Frank Turek Apologetics Seminar 2/15
Crossexamined.org
Good one-liners from Frank Turek
Emotions make life fun; Logic and God's Word make life safe!
Nature is goal directed.
Atheists often make self-defeating statements (ie there is no truth).
Science is built on philosophy.
Not every truth has "apologetic value" (ie proving the universe to be young doesn't
prove that God exists.)
Most people are on a happiness quest rather than a truth quest.
If there is no God, then the holocaust is a matter of opinion.
Belief that requires "evidence:" belief in requires "an act of will."
Most scientists now agree that space, matter, and time had a beginning.
There really was a big bang. Christian's understand who "banged it."
God can do anything that is logically possible.
Miracles always confirmed a certain message from God.
"In the beginning God created" is the biggest miracle of all time.
There are about 300 miracles in the Bible and they appear mostly at the time of: Moses,
Elijha/Elisha, and Jesus/the Apostles.
An "impact event" is one that changes one's life forever.
There are 84 historically confirmed eyewitness details in the book of Acts.
Not everything that is unusual is a "miracle" - below is a list of phenomenon that are
often confused with miracles.
Some people have an "anti-supernatural bias."
1. Anomalies - a freak of nature (bumble bees can fly)
2. Magic - sleight of hand (ie David Copperfield's tricks)
3. Psychosomatic - mind over matter (ie Geisler's flower allergy)
4.Satanic signs - ie divination
5. Providence - the fog the day of the Normandy invasion
*Miracles - a divine act , it never fails, is immediate, lasts for a long time, and is for the
glory of God
4 apologetics Questions that Must be Answered
1. Does truth exist?
2. Does God exist?
3. Are miracles possible?
4. Is the New Testament true?
3 Great arguments for a theistic God
1. The cosmological argument (there was a beginning)
2. The teleological (design) argument (the universe appears to be fine tuned)
3. The moral argument (eternity seems to be etched into every human heart.)
Scientific Evidence that the Universe had a Beginning (SURGE)
Second law of thermodynamics
Universe is expanding
Radiation afterglow
Great galaxy seeds
Einstein's general relativity
... astronomical evidence leads to a Biblical view of the origin of the world ... the
essential element in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis is the same.
Robert Jastrow - agnostic founder of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies
The scientific evidence leaves us with the following two options:
1. No one created something out of nothing (atheist view)
or
2. Someone created something out of nothing (theistic view)
Which view is more reasonable?
The Six E's
Evidence that the NT is True
1. Early Testimony - Important creeds as early as 32 AD (1 Cor 15:3-8).
2. Eyewitness Testimony - the Apostles weren't just "believers."
3. Embarrassing Testimony - the inner circle appear obtuse, cowardly, and selfish.
4. Excruciating Testimony - why make up a story that doesn't benefit you?
5. Expected Testimony - prophecy (114 OT prophecies fulfilled by Jesus).
6. Extra Biblical Testimony - at least 10 non-biblical sources support the Gospels.
A key first question to ask anyone who wants to debate faith in Christ with you:
"If you became convinced that Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?"