“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no
explanation is possible.”
― Thomas Aquinas
What is an Agnositic?

A person who believes
that nothing is known
or can be known of the
existence or nature of
God or of anything
beyond material
phenomena; a person
who claims neither
faith nor disbelief in
God.
• The question is???......
• WHAT ARE YOU?
• ‘A child saying a child’s
prayer looks simple. And if
you are content to stop
there, well and good. But if
you are not-and the modern
world usually is not- if you
want to go on and ask what
is really happening- then
you must be prepared for
something difficult.’ C.S.
Lewis
CHALLENGE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDLKpd4aUH8

‘Let us leave behind all these boys’ philosophies- these
over-simple answers. The problem is not simple and
the answer is not going to be simple either.’ C.S Lewis
THE DEBATE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqnq_DnuW6w
The Agnostic Argument
The Argument from Uncertainty
The argument from uncertainty takes the fact that we cannot achieve certainty as to
whether God exists as justification for agnosticism. Whatever evidence there is for
theism and for atheism is fallible, the argument suggests, and therefore ought to be
rejected. Of course, we accept fallible evidence as sufficient justification for many of
our beliefs, so this argument will only be persuasive if there is some reason to require
better evidence when answering religious questions than we require in these other
cases. One possible reason for so doing is the importance of being right concerning the
existence of God.
 The Argument from Incomprehensibility
 An alternative approach to arguing for agnosticism is the argument from
incomprehensibility. Theists have often been content to say that we are unable to
comprehend God, that his being transcends our mundane experiences and that our
concepts, which are derived from such experiences, cannot be used to describe him. If
true, then this might be thought to count in favour of agnosticism; if we cannot
comprehend God, then how can we reason with any confidence concerning his
existence?


How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1.
The Intention test
QUESTION: Was it the intention of the writers to record what actually
happened?
ANSWER:
1) GOSPEL WRITERS STATE THEIR GOAL
 John 20:31: ‘These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
(theological statement)
2) WE DO NOT FIND OUTLANDISH FLOURISHES OR CONVENIENT
FALSE STATEMENTS
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
2. The Ability Test
○ QUESTION: Is it possible that the disciples were able to record
the history properly over the 30 years of Jesus’s life?
○ ANSWER:
- The Jews of the time were a people of Oral tradition. Rabbi’s
were able to memorize the old Testament
- NOT A GAME OF TELEPHONE
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
3. The Character Test
○ QUESTION: WERE THE DESCIPLES PEOPLE OF
CHARACTER?
○ Answer:
 We see no reasonable evidence to suggest they were anything
but people of great integrity.
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
4. The Consistency Test
○ QUESTION: Are the Gospel accounts consistent?
○ ANSWER:
 What if the Gospels were all exactly the same? What would you think?
 “There is enough of a discrepancy to show that there could have been no
previous concert among them; and at the same time such substantial
agreement as to show that they all were independent narrators of the same
great transaction.” -Simon Greenleaf
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
5. The Bias Test
○ QUESTION: Was there a bias that would have colored their
work?
○ ANSWER:
 They did love Jesus very much but what would the gain be in telling this
story?
 They gained criticism, ostracism, and martyrdom
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
6. The Cover-up test
○ QUESTION: Did the disciples tell stories about things that would
be embarrassing or uncomfortable or did they cover up these
things for their own gain?
○ ANSWER:
 Look at the Hard sayings of Jesus
 Look at things that would be convenient to leave out.
 The disciples even made themselves look foolish at times.
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
7. The Corroboration Test
○ QUESTION: Do the Gospels corroborate with history?
○ ANSWER:
 The Gospel accounts correlate with sources in history outside the religious
realm
 Historical texts correlate well with the Bible historically
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
8. The Adverse Witness Test
 QUESTION: Do we see examples of contemporaries of Jesus
complaining that the gospel accounts were just plain wrong?
 ANSWER:
 Many if they could would have tried to disprove the Gospel
How do we deal with Uncertainty?

Case for Christ: - Lee Strobel
1. The Intention test
2. The Ability test
3. The Character test
4. The Consistency test
5. The Bias test
6. The Cover-up test
7. The Corroboration test
8. The Adverse witness test
How do we deal with Incomprehensibility?
Pascal’s theory: Given the possibility that God does exist
and assuming an infinite gain or loss associated, a
rational person should live as though God exists and seek
to believe in God. If God does not exist a person will only
have finite loss.
This is not the reason to believe in the Truth. Why does
God need to be comprehensible?
How do we deal with Incomprehensibility?





David the psalmist addressed God’s unfathomable intelligence, confessing that
“such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it” (139:6,
emp. added).
God said: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways....
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your
ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Paul praised the “depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God,” exclaiming “how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past
finding out!” (Romans 11:33, emp. added).
there are “the secret things” that “belong to the Lord our God,” which we will
never know this side of eternity, and perhaps not even on the other side
(Deuteronomy 29:29).
Thankfully, the one true and living God did reveal a substantial amount of
information about Himself through nature, and much more through the
Scriptures (Romans 1:20; Deuteronomy 29:29), that we might “have eternal
life” (1 John 5:13).
Agnosticism
Practically not possible to be 100% agnostic
 Do we have certainty that our Gospel is true and divine
 Can we accept that our God is incomprehensible.
Last thought:
Many have simply said: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a
great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God”…
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a
madman or something worse.

These are the only two options, any other claim can not
be made.
