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 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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What are apologetic arguments for the existence of demons?
How do Christians who believe in the existence of demons prove their existence? What are the strongest apologetic arguments for the existence of demons?
Many skeptics explain away demonic possessions ...
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If the Immaculate Conception is true, then why can't God create everyone free from original sin? [duplicate]
The Catholic Church teaches Mary, from the moment of conception, was free from original sin by the grace of Jesus. If this is true (which I do hold), then why does God not create everyone free from ...
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How do Christians justify lack of God's intervention during events where neonates get killed?
I simply can't reason about it.
When let's say 1 month old child gets killed and dies in horrible pain, there was nothing for him to learn from this "lesson". He also had no possibility to ...
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How do Open Theists respond to Bible verses claiming God knows the future?
These questions pretty clearly show that God knows the future:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:...
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Does the Origin of Religious Beliefs from Evolution cast doubt on Christian belief?
Evolutionism claims that religious beliefs result from their ability to give us a cooperative ability to survive. This, an Evolutionist would argue, would imply that religion comes into existence, not ...
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How do Christian apologists defend the credibility of the miracles reported in the gospel accounts?
I'm reading Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's article on Miracles, and it has an interesting section that presents several objections to the credibility of witnesses that may justify one's being ...
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What Biblical Defenses are there to Divine Hiddenness?
Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. (Isaiah 45:15, ESV)
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle ...
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What is an overview of denominational doctrines that are most commonly defended by apologists against objections from other denominations? [closed]
Each major Christian denomination accepts some subset of doctrines that are commonly called into question by detractors from other denominations and, therefore, are commonly the subject of formal ...
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According to Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, what are the strongest apologetic arguments for the divine inspiration of the deuterocanonical books?
According to Wikipedia, the deuterocanonical books include:
Canonical for the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church:
Tobit
Judith
Baruch
Sirach
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
Wisdom
Additions to ...
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How do continuationists respond to the 'closed canon' argument against the continuation of special revelations and sign gifts?
In my experience chatting with cessationists, I've noticed that a very recurrent cessationist argument against the continuation of special revelations and sign gifts is what I would call the 'closed ...
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Is there a consensus among Christian scholars or apologists as to which Biblical prophecies have been fulfilled?
Questions such as Biblical Prophecy and Fulfillment and Which prophecies have definitely been fulfilled? have already been asked in the past, but they have been closed due to their wording that ...
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Christianity and Survivor's Guilt [closed]
One of the major impediments to many people's acceptance of conservative Christianity these days is the doctrine of hell. It seems the thought that people, of which include our sweet beloved friends ...
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What is the difference between a missionary and an apologist when it comes to proselytizing for the Christian faith?
At first glance both Christian missionaries and apologists appear to be dedicated individuals who share the same goal of winning people over to Christianity, by presenting the Christian faith in a way ...
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Pascal's wager vs 1 Corinthians 15:17-19
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager describes Pascal's wager:
If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas if God does ...
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How do continuationists explain the absence of video recordings of undeniable miracles?
A common objection to the belief in the continuation of miracles is the absence of undeniable evidence, such as video recordings, going viral in social media, which is kind of strange given the almost ...
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Can the doctrine of Continuationism be logically deduced from Scripture via deductive reasoning?
According to Continuationists, is it possible to make a case for the doctrine of Continuationism through logical argumentation based on deductive reasoning and Scripture alone (i.e. without appealing ...
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