 3 languages. History confirms it: Cyrus cylinder. Bible doesn’t whitewash the heroes of the faith but allows their failures to be present.
What did Jesus think of Scripture?
Jesus saw it as provable and factual. He saw the Scriptures as the Word of God. He upheld it and trusted it as fully and totally reliable. He trusted the whole of Scripture and placed more pressure on himself. If we doubt Scripture, we doubt Christ as omnipotent.
What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
Recitation of the creed "there is no God but One" 5 Daily Prayers Almsgiving Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca
What do Muslims believe about Jesus?
Born of a virgin, but like Adam, a creature, but a divine creation. He was rescued from the cross and did not truly die. Therefore did not rise from the dead. Not divine/God. One of the greatest prophets.
What are some types of inclusivism?
HS is sovereign and can save however he arbitrarily decides.
Sincere faith principle. All religions go back to true religion and all religions therefore have a nuget or two of truth. Different ways of articulating.
