Questions tagged [apologetics]
Defenses of religious positions using reason. This tag should only be used with respect to disagreements with religions other than Christianity.
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How can a case be made against reducing the Christian experience to the Placebo effect? [closed]
The responses and reactions elicited by the question Is Christianity testable? on Philosophy Stack Exchange have been quite insightful. In particular, I would like to bring the reader's attention to ...
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What is the biblical basis for John Lennox's claim that Christianity is testable?
In a debate between John Lennox and Peter Atkins on the topic "Can science explain everything?", at minute 44:47 John Lennox claims:
Lennox: "And the major reason why I believe that ...
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How to refute the argument that is is possible to be saved without Jesus and do apologetics for it
I've recently thought of an argument that might undermine Christianity but I'm not sure if I simply reinvented a super old argument that already has a refutation or it's a novel one (probably not), ...
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What are the "gospels" in the Gospels?
As far as I know there are 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
I am an ex-Christian (currently atheist) who had a debate with a Muslim about a few discrepancies between the Qur'an and the Bible. ...
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What is the biblical counter-argument to the expression "the Universe provides"?
I have been given an assignment to address the view held by some people that "the Universe provides." My first thought was to investigate the New Age movement and beliefs but, although I ...
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Refutation of Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All (David Fitzgerald)
David Fitzgerald published a book called Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All in 2010. Are there any published refutations or rebuttals to this work?
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On Bible Verses Defined by the Catholic Church
The following link seems to provide some good insight into Bible verses whose meanings have been definitively declared by the Catholic Church.
https://www.catholicfidelity.com/apologetics-topics/bible/...
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What could account for this 1990 radical change in belief about the German school of Higher Criticism (that began around 1860)?
This development in German universities in the 1800s is not to be confused with today’s “Critical Theory” (just in case anyone reading the 1990 quote below thinks they are akin.) This question deals ...
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Is there a possible compatibility between immutability and God's mercy?
Objection:
If God exists, He is immutable.
If God exists, he is merciful.
An immutable being cannot be affected by any event (since God is not subject to change).
A merciful being must be affected ...
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The Historicity of David, Pilate, and the Philistines
I've looked at the discoveries of things like the Tel Dan Inscription or the Pilate Stone which testify to the existence of David and Pilate. I read that before such archeological discoveries, the ...
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Did the religion of Christianity arise in AD70?
It has been suggested that the religion of Christianity arose as a result of the destruction of the Jewish temple and the Jewish priesthood by the Romans in the year 70. This date marks the inception ...
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If God is perfect, do we live in the best of all possible worlds?
God is supposed to be perfect. If the world is the work of a perfect god, it should be, as Leibniz argued, the best possible world.
But it is not very difficult to imagine a better world than this.
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How can one counter-argue this argument against the existence of God?
Argument:
If God is the Creator, He cannot be perfect. For either God created the world desiring it or not desiring it. If he did not wish it, it implies that he does not have total control over his ...
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What is the Transcendental Argument proof of God's existence?
I am aware of the several Metaphysical Arguments for the proof of God's existence (Cosmological, Teleological, Anthropological, etc.). And am familiar with the Logical Syllogisms showing the lethal ...
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Why does God punish us for our will?
This is a huge question. Do let me know if its immensity makes it off-topic for this site. I will start out my question with a quote from Schopenhauer:
A man can do what he wills, but not will what ...
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Is the Christian Religion based on "Faith in Faith" or does it have a foundation of "Acceptance of Facts"?
Many Christians who attend church, when confronted by inquirers outside the church, who wonder why they believe in Christianity, simply respond by saying, I just accept it by faith. Or they might say, ...
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How do proponents of the Fine Tuning argument for God, refute the puddle comparison?
The fine tuning argument essentially states that there is so much about the universe that is "fine tuned" for life - eg things like the gravitational constant would cause the universe to ...
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What would be a theologically sound and measured response to Joan Osbourne's "One of us"?
