ApologeticsWEEK 2- JANUARY 13TH, 2016

How can you think your religion is the only true one?

Remember, we live in a world that has a Postmodern Worldview.

Basically it means people follow Bunn’s Law:

All truth is relative to the perception of the individual.

This is one of the most predominant attacks against Christianity today.

Those who come against Christianity with this Postmodern Worldview don’t claim that they are

absolutely right; however, they are offended that we claim Jesus is the only Savior.

They want us to accept all religions as true!

What does postmodernism sound like?

For you there is a God. But for me there isn’t a God. Maybe we can both be right.

For me it is wrong to have an abortion, but for someone else it might be right. It’s all relative.

All religions are valid, if the people are sincere.

Relativism doesn’t work, anywhere….

Think about Math. “Johnny, what is 1 + 1?”

“457” “No, Johnny. 1 + 1 = 2.”

“Maybe 1 + 1 =2 for you, but in my reality it is 457.”

Of course this doesn’t work! We accept that in math there is absolute

truth!

Can you imagine if we dismissed absolute truth in math?

No, I don’t owe you $3,000. I owe you $2……

Doesn’t work with science either….

A scientific law is a statement that describes an observable occurrence in nature that appears to always be true. It is a term used in all of the natural sciences (astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics, to name a few). But what is an observable occurrence? Well, it's something that can be seen by anyone and happens with no intervention by man.

http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-scientific-law-definition-examples-quiz.html

A scientific law can be proven untrue, at which time scientists begin looking for a new law that explains the observation.

Science continued….

Why do scientists continue looking for a new law? Because ultimately they believe that there is a perfect law that will always, correctly explain how something works. (Even if they don’t trust it, continue to look for abnormalities, or inconsistencies in that law.)

Want proof?

Think of it this way. How many scientists do you know that will say, “For me the world developed from the Big Bang and humans developed slowly through a process of evolution. For you God created everything and humans were made in his form. Maybe we are both right!”

Even in disagreeing with us about the origin of the universe, scientists display that they have a belief in absolute truth!

Doesn’t work with morality…..

This is one where people will earnestly believe that they believe in relativism until they stop and think about it.

These people will say things like, “Right and wrong really comes down to a personal choice.”

Really….

I personally am against flesh eating, axe murders but I can’t impose my morality on others. It’s all relative.

For me the Holocaust was a bad thing, but if the Nazis were sincere in their beliefs, who am I to judge?

On the big ticket items people typicallyagree there are moral absolutes.

People like to be moral relativists when the thing they like, or want to do is at the center of the controversy.

When we want our own way, It’s wrong for you, not for me can be a pretty handy tool…. Just saying.

If it didn’t work for any of these, why would you try and apply this kind of thinking to your belief system?

JUST IN CASE…….

Reality Check

When we say there is a GodEither:

There is a God who exists (whether we like it or not)Or

There is no God at all (no matter how much we pray and believe)

Absolutely, not with religion…..

Every religion makes truth statements! Even religions that try not to make truth statements, make truth statements!

For instance: The Unitarian church which welcomes people of different beliefs, and blends beliefs together has an inherent truth statement in their structure that they believe there are many correct paths to heaven/ enlightenment, etc….. Thus they would say a single correct path is false teaching. (Otherwise the ‘Christians’ in their service are sitting around twiddling their thumbs waiting for everyone else to take a one way trip to Hell.)

Hinduism takes a very similar stance to the Unitarians!

What happens when the “many paths” contradict each other?

When religions contradict each other 1) religion A may be right and religion B wrong 2) religion A may be wrong and religion B right 3) Both may be wrong

But they can’t both be Right!

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6 Jesus didn’t say except through me or Vishnu or Mohammed

or………..

In this one statement Jesus ruled out those that would reel him in and place him on the shelf of a religious buffet. He says you have to pick. Jesus says he is THE way—truth statement. At best, the others say He is A way—truth statement.

Both Truth statements can’t be right!

Once you break down the lie of relativism…..Why Jesus?

The most important question in all of apologetics.

Join us next week !