That song was a big song in the 90s. What would be a orthodox response to the views in that song be? God was indeed one of us for a while. God does indeed have a name and yes he is called that "...
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Does Christianity "Match" Reality? [closed]
I don't know if this is a "good" question for Christianity Stack Exchange, but it's weighing heavily on my mind, and this seems as good a place as any. So here goes.
I grew up as a Christian ...
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Are there other Christian authors besides WLC who believe that all Christians have access to a direct, self-authenticating experience of God?
My question is motivated by the following excerpt from William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith article The Witness of the Holy Spirit:
Plantinga's model involves crucially what is usually called the ...
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What are Christian apologetics refutations of the objections posited by the site "Why Won't God Heal Amputees?"?
The site: https://whywontgodhealamputees.com/
Relevant quotes:
Is God real, or is he imaginary?
Is God real, or is he imaginary? It is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself.
If God ...
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Has any Christian philosopher ever argued that naturalism can be shown to be false?
From Wikipedia:
In philosophy, naturalism is the idea or belief that only natural laws and forces (as opposed to supernatural ones) operate in the universe.[1]
Naturalism is not so much a special ...
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How do non-LDS Christians respond to the stylometry argument for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon?
Multiple sources have put forward this argument.
For example, the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies article Stylometric Analyses of the Book of Mormon: A Short History (link) affirms:
Abstract
The ...
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Between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, which one has a more plausible alternate account of its invention? [closed]
This question is inspired by comments from this post:
https://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/92394/35508
In this question, I am referring to the Bible as the 66 books of the Old Testament and New ...
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Is it superstitious to have a worldview where supernatural interventions are not just possible but likely?
There was a quickly deleted S.E. post that responded to this question, "is there any way for a rational person to reach the conclusion that Christianity is definitely true?"
The post that ...
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Believing that Christianity is "probably" true vs. being fully convinced that Christianity is definitely true?
Most apologetic arguments for theism/Christianity are probabilistic (i.e. they are abductive in nature, rely on premises that are not necessarily true, etc.), meaning that a rational person who is ...
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Based on post-2000 scholarly research, how do Christians defend that it was Jesus himself who prophesied the first Jewish-Roman war?
It's a common assertion by liberal Bible scholars that rather than Jesus himself who prophesied the destruction of the temple in AD 70 along with the ensuing wars and sufferings, it was the Gospel ...
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According to Latter-day Saint epistemology, do Latter-day Saints perceive the witness of the Holy Ghost as an intrinsic defeater-defeater?
From https://iep.utm.edu/defeaters-in-epistemology/:
According to Plantinga (1986), some beliefs can, by virtue of their own degree of warrant, defeat defeaters that come their way. When a belief has ...
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How do Latter-day Saints respond to the claim that the Book of Mormon is based on "Manuscript Found" by Solomon Spaulding? (aka the Spaulding Theory)
This topic has come up occasionally in other posts, but I found no question on the site asking about this specifically.
In 1834, ED Howe published Mormonism Unvailed [sic], claiming based upon the ...
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Is there any extra-biblical evidence that shows the apostles were martyred?
Church tradition tells us that most of the 12 apostles were martyred, with the apostle John being the only one considered to die an old death.
Is there any extra-biblical evidence that shows the ...
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How could the Pharisees anticipate Jesus’ resurrection before the disciples?
The gospel of Matthew records that after Jesus’ death, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law went to Pilate to ask for a guard, since they remembered that Jesus said he would rise again on the third ...
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URLs for Christian Polemic Repositories
This post may be considered as a follow-up for a previous post of mine, which unfortunately was closed because it did not "focuses on one problem only". Okay, let me rephrase my question to ...
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How do Latter-day Saints respond to the claim that Alma 7:10 contradicts Micah 5:2 regarding the place of Jesus' birth?
Regarding Jesus' birth, the Book of Mormon prophet Alma prophesies:
And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers (Alma 7:10)
Micah 5:2 refers not to ...
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What is our Protestant apologetic outline when somebody says faith & science cannot be mixed?
I have a family member that asserts that faith and science don’t mix or match. That faith being preached is “alien” to any subject of science, including that of scripture.
Yet, the Scripture is our ...
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Are there denominations that emphasize apologetic sermons?
Are there denominations that emphasize apologetic sermons?
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Does Neo-Thomistic theology teach it's necessary to believe in the existence of God, before believing in the historicity of Jesus' resurrection?
In a recent interview, Bart Ehrman appears to contradict himself in regards to how at one time he believed the resurrection of Jesus was an historical event. The video interview can be found here.
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Did the Passover Crucifixion Involve a Double Sabbath?
In Regards to S.E. Answer: The Consummate Refutation of Christianity—if the Last Supper was a Passover Feast.
Since any day of the week that Passover falls on is considered a Sabbath, doesn't it make ...
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How do Latter-day Saints rebut GM Skeptic's objection against the epistemic value of personal spiritual experiences?
Who is GM Skeptic
Genetically Modified Skeptic is the name of a very popular YouTube Channel (487K subscribers as of March 2022) and also the alias of his owner, Drew McCoy, an American atheist ...
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Why might have God allowed the burning of Jephtha’s daughter when he condemned child sacrifice as worship in Deuteronomy 12?
Deuteronomy 12:30-31 says:
take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations ...
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Which of the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses and why?
Were the Gospels written by eyewitnesses? Which ones? What do scholars & historians have to say on this?
What are the best arguments for the eyewitness authorship of (some of) the Gospels?
Even if ...
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How do Christians rebut Matt Dillahunty's objection that the resurrection of Jesus is untestable, unfalsifiable and thus unreasonable to believe?
On April 8, 2021, during a debate between Matt Dillahunty and Catholic Apologist Trent Horn titled Is belief in the Resurrection reasonable? Trent Horn Vs Matt Dillahunty Debate, hosted by Pints With ...
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According to Calvinists, why does God not predestine all to Heaven?
It seems to me that if God chooses not only those who will go to heaven, but those who will go to hell, a Calvinist would hold the position of Universalism, that being that all people will be saved. ...
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Are there formally recognized categories of apologetics?
Faith in Jesus and accepting Him as your personal savior has many layers. You must believe in something more than what can be seen. You must believe in an afterlife. You must believe in the truth of ...
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How does the LDS church respond to the similarities between the book of Nephi and the book of Napoleon?
Here is an excerpt from the CES letter:
The following is a side-by-side comparison of selected phrases the Book of Mormon is known for from the beginning portion of the Book of Mormon with the same ...
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If we will have free will and be sinless in Heaven at the same time, then why did God not create a world with sinless free creatures to begin with?
This question is scoped to those who believe that:
We have libertarian free wills
We will retain our free will in Heaven
We will be sinless in Heaven
Question: If Heaven demonstrates that it is ...
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According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest arguments for the credibility of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
I'm specifically talking about:
3 witnesses: Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris.
8 witnesses: Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith Sr., Samuel H. Smith, Jacob Whitmer, John Whitmer, Hiram Page, ...
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How did the author Daniel copy Babylonian literature?
This is an apologetics question involving history and archeology to which I’m looking for a christian’s answer.
Below is a quote from theologian Joyce G. Baldwin on her essay (pg.97) regarding the ...
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Could you suggest me some books about Catholic apologetics? [closed]
I have recently become interested in Catholic apologetics, but I don't know which book to buy to explore the subject. For example, I was thinking of the book "Handbook of Catholic Apologetics: ...
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Why doesn't hallucination, common burial, legend, and gullibility explain the rise of Christianity (rather than the Resurrection)? How is this wrong?
What scholarship refutes the following view of history? How do we know this alternative to the Gospel is incorrect?
Jesus is executed by the Roman empire after preaching a loving humanism based on ...
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What are scholarly books for and against the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus?
In order to have a well-rounded understanding of the arguments for and against a historical resurrection of Jesus, what would be a comprehensive list of must-read scholarly books defending its ...
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